amazon.com

 

Featured Curators

Curator Interview Archive

5  Gareth Bate (Part 2)

4  Gareth Bate (Part 1)

3  Stanzie Tooth

2  Evan Tyler

1  Dawne Rudman

 

 

Quiet Zone installation view at The Gallery at Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

  

Starting the installation of Wool, Silk and Thread. Photo: Dawne Rudman.
     

Curator: Dawne Rudman of Oakville, Ontario, Canada.

Interview 1: Exhibition: Quiet Zone in the 2012 World of Threads Festival.
Location: The Gallery at Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre, Oakville, Ontario, Canada.
To see the official photo album: click here.

 

Subscribe to Interviews here...

Interview published by Gareth Bate.

 

Biography

Dawne Rudman is the Chair of the World of Threads Festival, a position she took on directly after Festival 2009. Dawne got involved with the Festival at the wrap-up meeting of Festival 1998 and since then she has held various positions on the organizing committee, including Exhibitions Coordinator for Festivals 2007 and 2009. For Festival 2012 Dawne curated the Quiet Zone exhibition, and co-curated the Myth Making, Variegated Threads and Outdoor Environmental Installations exhibits. Together with Gareth Bate, Dawne publishes the Weekly Fibre Artist Interview series, of which 110 had been published by the end of December 2013.

Apart from her volunteer work with the World of Threads Festival, Dawne also volunteers with the Canadian Cancer Society, the Oakville Quilters Guild and the condominium where she lives. In 2013 Dawne was a juror for the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. She has authored various articles for both in-print and on-line publications. Dawne is a long time quilter and fibre artist.

In 2007 Dawne received the Mayor's Award celebrating the Arts, Town of Oakville's Above and Beyond Volunteer of the Year for her work with the Festival.

 

Dawne Rudman, Festival Chair of the World of Threads Festival.
Photo: Marie Bergstedt

 

Tell us about yourself.

I've been involved with the World of Threads Festival for sixteen years. I've seen it evolve and I've helped it grow into the international festival it has become, which is very exciting.

Since Gareth Bate and I introduced the Weekly Fibre Artist Interview series, thousands of people have signed up and joined our contact list and we currently have a following in 62 countries. To date we have published 110, all of which are archived on our website and are available to artists, educators, students and art lovers twenty-four seven. While the interviews are a very time consuming undertaking, it is very rewarding as we are creating a resource of the most exciting fibre artists in the world and the Festival is acknowledged world wide as a centre for contemporary fibre art.

Although one may think that 2013 was an off year, with no actual festival happening, apart from the publication of the interviews, there is always plenty of activity that takes place behind the scenes. For example, there was the winding down of Festival 2012 and the documentation of the various exhibitions, while at the same time we were already hard at work on the next festival, negotiating and securing gallery space, etc. We are now gearing up for Festival 2014, which will be held in the late Fall; we plan on releasing the dates in the next little while.

I can pretty much say that the Festival keeps me busy, it's almost a full-time (unfortunately for me, un-paid) job and in the weeks leading up to, during and directly following a festival, one goes into overtime mode – many, many hours of overtime, with 16 hour work days, 7 days a week, being the norm. It's a never-ending cycle.

 

Quiet Zone installation view at The Gallery at Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Quiet Zone installation view at The Gallery at Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

 

What was the overall theme of this exhibition?

The main theme for the exhibition was colour. While viewing the submissions for the Common Thread International, I was most caught by the work in neutral colours. The more I looked, the more pieces in neutral shades came to my attention and I was drawn to them.

Neutral colours are often used as a background or to give a highlight to something. However, neutral shades can also be elegant, alluring and strong, deserving prominent recognition in their own right. Ranging from the blacks and charcoals with their dusky, shadowy hues, to the frosted, milky, or chalky whites, the work also explored the café au lait, creamy caramels, sand and tan shades. For this reason, I decided to make colour the focus of the show.

A secondary theme developed of opposites – not only in contrasting colours/tones, but also between strength and delicacy. A rich range of opposites and complements was the result, made more exciting by the variations in texture. There were fragile pieces, which almost begged for protection. There were others that in spite of being multi-layered were very revealing. Some were made of silk or paper adding to their delicate appearance. Others had a luminous quality and some cast gentle shadows.

And now, while looking back on the works for this interview, it has dawned (pun intended) on me that there are a number of pieces that featured circles in one form or another.

All their differences aside, the work in the exhibition engaged the viewer in a remarkable visual feast of blending and intertwining hues and textures.

 

Artists and viewers at the opening of the Quiet Zone exhibition. Photo: Dawne Rudman

 

Artists in Quiet Zone:

Gallery Liasons:

Tonia Di Risio & Preeya Nayee.

Exhibition Installers:

Gareth Bate, Dawne Rudman, Irene Brayne, Lynne Calvert, Preeya Nayee, Tonia DiRisio and members of the QEPCCC operations team.

 

Viewers at the opening of the Quiet Zone exhibition. Photo: Dawne Rudman

 

Working your way through the exhibition, can you speak about the artist's work and how they fit within your show?

Twenty-five artists from Austria, Canada, France, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the USA were featured in this major exhibition of the World of Threads Festival 2012.

I would like to talk about the pieces that formed the basis for the exhibit.

 

Make good, make better – Woven bars by artist Saidhbhín Gibson of County Kildare, Ireland. Photo: Saidhbhín Gibson

Make good, make better – Woven bars by artist Saidhbhín Gibson of County Kildare, Ireland displayed at the entrance to the gallery Quiet Zone exhibition. Photo: Gareth Bate

 

The very first piece on entering the gallery was Make good, make better – Woven bars by Irish artist Saidhbhín Gibson. I decided to place this piece at the entrance to set the tone for the show. For this delicate piece Saidhbhín had used cotton thread and the technique of needlepoint lace to stitch onto a sweet chestnut leaf. The small scale of her work added to the recognition of the fragility of the work.

 

Earth Nest by artists Maggie Tchir and Kathleen Hill of British Columbia, Canada displayed in Quiet Zone exhibition. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Artist Maggie Tchir of Nelson, British Columbia with Earth Nest at the opening of Quiet Zone exhibition. Photo: Dawne Rudman

 

Earth Nest by Maggie Tchir and Kathleen Hill from British Columbia was one segment from a large installation entitled Cosmic House. Maggie and Kathleen used Merino and Romney wools to hand-felt flat and molded wool for the piece, which was delivered to the gallery on a forklift. For me, this sculptural work made a dual statement. On one hand it appeared firm and strong, while on the other there was a definite delicacy to the artwork.

 

Artist Catherine Dormor of Cambridge, England with her installation Shimmer. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

Shimmer, detail, by Catherine Dormor of Cambridge, England. Photo: Catherine Dormor

Dawne Rudman at Quiet Zone exhibition. Far background: Shimmer by artist Catherine Dormor. Near background: Teardrop by artist Yael Brotman of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

 

On first seeing the submissions, I was immediately drawn to Shimmer, by Catherine Dormor of Cambridge, England. The images submitted of this installation piece were taken in St. Pancreas Crypt Gallery in London, England, and I knew then that this was one artwork that I simply had to have. The work consists of three two-layered panels each measuring 200 x 400 cm, which were digitally printed on silk satin and silk organza. This translucent installation extended across one wall of the gallery giving a revealing yet filtered view of the images on two layers.

 

Wool, Silk and Thread and Good Morning Midnight by artist Lisa DiQuinzio of Toronto, Ontario Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Artist Lisa DiQuinzio of Toronto, Ontario, Canada with her piece Good Morning Midnight. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

Dawne Rudman with the work of Lisa DiQuinzio. Photo: Gareth Bate.

 

The two mandala-like spherical pieces by Toronto artist, Lisa DiQuinzio made a striking visual impact. Wool, Silk and Thread is a woven piece using wool blankets, silk and threads. Good Morning Midnight is also woven this time using burlap and twine. Each piece is 91 " high and 91" wide at the largest point. I'll talk a little more about the installation of these two pieces a little later on.

 

Quiet Zone installation view at The Gallery at Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Stiz.kugel – white by artist Kerstin Bennier of Vienna Austria. Photo: Gareth Bate

 

The piece Sitz.kugel - white came from Vienna, and was made by Austrian artist Kerstin Bennier. This lovely big ball is made with Merino wool and cotton fabric using a handmade felting technique. Every time I looked at this piece, I couldn't help wondering how long it had taken to make and just how many feet in length had gone into this solid ball, which had a diameter of about 50 cm.

 

 

Energy Cloth by artist Judy Martin of Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada. (Judy is on the right in the photograph) Photo: Dawne Rudman.

Energy Cloth by artist Judy Martin of Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

 

Megan Bostic from Raleigh, North Carolina originally submitted to the Fibre Inspired Call for Submissions. When I saw her piece, Stale Hope: too much was never enough, I just knew that I had to have it in my show, as it fitted into the theme beautifully. Megan used a double weave technique to create this work incorporating an array of every day objects like found plastics, dental floss, plastic vinyl, bubble wrap, baby wipes, coffee grounds, twine and aluminum wire.

 

Stale Hope: too much was never enough by artist Megan Bostic of Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Stale Hope: too much was never enough, detail, by artist Megan Bostic of Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. Photo: Gareth Bate

 

Another piece that caught my eye early on was Peeking Willows by Chamila Belleth, a recent graduate of the Craft & Design Textile Program of Sheridan Institute in Oakville. Using transparent cotton gauze fabrics as a base, Chamila embroidered tree patterns creating a tranquil piece in earth tones.

 

Artist Chamila Belleth of Brampton, Ontario, Canada with her piece Peeking Willows. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

Peeking Willows, by artist Chamila Belleth of Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

 

I would also like to talk a little about The Pilgrimage, by Barbara Wellborn of Summerland, British Columbia, which was a hit with many visitors. This artwork has many elements to it with an intricate array of meaning and symbolism. Unfortunately space will not allow me to tell the whole story, so here is merely a snippet of information about the cape. The cape is made with silk organza, merino, corriedale, camel, mohair and alpaca wools, and banana silk fibre, using the techniques of felting, needle felting, embroidery and beading. Barbara dyed/aged the cape by placing it in the earth after the spring thaw. Patchouli root was used to outline the continents on the centre map panels and served also to protect it from insects during the aging process when it was buried in the ground for 22 days. There are religious symbols from each of the major world religions, a map of the old world and one of the new world and over 50 different countries are represented in the garment, in materials, currencies or objects.

We displayed the cape on a vintage mannequin on loan from the Oakville Museum. Barbara had sent along a folder giving information on the cape, which we displayed on a music stand close by. One viewer simply had to 'get down to it' to see the inside. In retrospect, as the inside was as interesting as the outside, it would probably have been a great idea to have it standing on a mirror.

 

The Pilgrimage by artist Barbara Wellborn of Summerland, British Columbia, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

A patron viewing The Pilgrimage by artist Barbara Wellborn of Summerland, British Columbia, Canada. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

 

How did you select the artists/work?

There was no pre-determined theme for my show. All the submissions were viewed and as I have mentioned earlier, a theme started to emerge during the viewing process. Once I had settled on the theme, it was a case of selecting other pieces that worked within the theme and which I felt would portray the overall vision I had for the exhibit.

 

Quiet Zone installation view at The Gallery at Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Artist Yael Brotman of Toronto, Ontario, Canada with her piece Teardrop. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

 

How did you come up with the title for the exhibition?

I cannot lay claim for coming up with the title. In discussing the theme with a friend, he suggested Quiet Zone, which sounded perfect. Thank you JGJ.

Many visitors commented on the title and how appropriate they felt it was and how beautifully it worked with the exhibit as a whole.

 

Quiet Zone installation view. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Quiet Zone installation view. Photo: Gareth Bate.

 

What advice would you give to artists for working with curators?

Be open and welcoming of comments and/or suggestions from a curator and most importantly, let go! Curators have their own idea of how a work is to be presented. When an artist submits work, they should basically think of 'handing over' the work and let it be. A curator will often have a different approach to showing a particular work and it would be good if an artist embraced this rather than resisted it. This is particularly the case for a group exhibition, it is not just about a single piece, but about making the selected piece come together in a cohesive way to present a whole exhibition of which each artwork is only one segment.

Be helpful where possible and try to make things easier for a curator. Let me give an example, I decided on two huge pieces by Lisa DiQuinsio. Lisa supplied exact size paper templates that I used for placement. These pieces were intricate and the installation comprised of the precise placement of 200 nails per piece. When most of the exhibit installation was done, Lisa came in and oversaw and assisted with the actual installation. By her supplying the templates it made for a stress free installation and made my job a lot easier.

 

Paper template supplied by Lisa DiQuinzio for her piece Good Morning Midnight to assist with the installation process. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

Preparing to start the installation of Wool, Silk and Thread. Photo: Dawne Rudman

Starting the installation of Wool, Silk and Thread. If you look carefully, you can see the ring of 200 nails, from which the piece would be suspended. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

Installing Left: Wool, Silk and Thread and Right: Good Morning Midnight. Photo: Dawne Rudman

 

Another example was the Earth Nest, which arrived in a huge wooden crate, having been driven across the country from British Columbia by three transport companies. The artists, Maggie Tchir and Kathleen Hill supplied a manual with step-by-step instructions and photographs to: a) unpack the crate, b) assemble the piece, where to place the accompanying branches and how to fill the nest with cracked barley seeds, c) for taking the piece apart afterwards and d) how to return the piece to the crate for the return journey across the country. Maggie came to the opening and she gave her approval to the way I had displayed the piece. Something I would probably have failed miserably at, without exact steps to follow.

 

House of Learning by artist Rochelle Rubinstein of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate

Rochelle Rubinstein of Toronto, Ontario, Canada with House of Learning. Photo: Gareth Bate

 

What advice would you give to artists about the submission/selection process?

For me, the most important piece of advice I could offer is to read the submission procedure and carefully follow the instructions.

If numerous images are allowed, send them. If details are requested/suggested, make sure to include them.

Give different views of each piece and be sure to include an image in context and with the edges showing. This is important especially when the selection process is done digitally.

If images are requested in a specific format and size, be sure to submit in the appropriate format and size.

Consider having professional pictures taken. Poor images can be cause for dismissal of a beautiful work, which had it been photographed properly, the work could well have been selected.

In the documentation you submit, explain how the piece is presented. For example, if it is to be framed, this needs to be known and preferably the image submitted should show the work, as it will be when delivered. If a work arrives in a different format to how it was originally presented, this could well be grounds for rejecting the piece.

And lastly, do what you say you are going to do.

In the case of the Festival, we are dealing with hundreds of artists, hundreds of submissions and thousands of images. If things are not right, it is impossible for us to take time to sort out or endeavour to correct submissions that have been sent incorrectly.

 

Working on the lighting for the Quiet Zone exhibition. Photo: Tonia Di Risio.

 

How would you suggest artists deal with rejection?

No one likes to be rejected, but unfortunately there will always be rejections. There are many reasons that a work is rejected and it doesn't mean the piece is poor quality or not up to standard. A likely reason is that the piece does not fit with the vision for the exhibition, or it may be too large – it could very well fit within another show, but may not be right for this one.

As the Jerome Kern/Dorothy Fields song goes: Pick yourself up, Dust yourself off, Start all over again.

One could also revisit the Call for Submission and check what was asked for. The reason may lie with the artist.

 

Artist Pat Hertzberg of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada with her piece Black Widow Wrap. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

 

What's coming up for you in the future?

Festival 2014! I'm working hard on this already, in fact, work on it started as soon as Festival 2012 was behind us. The next Festival will be held in the late fall, dates have not been announced yet – these will be coming out in the spring. Certain gallery spaces have already been secured, while others are in the negotiation stage. In spring, also watch for the Call for Submissions.

Apart from that, I've been doing a lot of hibernating – well, not quite hibernating in the true sense, as I've not been in a deep long sleep! I have been indoors a lot, trying to keep warm. During the ice storm leading up to Christmas, I was without power for 27 hours, which was no fun. However, I was lucky in that my power was restored before the holidays, whereas others were without it for 7-8 days.

I've also been learning new meteorological terms. I'm trying to keep warm in the polar vortex, not getting too alarmed with the frost quakes, while staying out of the freezing fog! And, I don't live in Winnipeg where recently it was colder there than it was on Mars.

 

Artist Nancy Yule of Cambridge, Ontario, Canada with her piece Techno-Scape. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

Artist Kelly O'Neill of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada with her piece Vestige 1. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

 

To see the official album for Quiet Zone click here.

 

If you'd like to make a donation to help support our
"Weekly Fibre Artist Interviews" series, you can do so here.

 

Subscribe To Artist Interviews here...

Interview published by Gareth Bate.