Featured Member:Chung-Ja Jackson

Chung-ja Jackson

Our featured Member from the Oakville Tapestry Studio and first of the series of presentations on members work is this interesting and fascinating person, friend and wonderful weaver.Not only she is a creative artists who is also member among some other groups Guilds and textile Associations, she is a scientist who spends part of her life writing, researching and of course: weaving!

Chung-Ja is the Vice President at BioLunch Inc

Senior Consultant, Nutraceutical and Foods

• 25 years in chemistry and nutraceutical research and development
• Nutraceutical Head, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
• PhD; University of Manitoba

I met her 2 years ago at a 5 Counties Regional conference for the Ontario Handweavers and Spinners Guild. She has been a member of the Burlington Handweavers and Spinners Guild for some years now and her work in floor looms is just beautiful!



One of her interests in tapestry was precisely the versatility to mix materials and create textures. Being a traditional weaver, her excitement to try exploring the surface in other medium was both interesting as well as challenging.


Here are some samples of images of details of her latest tapestry which she gave "birth" to this week. An abstract image of poppies.




Here we can admire some samples of her works in floor looms woven at the Burlington Art Centre with the Burlington H & S Guild.


Even though her work in floor looms is "traditional" her interest shows immediately in the way she mixes colour and chooses a bit of surface texture exercises.

She also dyes her yarns to create these wonderful scarfs and shawls in silk. Great combination of colours.


Her tapestry previous to the poppies was this wonderful owl inspired in one of her son: Bert Jackson.

He quotes" I am a visual artist based in the Toronto area. My work includes sculpture, painting illustration, and the art of tattooing. I love to travel, and I love to experience art and life in it’s great and bountiful diversity. So I enjoy a wide range of influences: traditional European oil painting, bronze statuary, Eastern art, tattooing, contemporary art, etc. I started making art at a young age, and have reinvented my style on a number of occasions."



This owl is truly a fascinating piece and quite a challenge for any tapestry weaver.
The theme reflects the imagery and ideology of Bert, quoting again

"Since the beginning I have had a passion for depicting the animal world. I am a keen environmentalist even before it became popular in the nineties. That figures into the work; this is true. Beyond that there is a genuine love and passion for the natural world. I am seeking what many artists have searched for, which is to uncover and explore beauty in life, nature, and the human form. I am also interested in truth, depicting the true essence of a subject even if the subject is fantasy or imagination. The emotion or symbolism can still express something genuine.

I would like to share this space to congratulate my Dear Chung Ja for her passion she puts in all she does. Her work has been improving project after project excelling the technique as she progresses along her projects. We hope to see more of her tapestries soon.

Keep it up Chung-Ja!