A Show of Hands / À main levée

by Rosemarie Peloquin

Artist Statement

I sculpt wool with tiny barbed needles. I am drawn to ordinary people, those who make up the wallpaper of everyday life. My portraits and vignettes are expressions of moments in time. They are made to evoke a familiar nostalgia that connects us in our shared humanity, and tease stories from each of us. They are an invitation to start a conversation. The material and the act of needle-felting are important to the works. I am constantly surprised by what comes from the collaboration of hand, barbed needle and fibre. There is a powerful connection that happens when I sink my fingers in the soft wool, when I hear the satisfying crunch as the needle rhythmically stabs and connects with the fibres, and when I see the personality emerging as I push and pull and tease the spirits within. The wool is warm, soft and light yet becomes strong in the felting. Life is fragile yet we become strong in the living. What are we made of? How do we stand up to the test of time?

Biography

Rosemarie Péloquin is a franco-manitoban who sculpts wool. Surrounded by clouds of wool, she sculpts faces and hands with her barbed wands, teasing the fibres, coaxing them to reveal the character within, presenting a new image of the fibre and giving it a new voice. Her work emerges from a background in interior design, a career in Parks Canada, teaching, coaching, travel and family. Rosemarie's work is featured in video-reportages on Radio-Canada, TVA and TFO 24.7, has appeared in Architectural Digest, Surface Design (US), Fiber Art Now(US), Book Arts Canada and Textile Fibre Forum (AUD) magazines, and has shown in exhibitions in Manitoba, Alberta, Ontario and B.C. She has received support from the Manitoba Arts Council, Manitoba Craft Council and Canada Council for the Arts. Rosemarie was awarded an honourable mention at the International Figureworks2019 Art Prize and has recently finished a commissioned wool bust of HRH The Prince of Wales (Prince Charles), the patron of Campaign for Wool Canada, and is working on a collaborative series with book artist Debra Frances Plett which is featured in Book Arts/Art du Livre Canada magazine.