ArtLab: Experimental Fibre

In 2026, ArtLab explores how contemporary artists use fibre in their practices. The series traces a shared language of making across disciplines rooted in fibre as a material while simultaneously challenging and embracing the traditional meanings and methods of its use.

2026 Workshops

Artist Talk: From Painting to Interdisciplinary Art with Siobhán Humston 

Location: Huron County Museum
Date: Thursday, April 23 | 5:30-7pm
Cost: FREE – pre-registration required

In this talk Siobhán will share how and why her work shifted from acrylic painting and drawing on panels into interdisciplinary art that encompasses photography, film, drawing, sculpture and installation work. By describing her ‘Day-to-day Aesthetics’ methodology and sharing photographs of work in progress, gallery exhibitions and artist residencies, the audience will be invited into a world where unconventional use of materials culminates in unique and captivating works of contemporary art. 

Artist Bio

Siobhán Humston was born to Irish and English parents, went to a music and theatre elementary school, continued education in the arts throughout high school after which she completed a BFA in Cork, Ireland. She moved to Canada’s west coast then, years later, 2012 kickstarted over a decade of creative and geographic exploration. What began with artist residencies in New York and Harrison Hot Springs, BC continued with completing an Art & Environment Masters Degree in Cornwall, England. 

These experiences inspired a run of art residencies in over half a dozen countries including a two year stint as resident artist at Marlborough College in Wiltshire, England. Through these experiences Siobhán was able to further develop her art practice, more fully explore her use of materials, conceptual ideas and to develop ways to share with audiences her unwavering love and awe of nature. 

In 2021, she moved from Scotland to the shores of Lake Huron, to reconnect and soon after become caregiver to elderly parents. Two years of creating new work resulted in a solo exhibition for the Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery titled ‘In the Garden of Exquisite Unknown’ (April – September 2024) that highlighted ongoing interest in the connection to our natural world woven into themes of entanglement and reciprocity. 

Brew Up a Pal – Punch Needle Workshop with Alisa McRonald

Location: Huron County Library | Exeter Branch
Date: Thursday, April 30 | 5:30-8 p.m.
Cost: $25 material fee – registration required

Summon a soft, squishy sidekick from the depths of your creative cauldron—let’s brew up a pal! In this workshop, you’ll begin by playing with cut-out paper shapes to build whimsical characters from simple forms. Through guided prompts and intuitive arranging, layering, and experimenting, unexpected faces and personalities will emerge. Some sweet, some strange, all uniquely yours!

Once you’ve created a cast of characters, you’ll choose one special pal to bring into the third dimension using hand punch needle techniques. With vibrant yarns, tactile textures, and plenty of creative freedom, you’ll poke your new companion into life one loop at a time. This workshop is a joyful mashup of collage, character design, and soft sculpture. No prior experience needed, just curiosity and a love for creatures who live in the margins of imagination. There is a material fee for this course and participants will keep their tools and supplies after the workshop so they can continue at home.

Artist Bio

Alisa McRonald has exhibited nationally and internationally, including at El Room in Mexico City (2025), The Artist Project (2025), Drey Gallery (2024), the Toronto Reference Library, the Interior Design Show, CAFKA (2023), Craft Ontario (2022), and the Drake Hotel (2021). Her work has been featured in Harper’s Bazaar Japan, Untitled Magazine, and the Toronto Star. She received the 2024 Craft Ontario Rich Foundation Residency, was a 2023 Ontario Culture Days Creative in Residence, and has won awards from DesignTO (2023) and the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair (2020). Passionate about reclaimed textiles, she rescues handmade items, honouring the labour, love, and memory embedded in their fibres. 

Mini Fibre Art – Quilt Block Design with Reilly Knowles

Location: South Huron Arts Centre*
Date: Thursday, May 7 | 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Cost: $20 material fee – Registration required

Join artist Reilly Knowles for an introduction to making a mini fibre artwork using recycled fabrics and beginner sewing techniques. Open to adults and youth ages 12 and up, this workshop teaches how to layer fabric scraps in a “log cabin” quilt block design with embroidery stitches, exploring color, pattern and texture. Mount your finished creation to hang on your wall, fridge, jacket or backpack! All materials will be provided.

*This workshop is being presented in partnership with South Huron Arts Centre.

Artist Bio

Reilly Knowles is a settler, textile artist and painter working in London, Ontario, on land beholden to the London Township Treaty (No. 6). A 2020 graduate of Western University’s Bachelor of Fine Arts Program, Knowles has held solo shows and exhibited special projects

at Museum London (London, Ont.), Good Sport Gallery (London, Ont.), Forest City Gallery (London, Ont.), Jordan Art Gallery (Jordan, Ont.) and the Queen Elizabeth Park Community & Cultural Centre (Oakville, Ont.) He is a member of the Coves Collective, as well as a recipient of the Forest City Gallery Exhibition Award, the Mackie Cryderman Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts, and the Tony and Betsy Little Gold Medal in Visual Arts.

Artist Talk: Poetics of Softness with Judy Martin

Location: Online via Zoom
Date: Thursday, May 14 | 5:30-6:30pm
Cost: FREE – pre-registration required

In this illustrated lecture, Judy Martin will present a survey of the quilts and hand stitched textiles that she’s made over her long career.  She taught herself to hand-piece traditional quilts in the 70’s and continues making bed quilts to this day.  Along the way, Judy has also created sculptural installations of art textiles that evoke the immensity of our human spirit.  In all Judy Martin’s lectures, personal life and creative process are connected to the art she’s made with reflections and quotes by poets and artists gleaned from her journals.  

This artist talk is being presented in partnership with Huron County Library.

Artist Bio

Judy Martin combines traditional hand stitch, local natural dyes and used domestic textiles to connect us poetically with our own interior worlds.

Her large hand-stitched quilts have garnered many awards, notably several from Quilt National, the most prestigious exhibition in her field.  A long-time member of Craft Ontario, she received the award for mid-career achievement in 2018. For over 40 years, Martin has exhibited her work in Canada and internationally and is represented in many private and public collections, including the International Quilt Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA and the Canada Council Art Bank. 

Martin holds two fine art degrees with a specialization in textiles. In 1993, she graduated with the chancellor’s medal for highest academic achievement of all part-time students from Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, with an honors Bachelor of Fine Art. In 2012 she received a second BA (first-class honors) in embroidered textiles from Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom.

A lifelong resident of Northern Ontario, she lives with the ever-changing view of sky and water on Manitoulin Island, on Lake Huron, Canada.