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.