A Tale of Braided Rugs and Handmade Shoes, will be on exhibit at the Mary E. Black Gallery, Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design, 1683 Barrington Street, Halifax, from Jan. 28 to March 20.
In 1882, Oscar Wilde wrote: "And what is the meaning of this beautiful decoration which we call art? In the first place, it means value to the workman and it means the pleasure which he most necessarily takes in making a beautiful thing. The mark of all good art is not that the thing is done exactly or finely, for machinery may do as much, but that it is worked out with the head and the worker's heart."
Curator Noreen Battaglia has considered this quote for the exhibit, which features braided, hooked and painted rugs, embodiments of her statement, "Old cloth made useful contained family memories and acted as a family diary."
The works range from traditional braided rugs by Bill Barrett and Eleanor Rinehardt to contemporary pieces such as Rosemary MacAuley's welcome mats braided with encylopedia texts, and a painted rug by Rose Adams. Rosanne Nicholson's display of a hooked rug was made in memory of her beloved cats. The rug, which reveals images of cats, will be presented as part of a cat's corner complete with a scratching post and pottery feeding bowls. Handmade shoes by Jude Major, Kay Stanfield and Ken Nye provide the rug's counterpart.
"The carpet and shoe are metaphors to enhance a wider understanding of the human and animal imprint of an earlier time, said Ms. Battaglia. "Creative play allows the artist to search into deeper levels of identifying methods to envisage into those imprints. A journey begins with the spark that ignites once the foot imprints a surface, telling the story of everyone involved."
The centre is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and on Saturday from 10 a.m to 4 p.m.
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