“Let not the world’s deceitful cares
the rising plant destroy;
But let it yield a hundredfold
the fruits of peace and joy.”

– Rev.John Cawood, 1815

This summer, Emily Comeau (a fibre artist from Quebec) and Emily Cook (a book and paper artist from Ontario) will be collaborating to create an immense and interactive tunnel book made from local plant materials to install in a barren patch of city.

The “book” will be 10 feet high and 12 feet long and contain 6 “pages” featuring a cut paper story of urbanism in archway shapes that people can walk through and interact with. The structure will be made of live willow branches and the paper pages made of flax paper infused with seeds. As the elements erode the paper, the sculpture will disintegrate and the seeded paper will sprout. This way the sculpture will have a changing life and meaning as the urban world we create with the cut paper will be eroded and changed by the living materials.

Emily Comeau is a recent graduate of Concordia University, majoring in Fibre Arts and was awarded the Prix Diagonale for her artistic achievements. Her art practice is largely fibre based. She has participated in numerous exhibitions and events in Ontario and Quebec. More information about her and her art practice can be found at her website.

Emily Cook holds a BFA in printmaking from Ontario College of Art and Design and an MFA from Louisiana State University. She is now practicing in Toronto . She makes paper based sculptures and books, and sometimes teaches at the Ontario College of Art and Design. She has won numerous awards and shown in both the US and Canada. You can see some of her work at her website.

Emily-Comeau	Emily Cook

Our award ceremony will be hosted at The Code Factory on Friday July 16th at 6pm. Please RSVP in the comments or via Twegather: “@twegather #awesomeottawa http://bit.ly/dvA7W5 Yes/No/Maybe”.