Everlea is a collaboration between artists Janna Maria Vallee and Katherine Cadwalader Earle. We describe our collaborative as being an ongoing experiment in re-articulating relationships as art, and ours specifically, in the context of textile handwork, relational art and feminism.
Our collaboration began in 2013 in New York City with the primary purpose of supporting each other in our respective art practices and grew into our considering our artistic relationship a living artwork in and of itself. It was in the handball courts of Harlem’s Jefferson Park that our first photoshoot felt more like a public, performative display of our artistic practice, than the menial task of documenting artwork. Consequently, Everlea evolved into a relational practice, inspired by Joseph Beuys’ conceptions of art as an active, living force and by the mutual aid within textile art traditions. Our shared practice has since compelled itself to continue even as we now live on opposite sides of a continent. Janna now lives in British Columbia and Katie is in New York City.
Both graduates of the Fibres and Material Practices program at Concordia University in Montreal, our passions lie in the traditions of textile handwork. As we dye, weave and print we are continually enamored by the rich history of textiles and love how it offers complex contexts to our processes and ideas.
Our collaboration began in 2013 in New York City with the primary purpose of supporting each other in our respective art practices and grew into our considering our artistic relationship a living artwork in and of itself. It was in the handball courts of Harlem’s Jefferson Park that our first photoshoot felt more like a public, performative display of our artistic practice, than the menial task of documenting artwork. Consequently, Everlea evolved into a relational practice, inspired by Joseph Beuys’ conceptions of art as an active, living force and by the mutual aid within textile art traditions. Our shared practice has since compelled itself to continue even as we now live on opposite sides of a continent. Janna now lives in British Columbia and Katie is in New York City.
Both graduates of the Fibres and Material Practices program at Concordia University in Montreal, our passions lie in the traditions of textile handwork. As we dye, weave and print we are continually enamored by the rich history of textiles and love how it offers complex contexts to our processes and ideas.
We are currently collaborating to create a series of weavings for a project entitled, Everyone is a Portal. We offer woven artwork on a commission basis as well.
Creative endeavors are dependent upon a certain amount of freedom - freedom to have the time to explore new ideas, and the freedom of a society that allows one to engage with ideas that may not fit within the status quo. We are grateful for the women who have come before them as artists, as activists, as freedom-fighters, and as cultural icons, who have made it more possible to be an artist as female today. We are also cognizant of the inspiration that the natural world and connection to the land offers us as artists, and are deeply inspired by spiritual traditions of indigenous nations in North America and elsewhere.
In light of recent political upheaval in the US, and a normalization by the Canadian government of an incredibly anti-woman, anti-environment, and anti-just-about-everything what we recognize as civil society stands upon US president-elect, we would like to take a stand. We as individual artists stand up for racial, economic, social and environmental justice, for equity, and we want to put that into action.
As we explore in our practice the creative power of love and its impact on justice, we also recognize that money is an energetic force, and as such we have committed to donate a portion of our profits to the people defending our natural resources with their blood, sweat and tears. We recognize that our lives without access to clean drinking water, clean air, and fertile land and seeds, would be short-lived, and that our creative practice depends upon the natural world to give us life. We therefore pledge to donate 10% of the proceeds of our artwork to protectors of our natural resources.
At this time, this portion of our proceeds will be sent directly to Standing Rock water protectors. As time passes, we will update you as to where our donations are being sent, but we will continue to support these protectors of our most precious resource, the planet that gives us life, and to which we are eternally grateful.
Katie & Janna
In light of recent political upheaval in the US, and a normalization by the Canadian government of an incredibly anti-woman, anti-environment, and anti-just-about-everything what we recognize as civil society stands upon US president-elect, we would like to take a stand. We as individual artists stand up for racial, economic, social and environmental justice, for equity, and we want to put that into action.
As we explore in our practice the creative power of love and its impact on justice, we also recognize that money is an energetic force, and as such we have committed to donate a portion of our profits to the people defending our natural resources with their blood, sweat and tears. We recognize that our lives without access to clean drinking water, clean air, and fertile land and seeds, would be short-lived, and that our creative practice depends upon the natural world to give us life. We therefore pledge to donate 10% of the proceeds of our artwork to protectors of our natural resources.
At this time, this portion of our proceeds will be sent directly to Standing Rock water protectors. As time passes, we will update you as to where our donations are being sent, but we will continue to support these protectors of our most precious resource, the planet that gives us life, and to which we are eternally grateful.
Katie & Janna
Please email inquires to: projects (at) everleatextiles (dot) com