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HOOKING UP with Vanessa Neily

I’m excited to announce that I have been invited to talk about my process and share my work at this year’s summer hooking social in the Toronto area.

Hooking Up Saturday July 8th with Vanessa Neily is a one-day event designed to inspire creativity in your own practice. Spend the day hooking, making connections and enjoying an artist-led talk about the creative process of small-scale rug hooking from blind contour sketching, developing collage designs and translating lines and strokes of colour through rug hooking. 
Vanessa Neily is a multidisciplinary craftsperson from Ottawa, ON. A graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University, she holds a BFA specializing in jewellery design & metalsmithing with self-taught study in rug hooking. Inspired by the gestural qualities of sketching and painting, her work translates this quick expressiveness to the characteristically slower, more controlled craft materials of vitreous enameling and rug hooking. The complementary pairing of materials has become a unique trademark of Vanessa’s studio jewellery and contemporary wall art pieces.
Set amongst the rolling hills of the Caledon countryside in a tented outdoor studio, you will have the chance to browse and shop exclusive wool fabrics, yarns, and fibres in the Martina Lesar Hooked Rug Studio. 
Pack up a boxed lunch and bring along either a new piece to start or a project-in-progress to work on for the day. Enjoy complimentary coffee, tea, and treats under the tents. 
To register, click here
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57th toronto outdoor art fair

I’m happy to announce that I have been accepted as a participant in the 2018 Toronto Outdoor Art Fair! It has been exactly a decade, as a recent graduate with my mishmash of undergraduate work, since I last showed work at this contemporary art event. Ten years later, I have grown a lot as an artist and my work has matured along with. I’m excited to present my collection of multidisciplinary pieces – works that I began in the fall of 2016 and had set aside in the hopes of once again exhibiting in this incredible show. Thank you for this opportunity TOAF!

Come see me at booth D285, July 6-8th at Nathan Phillips Square!

Until then, you can view my online portfolio from the TOAF Artist Directory here.

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koel magazine

I am thrilled to announce my mini-feature in KOEL Magazine’s Issue 5!!! This beautifully curated magazine – based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands – features talented fiber artists and inspiring works from around the globe focused on yarn crafting for modern interiors. Issue 5 is all about textures and I’m so flattered to have been included! Of my work, Irene Hoofs writes:

This is what a rug hooked stool should look like. From scribbles in a sketchbook, to one-of-a kind art piece. No compromise on design. Made of pure wool and solid pine. Clearly the work of a fine craftsperson. Meet Vanessa Neily, your new fiber teacher who raises the bar to new levels!

…blush much! Thank you again, Irene and KOEL Magazine!