Colour Studies in the Green Shed Studio

Backyard Project posts have dominated my blog lately and you may be wondering if I am ever in my studio. 

To answer the question - Yes. I am working on a big project that will culminate in at least 2 exhibitions.

'Colour: A Personal Response' is a project I am working on with fibre artist Sarah McLaren.

It involves doing colour studies in paint and fabric.

I am making large paintings of 24 different colours.

Apart from a Jane Davies workshop, see blog post here  I am not trained in painting so I am just feeling my way. My intention with these paintings is very clear and it is keeping me at it for many hours. I am beginning to pick up a feel for moving the paint around. I am also even more conscious of Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours rule.

Small Expressions Show, Tulista Gallery, Sidney

Synesthesia #4 Spring Green

I have just spent the day working in a team to install this year's 'Small Expressions Show' at Tulista Community Arts Centre, Sidney-by-the-Sea, BC. When we left the gallery late this afternoon all of the work  was in place and looked so inviting. It looked like a place to spend a couple of hours absorbing what it means to be creative.

Synesthesia #5 Green

The vibe on the Pacific Northwest coast attracts those who want to express their creativity actively. This is particularly so in the town of Sidney and on the Saanich Penninsula where there are literally hundreds of artists living within a small area working in every media.

Synesthesia # 6 Blue Green

The catch with this exhibition, Small Expressions, is every work has to fit within the limitations of being 12 x 12 x 12 or less. For some artists, this is their norm. For other artists, it is a challenge and often the results are surprising. A different side of their creativity surfaces.

This is my 3rd Small Expressions exhibition. I am continuing to show work from my Synesthesia series. The 3 above images are of the work I have entered this year.

Synesthesia #24 Golden Yellow

I entered the above and 2 below works last year.

Synesthesia is a series expressing how I feel the energy of different colours. They are sensing drawings in fabric and thread. I have made 10 and plan to make 24.

Synesthesia #23 Orange Yellow

Tomorrow we meet at the gallery to put up labels and to do the tweaking and tidy up until everything looks perfect.

The exhibition opens Wednesday March 4th, from 10:00 to 4:00pm. I will do my first shift that morning. Every artist who is able to sits with the show twice over the month. The exhibition closes March 29th. The gallery will be open every day except Mondays.

Synesthesia #22 Yellow-orange

The Small Expressions Show is just one of a great many different exhibitions, activities and programs under the umbrella of the very active Community Arts Council of the Saanich Peninsula (CACSP). CACSP is one of the 90 regional arts councils in British Columbia whose mandate is to nurture an appreciation of all the arts on the Saanich Peninsula.

Jeremy Shirley - Bus Shelter Project

Here is an artist whose work makes a difference. He paints murals on bus shelters and buildings to make people smile. This happiness deters those with the urge to tag blank walls.

Jeremy currently lives in Hamilton, New Zealand and has left his mark all over the country.

Here is a link to an article explaining why he puts his art in the street  Jeremy Shirley's art

Andy Goldsworthy

Here is a Tate Studio Visit video of Andy Goldsworthy.
I found it on Rachel's great blog.
i.art.rachel: Andy Goldsworthy
Do visit her blog for lots of interesting posts about art, artists and music clips.

Synesthesia #22 Yellow-orange

After completing my studies and starting to cleaning up my studio I was keen to get back to making.

I decided to take a break and make a couple more in the Synesthesia series - a collection of  24 small works about how I feel about different colours - what their individual energies feel like.

#22 Yellow-orange was next. I knew the feeling I wanted to evoke so assembled the threads and fabrics.

I made a quick sample...

...and started. But I was fighting fires the whole time. The first mistake was laying down too much 'dark'. Working over it with a lighter thread turned it a greeny colour. The circles persisted in forming straight lines...

Eventually I gave up and started again. I took the time to establish the values and their range then made decisions within those parameters to get the right feeling/energy.

Finished.

I think of a fermenting, bubbling energy when I see this colour.

2013 Surface Design Assoc Conference exhibitions

I have just returned from the SDA conference in San Antonio, Texas.
One of the best parts was getting to see lots of fibre art exhibitions.
One of my favourites was by Naomi Wanjiku Gakunga: A tradition of Strings.

Ng'endo cia Mugendi - The Immigrant's Journey, 2012
sheet metal, stainless steel wire; stitching with wire on textured sheet metal, colouration 

Naomi gave a inspiring talk about her work.
She explained how every aspect of her work is rooted within her culture and her life experiences.

Magnetha ma njahi - The Big Harvest, 2012
stainless steel wire, woven kiondo basket strips, recycled glass beads; stitching and crocheting with wire

I was fortunate to have a 3-day, pre-conference workshop in the a studio above the gallery so I was able to visit this exhibition many times.
It is very powerful work.

Missa Magic 2012

Missa Magic 2012
MISSA is an annual gathering in the West Coast rain forest of like minded artists who work in all media. People come together to teach and learn from each other. What also happens is new friendships are formed, old friendships are more firmly cemented, networks are built up and one's community is expanded. Creativity is contagious and runs rampant throughout the campus.
MISSA is the tonic for your creative well being.

Good Design: Seats

Wherever I go I observe where people chose to sit in public to see if the design and location of the seats and space work. 

These large bean bags are scattered around a small inner city green space.

Some people sat on them while they looked at an art work - a tall, rectangular screen with changing colours.

These two people chose to sit on the bean bags while they had their coffee rather than sit in the classic Adirondack chairs.

People put their feet up on the bags and on foot stools, a sign they felt comfortable sitting in the space.

They dragged the bean bags around the space to create their own temporary environments.

I decided this seating area is successful.

Continuum at World of Threads Festival, Oakville

8 of 10 BA(Hons) Embroidered Textiles graduates installed 'Contiuum', their graduation work, in the Oakville Town Hall.
Ingrid Lincoln installs her work.

Val Cross cleans glass before installing her work.

Marilyn Hall assembling her sculptures.

Vikki Jenkins has her sister, Helen, as an assistant.

Daniella Woolf Encaustic Workshop

Here are some more images of sampler panels I made during the workshop to document each of the techniques Daniella showed us.

 

 

 

It was a great workshop. I learned lots and Daniella is an excellent instructor.

The Cone Sisters of Baltimore & Food Trucks

While in Vancouver recently I spent several hours looking at art work 2 sisters had collected over their lifetime.
It was captivating.

My colleague and I were so hungry after the gallery experience the line up of food trucks along the curb outside looked most appealing.

 

We settled on grilled sandwiches.
It was a most satisfying afternoon.

London Views 1

I am in London - having fun while suffering from jet lag.
These views of London show my disturbed senses.

I felt vertigo looking up through this building on the South Bank.

I didn't know what I was looking at in this Saatchi Gallery

But I knew I was looking at something because I could smell it. My senses are mixed up.

Richard Wilson's room filled with smelly used sump oil.
I think I need to go back to the flat for a nap.

New Work

For many months I have been collecting woolen embroideries from second-hand/thrift stores. Friend Carol has also been collecting for me - she has superior gathering skills.

They are being used for a series called 'Handwork' and are about acknowledging the creative work done in the private home, by woman - work with no value.

I take the embroideries out of their frames, always hoping there will be some provenance but there usually isn't. These are anonymous creative works.

They are washed.

I picked the 2 on the right....

...to make this work. It is about how the human eye is designed to look for a figure on a background.
 The male eye looks for a focal point in the figure while the female eye searches for all-over patterns.
This work is for the female viewer.