Monday, May 1, 2023

Fabrica-Museo La Encartada, BALMASEDA SPAIN

Fate, Destiny and Self Determination at Fabrica-Museo La Encartada,  
Barrio El Peñueco, 11. 48800. 
BALMASEDA SPAIN 
April 29 2023 to October 1 2023
The site of La Encartada was established as a business in 1892. Besides housing a beautiful gallery space, La Encartada had previously processed wool and manufactured mostly berets, but also blankets, gloves, scarves as well as skeins of yarn. The museum has several rooms that you can visit, featuring industrial machinery used until its closure in 1992. Other rooms in the building are also on display in the style of the period. The grounds are perfect for a relaxing stroll where nearby you'll discover the residential area for factory workers, some of which you can visit.






572 people from 43 countries have contributed 965 pieces to the Fate, Destiny and Self Determination Installation. 

Thank you to the donors who made it possible to send the exhibition to Spain. Any additional monies not required will be put towards its next exhibition.

Thank you to Lala de Dios, Asociación de Creación Textil and Fábrica-Museo La Encartada for mounting the installation. To see a list of all participants, go to my web page for the project https://www.linedufour.com/fate-destiny-self-determination  . Visit the Facebook and Instagram page for the project to see individual submissions. On these pages you will also see other exhibitions that have been held around the world. 


For the close up pictures of the installation in situ, thanks also go to Lou Andreas, a tapestry weaver who participated in the project and who also attended the opening reception. 



































Friday, November 12, 2021

Making a submission to the Fate, Destiny and Self Determination Installation



Fate, Destiny and Self Determination [] Le Sort, Destin, et l’auto-determination [] Suerte, Destino y Auto-determinación [] Los, Przeznaczenie i Wola [] Das Schicksal, das Geschick und das Selbstbestimmungsrecht [] 운명숙명 그리고 자기가 결정한 팔자팔자  []  Usud, sudbina i samoodređenje [] Sorte,Destino,Auto Determinação [] Öde, mål och självbestämmande [] Fato, Destino e Autodeterminazione


The development of the COVID-19 has made all of us more aware of the impact of isolation on our well being. This sense of isolation forms the underpinnings of this installation launched in 2016.  Fate, Destiny and Self Determination was created as an initiative to reduce the isolation artists experienced in their artistic process through the use of social media, planned hands-on events and gathering them together to exhibit their collective efforts. Inclusiveness is the weft that weaves the installation together.


Fate, Destiny and Self-Determination is composed of three sections. The main tapestry woven panel (on the left) was created by Line Dufour, referencing the contemporary practice of tapestry  where artist and weaver are one. The second panel on the right, was woven by visiting participants ranging from the inexperienced and amateur to the professional. This referenced traditional tapestry conventions in that many weavers work(ed) on the tapestry at the same time or at various stages and did not contribute to creating the tapestry designs. 

Each time Fate, Destiny and Self-Determination is installed the shapes are never placed in the same positions, making it  interactive and spontaneous, and permits the curator(s) to be part of its creation. Conversely, the curator could also invite the gallery guest to position shapes on the wall between the two panels, having them re-create the installation.


The installation has been exhibited at 

·       Craft Ontario in Toronto, Canada 

·       The Montreal Centre for Contemporary Textiles, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

·       The Doyle and Margaret Hartman Gallery, Regis University, Denver, Colorado USA

·       Craft Council of British Columbia, Canada 

·       The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles as part of the American Tapestry Alliance Biennial 11  

·       Guan Shan Yue Art Museum, Shenzen, China. 9th From Lausanne To Beijing 

·       The Centre D’Action Culturelle de la MLC de Papineau in Québec 

·       World Textile Art Biennial at the Fundacion Pablo Achtugarry in Punta del Este Uruguay 

·       World of Threads, Oakville, Ontario, Canada

·       Rosccommon County Council, Roscommon Ireland

·       Tuchmacher Museum, Bramsche, Germany

·       Tuch & Technik Textilmuseum, Neumunster, Germany


Anyone who wishes to do so, can create a shape using a textile/fibre related technique (tapestry, rug, weaving, felt, basketry, etc) with whatever  fibre they like or one that references textiles. Any hue from the colour wheel is suggested. You can use more than one colour. There is no minimum or maximum size, but the average size is 10cm (4”) . There is no maximum on the number of pieces you can submit. A person can also weave (create) a shape of their country, state or province or any shape except not a square or rectangle.  You can look at the Facebook page for the project to see how other people have created their shapes. www.facebook.com/pages/Fate-Destiny-and-Self-Determination-An-international-tapestry-project/ or go to the Instagram page @tapestryline . You are welcome to invite your textile friends to participate in making a submission. Please include your website or other social media pages, as well as any comments about the project or your inspiration if you would like me to share it on social media. 


When you are ready to send your submission to me, email me at linedufour.tapestry@gmail.com and I will send you the mailing address. 


Once you have made a submission to the installation, it remains the permanent property of the installation and will not be returned. 




Monday, March 30, 2020

Update



                 


The exciting tapestry event, Project BaaBaa scheduled for May 2020 in Galway Ireland, has been postponed to May 2021. The exact dates will be determined later. To refresh your memory,  three tapestry workshops are being offered by five tapestry artists...four from the UK - Joan Baxter, John Brennan & Elizabeth Radcliffe, and Clare Coyle will be assisting me the workshop I'll be offering. The exhibitions will feature dozens of tapestry weavers from around the world: France, Australia, Ireland, Scotland to name a few. I am hoping I will see many of you there. If you have any questions contact projectbaabaa@gmail.com.


507 people from forty-two countries have contributed 842 shapes to the installation to date. The installation continues to accept submissions on an ongoing basis. Various materials and techniques have been used to create these forms – tapestry, crochet, knitting, lace, felt, paper, basketry, embroidery, quilting and various other textile construction methods. Each piece is presented on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with the person’s name and any other information they would like me to include, such as their website, or thoughts they have about the project. Alternatively, they sometimes talk about what’s going on in their lives. If you've already made a submission, please check to make sure your name has been recorded on the web page for the project

Donna Kim, Aruna Reddy, and Agota Dolinay

Fate, Destiny and Self Determination (aka FDSD) was first launched at the end of 2013. To date, the installation has been exhibited in the following galleries, museums and sites: Craft Ontario in Toronto, Canada; the Montreal Centre for Contemporary Textiles, Galerie Trames, Canada: Regis University in Denver, Colorado, USA; the Craft Council of British Columbia, Canada (March 2016); China (From Beijing to Lausanne 2016) and at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles as part of the American Tapestry Alliance Biennial 11 (2017); at the Centre D’Action Culturelle de la MLC de Papineau in Quebec, Canada (2017); World Textile Art Biennial in Uruguay (2017); World of Threads in Oakville, Ontario, Canada (2016); the Roscommon County Council in Roscommon Ireland (2018);  the Tuchmacher Museum in Bramsche and the  Tuch + Technik Textilmuseum in Neumunster, both in Germany (2018). The installation continues to accept invitations to exhibit it. If there is a gallery or museum in your area please let me know.




The following magazines, some hard copy, others online, have featured the installation. Just recently, Dorothe Swinkels in the Netherlands wrote an article for Textiel Plus, an online magazine  which you can access here Textiel Plus. Articles have also appeared in Artapestry 4 and 5; FiberArtNow; British Tapestry Group’s Tapestry Weaver; HandEye Magazine; Rapporter, a Danish magazine; Fibre Focus in Ontario, Canada ; American Tapestry Alliance; Canadian Tapestry Network and Trameros, in Argentina.

Debbie Harris, Sandi Dunn, Darlene Haywood, Jutta Polomski and Patti Wibe

There are many people to thank for all these amazing opportunities without whom none of this great list of accomplishments would have happened. I would like to name a few of them here:  Agotha Dolinay, Susan Middleton, Janna Hiemstra, Aruna Reddy, Emma Jo Webster, Louise Lemieux Berube, Suzanne Chabot, Aneesha Parrone, Barbara Heller, Monique Lehman, Krystyna Sadej, Joe Lewis, Kelly Liang, Deborah Corsini, Nancy Bavor, Patricia Jordan, Rebecca Mezoff, the American Tapestry Alliance, Thoma Ewen, Emilie Laverdiere, Catherine Lacroix, Pilar Tobon, Maria Ortega, Gabriela Nirino, Frances Crowe, Christa Weitbrecht, Gracia Cutuli, Ulrikka Mokdad, Astrid Frevert  and Anet Brusgaard. Not to mention all the people that helped with installation…..dozens of people in each place who did it voluntarily. Many people contributed to the GoFundMe campaign without which the installation would not have been able to go to China and Uruguay. Forgive me if your name does not appear here but know that we all owe you a debt of gratitude for what has been, and hopefully will continue to be, a great textile art adventure! 

Louise Lemieux Berube


Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Project Baa Baa Galway Ireland 2020



Everything sheep, wool and fleece! Join us in Galway Ireland May 22, 23, 24 2020 for an exciting event.

There will be three tapestry workshops offered by five tapestry artists...four from the UK and one by myself. For more details click on the links below. The exhibitions will feature dozens of tapestry weavers from around the world: France, Australia, Ireland, Scotland to name a few. It's rare we have the opportunity to see an exciting collection of contemporary tapestries created by masters in their fields.

baabaa-image-strip2.jpg

Links to Project Baa Baa

Facebook  FB Project Baa Baa       website    Tapestry exhibition, symposium and workshops

If you have any questions contact projectbaabaa@gmail.com.

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

FD&SD in Germany 2018 -2019



From Roscommon Ireland, the Fate, Destiny and Self Determination installation went to Bramsche Germany in May 2018 to the Tuchmacher Museum. Kerstin Schumann curated the installation as I was not in attendance for its set up or opening reception for financial reasons. The installation remained there until it was sent to the Tuch & Technik Museum in Neumunster Germany, north of Hamburg in mid October 2018.  First to thank for that invitation is Christa Weitbrecht who approached the Tuch & Technik Museum and asked them if they would be interested in hosting the installation. Agota Dolinay (a participant in the project) accompanied me from Toronto to assist with the set up of the exhibition and  in preparing the tapestry frames for visitors to the gallery. 




Sorting all the submissions into colour groups. At this point there are 794, from 470 people from 39 countries. 


Because the walls were concrete, we could not pin the submissions to the wall as we usually do. We had to come up with some other display strategy. The curator, Astrid Frevert (shown second from right) , decided to have us pin the pieces to large cotton canvases which were then attached to wooden boards. It took us two days to set up the installation. 


The installation consisted of three sections of large white canvases upon which the shapes were attached. This view is taken from one end showing the tapestry I wove in the studio amid the submissions. On the right, an audio visual unit was set up to play the movie I created to show the evolution of the installation, particualrly the making of the publicly woven tapestry panel in Toronto. 


This picture is taken from the other end featuring the publicly woven tapestry on the right. 


The names of the participants was included in the exhibition. 


The local press came to interview me regarding the project.....


and tried their hand at tapestry weaving. 




From left to right, me, Beatrijs Sterk (from Germany, founder of the European Textile Network), Martina Muller (originally from Germany and now living in the UK, editor of the Journal of Weaving and Spinning), Astrid Frevert (curator of the museum) and Agota Dolinay (originally from Hungary and now living in Canada.)


 Astrid Frevert giving a talk at the opening reception. 


 I said a few words to thank all involved.


and invited them up to take a bow. I especially thanked those who helped us with the set up or came from elsewhere to be there for the opening. 


Opening reception


The weaving studio at the museum. The public can join and use the facility. Lots of light - natural and electric.


Kirstin Rolle teaches weaving at the museum and helped us enormously with setting up the installation. Here she sits at  a very economically built 8 shaft loom with flying shuttle. Under 200 euros to build. 



and an article about the man who created the plan for the above loom. Instructions are available online. Check out my facebook page to find out more. 



The weaving studio and gallery area are on the second floor. On the main floor is the museum. 


Old spinning equipment


The displays are set up to follow the chronology of the development of weaving and spinning equipment.






a spinning jenny - above and below


jacquard loom









a number of industrial weaving looms are in working order. displays are given when a group books a tour. 





Its an extraordinary museum and is worth making the trip to the north of Germany for textile enthusiasts. 

 Photo credits go to Beatrijs Sterk, Martina Muller, and myself.

Each submission is posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Facebook www.facebook.com/Fate-Destiny-and-Self-Determination-An-international-tapestry-project-
Instagram: @tapestryline
Twitter @tapestry_line



Fabrica-Museo La Encartada, BALMASEDA SPAIN

Fate, Destiny and Self Determination at Fabrica-Museo La Encartada,   Barrio El Peñueco, 11. 48800.  BALMASEDA SPAIN  April 29 2023 to Octob...