Born in and raised in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, Vicky Taylor-Hood has experimented with a variety of artistic media before finding her niche in the fibre arts. Originally intent on an academic career, she studied at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, earning a B.A. and an M.A. in Religious and Mediaeval Studies. She then studied German culture, history and language at the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton.
Her first exposure to art came at a young age, having grown up in a family replete with artists and artisans. She worked mostly in watercolours and pencil until she discovered textiles and fibre arts in 1994. Since then she has created dozens of traditional and innovative quilts, by both hand and machine and in recent years has gravitated to art quilts as a means of personal expression and interpretation. As of late, this obsession has become a full-time occupation, with her work residing in private and public collections throughout North America and Europe.
Her work is inspired by the seascapes, landscapes and ecology of the Atlantic Provinces’ varied regions and reflects her love of the many faces of her native land. She is fascinated by the stark juxtaposition of ocean, land and sky found along the coast and seeks to capture in her work the many moods of this environment. Her academic background, exploring as it does the island’s religious and cultural heritage, has deepened and refined her expression of Newfoundland’s strong connection with the sea.
She lives and works in Torbay, Newfoundland with her husband, daughter and their three dogs. Her work is available through the Devon House Gallery of the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador in St. John’s, the Handsmith Gallery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, from her studio in Torbay (by appointment) and can be seen on her website at Sea Strands .
Hello Vicky,
I love your work! I would love to add you to my “BlOGS TO lOVE” list and be part of yours.
Check me out!
My Blog: http://gabrieladelworthclasses.blogspot.com/
Gabriela Delworth
Your site is inspiring! My husband and I and our boys visited Newfoundland and Labrador 2 years ago (our first real family vacation!) , and found it absolutely amazing. I have just started playing with landscape applique, and like almost all fiber arts, I’ll *try* not to get addicted.
Elizabeth
Hi there, Vicky! Vicky here ; )
Love your blog and that photo on your banner is amazing! Thanks for sharing!
I have inherited an old painting from my grandmother. It looks like a fishing or a whaling expedition. The artist’s signature is hard to decipher but it looks like “Merrill” or “Merritt”. The dunes are snow covered and the fishing boat is being pulled by horses to the sea where a large sailing vessel is moored. The fishermen are all bundled up and one or two look like they are wearing fur hats. I first thought it was a Cape Cod scene, but others have suggested Newfoundland or Greenland or even maybe Norwegian. Do you know what the fishing boats would have looked like in the 1800’s? Does the artist’s name ring a bell?
Hey Vicky. My son and I just received a “Dragonfly Ornament” from a relative that has just bought a home in St. John’s. It is absolutely beautiful. I am so happy to have this little master piece in my home and that is was sent from Newfoundland for me here in Azilda, Ontario, just outside of Sudbury. Keep up the amazing work and hopefully I can be there in person one day.
Gen K D Plante-Boyle and Cody
[…] de paisagens e me atrevo a fazer um. Enquanto esse dia não chega, aqui vão algumas dicas que a Vicky Taylor-Hood do blog Seastrands Studio postou em três partes e que eu traduzo aqui de maneira […]