Liz Pead creates artwork from almost anything she can get her hands on; wool, thread, ink, paint, even recycled hockey gear. An accomplished textile artist and hockey player, Pead’s material explorations are a reflection on memory, history, and location. Exploring Landscapes is a collection of Pead’s work including her stitched landscapes, ink sketches, hand woven wool blankets, as well as her hockey art. This exhibition speaks to the varied processes and materiality found in Pead’s work. Her ink sketches act as a starting point for the artist to expand upon later in the studio. Pead’s handwoven blankets are a testament to her exquisite mastery as a textile artist. In her stitched landscapes, fleeting moments of time spent in nature are rendered in thread to describe land, trees, and sky. Directing the thread across a woven metal substrate is oddly reminiscent of nature; fierce and powerful, elusive and reflective. The layering of thread mimics that of a forest canopy. Pead’s hockey works are particularly eye-catching. She creates these works by collecting and tearing up recycled hockey gear. Cutting and stapling sticks, elbow pads, socks, and jerseys, Pead collages the materials to create wildly colourful, rugged Canadian landscapes. It is hard not to become delightfully engrossed in the materials, imagery, and all of the detail found in Pead’s work.Liz Pead grew up in New Brunswick and lived by the sea, painting, drawing, weaving, and working in galleries. She studied Fabric Surface Design (1993) and Textiles (1995) at the New Brunswick College of Draft and Design. In 2005, she established Liz Pead Studio in Toronto and in 2007, graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) with Distinction Honours in Drawing and Painting, winning the Medal. Pead has received grants from the Toronto Arts Council and the Ontario Arts Council. In 2016, Pead attended workshops in Weaving Copper Wire with Sayward Johnson in Ottawa, and Advanced Machine Knitting Techniques with Ursula Rautenbach at Heriot Watt University, Scottish School of Textiles; Galashiels, Scottish Borders. In 2017, she received the Mary Diamond Butts Award from Craft Ontario recognizing Excellence in Embroidery. She has travelled to Germany, Austria, and Denmark to research textile history and techniques in various institutions. Most recently, Pead’s work was part of the exhibition, Power Play: Hockey in Canadian Contemporary Art, which was on view at the Art Gallery of Windsor (AGW). CV EducationOntario College of Art and Design (OCAD)- Bachelor of Fine Art, Painting and Drawing, 2007New Brunswick College of Craft and Design- Diploma in Fine Craft, Textiles, Director’s List, 1995- Diploma in Fine Craft, Fabric Surface Design, 1993.Exhibitions and Residencies2018- Galleri Krebsen in Copenhagen, DK2017- miniTEX17 , Textile Triennale of Dansk Tekstillaug (Danish Textile Guild), Kolding, DK- Hard Twist 12 : Yarn, The Gladstone Hotel Annual Textile Art Exhibition, Toronto, ON- Pussy Hat Project, in support of the Women’s March on Washington. 100+ hats sent across Canada, USA and Europe (ongoing)2016- Stitched Landscape Series, the Gynocratic Art Gallery, online project, curated by Dr. Danielle Hogan. The GAG link to exhibition.- (un)Defined Spaces, Lonsdale Gallery, Toronto, ON- Advanced Machine Knitting Techniques, Heriot Watt University, Scottish School of Textiles, Galashiels, Scottish Borders, SCT- Weaving and Knitting with Copper Wire, Ottawa, ON- The Great Canadian Tree Warmer Project, Owl Ridge Acres, Bancroft, ON2015- Louis Riel and the Church at Batoche, 1885, Parks Canada, Batoche National Historic Site, Batoche, Saskatchewan.2014- World of Threads, Canadian Textile Biennale, Oakville and Mississauga, ON- Louis Riel and the Church at Batoche, 1885, Sixteen Mile Creek Sports Facility, Oakville, ON- miniTEX14, Triennale exhibition of the DanskTexstillaug (Danish Textile Guild), Kolding, DK and the Rundetaarn, Copenhagen, DK. Publication forthcoming.- Textilsetur Islands - Month-long residency in Blonduos, Iceland- Breaking the Ice, Estevan Art Gallery and Museum, Estevan, SK- Long Pond, Windsor NS, The Birthplace of Hockey, Skautafelag Reykjavik, Reykjavik, Iceland2012- Queen Liz the First, Of Hockey, Niagara Art Centre (N.A.C), St. Catherine’s, ON- White Rabbit Arts, week-long landscape-based arts residency in Upper Economy, NS.- Game On!, A.K.A. Gallery, Saskatoon, SK- Ice Hockey Trees, National Capitol Commission, Confederation Park, Ottawa, ON- ArtCity Residency and IcePlex Arena public installation, Winnipeg, MB2011- 1st International Juried Exhibition for Art in Sport, National Art Museum of Sport, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN2010- HockeyTown, Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, Brandon, MB, Mastercard Memorial Cup, MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie, ON.Video and TV- Heads or Tails - Shopping, Toronto Edition, Russian and Ukrainian TV co-Production, May 2016.- Liz Pead YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/lizpead/videos?view=0&sort=dd&shelf_id=0Selected Publications2016- The Hockey News, Louis Riel and the Church at Batoche, 1885, Matt Larkin, Sixteen Mile Arena, Oakville, ON2012- Hockey as Art, Angela Scappatura, St. Catharine’s Standard, St. Catherine’s, ON stcatharinesstandard.ca/2012/05/09/hockey-as-art.- Saskatoon Express, Shannon Boklaschuk, “Game On, Hockey inspires art”, p11 issuu.com/saskatoon_express/docs/march192012/11- The Art of Hockey, Michael Woods, Toronto Star, Toronto, ON thestar.com/sports/2012/03/16/hockey_and_art_strange_bedfellows_at_saskatoon_exhibit.html2010- How Flin Flon Explains the World: Street Hockey and Bill Barilko, Dave Bidini, The New York Times, Hockey blog- HOCKEYTOWN / Liz Pead, Liss Platt, Leah Modigliani, Bidini, Dave + Fraser, Sandra; MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie, ON co-published with Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, Brandon, MB and the Latcham Gallery, Stouffville, ON.2008- Hockey As Art, Galleries Probe the Nation’s Pastime, Peter Goddard, Toronto Star, Toronto, ON. thestar.com/article/552466Collections, Grants & Awards2017 Craft Ontario, Mary Diamond Butts Award for Excellence in Embroidery2014 Ontario Arts Council International Residency AwardToronto Arts Council Project Grant2010 National Art Museum of Sport (NAMOS), Honourable Mention, 2010 InternationalCompetition Exhibition, Indianapolis, IN2007 OCADU, Medal in Drawing and Painting, BFA, Distinction Honours BjörninnHockey Team, Egilshollin, Reykjavik, IcelandSkautafélag Akureyrar, Akureyri, IcelandCanadian Embassy to Iceland, Reykjavik, IcelandChine Drive Public School, Toronto, ONAdam Beck Public School, Toronto, ONClinton St. Public School, Toronto, ONIESO, Toronto, ONPaliare Roland, Toronto, ONMcCarthy’s, Toronto, ONSkautafélag Reykjavikur, Reykjavik, IcelandThe Donovan Collection, St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto, Toronto, ONTown of Oakville, Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, Oakville, ON