PATHWAYS Exhibition at Mississippi Valley Textile Museum/More miniatures/singing with Shout Sister

Autumn in Stoney Swamp from PATHWAYS Exhibit

Everything is completed for my upcoming exhibition, I have delivered my work to the museum, completed price lists etc and now I just need to sit back and wait till the exhibition opens next Saturday (see Exhibitions page).  It will be a thrill to see all my hard work displayed in the Gallery.

The last couple of weeks was spent preparing some small items for the gift shop at the textile museum, a variety of art cards -printed, photo and fabric ones - and bookmarks.

 I also spent some time completing some small works for a show I took part in on Thursday at the Rideau Tennis Club in Ottawa.  It was a wine and art show.  It was quite a novelty to have servers coming round with platters of appetizers throughout the evening.  A little wine was drunk as well.    A show with a difference. 

 Here are some of the fused miniatures I have been working on - quite a break from sewing.   The pieces are tiny - 3" x 5" matted and framed to 5" x 7".  Starting at the sky, I cut the pieces from fused fabric and place them onto light interfacing.   When I am satisfied, I iron them down, cover with a backing, then mat and frame them.   Sometimes the scenes are made up ones but these were inspired by photos.  The first two were scenes from Parc de la Gaspesie.  I believe the third was from a photo taken near the Tablelands in NL, and the fourth was inspired by Salmon Pool in Cape Breton.   The tree trunks were cut from fabric that a friend and I 'rusted' one summer.  In fact there is a post on this blog describing the process (July 31, 2010).   The fabric art cards were completed in much the same manner as these miniatures but were inserted into window cards instead of mats and frames.

I have also taken time out for a wonderful choir experience with my SHOUT SISTER choir.   We had our annual concert last night to a sold out audience and it was just great! We were 100 women singing together.   What an awesome experience for us!  It was very hot but the enthusiastic audience didn't seem to mind too much and gave us a standing ovation.   The concert raised money for Harmony House, a second stage shelter for women and their children.   Shout Sister choirs exist all over Ontario and are the creation of musician Georgette Fry.    Our chapter of the choir is directed by Jody Benjamin (from Ball and Chain).  We sing wonderfully uplifting music (from Carole King and Mary Chapin Carpenter to Bob Dylan and Billy Joel) in several parts.   This summer all chapters of the choir are having a picnic get together in Kingston Ontario where we will be over 600 strong.  We were wondering what is the biggest choir in the Guinness Book of Records.  Maybe it could be a goal of Shout Sister.......