There’s no shortage of colourful creations on the walls of Artpoint Gallery in Calgary, with each one of the pieces inspired by a book.
Standing beside her multi-hued cloth hanging, one of the artists involved in the exhibit explained how she based her work on The Secret World of Og, a cherished book from her childhood.
“I fell in love with it again when I was reading it to my daughter,” Tracy La Rose said. “So this represents the landscape, when they go down into Og and they see the colourful mushroom houses.”
La Rose’s work was one of approximately 20 pieces on display in the exhibit called ‘Inspired By A Book.’
It’s a project organized by The Heritage Weavers and Spinners Guild of Calgary, which asked its members to create fibre arts pieces based on books.
“It could be your favourite book as a child, it could be a book that was your guilty pleasure,” guild president Lynne Cowe Falls said. “The full range, from children’s literature to classic literature.”
The exhibit includes pieces inspired by The Wind in the Willows, The Road and Goodnight Moon.
“It’s been very fun!” Cowe Falls said. “And inspiring, to see how it all came together.”
The group organized the exhibit to coincide with the first anniversary of the opening of Calgary’s new Central Library.
Members feel that by showcasing works based on books they can highlight the importance of literacy.
“Because the world has turned so much to computers and tablets and everybody’s on their phones,” La Rose said. “For kids, it’s great to have that opportunity to go back to books.”
The ‘Inspired By A Book’ exhibit runs through until Nov. 23 at Artpoint. More information can be found online.
An offshoot event includes the guild’s annual show and sale, alongside the exhibit on Friday, Nov. 8 and Saturday, Nov. 9.