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Textile. Peggy - artists by Stortz n Vancouver Converge ffl Anthropologists suspect that the String Revolution, the point in time when humans began to assemble fibres, is more radical than the Industrial Revolution. The manipulation of fibres provided commodities like wicks to provide light and rope scaffolding to help the primitive artists reach the high ceilings of the caves to paint their images. Weaving is a very ancient art, and the discovery of tightly woven vessels, coated with non-porous substances like tar, suggests that textiles preceded ceramics in the evolution of humankind. Although our forebears made textiles for utilitarian reasons, they soon became an artform providing decoration and embellishment. In some cases, the textile art was used to tell stories or record historical events. Today, the ancient art of textile making and design thrives and flourishes. All over the world, artists and craftspeople are preserving the old traditions while developing new and innovative techniques. Every other year, the Handweavers Guild of America, Inc. sponsors a conference of textile artists from around the world. This year, the Greater Vancouver Weavers and Spinners Guild are hosting Convergence 2002 Vancouver: Textile Tides. To converge means to approach the same point from different directions. Delegates for this year's event come from across North America and around the world including New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Siberia, Turkey, Scandinavia, Japan, Great Britain and Hong Kong, making this a convergence of grand proportions. July | August One such piece is an enchanting cape by artist Constance Chapman. Created from hand-dyed silk gauze and skeletonized dried leaves, the piece is called Emergence. Picture something a wood-nymph might wear, sans Members of the Vancouver Guild of Fabric Artists have been busy for a year working on an array of pieces based on Northwest Coast First Nations protective clothing, originally woven from cedar bark and hemp fibres. The results are marvelous although, in many cases, they bear little resemblance to the serviceable cedar rainwear of the past. A graduate from the Vancouver School of Art, Badgley has had exposure to countless artists and artforms through her work and during her travels in Europe, Asia and Africa. With a strong background in business, she began fund-raising immediately when she took over the helm of the Seymour Art Gallery almost ten years ago. "My major thrust at the gallery has been to provide access to as many Textile Tides provides an incredible opportunity for residents and visitors to experience the wonder of this magnificent artform in all its myriad configurations. Right here on the North Shore there are a number of terrific exhibitions to take in, like Come Rain or Come Shine at a juried exhibition at Deep Cove's Seymour Art Gallery. As well as workshops at UBC and a multitude of lectures, fashion shows, vendors markets and special events throughout the city, there will be textile arts exhibitions from Whistler to Washington State, from the Castlegar to Qualicum. Throughout the summer and early fall, hundreds of galleries, as well as libraries, hotels, churches and community centres, are displaying artwork that is woven, stitched, hooked, beaded, knitted, dyed, spun, and knotted, to mention but a few of the techniques. The Guild, established in 1970, was delighted with the opportunity to display their works at the Seymour Art Gallery during the Convergence. With generous funding from the Vancouver Foundation, curator Carole Badgley and a team of enthusiastic volunteers from the Guild and the gallery, have put together a stunning exhibition, including a collection of hand-made dolls called Singin' and Dancin' in the Rain displayed in the foyer. "Valerie Hunter, the Foundation's program director, mentored us through the process of making this dream a reality," Badgley says. anything else. In contrast, Anne Love's If I Am Homeless, I Will Make A Shelter is woven from back issues of a local newspaper. There are political statements and flights of fancy. Patterns are stitched and dyed and beaded onto natural and synthetic fabrics. Many of the pieces employ various techniques including pyrotechnics, the use of heat or a flame to create texture. Some of the pieces are wearable while others are definitely just for show.