GRAND NATIONAL
FIBRE ART EXHIBITION
Award Winners
Janome Award of Excellence
sponsored by Janome Canada Ltd.
Susan Sherman 2024 Delights
Susan Sherman 2024 Delights
Grand Prize Winner
sponsored by Grand National Exhibition Assn. and Northcott Silk Inc.
Sandra Melnik 2024 Delights
Sandra Melnik 2024 Delights
Judges's Choice Awards:
Leslie Forbes, judge
Robin Fischer sponsored by Victoria Quilters' Guild
Robin Fischer sponsored by Victoria Quilters' Guild
Fletcher Quince, judge
Sharon Johnston sponsored by Grand National Exhibition Assn.
Sharon Johnston sponsored by Grand National Exhibition Assn.
Theshini Naicker, judge
Jennifer Coghill sponsored by Grand National Exhibition Assn.
Jennifer Coghill sponsored by Grand National Exhibition Assn.
At this time, we would like to thank Janome Canada Ltd. a supporter of the Grand National since its inception in 2003, Waterloo Region Community Foundation Grand National Legacy Fund, Fibre Art Network and Stereo Systems Ltd who all have stepped forward to see that the Grand National continues by sponsoring Delights at the Platinum or Gold levels.
Exhibition Schedule:
June 8 - July 27, 2024
Kootenay Gallery of Art,
120 Heritage Way, Castlegar, BC V1N 4M5
Aug 9 - Sep 25, 2024
United Community Arts
148 Moffat Ave., Pilot Mound, MB R0G 1P0
Oct 12, 2024 to Jan 25, 2025
Woodstock Art Gallery
449 Dundas St., Woodstock, ON N4S 1C2
March 14 - April 25, 2025
Saint John Arts Centre
20 Peel Plaza, Saint John, NB E2L 3G6
Exhibition Statement
After these past years of cancelled trips, isolation and basically life on hold, we are ready for some fun. Every one of us has pleasures in our lives. What delights you? What makes you happy, joyous and cheerful? What lifts your heart? We asked the fibre artists of Canada to share their ‘Delights’ with us.
This juried exhibition consists of the works of 37 Canadian professional fibre artists from across Canada, each expressing a particular delight that has great meaning to them, resulting in a diverse range of materials, techniques, ideas, concepts, and cheerful thoughts to get us all back on the path to living, having fun and enjoying the pleasures of life once again.
About the Jurors
Thelma Newbury, Jury Coordinator
Thelma Newbury is a Vancouver based Fibre Artist. She has organized fibre exhibitions and art shows for several organizations, including FAN, CQA and the South Surrey White Rock Art Society. She enjoys working with bright colours and texture, exhibiting her artwork in both solo and group exhibitions. Her work has been juried into national and international quilt and art shows and is in private collections in Canada and Europe.
Deb Fong - Juror
Privileged to grow up surrounded by art lovers, Deb Fong believed from an early age that she would be an artist. While enjoying successful careers in both the public and private sector, Deb’s passion for the arts never waned. In 2019, she competed the Studio Art Program at Thompson Rivers University, where she co-curated 2 exhibitions. Currently Deb is the Gallerist at Gallery 635 in Kamloops, curating and presenting works by local and regional artists. Though she considers painting her primary medium, she is also interested in 3D installations. Her work has been shown at over 20 exhibitions locally.
Judy Weiss, Juror
Judy Weiss is an award-winning artist in mixed media textiles: contemporary combinations of fibre, cloth, stitch, and fine art materials. She is inspired by experiences of life, the passage of time, and the enduring beauty of the Canadian
landscape. Her art training includes a Fine Arts Certificate with Distinction from the University of Alberta, and numerous textile and surface design workshops with international and regional instructors. She is a member of local, provincial and
international arts organizations, and she presents workshops to help artists develop their goals and artistic voices. Her work has been exhibited in Canada, the US, and New Zealand.
Marie E. Maltais - Juror
Marie E. Maltais is Director of the UNB Art Centre at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. She develops and curates exhibits and programs that engage the public in a dialogue about contemporary issues. Since 2011 the UNB Art
Centre she has been bringing awareness to environmental issues through art for the UN’s World Water Day initiative. In addition, she manages the UNB’s Permanent Collection of over 2000 artworks and non-credit programs like Leisure Learning and Design Works. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Toronto in Fine Art History and a Diploma in Experimental Arts from the Ontario College of Art and Design.
R Leslie Forbes – Judge
R Leslie Forbes is a fibre artist living and working in Osoyoos B.C. Landscape, Architecture and Nature are recurring themes in her art. Photographs from her travels are often a catalyst for her art combining many fibre types in her work. Now retired, Leslie enjoyed rewarding careers in Educational Television, Interior Design plus Marketing in the Housing Industry. Her art has been juried into National and International Exhibitions, winning numerous awards. Leslie has had her art featured in quilting magazines, the cover of CQA’s NJS 2018 catalogue, the cover of Destination Osoyoos visitors guide and a Solo Show at the Art Gallery Osoyoos. In addition, two of Leslie’s art quilts were juried into ‘The Best of Quilting in Canada’ an exhibition put on by the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts. Her art quilts are held in private collections in Canada, United States, and Denmark.
Theshini Naicker – Judge
Born in Durban South Africa, Theshini Naicker emigrated to Canada in 1990. She is a self-taught visual artist who has worked in a variety of different mediums. She gravitated towards felt as a medium after seeing her first exhibition of felted artwork at the Kootenay Gallery of Art many years ago. She taught herself how to felt and subsequently attended workshops by teachers from all over the world to hone her skills. Her seamless garments and other one of a kind wearable art was well received in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Vancouver for many years.
Her more recent work displays a shift in direction. Concepts of fragility, resilience, diversity, and connection form a framework for experimentation as she incorporates more non felting fibres into her work. Colour, texture, and a delightful sense of optimism is reflected in her new work.
Fletcher Quince – Judge
A strong advocate for built heritage and the creative economies, since moving to Rossland in 2009 Fletcher has been actively involved in a variety of Arts and Culture initiatives; most notably the restoration and tenancy of Francis Rattenbury’s Historic Bank of Montreal Building and the founding of the Rossland Art Gallery, an institution he managed for over 10 years, prior to moving on to his current role as Curator at the Kootenay Gallery.
A published academic in the journal of Behavioural Processes and the University of Toronto Press, prior to moving to the West Kootenay’s Fletcher completed an undergraduate in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Alberta, and a Master’s Degree in Forest Fire Management Systems at the University of Toronto.