Yarn Bits

New Sites Found

I have found 2 wonderful, exciting websites to explore and, in one case, to interact with.  They were both discovered through reading my latest edition of Fiberarts magazine.

www.fiberscene.com   a huge collection of various textile artists which I have only begun to explore

www.digitalthreads.ca  digital artworks from Canadian artists and the Textile Museum of Canada.  This is completely interactive site where you can play for hours.  I'll have to return.  Kai Chan's work requires a substantial amount of time to fully explore.

Have fun!!

Victoria & Albert Museum

Perhaps you have been lucky enough to have visited the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, England.  I have not visited the physical building, but have had a long and enjoyable virtual visit.  www.vam.ac.uk

What a large and fascinating site. Go to "Things to Do" on their home page and visit the "World Beach Project".  Something to think about the next time you are on a beach. What other collections do you have that could be substituted for the pebbles??  I thought of my button collection which is already somewhat sorted according to colour, but not size.  This may be a good exercise of an afternoon and who knows where is might lead.  Visit the textile area of the museum and you will find a very interesting blog by Sue Lawty, artist in residence at the V & A. You can also create your own textile design which is fun.  Here is the design I came up with.  You can watch a video of jaquard weaving. There is an exhibit at the moment called "Out of the Ordinary--Spectacular Craft" which is definitely worth a look see. Have fun with this virtual visit.

Carnegie Gallery

I spent a large part of today exploring Dundas, Ontario, just outside of Hamilton.  Don was attending a meeting of the TH&B Railway Historical Society which was meeting at the Dundas Historical Museum.  Railroading is his passion. I thought it would be an ideal opportunity to spend a few hours in the village, actually Don's home town.  I visited the Carnegie Gallery and discovered an intriguing exhibit entitled, "Out of the Past...Into the Future", New Works from Old Treasures.  The artists each took their inspiration from an object of their choice from the Dundas Historical Museum. Both the inspirational artifact and the new art piece were displayed.  Many art media were represented in the show.  Many of you would know Lucy Slykerman, who had a beautiful silk dyed, printed piece.  Congratulations, Lucy!!  You would enjoy a visit to her website  www.lucyslykerman.ca  Another artist that caught my interest, Renate Min-oo, worked in both textiles and clay, sometimes separately and sometimes she combined the two media.  www.renate.ca  If you can, try and find time to visit this exhibition.  I'm sure you'll come away with some stimulating ideas.