vancouver artist

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.

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!

February 2022 - Update

  • New private art studio!

  • New work - Uncanny Cross-Stitch (3)

Back at the beginning of January, I moved into my first private art studio space! The City Centre Artist Lodge is an old hotel that’s been converted into an artist studio building. This first month was mainly spent sprucing things up (as you can see from the before photos, there was some much needed TLC). Due my recent arm injury I needed to hire someone to do the labour of removing the carpet and painting. But I have to say it’s definitely improved and I’m so happy with how it’s already starting to come together! The past few weekends my focus has been accumulating the necessary furniture and putting it all together. But I’m very excited for this week since I’m hoping to start moving over some of my art and supplies! Once I have things better set up, I’ll start creating/working from there and share more from behind the scenes in my new space.

Lastly, this weekend I finished Uncanny Cross-Stitch (3) to wrap up a new series of three works. These works will be included in a solo exhibition planned for 2023 titled Womanmade: Crafting Architecture and the Mundane.

Uncanny Cross-Stitch (3), 7 x 5.5 inches, embroidery floss, Aida cloth, 2022

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 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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February 2021 - Update

Throughout January I started and completed a series of three small works titled Remnants of the Manmade. I was inspired to get outside and take photographs of architecture after finding an open call for a virtual exhibition. I wanted to make a connection between the masculinity of architecture and the femininity of the handmade. I did this by taking crops of the photographs, pixelating the crops, and converting them into cross-stitch patterns. All that was left were remnants and lines of the buildings from the photographs. Even though the connection to the manmade is still present, it becomes overshadowed by the soft materials of the handmade.

The rest of my time was spent continuing to work on a painting for the Translation Series, doing a bit of research, and testing out the affects of different sized stitches over text. I have a project concept for a typography piece/series, but I don’t want the text to be the first thing you notice about the piece. I want the text to almost be invisible and for the pattern layered over top to act as a mask of sorts. I was so happy with how the test was coming together that I decided to make it a finished piece in the end, which I’m now calling P is for Pain.

I have a few project ideas that are still stirring in this crazy brain of mine and I’m trying my best to let them simmer a bit before I jump right into creating them. It’s important for me to have a clear direction and purpose for my works, as this is something I’ve found challenging in the past.

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!