In Your Hands
Emily Pittman and Theresa Dobbin Pittman
Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador | August 9-September 14, 2025
Reviewed by Nicole Haldoupis
Walking into the In Your Hands exhibition at the Craft Council Gallery by Emily Pittman and her mother Theresa Dobbin Pittman feels like walking into someone’s home, into their private space filled with their most precious treasures. The artists are generously sharing their secrets with visitors to the gallery, their family gems generously on display to welcome the viewer into their most prized memories.
As artists, we draw inspiration from many things. We can choose to create art based on things that make us happy, things that make us angry, things that make us sad, things from the past, hopes for the future—the possibilities are endless. For example, my nieces and I are doing an art camp together this week, and today we created a series of round paintings of pizzas, because we love pizza. Our plan is to create a gallery wall in my office/studio that features several of these pizza paintings, as well as a drink (a can of pop), and a dessert (a box of smarties). It may make me crave pizza more often, but I know it will also make me happy to see every day. Both the idea of looking at foods we love as well as the memory of creating these silly pieces with my nieces.
The pairing of Emily’s quilt paintings—translations of the objects themselves, adaptations of the quilts handmade with love—with her mother’s textile art, a photograph wall, and items from the lives of Emily, her mother, and her grandmother, Bernadette, makes the show feel even more intimate. I know art can be intimate, family and tradition are inspirations for so many,but this collection of pieces feels especially close to the creators. You know when you walk in that each artefact or work of art is cherished. Emily’s paintings include parts of Bernadette’s property in Gaskiers, Newfoundland and Labrador (about a 1.5-hour drive from St. John’s). Photos of the grass from her lawn, wallpaper from her home, stitched together with strokes of paint. Items from Bernadette’s home are also on display in the exhibition: her original sewing machine and a cash register from the shop which was attached to her house.
Some of the quilts in the exhibit are collaborative. The four hanging in the middle of the room, demanding attention and coziness, have patches sewn on the back with the titles and creators listed in embroidered lettering: “Hand Embroidery – Bernadette Dobbin, Assembled – Theresa Dobbin Pittman.” No context is given for these quilts, with the handmade labels themselves telling their story.
Theresa’s solo quilts, hanging on the walls, are delicate and unique.The borders of several are made with a stunning crocheted edging I’ve never seen on a quilt before. One of my favourites, “Bern’s Lemon Squares,” as with many of the quilts on the walls, includes a story about Bernadette, this one about her delicious lemon squares, which she only made when she was expecting family to come for a visit, and which were best enjoyed with a hot cup of Red Rose tea. The quilt itself also features a hand-embroidered recipe for Bern’s own lemon squares. The beauty and tenderness of this quilt and the embroidered section made me want to drop to my knees.
Nicole Haldoupis is from Toronto and lives in St. John’s, NL. Her first book, Tiny Ruins (Radiant Press, 2020), was shortlisted for four Saskatchewan Book Awards and the Bressani Literary Prize. She’s a PhD student at Memorial University, creative writing instructor at the College of the North Atlantic, and managing editor of Paragon Press.