SNAP has done a fantastic job of keeping everyone safe for the last several months, and the Members’ Show & Sale will be no exception. For folks who prefer to limit their exposure outside their bubbles/cohort, you can shop the entire show online too.
I feel extremely grateful to be part of this community, and even more so that I will have work in this exhibition along side so many talented SNAP artists.
Check it out online or in person – it’s going to be lovely!
I have had several people ask me to post video documentation of the exhibition of Macromareal (a rising tide lifts all boats) that just closed at SNAP, as they were not able to see the work in person.
Grateful for a couple of quiet days, so that I could get to the documentation, and actually DO this!
So – here you are – a short video walk-through of Macromareal!
A note in the sound you will hear: the first is an excerpt of “Fogbreath,” created by Scott Smallwood from field recordings in and around Parrsboro NS, where we held residencies to create this work in 2016 and 2017. This sound work was presented in the first gallery, as shown in the video.
The second is an excerpt of a recording of “Wave Passage Effects,” which Scott created in MAX, and which was presented in real time in the second gallery, with a video projection of the software used to sonny environmental data in real time in the gallery. This was an opportunity to ‘see sound’ and ‘hear environmental data’ from the magnificent Bay of Fundy.
The third excerpt is from the recording of the (very first!) 2017 performance of “Macromareal Prelude: in fog and storm and sunshine” composed by Scott as part of this project. We presented this work at the beginning of the exhibition at SNAP Gallery as well, but with a group of wonderful brass musicians.
Hope you enjoy this – and if you have questions. please feel free to shoot me a note from my contact page.
It’s a VERY odd time to be presenting work to the public – but I am so happy with all the precautions SNAP has in place, and so very happy to sew showing work in their BRAND NEW home!
There’s several things going on for this iteration of MACROMAREAL. Both Scott and I have re-worked existing elements of the project, and I have been busy since the last time this work was shown making a bunch of new prints! So, brand new work for us in a new space – how lucky can you get??
The exhibition will be opening on the evening of September 11, from 7 – 9 pm. This will be a hybrid event: SNAP is pre-booking (free) tickets to see the show in person, and limiting the number of people in the gallery at one time, so that everyone can stay safe AND see the art in person. We will also be online – Scott & I are attending the Opening virtually, so more people can see the work in person if they want to – and anyone else who wants to attend virtually is welcome to do so as well!
Fundy Sine, Cyanotype on Cotton, 2017.
There will also be a socially-distanced LIVE performance of Scott Smallwood’s score “Macromareal Prelude: in Fog and Storm and Sunshine” on Saturday September 12, at 1:00 pm local time, in the immediate neighbourhood of SNAP, outsdoors. We are both extremely happy to be able to work with some excellent local Edmonton musicians for this event, and to be able to present this work live in a safe way. This is a ‘roving’ performance work; the musicians will be moving in the neighbourhood as they play, and will be distanced; we ask that anyone attending keep 2metres or more from any musician(s) they encounter, and PLEASE wear a MASK!
Dress rehearsal for the original performance of Scott’s score in 2017, Parrsboro NS
Scott and I will also be presenting an artists’ talk about the genesis and evolution of the project on Saturday, October 10th, again at 1pm local time. This talk will be presented online.
A collage of various elements of the project as it evolved
And for some added fun: I will be facilitating a cyanotype workshop/demo online for SNAP on Thursday September 17, starting at 6pm.
Caution, Cyanotype on Cotton, 2019
Looking forward to all of this very much – and hope that you can join us for some of it.
This still point in the process always feels a little surreal. So much goes into the making of an exhibition. In this case, 5 years from the original project to now; at least a solid year of research and work in the studio; lots of challenges, changes, and rewards along the way.
Am I nervous? Yes, to be honest. I feel far too close to the work to be able to assess its merits at this point … one tends to dwell on the things that only hindsight reveals. But here we are.
It’s all process anyway – every work and every exhibition speaks to what is next, and new ways of doing.
At any rate, if you are around in the area, please join us tonight. It would be lovely to see you.
Spent a lovely Saturday afternoon on the Art Bus Tour! It was great to see such a range of work in one afternoon – print media at SNAP, the Member’s Show and “Naked” Show (figurative works) at Harcourt House, then down the highway to Sherwood Park, and finally back to SNAP for some festivities …
The exhibition at Sherwood Park’s Gallery @ 501 was terrific … I attended the opening on Friday, but found myself eager to spend more time with the exhibition. My congrats to Sean Caulfield and Royden Mills for a beautiful, thought-provoking body of work. Well worth the trip!
The tour ended up at SNAP, and their Block Out Fundraiser … which is where the road repair equipment and printmaking come in!
The ingenious April Dean, Executive Director of SNAP, managed to secure a permit to block off a bit of Jasper Avenue so that some large-scale prints – 4′ x 8′ – could be inked and printed with an asphalt roller!
… the steamroller, getting into position to roll over the printing plate …
… the protective blankets come off, revealing the plate and the fabric that’s just been printed …
… the plate/block, after the steamroller print has been pulled …
… another steam roller print being pulled by April and Sean; this plate/block was hand carved by Sean Caulfield.
It was actually quite exciting to see this whole process from start to finish … there were some moments where I think most of us were holding our breath, hoping that nothing happened to the plates under all that weight. And of course, it’s always exciting to see a print being pulled – it’s the ‘great reveal’ that comes at the end of all the time and effort spent creating the plate -but it was especially so with such large work!
There was also great music, food, and drink at the event, and a sale and silent auction of some beautiful (and cheeky) print works … including “art critic panties” (which I hope I won)!
All in all, a great art-filled day!
I’m looking forward to all the other art events this summer, including the next tour, coming up in July! I don’t think there will be steam rollers involved (m)any of those, but who knows … might run into some road construction, which won’t be nearly as fun.
Things have been pretty quite around these parts lately, for which I apologize. It’s been a ‘go hard or go home’ kind of time the last few weeks … much going on, much to be done. This seems to be the way of it.
So… this is what I’ve been up to:
There was a really nice article in the Edmonton Journal about my work and the Residency this past Friday. Given the number of hits on my web site that day, I’d say a few people out there saw it. Thanks for stopping in – hope you come back in the future!
I’ve also been making work like a mad fool; today was day 7 in a row in the studio … 5 or 6 more to go before a day off (and I am in NO way complaining!). This is simply the point in the Residency when I get to PANIC!! There’s a part of me that is perfectly rational, and knows the work is coming along just fine, and I will have more than enough ready for the exhibition in October, and I just have to trust myself and the process of making the work and exploring all these ideas (as I have for the last 8 months) … and there’s that voice in the back of my head screaming at me … “What on earth do you think you’re doing?? What does it all mean anyway?? DO you even know anymore?? What made you think that this was good work, anyway?!” The usual … it’s a fact of life for many of us I think. The closer we come to a big deadline, the tougher we are on what we have done and still need to do. Still, it’s been a bit unnerving and stressful … but a great stimulus for working hard!
To wit:
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I have also been drawing on a much larger scale:
I kept the ceiling and floodlight in this picture to give some sense of scale … the drawing is roughly 50 inches by 50 inches. You don’t want to know how covered in charcoal I was after this!
And I’ve also been having a terrific time exploring the finer points of block printing! It’s been a complete blast doing these so far … and I am discovering all kinds of things about mark making, and the correlation between the way I draw and the way I use the knives to carve the blocks. I am quite happy with the results of these test prints … so expect to see some of this work in October for sure:
A 6″ x 6″ test print … carved, based on one of the hundreds of photos I’ve taken of nests for this body of work.
And …
A smaller test print, roughly 3″ x 3″. It’s been really interesting to think about the positive and negative space in carving these – working through the best way to convey some sense of three dimensional space in the final print.
And of course, there’s other things going on in the background … I am exhibiting the Archives of Absence work at the Naess Gallery in September, including brand new work that is an extension of the original project; I am thinking about the work I will out together for an exhibition in February 2013 in Toronto (more to come on both of these soon) … waiting to hear back about a grant application Marian and I applied for to develop the York Hotel work we shot in September 2011 … thinking about places to send exhibition proposals. Oh, and occasionally, I have the time and gumption to do something around the house.
And on that note … off to bed! Another early start Monday! Hope you all had a good weekend!
