BIOGRAPHY
Diane Gonthier
DIANE GONTHIER
has been working as a professional fiber artist since 2003,
and offers a frankly renewed look at the wool medium.
The "felt" material has inspired her for a long time.
The “felt” material has inspired her for a long time.
When she was young, she considered thin commercial felt to be a “precious” material
and the fulled knitwear fascinated her; it was at the time of the beginning of the thrift stores where one could find all kinds of woollens that had been put in the washing machine. She unearthed them, cut them out, arranged them, sewed them by hand to make small blankets or others …
At that time, it would never have occurred to her to make her own felt material!!!
LIFE CHOICES...
When her life choices led her to participate in the creation of a picturesque sheep farm named Ferme de la Butte Magique in Saint-Faustin-Lac-Carré as co-owner,
WOOL linked to the notion of terroir became an obsession and a way of life.
Truly motivated to use those hundreds of kilos of freshly sheared fleeces that came to her every year, the felting technique has imposed itself, or rather, has resurfaced!
From there, setting up the equipment and facilities required to do the selection, the washing, the dyeing, carding and felting of all this material, were prioritized Photo 6.
The research and study of the DIVERSITY of wool dictated the choice of the breeds of sheep to be raised on the farm. Already at that time, the concern to use methods and practices that were non-intrusive to the environment was in order.
From 2000 to 2006, she took part in an extensive textile course that became the foundation of her textile knowledge (Certificate in Fiber Arts at St. Lawrence College, Kingston, Ontario, obtained with Distinction, through the OHS).
From 2003 to 2011, multiple unique and contemporary large-format wool felt works,
were created.
Un potentiel festif et rassembleur
Aware of the festive and unifying potential of the physical effort required to make felt, Diane has been implementing various cultural mediation projects in schools through the Culture in the Schools program since 2006, as well as in various municipalities in Quebec and France.
In parallel to these initiatives, she took part in several specialized felt courses in the United States with mentors such as Beth Beede, Sharon Costello, Karoliina Arvilommi, Jeanette Sendler…
Also, her personal research led to the creation of a new textile construction
named Felt Lace; which led her to the prestigious Canadian Master Spinner recognition in 2012.
Her warm communicative skills led her to take an active part in the following projects:
– Twist Fibre Festivals in St-André Avellin, Quebec
– European Felt Days in Felletin, France, passing through California, Switzerland, Ontario, the Maritimes…
After more than 40 years of reconciling culture and agriculture, the farm was sold in 2019.
Diane’s new creative studio is now located in the former General Store of St-François-Xavier de Viger, in the lower St-Lawrence region where new textile possibilities are in gestation!
Recently, in addition to this new winter studio,
her summer work takes place at Rivière-Madeleine in the Upper Gaspé region; her heart’ place and her father’s childhood area.