Sayward Johnson will be the featured artist at The Chambers Gallery, Mississippi Mills Administration Building, 3131 Old Perth Road, Almonte from Tuesday, November 19 until Tuesday, December 10, 2013. Sayward’s show will move to the Corridor Gallery in the Almonte Public Library on December 10 and be on view until Tuesday, January 7, 2014.
In 2004, Sayward decided to follow a dream inspired by her adventures in hand knitting and went to study art at NSCAD University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was there that she discovered her love of textile techniques and metal. Her textile-based works are made with hand-woven copper wire which she then oxidizes with green patina, manipulates and embroiders. Through her work, she is able to explore her fascination with fabrics that adhere to the laws of metalsmithing as well as those of textiles and present traditional textile patterns in unexpected contexts. A former forestry worker, her current work represents a natural progression of her art, passions and life experiences. She draws her inspiration from natural forms, lichens, old, crumbling stone, rust and the Canadian boreal forest.
Currently she is focused on her studio practice and making herself part of the artistic community in Ottawa. She has exhibited across North America and has sold her work to private collectors in the US and Canada. In 2011, she was the recipient of the Mary Robertson Textile Scholarship by the Ontario Craft Council. In 2013 she received an Emerging Artist Grant from the Ontario Art Council and an ARTicipate Project Grant from OAE Arts Council.
