March 18 – April 14, 2022
Journeying Inward
Connie Chapman + Maureen Sugrue
Artist Talk: Sunday March 20th @ 2pm – In-person at the Arts Centre
Journeying Inward is an exhibition of new work by Connie Chapman and Maureen Sugrue. Working with textiles and surface design techniques, they explore the rich potentials of these materials and processes. They are drawn to local coastal landscapes, and find joy in close examinations, and in the magic that microscopic worlds may reveal.
Chapman’s work begins with digital photographs taken on her daily walks, which are then printed onto cloth. She explores textures with different pigments and hand stitching with silk and cotton threads. The final work, with all its haptic textures and magic, is an attempt to represent the essence and feeling of the places she photographs.
Sugrue’s work combines printmaking with various sewing and surface design techniques. Her work begins with cloth coloured and patterned by her using various dyeing, printing, and manipulation. She then uses collage techniques alongside machine and hand stitching, all to push the potentials of textile’s form and function.
The works in the exhibition express the creative potentials of textiles and surface design, and the rich possibilities found in the patterns, colours and surprises of the micro-worlds we encounter in our lush Coastal environments.
Connie Chapman studied at Emily Carr University and graduated from Capilano College’s Textile Art Program. Her work has been shown across Canada and the US. In 2013 she received the Joy Stockdale “Best in Show” award for her piece in The Members Show at the conference in San Antonio, Texas. In 2014/15 she participated in the Mended exhibition with BC Surface Design, held in various venues. In 2015/16 she was part of The Edge of the Forest, which travelled across Canada. Her daily morning walk is one of her biggest sources of inspiration. This is the time she feels an intimate connection with the world around her. The textures, light and surfaces constantly fascinate as they change and morph into different shapes and colours while she explores and photographs them. From camera to computer to pigments and stitches, she translates what she sees into expressions of her own personal textile art.
Maureen Sugrue grew up in New Zealand, where she saw a lot of Maori Art, mainly carvings and weavings, which opened her eyes to traditional, non-western art forms. Later, during the early 1970’s she travelled through Asia, the Middle East and on to Europe, and saw many amazing textiles, which in those cultures are both art and functional objects. This was the start of her lifelong passion for art and textiles. For her, inspiration comes from many places, nature and culture. Sometimes she addresses social/political issues, and events that affect her deeply, but since moving to the Coast, she tends mostly to express what she sees in her daily life. The huge world of contemporary textile artists is also deeply inspiring. During the past year and a half of social isolation, she has felt fortunate to be able to be happy with amusing herself endlessly, in her studio, making, studying, and following artistic pursuits.