The Renewal exhibition is at Bruce County Museum

Renewal, the SAQA exhibition of Canadian members is at Bruce County Museum   in Southampton, Ontario this winter.  January 10 until April 19, 2026.

Given our current global events, the SAQA exhibtion theme of Renewal presents artists with a timely opportunity to address this issue in their work.  The social, econiomic, and politica unravelling we are experiencing, and particular, following recent health threats, has unleashed a profuse outpouring of artworks that challenge us to reconsider the human condition in the broadest sense.  It is the jurors' hope that the choices we haave made satisfy the exhibitionis's criteria while the elasticity of the artworks featured in the exhibition situate local commentatries of making within wider negotaiontions of meaning to reflect alternative paths to renewal inu our current global situation.

Giving life back in a new form to older used quilts is Judy Martin's quintessential quest as evidenced in the detailed work in Poet in Love.  And we know who the poet is.   (above)

Rise Again, Susan Avishai's mythical Phoenix cleverly reuises men's shirt parts to rise from  the ashes.

In Life Rings True, Robynne Cole compares an individual's life stages to the life erings of a tree, illustrating this journey from birth to decline.  

  

In Mita Giacominimi's Bovinity, a cow and her calf suggest the most primal kind of renewal - bearing and nurtuing the thread of life.  

Craft historian Bruce Metcalf has suggested that crafts, including textiles, are inherently a contingent art form that dervives value and meaning from how they materialize function, skill, and design, and encapsulate life experience.  The pieces in this exhibition embrace Metcalf's concept, as each work illustrates the diverse channels through which everyday objects such as quilts can speak to our global concern and quest for renewal - in whatever form. 

The above text contains excerpts of juror David Kaye's in the beautiful catalogue for the Renwal exhibition which is available through the museum.  The exhibiton was juried by David Kaye, Leona Herzog, and Brandt Eisner.  

Convergence returns to the Tom Thomson gallery, Judy Martin's quilt will be part of it.

Sacred Ground

Sacred Ground will be part of Convergence, the all-Ontario exhibition at the Tom Thomson gallery in Owen Sound.  The artist delivered her work on Monday October 6.  She met the curator of the exhibition, Shannon Bingeman and re-connected with curator of education, Heather McLeese.  Ned and Judy Martin travelled to Owen Sound from Manitoulin by way of the Chi Chi Mon Ferry.  It was a beautiful day to be on the water.      

on the ferry

The reason Judy and her husband made the trip was because of the postal strike in Canada.  The ferry is running until October 26 this year, so they are going to go back to Owen Sound for the opening.

Convergence opens October 18 with a reception from 2-4 pm.  Judy and Ned will be there.

The exhibition continues until January 17.

detail of Sacred Ground, wrapped thread on wool patchwork, hand stitched

There were over 150 entries for the jurors Jennifer Norman, Kristine Noran and Martin Pearce to choose from.  26 artsts were selected: 

Susan Barton-Tait, nicolas x bent, Becky Comber, Chi-ling Chang, Liz Rae Dalton, Naomi Dodds, Paul Drysdale, Richelle Forsey, Sylvia Galbraith, Nicole Graham, DeborahHatanaka, Marlene Kawalez, Rachel Kochistry, Che Ree Kwon, Sabrina Leeder, Elizabeth M. Lopez, Judy Martin, Ann Pappert, Sherry Park, Anton Pickard, Robert Potvin, Julie Sando, Matthew Varey, Mike Yuhasz, Tanya Zaryski, Zhan Zhang.

Gallery address:  Tom Thomson Art Gallery 840 1st Ave W, Owen Sound, On N4K 4K4         

                            519 376 1982                               tomthomson.org 

Classics Reimagined

You Are A Single Star
fifty year old appliques, velvet, naturally dyed wool, 89 x 89 inches
hand stitched, 2024

When I was a bride, I made a dresden plate quilt from sewing scraps.  it became worn out after years of use, and in 2019, I began mending it by unpicking the plates and then re-applying them to new wool cloth that I've coloured with local plants. Some of the original patches were worn through, so I replaced those few with silk velvet.  My sensuous youth is held in these stitches.  Judy Martin

Helen Adams, The Textile Curator, was invited by the Surface Design Association to put together a virtual exhibition from the membership.  She decided on the theme of Classics Reimagined, and chose thirty pieces; One of them was Judy Martin's large hand stitched quilt, You Are A Single Star.  

Please visit the virtual exhibition at this link and see the entire show.    

Minimalism on exhibit in the Chicago area

 

Help Me To Balance

mended flannel sheets and cotton towels

hand quilted with red button thread

90 x 66 inches, 2018

This quilt is one of 45 selected by Dorothy Caldwell in 2022 for an exhibition entitled Minimalism, showing this weekend at the h+h americas convention in Rosemont, Illinois May 7 - May 9 2025.  

For an idea of the complete show catalogues are available to purchase from SAQA.  Images of all 45 quilts in the exhibition can be viewed at this link.                                                                                                                                                                       

The Renewal exhibition travels to Kenora

Poet in Love 
An old whole cloth quilt, silk velvet, chemical dyes, rayon, silk, natural dyes,
wool prepared for felting, silk applique thread, cotton quilting thread
layering, patching, dyeing, mending, hand quilting, wet felting
by Judy Martin, 2022, Ontario

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, and 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 welt felting, the old quilt is now greener than grass but at the same time it is wrecked.  

Like a poet in love.            exhibition catalogue p 46 - 47

Shroud
Recycled bed sheets on a found canvas frame, macrame yarn,
 off-loom weaving, layering
by Anna Wagner-Ott (1948 - 2024)
in 2023, Ontario

In renewal of self relating to the delicate balance of vulnerability and resilience, my art mirrors a return to the raw, conflicted human condition, born from personal experiences and emotions.  

Through colour, texture and form, my work visually articulates the rich tapestry of the human experience, crafting a narrative of my emotions and existence.    exhibition catalogue page 72-73

Renewal, SAQA Canadian Regional Exhibition, opened in Kenora at the Lake of the Woods Museum (the Muse) on January 23 and will continue on display until March 22, 2025.

There is a beautiful catalogue available with an essay by juror David Kaye.  If you can't visit the show in person, perhaps you might like to purchase the catalogue.  Shall post a link.    

The Art Bank's Visual Echoes exhibition features On the Lake by Judy Martin

 

On the Lake by Judy Martin  (1989)   

photographs, thread, cotton, satin binding, 52 x 103 cm, 1989  Collection of the Canada Council Art Bank

Every year, students are invited to curate thematic displays for the Canada Council Art Bank.  This year's thematic display explores the world of visual patterns - from the mere repetition of motifs to the intricate manipulation and fragmentation of images, these works unveil hidden narratives and harmonies that shape our understanding of art and the world around us.  

Visual Echoes celebrates art's ability to transcend limitations, inviting viewers to contemplate the profound connections between repetition, perception and human experience.  Let's take a moment to look at some of the treasure troves of Visual Echoes that will transport you back to the pre-photoshop era of digital magic.  

Can you imagine stitching photographs together to form your ideal view of something?  Well, to visualize an open panorama of water and sky, Judy Martin patchworked a quilt of photographs and wove them together with threads of nostalgia.  

The above text is by Fara Abn, the graduate student from Carlton University who curated Visual Echoes.  It is written and also recorded and available on the online exhibition.  Martin's work was the first one of four highlighted pieces.    

The other three other featured pieces in the online version of Visual Echoes are:  Andrea Mortson's 365 small paintings of chandeliers 1998, John Massey's Black Eye (below) 1988-89 a collage of photographs, and Jane Kidd's vibrant tapestry, Falling Thoughts.  The exhibition includes several more rather prominent Canadian artists such as Michael Snow and Dyan Marie.  Please click on this link to experience the web - exhibition.  

  

The Canada Council Art Bank participated in Doors Open Ottawa with the Visual Echoes exhibition on June 1, 2024  from 10 am to 4 pm, at their 921 St Laurent Boulevard location in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.  Read about it at this link.

Under Drifting Stars tours with Quilt National to Minnesota this summer

 Quilt National 2023 is currently touring the USA.  The original exhibition has been divided into three parts, and Judy Martin's large lightweight cotton quilt is in Collection A.  

Under Drifting Stars   very lightweight cotton with a silk batt, embroidery floss, wool and silk thread, hand stitched and hand quilted,   86 x 91 inches, 2022

Collection A of Quilt National will be on view at the Historical Society of Clay County,  Moorhead, Minnesota from July 1 until September 30, 2024.

Each quilt that goes into a Quilt National exhibition must have the title and name of the artist sewn onto a label on the back of the quilt.  The images in this post show how the artist made an embroidered label and added extra embroidery to the hanging sleeve that blended with the stitching on the back of the quilt.  For more images of the finished quilt, visit Judy's website.  judithemartin.com  

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.

Renewal

Renewal 

an exhibition of Canadian quilt artists organized by SAQA  (Studio Art Quilts Association).

The show begins its two year Canadian tour at the Homer Watson House and Gallery in Kitchener July 5 - September 8 2024.

There will be an opening reception on Sunday July 7 at 1 pm.

A catalogue is available for purchase from the gallery.  Click here to find out more information including a list of the 33 artists.    

Judith e Martin's mended quilt - cloak, Poet in Love, is part of this exhibition.  

Poet in Love selected for Renewal exhibition

Judy Martin's entry Poet in Love was one of 33 pieces selected by jurors David Kaye, Leona Herzog and Brandt Eisner for the SAQA Canadian Regional Juried Exhibition Renewal, from among 187 entries.   The exhibition will debut at the Homer Watson House and Gallery in Kitchener, Ontario from July 5 to September 8, 2024.  The exhibition will tour until early 2027.

Congratulations to all of us (see list below) and thank you to the jurors and to the hard-working SAQA committee who organized this opportunity. 

Terry Aske - Witch Hazel Magic

Susan Avishai - Rise Again

Heather Bennett - Covid Spring

Sabrina Capune - A Chinook Renewal of Winter

Victoria Carley - Blakiston 2023

Robynne Cole - Life Rings True

Mary Cope - Beneath Our Surface

Millie Cumming - Please, Please

Donna-Fay Digance - Forest Renewal

Lori A. Everett - Forest Hope

Kristi Farrier - My Mother’s Garden

Mita Giacomini - Bovinity

Heather A. Hager - Urban Renewal

Margaret Inkster - Frosty Fronds

Joan Flett Kilpatrick - Celebrate

Steph Kincaid - Can’t Keep Me Down

Tracey Lawko - Harbingers

Toni Major - Leaving the Dark

Judy Martin Poet in Love

Marie McEachern - First Blooms

Beth McKay - Making Peace

Lee McLean - Reclaiming Joy

Diane Nunez - Twister 2

Jenny Perry - There is a Crack in Everything

Lorraine Roy - Germination

Helena Scheffer - Kiribati

Susan Selby - Winter Solstice

Linda Strowbridge - Long Street Legacy

Maggie Vanderweit - Find Your Way

Kit Vincent - Tri-Colour White

Anna Wagner Ott - Shroud

Lynda Williamson - Passing On

Beth Susan van Wyngaarden - Kim’s Pine Cone 

Among The Garbage and the Flowers

Winter, cast-off fabrics, Susan Avishai

Autumn, cast-off fabrics, Susan Avishai

               Susan Avishai curated this exhibition, and gathered eleven
                                    artists who work with re-purposed textiles.    

Connecting with reclaimed material lets me connect to it on a deepr level, appreciating its history, finding in it a medium for suprisingly novel and even whimsical art.  Susan Avishai

Afflicted, scissors with assembled found objects, Carole Baillargeon

Bereaved, scissors wrapped with fabric and found objects, Carole Baillargeon

Carole Baillargeon on right, with her wrapped hand tools

Dark colours suggest the transient state that is mourning.  My penchant for recycling and up-cycling stems from a sensitive consideration for my environment and a caring attitude towards people.  Carole Baillargeon

ancient history, found materials, Sonia Jacyk-Bukata

ancient history side b, found materials, Sonia Jacyk-Bukata

found materials stitched into a kimono shape, Sonia Jacyk-Bukata

Sonia Jacyk-Bukata detail

The concept of Boro, the Japanese term for rags completely mesmerized me and resonated with my tendency to collage, both with textiles and with paper.  Sonia Jacyk-Bukata

what happens in bed, poem blankets, Judith e Martin

what happens in bed, old blankets with embroidered found text, Judy Martin

Judith E Martin detail

My idea was that when I came across a poem about something that happens in bed, I would embroider it onto an old blanket.  Turns out, they are all love poems.  Judith e Martin

Act of Fortification 3, abandoned doily, old darning wool, Amy Meissner

Act of Fortification 4, abandoned doily and wool thread, Amy Meissner

Act of Fortification 1, Amy Meissner

Through my slow, intentional practice, I scratch at the history of women's work, unraveling expectations of protection, warmth and the ideal domestic, often referencing the quilt form for its narrative heft and ability to couch the painful, uncomfortable or frightening within the punch of stitch -- an act of cutting apart, then piecing one's self back together.  Amy Meissner

Hockey Landscape, Pearly Watson Go Home, recycled hockey gear, Liz Pead

Hockey Landscape, The Quarry Fields at Chatsworth, recycled hockey gear, Liz Pead

Whether a traditional pattern woven into a blanket of the finest Canadian Wool, or a landscape painting rendered in recycled hockey gear, the materials I am engaged with are very important to their history and my own choices.  Liz Pead

Swedish Death Cleaning work, recycled artist clothing, stuffed,, Leisa Rich

I created these objects out of clothes as a cathartic way of using up those garments that didn't fit me any longer, as a talisman to remind me that excess anything is not good for the body or soul.  Leisa Rich

slice of life, felt with vintage fabrics, Melanie Siegel

slice of life, detail, Melanie Siegel

Cover Me, repurposed felt and old fabrics, Melanie Siegel

In the manipulating of the textile medium I aim to evoke a sensory experience that resonates and contemplates the beauty of nature.  Melanie Siegel

left, Melanie Siegel, right, Ghost Rope by Sandra Smirle, 

ghost rope vessels, retrieved marine rope, Sandra Smirle

Re-using rope or "ghost rope" that has been retrieved after being discarded at sea, and transforming it into organically shaped, anthropomorphised objects, this body of work addresses consumerism and its consequences on our ocean's health - and thereby, our own- perhaps opening a dialogue about humans' impact on the Earth's climate and natural ecosystems.  Sandra Smirle

pandemic #3, denim mined series, recycled denim, Judith Tinkl

pandemic #2, denim mined series, recycled denim, Judith Tinkl

I am a great respecter of tactile intelligence, the ability of physical skill and intuitive thinking to be fine-tuned to express many aspects of creativity.  Words, though very important, are only one way in which intelligence can be manifested.  Judith Tinkl

Patterns, copper and textiles, Alice Vander Vennen

Reimagining the familiar, my contemporary compositions invite connection with ancient wisdom and diverse stories.  Alice Vander Vennen
 

These photos were taken during the August 5 opening reception at the textile museum in Almonte Ontario.  The show continues until October 7, 2023.   The artist’s statements are from the catalog, available for $20 from the MVTM gift store.