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Lily Lam

Lily Lam  
I am pleased to introduce my friend Lily Lam. I met Lily when she made a trip west from her home in Montreal. When she contacted me she said she would be in Banff and wondered if she might drop by. I was thrilled to have a chance to meet her but wondered if she understood that Edmonton is a five hour drive from Banff. In fact I simply did not comprehend the scope of her travel plans. She did indeed travel to Edmonton to meet me. I was
delighted to get to know this vivacious and interesting woman.

Lily's life is full. She not only quilts but keeps pace with knitting trends as she helps coordinate knitters at a local senior residence. She is also active in many quilting activities in her area. For example, she recently organized the 25th anniversay show for the South Shore Quilters. Lily has been invited to become an adjunct member of a group of Ontario fiber artists know as "Seven Threads Studio." Lily is just beginning to exhibit her work. Her first major exhibition entitled "Transformation and Progression" will be at Victoria Hall Gallery January 17 to February 9, 2008. I suspect we will see much more of her work in the future. I hope you will enjoy getting to know my friend Lily Lam.


- M a r y  H o l d g r a f e r -

Lily Lam - Artist statement:
As a conscientious student of the sciences, I seek out and solve problems to amuse myself. As an enterprising computer software professional, I applied my analytic and problem-solving skills to develop intuitive and effective human-computer interfaces. Now, as a quilt maker, I tell my stories using layers and fragments of fabric and threads. My mathematical savvy found new applications. The computer has a place of honour among my needles and threads.

Traveling and gardening bring me close to nature. My passion of collecting provides me with ample material resource. Complexity stimulates my analytic mind to abstract and synthesize, to learn and apply new skills.

The world of quilting is a treasure chest filled with puzzles for me. Each quilt I make is a puzzle to solve, into which I channel my energy to create structure, order and beauty. Within each solution, I embed an essential piece of myself.

I speak with colour and texture, or I may let the details and finishing tell their own stories. Stitching lines and the back of a quilt provide an additional playground for the free-flow of my ideas. A work is complete when the last piece of the puzzle is put into place.

My life is a continuum of changes. Serendipity and chance-encounters are my valued friends. As I stitch pieces of fabric into a quilt, I weave together the threads of my multi-faceted experiences. The path of transformation leads me on a journey of discovery. My quest is to find simple solutions to worthwhile challenges so that I can marvel at their elegance.

- L I L Y   L A M   2 0 0 8 -


Cloak of Imaging
100" x 50"


Cloak of Imaging

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Cloak of Imaging (Back)
100" x 50"

Cloak of Imaging back

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This piece of wearable art was designed and developed for the Westmount Public Library Storyteller Garden project. The starting point of this work was an image of a storyteller tree embodying the rich oral tradition of storytelling. Under the spell of this cloak, both the tellers and the listeners shall be transported to the wonderful land of Imagining.





Discharge
45" x 41"


Discharge

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Discharge (Back)
45" x 41"

Discharge back

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The colours emerging from discharge processes are ghostly and unpredictable. The resulting glow is characteristic and unmistakable. This patchwork quilt captures the fond memories of a surface design workshop I gave in January 2007. It assembles together samples I made specifically for that workshop as well as those created there by my students. The “back art” features an “orphan” block, another sample from a different workshop preparation.




Projective Plane of Order Four / Colours of Life
35” x 35”

Projective Plane of Order Four

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Projective Plane of Order Four / Colours of Life (Back)
35” x 35”

Projective Plane of Order Four (back)

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The Projective Plane of Order Four is an original design made to fulfill the long-time request of my husband who is a Combinatorialist. How does one transform a mathematical idea and make it tangible and colourful? Approach it like solving any other mathematical problems, with logic and methodology, to arrive at a solution. On the flip side, the “back art” features a composition that uses the “colours of life”: gilded red, white and black. In many cultures, these colours have special significance for life events: birth, marriage, and death. However, the Western and Eastern cultures can not come to an agreement as to which is which.




     
See our previous 'Featured Artists' -
November - December 2007 Judy Villett
September - October 2007 Sharon Rubuliak
May - August 2007 Cindy Obuck
March - April 2007 Laurie Swim
January - February 2007 Lou Punko
November - December 2006 Coreen Zerr
September - October 2006 Pamela Allen
July - August 2006 Nancy Bergman
May - June 2006 Cathy Tomm
March - April 2006 Johnnene Themean Maddison
January - February 2006 Margo Fiddes
November - December 2005 Judy Morningstar
September - October 2005 Janet Armstrong
July - August 2005 Sheila Niles
May - June 2005 Anna Hergert
March - April 2005 Janet Rice-Bredin
January - February 2005 Wendy Lewington
November - December 2004 Margie Davidson
September - October 2004 Martha Cole
July - August 2004 Kristin Miller
May - June 2004 Jean Brandel
March - April 2004 Jayne Willoughby Scott
January - February 2004 Margie Hennen
November - December 2003 Penny Berens
September - October 2003 Dale MacEwan
July - August 2003 Judith Martin
May - June 2003 Valerie Hearder
March - April 2003 Fay Wilkinson



 
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