Menu
Rovin’ (Roving) refers to the changing nature of the creative process. It reflects a progression of ideas from one series or body of work through to the next, and recognizes that no one handmade artifact will be the same as another because of this.
Roving is also defined as “a bundle of fiber [used as a starting point for many fiber processes],” which references the importance of material as inspiration. Fibers derived from the natural world (wool, linen, cotton, grasses, plant matter, etc.) engage the artist’s tactile sense and generally find their way into most designs. It wouldn’t feel right if roving, in the material sense, wasn’t included at the heart of the business—working with her hands, and her hands on fiber, is how the artist began to find her way.
Rovin Grae utilizes recycled, hand-dyed, or homegrown materials whenever possible and prioritizes supporting relationships that respect humans and natural resources.
We believe in creating items that reside with us for a period of time, not necessarily forever, and leave a small footprint as earthly things: tread lightly and gently, but loudly and profoundly.
Grae brings the color grey to mind, a color that threads throughout the color palettes used in the work. The muted and monotone colours allow for sensory consolation and allow texture, and the sensory properties of materials to be the focus, while connecting a natural color palette of the external into the internal.
Grae, the current creator behind each artifact Rovin Grae produces, is a multidisciplinary artist working at the confluence of art and craft. She is fascinated by history, in particular textile traditions which underpin civilization. Her work is informed by feminism, social change, philosophy, psychology, and personal sensory experience.
She has a background in Environmental Studies, Herbalism and natural health, and food production and farming. She holds a diploma in both Communication Design (with a concentration in User Experience) and Fine Arts.
Born in Alberta, she has traveled extensively with family in youth, and later as an adult throughout Canada. Her interests in the local and slow movements led her to work on sheep and market farms in Eastern Canada, then family connection drew her west again to Calgary, then Vancouver Island.
The founder and her partner have transitioned into living full-time in a motorhome; this more mobile lifestyle feeds the artist’s captivation with her surrounding environment, rural or urban, and provides abundant resources for material acquisition.