Craft can mean many things. It can be a knit scarf, a carved knife, or a glass bowl. It can be something practical like a wood and metal table, or something whimsical like a steam-punk pig. The Saskatchewan Craft Council’s Dimensions exhibit, now at the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery, is a showcase of everything that craft can be.
Artists and craft people across the province are invited to participate in Dimensions every couple of years, explained Don Stein, Executive Director of the Godfrey Dean Gallery. The work can be in any medium, and 36 pieces were selected for the final touring show.
“I think of it like a jewel box or a treasure chest, because every little piece is a unique little moment.”
Dimensions is a regular feature at the Godfrey Dean, typically programmed when they have the opportunity. That’s partially because it’s an exhibition that you need to get close to and spend time with to appreciate, as the level of detail and skill is apparent at close examination. A work like JoAnn Sauder’s Phases of Victoria Bridge, for example, a hand-knit piece, is something that changes as you wander the room and get close to examine her intricate stitch work.
“It’s technical virtuosity in knitting, because it’s so even and the lines are so consistent that you think it’s a piece of weaving... As you walk across it and move from right to left, it changes in front of your eyes.”
The simpler pieces also benefit from close examination.
“It might just look like a round wooden object, but then when you read about it you realize it’s like porcelain thin and it’s an amazing accomplishment to form it from wood and make it take that shape,” said Stein.
The next show at the gallery promises to be equally varied, but Stein doesn’t know what it’s going to look like yet. That’s because it’s the annual Landscape and Memory exhibition, showcasing artists from Yorkton and area.
“We would like to cast the web as wide as we can.”
The pieces are to be delivered to the gallery. There are very few limits; artists can bring up to five pieces. Size can be an issue – they have to fit in the gallery with room for other work – and Stein notes that they can’t be anything illegal. Otherwise, the show is open to what people have to offer. Last year, for example, there were two Eiffel Tower sculptures, one made out toothpicks, the other out of carved wood.
“[Dimensions] is a little bit like Christmas, because you open the boxes and you never know what it is. Landscape and Memory is a combination of that and what if you gave a big party and right before the party starts you’re worried if anybody is going to show up. In those four and five days, you never know what’s going to come up the stairs. It’s really exciting.”
Dimensions runs until May 7. The gallery is accepting work for Landscape and Memory between May 7-11. People from out of town can also drop off work on May 12. It will be up from May 22 to Jun. 16.
