SHIFT exploring layers of perspective

Barbra EdwardsFiona Duthie

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Barbra Edwards’ recent paintings use dialogue between form and line to interpret her view of the environment on a cellular level. She explores sense of place and how each of us sees things from our own perspective. This series is textured, with vibrant colours

surrounded by calm, atmospheric space.

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Fiona Duthie’s sculptural felt garments employ geological

surfaces created through fabric manipulation, stratified textiles

and mapping imagery to explore biography and individual

perspective. There is movement in each piece, inferring a

geographical, emotional or mental shift.

There is a natural flow and relationship between what both artists are creatively saying in their respective art forms.

SHIFTexploring layers of perspective

nebulamixed media and oil on canvas60 x 43 in (152 x 109 cm)2014

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nocturnemixed media and oil on canvas

60 x 43 in (152 x 109 cm)2014

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nebula + nocturneMost often I work on several paintings simultaneously. These two pieces seemed a pair from the moment I started work on them. With graphite or ink on a stick or skinny brush I scratched in certain elements, then followed their flow with oil. I see them as metaphors for the many positive opposites in our world: day/night, yin/yang, man/woman, sun/moon.

Barbra

migrationThe surface design is a little wild, very sculptural. Interlaced and overlapping, crawling, leaping, edging their way up and around the dress. In my mind these are wishbones, and they are also tracks. They cast shadows, changing with the angle of the viewers perception.

This dress was dyed with iron and tansy that I collected one morning while walking in the hills and looking out over a gorgeous sea, with mountains beyond. Local plant pigments connecting the place with the movement. I am happy to have the time to work through this slow completion process.

Fiona

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migrationfelt- extra fine merino wool,

silk, natural plant dyes,2014

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A sensual feast! K.M.

Sensitively combined-there is a fabulous flow from one to the other. L.C.

These two artists need to tour together. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen two artists that show so well together. M.S

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grey rhythmoil on canvas

48 x 72 in (122 x 183 cm)2014

Gestural line is used in this painting to express movement and substance and also to suggest what

might have existed before. It’s similar to when pencil marks are left on for positioning in a

drawing.

Barbra

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creature love oil on canvas48 x 60 in (122 x 152 cm)2014

My view of the world is that human, animal, vegetal, all sentient beings…are connected as one. It’s no surprise that creatures appear and disappear within my work. Creature Love may have human or animal references…it’s wherever your imagination takes you.

Barbra

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stratumfelt - extra fine merino wool,

silk, natural plant dyes,2014

Stratum is an experience in sense of place. Folded striations of silk ripple over

the surface, mirroring sedimentary rock formations. The bold colour inlays are like

maps, depicting regions with connecting pathways- travelled by

thought, on foot or by vehicle. In between these two points lie three

dimensional rifts, covered with a myriad of stitches. A little bit of chaos as we find

our way. These rifts are created using many resists, a felting term perfect for

illustrating the indirect path we follow as we find our place in the world.

Fiona

SHIFT exploring layers of perspective includes oil paintings and gouache drawings by visual artist Barbra Edwards alongside sculptural felted garments by fibre artist Fiona Duthie. The artists both take great inspiration from the natural environment that surrounds them, using local subject matter and natural materials in their work. Although the artists feel a deep artistic connection, our visitors have been surprised to learn that their works are produced autonomously in their respective studios on separate Gulf Islands.

When Edwards and Duthie came to deliver their work to the gallery, from Pender Island and Salt Spring Island, respectively, I had the pleasure of watching as each artist unpacked their pieces and saw the other’s new work for the first time. The artists themselves were struck anew by the connections linking their works. Some of the pieces, like Duthie’s ‘Propagation’ and Edwards’ ‘Blue Friday’ for example, make natural pairs, but the solid relationships between the works – in terms of colour palette, forms, texture, and line – make possible numerous successful and conversation-starting pairings. Edwards and Duthie have a rich professional relationship; they speak the same artistic ‘language’ and push each other creatively by sharing their artworks.

Seymour Art Gallery is nestled in Deep Cove, a unique village set in a picturesque coastal fjord, a short distance across the inlet from Vancouver. Surrounded by green slopes, pebbled shoreline, and deep blue waters, Deep Cove is a place of great natural beauty and this exhibition, rooted in nature and focused on its many rich details, is right at home in our space. Gallery visitors and volunteers have observed the meditative quality of the work, noting how calm they feel in the gallery space, and have commented on the synergy at play between the artists.

Sarah CavanaughCurator/DirectorSeymour Art GalleryDeep Cove, North Vancouver

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letters from the curators

The Artcraft committee plans four artist showcases each summer at Mahon hall on Salt Spring Island. In planning for the 2014 season we considered separate proposals by both Fiona Duthie and Barbra

Edwards along with other applicants. It quickly became apparent that a collaboration between the two of them could create a memorable and unique show. We could see from similarities in their colour

palettes and in the way these colours created contours, and swathes of movement across their respective mediums that there was a bond and symbiosis between them.

The resulting exhibition: SHIFT was even more successful than we had imagined. The artists worked apart but created such a cohesive and astounding collection once their work was brought together on stage. Duthie’s dress forms floated ethereally in juxtaposition with Edwards’ paintings, at times looking

as if they had floated out from the canvasses and materialized as their 3D reincarnations.

The look of the exhibition was kept minimal which only increased the power of the pieces on display, and highlighted the sophistication of the exhibition.

SHIFT has been one of the most visually exciting exhibitions to ever grace Salt Spring, and is still talked about by visitors to this year’s showcases. An unprecedented level of discussion was generated by the

show and by Duthie and Edwards’ incredible ability to work as one, whilst only directed by their own senses.

Richard SteelCurator/ manager

ArtCraft Gallery, Salt Spring Island Arts Council, Salt Spring Island, BC

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letters from the curators

propagationfelt- extra fine merino wool,silk gauze + organza,2015

blue fridayoil on canvas

72 x 48 in (183 x 122 cm)2015

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In this piece I build up layers of strata using my shadow felting techniques. This layering adds visual depth, emphasized by the dark line crevices. Cracks in our soil that allow for opportunity. Seed forms rise up above the surface, each with their own colour, pattern and potentiality. Repeating, but never the same. There is some awkwardness in the composition, echoing our own experience as we stretch into personal growth.

Fiona

blue fridayoil on canvas

72 x 48 in (183 x 122 cm)2015

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Kenny Dorham’s jazz music was playing continuously in the studio and this painting came together as they rarely

do, almost spontaneously. It may have been that I ‘disappeared somewhere else’ while working away.

Painting life-sized pieces like Blue Friday (72 x 48 inches) feel like working with another being.

Barbra

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nature totem oneoil on canvas72 x 30 in (183 x 76 cm)2015

nature totem twooil on canvas72 x 30 in (183 x 76 cm)2015

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nature totem one + nature totem twoThese totems appeared later in the series. They

were painted simultaneously and feel stron-gest as a pair. Both represent that focused

close-up of individual elements in nature that I’m trying to capture.

Barbra

sea statefelt- extra fine merino wool,silk gauze + organza2015

Recently, I heard blue water sailors discussing sea states. I was intrigued by the term and investigated the Beaufort scale. I love the idea of the sea having a recognized state of being. Water movements, air movements and waves in varying degrees of calm and violence. A beautiful and ancient metaphor for our psychological states, based our own continuously shifting conditions.

Fiona

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I have a history of islands in my life, from the Shetland Islands in Scotland, New Zealand, Newfoundland and now Salt Spring Island in Canada. I find the boundaries of an island to be powerful. The edges contain and focus my creative energy, crystalizing and empowering my thinking and productivity.

I love the peacefulness of this place. Twenty minutes spent walking, sitting and observing shorelines clears my mind and buoys my spirit. Between the skies and the seas in all their shades of blues and greys, I have room for both reflective and expansive thinking. The island is small and removed, but being here invites big ideas in my artwork and more opportunities to reach the world.

Fiona - Salt Spring Island, British Columbia

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islands and artists

This coastline inspires me. Island living is as much about attitude as it is about its famous slow pace. Choosing to be here allows time for a deeper response to this sanctuary and also to the

personal reflections I want to explore in my creative practice.

Barbra - Pender Island, British Columbia

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coriolisfelt- extra fine merino wool,silk, natural plant dyes,2014

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foraging for selfoil on canvas

30 x 60 in (76.2 x 152cm)2014

I began with automatic drawing in this painting. No planning other than choosing a colour palette, then began to draw with charcoal and a stiff drawing brush. These are the most immediate and intimate marks from eye through hand to canvas. From here I step back, respond to the marks and disappear into the painting. As I

switch to paint some of the initial marks will remain as the painting progresses. This piece is about finding one’s way in a complex world.

Barbra

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Coriolis is about movement and deviations of chosen direction. The deflection of winds can build into storms; light or violent disturbances in an otherwise pattern of calm. A course may be set, but many circumstances can divert that intention and build into chaos or conflict. When we understand these elements, we can work with them to direct our passage, but sometimes the altered course proves to be the best one. The inner dress and outer dress have different lines of current. Because the two pieces are not connected, the patterns of deflection shift with movement within the gallery or on the body. The two pieces question which one most truly shows the best path…the public outer layer or the lightly obscured inner one.

Fiona

revealfelt- extra fine merino wool,silk, natural plant dyes,2013

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We publicly expose aspects of ourselves, our dreams, thoughts, histories, inadvertently or with intention. These windows into the self change over the course of our days and lives, and will be ‘read’ differently depending on the perspective of the viewer. The multiple layers, folds and openings in Reveal represent this concept. Design elements are sometimes visible and sometimes obscured, just as in conversation we never can know the whole underlying story that informs the words.

Fiona

border(line) + take the long wayoil on canvas

24 x 24 in (61 x 61 cm)2015

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Neutral colour plays an important role my work. There are as many new greys as there are

combinations of paint. Finding them expands my personal colour vocabulary the same as expanding

one’s signature mark-making. Greys provide both space and a comforting cocooning effect for me in

the work. Reflecting on my muted paintings I recognize their impact and strength. Similar to the

introverted person, you simply need to slow down and listen to what they have to say.

Barbra

Beautiful exhibit. Love the shift in visual flow from dresses to painting to dresses, etc. My two favourties- Creature Love- bowled over by forms and colours. And Form Speaks to Form- what are they saying to each other- something whimsical? J.A.

Stunning combination.! One of the best exhibits here ever. W.L.

I was overwhelmed with the sophistication of relationship between felt dresses and paintings. This is something you would see in New York. V.F.

It’s the best visual experience, with a palette of colours to stir emotion. K.H.

Love it. The contrast/affinity between the work. M.L.

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viewer impressions

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reveal take the long way + border(line)

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the air was full of soundink, oil on canvas54 x 48 in (137 x 122 cm)2015

Dripping paint as metaphor can describe so much: a body of water, tears of joy or sadness, nature’s sounds and textures in general...

Barbra

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My work shifts not so much in subject matter, but in how the subject is described. With this

series my approach was to observe my surroundings in a more intimate way than

before. I filter elements of nature through my imagination to obscure obvious landscape and expose the story on a cellular level. It’s a way of

simplifying what I see.

Gestural line is used to express movement and substance and also to suggest what might

have existed before. It’s similar to when you see pencil marks left in for positioning in a drawing. These linear elements travel around shapes and embed themselves within the hidden stories of

these paintings.

The size of the larger, narrow panels such as Blue Friday and the Nature Totems give them a

physicality that is human in scale. As I painted them there was a sensation of dance

with a swing from small molecular details back to loose figurative shapes. Their human size

produced a welcome energy in the studio. My preferred medium is oil paint because it’s a

living substance. When I continue from where I left off the day before, the painting has already begun the process of settling into its own skin.

Even colour subtly shifts. How oil paint moves is a thrilling part of the process.

When I paint I think about relationship and entanglements with nature. Often the

meanings in my work lie just below the surface, hopefully offering the viewer an opportunity to

take the time for sustained conversation.

Barbra

thoughts on abstraction

The work in this exhibition is created from the viewpoint of dresses as sculptural forms, rather than as fashion pieces. As sculptures, they speak to modern femininity and its many challenges.

The Shift dress is an iconic fashion form developed in the 1960’s, an era renowned for the second wave in feminism and the women’s liberation movement. The shift dress is used in these pieces to represent the juggling act we practice, shifting perspective regularly in an attempt to balance caregiving, self-care and employment.

I wanted to create a contrast between the piece being an appealing garment and a sculptural vessel. On exhibition, the dresses hang on almost invisible forms as three dimensional sculptures, imbued with story. To emphasize the feminine and personal, I also had them photographed on beautiful women, in a setting befitting the stories behind the work. These garments are entirely wearable, but have tactile features that challenge everyday wear.

I enjoy working on garments from this perspective. The forms are very personal and human. Not only do I colour the canvas, but I also actually create it. This canvas needs to be three dimensional and shaped for perfect fit on a human body, who then changes the piece from static to dynamic sculpture. A very beautiful shift….

Fiona

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thoughts on selection of form

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hegirafelt- extra fine merino wool,

silk, natural plant dyes,2014

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hegirafelt- extra fine merino wool,silk, natural plant dyes,2014

Hegira is the sisterdress to Migration.

I wanted to take the wishbone sculptural elements and use them in larger, more transparent forms. An individual path compared to that of the many in Migration. Hegira was a watery dress from the very beginning. The large sheer panel in the middle of the dress, both front and back, illustrates a journey, broken at times, and coming from or starting with a fork or confluence...Rivers with portages, canals with locks, seas with storms…choices and challenges…

This dress looks wonderful exhibited as a sculpture, but it’s story feels even more complete when shown worn on our beautiful island....reflecting the journey by water we all take to get here...

Fiona

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beautiful world oil on panel

54 x 48 in (137 x 122 cm)2014

A joyous painting: vibrant, with a

largeness balancing small

details. A mirror of this complex world

we live in. Sometimes I need

to stretch my colour vocabulary. Until I introduced red to

my paintings I’d found the colour too

aggressive for my work. It made me

feel uncomfortable. Since then all tones

of red have taken me on quite a ride, from boldly bright

orange-reds to deeply dark and of the earth. Angry to

lyrical and somewhere in

between… Finally red and I have found

compatibility.

Barbra

confluencefelt- extra fine merino wool,silk, natural plant dyes,2014

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the man who flew kitesoil with wax on panel20 x 24 in (51 x 61cm)2015

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confluenceConfluence is the act or process of merging. It exists only with two entities meeting, whether they are

bodies of water, ideas and philosophies or people. All of these are represented in Confluence. When creating this piece, I imagined the meeting in exhibition of Barbra’s and my work, and of the waters

flowing around our islands to merge into the Pacific. This is where I left the physical and started to use it as a metaphor only for the sharing of ideas. There are layers in black and white creating the sense of

movement and current. I used actual map pieces and colourful forms to convey thoughts and inspirations, floating like submerged islands in the sea, not entirely apparent or clear......some may come

to light and life through their sharing, while others float on….possibly to be picked up on at another point of confluence.

Fiona

the man who flew kitesWalking on one of those beaches that go forever in Oregon, a conversation was struck up with a man

who was almost completely blind. He spent much of the day flying large, colourful kites. He had a routine with everything in its place so he could follow strings tied to his backpack and send the

kites into the air. It was obvious he loved flying them and we had a special afternoon watching him work these huge ‘birds’. He couldn’t see colour, perhaps only vague forms. This painting is a memory of that

day and his inspiring attitude.

Barbra

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driftoil on canvas12 x 12 in (30 x 30 cm)2014

beachoil on panel16 x 16 in (41 x 41 cm)2014

These small paintings portray a day at the seaside in British Columbia where I live. It’s a way of documenting what we are all fortunate to have here on the coast before the very real possibility of its environmental loss.

Barbra

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beachcombingoil on panel

20 x 24 in (51 x 61 cm)2015

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shift 3oil on canvas16 x 32 in (41 x 81 cm) diptych2014

Most cultures use writing as language communication. Here I’m using line and form to suggest another way of looking at language.

Each of us sees things from our personal perspective. We bring our experience, beliefs, gender, and culture…to the situation. My intention with this painting was to explore visually how that might look. No matter how differently people might see something, there is always some point where they can agree. In this piece there is a connection in colour, line or form that connects one side and the other.

Barbra

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fathom and soundfelt- extra fine merino wool,

silk, natural plant dyes,2014

Fathom and Sound is another watery exploration of identity and sense of place. How much we can come to know about one another by coming into

relationship. These words each have two definitions applicable to this work. Fathom is a

unit of measure of depth in water. It happens to be six feet…human in height….It also means to know and comprehend the nature of a problem,

object or person after much contemplation. To sound is to measure depth at sea, to plunge

downward, and also to seek information. It describes geographically the watery space that

divides my island from Barbra’s. A space that allows for the passing of vessels…movement and

navigation. This work describes the depths we plumb through relationship…

Fiona

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form speaks to formoil on panel48 x 54 in (122 x 137cm)2014

The forms in this painting took on a monumental presence in my studio as I worked over a period of months. They shifted from one emotion to another as I moved them around in the painting. They had something to say about where they’d end up. This doesn’t usually happen when I paint…they were in turn soft, loud, sad, mellow, strong, and finally content. This painting is a pivotal piece. It’s uncomfortable to me, an important place to be. Vulnerability opens up further creative exploration.

Barbra

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fathom and sound

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riftfelt- extra fine merino wool,silk, natural plant dyes,2014

Rift is full of (beautiful) scars and intentions.

This piece is made of shadowy shards. Like flakes of obsidian, but cradled within a softer surface. Black and white forming shades of grey over time. Biography and Geology. This piece has elements of all rock formations, sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic; tectonic shifting, escarpments... It is hard, sharp and cut, but softened around the edges in the overall dress form, like a tumbled stone. There are geode-like inclusions; seams of precious earth....scars, dreams, wishes...life in general. These rifts are pushed up and out of the base textile; carved and twisted through the felting process. Each scarred line is like a difficult life experience… a pain remembered that forms our perfect wholeness.

Fiona

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shift 1oil on panel

48 x 54 in (122 x 137 cm)2014

In this diptych form and line move around within the overall painting while the individual panels present

varied view points about the same subject.

Barbra

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Barbra Edward’s recent paintings lean towards the traditon of expressionism, interpreting an honest, close-up view of the environment. Edward’s highly refined colour sense triggers people on an emotional level having nothing to do with verbal language. Hers is tender yet sensuous story telling, with brushstrokes that share with the viewer how the painting was made.

Barbra studied Photographic Arts at Dawson College in Montreal, and then majored in Photography and Design at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario. She lives and works on Pender Island, British Columbia.

biographies

Fiona Duthie‘s sculptural felt garments employ geological surfaces created through fabric manipulation, stratified

textiles and mapping imagery to explore biography and individual perspective. There is a sense of movement in

each piece, inferring a geographical, emotional or mental shift.

Fiona Duthie is a feltmaker recognized for her dynamic surface design. She loves storytelling, both in words and

textiles and starts a new piece, thinking first of what story she wants to tell and then creates tactile metaphors in form, fibre and surface additions to best communicate that

narrative.

Fiona’s work has been published in many international textile arts publications and she has exhibited her work

in Canada, the US, New Zealand and the UK. Felting since 1996, Fiona Duthie has a full-time studio practice based on

Salt Spring Island.

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I enjoy the energy and life that is present in Barbra’s work. There are worlds to explore and take time with, within her compositions.  We do not work off each other’s pieces, but with every new conversation and sharing of works in progress we discover incredible connections and mutual perspectives. These pieces have evolved within our studios, autonomously, but already in relationship.

Fiona

Fiona’s felt sculptural pieces are mystical magic in themselves. I never tire of looking at their intricacy with sheer wonder. As we worked away in our individual studios on separate islands, neither of us realized the impact that showing our work to-gether would produce. The strength of our individual pieces once paired in the gallery escalated into something else that takes the breath away. That makes the difficult days of creative process all worthwhile.

Barbra

in collaboration

Photographs in this publication were taken by Amy Melious, John Cameron, Vanessa Black, Fiona Duthie and

Barbra Edwards.

Seymour Art Gallery gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the City of North Vancouver and the District of

North Vancouver through North Vancouver Recreation and Culture, the Province of British Columbia, and our members.

ArtCraft Gallery and the Salt Spring Arts Council thank the British Columbia Arts Council and the Province of

British Columbia for their support.

acknowledgements

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Design Layout by Rachel BevingtonCopyright © 2015 Duthie / Edwards

barbra edwards fiona duthie

www.barbraedwards.com www.fionaduthie.com

blue friday 72 x 48 in (183 x 122 cm) oil on canvas propagation, felted sculpture