Hugs to Everyone from Canada's Wet West Coast

There's so much pain and trouble across the planet that it's sometimes difficult to be optimistic.

I saw this link on Photo Carraol Images of Mexico blogspot and wanted to share it with you all. I hope it makes you smile.

Sending out warm hugs and smiles and hope you find a little joy each day.

What I've been doing

Well it's official. I am graduating in December. All my transfer credits are approved. I still can't believe it. In August I thought I wasn't going to be able to finish the BFA now here I am thinking about a MFA.

I am in my last Open Studio and working in 3D. The focus for my work is about aging, memories and fading from view. I definitely notice that how people in the world view me is changing. It's the small things mostly, like not getting service at a store, having the hairdresser do whatever instead of what I ask, being dismissed as old and therefore not worth listening to. It doesn't happen all the time but enough to notice.

These changes got me looking at who I am. How I see myself. What are my memories. What is my future. This is the framing I'm using to work this semester. I am bridging my past, present and future. I am taking the approach that the pieces represent me from the inside looking out. My memories are triggered by what I see now. Some moments feel like a collective memory, recognition that I follow generations of others who've been here before and that generations will follow.

I am working on three pieces possibly a fourth. The first is a collection of eleven light boxes made out of light metal in which digital images that are printed on tracing paper coated in cold wax. These boxes are placed on the wall in a random order much like how memories appear.

The second is a video projection using a 90 second video I made last semester called Near Journey's End. My husband Larry wrote the poem. The video is a close-up of my face using a Final Cut filter making it appear as a black and white drawing. My voice recites the poem, a disembodied voice sharing my thoughts. There is a filmy curtain suspended away from the wall. The video passes through it and is projected on both sides of the curtain and the wall. The effect is like a person behind a window, alone.

The third piece is three self portraits. The same close up of my face as the video. Each painting will become more obscured through sanding and filmy wax haze which references the curtain and my feeling of disappearing even though I'm still here.

I have finished making the boxes and need to print the images, wax and place in the boxes and mount to the wall. I'm hoping to finish it this week. The video needs some tweeking and my goal is to finish by next week. Next week I'll also continue to work on the paintings which are 50% done.

The fourth piece if there's time is another video projection using video I've already made. I think this is a doable.

That's it. I'm hoping my graduate show will be interesting and thought provoking.

Thanks to all my friends for inspiration and encouragement. It really keeps me grounded.

PS I'm still waiting for the results of my medical tests to find out what treatment I need to go through. So far it isn't life threatening but may be life changing :P

I'm Still Here

The semester has started. I've got all my projects started and am hoping they'll be successful. My medical situation is a bit more complicated than I thought so my summer wasn't as productive as I had planned. It's psychologically draining as well as physically. Sigh. The paintings I planned to do were put on hold but aren't forgotten.

I did manage to get a piece into the Mail Art Exhibit at the Richmond Art Gallery. I almost didn't make the deadline. Funny how a little 5"x5" painting can cause so much activity in a short period of time. It was inspired by the photos of the BP Gulf of Mexico disaster. A FB friend publishes recent photos of Florida's shoreline showing that the oil is still washing up on the beaches killing marine life.

It's ink and acrylic on watercolour paper.

After the Math

International Mail Art Exhibition & Swap

From one of our local galleries:
Call for entries
Richmond Art Gallery
International Mail Art Exhibition and Swap November 17 2011- January 8 2012
Theme: Economy
Technique: open
Size: only 5"x5" accepted
deadline: October 1 2011


Details at RAG

welter schaferhund: Saatchi on line , the site of the Saatchi Gallery ...

Caio Fern, my bloggy friend had his painting chosen as "Painting of the Day" on Saatchi Online Gallery. Congratulations Caio!

Follow the link to see his painting.




welter schaferhund: Saatchi on line , the site of the Saatchi Gallery ...: "http://www.saatchionline.com/art/Painting-Acrylic-No-Tittle/85288/1309748/view Saatchi on line , the site of the Saatchi Gallery chose this..."

Greetings from Canada's wet west coast

Well I've been away too long. I have a minor medical set back, more uncomfortable than serious. I will need surgery but recovery time will be quick, however the wait to see the surgeon might be a while.

I've been popping into your blogs and enjoying every minute ... feeling a bit like a vampire though sweeping in gathering nourishment and flying back into the night. You're all pretty inspirational. I sometimes feel like the little sister who aspires to be as accomplished as her older sibling.

I am regrouping and getting ready to paint again. There are several projects waiting for my attention, one already on the easel.  I probably won't be taking a full course load in the fall so I hope to have a more permanent studio space at home other than my kitchen. I'm eyeing the laundry room or garage. Thank you to those who shared their studios on their blog. It helps me to visualize what's possible for my home studio.

Stay tuned.

Psychologically There

The opening was a great success!
The gallery during installation.

  

The Opening! 

I took these photos with an ipod so images are degraded. I'm minding the Gallery on wednesday and I'll bring my real camera and take more photos. Over 200 attended throughout the evening.

Below is my artist statement and photo of my work 

(take a better one with more detail on Wednesday when I go in to the gallery)

Elizabeth Anderson, "Slippage"

Art is an expression of human experience, which is extremely personal while at the same time a reflection of collective history. Painting is a way of slowing down the fast pace of our technological age and all its consequences. The exploration of wax medium is a way of registering the subtle layers beneath the surface of conscious awareness. My body has spanned across from a time when technology was mechanical and digital was mostly imaginary. Mixing digital and painting is a metaphor for the late modernity of living in our time or how to make sense of the world without going mad.

Tonight's the opening night

We finished the installation last night. Everyone's work looks great. We've had over a 100 confirmations to the invite. Buttons, brochures with our artist statements, window signage, post cards are all ready too. It's going to be an exciting night. Wish you could all be there. I'll post photos tomorrow.

Psychologically There

I've been away from my blog because I've been painting a piece for our collective's upcoming show, "Psychologically There".

I should introduce our collective, Surreyalists. We are a collection of Kwantlen Fine Arts students based in Surrey BC. Our first show is coming up on June 3.   Come to our opening if you're in Vancouver, BC. Enjoy the art, food and conversation.

Work by: 

Andres Salaz

Alan Canning 

Bri Harrison

Chelsea Lawrick

Cody Lecoy

Daryl Markiewicz

Debbie Langtry

Elizabeth Anderson

Gunilla Kay

Rhea Paez

Robert Kovacic

Roxanne Charles

Shelly Leroux

Beyond my little problems - Fukushima

A Facebook friend shared this video update on Fukushima. I am god smacked by what was said about the situation.

 Click here > Fukushima Update Here


"What sphinx of cement and aluminium bashed open their skulls and ate up their brains and imagination?

Moloch! Solitude! Filth! Ugliness! Ashcans and unobtainable dollars! Children screaming under the stairways! Boys sobbing in armies! Old men weeping in the parks!

Moloch! Moloch! Nightmare of Moloch! ..."

Allen Ginsberg, 1955

Lost in Domestic Chaos

It took three trips to move all my painting gear back home from the Cloverdale campus studio where I painted for fourteen weeks. It felt like an eviction. I'm not taking classes this semester due to financial limits so I was told I could not use the studio since I technically wasn't a student this semester. I would not be covered by insurance. I miss not going in everyday for 4 - 6 hours. My working momentum is broken. The domestic distractions are hard to ignore. I am lost in domestic space. I no longer have order where I can immediately start working. Sigh.

The Value of Learning from Others

I now have time for reading, reflecting and taking notice of things beyond the studio walls. I'm looking forward to visiting my friends blogs at a more thoughtful leisurely pace. 


As I was going through my emails I found an article, called "The Value of Learning from Others" by Chris Tyrell in the Opus Art & Community News.

Tyrell wrote a book  Making It: Case Studies of Successful Canadian Visual Artists and he talks about what he learned from interviews with twenty artists, ten self-represented and ten represented by galleries. A short interesting read that I thought might be useful no matter what country you're living in.

Painting Surface

Another recommendation from Rebecca Crowell is lightweight  multimedia artboard

Accepts oil and water-based paints. No priming required. Can use on either side, flat or textured finish. Archival and non-buckling. Works with adhesives. 30"x36" Pack of 5 - White List - $83.50 Your Price - $70.98

I think I'm going to try these this summer. There are a variety of sizes and some specifically for plein air.

Rodney Thompson- encaustic painter

Was at a Oil and Wax forum I belong to and discovered a source for panels as well as an artist, Rodney Thompson.

Since the Stretch of Road Exhibit where someone expressed interest in buying my paintings I was suddenly moved out of the student reality of scraping up something to paint on to an artist reality of paying attention to details from start to finish. Hence I am looking at the condition of the supports I use for my paintings. Some of you may wonder why I haven't done this already. Well no money and needing something to paint on had me using whatever I could find and my carpentry skills are sadly lacking.

I don't think I can invest in using Thompson as a supplier yet but I might be able to have a local carpenter's apprentice to help me make panels that won't embarrass me if someone is interested in purchasing my work.

Thompson's paintings are also definitely worth a look. :)

NB: Link to Thompson's wbe site is updated.

Moloch Series

 I've finally reformatted the photos for the blog. It's been grueling, trying to get the final projects finished. Here's photos of the Moloch Series: Quietude, Disturbance, Maelstrom and Extinct. As I said in an earlier post the events in Japan really struck me hard. The chances we take to maintain "progress" becomes frightening. My faith that things will be okay diminish as more revelations about the safety standards of the nuclear industry come to light.

Quietude

Disturbance

Maelstrom

Extinct

                    

Campaign | Access | Ai Weiwei: Deleted from the internet

The Chinese government in the midst of the worst crackdown on free speech in at least a decade, has just detained China’s most well-known artist, the activist Ai Weiwei. Afraid that any mention of the “Jasmine Revolutions” sweeping the Middle East right now might lead to similar protests in China, Chinese authorities are cracking down hard. In the past month, dozens of Chinese bloggersand dissidents have been detained “disappeared”, and in less than 24 hours after his arrest, Ai’s name has been virtually erased from the Chinese internet.

The UK, Germany, France, and America have already called for Ai’s release, now it’s time for the world’s internet users to stand with him and the countless other Chinese that have been unlawfully detained. Sign the urgent petition to the Chinese government link below.

Campaign Access- Ai Weiwei: Deleted from the internet

Personal note

As my feet touch the ground I look beyond my small world into the larger global experience and am reminded of what inspired my paintings. It is hard not to be affected by the events happening across the earth. Devastation and violence reach beyond the boundaries set up by nations. Indeed it crept into my studio space. What started as a series about the general effects of time and history on our part of the universe became more specific about human choices made for power and greed, so willing to sacrifice the many for financial gain. It seemed fitting to call the series Moloch after the Caanite god to whom children were sacrificed and for my artist statement use the quote from Alan Ginsberg's poem Howl:


"Moloch! Solitude! Filth! Ugliness! Ashcans and unobtainable dollars! Children screaming under the stairways! Boys sobbing in armies! Old men weeping in the parks!

Moloch! Moloch! Nightmare of Moloch! Moloch the loveless! Mental Moloch! Moloch the heavy judger of men!"


Thank you Harry Kent for reminding me of Howl in your moving self-portrait last year. It has been a touchstone for when I need some way to express frustration not only with my petty angst but also the horror experienced by many that I feel helpless to do anything about. 

Stretch of Road

The year end show opening was last night and a tremendous success it was! The attendance was excellent with a great variety of people. The pieces were varied both in medium and in content making it interesting and aesthetically exciting.

It was personally exciting because it had a number of firsts for me. It was the first time I showed a large abstract series, four 4'x3' pieces.  And someone expressed an interest to purchase my work. It's definitely a night to remember when the demons are snapping at my heals.

I will post photos soon.

I received recognition and an award but I'm not sure it was for the video, "Near Journey's End" or the "Moloch Series" since I missed the first part of the announcement. Anyway it's all good.

Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement. It' an honour to be included in such a talented community. It may be virtual but it's definitely real.

Where I've been working this semester

The building is spectacular architecture in the public space.The rest of the building is a large box-like and houses the Trade programs with one large space for Fine Arts. It's a strange combination :D but I think they're getting used to us being there, after all we have a shop in the humungous studio. 

outside view of Cloverdale campus where I've been working this semester

inside the lobby

Raced Past Mid-Term

I didn't have time to notice the mid point of the semester. The Open Studio is a double course, studio time is eight hours once a week plus eight to twelve hours outside class. It has been challenging. I love working in the new space. There are only six of us using it and not always at the same time so it feels like my own studio. I go in every day for three to four hours. I've learned a lot about what I can and can't do with the cold wax medium. Painting four by three foot canvases has been challenging. When something doesn't work it's in a big way LOL. Everything needs to be finished by March 22 fir the year end show jury.

Hope you and your families are well and safe.

End of year show

Full steam ahead

Approaching midterm at full speed. Finished the first digital media project, three digital images using Photoshop, approximately 3' x 2' making a comment on the Big Three auto companies glut (not too heavy handed though).  Starting my second project for digital studio, a video, and a more personal theme,  aging. 

Meanwhile in the studio I'm working on a series of oil and cold wax abstracts, eight 4'x3' wood panels. Three are started. Aging, passing of time and its effects on surfaces - a variation of the aging theme. I'm using a different technique from last semester, inspired by Rebecca Crowell. I'm still finding my way but by the eighth one I hope I know more. This is one of the biggest projects I have tackled but it is exciting. The work is physically demanding. My next step is to build six more wood frames for the door skins. 

On a different note

This demonstration is pretty awesome. Watch and enjoy and marvel at the human mind.

Moving Forward

Well the first four weeks of the semester is finished and I've already had a creative block. I'm working with cold wax again but this time on board. I'm doing several small pieces. To save money I used the cradles from small cheap canvases by removing the canvas and replaced it with door skin. It turned out to be more time consuming then I thought but the price was right.

I was looking for inspiration to overcome my wall and came across a slide show by Rebecca Crowell talking about her process in her abstract work. It was just what I needed to move forward. She talks about her residency in Spain and how it influenced her painting reminding me of my own experiences in Spain. Loved the architecture, textures, colours and landscape.

I've included the slideshow below. For full screen viewing go to the Slideshare site.

Source: Catalonia

View more presentations from Rebecca Crowell.

Art Collective Exhibit

Last week was a double positive. I received an Award for Excellence so I was able to take fourth year Open Studio this semester. And at the Awards Dinner (held at the River Rock Casino Theatre) our Art Collective exhibited some of our work. It was exciting to get recognition in both the Award and sharing one of my pieces in a public forum.

I didn't take any photos but some of the Collective did. I'll see if I can snag a couple.

Here's a link to Chelsea's blog. She has some photos from the event.

Pieces from last semester

Last semester was an intense one - new art making experiences - conceptual installation, encaustic, performance and abstract painting in acrylic. My boundaries were really pushed. Below are some images of my work.

I took this photo of Venus and didn't notice the sun was shining on the bottom of the painting. 

 

2'x3' canvas oil, cold wax using pallette knife and heat.

Diptych acrylic on canvas 18"x24"

My first intuitive abstracts paintings. The colours in the photos are slightly off and the edges are not straight either so ignore the black edges. Hmm why don't I notice this stuff before I upload. 

I am (performance piece)

Photos from the Performance Art class, we each did a piece in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery. My piece consisted of writing on four sheets of paper using two quotes. 

Confuscious saying - I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I learn. 

Followed by the quote Only I can determine who I am. 

Basically sums up my attitude these days.  

  

Happy New Year

I'm a little late with greetings for the new year. The last few weeks flew by without much festive fanfare, we didn't even put up our Christmas tree. I reconciled to taking one course and working on my own for financial reasons. I came home from visiting my daughter to find a letter and a modest award that covers tuition for a course. So here I am registered in both Advanced Digital Media and Advanced Open Studio and Thesis I. I am hoping to know what my practice will be if I am no longer going to school next semester. It's a little overwhelming while exciting at the same time. It helps immensely to be in touch with everyone and appreciate your sharing with me about all of your activities.

I have photos of my work from last semester and need to change the file format to post. It's on my to do list.