Yorath House Artist Studio: Meet the artists — Fern Facette and Matthew Cardinal

Over the course of 2022, the Yorath House artist studio has hosted four unique artist duos, with disciplines ranging from poetry, printmaking, textile arts, visual art, and music. With another year quickly coming to a close, we’re excited to share that the final artist pair to take up residence at Yorath House in 2022 is Fern Facette and Matthew Cardinal.

Jessica Fern Facette (Fern, she/​her) is a fibre artist based in Amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton, Alberta). Her work is a decades long exploration of linear and grid patterns formed using various fibre, colour and texture. Fern is a stalwart advocate for the accessibility of textile arts and has created opportunities to explore textiles through years of demos, volunteering, mentoring and an in-studio residency at Fern’s School of Craft.

During her time at Yorath House, Fern plans to explore weaving with foraged plant materials, three dimensional sculptural double weave, incorporating text, as well as continuing her ongoing exploration of pattern and textile design. Should time allow, she’d also like to explore ways to use weaving scraps, as well as start recreations of her great grandmother’s rug hooking and beadwork. 

Matthew Cardinal is an amiskwaciy (Edmonton, Alberta) based musician, composer, and sound designer, known for his work with Polaris Short List nominee group nêhiyawak. Cardinal’s solo full-length album Asterisms was released in October 2020 on Arts & Crafts. Cardinal’s music moves from delicate, minimalist pieces to vast drones and sparkling, modular synthesizer beats. He has been performing music across the country for the last few years in various groups, as well as doing soundtrack work in film and sound for art installations. Matthew also works in photography, primarily using film, capturing dreamy moments in time and space, evoking a similar feel to his music.

During his time at Yorath House, Matthew is looking to experiment with different production and sound techniques, taking inspiration from the space and it’s surroundings. In addition, he is interested in combining video work with his sound explorations.

The Yorath House Artist Studio Placement pilot program began in 2020 as a partnership between the Edmonton Arts Council, the City of Edmonton, and the City Arts Centre, investing in artists working in a range of art forms and practices to foster experimentation and creative collaboration. You can learn more about Yorath House pilot program here.