glitch

September 2022 - Update

  • Glitch Streak

  • Becoming a Pixel

  • Books Open for 2023 Cross-Stitch Portrait Commissions

  • First Saturday - Open Studio: Saturday, Sept. 3, 12-5pm

Glitch Streak

I spent most of the summer working on this project, which is my largest cross-stitch piece to date. In total it took about 3.5 months and 182 hours of labour to complete! ⁠ ⁠Soon I'll be taking this in to a shop to get stretched and custom framed. This piece will be on display at my solo exhibition at Sunshine Coast Arts Council from Oct. 14 - Nov. 13.⁠

⁠ I'd love to continue to work on larger scale cross-stitch pieces, but it requires a lot of planning and prioritizing. I usually have so many ideas on the go or in my sketchbook that go unfinished or untouched just because I simply don't have enough time in the day. ⁠

I'll be working on smaller cross-stitch projects for the rest of the year, while my main focus will be working on my large mixed textile piece. You may have seen me low key working on this during the summer, it's another work I'm making for a solo exhibition in Michigan in February 2023. ⁠ ⁠

That’s a wrap on the Becoming a Pixel series! A huge shout out to Canada Council for the Arts I can’t thank them enough for their support with this project. I’m hoping to have the series framed soon and have plans to propose these for future exhibitions.

Books Open for 2023 Cross-Stitch Portrait Commissions

Over the past couple months many people have expressed interest in customized cross-stitch portraits and I’m happy to share that I’m opening my books for 2023. I know that may seem far away, but the reality is I need to start planning that far ahead so that I can schedule around my other projects, deadlines and exhibitions for next year. Spots will be limited, so book now!

Standard Size - 7”x7”

Small Size - 3.5”x3.5”

These are the two Portrait options I’m offering:

  1. Standard Size - $1200 ($500 deposit required to confirm booking)

    7”x7” cross-stitch

    16"x16” framed

    Fill out Google form/contract below to book commissions from May-December 2023 https://forms.gle/qMWm2NoGqaX8ggu56

    *Standard Size portraits are the same size the Becoming a Pixel series and provide the most detail/likeness to the individual*

  2. Small Size - $350 ($200 deposit required to confirm booking)

    3.5”x3.5” cross-stitch

    12”x12” framed

    Fill out Google form/contract below to book commissions from January-December 2023

    https://forms.gle/dEWSa1B2UmkLE2137

    *Small Size portraits have less detail/likeness to the individual and have a more pixelated aesthetic*

First Saturday - Open Studio: Saturday, Sept. 3, 12-5pm

City Centre Artist Lodge is participating in its first open studio weekend for First Saturday, September 3, 12-5pm.

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

Visit firstsaturday.ca for full list of participating Vancouver/North Vancouver artist studios.

City Centre map of studios open for First Saturday, September 3, 2023.

August 2022 - Update

  • VMF - Open Studios @ City Centre Motel

  • Grant Project Update - Becoming Pixel (Portrait 4/5)

  • Glitch Streak (Work in Progress)

  • Vancouver Cityscape (Work in Progress)

VMF - Open Studios @ City Centre Motel

Come visit me at my studio (Room #211) this Saturday, August 6 & 13th during VMF at City Centre Motel (2111 Main Street)! I’ll have works in progress and finished works for sale (I’m now equipped to take “tap” payments). Stay tuned later this week for an exclusive offer!

VANCOUVER MURAL FESTIVAL

Vancouver Mural Festival returns August 4-14 with a spectacular 11-day celebration featuring daily block parties, 30+ new murals in 8 neighbourhoods, mural tours, talks and much more!

vanmuralfest.ca / @vanmuralfest

Grant Project Update - Becoming Pixel (Portrait 4/5)

I’m happy to share that I finished Portrait #4 from the Becoming a Pixel series last month! This is the least detailed portrait of the series so far and only uses two colours of thread. The portrait has become very minimal, without any clear indicators of my self-image, it's as if I'm being consumed by digital technology...⁠

 
 

Glitch Streak (Work in Progress)

Glitch Streak (WIP detail) , 2022, embroidery, Aida cloth

I hit a bit of a road block with this project last month when I started to run out of embroidery thread. I’ve been trying to find specific colours locally for months and finally had to bite the bullet and order the thread online. This meant over the past couple weeks I had been skipping rows where I didn’t have the colour I needed, which left lots of gaps in my WIP.

Glitch Streak (WIP detail), 2022, embroidery, Aida cloth

Good news is that my order finally arrived and I started working back to fill in the gaps where I was missing thread. I’m making very good progress overall and hope to finish this project in just a couple of more weeks. That means if you plan to stop by for a visit during VMF, you’re very likely going to see the work in its final stages. Trust me you want to see this work in person, the photos just don’t do it justice!

Glitch Streak (WIP), 2022, embroidery, Aida cloth

Vancouver Cityscape (Work in Progress)

My focus for August will be wrapping up the Becoming a Pixel series and the Glitch Streak project. But once those two projects are finished, I’ll be focusing most of my efforts on this one for this remainder of the year. With that said, I did make some slow progress on this work in the past couple weeks. Using my sewing machine, I sewed the finished cross-stitched "building strips" onto the main piece of fabric.⁠ I still have lots to do on this project, but I’m excited to see where the process is going to take me next!

January 2021 - Update

Well it’s been one hell of a year and I’m happy to finally say goodbye to 2020. COVID aside, this past year actually allowed me more time in the studio and there are things that I’m happy to say I’m proud of. This year I submitted my first Canada Council for the Arts grant application (pending results by end of February), I participated in my first virtual exhibition, and I read several books, not only for research, but also for my own personal enjoyment.

I took a much needed hiatus from September - December 2020, since it’s always busiest time of year for my job. I now feel rejuvenated and ready to get back into the studio. I spent my most of my holidays cross-stitching, painting, and jotting down ideas in my sketchbook. Sometimes the hardest thing for me to do is to settle on the idea(s) I should execute and which ones I should leave behind.

I finished the third and final piece from the System Failure series. Overall I’m really happy with how the series came together. All three pieces may stand alone, each with a unique colour palette and various levels of “completion”. The cross-stitch patterns are based off of digital glitch images that have been disrupted or “glitched”. The series is a representation of a “glitch within a glitch”. However, the glitched or unfinished cross-stitch is a forced visual that alludes to a machine error or malfunction.

System Failure 03, 8x10 inches, embroidery floss, Aida cloth, 2020

System Failure 03, 8x10 inches, embroidery floss, Aida cloth, 2020

I finally finished a series of paintings (currently untitled), that I originally started while I was an artist in residence at the Vermont Studio Center (in September 2019). They were only meant to be tests while I was trying out the painting technique I ended up using for the Translation Series that I also began in Vermont. The paintings were painted square by square, section by section, using tape to mask out various areas at a time.

Lastly I spent time on Stitching Loose Ends, an ongoing project that I started back in 2018. I used up all the loose ends lying around my apartment, which I guess means I need to get going on another cross-stitch project! I also finished another row on the second painting from the Translation Series. I’ve been making slow progress on this series since the process is quite tedious with all the tape masking. One day I’ll have a studio where I can have the painting out at all times and work on it in little spurts while taking breaks from other projects. Currently I don’t have that luxury and it takes a lot more motivation to get a painting station all set up in my apartment.

Looking forward to seeing what’s in store for 2021.

Happy New Year!

July 2019 - Update

  • Glitch Series 03

  • Solo Exhibition: I Come From a Long Line of Machines

Glitch Series 03

This past month I’ve been spending approximately 20-24 hours per week cross-stitching whenever possible. Why, you might ask? I was determined to finish Glitch Series 03. I’m happy to say that I did it! This series will be framed in 18x24” frames, each cross-stitch and glitch image is approx. 5.5 inches. I’m so happy to have another series under my belt, but I’m also looking forward to completing Glitch Series 04 which is currently in progress.

Solo Exhibition - I Come From a Long Line of Machines

Only a month away till my solo exhibition: I Come From A Long Line of Machine at the Ranger Station Art Gallery, in Harrison, BC. If you haven’t made any August long weekend plans, why not make a day trip out to Harrison for the opening reception on August 4th, starting at 2pm? The show will include Glitch Series 01, a new series of Instruction Tables, The Machine: Knitting Ouroboros, Think Like a Human Act Like a Machine, When I Cross-Stitch I Feel Like a Machine, and a few other Glitch Series pieces!

Ranger Station Solo Exhibit Poster.jpg

June 2019 - Update

  • Spring 2019 Wine + Art Walk

  • Glitch Series 03 - Progress

Spring 2019 Wine + Art Walk

On May 30th, We Are Pie Artist Collective participated in the Spring 2019 Wine + Art Walk, in Downtown Abbotsford. Although I wasn’t able to attend in person, below is a photo of some of the art our collective had on display at The Kindred Clothing Co.

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Glitch Series 03 - Progress

I’ve been working on hard on Glitch Series 03 and my goal is to finish the series by the end of the month. I only have three more to complete the series for a total of 9. Then I’m planning to finish Glitch Series 04 which is already in progress.

March 2019 - Update

  • Pacific Arts Market

  • Women in Art

  • ATP Market

  • Glitch Series 04

Pacific Arts Market

Only a couple days left till I move out of the Pacific Arts Market! It’s been a great experience and I hope to return in the future. Tuesday, March 5th is your last day to check it out in person!

Women in Art

Although I won’t be able to attend the opening for this amazing exhibition filled with Women artists, I hope you get a chance to check it out! The exhibition will be up from March 9th - April 2nd at the Kariton Art Gallery, Abbotsford, BC.

WomenInArt_Email-Invite.jpg

ATP Market

This March and April I’ll be a vendor at the All Tomorrow’s Parties (ATP) Market on March 16th & April 13th. The markets takes place 11am-5pm at U.O.C. Hall 154 E 10th ave, Vancouver, BC. I’ll be selling buttons, photo prints, limited edition Glitch prints, and lots of original drawings and paintings at affordable prices!

ATP Market - March.png

Glitch Series 04

Still working away on cross-stitching for Glitch Series 04, check out the progress photos below.

Fall Exhibitions!

I'm excited to share that I will have two exhibitions coming up this Fall! The first is a group show with some fellow classmates, Julie Epp and Kendra Schellenberg, we all received our BFA degrees from UFV. The exhibition is titled, Horror Vacui, which simply means the fear of empty space. As you can imagine all the works in the show are extremely detailed and obsessive in nature. The show will include works created individually, as well as a collaborative mural we will be painting/drawing directly onto the gallery wall. Read more to learn about each of our inspirations for the show, as well as the exhibition statement. 

Horror Vacui

Horror Vacui is the fear of empty space and the filling of emptiness with details in a work of art. This visual art expression is an important source of inspiration for artists Mallory Donen, Julie Epp, and Kendra Schellenberg. Each artist struggles with issues of fear, joy, and acceptance throughout their creative process. Donen’s practice is driven by the conflict between order and chaos, and explores the infinite nature of digital imagery. On the other hand, Epp’s process is a battle with fear, inner thoughts, and a search for calm in the mundane creative process. Lastly, Schellenberg uses the overwhelming visual aesthetic of horror vacui to engage in conversations about gender, beauty standards, and acceptance. Everyone struggles with inner conflict; Horror Vacui visualizes the mental chaos of life. Art allows us to engage in moments of deep consideration and at times can be a gateway into a numbing calm, empty of worries or thoughts. 

Mallory Donen

My process fluctuates between spontaneity and my obsessive need for control. I find comfort in keeping things in order, but at the same time when things become too controlled there is little room for growth and change. That is why I am always pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and intentionally creating moments of disruption. This struggle between chaos and order is the driving force of my art practice. I am constantly introducing ways of relinquishing control throughout the artistic process. But I inevitably end up back where I started, in an ordered, restrained system of creation. My work explores notions of obsession, control, chaos, infinity, and absorption. Inspired by the theme of horror vacui, my art reflects on the infinite calming chaos of digital imagery.

Julie Epp

03Epp_Julie_Mandala 1.jpg

In an age where lives are lived through online experiences, my brain has become over stimulated. Multitasking, my old friend, is an enemy of productivity; I must embrace the mundanity of focus. My artwork is likely the only consistent focus I’ve had. My mandalas sit inches from my eyes while I draw, and though I am focused, my brain is crashing, burning, bursting with thoughts. It might seem like a good opportunity to be thinking; a chance to be inspired. But the thoughts hang dramatically over me like a creature ready to crush. They are ideas and aspirations but they are also pressure and panic. My work is a chance for me to focus my energy, and it takes a lot of work to get into a headspace where something good comes out of it.

            My mandalas are a product of years of disrupted focus, followed by relief. The sculptures are the opposite: they are a product of intense concentration followed purely by thirst and hunger. To me, horror vacui is about the fear of allowing empty space to be filled by anything but artistic joy.

Kendra Schellenberg

I have always been drawn to work that contains a lot of detail. When I am creating my own work, there’s always a part of me that needs to prove that my art is worthy of attention, and my solution to this is often to fill it with detail—as if this somehow proves that I care about my work, that it is something of value—because I’ve spent a lot of time on it. At the same time, my art practice is an extension of my feminism, and is a way for me to engage with issues that trouble me. I saw an opportunity to use the overwhelming nature of horror vacui as a means of conveying the overwhelming feeling of needing to conform to gender roles and beauty standards. By incorporating imagery I’ve tapped into in previous work, I hope to dig further into representing the affect of the socially-constructed gender binary that is so prevalent in the media we consume.

The second exhibition is a solo exhibition, which will feature my new work titled Glitch Series 01. The show will also include a select few works from my MFA Thesis Exhibition. During the opening reception of the exhibition, on Friday, October 27th, I will also be giving an artist talk discussing ideas from my thesis and how it influenced the creation of this new body of work being showcased in the solo exhibition. The talk will also include a slideshow of images that give an even more in-depth look into my process and my hard drive of digital files. 

Glitch Series 01

Since returning home after the completion of my MFA thesis I've been taking it pretty easy and trying to allow myself some sort of break. I've recently completed a new project titled Glitch Series 01, which involved converting a series of digital image glitches (sourced from images generated in Photoshop) into a cross-stitch pattern which was then completed as a cross-stitch work. 

The images used for this project were a series of glitches that occurred one day while I was working on another project in Photoshop. The file that I opened did not appear the way that it was supposed to, instead it was a collaged mashup of several files which I had opened within the past week or so. Instead of dismissing this unexpected moment as a computer failure, I accepted it as a gift. It was as if the computer had gotten frustrated with the overwhelming amount of information and data I had given it within a short span of time and this was its way of materializing that frustration. The computer had spoken and I wanted to savour every last moment of it that I could. 

I proceeded to save and alter these strange glitches that reloaded and occurred each time I saved the file. I adjusted the curves and colourations of some of the images before saving them, in order to enhance the artistic, almost painterly qualities. In the moment it was a highly energized, playful interaction, a constant wave of communication that fluctuated between myself and the computer.

I stored these glitch images in a folder on my hard drive, unsure of my future plans for them. It wasn't until I began integrating cross-stitching into my thesis projects that I realized this is what the glitch series would become. 

I selected 9 cropped sections (below) of the single glitch image (above) to create a series of images that would then be converted into a series of cross-stitches. 

The 9 selected images above were then uploaded onto a website called StitchFiddle.com, where they were converted into cross-stitch patterns. Below are the resulting cross-stitched works.

Each piece is approximately 3.5" x 3.5". I'm still working out the kinks for final display but currently my plan is to frame each digital image with its corresponding cross-stitch partner in a 20" x 20" frame with a double window matte. Below is a rough mock-up of what each of the final pieces will look like framed. 

This project evolved and developed over a long period of time, but I am extremely happy with the results. I wouldn't be surprised if I continue doing more cross-stitch works with a digital aesthetic in the future.