Tactile memory, visual memory and a storied history linking familial history with ancient ancestors’ lives have occupied my artmaking for many years. I have been interweaving the archaeological objects from the paleolithic era with objects from my maternal history using handmade paper.
palaeolithic icons
Small carved stone objects with significance to ancient peoples were worn around the neck or kept as important objects for worship or sacred treasures. The oils from the skin of the wearer were ingrained in these object despite being buried for hundreds of years.
These objects became a bridge across generations for me in my artmaking. I made etchings, drawings and screenprints of the original objects in the Royal Ontario Museum and other sources on my handmade paper. This enabled me to emboss the icons onto the handmade paper clothing I cast from my ancestors’ clothing.
intaglio prints:
drawings:
icon collage detail
icon collage detail
icon collage detail
icon collage detail
quilts
The Quilts were presented as quilt pieces stacked in sedimentary layers as though they were excavated from an archaeological dig. The layers were made of handmade paper, imprinted or embedded with historical objects from my maternal history. Each stack of quilt pieces held hidden mysteries which were unveiled when the quilt box (cast cotton and linen pulp) was opened and the quilt pieces were released. All of the quilts were given titles relating to my maternal history and the area they settled in eastern Ontario, Gananoque, and Amherst Island.
A Quilt for Jean’s River
detail A Quilt for Jean’s River
A Quilt for Rita and George
A Quilt for the Tiny, Perfect House
quilt piece
quilt piece
detail (A Quilt for Elsie, Rita, Jean and Helen)
A Quilt for Isabella
A Quilt for Isabella, quilt pieces
quilt pieces(The House on Pine Street Quilt)
quilt piece (A Quilt for Elsie, Rita, Jean and Helen)
The Feud Quilt
George’s quilt detail
A Quilt for Isabella, detail
The goddess quilt
The goddess Quilt from the exhibition: Relative Obscurity – Gallery
the Ancestor Quilt lid
the Ancestor Quilt from Relative Obscurity exhibition, gallery
The Ancestor Quilt piece
The ancient magic quilt lid
quilt piece
quilt piece
quilt piece
quilt piece
quilt piece
trunks and boxes
Handmade paper vessels used to hold objects, clothes, precious to the owner- cast from linen or cotton pulp. Some contained papers embossed with natural elements: leaves, etc. and objects belonging to and/or made by my maternal ancestors. Others contained paper clothes cast from the original clothes owned by my maternal family, embossed with textiles made by my great grandmother, Isabella.
A Trunk for Helen’s Dreams
exterior
trunk with folded clothing
paper clothing detail
trunk exterior
interior detail
trunk exterior
interior
trunk exterior
trunk open
embossed paper interior detail
interior
trunk with lace embossed prints
held in the hand: stone
held in the hand: stone detail
held in the hand: glass
held in the hand: glass detail
close to the skin: artifa
close to the skin: artifacts for Rita
clothes
Clothes were cast from cotton and/or linen pulp from clothing belonging to my maternal ancestors with embossments and embedments of textile remnants from Isabella, my great grandmother. The clothing retained the image of the original owner when it was cast in paper pulp. The clothing had retained remnants of the original owners’ skin oils and deportment which were transmitted from the clothing into the paper pulp to create a memory of the owner. Intaglio images of ancient artefacts that were “held in the hand” or worn “close to the skin” were embedded in the cast clothing to bring a sense of community and tactile memory that stretches across generations.
Trousers
Jean’s Day Suit (skirt)
Jean’s Day Suit (coat)
detail
BE christening gown
jacket
Paris in the thirties (front)
Paris in the thirties (back)
Anne’s Dress
Anne (back)
A necklace for her daughters
christening slip
Jacket
Alice Blue Gown (detail, gloves)
Alice Blue Gown
jeans (front)
Knickers
vest front
vest back
The Ancestor Dress
The Ancestor Dress detail
digital images
digital images of clothing collaged with intaglio icons, landscape elements, textiles, and photographic images
Bridge Cloths, tablecloths, etc
My grandmother had a number of bridge cloths and other bridge paraphernalia – table numbers, tally pencils, tally notepads, etc. that she used for her weekly bridge club. I inherited them and used the bridge cloths in conjunction with pulp, paleolithic icons and textile fragments from my maternal great grandmother to create pieces “Bridge Cloths and “Isabella’s Luncheon for Four”.
Bridge Cloth I
Bridge Cloth II
Bridge Cloth III
Cave drawings:
ancient animal drawing III
ancient animal drawing II
ancient animal drawing I
