EXHIBITS
Rotary Mini-Galleries (2025)
In January 2025, I was invited by Fuse33 Makerspace to participate in the Rotary Mini-Galleries in Crescent Heights (Calgary, Alberta). The theme of the exhibit was creative exploration, craftsmanship, and community.
At the time, I was listening to the audio book “Wînipêk: Visions of Canada from an Indigenous Centre” written and read by author Niigaan Sinclair. The book is a collection of Sinclair’s thoughts, stories, and observations of Wînipêk (Winnipeg) which he calls “ground zero” of Canada’s past/current/future relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
While listening, I heard the layering stories of place, people, and policies and so I wove that. I wove the layers and the interconnection of what it means to be in relationship with the land and the original people of this land where I live as an (uninvited) guest, settler, immigrant, Canadian citizen, and Treaty 7 person. The weaving is called “We Remember Our Layers" and is made of wool with a wood frame.
Leighton Art Centre (2024)
In 2023, the Leighton Art Centre put out a call to its members to submit a 12” x 12” piece of artwork for their 50th Anniversary Members & Alumni Exhibition in 2024 (from February 9-June 9, 2024).
I submitted not only a weaving called “The Sticks That Stand Together” made from wool and sticks, but also a poem. Here is one line from the poem “Art imitates a meeting of sky and land. The sticks that stand together.”
My 12” x 12” piece and poetry was about a place on the Leighton Art Centre property that surprises me every time I walk by it. It is a place where there are tall sticks coming out of the ground and I am not sure whether it is an art piece, a natural piece, or both. Every time I walk by it, I pause to wonder “Is it nature turned into art? Is it art inspired by nature? Is art nature? Why do we imitate nature in art? What responsibility do I have to the land as an artist?”
The Leighton Art Centre is a beautiful place to visit in all seasons as you can see in the photos below. Not only is there a gallery and gift shop, but there are beautiful trails and views of Kananaskis.
RBC Emerging Visual Artists Programs at Arts Commons (2024)
The RBC Emerging Visual Artists Program gave me the opportunity to develop two weavings and poetry under the title “The Emperor is Naked: Now What?” and exhibit them in the Window Galleries at Arts Commons. The two weavings and poetry explore white supremacy through the eyes of the townspeople in the classic folk tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes”.
Santa Rosa Arts and Healing (2023)
In July 2023, I drove from Calgary, Alberta to Christina Lake, British Columbia for the Agua Viva Water Residency at Santa Rosa Arts and Healing. It was a long and beautiful drive full of anticipation. My plan was to work on writing a chapter for my memoir, but just before leaving I decided I was going to teach myself to weave.
My first weaving was on a cardboard loom that I slid onto a wooden frame and exhibited at the Grand Forks Art Gallery, along with a poem about my grandparent’s journey across the ocean to what they knew was called “Canada” from the Netherlands.
My time in the residency, curated and created by Rocio Graham, was life-changing. Spending time with different bodies of water, the water taught me to let go. Let go of the stories I tell myself, let go of burdens, let go of responsibilities, and let go of holding back.
And the riverstones reminded me to breathe. That may actually be the beginning of my memoir.
Grand Forks Art Gallery
Rocio Graham, Curator of Water Exhibit
Geraldine Ysselstein, "Family Talks" (weaving on wood and poetry) 2023
Navjeet Kaur, "I Dissolve Into You - An Offering" (Photography, Botanicals, Candles, Soil, and Fabric) 2023
Polly Orr, "When the Sun Returned Without You" (mixed media documentation of solstice grief ritual) 2023
Natalie Schuler, "Liminal" and "Descending" (Acrylic on raw canvas) 2023
Ariane Bell Vila "Selkie (Lyrics)" (Watercolour, sharpie pen on paper) 2018-2023
Ashley Slemming, "Water's Lores" (Watercolour and pen on paper) 2023