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Weaving Bure & Linon Boutique Weaving by Marilyn Bernier , Volume 5 Issue 2/ Spring

2009

Bure & Linon

In 2003, after studying 3 years in textile creation (mostly weaving and knitting techniques) Marilyn Bernier and Roseline Vaillancourt along with two other partners established their own business. Bure & Linon started making decorative accessories for interior design, mostly woven, but also embroidered, and all 100% handmade. Their signature creations, made of pure linen and wool, are contemporary, fresh, minimalist, colourful, and original. Bure &

Linon received financial support from the SODEC at different stages in the development of their enterprise.

Their creations are sold in boutiques all over the province of Quebec and were presented in many design and gift shows in Montreal, Toronto and Chicago. All their collection products are woven on a 16-shaft, 45-inch wide weaving loom. For some products, like their blankets and cushions, Bure & Linon merges their woven pieces to commercial fabric, allowing their creations to meet market prices. They also design and produce custom-made products for residential and institutional projects.

Since its foundation, Bure & Linon has undergone steady growth by diversifying its activities. After moving to their current location they started giving various textile workshops (felting, basket weaving, knitting, etc.) to share their passion for textile. They also offer a wide range of textile equipment and supplies such as fibre, yarns, weaving looms, spinning wheels, carders and many other textile materials and accessories.

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visit Bure & Linon in Montreal at 1129, rue Bélanger, Montréal or on-line at http://www.bure-linon.com/index.html

images provided by Bure& Linon, or from their website and used with permission

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RILLA MARSHALL: Profile Volume 4 Issue 2/ Spring 2008

ARTIST STATEMENT # 1 (art)

My art practice involves the exploration of statistical data concerning population, community and growth. Revolving around the investigation of numeric data representing "truths", I am interested in the interpretation of technologically produced information about the human condition and the re-interpretation of this information through the labour-intensive process of hand-weaving. Currently, this focus on numeric truth concerning the human condition has been aimed at the population statistics of Atlantic Canada. Concentrating on the three Atlantic provinces in which I have lived (PEI, NL, and NS), I create graphs based on elements of population growth, geography, economics and lifestyle, creating relationships between specific statistics collected over time by Statistics Canada.

1. Urban and Rural Populations, PEI, 1851-2001 handwoven using inlay technique; hand dyed; cotton. 22' x 10", 2007

These graphs then become the basis for abstract landscape compositions, landscapes that reference the coastline and the topography of where I live, but are built, not only on my visual observation of the land around me, but on information about the people and the lives that populate that land. Using hand-weaving is a way of re-claiming this information,

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making it tangible through the process of weaving itself as well as through the narrative nature of cloth and the associations brought about in the viewer concerning community, labour, and experience.

2. Coming and Going: immigration and emigration, PEI, 1961 – 2001, handwoven using inlay

technique; hand dyed; cotton. 12" x 10" 2007

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3. Populations, PEI, NS, NL, 1851-2001, handwoven using inlay technique; hand dyed wild silk; lichen dyed hand spun wool; cotton. 28" x 24", 2008

ARTIST STATEMENT #2 (production hand weaving)

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6. Pile of Scarves, handwoven, wild silk, merino wool, and cotton. Hand felted, hand dyed. Each scarf: 68" x 6", 2007

Since 2006, I have been designing and creating original hand woven scarves for wholesale, consignment and retail sale. Under the business name Marshall Arts Fine Handwoven Textiles, I strive to craft colourful contemporary, elegant scarves. Inspired by the shoreline of Canada's East Coast, my line of Seaweed Scarves echo the undulating ripples in the sand and the gentle ruffles of kelp. Understanding the separate and combined qualities of different natural fibers is very important to my design and creation process. Luxurious, lightweight yet warm, the wild silk and merino wool warp combine to insulate while the cotton weft keeps the scarf breathable. After being delicately crafted on the loom, each scarf is individually hand-felted. The fine merino wool shrinks and felts, while the wild silk and cotton do not, creating a cascade of seer-sucker stripes running the length of the scarf. The scarves are then hand dyed, giving each piece a unique hue. I believe that cloth has the ability to convey metaphor and meaning through colour, pattern and use - this lies at the creative center of my production weaving practice.

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7. Green Seaweed Scarf, handwoven, wild silk, merino wool, cotton. Hand felted, hand dyed. 68" x 12" 2007

These are the retail shops where Marshall Arts Fine Handwoven Textiles are currently available:

-Craft Council of NL Shop, Devon House, St. John's NL

-Twisted Sisters Boutik, St. John's, NL

-Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Gallery Shop, Halifax, NS

-The Showcase, Confederation Centre of the Arts, Charlottetown, PEI

-Northern Watters Knitwear, Chrlottetown, PEI

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8. Scarf Rack: Marshall Arts Fine Handwoven Textiles, West Coast Craft Fair, November 2007

EXHIBITIONS

June 5 - September 23, 2007: Common ThreadsCommon ThreadsCommon ThreadsCommon Threads, curated by Lee Plested. Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, PEI. Group exhibition by invitation of international contemporary artists working with textile craft techniques. Also exhibited at the

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Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, Alberta from November 22, 2007 - Jan 5, 2008.

June 19 - October 20, 2007: Celebration of Crafts: Enriching Island CultureCelebration of Crafts: Enriching Island CultureCelebration of Crafts: Enriching Island CultureCelebration of Crafts: Enriching Island Culture. Eptek Art & Culture Centre, Summerside, PEI. Juried exhibition.

June 1 - August 31, 2007: A Heritage Room with New Views: An Exhibition of Island Art A Heritage Room with New Views: An Exhibition of Island Art A Heritage Room with New Views: An Exhibition of Island Art A Heritage Room with New Views: An Exhibition of Island Art and Fineand Fineand Fineand Fine Crafts. Crafts. Crafts. Crafts. Lieutenant Governor House at Fanningbank, Charlottetown, PEI. Group exhibition by invitation.

August 2, 2006: presentation of Mozart's Requiem, 2006Mozart's Requiem, 2006Mozart's Requiem, 2006Mozart's Requiem, 2006. Collaboration with contemporary chamber orchestra Motion Ensemble to create a new woven work and a new musical composition based on Mozart's Requiem. Imperial Theatre, OK, Quoi?! Contemporary Arts Festival, Sackville, NB, July 30 - Aug. 6, 2006.

March 17 - 23, 2007: Out of Purgatory II.Out of Purgatory II.Out of Purgatory II.Out of Purgatory II. Peake Street Artist Collective. Peake Street Studio, Charlottetown, PEI. Group exhibition.

October 9 - 16, 2006: Puzzles.Puzzles.Puzzles.Puzzles. Peake Street Studio Collective. Peake Street Studio, Charlottetown, PEI. Group exhibition.

September 5 - 31, 2006: Social Tessellation.Social Tessellation.Social Tessellation.Social Tessellation. Gallery in the Guild, the Guild, Charlottetown, PEI. Two person exhibition with painter Damien Worth.

February 11 - 18, 2006: Out of Purgatory IOut of Purgatory IOut of Purgatory IOut of Purgatory I. Peake Street Artist Collective. Peake Street Studio, Charlottetown, PEI. Group exhibition.

October 15 - 29, 2005: The Memory ShThe Memory ShThe Memory ShThe Memory Showowowow. Peake Street Artist Collective. Peake Street Studio, Charlottetown, PEI, Group exhibition.

March 5 - 31, 2004: NSCAD Emerging ArtistsNSCAD Emerging ArtistsNSCAD Emerging ArtistsNSCAD Emerging Artists. Argyle Fine Art Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Group exhibition.

January 26 - 31, 2004: Time Line Lost Found.Time Line Lost Found.Time Line Lost Found.Time Line Lost Found. Anna Leonowens Gallery, NSCAD University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Solo exhibition.

November 18 - 24, 2002: AccumulationAccumulationAccumulationAccumulation. Anna Leonowens Gallery, NSCAD University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Group exhibition by invitation.

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CANADIAN TAPESTRY NETWORK by Barbara Heller Volume 5 Issue 3/ Fall 2009 The Canadian Tapestry Network is a loose affiliation of members whose purpose is to provide a centre for the exchange of ideas and information about contemporary tapestry in Canada. Currently it is supported by a small subscription fee and the hours and hours of volunteer time put in by its co-editors, Barbara Heller and Madeleine Darling-Tung and its webmistress, Krystyna Szluinska-Sadej. Two to three times a year we produce a newsletter which is mailed out to about 150 members, both Canadian and American, complete with colour photos. As well there are periodic emailings of time-sensitive news and the Network also has a web presence (http://www.canadiantapestrynetwork.com).

Currently the big debate is whether or not to keep the paper edition as rising costs make it more financially difficult, but with the recent help of B.C. Stars (see below) we are committed to publishing an actual, as well as a virtual, newsletter as long as possible. There is nothing like curling up with a cup of coffee and enjoying the latest issue, red pencil in hand to circle items of interest and make notes of shows to see and to enter.

Ixchel Suarez: Impressions in the Savannah. Tapestry. High warp

Wool silk rafia, metallic threads linen synthetic bamboo, H 1.80 m X W 2.50 m.

The British Columbia Society of Tapestry Artists (B.C.Stars) is a non-profit society open to all those living in the province of British Columbia with an interest in tapestry. It was created in 1993 with a mandate to "promote the art of tapestry through exhibitions, lectures, classes, projects, symposia, publications, and other means". All events are open to the general public.

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Krystyna Szluinska-Sadej : Meadow. Peice of Hope

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B.C. Stars' first project was to hold an international symposium, attended by 110 delegates from 10 countries, called "Making a Place for Tapestry" (with help from the Canada Council) and publish a 106 page record of the proceedings. This document on contemporary issues in tapestry is now in major public institutions in North America and Europe, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Manufactory Gobelins in Paris, and the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., as well as in libraries and art institutions across Canada.

In 1996 B.C.Stars completed a Community Tapestry project with the help of private donors and grants from various foundations. This large (6'x8') tapestry has been donated to the Dr. Peter AIDS Centre and Hospice. The tapestry was designed by five members of B.C.Stars and over forty weavers, professional and amateur, contributed to its weaving from June to November, 1996, at the downtown branch of the Vancouver Public Library. The Dr. Peter Tapestry is now installed at the permanent site of the Dr. Peter Centre in downtown Vancouver.

Monique Lehman "Hope" St. James Hospital, Pontiac, Illinois 7'×9'

During 1997 and 1998 the Dr. Peter tapestry travelled throughout the province in conjunction with "Weaving Between the Lines," an exhibition of contemporary tapestries by British

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Columbia artists. This exhibition was another project of B.C.Stars with the assistance of the B.C. Arts Council. In 2000, B.C. Stars produced a book entitled “Weaving between the Lines: B.C. Tapestry on the Edge” with the help of grants from the Canada Council. The book has articles on the history of tapestry in B.C., contemporary B.C tapestry, as well as community tapestry projects in B.C. and around the English speaking world. It also includes a catalogue of works in the 1997 exhibit of the same name.

Elaine Duncan Nature Designed: Arbutus Bark.7 1/2″ w by 11 3/8″ high. It is woven of wool,

cotton and silk. c2009.

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Since its incorporation, B.C.Stars has organized slide lectures by visiting and local tapestry artists and tapestry shows of members' work It has also sponsored weekend workshops and evening classes in tapestry weaving. CTN and B.C.Stars were part of the organizing committee for Convergence, the biennial convention of the Handweaver's Guild of North America, which was held in Vancouver in 2002. In conjunction with Convergence and the American Tapestry Alliance, they organized several tapestry exhibitions and hosted a panel discussion on the subject of contemporary tapestry.

CTN and B.C. Stars work closely with other arts organizations on a community, national and international level. Such co-operative ventures further our mandate of educating the arts and general communities about tapestry, and benefit all the participating organizations by introducing them to new and wider audiences.

websit: http://www.canadiantapestrynetwork.com/index.html

For more information you can contact Barbara Heller at (604) 224-2060 or by email at bheller@telus.net

Images used with permission of the artists