Teaching classes
@ the 18th European Patchwork meeting in France
- photo: Sandra
I have been involved in quilt making and textiles since 1981. I am basically a self taught quilter who started by helping my wife with unfinished projects and gradually started to do everything on my own. I attended classes, amongst others, by Nancy Crow and Ruth McDowell.
I like the creative aspect the most. It is pure joy, and sometimes agony, to create with fabric something that can communicate certain feelings or even messages. It is a bonus if viewers can share in the communication.
I am currently the director of the School of Communication Studies at the North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa. The following disciplines are taught in the School: Graphic Design and Art History (Visual communication), as well as Journalism, Communication for Social Change, Documentary Video and Corporate Communication Management. It's a privilege to be surrounded by creative colleagues. I am due for retirement at the end of this year, so from 2014 onwards I will focus all my energy and time on creating more textile art and will be able to travel whenever groups would like me to teach.
I like the creative aspect the most. It is pure joy, and sometimes agony, to create with fabric something that can communicate certain feelings or even messages. It is a bonus if viewers can share in the communication.
I am currently the director of the School of Communication Studies at the North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa. The following disciplines are taught in the School: Graphic Design and Art History (Visual communication), as well as Journalism, Communication for Social Change, Documentary Video and Corporate Communication Management. It's a privilege to be surrounded by creative colleagues. I am due for retirement at the end of this year, so from 2014 onwards I will focus all my energy and time on creating more textile art and will be able to travel whenever groups would like me to teach.
INTERNATIONAL AWARDS
1989 QNM: Home Sweet Home International block contest: Won the Ribbon for the block with the best overall composition
1991 AQS contest, Peducah, USA: An Honourable Mention in the Theme category
1994 The fourth International Contest of QNM: Celebrating the Tradition in Karlsruhe (Germany), I won the prize for the best innovative variation of a traditional pattern. From all the entries, my block was chosen to represent South Africa in the United Nations’ Peace Quilt.
My work "Goodbye England's Rose" was accepted for the International Touring Exhibition with the theme: Rhapsody of Roses. This exhibition toured to several Art Museums, amongst them the “world’s most prestigious textile museum in Lyon, France: Musée des Tissus. Housed in a former royal palace dating from before the 18th century, the museum has a world-class textile collection and reputation” (Karey Bresenham)
2000 Two textile hangings were accepted for a touring exhibition in Canada.
2003/4 Five quilts were accepted to be exhibited at the 9th and the 10th European Patchwork Meeting.
2006 The piece, Time Orietations, was accepted for a curated touring exhibition in Europe - Organised by Dörte Bach
2010 Images of three textile wall hangings were accepted to be part of the book published in the USA: 1000 Artisan Textiles: contemporary fibre art, quilts and wearables.
NATIONAL AWARDS
1990 National Festival in Durban: Rotating Stars for Africa won the Best on show
1992 National Festival in Port Elizabeth: Two second prizes; in the traditional section and the wall quilt section. Received a special recommendation for hand quilting and machine piecing. One quilt received a judge's choice. Designed and organised a group quilt which won a second prize in the group quilt category, and a first prize for scrap quilts.
1994 At the National Festival in Cape Town I received a first prize and a highly commended for machine piecing and a second prize for machine quilting. One quilt received a judge's choice.
1998 The quilt: “Antique Lace” received the prize for Best Machine Workmanship at the National Festival in Port Elizabeth
2002 At the National Festival in Cape Town: “Down to earth”, the quilt “Blooming time in die Kalahari” received first prize. I also received a third prize in the “Challenge” category.
2004 National Festival in Durban: The wall hanging, Merry Pebbles won Best on Show in the Innovative category; in the challenge category my wall hanging received first prize and in the traditional, small category another quilt received a third prize.
2008 National Festival in Johannesburg: In the Masters section the textile, Duet, won first prize in the Innovative category; and the textile hanging, WINTER, received the Best on Show in the Masters Art category.
2011 At the National Festival, Stellenbosch, my wall hanging won second prize in the Bernina challenge.
JUDGING
I am a qualified judge and judged several local shows, four regional shows and three National Textile Festivals in South Africa; as well as the National Quilt Festival in Harare, Zimbabwe. I was, with Rosalie Dace and Suzette Ehlers, responsible to teach the first course in Quilt Judging in SA.
INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES
The director of the annual European Patchwork-meeting asked me to be the curator of a South- African quilt exhibition in 2003 and an African exhibition in 2004 to be exhibited in Val d’Argent, France.
EXHIBITIONS
I took part in several group exhibitions, National and International travelling exhibitions, amongst others Innovative Threads ’96, ‘97, ‘98 and ’99; in April 1998 at the NSA Art Gallery in Durban’ and in 1999 at the Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg. Images of several quilts appeared in American, European and Japanese Quilting Magazines. The American quilt author, Joen Wolfrom, used images of my textile wall hangings to illustrate certain design aspects in two of her publications: Patchwork Persuasion and Colorplay. Private and corporate owners have purchased several quilts and wall hangings.
As part of Innovative Threads, several wall hangings have been exhibited abroad for example in Japan and Germany.
Solo exhibitions: An exhibition of wall hangings in the Netherlands in June, 2007; I exhibited as one of the textile artist during the 18th EPM in Val D’Argent, France, 2012; Invited artist to exhibit in the Art Gallery in February/March in the city of Potchefstroom, South Africa.
GUILD ACTIVITIES
I was one of the founders of both the local De Oude Molen Kwiltgilde in Potchefstroom (SA) and the regional Golden West umbrella guild. I was chairman of the umbrella guild for five years, till 1996 when I became the President of the South African Quilters’ Guild (SAQG: 1996-1999).
In Afrikaans
Ek is sedert 1985 besig met tekstielwerke wat, weens die aard daarvan, aanvanklik as kwilte getipeer kon word en sedert 2000 as tekstielmuurbehangsels, oftewel “Textile Art” bekendstaan. Ek is deur my vrou in die tegniese aspekte ingelei en het myself deur lesings, leeswerk en werkswinkels van die estetiese aspekte vergewis. Ek is tans besig met werke rondom die tema bome, en het vir hierdie projek outobiografiese werke geskep met die uitgangspunt: Boom van my lewe.
Sedert 1992 en wanneer die tyd dit toelaat tydens vakansies, bied ek self ook klasse aan, onder andere al in Frankryk, Nederland, Duitsland en Nieu-Zeeland. Toekennings wat behaal is sluit die volgende in: Benewens verskeie eerste pryse in verskillende kategorieë tydens die Tweejaarlikse Nasionale Uitstalling, is drie keer die sogenaamde “Best on Show” en in 2008 die toekenning vir “Best art quilt on show” ontvang. Internasionale erkenning is in die vorm van Honourable Mention, Best innovative variation of a traditional pattern en Best overall composition ontvang. Ek het aan verskeie gekeurde nasionale en internasionale groepsuitstalling deelgeneem: Innovative Threads (Kaapstad); Museum Afrika (Gauteng); NSA Art Gallery (Durban); Tatham Gallery (Pietermaritzburg); Musée de Tissus in Lyon en Créations in Parys, Karlsruhe en Kanada. Werke is aanvaar vir reisende uitstallings in Europa, Japan en Kanada. Afdrukke van werke het verskyn in verskeie Amerikaanse, Europese en Japanese kwilt- en tekstieltydskrifte. Verskeie tekstielbehangsels is al deur privaatversamelaars en korporatiewe instansies aangekoop.
