Poet in Love goes to Kitchener for the Renewal Exhibition

Poet in Love was juried into the Renewal show, organized by SAQA for Canadian members.

To install the hanging sculpture, Judy provided a wooden hanger that she padded and covered with white velvet. 

The inside of this cloak is colourful and soft.

The back is interesting.

Judy Martin followed the quilting lines left by the original maker.  Poet in Love is a mended quilt.

The back is new naturally dyed rayon layered over a brand new polyester batt in half of the quilt, and a piece of wool pre-felt in the lower half.   When the piece was laundered in hot water, the wool shrunk and a natural shirring occurred.  This shrunken texture distorts the quilt and gives it an odd kind of sensuality.  

When Martin shipped Poet in Love to the Homer Watson Gallery in Kitchener, she forgot that artworks were not able to be hung from the ceiling.  You can see the slanted ceiling of the gallery space in the photo below (credit: Sue Sherman).  You can also see the beautiful skylight.    

Poet in Love (left)  installed in the main gallery of the Homer Watson Gallery for the Renewal Exhibition.

Poet in Love was installed hanging from a small wall bracket at the gallery.  Cathy Masterson, the curator, has indicated that she may be able to acquire a larger shelf bracket and lift the piece away from the wall.     

Poet in Love by Judy Martin (left)  and Find Your Way by Maggie Vanderweit (right)

Thank you to all involved for putting this show together and for doing your best with the installation. 

For more photos and a beautiful insight on the Renewal exhibition have a look at Sue Sherman's blogpost on art cloth network.   

After the installation, Martin sent a hanging cord made from silk fabric and metal rings to the gallery in case the gallery is able to re-install the piece with a larger shelf bracket.  The sketch of how the cord can be used is below. This cord is now part of the hanging device and will go with the velvet hanger as the Renewal exhibition tours the country. 

Renewal, a group show juried by David Kaye, Leona Herzog, and Brandt Eisner, will remain at the Homer Watson House and Gallery until September 8.  After that, it will tour museums and galleries across this big country of Canada until late 2026.  If this exhibition comes near you, Judy would appreciate seeing a photo of how the gallery was able to install this sculptural piece.  

The edges of this quilt were worn, so I covered them with white velvet. The

back was in tatters and the batting had fallen out so I layered new wool and

pre-felt first, then a new backing of naturally dyed silk and rayon. The blue

thread in the original heart-shaped design was still strong so I followed it

with new quilting stitches. Renewed with brightly coloured velvet patches

and wet felting, the old quilt is now greener than grass but at the same time

it is wrecked. Like a poet in love.