CrossCraft Pattern Systems

CrossCraft Pattern Systems is a research-creation project that explores how traditional craft techniques can be transformed into new visual and structural pattern systems in contemporary design. The exhibition presents a series of tufted rugs, each displayed alongside a handmade craft reference piece such as a quilt block or a macramé panel. By pairing these objects, the exhibition shows how the logic within each craft practice can be carried across materials and reinterpreted in another form.

At the core of the project is the idea that traditional crafts contain their own systems of repetition, structure, and pattern-making. Each rug in the series draws from the key elements of a specific craft, abstracting those foundations into a bold, graphic textile. When visitors compare the rug to its reference piece, they can clearly see how the design grows out of the underlying craft techniques. This offers an accessible introduction to craft processes and a way to understand how making can serve as a method of inquiry.

This is a collaborative project involving researchers and makers from four academic institutions in Ontario and Alberta. The team includes faculty members, researchers, and a graduate student, each with their own craft practice.

*Project lead, Steven Pong from Carleton University will be visiting LCR late October, offering a Nickle at Noon talk on October 29th at 12:00pm in Gallery Hall.