Ingunn Thrainsdottir, our distributor in Iceland, is gathering work from her fellow artists including Thorhildur Laufey Sigurdardottir and Steinrun Otta Stefansdottir to be shown as part of “Women’s Works” at Rebecca Gallery. Ingunn emailed this week:
“We all live and work in the town of Egilsstadir, East Iceland, pop. 2.500. Today it’s covered with snow and ice, but sunny. The Red Bra is something we’re playing with as a name for the collective - women from icy Iceland wearing hot red bras!”
Ingunn graduated from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design a few years ago, and has been encouraging the use of Japanese papers of all kinds back in her country. We are all eager to see the work that will come from this intriguing land from artists with these exotic names!
Boxes by Barbara Bunke. Image links to enlarged photo.
Other news this week came from around the world. Here are some boxes by Barbara Bunke of Sweden, little gems that will be in two exhibitions, the “Washi over Time” exhibit at The Japan Foundation, Toronto and “Books and Boxes from Around the World” at the Don Mills Public Library. Barbara will be busy teaching workshops and she’ll also be there at the Washi Bazaar offering up Swedish washi wares! Her bazaar mates will be from Belgium, England, Finland, Turkey and our innovative resilient friends who operate two excellent paper stores in Johannesburg. Come to the Bazaar and practise the language of your choice!
Box with Aoi Crest. Image links to enlarged photo.
From ancient Japan via David Pepper we were fascinated to see the antique paper artifacts he selected from his collection and business (Okame Japanese Antiques) in Windsor, Ontario. David is helping to put together the historical exhibit at the Japan Foundation, Toronto. Amongst the treasure trove were an Edo-period lacquered washi trunk (right), a persimmon-dyed washi chest weighing less than 2 pounds, “cardboard” made from layers of washi letters, accounting records, and other recycled washi. Oodles of woodblock-printed books, masks, a beautiful lacquered washi quiver for arrows, a Samurai shoulder pad made of washi, and a typical handful of original “Kleenex” pure kozo cut sheets, used by Edo people in case of colds, or for covering wounds. Through David, the Cranbrook Art Museum in Michigan is kindly lending us some other marvelous pieces including a washi (yes, washi) samurai hat! Therein lies another whole exhibition on washi at a major Art Museum some time in the future.
Detail of ‘Waiting’ by Irina Schestakowitch. Image links to enlarged photo.
A steady stream of images of work on washi to be included in the gallery shows flows in.
Detail of ‘Allan Gardens’ by Penelope Stewart. Image links to enlarged photo.
Two that are of special note are this one from Edward Day Gallery by Penelope Stewart, a drawing on mitsumata tissue (right) and this drypoint of Irina Schestakowitch from a series called “Waiting” (left). We are also honoured that Naoko Matsubara will have a show at Abbozzo Gallery in Oakville of her magnificent woodblock prints.
The colourful Infoguide showing locations of all galleries and events, and giving a glimpse of some of the art should be available within the next week. If you’d like to have some to encourage your friends to join the festivities, or a poster to announce the event in your community, please ask. We’ll have 30,000 to distribute!
Next: Toronto in June beyond the Summit.
hello world!
Comment by ingunn 04.25.08 @ 10:51 amwe’re working hard in iceland to produce something exibiting on the superb japanese paper from nancy. we wish we could be there for the summit but unfortunately none of us can go, we will be there in spirit for sure! cheers, ingunn and the women wearing red bras in iceland