On March 13 at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Danielle Hogan launched her first book, Light and Material: Weaving and the Work of Nel Oudemans.
The book tells the story of the late Nel Oudemans, a woman who made significant contributions to weaving culture in New Brunswick after she immigrated from Estonia at the end of World War II.
After finishing her PhD, Hogan was introduced to Oudemans’ late husband Jack. Fredericton author Nancy Bauer informed Hogan that there was an interest in documenting Oudemans’ life story and contributions. Hogan then received an Arts NB grant that enabled her to do the necessary research on Oudemans’ history.
“It was actually fascinating to me, the more I was able to research the history of weaving and textiles in New Brunswick,” said Hogan.
Oudemans, who passed away in 2002, helped establish the weaving department within New Brunswick College of Craft and Design.
Hogan, along with fellow Estonian researcher Adele Ives, was contracted by the government to teach small communities how to weave, aiming to revive skills that had been forgotten during the war.
Another story Hogan shared about Oudemans was how her family took part in the resistance during World War II, even helping to hide Jewish people from Nazi persecution.
“She was an incredible woman,” Hogan stated.
Hogan developed her interest in the creation of textiles from a young age when her grandmother taught her how to knit.
“She taught herself to knit basically backwards so that she could teach me, as a left-handed person, how to knit,” she said.
Hogan went on to graduate from Emily Carr University of Art + Design, following up with a Master’s degree in Sculpture at the University of Victoria.
Through her education, she became interested in the use of textiles in sculpture. Though she experimented with other mediums such as welding and plastics, textiles remained what she connected with most.
As time went on, however, Hogan noticed divisions of gender in the artistic communities, with textiles being associated with women’s labour and being separated from traditional art materials.
“I’m not a weaver myself, but I’m a knitter. I do a lot of sewing and I have a very deep interest and passion for textiles and the depth of what textiles represent, like the labour that goes into it, the history of the making, on top of just how beautiful they are.”
Hogan’s creative journey led to writing while teaching at the Vancouver Island School of Art. It was during this time that she got the opportunity to write for a weekly arts and culture magazine.
“I really loved that opportunity. It was fun and it got me out seeing the new exhibitions that were in town … I love art and I love teaching, so I love writing about it because it helped me reach more broadly.”
Hogan is also thankful for the privilege of publishing her debut work during Women’s History Month and the significance it holds.
“It is not only women that create textiles. But it is by far the majority … A lot of the women who I wrote about in Light and Material are women who have not had their stories [or] their names appear in print previously,” said Hogan.
“I’m really proud to have had the opportunity to spend the time to do the research and to be able to put their names all together.”
When asked what she hoped readers would take away, Hogan said, “It’s about how none of this work happens alone, it all happens in community. A larger story I was trying to tell about Nel and her colleagues is how each of them supported each other to succeed.”
