Line Dufour: tapestry and textiles: May 2012

Elisabeth Bishof and Valerie Splaine wove these 2 tapestry banners. The tapestry on the left shows some of the leisure activities the people in the community partake in: golf, music, hockey and Scottish dancing. The tapestry on the right, fields, a farmhouse, an interpretation of an inside view of windows in the Gibson Centre and the Banting monument The tapestries measure 14" w x 60" . The finishing work still has to be done which we will do at a later time.

It was time for a visit to the Gibson Centre and see what the Nottawasaga Handweavers and Spinners were up to. Thursdays are a day when anyone can come and weave, spin and just sit and chat if that is all they feel like doing. Today though, we also decided we would do some painting. No, we weren't redecorating. I find the weaving the group has been doing on the tapestries breathaking. The weaving of two tapestry banners is completed. Four more are in the process of being woven. If you want a really great experience you must go up to the Gibson Centre and visit Alice's Attic and start weaving on those tapestries. It's a truly wondrous unfolding and a fabulous tactile experience in the company of interesting people.

This is the current tapestry that Valerie Splaine is weaving. It depicts preserving jars and the image was painted by Mattie Sullivan.
We looked at all the designs for the our dozen tapestries and the group decided that we needed to make an effort to include more civic structures from New Tecumseh in the tapestries. The Banting Homestead came up in discussion several times. Linda Needles, the president of the guild, took many photographs of several buildings in the township, as well as of the Banting Homestead. Valerie Splaine also took a lot of initiative seeking out other buildings as well as on the Banting Homestead site, and in addition has created a whole new design based on the Banting farmhouse. If you are wondering why the Banting Homestead is so important than continue reading. It is truly a national treasure.

From left to right: Libby Hoffman, Elisabeth Bishof and Corrie Parsons. Here we are eliminating duplicate themes in images and will be replacing and redesigning them.

Sir Frederick Grant Banting was born on a farm in Alliston, Ontario on November 14 1891. Working with C. H. Best under the direction of J. J. R. Macleod at the University of Toronto, he succeeded in 1921 to isolate the hormone insulin found in the pancreas. He and Macleod received Nobel Prize in 1923 for this medical find. He was knighted in 1934. Besides his work on insulin, he made valuable studies of the cortex, adrenal glands, cancer, and silicosis and stimulated research in aviation medicine. He was killed in a plane crash in 1941 while en route to England on a medical war mission. Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/frederick-banting#ixzz1tq0uRiji

From left to right: Connie, Libby and Elisabeth.

We edited the images we wanted to work with. There was some disucssion as to whether we should photographs or make paintings of the photographs. I convinced them that their paintings are much dynamic and exciting than a photograph and its done in their style and later you will see how true that is. We decided to make the paintings small to help us eliminate as much fine detail as possible and simplify the design to its basic elements, rendering it easier to translate into tapestry for people of all skill levels.