Wednesday, July 6, 2011

installation day - collaborative design is not for the faint of heart

today is the day... that we have been collectively imagining for months now.

imagine the scene. a basement, cool, even cold in summer. round tables with chairs pulled up. tea cups full. and women gazing at a screen upon which is projected a potential banner design.

slow down! says the woman at the computer, who is manipulating the design in photoshop and thinking collaborative design is not for the faint of heart, or the slow of finger. there is excitement as each piece of the banner is created, re-visioned, shifted, added to, re-coloured... until finally everyone in the room says ok, ok, ok. we all agree this works. final notes are taken so that the last design changes can be implemented off site.

Monday, July 4, 2011

this says it all...

I woke up this morning thinking about the usual things - housing, poverty, making home. And I had a memory of one of the women who made ironing board covers for every ironing board in the shelter...

a sewing machine was donated and it is being used. we hope that we learn enough to keep it maintained! In addition to the ironing board covers there are these insoles - made of layer upon layer of fabric, that is quilted together and then placed into shoes... softening the steps...

Sunday, July 3, 2011

home is....

where you hang your hat...
This is one of the interior banners that will be hung next week! The hats were made by the women...

Saturday, June 25, 2011

rose wreath

these roses were knitted over the weeks of winter, creating a wooly beauty of many colours. roses in the middle of winter allowed our imaginations to turn toward spring and blossoming...

home is....

 

we have been thinking about home.... and what it might be. we started with a section of the quilt, reproducing it and playing with it, and then adding text...
"Home is memory."
"Home is a place where I can watch a bird through a window."
"Home is beautiful."
"Home is a place where I can get lost in the shadows."
"It's a routine."
"Sometimes I get lost in the question - what does it mean?"
"Home is where I can sleep and dream peacefully."

Sunday, February 6, 2011

we loves our neighbourhood

yes we do.... and we love being part of the "capitalism and culture in the junction" exhibit at 3901 Dundas Street West... to learn more about this go to: http://capitalismandculture.wordpress.com/2010/08/01/hello-world/ last night we were part of a slow, and thoughtful conversation about the work, and about the exhibit, which Kim Jackson (a red wagon member!) curated and mounted....

we have been showing the work, and conversing about the work at various venues... and keeping up with the banner designs...  that in itself is an enormous part of this year's work. as well we find ourselves talking about the work in varied venues including Liverpool, UK! I was invited to a lovely conference and brought the wool, the needles, crochet hooks in order to bring the material life into the discussion of women, poverty, disability and homelessness.... And some of the ambivalence and uncertainty i feel as well, around this work... it is paradoxical to engage in the domestic arts with women denied any domestic pleasures - or perhaps not.

and today we had our community knit in at the gallery... a delightful afternoon with some folk joining in while others looked on through the windows... and tomorrow we knit hearts... and design banners....