“With the constant twists and turns over more than two years of intense global change, it is easy to feel torn. Emotionally, economically, and socially, we are stretched thin. Exhausted by this constant dance upon ever-shifting ground, where we are expected to move - and yet stay still - as the world desperately seeks to find its footing.

And yet, despite the closures and the loss, the disconnect and the devastation, the inertia of time thrusts us forward. With this comes reflection, change, and growth. Some have taken this time to shift, planting seeds for future cultivation. Others have slowed to await what comes next - looking out for new approaches. The pandemic has affected us all, and in our varied reactions to this shared isolation, artists have found inspiration.

In partnership with the PEI Crafts Council, we welcome you to share in this juxtaposition of heavy moments and silver linings, through an exhibition acknowledging the ongoing struggle of a "post-pandemic" world, and celebrating the beauty to be found in perseverance. Throughout the gallery, craft artists from across PEI share their interpretations of the nebulous theme of “yield”. A word with varying definitions, “yield” can describe the act of slowing down, looking out, and watching for threats before moving ahead. It can focus on loss, or surrender, relinquishing space for new voices and ideas. Alternatively, “yield” may refer to the act of cultivation, reaping the abundance that blooms as a result of your efforts. In each work you will find a line that connects our human response to this shared traumatic event: leading you down the many roads we traverse to find comfort, face our fears, and dream of a hopeful future."

Exhibition Curator, Maegen Black

COVID Series: Contained, Dissemination and So it Began…, Jim Aquilani.

James Aquilani

COVID Series: Contained
Copper, sterling silver, brass, liver of sulphur
Once an invitation for a closer view, the intimate nature of jewellery became restricted with the advent of social distancing. The ring a rare exception, it could be outstretched from the wearer toward the viewer - bridging the gap between us, creating a moment of connection, yet still standing apart.

COVID Series: Dissemination
Sterling silver, brass, bronze, copper, liver of sulphur, silver black
Composed of 127 components, “Dissemination” captures the frantic, frenzied confusion of the world grinding to a halt around us, and systems falling apart. The amazement of these moments will never be forgotten by those of us who experienced this panic, and those who fought to keep things together.

COVID Series: And So It Began...
Sterling silver, brass, copper, bronze
In the early days of the pandemic as the virus began its meteoric rise, it shifted from subtle concern, toward an aggressive explosion. The separation of sections within this piece are purposeful, representing the many ways the virus spread and shifted - slowly in some areas, while astronomically in others.

Nancy Cole

Amelia
Embroidery, archival photograph, porous pen, no. 10 crochet cotton

Through portraits taken by the artist during an independent residency in the remote high mountains of central Portugal, these photographs are augmented with embroidery that evokes an unsettling sense of the ubiquitous pandemic mask, reflecting the disturbing and dangerous times we continue to face.

Lamentations
Embroidery, archival photograph, porous pen, no. 10 crochet cotton

Donnalee Downe

Mother and Child
Vintage garments, watercolour on wood panel

Artist Donnalee Downe is currently exploring personal narratives through the lens of remembered fabrics. Mother and Child - a diptych which includes the artist's first “art” apron and her own child's favourite shirt - considers how fabrics yield over time, a recurring theme in her current research.

Jamie Germaine

Pod Life
Ceramic, wood

A reflection of a time that required slowing down, sheltering in place, and "cocooning", this fuelled experimentation in the studio, leading to new works such as this piece: centred on growth, protection, and shelter.

Kieren Hall

36 String Celtic Style Harp
Prince Edward Island curly maple

An evocative symbol of the role music plays in our lives, the 'Raven Harp' is a statuesque instrument in waiting. A stoic reminder of the empty concert halls and the deafening quiet that filled our lives - and the profound power of the songs that the future will bring.

Heather Learie

Familiar Places and Worn Out Spaces
Embroidery thread on raw canvas

The bathroom is a familiar place loaded with various textiles and textures. With pandemic-fueled stay at home orders in place, even more time was spent within the home. The normally overlooked and worn-out pieces of everyday life suddenly became an inspiration.

Heather Jarmyn

Lightbulb
Cotton, essex linen, 80/20 batting, aurifil thread

The pandemic forced us to look at ways of connecting differently, and to discover what we can do while sheltering in place. When we slow down, and step outside of our entrenched patterns we find room to explore the next bright idea.

Lucus MacDonald

Concedence
Walnut

Using only hand tools, the repetitive and meditative patterns radiate energy, reflecting and illuminating life itself in solid form. Each line representing the event of its own creation, we make our mark - and centre ourselves through the tangible, the tactile, and the real.

Rilla Marshall

Weighted Lines # 1 – 6
Handwoven painted cotton, ikat dyed raw silk

The land is constantly yielding to the sea on PEI, seen in the annual rate of erosion and our transforming coast. By stripping shorelines down to basic geometry and vertical weighted lines, this series of complementary colour relationships evoke a hazy feeling of transitional space.

Robert McMillan

Vase Form
Ceramic

Reminiscent of the environment and landscape of PEI, the locally sourced clay used to create this work binds it to a specific place and time - the land itself, frozen in form, honouring the beauty and stability of a place rocked by change, but strong enough to withstand.

Mel Montgomery

Yield, Slow, Stop
Wool, cotton, wood

The disorienting pattern and disruptive colour palette of 'Yield, Slow, Stop' fuels the mimicry of confusion and panic that was rife throughout this time. The flow of this repeating pattern is contained by a firm red line - a forced stop for which no person or system was prepared.

Jody Racicot

Red Dogwood
Steel rod, nails

A product of the physical limitations of the pandemic era, 'Red Dogwood' reflects the natural environment of the artist's home studio, created with materials available at hand. Intimate and familiar, the discarded nest of nails is tangled within a shrub, bent by the wind - but holding still.

Nora Richard

Cherokee Gathering Basket
Natural reed / navy blue reed

The creative process of basket weaving pairs patience, detail, and creativity - three skills of great value during a time of intense societal change. A calming and meditative practice, the flow it provides can be a great relief from the heavy burdens we carry each day.

Velda Roy

Down the Road
Quilt Contributors:
Liz Dempsey, Lucinda Harbottle, Heather Jarmyn, Cathy Kay, Leigh Anne Matthews, Cathy Victor
Quilting cotton

Each improvised quilt block represents a location on PEI that the artists wished to visit, or to return to, once restrictions lifted. A patchwork of well-known Island landmarks and lesser known locales, this map of memories and longing is a reminder of time lost, and the comfort of places held in our hearts.

Heather Jarmyn: Teacup Rock
Cathy Victor: Round Hay Bales Near Home
Cathy Kay: Piping Plover
Liz Dempsey: St. Peter’s Church
Leigh Anne Matthews: View From Atop the Ferris Wheel
Lucinda Harbottle: Beaches
Velda Roy: The Dunes at Blooming Point, Tea Cup Rock x 2, Confederation Bridge, Mouth of the Harbour/Charlottetown Boardwalk, Confederation Trail Nearby Morrell, Covehead Lighthouse, Overlooking the Bay in Stanhope, Beach Day in Cavendish, Doyle’s Cove in North Rustico, Confederation Trail Nearby Hunter River.

In memory of Lucinda Harbottle, who lost her battle with pancreatic cancer less than two weeks after she completed her block.

Susana Rutherford

Sprouted
Stained glass, lead, wood

"Sometimes when you're in a dark place you think you've been buried, but you've actually been planted" - Christine Caine
Whether lost in the unknown of the pandemic, or seeking a new path forward from any challenge - light can be found in the strength that grows from our lowest points.

Covid Blues
Stained glass, lead, wood

Covid Blues represents the severing of our circles of community by the pandemic and was created in the era of lockdowns and separation.

Sarah Saunders

Mend Series: Mittens 01, Sweater, Shirt, Mittens 02
Porcelain

A celebration of beauty in the imperfect, these porcelain sculptures capture in precise detail every thread, fold, and surface of the textiles they eternalized. These former wearables are frozen in time, evoking the distance we experienced between us at a time when space, connection, and touch were fraught with emotion.

Ayelet Stewart

New Growth Collection: 1. Lilly Pond Brooch, 2. Open Flower Pendant, 3. Growth Brooch, 4. From the Earth Brooch, 5. Looking Up-Close Brooch
Enamel, copper, silver

The pandemic was an opportunity to rethink - redirect - and restart. With more free time as the new normal, the artist explored the land, interpreting it through technical and aesthetic challenges. Inspired by studies of new growth in the natural world, these lively pieces are precious, playful, and powerful amulets of personal growth.

Jane Whitten

Mussels
Plastic (surplus waste material provided by 'The Handpie Company' from their packaging process), wire, dental floss

Mussels have long been a food source on PEI. Healthy mussels depend on clean, toxin-free waters, and climate change is impacting yields. The production of plastic is a major contributor to climate change, from the presence of micro-plastics in the water, to sea temperature rises, to extreme weather events.

PEI CRAFT DOCS.com

Films produced by Jody Racicot

"Films produced and directed by Jody Racicot, featuring artists Bette Young, Jessica Hutchinson, Jim Aquilani, Nora Richard, Lucus MacDonald, Arlene MacAusland, and Rilla Marshall.
Music written and performed by 'Atlantic String Machine', featuring Sean Kemp, Karen Graves, Jeffrey Bazett-Jones, Natalie Williams Calhoun, and Adam Hill.

A project of the Prince Edward Island Crafts Council, with funding provided by the Canada Council for the Arts."

Yield Exhibit 2022