Osoyoos Art Gallery Curator Sue Whittaker shows one of the fabric art pieces done by Shirley Nilsson that will be shown in the exhibition opening Saturday, April 30. The clothing Whittaker is wearing was also designed by Nilsson. (Richard McGuire photo)
She’s now in her late 80s with declining health, but Shirley Nilsson’s lifetime work as a fabric artist will be on display in a solo exhibition that starts Saturday at the Osoyoos Art Gallery.
“Fabric Art by Shirley Nilsson” runs from April 30 to May 23, with an opening reception from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Gallery curator Sue Whittaker said she was approached about a year ago by Nilsson, who now lives in Oliver, and came into the gallery with bundles and bundles of cloth.
“I didn’t know what they were, and she introduced herself and started telling me the story,” said Whittaker. “She started telling me about her career and it was a slow day so we had a long time to talk. I saw all her stuff and I thought holy cow, this would be so neat to have in the gallery because it’s so different. It’s art, but it’s made out of fabric.”
It’s not tapestry and it’s not quilting, Whittaker is quick to point out, although many pieces do hang from walls. The technique is quite different.
“There’s a lot more fitting together of pieces,” said Whittaker, who has taken on much of the task of setting up the show. “When you see them you’ll just be amazed at the scenes that she has built on them.”
They are layered, sometimes even using a sheer fabric or mesh to create the impression of distance, or other materials to represent snow on top of an apple in an orchard.
“This snow looks like you could actually touch it and it would be cold and dripping,” said Whittaker.
Just like her art, Nilsson’s story is unique.
Born in Penticton in 1930, she grew up in Summerland where the family farmed. Things were quieter then, and children played ball on the highway, simply stepping aside when an occasional car came along.
Her art draws from those childhood memories as well as places in Canada and the United States that she lived later in a nomadic life.
After three years at University of British Columbia, she moved to the United States with her parents. There she studied at University of Wisconsin and University of Minnesota, receiving a Bachelor’s and eventually a Master’s Degree in textile arts.
After marrying George Nilsson, she pursued a career as an interior designer, window and display designer, university instructor, art college teacher and extension housing specialist – moving from city to city and state to state as her engineer husband’s career demanded.
Around 1969, she began using a free-motion, straight-stitch technique on her sewing machine to create “soft pictures.”
She experimented with the technique, becoming more and more proficient. From 1989 to 2003, she was a regular contributing artist for Creative Quilting Magazine, providing cover art and instructions on how to do it.
In 1993, she published two books – The Legacy of Lace, co-authored with Kathleen Warnick, and her own book, Stitching Free.
She’s also sculpted life-sized objects and people from fabric, including Grandma and Grandpa, who have kept her company in her living room since the death of her husband George in 2005.
His death was a major blow to her and Whittaker said when he died, Nilsson was so grief stricken that she gave up doing fabric art and hasn’t done it since.
Surprisingly, she’s never sold any pieces of her work, though she has given a few to family members.
“She just didn’t want to,” said Whittaker. “But now she’s getting to an age where she thinks about who’s going to have these when she’s not here.”
When her artwork shows at the Osoyoos Art Gallery, they won’t carry prices and may even indicate they are not for sale. But Whittaker said any “realistic bid” would be passed on to a friend and family to be considered.
Osoyoos Art Gallery is at 8713 Main Street just west of the town hall. The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
