Thomas Roach with his work “Interstellar Space”; Photo Bayne Stanley
Thomas Roach taught himself to sew at age six because he couldn’t draw. Many years later he is still stitching, dyeing and using cloth as a medium to explore spiritual themes and community stories.
Currently he is working primarily with natural fibres and dyes, using simple stitched resists and deconstructed screen-printing techniques. He seeks to evoke the liminal spaces between this world and that of the Divine.
“I love to hand-stitch rows and rows of simple running stitches,” says Roach. “An act of meditation in itself, each stitch becomes part of the larger prayer that is my work and my life.”
Roach shares his experience of cloth through teaching, workshops and community art projects. He co-led a community art project that created 26 indigo-dyed quilts permanently installed in the parish hall of Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, Vancouver. Roach also designs church vestments and consults with parishes about use of liturgical space. Commissions include Christ Church Cathedral, the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund, St. Paul’s Cathedral in Regina, and St Stephen’s, Calgary.
“Iona Cloister Mediation”
Roach is often asked about his creative process.
“Fragments from the Sacred Grove”; detail
“Capturing spiritual elements or experiences in art is difficult at best,” says Roach. “I have learned to begin somewhere, and somehow an image emerges stitch by stitch.”
“Finding Trinity at St. Columba’s Landing”
Roach holds a diploma in textile arts with distinction from Capilano College, and was featured in the exhibition “Boys with Needles” at the Textile Museum of Canada. Some of his recent works using natural dyes, printing and stitching were exhibited from Newfoundland to the Sunshine Coast during the summer of 2015.
This past August, Roach was in Calgary leading an interactive retreat weekend at the FCJ Christian Life Centre, entitled “Indigo and Thread: Spirituality in Your Hands.”
To see more of Thomas Roach’s beautiful creations, find out about upcoming events, or to inquire about commissions or workshops, visit www.thomasroach.ca
