Sculptor Weaver Sue Hiley Harris


Sculptor Weaver Sue Hiley Harris will visit Vancouver February 26 to March 4 2012. Sue lives and works in Wales and exhibits her work internationally as well as across Great Britain. In 2007 she was invited to represent Wales at the 2e Biennale Intetnationale du Lin de Portneuf in Quebec.

An article "The Bare Bones of the Bags" about Sue's recent work appeared in the Journal for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers 239, Autumn 2011 pp 16 - 19.

Visit Sue's website www.suehileyharris.co.uk to get a flavor of her work.

In Vancouver Sue will be showing some of her work at Urbanity, www.urbanity.ca and will be giving a lecture 'Ancestor Bags' and a two day workshop on making string bags.

From left: Crags (detail), Ancestral Bag 1913 (detail), Eighteen Faces, Three Spaces (detail), Square Ends (detail)

The Lecture - Sue Hiley Harris: Ancestor Bags
Australian-born sculptor weaver Sue Hiley Harris will talk about the ideas and inspiration behind her recent project, Ancestor Bags, as well as how she arrived at this point in her artistic development. Ancestor Bags is an installation of thirty suspended abstract works, each representing one of her direct British and Australian ancestors over four generations.

Sue lives in Britain and was inspired after seeing an Aboriginal string bag in Oxford's Pitt Rivers Museum with an old label indicating that it had been used 'for carrying the bones of dead relatives.' It was similar to one sent to her by her mother. The details of the weaving, dyeing and construction of each work - as well as the materials used - convey coded information about members of her family. Shown together, the hangings are a unique visual exploration of ancestry.

The lecture will take place on Sunday, February 26th at 7.30pm at the Kanata Co-op Community Building, 7155 Blake Street in Champlain Heights (close to Boundary and 49th Avenue). Please see the MAP. Please register for the lecture by sending an email to julia.manitius@gmail.com


The Workshop -- String and String Bags (two day workshop)



warping pegs
For many years Sue's mother sent her Australian Aboriginal string bags. Sue used these in her daily life and for storage bags in her studio. Sue has studied her own string bags and researched others in museum collections. This workshop is an opportunity to explore the remarkable materials and structure of Indigenous Australian string bags and make both knotted and looped string bags using the same techniques and easily available materials. No experinece is needed.

The 2 Day workshop will be held on February 27 & 28th from 10am - 4pm each day, at the Kanata Co-op Community Building, 7155 Blake Street in Champlain Heights (close to Boundary and 49th Avenue). Please see the MAP

The cost of the workshop is $150. A $50 deposit is required to secure a place. The $100 balance will be accepted in cash at the beginning of the workshop. A receipt will be issued by Sue.

If you are you interested in joining us for the lecture and/or workshop. please send an email to julia.manitius@gmail.com

You can see more about the workshop from one who has taken it on Lizzys Learning Blog

UPDATE: We are happy to announce that Sue will also offer her workshop and lecture on Salt Spring Island. Joan Carrigan has organized a space for the 2-day workshop to take place on the weekend of March 3rd & 4th. The lecture will be held in the evening of Friday, March 2nd. If you would be interested in taking the workshop on Salt Spring, please get in touch with me at julia.manitius@gmail.com, or Joan Carrigan.

Workshop Participant requirements

Notebook, pencil and scissors
Large sewing needle or bodkin
2 x G-clamps (to be able to clamp approx 3 inches)
Two warping pegs - that can be clamped to a table to provide vertical supports
Twine or string preferably hemp, cotton or linen (there will be some twine available for purchase at the workshop)
Netting needle (available for use or purchase at the workshop)
Mesh stick (a ruler approx 1" wide will be fine and there will be some at the workshop to use)