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In The Garden
In the Garden
May 22, 2013. Circle Craft Co-operative, in celebration of their 40th anniversary, is pleased to present two fibre exhibitions in their gallery in the Net Loft on Granville Island: “In the Garden” by Vanessa T. Cunningham and Kirsten Chursinoff, May 31 - June 18.
In the Garden May 31 – June 18
Kirsten Chursinoff has exhibited her work in solo and group exhibitions in the Greater Vancouver area, which has resulted in pieces traveling to private collections around the world. She is often invited to speak about her work at quilting and needle arts guilds.
She says, “I enjoy the repetitive motion of needles and thread through cloth and the experience of working with a tactile palette.
I combine elements of quilting and embroidery and aim to maximize the potential of each technique. Traditional textiles have given me roots; contemporary methods have given me the freedom to explore. I attempt to record moments of beauty and their lingering impressions on my memory, not an exact record, but interpreted through my eyes, and through the eye of the needle, in a personal form of illustrative expression.”
Kirsten holds a Diploma of Textile Art from Capilano University in North Vancouver. She received the Visual Arts Development Award in 2006, and has written for publications such as Quilting Arts Magazine. She was interviewed for the 2011 book Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery by Leanne Prain. More information about Kirsten can be found at: www.chursinoff.com/kirsten/ and http://kirstensfabricart.blogspot.ca/
Vanessa T. Cunningham is a third generation textile artist living in BC. Her mother and both grandmothers passed their vast knowledge of colour, texture, weaving, sewing, and design down to her starting at a very young age. Weaving has been a major influence in Vanessa’s life since the age of seven when her Opa made her a nail loom for creating hand-woven squares. In 2001, Vanessa’s Oma, Klazina van Veenen, passed away and left her a prized 1968 Glmakra loom along with a Friederich Traub Spinning Wheel and a vast collection of vintage yarns.
In 2005, Vanessa began a two-year Textile Arts Diploma at Capilano University in North Vancouver. In 2008, she graduated and was awarded a Circle Craft scholarship. Vanessa is a member of Circle Craft.
Vanessa’s work is an exploration of nature and technology through colour and texture in a weaving format. Each wearable art wrap is approached individually. After gathering feltable and un-feltable yarns, she creates a warp. The warp is strung on the 65” wide Glmakra Loom and rolled to the appropriate tension. After hand-weaving and felting the wrap, Vanessa sews a title onto the edge of the wrap using scrabble letters from thrift stores.
All of the thrums or scraps are saved for sewing into scarves and wraps using a free-motion machine embroidery technique. All of the woolen thrums are spun into yarn for future weaving projects and all of the fluff that washes out of the wraps in the felting process is felted into pearls and are part of Vanessa’s new line of Felted Pearl Accessories. More information about Vanessa can be found at: http://thrumsca.blogspot.ca/
