It started off as any other day: getting together with friends, conversations, laughter, discussions about our struggles, and then of course what each of us was pursuing or dreaming of. Deb Guthrie is a prolific clothes dyer, altering items that may otherwise hit the landfill sooner than they should. She had created an abundance of sheeting re-dyed to create a colourful array of things that bring her joy and the opportunity to create something from these fabrics. This spoke to me, as I have a love for all things fabric. Deb is also a tunic girl, using layers upon layers of clothes to create new and exciting things to wear. She saw this as an opportunity to have me create several tunics for her to play with and make uniquely her own to wear. As conversations go with people who create, it happens in moments, in seconds, but a visual comes rushing forward and your life changes in that moment. The excitement of creating something that doesn’t exist but that you can see so clearly. This is where I imagined 200 tunics, created by 200 artists all shown in one venue. How extraordinary that would be! I was so excited about this idea — it was big, but I knew I just had to create it. How and where, well those are just part of the journey. So I began.
I shared my idea with artist Holly Dean and she instantly could see it happening at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte. I’d only been there once, but it had such an impact on me that I agreed it was the perfect place. That day I booked it, and set the date as Saturday, August 1. I hadn’t yet told anyone about it except Holly and Deb. That afternoon I wrote my first email outlining the criteria for joining and put it on my website for easy access. You see, I only had email addresses for about 40 artists. From 40 to 200 was going to be a challenge, but I believed in this project whole-heartedly.
From those 40 emails, word of mouth took over, and I was getting messages and emails from all over Ontario — and some from B.C., Quebec and other provinces — from people who wanted to be part of this show. I was blown away by the response, but more so by the energy, the enthusiasm, the community that did not exist then and is now the Tunic Show Community.
In creating the show, I wanted as many different creative people to be a part of it, so I added no rules. I didn’t want just textile artists to participate — I wanted poets, ceramic artist, musicians, printers — I wanted everyone to try. And that is what we have — a beautiful assortment of those who have worked in textiles for years, along with journalists, painters, potters, printers, bead artists, book artists and embroidery artists. We have young artists just starting out, photographers, ceramic artists, and people who are not calling themselves artists but who just want try something and create a tunic for themselves. We have families, sisters and best friends working on their tunics. This is the energy we are building. I started creating this show myself and now there is a whole community creating it. I made the tunics; they are making the show. Can you even imagine all this unexpected beauty in one room?
Why do all this work? I’ve always supported artists and the arts, and I feel that we need to shine a light on the world, to get people excited about creativity and to show that it lives in all of us.
So I invite everyone who can imagine a beautiful room filled with mannequins and tunics, each as unique as the person who created them. Each tunic also has a story. For me it has been a particularly hard year and I may not finish my tunics, but I will still display them and that will be part of their story. You will read many diverse stories that go along with the tunics. There were no rules created, so some tunics may not even be tunics! The important part is that they all started the same when they left my studio, and then they went on their own journey. Some even went travelling with their creator.
I know when the day arrives and people come to see the show they will be part of something so much more. The energy created from a large group of people who are working towards creating unique pieces of art is the kind of energy we need now, and every day before and after. This show is our statement. A gift.
The show is one day only — Saturday, August 1 from 4–8pm at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, located at 3 Rosamond Street East in Almonte mvtm.ca. Please join us for something unique in every way.
Some tunics will be for sale. There are also People’s Choice Awards, so come out and vote for your favourite tunic.
This is a passionate community full of kindness and generosity. Come be a part of this ongoing journey of creativity. I started this alone, and yet I was never alone in the pursuit of bringing it into reality.
