it has been over 7 months since i last posted!

wow. ok. first post of 2023. no pressure.

where do i start?

during the winter, i worked on some last minute commissions before going off to europe for two months. during that time, my partner and i traveled to sweden, norway, germany, france, spain and denmark. we also got stranded at the airport in iceland due to a winter storm for two days. when we finally were able to leave iceland, our luggage got lost for another two days. but it’s okay, we (and our luggage) eventually made it to our family just in time for christmas and we did get reimbursed for all our expenses (thank goodness). anyway, it’s kinda funny we left a cold country to go to more cold, snowier and icier countries but to be honest, going to countries where winter is embraced makes all the difference. we did not miss the dirty, city slush in toronto at all. also, we did get a bit of sun during our visit to barcelona. there were so many highlights! but one of the things i appreciated the most was giving ourselves the time to spread out our travels plans. we gave ourselves the gift of resting in between plans and that was the best! often when most people travel, we jam pack our days because time is limited. but thankfully, as freelance artists, we have the flexibility to just…hibernate and take it all in.

while we were in europe, i did not weave at all. so when we got back, i jumped right into it after taking a few days off at home after the vacation. a vacation from vacation is necessary, amirite?

anyway, it is spring and about 3 weeks from summer solstice. time flies. since coming back home, i’ve woven quite a bit. felt inspired to start ideas that i didn’t have time to explore before europe. worked on and finished a commission. also did some fun explorative handwovens. i recently cut off a project off my floor loom and i’m mentally preparing to put out some dates for some one-on-one kusikus weaving workshop dates. excited for that :)

oh and…in april, the textile museum of canada had an opening for the ‘gathering’ exhibition that i was a part of! it was a small part, but big for me as an emerging textile artist. at the exhibition, which is up for a few months, my video of my personal textile story in response to some textiles in the museum’s collection is on view. you can view it at the museum or you can view it right here:

More info: Carol Ann Apilado: Textile Practices of the Ilokano People of the Philippines