Although Dad didn’t participate in needle crafts, he inspired my work in many other ways. I chose to include him in ‘The Tie That Binds’ because we shared an interest in genealogy that led to my desire to record family history in a variety of ways.  In this piece, I even included one of his favorite ties! Early Life JRE Miller (Ernie) was born at Glen Tay during WW1, attend Glen Tay Public School (SS#3 Bathurst, also my alma...

Evelyn Mather was an only daughter and grew up on a farm near Balderson ON with her three brothers. She didn’t talk a lot about her childhood but based on information from Uncle Gord, her early childhood may have been greatly affected by her Mother’s farm accident. She seems to have had a love of needlework all her life and was probably inspired by her Mother’s work. Mom was a star pupil in SS#9 Bathurst and went on to do well...

Grandma Bella was a little more of an unknown to me when I undertook this series for the TREX exhibition. Although Grandma and Grandpa Mather were frequent visitors, especially for Sunday evening supper, they did not play as large a roll in my life as Granny Alice. As youngsters, we stayed with these grandparents for short periods during the summers and it was during these stays that I was able to take a few swimming lessons at the Perth...

Each piece I prepared for The Tie That Binds has a series of stories embedded within it. Granny Alice is the first fabric collage/assemblage created for this series and I found myself taking a major trip down memory lane as I worked on it. First of all, Granny Alice and I were very close. I was the eldest of four children and we shared a house with our paternal grandparents for most of my childhood. By the time I was wandering around, she was...

My Tuesdays have been designated art play day for the foreseeable future! Three friends and I spent the day chatting, laughing, and generally having fun as we worked through a couple of art exercises. I hosted today so I organized a warm up exercise for the first half hour – exploring different material to use when adding colour to a junk journal page. The journals were a gift I prepared for each of our group before Christmas. I wanted to...

Name Stitches from India Medium Fabric, embroidery floss, pearle cotton, sequins, shiva mirrors Description Stitches from India is a sampler created during a work session with one of the groups that I belong to – Fibre Optics Tuesday Group (FOG). FOG meets monthly and it is a ‘play day’ when members experiment with new or different techniques. There is no pressure to ‘produce’, just good times and fun! Jan and...

  Name   Medium Fabric, embroidery floss, sequins Description Kantha Stitch Sampler was created following Anna Hergert’s Kantha Stitch class. I used this as an opportunity to experiment with some black work. Check out Anna’s website at http://annahergert.me/ The only parameter I am trying to adhere to is size. This Kantha stitch journal page is part of a 2014 and beyond series that will in part be a story of my life and of...

Name Kantha Stitch Class Sampler Medium Fabric, embroidery floss, pearle cotton, sequins Description This journal page – Kantha Stitch Class Sampler  is part of a 2014 and beyond series that will in part be a story of my life and of my art work. The only parameter I am trying to adhere to is size. The series may be mounted as a show or may be bound into an album. Time will tell. The feature in the centre of this journal page...

Name Crazy Quilt Class Sampler Medium Fabric, silk ribbon, embroidery floss, pearle cotton, beads, charms Description This crazy quilt journal page is part of a 2014 and beyond series that will in part be a story of my life and of my art work.  It was created in Kathy Shaw’s compulsory ‘basic’ crazy quilt class. Check out her website at http://www.shawkl.com/The only parameter I am trying to adhere to is size. The series may...

Last night I finished #5 in a new series that has been percolating for some time. For details on individual pieces go to my fibre art and Quilts Portfolio.     During 2014 I focused on entering mainly ‘juried’ shows and casually pursued some publication opportunities. I was successful in gaining acceptance to all shows entered and had two ‘published’ opportunities – one to be revealed when the book is...