In THREADS: STORIES IN FIBER, on view at City Gallery in April, artist Catherine Lavoie explores topics related to recovery from trauma, family roots, natures beauty, Buddhist wisdom, and a bit of whimsy. Mirroring the theme of stories, Branford author Jen Payne will present a poetry reading from her memoir Sleeping with Ghosts on Sunday, April 19 at 1 p.m. There will be refreshments and books available for purchase.
Sleeping with Ghosts is an intimate exploration of love, memory, and meaning. Known for her meditations and musings about our outside world, Jen Payne takes readers inside this time, into the heart and mind of a poet, where memories wander, hearts break, and ghosts appear in dreams. Those ghosts — her lovers, soulmates, and muses — reveal themselves slowly, one at a time, in this wistfully reflective, time-traveling memoir.
The exhibit THREADS: STORIES IN FIBER, on view from April 3 – April 26, includes Catherine Lavoie’s work in assemblage, installation art, mixed media, photography, soft sculpture, and modern wall quilts. The art incorporates repurposed materials ranging from discarded wedding dresses and vintage doilies to high-tech power cords and plastic shopping bags.
Catherine Lavoie, a fiber artist based in Connecticut, merges traditional quilting techniques with innovative, contemporary materials to produce thought provoking artwork. Her art background includes photography, traditional quilting and mixed media. Her career as a psychotherapist informs her interest in human stories, Natures gifts, and Buddhist thought. She is a member of City Gallery, and the Kent Art Association in Kent, Connecticut.
Writer Jen Payne is inspired by the stories that move us most — love and loss, joy and disappointment, milestones and turning points. When she is not exploring our connections with one another, she enjoys contemplating our relationships with nature, creativity, and spirituality. Ultimately, she believes it is the alchemy of those things that helps us find balance in this frenetic, spinning world. She has published five books, and her work has appeared in numerous publications including the 2024 Connecticut Literary Anthology, Sunspot Literary Journal, Anti-Heroin Chic, and The Perch (Yale).
The exhibit THREADS: STORIES IN FIBER and the poetry reading are free and open to the public. City Gallery is located at 994 State Street, New Haven, CT 06511. Gallery hours are Friday – Sunday, 12 p.m. – 4 p.m., or by appointment. For further information please contact City Gallery, info@city-gallery.org, http://www.city-gallery.org.
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