Polish pride weaves its tapestry spell in Almonte

Posted Jan 19, 2012 By Desmond Devoy

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Carleton Place EMC

Desmond Devoy, Almonte

Carleton Place EMC

EMC Entertainment - The expert skill of Poland's tapestry weaving culture is on display for the rest of this month at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum (MVTM).

"We have exhibitors here from Poland, the United States, and right here," said John Hannigan, vice-president of the museum's board of directors during the vernissage for 'Woven Bridges', which was held at the museum Saturday, Jan. 14. The exhibit runs until Saturday, Jan. 28.

"The art is absolutely stunning," added Hannigan. "I hope you all enjoy it."

One of the show's six international exhibitors, Mexico's Ixchel Suarez, is a prime example of the reach of Poland's commitment to the craft. Suarez had studied the traditional style of tapestry weaving in her homeland, but a chance viewing of an exhibit of Polish woven art changed her life.

"I saw this wonderful exhibit of Polish weavers," Suarez recalled. "My life changed to see fabric weaving done in another way."

She earned a two-year scholarship to study in Poland, and she now works in Oakville, Ont.

"It's important to elevate tapestry into an art form," Suarez said of an endeavour that has not always been taken seriously by other artists. "It is a medium of vast possibility."

The exhibit's resident Pole, Krystyna Szluinska Sadej, who now calls Navan, Ont. home, also trained with the Polish masters.

"Everything is woven in this exhibit," Sadej said, even her works that incorporate plastic "icebergs."

"Poland doesn't take recyclables like that, so I recycle," Sadej joked. "I learned from the master weavers (in Poland). It was a very popular way (to learn) if you did not go to an art school."

Sadej founded her own art group, made up of 10 exhibitors.

"When I left, nobody wanted to be a leader, so the group collapsed," Sadej said.

Sadej then founded the Harmony fibre art group here in Canada, which exhibited at the Almonte museum several years ago.

"Our show will be transferred to the museum of textiles in Poland in October," Sadej said proudly.

Sadej joked that they should take the museum's executive director, Michael Rikley-Lancaster along to pick up some Polish pointers of his own.

"It's wonderful to bring all of this together," said Thoma Ewen, another exhibitor from Val-des-Monts, Que., who has been weaving tapestries for more than 37 years. "I love tapestry," Ewen said. "It's my life."

desmond.devoy@metroland.com