vancity art

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.

July 2021 - Update

 
 
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Work in Progress - Funded Art Book Project

After three months of hard core cross-stitching and laborious unstitching, I’ve completed the final cross-stitch piece for my art book project funded by the Canada Council for the Arts. July will be spent reviewing all of the stories submitted through my open call and carefully curating/selecting which ones to include in the book. I will also begin the design and layout of the book using InDesign. It’s really rewarding to see months of work come together and I can’t wait to show off the book when it’s all done!

 
 

Recording: Feminist Craft of Care in Times of Crisis

Back in May, I was one of three artist’s that presented and participated in a panel discussion as part of the public programming for Cinevolution’s Digital Carnival Z. Now there’s a recording of the full event available to view on youtube!

Moderated by Minah Lee, Associate Curator.

How have the labours of women artists been affected by the challenges of the ongoing pandemic? By centering feminist understandings of time and intergenerational connections, can we resist normalized and privileged cruelties practiced by capitalist patriarchy in these unprecedented times?

This panel invites you to the works of Lena Chen, Mallory Donen, and Sarah Shamash, three women artists who are crafting "care culture" in their communities through their art practice and subverting the expected outcomes of feminized labours. Lena Chen is a Chinese American writer and artist creating performances and socially engaged art in live and virtual contexts. Mallory Donen is a multidisciplinary artist residing in Vancouver, exploring processes rooted in traditional craft passed down by generations of women in her family. Sarah Shamash’s projects often underline geopolitics, feminist thought, and historical difference as a marker for understanding the world and worldings in media histories. Threading together realities of gender, labour, and surveillance, the artists' dialogue will expose gendered bodies in resistance, woven into the textile and tactility of the digital world and beyond.

This artist panel is part of the public program series curated by Minah Lee for Cinevolution's Digital Carnival Z, featuring UNION by Featured Artists Nancy Lee 李南屏 and Kiran Bhumber ਕਿਰਨਦੀਪ ਕੌਰ ਭੰਬਰ.

Discover the rest of the events in the series at www.DigitalCarnival.ca.


Society Reboot: A Guide for Humans

I’m excited to share a new video work that I created as a response to the pandemic. The work is intended as comic relief from the anxieties that someone might be experiencing now that state of emergency restrictions are being lifted. How do we start functioning as social human beings again, after such an extended period of isolation? What is normal?

Society Reboot: A Guide for Humans is an instructional video created for humans starting over in a social setting. Have you been quarantined during a pandemic? Do you need a guide for social interactions that use to be second nature? Then, this is the video for you! Or maybe existing in society has always been awkward for you? If so, this guide will introduce you to the social basics and help you learn how to be more “normal”.

This project provides a serious reflection of society's ever-changing definition of “normal”. Humour, irony, and sheer ridiculousness are used as tools to confront discomforts and fears, as individuals are re-introduced to societal interactions.

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 2019 - Update

  • Spring 2019 Wine + Art Walk

  • Etsy Shop

  • Solo Exhibition: Ranger Station Art Gallery

  • Artist Residency: Vermont Studio Center


Spring 2019 Wine + Art Walk

On May 30th, We Are Pie Artist Collective will be participating in the Spring 2019 Wine + Art Walk, in Downtown Abbotsford. Tickets have already sold out! The night consists of drinking wine and walking to the nearby stores which are showcasing the work of local artists. We Are Pie will be displaying our art at The Kindred Clothing Co.


Etsy Shop

I’ve recently spent some time updating my Etsy Shop with a range of original art, prints, and pinback buttons. I’m also looking for local artisan shops to sell my work at, so if you know of any shops I should check out, please let me know!

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Solo Exhibition: Ranger Station Art Gallery

This summer I have a solo exhibition, I Come From A Long Line of Machines, at the Kent Harrison Arts Council - Ranger Station Art Gallery in Harrison, BC. The exhibition will run from August 3-25, with an opening reception taking place on Sunday, August 4th from 2-4pm. The exhibition consists of my MFA thesis work as well as new works I’ve created since graduate school.


Artist Residency: Vermont Studio Center

After my solo exhibition in Harrsion, I’ll be taking off to the Vermont Studio Center for a 4-week residency, from September 1-27th. “The VSC is the largest international residency program in the US, hosting more than 50 visual artists and writers each month from across the country and around the world”. The artist residency will provide the time and opportunity to deepen my practice and network with other artists. Established visiting artists will give public talks and attend open studio sessions. I will also have the chance to give an artist talk and share my practice further through a slide presentation.

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.

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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!

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Glitch Series 04

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

February 2019 - Update

  • Pacific Arts Market

  • Art to Dine For

  • Women in Arts

  • Glitch Series

  • Solo Exhibition



Pacific Arts Market

Later this week, I’ll be setting up shop at the Pacific Arts Market at 1448 West Broadway, for the next month. This new retail space is an art market featuring local artists, craftspeople, and designers to display their work for sale. On Saturday, February 9th, from 11-7pm, I’ll be there for most of the day for the event “For the Love of Art”. Come by to mingle and browse over 40 different local artists, while sipping on “love potion” from the cocktail bar.

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Art to Dine For

Just a reminder that I’ve got another art market fundraiser event coming up on February 8th, at High Street in Abbotsford. The market at Art to Dine For will feature art by art collective members from We Are Pie. It’s going to be an amazing event with art, food, and live music!

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Women in Art

I’ve been accepted into a group exhibition at the Kariton Art Gallery in Abbotsford, for Women’s International month! I’ll be showing my three women artist portraits: Yayoi Kusama, Diane Arbus, and Judy Chicago.

The 2019 Women in Arts exhibition will be held from March 9th - April 2nd.

An opening reception will take place on Saturday, March 9th, 2019 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.  

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Glitch Series

In preparation for the upcoming markets, I’ve been cross-stitching like crazy and framing some more works from my Glitch Series 02 & 04. Here are some photos of the process!


Solo Exhibition - Ranger Station Art Gallery

Some more exciting news! I’ve been accepted for a solo exhibition at the Ranger Station Art Gallery in Harrison, BC. More information to follow, but what I can tell you is that the exhibition will take place in August 2019 and will feature work from my thesis “I Come From a Long Line of Machines”.