PechaKucha

Thought you might be interested in an example of a

PechaKucha presentation. The image is the opening shot from "Mud Portraits"

"Canadian photographer Harold Godsoe introduces his series of "Mud Portraits", explaining what drew him to using mud, and what he feels comes out of the resulting photographs."

Intense Week!

This week is very intense. I have three projects on the go with one due today, one tomorrow and one next Tuesday. Thought I'd recap for myself and you while I catch my breath.

Today I am traveling to downtown Vancouver in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery where my Performance class will be presenting two pieces each. I am ready! This is the most nerve racking class but I think I will survive LOL. We are documenting the pieces so I'll post photos later. I should add that it's pouring rain and 8C.

The second project is my professional portfolio due tomorrow. Everything's complete except for burning the CD images. I'm applying for Graduate Studies at Goddard College in Vermont. It's a dress rehearsal for the actual application. I really was attracted to the program here until I found out foreign students pay over $7000 U.S. EACH SEMESTER!!!!!

The third is for Open Studio due Tuesday. I have layer # 5 on and have started to scrape areas to reveal the darker layers. I can't wait to take the hot air gun to it. I'll make a decision after the heat of whether to add more layers. I originally wanted 8 layers but ...

I also want to announce that a group of emerging artists at Kwantlen have started an artist collective. We are seeking places to exhibit our work and we've gotten positive response from various departments to hang on their walls. We are planning Pecha Kucha Night. It's a beginning!

Charcoal on paper

Last week I had 45 minutes until my husband was finished teaching. I was in the drawing studio and found some fat charcoal sticks in my bag. So I grabbed a mirror and large piece of brown paper and started to draw a self portrait. I haven't done it in a while. I quieted the little voices who did not want to draw or look at myself and started. It was a good exercise. The big hunk of charcoal made it difficult to do fine detail with a light touch. When I got home I addressed some of the problems and used white conte to add my grey hair. I need to do this more often.

Artist Trading Card Exhibit

I found this while researching for a project in my Professional Practices course. One of the local community galleries is having an Artist Trading Card Exhibit. It invites local, national and international artist to submit nine cards. It's short notice, deadline is November 1st. Exhibition dates are November 26, 2010 - January 22, 2011. For more info go here

Project 3 Layer 4

Here is the fourth layer before heat application. It takes about 24 hours before I fuse the layer with heat depending on the thickness of the wax/paint. I changed from a brush to a palette knife.  I also changed from ultramarine to cobalt blue in my mix and added the first bit of white. I hope I can get at least another 6 layers before installation day. Each layer is like opening a Christmas present. I'm never quite sure how it will look after using heat. I'm thinking of scraping a layer to reveal the previous one in areas. I'm trying to keep this in mind as I add layers but sometimes I just get into the flow of the moment.

First 2 layers on the canvas

Night
30"x20" oil encaustic on canvas

I have a long way to go yet but I couldn't wait to share. The flash distorts the colour so try to filter it out. Later I'll take a better photo.

Ross Bleckner

Just was revisiting items about Ross Bleckner and came across this video in which he talks about his art and also about his U.N. Ambassador experience with Ugandan children at vimeo site.


Ross Bleckner from Howard Silver on Vimeo.

Open Studio #3

I started the third project in Open Studio. Gone back to oil, encaustic on canvas (30"x20"). Subject is the night. I hot gunned my first layer and added the second today. It's a beautiful sunny day so I was able to do it outside, better than the garage. It's always an emotional roller coaster. I'm excited and prepare everything then I'm standing in front of the canvas and I have a brain freeze and have to force my hand to pick up the brush and make the first mark. Will this ever go away?!

The first two projects were installations looking at memory and place. This one will have the paintings as the main focus. If I have time I may add another element. I've used encaustic before but on board so the new element is the canvas.  Ross Bleckner is definitely my influence here. Click his name to see his work.

It's a lot of pressure because all our projects go in the Gallery for two weeks. So it's not just one day for class critiques -  the whole campus can go and see and respond. Adds a little fear factor when experimenting with new ideas or mediums.

I've not had time to resize photos for the internet. Too busy working on my portfolio which is due at the end of the month. Once the portfolio is done it'll be less hectic and I can post images from the first two projects and this one.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend.

The Elements of Art:Form, Content and Context

I came across this reference thought might interest some of you.  It was recommended by Dorothy Barenscott on her blog Avant-Guardian Musings. It's called ART HISTORY: A PRELIMINARY HANDBOOK, by Dr. Robert J. Belton. It is online and free to use.
It looks like an excellent resource for persons like myself who are studying art history and in the process of defining my own art practice.
Thank you Dorothy for sharing this resource.

How

Mohan Rana is a beautiful poet and in this poem he expresses my feelings about life as a short journey.

To the Lost Children

·                         by Mohan Rana

I want to write to the lost children,
those whose clothes hung from the branches
of the mulberry tree, getting smaller
as the branches grew.
The tree gets thicker and thicker
until years later I see the old tree
bent over its own shadow.

The clothes turn to shreds;
their memories mix in the wind,
dissolve in water, sink under the seasons,
fade like a forgotten poem.

I set out to write about myself 
but I start talking of someone else.

My contemporaries are growing older.
One day they too will go missing
like the lost children: one day.
One day will go missing out of many.

I want to write a letter
to the lost children
posted from their lost childhood.

18.8.1995
From Subah kii Daak, Morning Post

Open Studio Project Two: The Mulberry Tree

We are continuing on the theme of secret/hidden places. I'm still feeling melancholy in the sense of loss but if you use the stages of grief I am accepting it. There is a certain comfort in grieving. I am warmed by the memories of the past. It's partly due to visiting "The Wilderness Downtown" project. I visited two places of my childhood which brought a flood of childhood memories.

One was the summer I first tasted a tomato straight from the garden. I never like tomatoes, they always seemed tasteless to me. But these tomatoes were absolutely delicious. I couldn't believe my taste buds. I happily sat on the swing set with my friend eating tomatoes from the neighbour's garden.

My friend introduced me to another tasty treat. In her yard there was a tree I had never seen before. Its branches draped down to the ground. She said "Let's go inside the Mulberry Tree" Huh?! I followed her and sure enough there was a secret, hidden place inside the boughs of the tree. Inside there were many, many black berries, fat and juicy and so sweet. I often went here by myself, sitting inside being invisible, eating berries.

So the Mulberry Tree is my subject for the next project. I'm following Caio's example "Don't You Dare Do What's Been Done". I am making the series with acrylic which I've not used except a couple of small flower paintings over the summer on canvas and frosted mylar in an expressive style. You see how you all are influencing me? ; D I have finished two on canvas and two on mylar. I'm just beginning to loosen up with my brush strokes. I am feeling my way in this so I hope my more experienced friends will forgive my clumsiness.

Below are a few reference photos.

A Quick Check In

Hello everyone

My hard drive died a few days ago so I'm on a borrowed computer. Paired with a heavy schedule at school I haven't been able to leisurely read everyone's blog posts which I enjoy thoroughly. I can't thank you enough for sharing your work, insights and rants. I look forward to more of the same.

I'm glad that my resource posts are sometimes useful and or amusing.

Cheers to all my bloggy friends. :D