Formerly the Ontario Crafts Council, Craft Ontario is a not-for-profit service organization that works to have craft recognized as a valuable part of life. We promote and celebrate professional craft through providing member opportunities, and advocate for craft practice by educating and empowering diverse audiences.
Jeff (Fuzzy) Mall was born in Pittsburgh, PA and attended Kent State University in Kent, OH. He began painting immediately upon graduation and considered himself to be self-taught. While in Ohio, he met his future wife. They moved to a small college town in rural Missouri to pursue a teaching opportunity. He continued painting, developing a new body of work every year, while working full time as a postman. He considers his studio practice to be a passionate hobby. Painting has given way to textiles, their home moved from the United States to Canada and his hobby was becoming a profession.
Fuzzy's work in portraiture is interaction driven. He gets to know his subject by taking candid photos and studying their unique body language. Focussing on the person in mid-motion, he captures raised eyebrows, crooked smiles and waving hands that we all use to communicate. His intention is to reinterpret fleeting imagery by slowing down the process and hand working it, slowly creating a permanent object from an image that we are accustomed to seeing swiped away by a finger. His work is created from raw-edged appliqué of mostly reclaimed fabrics. Fuzzy's goal is to tap into the tradition of quilts and painted portraits as family heirlooms by creating contemporary portraits from these casual photographs that are snapped by cell phones, often live in the cloud, and usually disappear. More than ever,
he wants to see people enjoying life’s small moments.
Tandem (Shane and Paul)
raw edged applique, reclaimed textiles, thread, industrial felt, 275 x 214, 2019
Luna and Maya(w/ Ollie)
raw edged applique, reclaimed textiles, thread, industrial felt, 228 x 101, 2019
Rae Barnett
raw edged applique, reclaimed textiles, thread, industrial felt, 162 x 106, 2018
Maia DeGraff
Raw edged Applique w reclaimed textiles, thread, 81 x 127, 2018
Grace Moran
Raw edged Applique w reclaimed textiles, thread, 111 x 86, 2018
George Qua-Enoo
Raw edged Applique w reclaimed textiles, thread, 86 x 101, 2018
Denise Lisson
Raw edged Applique w reclaimed textiles, thread, 106 x 101, 2018
Yuki's kids
Raw edged Applique w reclaimed textiles, thread, 137 x 137, 2018
Bryna Flowers
Raw edged Applique w reclaimed textiles, thread, 83 x 99, 2018
Martin Verrall
Raw edged Applique w reclaimed textiles, thread, 71 x 106, 2017
Formerly the Ontario Crafts Council, Craft Ontario is a not-for-profit service organization that works to have craft recognized as a valuable part of life. We promote and celebrate professional craft through providing member opportunities, and advocate for craft practice by educating and empowering diverse audiences.