Spotlight on Manitoba :: Felt Artists

Earlier, we interviewed Janice Charko of Flights of Fibre from Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba. Today we feature several other feltmakers from Manitoba whose work we think you’ll enjoy.

Elizabeth Roy‘s evocative work “calls into question the historical positioning of women-as-artists and current social hierarchies of craft and fine art reception.”

In her series, Smashing Dishes, Roy uses “monochrome as an artistic marker for modernism, linking her work to contemporary artistic precedents such as Minimalism, anti-Matter, de-materialization (the work of Robert Morris, Richard Serra, and others) and feminist critique of gendered practices (Judy Chicago, Eva Hesse, and others) or via its material to the social activism of Joseph Beuys.”  She also refers to figurative, landscape or abstract/decorative motifs and connects with art history beginning with the age of enlightenment.

The randomness of what is included in the work is conceptually significant, in particular the different styles. These inspirations result in Roy creating large scale objects that have the appearance of regular tableware. Though each piece is based on a specific object, the method of it creation altars its resonance. The change in these pieces, the size and the materials causes the viewer to pull back from their normal response and to question and reflect.

This collection was conceived by Roy 10 years ago. The dishes get their dusty antiquated look from the grey raw wool Roy sourced from New Zealand. Roy decided to felt the pieces as she was attracted to “pliability and durability, a combination she needed for the size and intense detail in the designs.”

You can learn more about this amazing artist and “Smashing Dishes” in this article, below:

EROY-spotlight-on-Manitoba

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and visit her website at: eclaireroy.wordpress.com

Roy participated in the 2013 felt :: feutre canada exhibition. Her work is remembered for its uniqueness, attention to detail and scale.

Roy has been working in the field of public art and mixed media installation for the past fifteen years. Her work is in the collections of the cities of Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey, North Vancouver. Her work has been shown across Canada and collected by the Art Bank, Claridge Collection and museums in the United States. She has been a juror for many public art commissions and was the Co-Chair of the Public Art Committee for the City of Vancouver. In 2009, she was awarded a Public Art Prize from the city of North Vancouver for the work ‘Launch.’ Elizabeth Roy has taught in Ontario and BC, including Emily Carr University, and is the Chair of Foundation at the University of Manitoba School of Art, where she teaches Print Media, Drawing and Visual Language.

For more images of Roy’s work visit: manitobacraft.ca/gallery

Helga Schulte-Schroeer of Fibre Artistry has been a professional feltmaker since 2006. She is inspired by the variety of natural colors and textures in wool and silk which is demonstrated in the raw beauty of the art she produces. She grew up on a farm and was taught about fibre from her grandmother. Over the years she has developed a unique approach especially to highlight her material’s special qualities. She makes both art pieces and functional craft. She shows her work internationally and sells it across Western Canada.

Learn more about this wonderful artist here:

Website: fibreartistry.ca

ETSY:  etsy.com/ca/shop/FIBREARTISTRY

Facebook:  facebook.com/FIBREARTISTRY/

Cathy Sutton is an illustrator with her own line of cards, and a metalsmith who works with copper, precious metals and gemstones. She also creates one-of-a-kind felt pieces and hats from a merino that are destined to become heirlooms.

At her website: nepenthestudio.com , there is a marvelous gallery featuring her customers in her hats. She also combines her two talents to create original jewelry art pieces which are bold and colourful. Her felted merino vests are like wearable paintings. They are textured to create a luminosity and feature wild colours and unique embellishments such as elk antler tips as buttons. Her work is available at: Canadian Museum of Human Rights Boutique, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Woodlands Gallery, Bijou Gallery, Circle Arts and Uniquely Manitoba.

Her studio, Nepenthe Studio located at Winnipeg Beach is open some weekends through out the spring and summer.