That was Then : This is Now by Jane Bodnaruk

Yesterday I caught the train into the Big Smoke to see Jane Bodnaruk’s That was Then: This is Now and listen to her artist talk. Her interrogation of the now combined with exquisite stitching honours the past so beautifully, matching the thread colours of the finely stitched vintage tray cloths from early last century with words from the news of the Covid epidemic from 2020 to 2022. Her integrity of line and depth of thought is matchless, this body of work needs to be housed in a museum for posterity.

Jane produced this catalogue for the show documenting the nearly 50 vintage tray cloths she stitched into

back cover of the catalogue and intro below

Jane talked about her work with such ease and grace

her placement of the texts compliment
the colours and forms of the the past perfectly

feeling inspired best get back to stitching my Old Man Crow!

Untethered Fibre Artists : Found Narrative

The Untethered Fibre Artists : Found Narrative exhibition opened last night
Pam de Groot
First You Must Burn
90 x 80 x 40 cm – variable
Merino wool wire, cotton thread
Felting, machine embroidery
“When the nest becomes too small a bird is ready to spread its wings and fly” Matshona Dhliyawo
Jane Bodnaruk
A Process of Vignettes
2.0 x 1.8 x 0.22 m variable
Second-hand shirts, fabric, embroidery threads, embroidery hoops, polyester film
Hand stitch
“In 2016 I sketched my handmade rope from Rope Journey once every week for 37 weeks primarily in pencil on paper. I added fabric and stitch to these sketches toward the end of the journey.
In 2019 I have focused on fabric and stitch as a process of creative discovery. I wanted to discover if the process of working straight into fabric with needle and thread could be effective as an alternative and/or accompanying tool of process for me in finding the narrative.”
Jane Bodnaruk
Unpacked (detail)
130 x 85 x 40 cm
Vintage embroidered tablecloth, vintage embroidery, muslin, fabric, embroidery threads
Hand stitch
‘There are two sides to every story’
Denise Lithgow
Amphora & Amphoriskoi
3 Amphora – 110 x 40 x 27cm, 92 x 42 x 27cm, 83 x 33 20 cm
3 Amphorsikoi – 77 x 37 x 20 cm, 76 x 36 20 cm, 72 x 36 x 20 cm
Merino and crossbred wool, yarn, silk, wire, polyfil, matt varnish
Felting, eco-dyed with Australian flora – Eucalyptus nicholii and Grevillea Moonlight
Carolyn Cabena
Under the Canopy
170 x 110 cm
Cotton, hessian, naphtol and fibre reactive dyes, wax
Silkscreen printing, hand stitch
Under the Canopy detail of Monstera leaves
Cathie Griffith
Conversations
137 x 97 cm
Recycled fabric, tulle, acrylic paint, thread, beads
Painting, stitch
Conversations detail
Kirry Toose
The Curious Minds Anthology
Lost & Found
175 x 100 x 100 cm
Flyscreen, boning, latex, rubber matting, silk, cotton
Silkscreen printing, applique, hand and machine stitch
‘Every artwork takes on its own narrative, finding itself and then becoming illusive in its intent. This wearable creation is the journey of being ‘lost and found’-that clarity of a concept at midnight, losing the intent at the light of dawn.
A lifetime of chasing memories which fade in and out of time and place.’
fabulous details
Kirry Toose
The Curious Minds Anthology
The Other Side – the mechanics of observation
175 x 100 x 100 cm
Flyscreen, boning, metal, silk, cotton
Silkscreen printing, applique, hand and machine stitch
Referenced within the work is a collection of narratives exploring the juncture between facades, metaphors and structure. The form is bound to both the body aesthetic and functionality of the wearable.
The translucent yet strong surface cloth represents the intangible memories of a voyager. Its sometimes to reconcile that time of day – the mechanics of observing the in between – the light and shadows caught out of the corner of one’s eye and in the fleeting glimpses and silhoueittes of past recollections.
The Other Side detail
love those big hooks and eyes!
there is so much more to see so get along if you are anywhere near Sydney
there are lots more photos on Facebook & Instagram

Untethered Fibre Artists present un:Seen

13th-25th November 2018
Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre
Hornsby
this fabulous exhibition finishes tomorrow, if you are anywhere near Sydney don’t miss it!
Destiny  by Carolyn Cabena
40 x 120cm
Linen, cotton, synthetic
Burnout print, applied dye, hand stitch
“A persona is shaped by experiences and images seen throughout one’s lifetime. These images are embedded in one’s memory forever and cannot be erased or unseen, although some may wish they could be.”
side viewlooking up
Carolyn’s work defined the show for me, loved the layering, exquisite stitching, complex hanging arrangement and how it fit the brief so beautifully
Eye Music (detail) by Samantha Tannous
40 x 120cm
merino fibre, silk fabrics
wet felted
“This felted sound wave conceals a poem by Petrarch, set to music by the late-Renaissance composer, Luca Marenzio, who frequently used eye music in his madrigals.”
Shouldering the Burden (detail) by Jane Bodnaruk
Installation
180 x 80 x 180cm
Second hand women’s shirts, netting, clothes airer, pegs, plinth
Hand stitch
“Let us acknowledge un:Seen women, who shoulder un:Seen burdens.”
Blockers (detail) by Desdemona Foster
Hanging
1.5 x 3m
Polyester, polyester thread
digital print, hand stitch
“Is what you see all that is there?”
Relief (detail) by Helen MacRitchie
one of 4 framed works
32 x 32cm
Merino wool roving and fabric, silk organza, cotton, silk and wool threads
Wet felting, hand and free macine embroidery
printed digital images of electron micrographs for asthma medication
Catching Breath (detail) by Helen MacRitchie
Hanging
120 x 80 x 10cm
Merino wool, cotton thread
Wet feting, free machine embroidery
“In the UK, asthma affects 1 in 11 of the population…
This work attempts to represent such an insidious contamination through a network. The whiteness of the lace felt layers is spoiled by spreading marks; marks which are in themselves tiny but en masse can prove impactful to the network integrity”
Disconnect (detail) by Kirry Toose
Wearable
175 x 80 x 80cm
Silk, wool, cotton, paper, rubber
Screen printed, hand woven fabric
Handmade paper framework
“This garment was created as a personal response to the sense of urgency to respond immediately to digital correspondence and Social Media- the inane attachment to a keyboard and the subsequent feeling of disconnect from reality and the tactile, through the everyday urge of the ‘screen’.”
Conversations in Time by Brenda Livermore
7 woven circular columns
1.0 – 1.4m variable height x 0.15m diameter
Paper string
Looping, fringing
“The time spent making these woven columns acknowledges and makes corporeal time spent with friends.”detail of looping and fringing
Common Ground (detail) by Brenda Livermore
54 vessels
8 x 60 x 90cm
Mulberry paper, paper string
Paper cast, fringing
“The imprint of memory on the landscape.”
to see more photos and information about this inspiring group of women here’s links to the Untethered Fibre Artists website and facebook

Jane Bodnaruk’s pennant holds the spirits of place

Jane Bodnaruk’s beautiful pennant just arrived to join The Gathering
eco-printed eucalyptus leaves speak so strongly of the Sydney bushland
beautifully stitched on the most delicate silk
catching the wild beauty of gum leaves in the wind
the way they dance & twirl
singing on the breeze
shimmering
the other side
Jane’s work speaks with such deep love for our ancient land and the quiet power and perseverance of women
see more of her stunning work at
Epock Textiles
Under Sail (Parts 1 & 2) inTransit Untethered Fibre Artsits ATASDA 2017
Rope Journey Ebb & Flow Untethered Fibre Artists ATASDA 2016
Faded and Leaves 1 Future Past ATASDA 2014

namaste

Untethered Fibre Artists inTransit

the Untethered Fibre Artists inTransit exhibition has just opened at Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre
Cathy Griffith Transition
100 x 30cm
Fabric, threads
Stitch
detail
Fiona Hammond Square Peg
46 x 10x 10 cm
Cotton fabric, pearl cotton thread, interfacing, balsa wood, glue
Embroidery, hand stitching
Kirry Toose You are Here
3 garments – Navigate Interchange Destination
(inspired by The Little Prince)
Silk. wool, rubber
Screen printed, machine digitised, appliqué
Jane Bodnaruk Under Sail (Parts 1 and 2)
4.5 x 6 m
Cloth, second hand female shirts, thread
Hand stitched, collaged
For better and worse, the First Fleet arrived in Port Jackson on 26th January, 1778.
Two of the eleven ships carried the 193 convict women. For 258 days, they lived their lives in transit.
One of the many constants was the sail over head.

this is just a small selection, there is so much more to see, visit the Untethered Fibre Artists facebook page for lots more photos and info

ebb and flow

visited the Untethered Fibre Artists ATASDA members “ebb and flow” exhibition at Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre in Hornsby to see Jane Bodnaruk’s Rope Journey
Rope Journey Jane Bodnaruk 2016
Handmade rope constructed over a period of 37 weeks
dyed secondhand sheets blankets and tablecloths
Jane’s rope making began on February 16, 2016 and finished 258 days later for the opening of the exhibition tonight!
Jane’s artist statement
“I started this rope as a tribute to the convict women of the First Fleet. These women were incarcerated in the bowels of the ships, they had no idea how long the journey would be, no idea where they were going. They had to survive and endure for 258 days, from Portsmouth (May 13, 1787) to Port Jackson (January 25 1788)
The rope represents the rigours and monotony of the journey. The process of rope making has entwined my life with the memory of those women. It brings to mind the words of Tim Ingold (Life of Lines, 2015), ‘Minds and lives … are open ended processes whose most outstanding characteristic is that they carry on. And in carrying on, they wrap around one another like the many strands of a rope’.
No matter where, or when we live, as women we connect and carry on through the ebb and flow of our daily lives.”
Book of Rope Jane drew the rope each week as it progressed
Leòdhas Helen MacRitchie
Merino and corriedale wool, silk, flax, linen, jute, stones
wet felting and surface machine embroidery
Erasaid Helen MacRitchie
Merino and corriedale wool roving, wool gauze, silk, flax
wet felting and surface machine embroidery
Erasaid detail
Moon Shadow Kirry Toose
cotton drill, assorted yarns
digital print, hand stitched and painted
Moon Shadow detail
Life Was Not Meant to be Easy Barbara Schey (detail)
Silk organza, Shibori dyed
The Beauty of Australian Seed-Pods Mary Hedges
recycled coated copper wire, leather, hakea and waratah pods, dyed freshwater pearls, upholstery thread, wax crayons
Second Nature Brenda Livermore (detail)
Mulberry paper, wire
Continuous Life Elaine Witton (detail)
watercolour and acrylic inks, handmade paper, hand stitching on cotton fabric
SONG NEVERENDING
RHYTHMICAL RIBBONS OF LIGHT
CONTINUOUS LIFE
You can see more of the exhibition here

ATASDA Future…Past

Tomorrow is the last day of the ATASDA NSW biennial members show “Future…Past”
the work is outstanding this year, if you are in town don’t miss out!
it’s a feast for the eyes
such a treasure trove of well wrought work
Val James made this exquisite evening jacket and here’s a detail of her hanging panel
“Through a Glass Darkly” by Val James
detail of hanging panel 65 x 148cm
“My artwork is a hanging panel using a selection of sheer monochromatic fabrics. It consists of various sized sections pieced together with free machine embroidery.
Some pieces have been printed with lettering, some with images, with a theme of times past in my life. People and places, daily and otherwise, are documented in a visually representative way, in no particular order. It is a memoir in fabric, my favourite medium of expression.
This exhibition is celebrating a memorable 40th anniversary for ATASDA. I too will celebrate a personal milestone in my life with the occasion of my 80th birthday this year, an appropriate moment to reflect on times past.”
“Faded” by Jane Bodnaruk
60 x 90cm
Vintage cloth, hand and machine stitched
detail of “Faded”
“As a child I loved to visit my grandmother. I drank milk, ate pikelets and rearranged doileys all over her house.
At the time I loved them because they were pretty.
Now, when I look at old doileys,  I see the time and care taken in their making.
I see how they were used to add “special” to a dressing table, to a platter or even to an event.
In making “Faded” I have created a cloth embedded with memories of the women of the past.
By using laborious hand stitching techniques I have spent time honouring their work and memories.
This is a piece to hang on the wall, to treasure and remember as we move into the future.”
“The Dressmakers Series – Alterations” by Gloria Muddle
53 x 53cm
Silk, muslin, wool fabric, threads, watercolour, painted stitched, dyed, appliqued
“At 90, my mum, “the dressmaker” was still doing alterations for friends. As a traditionally trained dressmaker, she taught us about hand stitched hems, no loose threads, neat and tidy seams, and words such as gusset, ruching, pintucks and pinking shears. These were all part of our growing up.
In this contemporary work, I have tried to include some of these dressmaking memories. ”
“Making do with a Duchess” by Lynne Britten
1.1 x 0.5m wearable
“I come from a long line of women on both sides of my family who excelled in the lady like accomplishments of knitting, sewing, hand embroidery etc. I was taught these skills at an early age, and so started my career in textiles. These women mostly grew up, married and raised their own families within farming communities – so making do with what you had and then re-using it as the need arose was part of everyday life. Knitting needles made from fencing wire, the unworn parts of chenille bedspreads became bath mats & hand-me-downs re-invented with a touch of lace or similar.
Recycling, up cycling, re-purposing, etc was not done out of concern for the environment but out of economic necessity.
My pieces are made from a table cloth, duchess set and tatted doilies – no longer suited to our way of life and so given a new purpose with some dressmaking and dyeing skills.”
“Stairs to the Moon” by Shirley McKernan
108 x 37cm
Silk, indigo dye, mokume stitch
“The Full Moon rises over the exposed mudflats of Roebuck Bay (Broome WA )
between March and October each year creating an illusion of a staircase reaching for the moon.”
Future…Past
the brilliantly hung collaborative ATASDA members panel
Here’s some links to
ATASDA
ATASDA NSW blog – Fibretribe
Jane Bodnaruk’s Epock Textile blog
Kirry Toose Designs
Denise Lithgow
“Leaves 1” by Jane Bodnaruk
embroidered eco print and ink on paper, fragments of old lace