Tammy Sutherland

primary medium
textiles - I have never met a fibre-based media that I didn't like, but my top three mainstays would probably fall under the categories of embroidery, quilting and knitting.

location
Winnipeg

mcc member since
2009 - a newbie!

what I love most about my craft
The process... the in and out and in and out, the back and forth and back and forth, the repetitive rythmic breath of life in the making. With part-time work and two young sons, dedicated time for making is limited, but still, I make everyday and my hands are rarely idle. My craft work is the mortar of my life, filling every tiny crevice of time and holding it all together.

where/how I learned my craft
Initially, I was mother-grandmother-friend taught. Later, I had the privilege of studying textiles at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design under many wonderful mentors.

work I admire and how it impacted me
I love the work of Nancy Crow, Dorothy Caldwell, Anna Torma's large scale embroidery, and the Gee's Bend Quilt Collective. My introduction to African American quilting traditions through the work of the Gee's Bend quilters and Harriet Powers was huge in my development. The spontaneity, immediacy, and incredible energy of their quilts broke open my rigid, neatly ordered view of the quilting universe, and I've never turned back!