What Happens the Rest of the Time

Many preparations afoot for the upcoming opening of Elsewhere  on January 9 2015.

What it all amounts to is what happens ‘the rest of the time’ in the work of working on my practice.

And for the last several days, that has looked like:

400 square feet of ethafoam

two large rolls of bubble wrap

half a roll of cling wrapping

three and a half rolls of packing tape

20 feet of 12″ diameter concrete forms

48 square feet of foamcore

a large roll of heavy weight plastic sheet

cardboard … lots of corrugated cardboard

several large tubs

And this:

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**Extra-special thanks to amazing artist Sara McKarney for her mad preparator-skills and help with some of the packing!

… and once all of that was done, it looked like this:

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AND special thanks to John Waldron for the assistance with packing the truck and getting all of this, and me, to the gallery to unload!

So. That bit is done: work is packed and delivered to the gallery, and installation of the exhibition will begin January 5th. (ah, the glamourous life!)

In a bit of serendipity, this evening I came across a pertinent bit of writing concerning the whole subject of the artist’s life and practice. It’s a speech by artist Teresita Fernandez, and it hits so many salient points. Read excerpts (and hear it too) at the lovely Brain Pickingshere.

But first – before I get back to considering all of the relative successes and potential failures in this and other work to come, I can actually take a little bit of time and catch my breath, and reacquaint myself with the world outside my studio walls (like my kitchen … oh, ya … and the laundry).

Elsewhere

I am very happy to announce that I will be exhibiting work with the talented Brenda Danbrook at Gallery @ 501 in Sherwood Park AB this coming January.

elsewhere-e-invite

 

There will be a short informal artists’ talk at the opening reception.

I hope to see some of you there.

And until then … I’ll be in the studio doing last-minute preparation and packing the work!

Installation View … an exhibition

I will be in a group exhibition this month … .

Installation View is curated by Stacey Cann, and will feature work by Devon Beggs, Rhea Lonsdale, Ali Nickerson, and yours truly.

INstallation View Invitation

 

I am really looking forward to getting the work up in the gallery spaces, and to seeing how our individual projects ‘talk’ to one another.

I will be showing brand new work for this exhibition, and that’s exciting too!

Hope to see some of you there!

Oddment #13

There’s a fair bit of debate (in some circles) about the value and validity of street art/graffiti.

Personally, I would much rather look at street art (I make the distinction between this and tagging) than a blank concrete wall or a bleak alleyway.  These pieces are (to me) delightful surprises – moments of beauty or whimsy or weirdness that I often find thought-provoking … or at the very least, they bring a bit of colour to an otherwise drab urban space.

Found this little gem in Montreal (there will be more to come from other places):

mummyfaceI would encourage you to read a recent article here, about how attitudes to street art (or urban art, if you prefer) are changing … at least a bit … in one city.

Happy Friday!

At Odds – The Opening!

The opening of At Odds on Thursday was great fun. Lovely evening, and a really nice turn out, despite the cold. Thanks to everyone who made the trek, and special thanks to everyone at the Art Gallery of St Albert!

I feel I am in really great company in this exhibition – Susan Seright’s book works and Claire Uhlick‘s paintings are lovely. If you are in the Edmonton-St. Albert area, come by the gallery and see for yourself – the exhibition is up until March 1 2014.

It was really good to see the new work that I’d done this autumn in Halifax up in a gallery setting, along with some of the earlier work in the series. Came away with lots of new ideas, and a better sense of refinements that I want to make. Got some really valuable feedback on the work, both at the opening, and in the last couple of days. It’s a brilliant thing to be able to get that kind of input. Sometimes, it’s difficult to get the distance one needs to really see the work, so that’s when knowing there are solid, critical voices one can trust out there  – a real community – becomes incredibly important, and valuable.

A couple of nice articles/interviews about the show too  – The Leader and The Gazette both did preview pieces on the show.

Here’s a few pictures from the Opening – apologies for the poor quality – shot with my phone, on the fly, during the event!

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At Odds

Part of why I have been so quiet here lately is that much has been happening on many other fronts. All good, but the end of the day comes too quickly to get in all that I want to, including posting here.

At any rate – some news!

I will be exhibiting work at the Art Gallery of St. Albert very soon. The show is called At Odds, and features work by me, Susan Seright, and Claire Uhlick. I feel I am in very good company – I really appreciate Susan’s and Claire’s work, and I’m looking forward very much to seeing our work all together in the gallery.

Details as follows:

ATODDS.F ATODDS.B

Hope those of you in the general area can make it!

Extended!

Just received some lovely news:

the exhibition of 21st Century Nesting Practices has been extended … until APRIL 19 2013.

So – if you are in Toronto, or travelling through Toronto in the next while, stop by:

Fleishman Gallery

79a Harbord Street

Toronto ON

Title: nesting practices
Sculpture, installation view; pvc, wire, gimp. Dimensions variable (approx 60″h x 36″w x 36″d)

Exhibition Images

I’ve updated the project page NEST, to include better installation views of my exhibition that just opened in Toronto: ‘21st Century Nesting Practices.’

If you’d like to have a look – and read something about the ideas behind the body of work as a whole – you’ll find it all by clicking on the nest here:

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Countdown …

Six days, and I’m on a plane to Toronto, and into a week of prep and install for my upcoming exhibition at the Fleishman Gallery.

The proverbial ducks are getting into rows (or maybe the kittens are getting herded … more accurate I think!) … the work I’ve shipped has arrived ahead of me at the gallery, and all in one piece; the work that’s coming with me is safely packed, and ready to put into my bags. In the process of figuring out what to bring in the way of coats, clothes and other non-art items, and wrapping up some loose ends in other work here before I leave.

Sparrow Nest
Sparrow Nest

I’m getting really quite excited about presenting the work, and about seeing people I haven’t seen for quite some time. It’s been great hearing from people I’ve let know about the exhibition, and beginning to make plans to get together with some of them is great fun.

 

I’m also happy to getting out of the snow for a bit!

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I readily admit my fondness for the stark beauty of the landscape this time of year – even the urban streetscapes are softened and made into otherworldly sculptures. Everything reduced to a series of contrasts. Dark and light, rough and smooth, hard and soft. The world speaks in simple shapes and clean lines. We see the essences, the bones of things exposed … and then hidden, re-fleshed in snow pillows.

But … still, despite this strident Prairie beauty, I will be ok with not having to shovel, not having to climb over heaps of snow, not slipping every second step on black ice that’s hidden beneath fluffy white stuff.

For a little while, anyway.