Pull Up A Chair

Textile Artists Bear Epp, Bay Woodyard, and Renee Lortie will be taking over the County Arts Lab for a month-long residency focused on responding to a shared theme – “A Deeper Examination of Nature” – to inspire both the creation of new independent work, as well as the sharing of knowledge and new techniques.

Bear’s current work delves into the complex beauty and darker elements of the natural world, expressed through intricate, narrative compositions. She is deeply interested in creating a new body of work inspired by the folklore of local flora and fauna, while also integrating locally foraged natural dyes.

Bay is currently making abstract textile work inspired by the textures found in nature like moss, lichen, grasses and wildflowers. Her current art practice involves many stages from cleaning a fleece from a local farm through the process of mordanting and dyeing it with natural dyes to spinning textural art yarn.

Renee’s current artistic practice includes weaving on a frame loom and punch needle technique on a stretched frame. She is influenced by the natural life, plant and animal, of the County. Her residency project combines textile art and environmental awareness by focussing in detail on PEC’s unique landscapes, their fragility and need for preservation.

The artists are offering a community call to “Pull Up A Chair” on Sundays in January from 1-3 PM to join them in the studio at the County Arts Lab. These will be free events welcoming all artists and makers to bring their work and meet your community. Make sure you’re following them on Instagram @reneelortie_art, @commoncraft_bearepp, and @baywoodyard to stay in the loop.