Written by volunteer writer Marion Reidel
Chelsea Moore’s exhibit “Woolgathering” is the August feature at the Guelph Arts Council’s artBar Gallery. Moore was inspired by musician Patti Smith’s book, where the indulgence in seemingly aimless thought, called woolgathering, is portrayed as a noble vocation. Moore has faced the challenge of creating something from nothing. She describes the value of lying in bed, daydreaming as a productive way to formulate the concepts that spark her images.

“Milk of Dreams”, (shown right) is a textile work created in real life scale. This imposing piece shows two women in peaceful recline. By breathing new energy into rescued fabrics, Moore illustrates the connection between these figures through their placement and the relaxed positivity of their bodies. She explains that unlike the objectified reclining female nudes in classic artworks, her subjects are presented with modern femininity in a domestic framework that references female empowerment.
Close inspection of Moore’s textile manipulation, reveals how she employs trails of machine stitchery in the manner of gestural line drawing. Swirls emanate from the figures’ heads like the energy fields of thoughtful creativity.
Moore’s body of work for this exhibit includes a variety of textile techniques. Besides sewn applique of repurposed fabric, she has produced both two and three-dimensional pieces using knit and crocheted yarn. The exhibit is unified through repeated colour and the focus on female forms. “Song of One of the Girls” is a wall mounted crocheted image of a half-revealed woman’s face. The concept sprang from Dorothy Parker’s poem of the same name which ends with;
I’m one of the glamorous ladies
At whose beckoning history shook.
But you are a man, and see only my pan,
So I stay home with a book.
Moore’s work is playful, yet introspective as she investigates the transition to adulthood and a sense of discomfort within one’s own body. During the summer she studied in Paris with the U of G’s Study Abroad program, and will return to her fourth year in the Fine Arts Program this Fall. “Woolgathering” will be on exhibit at the artBar, at 37 Quebec Street, second floor, from August 1st to August 28th. Please join the artist for the opening celebration on August 22nd, from 6 to 8pm, or stop by the gallery Tuesday to Friday from 10 to 4 pm.