Internationally Acclaimed Felt Artist at the Galt

Café Galt Lecture AUG 08 | 3-day Heritage Arts Workshop AUG 9-11

Lethbridge – Jorie Johnson, an internationally acclaimed felt artist, designer and maker is at the Galt Museum & Archives in Lethbridge for a public Café Galt lecture on Thursday, August 8 at 7:00 pm; ahead of the three-day, fully subscribed Heritage Arts Felting Workshop she is leading at the Galt Friday through Sunday—the only Canadian workshop on her schedule this year. Admission to Café Galt includes Discovery Hall access.

Admission fees are $6 adults, $5 seniors, and $3 students; Annual Pass holders receive free admission. Registration is not required. The Archives, Discovery Hall and Museum Store are open Thursdays from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm, with a cash bar open to the public from 5:00 – 8:00 pm. The current special exhibit “Wind Work, Wind Play: Weathervanes & Whirligigs” on loan from the Canadian Museum of Civilization closes Monday, September 2.

For details on these and other programs and exhibits visit www.galtmuseum.com, call 403.320-3954, or email info@galtmuseum.com

BACKGROUNDER

A resident of Kyoto, Japan since 1988 where she holds a part-time lecturing post in the Textile Department of the Kyoto University of Art and Design, Jorie Johnson conducts workshops internationally. She also exhibits her contemporary feltworks in galleries, shops, and museums around the world, and her work is included in collections such as the Victoria & Albert Museum in the UK.

Johnson was immediately enchanted by the magic and power of felting when she was introduced to the traditional technique of making Scandinavian felt boots in Finland, and studied various textile techniques at universities in the USA and Finland. Johnson's innovative expression of the 8,000-year-old central-Asian technique and the influences of Japanese culture are clearly visible in her work; she combines rich colours and layering techniques with materials such as silk, rayon, and mohair.

Additional information about Jorie Johnson is available on her website: www.joirae.com/jorie-bio/