Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Conscious Weaving and Artistry

 Humanity’s Team, an organization dedicated to conscious awakening through educational programming, interviews Thoma Ewen on their weekly interview series ”Accelebration”.

https://vimeo.com/687257594

https://www.HumanitysTeam.org   


Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Offering 2021



 By Thoma Ewen

hand-woven tapestry

w 47” x h 65”

wool and cotton weft, cotton warp 8epi

Thursday, June 10, 2021

La Triennale en Métiers d’Art : Éloge du fil (in Praise of Fibre)

This 3rd edition of La Triennale en Métiers d’Art is dedicated to fibre and to the artists who work in fibre/textile.

It is first presented at the Centre d’Art in La Sarre QC from June 19th to August 31, 2021.

The exhibition then travels to Espace Pierre Debain, the City of Gatineau’s gallery dedicated to the crafts from September 11th to October 13th; and then travels to Centre Materia in Quebec City from  November 4th to November 28th, 2021. All three exhibition centres are dedicated to the professional presentation of the crafts. This triennale is organized by the Centre d’Art in La Sarre, under the superb direction of Veronique Trudel.

Among the artists selected to be part of this crafts exhibition, are four artists from the Outaouais :Thoma Ewen (textile), Paula Murray (céramique), Béla Simó (metal), and Éric Tardif (wood). 

Information: Veronique Trudel, Director

Centre d’Art , Ville de La Sarre, QC

vtrudel@ville.lasarre.qc.ca

Sunday, March 7, 2021

INTERFACE tapestry exhibition in Vancouver



Please join us for the virtual opening of INTERFACE, Tapestry Touring International’s presentation at the Crafts Council of British Columbia’s Art Gallery in Vancouver, Canada, exhibiting the works of 15 Canadian and 15 British contemporary tapestry artists.

The virtual opening will be held on Zoom on Saturday March 13, 2021 at 12pm PST (3pm EST)  (8pm GMT) Please register to attend at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/143399454629  (a small donation is requested to assist with gallery costs)

For the complete list of participating artists and for more information about the exhibition visit https://craftcouncilbc.ca/interface

Thursday, September 10, 2020

La Magie des Fils: tapisseries contemporaines canadiennes

La Magie des Fils: tapisseries contemporaines canadiennes





I
nvitation to La Magie des Fils: tapisseries contemporaines canadiennes, on display at the Centre d’Art in La Sarre Quebec from September 10th to October 25th, 2020. The gallery is open to the public, but the vernissage will be virtual, with the artists participating from their own studios across Canada.

The virtual vernissage takes place on September 24th at 5pm Eastern Standard Time.

Please note, if you wish to attend, there are limited places available, so please be sure to register in advance.

To register to attend the virtual vernissage, email Veronique Trudel, director of the Centre d’Art at  vtrudel@ville.lasarre.qc.ca

For more information on the exhibition go to  http://www.ville.lasarre.qc.ca/fr/page/index.cfm?PageID=91

And here is another link to an article on Woven By Hand exhibition on the Selvedge Magazine blog at https://www.selvedge.org/blogs/selvedge/woven-by-hand-1

Saturday, June 27, 2020

Archie Brennan

Help Dovecot Studios tell the story of Scottish tapestry weaver Archie Brennan

at Dovecot Studios, Midlothian

Archie Brennan began his 60-year weaving career at Dovecot and went on to become the undisputed master of modern tapestry. However, he has not gained the recognition he deserves and continues to be one of the greatest unrecognised British artists of the 20th century. To realise the first major exhibition of his work in the UK (scheduled to open at Dovecot in March 2021), we have launched an Art Happens campaign with the Art Fund to raise £20,000.





Archie Brennan’s tapestry, Muhammed Ali,1973 designed and woven by Archie Brennan,Edinburgh 


Friday, April 24, 2020

All Things Bright and Beautiful - online exhibition


Thoma Ewen is participating in Tapestry Touring International’s on-line exhibition, All Things Bright and Beautiful, organized by England’s Jane Freear and Lindsay Marshall

https://tapestrytouringinternational.weebly.com/online-exhibition---april-2020.html

"We have to stop the fear and negative emotions, replacing them with creativity, finding meaning and beauty within the chaos." 
(Krystyna Sadej), Canada

Monday, April 20, 2020

BTG/ATA Weavers Applaud

BTG/ATA Weavers Applaud

The BTG, British Tapestry Group, are joining with ATA, American Tapestry Alliance, as a joint initiative. In these difficult times we would like to reach out to weavers across the world to applaud and give our thanks to the medical professions, the ancillary workers and the ordinary people who are working to keep us, the people, fed and healthy and a message to other weavers that we are all in this together, united, hand in hand.
Our applause would be in the form of a small tapestry (or it might be a detail of a larger tapestry you are already working on). The theme would be to symbolise reaching out in friendship around the world. Some may like to do a rainbow, or a hand, heart, flower, bird and so on.
If you would like to take part, then post a photo of your tapestry to social media with one or all of the hashtags below. Don’t forget to include your name and country so we can see who and where you are!
If you do not use social media, email info@thebritishtapestrygroup.co.uk with your name, country, the title of your work and clearly note in the subject “BTG Applauds from” and your name and we will post it for you.
Please, forward this email to everyone you know around the world so we can spread the joy. Everyone is invited to join in, you don’t have to be a member, fellowship of Weavers. All are welcome to join in the applause!

Hashtags:
#btg/ata-tapestryweaversapplaud
#btg/ata-tapestryweaversunited
#btg/ata-saythankyou
#weavingacrosstheworld
#tapestryweaving

Thursday, April 9, 2020

Fabric of the North Exhibition


British Tapestry Group, North of England Exhibition: Fabric of the North

In May 2020 Cromford Mills, the UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Derbyshire Peak District, was to have hosted a stunning exhibition: Fabric of the North.
The works woven for the exhibition by over 30 weavers can be previewed at https://www.fabricofthenorth.org/ 

Fitting their work to Cromford Mills, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, exhibitors focused on themes of industrial archaeology, social history and landscapes of Northern England. Long-established weavers, internationally acclaimed artists who generally work to commission, relative novices, and children (young carers and recently arrived refugee children from Iraq and Syria) all came together under the banner of Fabric of the North, to produce an amazing vision of Northern England.

For more information, contact Sally Reckert of the British Tapestry Group, at fabricofthenorth@icloud.com

Artists taking part: Ruth Bell, Janet Clarke, Michael Crompton, Margaret Crowther, Jill Davies, Alastair Duncan, Irene Evison, Alice Fox, Leslie Fox, Trisha Gow, Halifax Square Route Weavers, Jean Hall, Colleen Heenan, Gwyneth Hunt, Gill Lightfoot, Mary Low, Sally Reckert, Jane Riley, Shirley Ross, Barbara Scott, Dot Seddon, Matty Smith, Lin Squires, Christine Tainsh, The Weaving Children, Jane Walkley, Monica Ward Julia Wilkins






Tapestry Woven by Sally Reckert 


Wednesday, April 8, 2020

A post from from Sally Reckert of the British Tapestry Group.

A post from Sally Reckert of the British Tapestry Group.



Hi all,

1. Social Distancing
This is my weaving for 'Social Distancing’ can also be ‘Just going for a walk does anyone want to come? Too busy’  or even ‘Somebody forgot their phone’Hilary O'Connell - Social Distancing

Stay well and safe all of you.

All the best,
Hilary O'Connell



2. A Little News Item and more...
A little news item:

Here is the link to a Podcast interview of Thoma Ewen, produced by Sarah Resnick of Gist Yarn in Norwood, MA, USA. In the interview, Thoma describes how she became a tapestry artist and relates the experiences leading up to creating The Vision Weave Project, a community tapestry project that Moon Rain Centre has done with thousands of school children.

https://www.gistyarn.com/blogs/podcast/episode-102-tapestry-weaving-in-quebec-with-thoma-ewen

(the podcast was made before the closures came into effect)


And a feel good message from children: “ca va bien aller”  - “it’s going to be OK”

All over Quebec, children are hand-colouring pictures of rainbows in all sizes, and writing the title  “ca va bien aller” and posting them in windows of homes and apartments. Children are sending out a message of hope to their communities.

We saw these rainbow pictures last Friday when we drove to Buckingham, Quebec to pick up much-needed tools and equipment from the school in which we had been doing the community project ”Constellation”. I was so moved to see these rainbow pictures in all sizes, remembering that The Vision Weave Project often uses a rainbow colour scheme. Thank you to all the children for communicating hope. It really made me feel better.
ca va bien aller - it’s going to be OK
ca va bien aller - it’s going to be OK

Attached is the jpg of the rainbow image that a child can colour and post- you can of course do an English version if you like. It’s apparently become a movement all across Quebec- called the “ca va bien aller” movement. We found the image on the web. Maybe a child you know might like to colour it, and to know that kids here in Quebec, Canada are doing the same.

Stay safe,
Keep doing the things you love,
Warm best wishes to you and your families,
Thoma Ewen
Moon Rain Centre
www.moonrain.ca         
info@moonrain.ca

EDITOR's NOTE: You might like to do a weaving of it, or one of your own design. I am about to start weaving a small one (15 cm x 11 cm):
Behold the Rainbow
Behold the Rainbow

Wouldn't it be great if we could all do a small weaving and link them up so that they went all around the world, holding it safe!


3. The Beginning Artist
Social distancing means an increase in 'Distance Learning'. We have found this website that may help those just starting on their weaving journey, or just curious to see what is out there.

https://www.thebeginningartist.com/weaving-patterns-and-techniques/

https://www.thebeginningartist.com/wall-hanging/



4. Selvedge
Newsletter No. 14

Supporting Makers Together.
The current global pandemic has changed the way we live, at least temporarily. We need beauty and lightness amidst the anxiety of the rolling news, and Selvedge will play its part by promoting makers of handmade textiles through engaging storytelling...

Read the story. https://www.selvedge.org/blogs/selvedge/supporting-makers

Secrets of the Museum. 
A six-part BBC Two documentary about the V&A follows the museum’s curators...

Read the story. https://www.selvedge.org/blogs/selvedge/secrets-of-the-museum

Read the whole newsletter at: https://us14.campaign-archive.com/?e=b4676973e5&u=2ecccbd9c19df94f48080e541&id=955b191328


 


 
Eleonora Budden (BTG Email Manager)
info@thebritishtapestrygroup.co.uk
www.thebritishtapestrygroup.co.uk
BTG (@britishtapestry) on Twitter
Facebook (BritishTapestryGroup)
Instagram (btgweavers)
Visit us today - just one click away!

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Artists aroung the world continue to exhibit on-line

Artists around the world continue to exhibit their works, by presenting on-line exhibitions. Here are several tapestry exhibitions you may enjoy:

Tapestry Touring International, created by Jane Freear of England, presents 15 British and 15 Canadian tapestry artists ( Thoma Ewen is one of the participating artists)



 and Fabric of the North, organized by Sally Reckert of the British TapestryGroup  h



Saturday, April 4, 2020

Episode 102: Tapestry Weaving in Quebec with Thoma Ewen

    On Monday 5 2020 Thoma Ewen was interviewed for  theon the Weave Podcast Episode 102 with host Sarah Resnick, founder of GIST: Yarn & Fiber, This episode was posted on March 20 2020.
Hi everyone, Sarah here, back at it hosting an episode of the Weave Podcast. These are hard and unsettling times we are living in now, and I hope that this podcast is providing some comfort and peacefulness for you. 

This week on the podcast, I’m talking to Thoma Ewen. Thoma is a tapestry weaver in Quebec, Canada whose work focuses on a lifelong love of the natural environment. She is also the founder of Moon Rain, a center for tapestry weaving and teaching, and a place for creative retreat and renewal. 
Below is the link to the podcast

https://www.gistyarn.com/blogs/podcast/episode-102-tapestry-weaving-in-quebec-with-thoma-ewen




Thoma Ewen, taken when I was weaving Hado: Unfolding photo by Jamie Cruickshank



Hado: Unfolding 2018 6’w x 5’h


Offering at Spider Rock 2007 7’w x5’h


Starwatch 2020 5.5’w x 5’h



Flower Gives Butterflies 2013 41 w x 51” h



Aurora Borealis Behind the Trees #4: Curtain of Light 2009 4’w x6’h

Monday, February 17, 2020

International Contemporary Tapestry Galway Ireland

Thoma Ewen has been invited to speak at the International Tapestry Symposium in Galway, Ireland, May 22-24, and to exhibit in TAPESTRY 20/20.





NUI GALWAY, IRELAND | 23 - 24 MAY SYMPOSIUM &; MASTER CLASSES, 3 EXHIBITIONS 

The International Contemporary Tapestry celebration at National University of Ireland, Galway, 22-24 May 2020, includes three Exhibitions, a Symposium and three Master Workshops. 

The Symposium | Experience, Growth and Renewal, combines a panel of International Speakers who will present the wealth of talent and creativity in contemporary tapestry on Saturday 23 May. Comprising Prof. Lesley Millar MBE - UK, Anet Brusgaard - Denmark, Prof. Włodzimierz Cygan - Poland, Thoma Ewen - Canada, Valerie Kirk - Australia, Marie Thumette Brichard - France and Yasuko Fujino - Japan supported by EU Japan Fest, the panel of artists, curators, critics and academics consider ‘What is Tapestry?’ and its future as a creative medium in contemporary art practice. This Symposium offers the opportunity to listen, share knowledge and debate. 
 
The three Master Workshops on Sunday 24 May are provided by Line Dufour - Canada, John Brennan & Elizabeth Radcliffe and Joan Baxter - Scotland.

The weekend starts on Friday 23 evening with the opening of three international tapestry exhibitions; Tapestry 20/20 by the international speakers, INTERCONNECTIONS by Joan Baxter, John Brennan, Clare Coyle and Elizabeth Radcliffe from Scotland and Frances Crowe, Mary Cuthbert, Terry Dunne and Angela Forte from Ireland and TIMELINES on the Edge, a collaborative tapestry project by Catherine Ryan, Frances Crowe, Frances Leach, Heather Underwood, Joan Baxter, Lorna Donlon, Muriel Beckett, Pascale de Coninck, Terry Dunne and Tish Canniffe supported by Weavers Bazaar, UK, Ceadogan Rugs, Wexford and Connemara based, The Dixon Carpet Company.

 

Symposium | Experience, Growth and Renewal

Professor Lesley Millar MBEDirector of the International Textile Research Centre, University for the Creative Arts, Farnham UK, ran her own weave studio for over 20 years before becoming an exhibition curator specialising in textiles. She has been responsible for many international textile exhibitions since 1996 including two contemporary tapestry exhibitions: 'Here & Now: contemporary tapestry' (2016-17) and 'Weaving New Worlds' (2018).   Her current exhibition: 'Fabric: touch and identity' (2020) is a collaboration with textile artist Alice Kettle developed from the book they co-edited: 'Erotic Cloth' for Bloomsbury Academic (2018). She will launch the international tapestry weekend on Friday evening 22 May 2020 at the Human Biology Building, NUI Galway and is main guest speaker at opening of the Symposium | Experience, Growth and Renewal.

Anet Brusgaard, Director of the European Tapestry Forum, Denmark. In 2005 launched the first triennial exhibition ARTAPESTRY in KUNSTEN, Aalborg Denmark which toured to Textilemuseum Krefeld and Musée Jean Lurcat, Angers, and Artapestry 2-3-4-5 has been touring Europe since. Established the European Tapestry Forum. Now preparing Artapestry 6, launching in ArtCenter Silkeborg Bad, Denmark in January 2021 which will also tour Europe.

Professor Włodzimierz Cygan, Strzeminski Academy of Fine Art, Łódź, and Łódź University of Technology, Poland. Awards: Laureate of the International Wool Secretariat award, Winner of the Grand Prix at the 12th International Textile Triennial in Łódź in 2007., Medal winner, 6th International Fiber Art Exhibition, "From Lausanne to Beijing", Henan Art Museum, Zhengzhou, China in 2010. Juror of international competitions and the author of many publications. 2009 – “My unique way of warping” w Fibres & Textiles in Eastern Europe, nr 4/2009, 2011 – “Materials and Techniques Used by Artists – Participants of the International Triennial of Tapestry in Lodz” Fibres & Textiles in Eastern Europe 1’2011, 2011 - Fiberarts, Spring, Monique Lehman I Elizabeth Michel “Object of conscious creation”.

Thoma Ewen, curator of the exhibition “Woven by Hand: Contemporary Canadian Tapestries” and artistic director of Moon Rain Centre, Val-Des-Monts, Quebec, Canada. Thoma Ewen is a Canadian tapestry artist who has been designing and weaving tapestries for 45 years.  She has exhibited her light-filled tapestries in solo and group exhibitions in Canada, United States, Mexico, England, France, Poland, Guatemala, Venezuela and China. Her tapestries are a visual exploration of the forces or energies that move through everything on and beyond the planet, communicating a sense of harmony and movement in the universe.

Valerie Kirk, Artist and Tapestry Weaver, The Australian National University, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Australia. Valerie Kirk studied art and design at Edinburgh College of Art, where she discovered woven tapestry. As a graduate she went to Australia and worked in the Victorian (now Australian) Tapestry Workshop and travelled the country to teach in communities and colleges, work as an artist-in-residence, exhibit and lead community tapestry projects and textile tours.

Marie Thumette Brichard, Tapestry weaver, she run her own studio in Lorient and Isle of Groix in the West of France. Her high-lice tapestries are mainly inspired by the maritime surrounding where she lives. She is a member of L'Art et la Manière à Aubusson, British Tapestry Group, European Tapestry Forum, American Tapestry Alliance et World Textile Art Organisation, France.

Yasuko Fujino, Artist and Tapestry Weaver, she was selected as a CORDIS Prize shortlist exhibitor in 2019. Large scale works, incorporating the significence of the story, cartoon and weaving. Professor of Dyeing and Weaving at Kyoto City University of Arts, Japan.







Monday, September 2, 2019

Vernissage La Magie des Files/Woven by Hand





On August 26 2019 the opening for the tapestry exhibition La Magie des Files / Woven by Hand was held at the Galerie Montcalm Gatineau Quebec 

Woven By Hand: Contemporary Canadian Tapestries is a collective of recent tapestries designed and woven by 11 Canadian tapestry artists. Each artist is a master in the art and craft of tapestry weaving, having dedicated many decades to creation in this medium and each is recognized internationally for their outstanding artistry, achievements and commitment to the medium of tapestry. Among the artists are winners of some of Canada’s most prestigious arts awards. 
Curated by Thoma Ewen.

La Magie des Fils : tapisseries contemporaines canadiennes est une exposition collective de tapisseries contemporaines, conçues et tissées à la main par 11 artistes du Canada. Ces artistes sont des maîtres dans l’art de la tapisserie haute-lisse et chacun a dédié plusieurs décennies de leur vie à cet art. Ils sont tous reconnues internationalement  pour leurs créations exceptionnelles, leur engagement et leurs réalisations remarquables dans le domaine de la tapisserie. Parmi les artistes sont des gagnants des prix les plus prestigieux au Canada. 
Commissaire Thoma Ewen.



Back row left to right 

Ixchel Suarez, Marcel Marois, Peter Harris, Line Dufour, Paulette Marie Sauve,  Linda Wallace, Jane Kidd, Murray Gibson,

Front row left to right
Thoma Ewen,  Josee Prudhomme acting director, Suzanne Paquette 




Josee Prudhomme introduces Woven By Hand 













All photos by Gabby Ewen