January 2024 - Update

• Cross-Stitch Workshop - January 20

• First Saturday - January 6

• 2023 Year in Review - Highlights

• 2023 Labour Report

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Cross-Stitch Workshop - January 20th

Learn basic cross-stitch skills & the freedom of stitching without a pattern in this meditative workshop.⁠
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The workshop will begin with an introduction to basic cross-stitch skills, techniques, and tips. Students are encouraged to stitch at their own pace and stitch whatever their heart desires! This workshop does not include a cross-stitch pattern, as it is meant to be expressive and meditative in nature.⁠
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All supplies will be provided, including: a small hoop, Aida cloth, a needle, and embroidery thread.⁠
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Saturday, January 20th⁠
12:00-3:00pm⁠
2111 Main Street⁠
Studio 211⁠
$75⁠

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First Saturday - January 6

First Saturday is a public monthly artist-run open-studio event.

Come visit artists where they work at City Centre Artist Lodge.

The following artist studios will be open:

Maxine Woogman - Studio # 32

Five Cat Collective - Studio # 31

Tracy Anne Northey - Studio # 34

Niki Brown  - Studio # 103

Pressure Point - Studio # 108

Ilena Lee Cramer - Studio # 109

Elana Sigal - Studio # 110

Shelley Saltzman - Studio # 130

Lukas Lundberg - Studio # 208

Stephane Savoie - Studio # 123

Mallory Donen - Studio # 211

Denise Coles - Studio # 221

Paulo OConnor - Studio # 225

Devorah Peterson - Studio # 221

Zandi Dandizette - Studio # 235

Location: 2111 Main Street, Vancouver, BC V5T 3C6

Date: January 6, 2024

Time: 12pm-5pm

 https://www.firstsaturday.ca/next-open-studios

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2023 Year in Review - Highlights

It’s been another whirlwind year, read on below for some of my 2023 highlights!

January 

• Vancouver Cityscape, first quilt project

• City Centre Motor Hotel Sign

February 

• Womanmade: Crafting Architecture and the Mundane, first exhibition in the USA

• Reel goes viral, 14 million views, 40k followers

March

• Proofs of Labour, conceptual project completed for solo exhibition in April

April-May

• travelled to Indiana to install my show

• The Art of Slowing Down: Women’s Labour & Craft, second solo exhibition in the USA

June

• First cross-stitch portrait commission 

July

• City Centre Neon sign

August

• Vancouver Mural Festival, biggest sales weekend in history of my art career 🥰

September

• Monochrome series for First Saturday group exhibition 

• Started selling at Slice of Life Giftshop 

• Returned as an artist at Pacific Arts Market 

October - November

• Event planning 

• First markets of the holiday season

• Started selling at Artisan Avenue

December

• CCAL Holiday Market

• Make It Show Vancouver 

• Eastside Flea

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2023 Labour Report

November 2022 - Update

• Back to the Future: Digital Art Through Embroidery

• Sunshine Coast Art Crawl

• Vancouver Cityscape (Work in Progress)

• First Saturday at City Centre (Nov. 5, 12-5pm)

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Back to the Future: Digital Art Through Embroidery

Two weeks ago I travelled to Sechelt to install my solo exhibition at the Sunshine Coast Arts Council and I’m very pleased with how the show came together. It’s my largest showing of cross-stitch work to date! Embroidery is a slow process which means it takes a long time to produce enough work to warrant an entire show all to myself. I’m so proud of this accomplishment and it has definitely inspired and motivated me to continue down this path for my practice.

System Failure Series 01-03, 2020

Here’s an excerpt from the exhibition wall text for further insight:

October 14 – November 12, 2022

Back to the Future: Digital Art Through Embroidery

The work included in this exhibition has inspired a shift in Mallory Donen’s practice, towards processes rooted in traditional craft passed down from generation of women in her family. Her art explores the intersection of digital art and embroidery. By using the distinct grid format of cross-stitching she creates connections between threads and pixels.

Donen embraces an approach to making art this is purposefully slow, emphasizing the value of time and dedication to her craft, in contrast to the fast-paced nature of digital technology. Her intention is to think purposefully about each handmade object she brings into the physical world and its potential impact.

Read more on the Sunshine Coast Arts Council website.

System Failure 03, 2020, embroidery, Aida cloth, 8 x 10 inches

I’m happy to share that two pieces from my System Failure series (01 & 03) have sold! But if you’re interested in starting your own art collection, there are plenty of works still available for purchase. Or browse through the installation photos below to see what tickles your fancy!

Click through to view all available works from the exhibition.

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Sunshine Coast Art Crawl

The week after installing my show I went back to Sechelt for three full days for the Sunshine Coast Art Crawl 2022. I set up a table and sold small artworks, cards, prints, and pins! I also had a table displaying my cross-stitch portrait commissions (which I’m still booking for 2023).

The most enjoyable and rewarding aspect of the entire experience was interacting with the other artists and the people that walked through the gallery during the crawl! I love talking to people about cross-stitch, it holds a special place in mine and many people’s hearts. It always seems to bring up all sorts of nostalgia and conversations about fibre arts.

On the Saturday, I gave my artist talk for the exhibition and as I was giving the talk I was reminded of my passion and love for art. All in all, the weekend was exactly what I needed to keep me inspired and driven to keep on making more! I can’t thank the Sunshine Coast Art Council enough for their support and for allowing me to participate in the crawl.

I was also featured in a newspaper article for the Coast Reporter, see below for photo and link.

Read full article.

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Vancouver Cityscape (Work in Progress)

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(WIP) Vancouver Cityscape, 2022, mixed textiles

During my fragmented spare time in between preparing for the show in Sechelt, I’ve still been working on my Vancouver Cityscape project, believe it or not! I finished adding the embroidery details around the yellow and green fabric squares. Then I trimmed the edges and created a border with some linen fabric. The border was done with a combination of machine and hand sewing. I also added a long colourful crochet chain inner border, which was machine sewed onto the piece.

I was a set back a few hours of labour when I tried adding some smaller crochet chains of yarn to the building sections. I had sewed about half of them on when I decided that it wasn’t working and used a seam ripper to remove them before it was too late. Considering this project is such a new process for me I’m surprised and happy that this is the only time this sort of set back has happened so far.

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I had some raw edges poking through after I added the border so I added some embroidery details on the side to help cover those areas up and make it look intentional.

More photos below and more to come as I continue to working to complete this project by the end of the year!

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First Saturday at City Centre (Nov. 5, 12-5pm)

First Saturday is a public monthly artist-run open-studio event.

Come visit artists where they work at City Centre Artist Lodge.

The following artist studios will be open:

Maxine Woogman - Studio # 32
Tracy Anne Northey - Studio # 34
Ilena Lee Cramer - Studio # 109
Elana Sigal - Studio # 110
Shelley Saltzman - Studio # 130
Lukas Lundberg - Studio # 208
Mallory Donen - Studio # 211
Denise Coles - Studio # 221
Devorah Peterson - Studio # 221
LeLe Chan - Studio # 231

March 2021 - Update

Highlights

• Canada Council for the Arts - Research & Creation Grant

• Art Hole Magazine, Issue 9, February 2021

• Seeking the Periphery, Virtual Exhibition Launch, Mar 11, 6:30pm EST

• Uncompressed, Group Exhibition, Rebecca Randall Bryan Art Gallery, Coastal Carolina University

• Digital Carnival Z, Virtual Public Presentation, Artist Panel, May 2021

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At the end of February I received some amazing news! The Canada Council for the Arts informed me that my application for a Research & Creation Grant was successful. This means that I’ll be receiving funding to complete my proposed art book project. More to come on the project later, right now is the time for celebration and reflection. This is a major milestone in any artist’s career and I acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for their recognition and validation of all my hard work and determination over the past few years. It’s not always easy staying motivated to pursue an art career while at the same time maintaining a career which helps me sustain a living. But now I’m confident in saying that dreams really do come true and this is just the beginning of more milestones to come.

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My focus over the last month shifted from creating to research and reading. Readings included cross-stitching techniques, the history and future of technology and the connection between technology and women. I surprised myself because this was the most I’ve read in years and it made me feel like I was back in school (but in a good way)!

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Lastly, I’d like to share some news about where I’m currently showing and will be showing my art. I was recently published in a UK magazine called Art Hole: 9, for their February Issue, which can be purchased online.

This month my new cross-stitch series Remnants of the Manmade will be part of the virtual group exhibition, Seeking the Periphery at the Paul H. Cocker Gallery, Department of Architectural Science, Ryerson University in Toronto. The virtual exhibition launch will be taking place Mar 11, 6:30pm EST, via dasxhibitions.ca. and free admission tickets are available through Eventbrite.

Later this Spring 2021, my video Part 1: Introduction - What Am I? will be exhibited in the group show Uncompressed, at the Rebecca Randall Bryan Art Gallery, at Coastal Carolina University.

Along with two others artist I will also be presenting a virtual public presentation in May 2021. The Artist Panel (key words: gender, labour, surveillance) is part of the 9th Annual Digital Carnival: Z, organized by Cinevolution Media Art Society.

June 2020 - Update

Over the past month, I’ve been working on a variety of projects at once. I started off by stitching together the 9 pieces from Glitch Series 05 into a “quilt”. Overall, I’m very happy with how it turned out and was surprised that everything actually ended being pretty straight/even. The most satisfying thing about quilts is when you iron all the seams, they lay flat, and line up “seamlessly”, as though they were always meant to be stitched together.

(Back View) Glitch Series 05 - Crop_1-9.jpg

Next, I stitched more loose ends I had lying around and added them to my ongoing project “Stitching Loose Ends”.

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Stitching Loose Ends (progress shot), 2018-2020, embroidery floss, Aida cloth, 16 inches wide x 3 1/4 inches thick

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Stitching Loose Ends (back view), 2018-2020, embroidery floss, Aida cloth, 16 inches wide x 3 1/4 inches thick

I’ve also been saving smaller odds and ends that are little less useable (for cross-stitching). But I recently had an idea to try and stitch these ends into a recycled handmade paper. I made the paper a fews years ago, while I was still at U of M and almost finished with my MFA. I’ve been experimenting with some free form stitching through the paper and the hardest part for me is the lack of control. Honestly, this doesn’t surprise me though, since I’m slightly obsessed with structure and control. The only way I can find some comfort in the process is to come up with my own rules or goals along the way. For example, I might have a goal to stitch 5x5 squares with cross-stitches. Even though I know it won’t come out like the precise grid that I’m use to stitching on with my other projects, at least I have something to work towards.

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After torturing myself with free-form stitching, I couldn’t help but retreat back to my comfort zone. I started Glitch Series 06, but with a slightly different approach than the previous Glitch Series 01-05. This time I’m cross-stitching the full glitch image as a whole piece, instead of segmenting it into 9 different crops, as I usually do. The size/square count is based on the pixel dimensions of a computer screen, which is 1280x800, therefore, Glitch Series 06 will be 128x80 squares.

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Glitch Series 06

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(Work in progress) Glitch Series 06

At the end of the month, I pulled out a few skeins of yarn and decided to knit and add onto The Machine: Knitting Ouroboros.

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I also started and completed two more hand-stitched paintings for the Paint by Numbers Series, Pattern G and Pattern H.

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Pattern G (front view), 2020, acrylic, canvas, embroidery floss, 9.5 x 9.5 inches

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Pattern H (front view), 2020, acrylic, canvas, embroidery floss, 9.5 x 9.5 inches

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Pattern G (back view), 2020, acrylic, canvas, embroidery floss, 9.5 x 9.5 inches

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Pattern H (back view), 2020, acrylic, canvas, embroidery floss, 9.5 x 9.5 inches

Last but not least, I’m currently showing two works from Glitch Series 01 as part of an online exhibition, Threaded II, Envision Art Show, running from June 1-30th. I’m also excited to share that I received an Honorable Mention, which means I’m the fourth artist featured at the beginning of the virtual exhibition. It’s a very strange time for all of us and it’s changing the way we make and view art. I’m glad that something positive has come out of this and I’m so thankful to be a part of an exhibition that showcases fibre artists from all around the world. Please take time to view the work at the link above (title of the show), there is some really amazing work to see and you don’t even need to leave your bed see it!

January 2019 - Update

• Art on Demand 4.4 - Documentation

• Judy Chicago

• Art to Dine For

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Art on Demand 4.4 - Documentation

This is the last week to check out my solo exhibition at the Reach Gallery in Abbotsford (ends January 6, 2018). I’m sad to be taking it down on the weekend, but I’m looking forward to new projects and future exhibitions in the coming year. Below are documentation photos of the exhibition.

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Judy Chicago

I powered through my cross-stitched portrait of Judy Chicago this past month. Now that I have a series of three completed for my artist portraits, I’m excited to submit these for exhibition. I’ll be taking a break from the portraits to work on Glitch Series 03 which is also coming along nicely (stay tuned).

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Art to Dine For

Save the date! My friends and I from We Are Pie Art Collective will be hosting an art market on Friday, February 8, from 5pm-8pm, at Art to Dine For, a fundraising event for the Abbotsford Art Council. Tickets for the event are $35, there will also be a Silent Auction, Mucho Burrito Bar and live music! Art to Dine For will take place at Highstreet Shopping Centre in Abbotsford, follow this link to purchase tickets ahead of time: www.abbotsfordartscouncil.com

July 2018 - Update

• Upcoming Show: Neither Here Nor There

• White Rock Youth Mural Complete!

• Paint by Number Series - Progress and more videos

• Diane Arbus - Almost done

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Neither Here Nor There

So excited for this upcoming exhibition which features an all female roster of artists! The artists showing include the following: Madison Tyrell, Sara Khan, Marzieh Mosavarzadeh, and myself.  I'll be showing work from Glitch Series 01, as well as potentially a few other works. The opening is next Saturday, July 7th at 3pm. But don't worry if you aren't able to make it that day, the show runs until July 20th. Plenty of time to go check it out! The South Main Gallery is located in Vancouver at Main Street and 6th East Ave. 

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White Rock Youth Mural

Great news! I'm happy to share with you the finished photos of the White Rock Youth Mural. It was a long process to get this thing completed, but it's finally done. This residential area between Finlay and Victoria street just got a little brighter. Take a gander when you're visiting White Rock Beach this summer and be sure to see it in person.

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Paint by Numbers Series

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Still trucking away on my Paint by Numbers Series of quilted paintings. I even made one while I was camping last weekend! It's a bit of a tedious process, but I'm starting to slowly see this body of work come together. The next step will be to start framing them! I'll continue posting videos where I will reveal the squares for each painting, if you haven't watched any check out the videos below for a peak behind the scenes of the selection process.

Watch me choose the next set of squares for Pattern #3, which is part of the "Paint by Numbers Series". The series of quilted paintings, further explore ideas from my thesis "I Come From a Long Line of Machines".

Watch me choose the next set of squares for Pattern #4, which is part of the "Paint by Numbers Series". The series of quilted paintings, further explore ideas from my thesis "I Come From a Long Line of Machines".

Watch me choose the next set of squares for Pattern #5, which is part of the "Paint by Numbers Series". The series of quilted paintings, further explore ideas from my thesis "I Come From a Long Line of Machines".

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Diane Arbus

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Stayed tuned for final photos of my cross-stitched Diane Arbus portrait, it should be completed by the next month's blog update!

In the meantime, here's a close up photo to show some of the detail in her face. 

Horror Vacui - Exhibition Documentation

Earlier this year I was in a group exhibition at Deer Lake Gallery, in Burnaby, called "Horror Vacui". The show included myself, as well as two fellow UFV BFA grads, Kendra Schellenberg, and Julie Epp.

For those of you who were unable to make it out to see the exhibition in person, here are some documentation photos of the exhibition.