digital art

March 2022 - Update

  • Canada Council for the Arts project grant 2022 - Becoming a Pixel

  • Inside the new studio/prep for upcoming exhibitions

  • Work in progress

Canada Council for the Arts - Project Grant 2022 - Becoming a Pixel

I’m very excited to share that this year I will be receiving my second Canada Council for the Arts project grant for a new cross-stitch series titled “Becoming a Pixel”. Through my laborious approach to making art, I mirror society’s obsession with technology and its ability to both connect and disconnect. The “Becoming a Pixel” series of cross-stitched self-portraits will visually demonstrate how digital technologies are impacting the way we view ourselves and engage in the world.

I will be starting this project in April, but for now I’m currently working on grant applications for the next deadline. I can’t wait to share more about the project and process along the way!

Inside the new studio/prep for upcoming exhibitions

I’ve been spending the past couple months getting things set up in the new studio and I finally feel like it’s coming together! I created two mockups for a couple of solo exhibitions I’m planning for in October 2022 and February 2023. This is a very important stage of the process to make sure that I stay on schedule to complete works that haven’t been made yet.

The first show “Back to the Future: Digital Art Through Embroidery” at the Doris Crowston Gallery at the Sunshine Coast Arts Council in Sechelt will be on display from October 14 - November 13, 2022. The second exhibition, “Womanmade: Crafting Architecture and the Mundane” at the Morey Family Gallery at Art Reach of Mid-Michigan, Mount Pleasant, MI, is scheduled for February 3-27, 2023.

Work in progress

I’m currently restraining myself from getting too involved in new projects while I focus on grant writing. So to keep my creative juices flowing I recently stitched all my loose threads onto the ongoing “Stitching Loose Ends” project. I’ve also been slowly working on my 23 inch embroidery hoop for a conceptual project tentatively titled “Stitching, Unstitching”.

Work in progress, Stitching Loose Ends, 2018-2022

Work in progress, Stitching, Unstitching, 2022

December 2021 - Update

  • ArtRich 2021 Exhibition at Richmond Art Gallery

  • Uncanny Cross-Stitch

  • Stitching, Unstitching (working title)

  • Embroidery floss organization

  • Stitching Loose Ends (ongoing work in progress)

ArtRich 2021 - December 3 – December 31

Richmond Art Gallery
7700 Minoru Gate

Opening Reception: Dec. 3, 6pm-9pm
Timed entry for the Opening Reception for ArtRich 2021. Visitors welcome to view the exhibit in 45-minute time slots. Register on EventBrite.

Richmond Art Gallery is delighted once again to partner with the Richmond Arts Coalition (RAC) for the fourth bi-annual, juried exhibition. The exhibition celebrates local talent by providing an opportunity for emerging and established artists from Richmond and nearby communities.

Gallery viewers will be able to participate in the People’s Choice Awards. Results will be announced in Richmond News early January 2022.

In a partnership with the City of Richmond, three ArtRich-selected artists will be featured in a public art exhibition for the No.3 Road Art Columns from February 1 to July 31 in 2022.

Uncanny Cross-Stitch (1), 7 x 5.5 inches, embroidery floss, Aida cloth, 2021

Uncanny Cross-Stitch (1) is the first of a new series that was inspired by some of the digital art work I made while I was studying my MFA back in 2016. The reference images I used to create the cross-stitch patterns were multilayered digital imagery that I created using Photoshop. The source images used for these digital works were photographs of architecture and mundane industrial objects/structures such as fire hydrants, lamps posts, windows, and more! I’ve always been fascinated with these sorts of things and I love how they exist everywhere in the world, but each has their own unique character and design.

I’m interested in the idea of bringing things to the forefront that may go unnoticed or unseen. As I write this blog, I’m realizing there’s a parallel between these everyday mundanities that go unnoticed and the often invisible labour of women, which is a theme I’ve been exploring throughout this past year. I’m looking forward to producing more works that use handmade feminine craft processes to translate imagery of manmade masculine objects/structures. If you don’t remember or haven’t seen my cross-stitch series Remnants of the Manmade, this was my first endeavour into this new body of work that I will continue developing.

Stitching, Unstitching is the working title of a new work that I’m getting ready to start. The other day I ironed and cut a large piece of Aida cloth in preparation. For this project, I will log hours of labour spent cross-stitching white thread on white Aida cloth, approx. 16 x 16 inches (224 squares x 224 squares), in a 24-inch embroidery hoop. After the cross-stitching is complete, I will proceed to unravel all of the stitching and log these hours as well. The threads, labour logs, Aida cloth, and embroidery hoop used during the process will all be part of the final presentation.

This work is both conceptual and process-based. The absence of a finished cross-stitch piece directs the viewer towards the suggested labour that was performed but is no longer visible. The labour executed in this piece is two-fold: first there is the labour required to stitch, second there is the labour required to unravel the piece. In the end, the only evidence of this labour is the documentation of the hours logged. This represents how women often work tirelessly, only to have their labour undervalued.

By using a traditional craft technique, the project explores women’s unrecognized labour. The process of hand stitching emphasizes the value of physical labour over mechanical production. Although the labour is invisible, the viewer can imagine the movements, the time, the traces of what used to be there, as well as the woman and artist that the labour was executed by. Overall, the piece invites the viewer to question the value of women’s labour, productivity, and craft.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been doing one of the most satisfying things, organizing my embroidery floss collection! I’ve accumulated quite a lot of thread over the past four years and I thought it was time to make things easier to find and replenish stock when I run out of a particular colour that I need to finish a project.

At the end of 2017, right before I moved to Vancouver (and really when I started to focus more on cross-stitching within in my art practice), my mom and I went to a flea market in White Rock where I scored a huge stash of embroidery thread for a steal of a deal! Then in September 2019, while I was at the Vermont Studio Centre for an artist residency, I realized I hadn’t brought enough supplies to last for my trip and I would need to buy some more thread.

Well I didn’t have a car and there weren’t any local stores in small town Johnson, VT that sold embroidery thread. It was recommended that I join a neighbourhood buy & sell group, where I posted an advertisement asking if anymore in town had supplies I could purchase. Well lucky for me, someone nearby offered to give me (yes give me) any of the thread from their (even bigger than mine) collection. Another steal! Needless to say I’ve received lots of deals and freebies over the years, but a lot of the threads were odds and ends and they needed to be grouped together with their family of colours. So I’ve finally organized them all and they look spectacular (if I do say so myself)!

Lastly, I recently added to my ongoing side project Stitching Loose Ends. It may not seem like it, but it is growing, slowly and steadily!

Stitching Loose Ends (ongoing work in progress), embroidery floss, Aida cloth⁠, 16 inches wide x 4.5 inches thick⁠, 2018-2021

June 2019 - Update

  • Spring 2019 Wine + Art Walk

  • Glitch Series 03 - Progress

Spring 2019 Wine + Art Walk

On May 30th, We Are Pie Artist Collective participated in the Spring 2019 Wine + Art Walk, in Downtown Abbotsford. Although I wasn’t able to attend in person, below is a photo of some of the art our collective had on display at The Kindred Clothing Co.

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Glitch Series 03 - Progress

I’ve been working on hard on Glitch Series 03 and my goal is to finish the series by the end of the month. I only have three more to complete the series for a total of 9. Then I’m planning to finish Glitch Series 04 which is already in progress.

December 2018 - Update

  • Art on Demand 4.4 - Opening Reception

  • Glitch Series 03

  • Search & Rescue Fundraiser

  • Mainstreet Mixed Bag

Art on Demand 4.4 - Opening Reception

“When I Cross-Stitch I Feel Like a Machine” is now open at The Reach Gallery & Museum, for the Art Demand 4.4 exhibition and will run until January 6, 2019. Below are some installation photos from the night of the opening, stay tuned for high res images of the exhibition.

Glitch Series 03

I’ve been working on Glitch Series 03 and finally finished Crop 2 out of 9. Below are photos showing the progression of how it all came together. In total this cross-stitch took 25 hours to complete!

Search & Rescue Fundraiser

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Over this past year, I’ve been part of an art collective called “We Are Pie”, that meets once a month to discuss various art topics and support our art practices. In November, a few of us participated in a fundraiser for Search & Rescue at the Reach Gallery & Museum in Abbotsford. The theme was “Nature”, but a couple of us decided to put a little art collective flair into are paintings and put “Pie in Nature”. Below are process photos showing the step by step progression of the painting I did for the fundraiser. The painting was not sold at the fundraiser and is still looking for a home. I personally think that a baker needs this painting in their kitchen, what do you think?

Mainstreet Mixed Bag

I set up a booth for Mainstreet Mixed Bag in November, which was my second market! I also participated in the first Holiday Mainstreet Mixed Bag market today.

Horror Vacui - Exhibition Documentation

Earlier this year I was in a group exhibition at Deer Lake Gallery, in Burnaby, called "Horror Vacui". The show included myself, as well as two fellow UFV BFA grads, Kendra Schellenberg, and Julie Epp.

For those of you who were unable to make it out to see the exhibition in person, here are some documentation photos of the exhibition. 

September Update

Things have been super crazy while I've been getting ready for my two exhibitions coming up in October. Therefore this will be a short blog! Amongst all of the chaos I did manage to create some new art! I also recently finished a cross-stitch commission based off of an 8-bit video game called, Chrono Trigger.  

Fall Exhibitions!

I'm excited to share that I will have two exhibitions coming up this Fall! The first is a group show with some fellow classmates, Julie Epp and Kendra Schellenberg, we all received our BFA degrees from UFV. The exhibition is titled, Horror Vacui, which simply means the fear of empty space. As you can imagine all the works in the show are extremely detailed and obsessive in nature. The show will include works created individually, as well as a collaborative mural we will be painting/drawing directly onto the gallery wall. Read more to learn about each of our inspirations for the show, as well as the exhibition statement. 

Horror Vacui

Horror Vacui is the fear of empty space and the filling of emptiness with details in a work of art. This visual art expression is an important source of inspiration for artists Mallory Donen, Julie Epp, and Kendra Schellenberg. Each artist struggles with issues of fear, joy, and acceptance throughout their creative process. Donen’s practice is driven by the conflict between order and chaos, and explores the infinite nature of digital imagery. On the other hand, Epp’s process is a battle with fear, inner thoughts, and a search for calm in the mundane creative process. Lastly, Schellenberg uses the overwhelming visual aesthetic of horror vacui to engage in conversations about gender, beauty standards, and acceptance. Everyone struggles with inner conflict; Horror Vacui visualizes the mental chaos of life. Art allows us to engage in moments of deep consideration and at times can be a gateway into a numbing calm, empty of worries or thoughts. 

Mallory Donen

My process fluctuates between spontaneity and my obsessive need for control. I find comfort in keeping things in order, but at the same time when things become too controlled there is little room for growth and change. That is why I am always pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and intentionally creating moments of disruption. This struggle between chaos and order is the driving force of my art practice. I am constantly introducing ways of relinquishing control throughout the artistic process. But I inevitably end up back where I started, in an ordered, restrained system of creation. My work explores notions of obsession, control, chaos, infinity, and absorption. Inspired by the theme of horror vacui, my art reflects on the infinite calming chaos of digital imagery.

Julie Epp

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In an age where lives are lived through online experiences, my brain has become over stimulated. Multitasking, my old friend, is an enemy of productivity; I must embrace the mundanity of focus. My artwork is likely the only consistent focus I’ve had. My mandalas sit inches from my eyes while I draw, and though I am focused, my brain is crashing, burning, bursting with thoughts. It might seem like a good opportunity to be thinking; a chance to be inspired. But the thoughts hang dramatically over me like a creature ready to crush. They are ideas and aspirations but they are also pressure and panic. My work is a chance for me to focus my energy, and it takes a lot of work to get into a headspace where something good comes out of it.

            My mandalas are a product of years of disrupted focus, followed by relief. The sculptures are the opposite: they are a product of intense concentration followed purely by thirst and hunger. To me, horror vacui is about the fear of allowing empty space to be filled by anything but artistic joy.

Kendra Schellenberg

I have always been drawn to work that contains a lot of detail. When I am creating my own work, there’s always a part of me that needs to prove that my art is worthy of attention, and my solution to this is often to fill it with detail—as if this somehow proves that I care about my work, that it is something of value—because I’ve spent a lot of time on it. At the same time, my art practice is an extension of my feminism, and is a way for me to engage with issues that trouble me. I saw an opportunity to use the overwhelming nature of horror vacui as a means of conveying the overwhelming feeling of needing to conform to gender roles and beauty standards. By incorporating imagery I’ve tapped into in previous work, I hope to dig further into representing the affect of the socially-constructed gender binary that is so prevalent in the media we consume.

The second exhibition is a solo exhibition, which will feature my new work titled Glitch Series 01. The show will also include a select few works from my MFA Thesis Exhibition. During the opening reception of the exhibition, on Friday, October 27th, I will also be giving an artist talk discussing ideas from my thesis and how it influenced the creation of this new body of work being showcased in the solo exhibition. The talk will also include a slideshow of images that give an even more in-depth look into my process and my hard drive of digital files. 

Glitch Series 01

Since returning home after the completion of my MFA thesis I've been taking it pretty easy and trying to allow myself some sort of break. I've recently completed a new project titled Glitch Series 01, which involved converting a series of digital image glitches (sourced from images generated in Photoshop) into a cross-stitch pattern which was then completed as a cross-stitch work. 

The images used for this project were a series of glitches that occurred one day while I was working on another project in Photoshop. The file that I opened did not appear the way that it was supposed to, instead it was a collaged mashup of several files which I had opened within the past week or so. Instead of dismissing this unexpected moment as a computer failure, I accepted it as a gift. It was as if the computer had gotten frustrated with the overwhelming amount of information and data I had given it within a short span of time and this was its way of materializing that frustration. The computer had spoken and I wanted to savour every last moment of it that I could. 

I proceeded to save and alter these strange glitches that reloaded and occurred each time I saved the file. I adjusted the curves and colourations of some of the images before saving them, in order to enhance the artistic, almost painterly qualities. In the moment it was a highly energized, playful interaction, a constant wave of communication that fluctuated between myself and the computer.

I stored these glitch images in a folder on my hard drive, unsure of my future plans for them. It wasn't until I began integrating cross-stitching into my thesis projects that I realized this is what the glitch series would become. 

I selected 9 cropped sections (below) of the single glitch image (above) to create a series of images that would then be converted into a series of cross-stitches. 

The 9 selected images above were then uploaded onto a website called StitchFiddle.com, where they were converted into cross-stitch patterns. Below are the resulting cross-stitched works.

Each piece is approximately 3.5" x 3.5". I'm still working out the kinks for final display but currently my plan is to frame each digital image with its corresponding cross-stitch partner in a 20" x 20" frame with a double window matte. Below is a rough mock-up of what each of the final pieces will look like framed. 

This project evolved and developed over a long period of time, but I am extremely happy with the results. I wouldn't be surprised if I continue doing more cross-stitch works with a digital aesthetic in the future. 

MFA Thesis Exhibition

Last week our MFA Thesis Exhibition titled 3...2..1.Chaos opened and I defended my thesis I Come From a Long Line of Machines. 

I Come From a Long Line of Machines investigates the repetitive processes of embroidery, finger knitting, digital image-making using Photoshop, and how they are similar in their use of mechanical systems. By engaging in a collaborative process with different machines and tools, I attempt to share control of artistic production. I address notions of artistic authorship, chaos, order, control, infinity, and mechanical repetitive systems. I embrace systematic processes in order to create art that is similar to that of a programmed machine. By doing so I am able to gain perspective into the ways in which machines and humans are alike.

End of Final MFA Semester

Things are starting to get wrapped up quickly over here in Winnipeg. This past week I finished my final semester of my MFA. All that's left is one last revision of my thesis, some finishing touches to get my projects exhibition ready, and then my thesis defence. I'm not going to share lots of photos of the work I'll be showing for the thesis exhibition, cause I'd like to keep it as much of a surprise as possible for those who will be attending.

For next month's post I will be sure to include lots of installation photos of the exhibition! In the meantime, check out the poster we designed for our exhibition, titled "3...2..1.CHAOS". For those that want to attend the exhibition try to come to the opening reception on Friday, May 26 from 6:30-8:30pm. 

On another note, I've been starting other projects now that my thesis work is almost complete. I've started experimenting with digital drawing using an app called Adobe Draw. I got a stylus for Christmas this year and I'm finally starting to get some use out of it, now that I've got more free time. Check out some of my digital drawings below (some of these have been manipulated further in Photoshop). 

Lastly, I've completed another cross-stitch square. It was based off of a computer image glitch that occurred during my hours and hours of digital pattern making. It's the first square of a series of glitch squares that I will be creating. The cross-stitch measures 50x50 squares, which is just under 4"x4".