Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Craft and Craftivsm

 I am feeling fortunate to have been included in this publication highlighting craft people across Canada. 

Abstract

Contemporary work in ceramics, fibres and glass is commanding unprecedented attention in the visual arts world. Many Canadian artists have gained recognition for their aesthetic proficiency, conceptual relevance, and skill-based expertise in provincial, national, and international public institutions using these materials. The visual arts community in Canada and elsewhere seeks information concerning the historical importance and significance to contemporary Canadian craft artists of these materials and skills. Craft and Craftivism, edited by Loren Lerner, Janice Anderson, Shannon Stride, and Karine Antaki, is a biographical dictionary of artists working in these media, created as a free e-publication to fill this need. The material is readily available for both pedagogical purposes and the general public’s use. It aims to encourage scholarly interest while acknowledging the artists’ contributions to Canadian visual arts, a path currently encouraged in many Canadian post-secondary art education institutions. -- Introduction.


https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/id/eprint/995653/1/VOLUME%20TWO%20CRAFT%20%26%20CRAFTIVISM-FIBRES.2.pdf



Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Review of "Seems Personal " by Jon Claytor

 https://billiemag.ca/this-seems-personal/

 

"One of the first works I noticed was a folksy rug-hooked amalgamation of Canadian and American flags by Laura Kenney, with the words “We have to be friends otherwise you’ll beat me up,” spelled out in soft hues of green, teal, and navy blue fabric. Each day the show was up, these words became more poignant as the political situation with our southern neighbors teetered between surreal and absurdly terrifying. The work and the title seem to be shouting out that famous refrain of second-wave feminism and activism: “The personal is political.” It certainly makes the case that now, more than ever, this phrase is accurate and vital."

 


 

Sunday, January 5, 2025