fibre art

June 2022 - Update

  • Grant Project Update - Becoming a Pixel (Portrait 2/5)

  • Glitch Streak (Work in Progress)

  • Vancouver Cityscape (Work in Progress)

Grant Project Update - Becoming a Pixel (Portrait 2/5)

Becoming a Pixel - Portrait 2/5, 2022, embroidery floss, Aida cloth⁠, 7 x 7 inches, 35 hours of labour

I’m excited to share the completed second portrait from my self-portrait series Becoming a Pixel. This portrait still has some likeness to my self-image, but there is clearly some loss of definition. Without seeing the first portrait from the series it is now harder to identify this as a self-portrait. I intentionally reduced the overall resolution and total pixels in the cross-stitch pattern. By producing in an image with less detail, I’ve made identification of the person in the portrait less certain.

(Detail) Becoming a Pixel - Portrait 2/5, 2022, embroidery floss, Aida cloth⁠, 7 x 7 inches

Looking at a small section of the finished piece (as shown below) it is very difficult to recognize the image as a portrait on its own.

(Detail) Becoming a Pixel - Portrait 2/5, 2022, embroidery floss, Aida cloth⁠, 7 x 7 inches

 
 

Mallory Donen acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Glitch Streak (Work in Progress)

Mallory Donen with her work in progress Glitch Streak. Photo was taken in her studio in Vancouver, BC, 2022.

I’ve also been making consistent progress on this new large-scale cross-stitch piece, Glitch Streak. I’m currently 1/3 of the way complete and it’s about 10 inches wide. When the work is finished I expect it to measure 30 inches wide. I’ve already logged in about 65 hours of labour on this project! Needless to say the further I get on this piece, the more taxing and strenuous it is getting on my body. This is precisely why I’m pacing myself slowly on this project and spending time on others that are less laborious than this one!

Vancouver Cityscape (Work in Progress)

Vancouver Cityscape (Work in progress), 2022, mixed textiles, canvas, linen, cotton, yarn, thread⁠

Somehow I managed to carve out time to work on this mixed textiles project in May. It’s been very explorative and playful seeing where this piece takes me. I’ve never attempted something quite like it before. The best way to describe it is probably a hybrid between quilting, embroidery, and textile collage. I’m using a combination of machine and hand sewing, as well as cross-stitching and free-hand embroidery. I’ll also be using yarn to add more texture and dimension. Overall, it’s definitely still a work in progress, but I’m very excited to see where this process takes me!

April 2022 - Update

  • Grant Project Update - Becoming a Pixel

  • Vancouver Cityscape (mixed media textile project)

  • Cross-stitch on 23 inch embroidery hoop

  • 30th Birthday & Debt Free

Grant Project Update - Becoming a Pixel

This week marked the start of my next grant project. Huge thanks and photo credit goes to Ivana Djordjevic for taking some beautiful portraits (I'll be sharing more shots from the studio, but you'll have to wait patiently to see those)!

Yesterday morning, I uploaded this photo into StitchFiddle.com to create the pattern I am using to cross-stitch the first portrait from my "Becoming a Pixel" series.

I'm so excited to work on this project and of course I need to make a special shout out to the Canada Council for the Arts for their support in funding this one.

Stay tuned with me on social media in the next couple of days, where I'll be sharing more of the process and behind the scenes.

Photo credit: Ivana Djordjevic - Ease Creative Inc.

Vancouver Cityscape (mixed media textile project)

I began working on a new mixed media textile project which I’m creating specifically for a solo exhibition in February 2023, in Mt. Pleasant Michigan. The theme of the show is “crafted” architecture and I’ll be showing works that feminize masculine imagery through the use of traditional feminine craft processes. I will be constructing a Vancouver cityscape using only textiles and fibres with a combination of hand sewing, machine sewing, crochet, cross-stitch and free hand embroidery. So far the process has been very experimental and I’ve pretty much just been taking it one step at a time and seeing where it takes me.

The first part of the process was taking photographs of the city line and digitally collaging various images of the industrial urban environment. Once I finished this digital collage, I projected the image onto a large piece of craft canvas and sketched the outline of the city using pencil.

Next I had to re-familiarize myself with how to use a sewing machine since it’s been over ten years since I’ve used one (not since high school)! I purchased a second hand sewing machine through Facebook Marketplace. I quickly read the manual and started doing some tests on scraps of fabric. From there it took a little guts and courage to take the leap into sewing with the machine on my large canvas, overall I’m satisfied with how the city outline turned out.

I also started to experiment with free-hand embroidery, which is very new to me! As most of you probably know, cross-stitching has been my main medium of choice for the past several years. So getting out of the structure of the grid and being a little more free with my stitches has been very relaxing and fun to say the least (don’t get me wrong, I still love and prefer to cross-stitch). In the end, the analytical part of my brain is too strong to give into free-hand embroidery over cross-stitching. Trust me it’s just not going to happen.

As I moved onto the next stage of the project I knew I wanted to incorporate fabric, but wasn’t exactly sure how I would do it. I sorted through a box of scraps that my mom delivered to my studio a few days before getting started on the project. I separated similar colours together and landed on three different patterned fabrics in a blue colour scheme. I cut them into two inch strips and started to pin them onto my canvas. Voila! Just like that, I started to visualize the progression of the project!

After pinning the strips, I went straight to the machine and sewed my fabric buildings onto the canvas. With the spaces in between I wanted to use a variety of fibre mediums and so I planned out the layout of the fibre buildings in my sketchbook. I headed to Michaels and purchased a few skeins of yarn which could be used for the project. Then I got started on crocheting building strips in two different shades of blue.

A lot came together for this project in the span of just a few days, but I’m really happy with where it’s going so far! Sad to say that for now the progress on this project is going to slow down as I focus on my grant project and another new large cross-stitch project which I’m making for my show in Sechelt this October 2022.

Cross-stitch on 23 inch embroidery hoop

This large 23 inch embroidery hoop project will also be taking a back burner position for most of this year. Expect to see very slow progression on this one, as it’s for my solo show in Fort Wayne, Indiana in May 2023.

30th Birthday & Debt Free

A few weeks ago I celebrated two big milestones. The first was my 30th birthday, which was a day filled with pampering. The day included a massage, a pedicure and a fabulous dinner with my best friend Mara, at The Botanist at the Fairmont Pacific Rim, served by my wonderful cousin Avital!

That same day I made the final payment on my student loans, which is a huge accomplishment and weight off my shoulders. I went to post-secondary directly out of high school and was a full-time university student for seven years straight (four years of which I was also a student athlete). I didn’t have enough time to work a steady job with a steady income.

After graduating with my MFA I found myself a job in Vancouver (with SAXX) which paid salary and I was determined to pay off my loans. Four and a half years later, I did it and I’m thrilled to finally be debt free! Cheers!

June 2021 - Update

  • Inside the Studio

  • Video Sound Archive

  • Work in Progress - Funded Art Book Project

  • Open Call for Anonymous Stories - Deadline June 30

Inside the Studio

Last week I took some long overdue portraits in my studio. I wanted to photograph myself amongst my art and some of the tools I use while embroidering/knitting. On the walls you can see works from my thesis exhibition, Glitch Series, and System Failure series. On the floor is Ouroboros (which I like to refer to as my big ball of yarn) and to the left is the wooden French Knitting loom that I use to re-knit finger knitted strands of yarn.

I have two embroidery stands in my studio. The first one has a rectangular frame and currently holds my ongoing work in progress Stitching Loose Ends. The second one functions more like a clamp stand, which means it can hold various types of frames. In the photographs, you can see it is clamping an embroidery hoop for cross-stitching the handkerchief patterns for my art book project. In another photograph, I am sitting in a wingback chair with a granny square afghan and arm rest covers that I crocheted myself (with a little help from my mom for the covers).

Video Sound Archive

Starting on June 4 @pm ET my video project Part 2: What Happens to a Stressed System? will be part of the first season of featured artists for a virtual video exhibition Video Sound Archive.

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Work in Progress - Funded Art Book Project

Last month I continued to tirelessly cross-stitch patterns of handkerchief scans for my art book project. I have completed cross-stitching six of the nine patterns. Only three more to go and I should finish them by the end of June! Then I will begin working on the layout of the art book using InDesign.

Open Call for Anonymous Stories - Deadline June 30

Reminder that I will be accepting submissions for stories till the end of June. Everyone is welcome to submit their experience of having to hide their emotional/physical pain in order to avoid pity or shame for being too sensitive. Please also feel free to share!

 
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May 2021 - Update

Feminist Craft of Care for Times of Crisis: a presentation panel

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On May 13th @6:30pm-8:00pm PST, I will be presenting at an artist panel “Feminist Craft of Care for Times of Crisis”, alongside Lena Chen & Sarah Shamash. The panel is part of Digital Carnival Z an annual festival run by Cinevolution Media Arts. I’m very excited to be part of such a well run event and to be presenting with such amazing and talented artists. Register online through Eventbrite to attend the event for free.

I will present works from the past several years which investigate notions of labour, productivity, and the value of art in relation to craft and women’s work. Instead of becoming reliant on computers and other advanced technologies that are accelerating the speeds of production and consumption alike, I choose to look back to centuries-old practices that have been passed down through generations of women. I explore the parallel between repetitive processes and computer programming by taking on the role of a machine.

By embracing time-consuming processes such as hand-stitching, I emphasize the importance and value of women’s labour. As a female artist, my labour is feminized and inherently connected to women’s domestic work. I challenge expectations of traditional craft by introducing conceptual layers and experimentation with new media. Throughout my artist talk, I will bring awareness to the value of feminine art forms and the connection between craft and fine art.

A WAY Online Art Gallery

GlitchSeries04 - Crop_1_crop.jpg, Archival inkjet print and embroidery, 11 x 14 inches, 2019

GlitchSeries04 - Crop_1_crop.jpg, Archival inkjet print and embroidery, 11 x 14 inches, 2019

Glitch Series 04 is available for sale at A WAY Online Art Gallery for the next couple months, check out their website for my work and art by some other amazing artists!

Open Call - Submit your Story

Women’s stories surrounding pain will be chosen to be part of a conceptual art book project, mirrored with images of delicate handkerchiefs and embroidery.

Submit your anonymous stories and experiences of when you felt the need to hide either your emotional/physical pain in order to avoid pity or shame for being too sensitive.

Let us contradict the stereotype of women as pure and fragile by demonstrating the perseverance, dedication, and strength of women. 

Work in Progress - Funded Art book Project

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The past month has been jammed packed with many hours of cross-stitching, as I begun working on my project funded by the Canada Council for the Arts. First, I received my new embroidery stand and hoops in the mail. Second I fully prepped a piece of Aida cloth by securing the edge with stitches, to prevent fraying. I even marked the vertical and horizontal middles with stitches, which is something I rarely do!

For this project, I am creating an art book consisting of scans of my Ama’s original handkerchiefs and corresponding cross-stitched replications of each pattern.

I have chosen and scanned nine handkerchiefs, which I am converting into cross-stitch patterns. Using the patterns, I am cross-stitching nine embroidered pieces (approx. 6x6 inches each), which are scanned once completed.

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After each cross-stitch piece is completed, I will mirror the cyclical structure of a woman’s existence and allude to the concept of invisibility, by recycling the same piece of Aida cloth and the same strands of embroidery thread for each new pattern. I will unravel each completed cross-stitch replication and re-stitch the next handkerchief by reusing the same material.

The art book will consist of pages with a scan of a handkerchief on the left and a scan of the corresponding cross-stitched piece on the right. It will also include stories selected from an anonymous open call (Submit your story to be a part of the project). The stories will be examples from women who have had to hide or pretend that they were not in pain in order to avoid pity or shame for being too sensitive.

Throughout April, I completed three of the nine cross-stitch pieces. Each piece took an average of 25 hours to cross-stitch and 14 hours to unstitch. It’s weird to think that the only evidence of these works will be the final scans/images that will be included in the art book. Although it may seem unusual, it adds to the conceptual aspects of the work, by emphasizing the invisibility of the labour. This connects to the idea of women’s labour and pain as invisible.

I acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

 
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