Artist: LYNN JACKSON

Working in her studio at the Artscape Wychwood Barns, Toronto artist Lynn Jackson calls on old photographs, her mother’s recollections and her own childhood memories to provide much of the inspiration for her prize-winning sculptures. 

Using textile techniques taught to her by her mother many years ago, and with her experience of goldsmithing and costume design, Lynn knits metal wire which, for some works, she combines with felted and dyed wool to meticulously recreate the birthday dresses, nightgowns, bonnets and booties she wore as a little girl. 

From recreating her childhood clothing it was a natural progression to the toys she played with and further, the intricately detailed sculptures of Tabitha Twitchit, Peter Rabbit, the Mopsey Bunnies, Raggedy Anne and other friends from her childhood. The work is nostalgically evocative but its appearance of fragility is deceptive. Rendered in wire, it speaks to the bonafide strength of the artist herself.

Meanwhile, her technique has won her awards at the Sculptors’ Society of Canada and at the Toronto Outdoor Art Show, while winning critics’ acclaim at exhibitions across Canada. 

Born in Canada of English parents, Lynn spent her formative years in both Liverpool and St. Catherines. She studied Costume Design at Niagara College Shaw Festival Theatre School and spent three years in the Jewellery Arts Program at George Brown College in Toronto, where she studied gemology and diamond grading.

Based in Toronto, Lynn Jackson’s work explores themes of emotional and physical displacement. She knits with metal, a process that is informed by her years as a student of goldsmithing and costume design. She has sold her work across North America and has won awards from both the Toronto Outdoor Art Show and The Sculpture Society of Canada.

MORE FROM LYNN

THE INTERVIEW

wwm: How do you imagine your work displayed in the home?
LJ: Suspended from the ceiling or framed in a shadow box.

wwm: What are some of your favorite things displayed in your own home?
LJ: Ancestral photos of family; an 18th century metal medicine cabinet from France; a wicker and steel baby carriage, circa 1910; 1970′s Sesame Street books.

wwm: Walk us through the steps you take in creating a new collection.
LJ: My creative process is broken down into steps.
1) Concept
2) Research : I use the internet and photo archives
3) Image/visual development : I illustrate with pencils, black pens and sometimes use water colour to establish visual designs. I do some drawings in a workbook as well as larger drawings that are turned into patterns.
4) Pattern making: I develop the patterns from the drawings. To do this I use paper or fabric with traditional pattern making techniques -old school cutting and draping. I keep an archive that includes the pattern with measurements and instructions, then a photo of the finished piece.
5) Creating the piece: I knit, crochet, stitch and sew the pieces with very fine copper wire and copper plate. I sometimes use felt. (wool)

wwm:What do you imagine a person who buys your work to be like?
LJ:Someone who thinks of art beyond oil on canvas.

wwm:Do you have a favorite artist or writer? A designer who works in a different material? Who are they?
LJ:Tracey Emin, Vivienne Westwood and A.Y. Jackson.

Tuesday • August 31, 2010 • by Chauncey Zalkin

Category: Art, Canada, Copper Wire, Interviews, Lynn Jackson, Metal, Sculpture