Oakville Beaver Artscene, Friday January 26, 2007,
By Krissie Rutherford, Oakville Beaver Staff
Even fibre artists impressed by their team effort
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Oakville Beaver Artscene, Friday January 26, 2007,
By Krissie Rutherford, Oakville Beaver Staff
Even fibre artists impressed by their team effort
Common Thread: Seen here is a group of artists responsible for creating the textile work The Sixteen by 18 (right) for the World of Threads Festival 2007. The original the artists worked from is an 1856 oil painting of an Oakville scene (left) by Frederick Arthur Verner, entitled The Mill on the Sixteen. Artists who worked on the project to celebrate Oakville's 150th anniversary include (l-r) Julie Verma, Gail Inglis, Margaret Ballantyne-Power, Dawne Rudman, Anne Harrison, Jane Coryell, Ixchel Suarez and Susan Semeczko.
The mysterious art project to celebrate Oakville's 150th anniversary was unveiled for the first time yesterday.
In fact, for many of the artists involved, yesterday marked the first time they'd seen the work – The Sixteen by 18 - in its entirety.
"We are really pleased," said a smiling Jane Coryell, one of eighteen artists from five different Oakville fibre arts guilds, who contributed to the project.
"It's all been a secret, so we're all totally amazed to see it."
The reason Coryell and many others were seeing it for the first time, yesterday, is because the project was split into sixteen sections. Volunteers, who wanted to contribute, were given a piece of the puzzle and told to recreate it – independently – using their craft. They weren't even told who else was in on the project, or what they were recreating.
"A photocopy was made of the painting that was in a book, and they cut it up into sections. Everything was done in secret," Coryell explained. "I had my little section, each person had their little section." The 18 artists – there were 16 pieces but two artists chose to collaborate with another on their piece – belong to the local Hooking Guild, Ring of Tatters, Quilters Guild, Stitchery Guild and Handweavers and Spinners Guild.
"Nobody knew what anyone else had, or who else was working on it or what the original was," said Coryell.
The original, the artists found out yesterday, is an oil painting of an Oakville scene called The Mill on the Sixteen.
Created in 1856 by artist Frederick Arthur Verner, it belongs to and hangs in Oakville Museum, the Erchless Estate.
"It was chosen because it represents Oakville's history," Coryell said, noting that made the painting an appropriate selection to commemorate and celebrate Oakville's 150th anniversary this year.
The fibre version of the painting, The Sixteen by 18, includes sections created using fibre arts techniques like weaving, hooking, tatting, quilting, stitching and beading.
The amount of time it took to finish: nearly 300 hours.
"It took about 250 hours for all of the artists, and then another 30 or so to put it all together," said Coryell.
The work was sewn together by Anne Harrison and Julie Verma who are part of the Oakville Ring of Tatters Guild.
Other contributing artists include Gail Inglis, Sharleen Fromberger, Barbara Rennick, Beryl Durrant, Ruth Landon, Bev Anderson, Susan Semeczko, Dawne Rudman, Kim Kernohan, Margaret Ballantyne-Power, Linda Roan, Ankie Gracie, Ixchel Suarez, Freidl Ballaban and Aija Zichmanis.
Framing of the work was provided by Dennis De Carli of The Framing Den as a donation in kind.
The Sixteen by 18 will be officially unveiled at Oakville's World of Thread Festival, which runs Feb. 23-March 24. At the end of the festival, which features works at venues including Sheridan College, Town Hall, Ristorante Julia and Oakville Museum, The Sixteen by 18 will be auctioned off as a fundraiser.
The public will get a chance to preview the work Feb. 11 at Town Hall during the Music and Art Shared Space (MASS) For the Love of the Arts Festival.