The history of a society or an individual can be told through textiles, and these narratives may not be present in other historical records. The only trace of a life lived may be found on an embroidered piece of cloth.  Embroidery has enormous cultural significance being valued as an expressive medium in many cultures and becoming a storehouse of art and the emotions and history that can be associated with it. Through a workshop series offered over the past several months, participants were introduced to embroidery stitches that were applied to paper which can be delicate, fragile, easily torn, pierced and mended. This exhibition showcases the restored works of art created through the workshops, as participants shared creative time using needle, thread and paper.

Opening Reception: 

Friday, September 27, 6:30 to 8:30 PM

A Stitch in Public Day event will take place in the exhibition space on Saturday, September 28.

About the artist:

Mary Kroetsch’s work involves deconstructing through fragmentation and reconstructing those fragments to shift time that was, to time that is, or could be.
She probes the mysterious images of people and things she wants to know about using multiple mediums with creative technologies – merging, layering, cutting and melding the parts of a perceived existence into a hybrid identity. Many hypothetical elements are arranged in a collection that coheres into a conceptual depiction.
She is inspired by the relationship She has with vintage photography, which in all its forms is used to create and archive circumstances – documenting, tracing and memorializing them. When she studies a photograph she tries to understand who and what is being preserved, chipping away to find a fragmented existence that is motionless and stagnant but has a history of being. Abstract imagery shares imagined stories – raising multiple conversations about individuality.
Her artistic practice is research-creational integrating mixed methods of making to push and explore the problems arising from limitations and disconnects that happen when many layers impact surfaces, production, and fabrication.
Mary obtained Certification in Textile Surface Design from the Haliburton School of the Arts, studied Visual Arts Foundations at Central Tech Art School, Toronto, and completed the Ontario Arts Council’s Artist-Educator Foundations Course.
She graduated with a Studio Arts Degree from the University of Guelph, Ontario in 2023.
Her work has recently been part of exhibitions at the Elora Centre for the Arts (Elora, Ontario) the Propeller Art Gallery, (Toronto, Ontario), the Boarding House Gallery, (Guelph, Ontario), and the 2020 Ateliers Kitchen Print Biennial, (Charmes, France).
Mary’s creations are part of private and public collections including St. Michael’s Hospital, (Toronto, Ontario), the Ilkley Museum, (Yorkshire, England) and the CAMAC Centre for Art and Technology, (Marnay, France).