make sure you check out her work at nicolegastonguay.com

first, it’s done a great job in being immersive.   the room isn’t a perfect substitute for a school cafeteria but the metal rails with the trays on top, the way you wind around when you’re looking at the trays, the signs on the wall… it all adds to the experience.   it was very hard not to pick up a tray or move it along the rails.     I so wanted to touch!!!!!

and then the actual sculptures…  whimsy, cool, intricate, detailed & very imaginative.   I loved them & couldn’t decide which I liked best.   They are the sort of thing I’d love to walk past every morning b/c they would make me smile.

i snapped some pix & there’s a few online.    i don’t think there’s the full set of 22 lunches.   while it was hard to pick a fav, the computer one has to be a top 5 for me (but really,  i’d say there’s 10 that i would adore).

the computer one….  microfiche n chips.  ie computer chips.  the screen kept changing between fries (as seen here) and a pix of a fish.   and there were boards strewn around.   i also loved the mcdonalds like quality of the keypad.   instead of a keyboard, it was pix of food (like fish) or arrows and other items.   ala how a mcdonalds employee will press a button that looks like fries rather than use words.

other favs…

mechanics minestrone , jeweler’s fish & onion rings (this is the same as above except i got the lemon in my pix!) & seamstress finger sandwiches

here’s an interview with ruth where she talks about this exhibit.

i think the first piece of hers i saw was center (the one in this post) & there’s so many others i love.  the colours & texture get me every time.

until the end of september, you can see her stuff at the New York Foundation for the Arts Gallery (in brooklyn) and at the Fiberart Intl in Pittsburgh until Aug 22.

now i see ‘what not to crochet‘ is picking on the square (& aussies) by proclaiming ‘NO MORE GARMENTS CONSISTING OF SOLELY GRANNY SQUARES’.

they’re right.  it started with an aussie label called romancewasborn. then australian cate blanchett did the granny square dress and now there’s an unnamed brit designer who’s created one too.

all i know is i need to start making some squares so australia can take over the world

btw, i should mention the PJ pants aren’t crochet or yarn.  it’s just a print on cotton/poly normal PJ pants.

The flower scooter helmet is also fantastic.  You can see it & more on Lushlee‘s site.

so…. my current work in progress is a pair but in a larger size.  one hand is complete.  i think i need to find someone to try them on.

When I looked at colours, I wanted something non gender specific, bright & a good washable yarn from my stash.  The turquoise & green jumped out at me.  It wasn’t til 20 rows in that i realised i failed on the gender blue = boy front which is why the multiple coloured yarn made an appearance (with a bit of blancing pink = girl).

it was definitely inspirational for me with the way they used wool/yarn.  the idea was to pair 2 international artists & these 2 were great together.  there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of pix of their work online which is a shame (a couple pix here & tokyo art beat has a few).

both artists used wool in some of their work, especially ito.  here’s what the guide said about his:

zon ito creates intricate embroidered canvases & flags, cut paper, clay & fabric assemblages & layful hand-drawn animations.

ck them out if you get the chance.