Gumby goes to heaven, and more

I was downtown the other day and got a picture of some blue sky and our RCAF memorial, commonly known as Gumby Goes to Heaven. (And now I know there is a blog about Toronto public art and I must read it all!)

I was on my way to the Textile Museum, my old haunt. They have spent the pandemic reorganizing some of their space and improving lots of things, like the front entrance where I used to volunteer. Much nicer looking now. They are no longer going to have the bone-crushing, soul-destroying annual sales, but offer their donated yarns, fabrics and books every day in a small room in the museum. Same low prices, much less competition. I do wonder if people will buy as much if they are not fighting a crowd to do so, though. 

Best of all, they are open for free till the end of 2021. 

The first show was by Jagdeep Raina, and had embroidered works, some video and mixed-media works on paper. 

I really enjoyed the paper works. 

The larger show is of fabrics designed and printed in the Arctic, Printed Textiles from Kinngait Studios. 

These fabrics were designed by Inuit designers and printed in Cape Dorset. They were shown at Expo 67 where people loved them, but they didn't take off in a big way and eventually production of a few designs moved down south. 

The fabric is generally quite heavy, perfect for curtains, cushions or bedspreads. There were photos of people wearing clothing made from it as well. 

If I had a cottage, my curtains would be made of this caribou one. 

Power poles as decoration! 

This racing dog was part of a very large hanging, made mostly with sealskin on heavy felt. There was also a sealskin coat for sale in the shop. 

It was a really interesting show and I may go back again! I always want to paw and stroke the pieces, turn things over to see the back and so on, which of course one cannot do. But looking again might suffice.