In Honor of Pioneer Women!

Gaetanne Sylvester

Last night on a very crisp, cold Winnipeg Friday evening, my wife and I braved the weather and went to the opening of an art show at the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery. It was entitled "Metaphors in Cloth and Clay" the artists being Ingrid Lincoln and Gaetanne Sylvester. 

I was particularly struck by the use of lace as a metaphor for the pioneer women who worked quietly and diligently behind the scenes, during those many challenging years as "the west was won". Suggesting strength, fragility, beauty and creativity, qualities all needed in those years of labour and struggle. 

As Sylvester puts it, "Clay has had a particular significance for me ever since I was first exposed to it in the late eighties. It mimics life in that it is sensual and organic and yet after witnessing fire it becomes durable and strong while retaining a compelling fragility.

I use hand building techniques, primarily low-fire earthenware, paper-clay  stains, under-glazes and glazes. I am more interested in shapes and organic texture than glaze formulations.
My experience and my observations of life around me along with my research into the genome, fertility, and history continue to inspire and inform my work."

She was born in Manitoba and has participated in exhibitions across Canada, in New York, Denver, Hong Kong, and Mexico. She has her studio in Winnipeg's exchange district.

I felt the show as a whole was pretty clinical and calculated, lacking somewhat in passion. Yet, her work is well travelled, recognised and well known.  

It is encouraging in that a Winnipeg artist is making a success of her multimedia work, including clay.

"She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet." Prov. 31:20-21