FIND ME IN THE SLOW AND RHYTHMIC BEAT OF MY HAND LOOM
WATCHING THE ENERGY OF A THOUGHT
TRANSFORM INTO THE TANGIBLE MANIFESTATION OF CLOTH

My Story

My handweaving is a heartfelt expression of curiosity and passion. My process draws focus to the precious commodity of woven cloth and centres its value in the hands of the maker. My inspiration is the mystical becoming of a new experience, something unimaginable that manifests itself in the tangible.

The textiles I craft are designed with combinations of organic cotton, silk, linen, hemp and wool. All of my patterns are self-designed and woven on my Leclerc 8-shaft Nilart floor loom.

Each piece is the culmination of thousands of hours I have dedicated to my craft. It’s through the focused grace of mind, the physical endurance of body, and the dedicated nature of spirit that brings my work to life.

In 2009 I graduated with honours in the study of Fibre Arts, then in 2015 I emerged as a full-time artist and started a small business for my handweaving. I began exhibiting at the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair and the Toronto One of a Kind Show, thereafter exhibiting my handweaving around the world.

I express deep gratitude for the Northern Arts Grant from Ontario Arts Council in 2018 and 2020, which helped me to further my skills and practice as a handweaver and dyer. And in 2023 I am honoured to say I was among the extraordinary line up of textile artists at the World of Threads Festival, 2023.

Over the past decade much of my time was dedicated to volunteering with the Guild of Canadian Handweavers where I served as the Editor (2012-2019), Vice President (2017), President (2018-2022) and many other roles. I have now retired from all volunteering to focus on my own practice.

I produce my collections in small quantities and offer them throughout the year. I am a Canadian handweaver, currently weaving in Vienna, Austria.

Achievements

EXHIBITIONS & Shows

2023: World of Threads Festival - Oakville, Canada

The World of Threads Festival is a leading international showcase of contemporary fibre and textile art.

2021: Blickfang Designmesse - MAK Vienna; Vienna, Austria

2021: Haslach Textile Show - Kultur Haslach; Haslach, Austria

2019: Carnegie Craft RetroActive - Carnegie Gallery; Dundas, Canada

A special exhibition celebrates excellence in fine craft through the work of seventeen artists in various media who have all been recognized as award winners in past Carnegie Craft Biennial Shows. Exhibited: ‘Not For the Faint of Heart’

2018: Complexities & Cloth - Toronto Design Festival + Artscape Youngplace; Toronto, Canada

Complexities & Cloth looks at the detailed process involved in crafting woven textiles, while opening a dialogue with the fabrics of our time. Through the lens of hand weaving you are invited to take a closer look into the process of making cloth. Where each thread is calculated to bend over and under one another, creating the structural bonds that form our fabrics. Observing that within these bends of interwoven lines, lays the potential for delicate pattern work.

2017: Nothing is Newer than Craft Juried Exhibition - Art Gallery of Burlington; Burlington, Canada

Through the work of sixteen emerging makers, the exhibition explores how craft materials, tools and processes are creatively reiterated through the hands of a new generation of makers. Exhibited: 'Smoke on the Water' - Handwoven, hand dyed silk, plant dyes, organic cotton; 2016

2017: Carnegie Craft Juried Biennial Exhibition - Carnegie Gallery; Dundas, Canada

An event that features a wide range of talent from Ontario-based craft practitioners. Exhibited: 'Blue Heron' - Handwoven, hand dyed organic cotton, natural indigo, silk; 2016

2017: Journey of a woven Thread Solo Exhibition - Artists on Elgin Gallery; Sudbury, Canada

Inaugural exhibition that journeys along the path and progression of work from the very beginning to current collections.

2017: Wearable Expressions 7th International Juried Exhibition - Palos Verdes Art Center; Palos Verdes, USA

Established to promote the sharing of new visions and the exploration of innovative techniques and materials in art to wear. Exhibited: 'Not For The Faint of Heart' & 'Electric Rainbow' - Handwoven, organic cotton; 2016

2016: Craft Forms 22nd International Juried Exhibition - Wayne Art Center; Wayne, USA

The exhibition is dedicated to enhancing the public’s awareness of contemporary craft while providing a venue for established and emerging artists alike to share their functional and creative endeavours. Exhibited: 'Pins & Needles' - Handwoven, organic cotton; 2016

2016: Complexity Biennial International Juried Exhibition - Complex Weavers Org; St. Charles, USA

Featuring works which employ complex weave structures. Complex weaves seek to interlace threads and fibres in ways beyond plain weave. Complex weaving is defined by the cloth produced and the mind it took to create it. Exhibited: 'Infinity' - Handwoven, organic cotton; 2015

2015: Materialize Juried Exhibition - Craft Ontario; Toronto, Canada

Craft Ontario is committed to fostering the next generation of professional craft practice, and this year’s exhibition is the second annual juried collection of work that celebrates a diversity of creative, innovative and skilled incarnations of material culture. Exhibited: 'Dances With Shadows' - Handwoven, organic cotton; 2015

2015: Lasting Effect - Curated by Melanie Egan - Harbourfront Centre; Toronto, Canada

A work can endure because it fits our idea of what constitutes classic design, or simply thanks to process and materials. These works resonate with the past, by reimagining timeless methods, or re-purposing materials to infuse them with contemporary meaning. It’s about work that lasts. Exhibited: 'Symmetry' - Handwoven, hand dyed, plant dyes; 2009

Awards & Grants

2020: Northern Arts Project Grant
Ontario Arts Council
2018: Northern Arts Project Grant
Ontario Arts Council
2018: Juror's Choice Award
Toronto Design Offsite Festival
2017: Award of Excellence in Craftsmanship
Carnegie Gallery
2016: Award of Merit
Craft Forms
2016: Founders Scholarship
Guild of Canadian Weavers
2015: Helen Frances Gregor Scholarship
Craft Ontario