Installation art on display at Station Arts Centre

Barb Scott stands amongst her display, Cascades of Pink and Papaya, which is currently on display at the Station Arts Centre. (Jeff Helsdon Photo).

Jeff Helsdon, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Cascades of Pink and Papaya was a massive undertaking for Barb Scott, one almost as big as the end display.

The crochet installation brings shades of pink and papaya to a room, and is part of the latest exhibit at the Station Arts Centre until the end of the month. It took Scott 2.5 years to complete the project. The installation is floor to ceiling crocheted strips that add dimension to a room. The current display complements paintings by Tabatha Verbuyst.

“To me, when you look at it from a distance, it looks like a shadow playing with pink colour,” Scott said of her display.

Originally a London resident, she taught at Annandale when it was a middle school. During that time, she was introduced to the Station Arts Centre.

Taking a step back, Scott attended the Nova Scotia College of Arts in Dalhousie. She taught art there, at Carleton University, Algonquin College and St. Clair College before moving back to London. Her major as a student was in weaving, as she liked the idea of a third dimension.

“I wanted to go into filling of space, and large space,” she said.

After a time staying at home with her children when she taught at the London Art Gallery, she started to teach developmental education in Tillsonburg.

“I didn’t do a lot of art for a long time, then when I returned, I started in art big time,” she said.

After moving to Tillsonburg more than 12 years ago, she joined the Station Arts Centre. Her first show was eight years ago, and was also a crochet installation. That was followed three years later by a display she called Purple, which had steel supports for the crocheting.

“It was like walking through banyan trees,” Scott said of the display. “It was kind of magical.”

She is already working on her next project, which she estimates will take three years to finish.

“This is portable,” she said. “I can sit in the car and work on it. It becomes part of my life.”

Scott recently visited the McMicheal Canadian Collection gallery in Kleinberg and realized that a facility like that with beams is ideal for her work. She plans on approaching them about that possibility.