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Susan Selby
My Manitoba

I am a Fibre Artist, interpreting the world around me with textiles and fibre.  I hope to convey the many moods and seasons of the Manitoba prairie landscape with the scenes I create, bringing the viewer into  each piece of art.  I work from my own photographs and memories, capturing the colours and textures of the prairie trees and grasses, the changing light of weather and seasons, the vastness of the sky, the vistas shaped by agriculture and their impact on prairie people.

 My art begins in the dye bath as I create my own hues, colours and textures on plain white and re-purposed textiles.  Additions of paint add to the individuality of the fabrics I work with.  Each artwork is composed of layers of these fabrics with a great deal of stitching.  My inspiration comes from the vistas around me, most often the ever-changing prairie landscape.  My hope is to share the joy and beauty of the scenes I have chosen to interpret in fibre.

 I have grown out of a background of home sewing and quilting, evolving into the art I make today.  I hope the journey will continue as I hone my skills and develop my artist’s eye.

Linda Tame
Rim of the Visible World

This exhibition visually documents heartaches, losses, spiritual explorations, and the elusive quest for clarity and belonging. Life circumstance changes who we are, and it’s a process to build who we will be going forward. I’ve used the pearl gemstone to inspire this body of work, since it represents endurance and the hope of beauty in adversity. I’ve chosen oil and acrylic paint because I find a relationship to emotional expression through layered applications, like the pearl. Pearls are produced in mollusk shells, often those of oysters. When a grain of sand, or a small parasite finds its way inside the shell, a protective substance called nacre is produced and layered over the irritant or intruder. Something painful or difficult initiates the process which eventually results in the birth of a pearl.

In some pieces I’ve used sponges to apply and remove thin, translucent veils of paint on canvas. Parts of the under layers can be seen, revealing and representing the many errors and corrections necessary for personal growth. In other pieces a minimalist approach references a longing for simplicity in a world of chaos. And to indicate the need for protection from irritants or intruders, I’ve used a palette knife or trowel to achieve an impasto application.

Painting from the heart is my attempt at capturing the intangible mysteries that both complicate and enrich our lives. The task is at least a challenge and at best a sense of wonder.