Fibre City ( October in Toronto)

My last posting was done after going up to York University to see the installations of Kathryn Ruppert Dazai @ AGYU Vitrines, The Hill Series: You will be Alright; I will be OK. the next day was the beginning of the Textile Society of America’s Symposium “textile narratives + conversations”. Form beginning to end it was go go go and well worth price of admission. With an opening night reception held at the Bata Shoe Museum were participants and presenters gather for the proverbial meet and greet. It was an opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet new people and generally schmooze your butt off. Or wonder the galleries of the Bata. After speeches of welcome, the food table became the centre of attention and the chance to rub shoulders with a collection of Academics and artist from across Canada and the United States.

Who could this be attending the opening of Hands-mind-body at the Gladstone Hotel

I overheard “St Paul’s” and was drawn to a cluster of people sitting on the sidelines introducing themselves to each other. Having recently corresponded with Margaret Miller the executive director of the Textile Centre which is located in St Paul’s/ Minneapolis, about the Center’s connection to Manitoba textile artists, I was interested to meet these people. I introduced myself to Becky Peterson a doctoral candidate in the English Department at the University of Minnesota there to deliver a paper, Jerry Bleem who is currently an adjunct assistant professor at the Art Institute of Chicago as well as a Franciscan Friar and Catholic priest, also there to deliver a paper. I was there to meet people, there was another woman in the grouping but I can’t remember her name. As it turned both Jerry Bleem and the other women knew about the Textile Center but Becky Peterson who is studying in the twin cities wasn’t aware of it or the Walker Art Center. The paper she was here to deliver was “Thread as carrier of Meaning: Ethnicity in the work of Annie Albers” (a co-founder of the Bauhaus School in pre-Hitler Germany and weaver)

Later Jennifer Angus and I officially met and she introduced me to Jerry Bleem for the second time in an hour. I left knowing that being at Harbourfront at 8:30 for the next three days meant an early night.