Studio Design: 38 Steps

After a wonderful open house where many friends came to help me celebrate the completion of my new studio, I wasn't sure I needed to continue writing posts about the place. But one of my sisters said of course I did. She wants to see how the space works, and how it doesn't work, and how I use the different stations I have set up. So here we go...

I am working to establish a routine which is a series of linked good habits.

At 8:30 a.m. I walk 38 steps from my office in the house to my studio.

Once the Back Yard Project is implemented it will be a pleasant walk through the garden to the front door of the Green Shed.

I open the door, turn on whichever bank of lights I need for the area I will be working in and I turn up the thermostat.

I switch from outside shoes to indoor shoes. The third pair belongs to a friend who I am hoping will drop by for tea some mornings.

From the front door I look up at the design wall at the work I put up last thing before I left for the day. I now look at the work with fresh eyes.

I sit at the desk to write in a journal what I plan to work on that day and to record what is on my mind.

I draw for a while (not timed). I am working on one of the books I made during the Dorothy Caldwell workshop. This slows me down so my sense of time is switched off and it makes me focus on one thing.

This is the view out of the window over the desk. It still looks like a construction site but we have great plans for it.

Circumnavigation: West Coast Vancouver Island

By the time we were on the west coast my knitting had grown much longer.

And I was working my way through the pile of stowed books. They included a few about and by Emily Carr because this was the country she traveled through and worked in.

Kerry Mason Dodd's book 'Sunlight in the Shadows. The Landscape of Emily Carr' is full of photographs of places Emily visited. It gave us clues as to where Emily visited and we were able to stop at a few of those places.

Emily Carr, Indian Church', 1927, oil on canvas, 108.6 x 68.9cm. Art Gallery fo Ontario.

photographed from Sharyn Rohlfsen Udall's 'Carr, O'Keeffe, Kahlo. Places of their Own.'

Emily Carr did sketches for this painting when she visited Friendly Cove, Nootka Island.

We anchored in Friendly Cove, puttered ashore and went in search of the church. We learnt from the resident warden that particular church burnt down in 1954. The above church was built as a replacement 2 years later on a new site further towards the point. It is now a museum for the local First Nations band's collection of artefacts.

Also in Friendly Cove is the Nootka Light Station.

Emily Carr sketched the light station buildings during a later visit, in 1929. 

I found this image in Doris Shadbolt's 'The Sketchbooks of Emily Carr. Seven Journeys.' 

Reading about Emily Carr, Georgia O'Keeffe and Frida Khalo, 3 artists with intense connections to nature and long attachments to specific places, helped me during the month at sea to look longer and deeper at the water, land and sky that is home and a source of inspiration for my work. As a result, I have a sketchbook of ideas to work with.

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.

Etsy Shop - Ravenmade Works

I have an Etsy shop, Ravenmade Works

Here is how I describe my shop.

Refreshed Artworks for the Home

The items in my shop are for people who want their home to be a living expression of themselves and a place where they are surrounded by things they love. 

Used domestic linens, discarded embroideries, worn garments and vintage fabric hold a past history. I recycle, rework and refresh these textiles adding another story or layer of meaning, while honouring the original makers whose handwork is often still evident. 

Customers who listen to their hearts when choosing home decor items create uniquely personal living spaces. As an artist producing small home decor items, I feel it is a privilege to play such an important role in my customers' lives.

I make collections of pillow covers, often using vintage ethnic and traditional textiles.

I collect wool embroideries, cut them apart then applique a variety of them together.

I take 2 different embroideries and weave them together.

These small works are framed and intended for the wall.

I add to my shop some of my smaller works that have been in exhibitions and have returned home.

This is the Micmac one from the 'Postcards From Fundy' series.

Please visit my Etsy Shop to see more works and to find out their background stories.

Etsy Shop Ravenmade Works

Lilaberry ArtSea Festival Artist Residency

I worked 8 days straight in my temporary studio next to the front window in Lilaberry Home Decor here. Fifty artists were working, demoing and displaying as one of Sidney's ArtSea Festival events. 

Lilaberry's lovely owner, Chris Stephen, sent me these pics she had been taking during the week.

My time was divided between sharing my work....

...and making the work. 

It was a most productive week on all fronts.

Many of Sidney's residents and visitors experienced an art encounter. The relationship between Sidney's business and arts communities was strengthened. My art practice benefited and I hope Lilaberry benefited too.

ArtSea Artist-in-Residence at Lilaberry, Sidney BC

I am spending 8 days working next to the front window of Lilaberry Home Decor here as part of the Artsea Festival. 

Lilaberry Home Decor is a fabulous shop owned by Chris Stephen. All stock is artfully staged to appeal to all senses. There is so much to see one can easily get lost in thought, possibilities and wonderings.

During the 2 weeks of the festival over 50 artists are demonstrating, showing their work and giving talks in the retail area of Sidney-by-the-Sea.

I am working 10:30 to 5:30 every day in my mini studio.

It took several days to get this work set up so I would be able to work on it in the space.

I am needle-weaving into burlap in layers: torn fabric strips, thicker yarns, finer yarns, threads. There are 3 panels in this work which provides me with more than enough work for the week.

I get to talk to lots of the customers about my work.

The festival works to get the public closer to the arts and it helps to build the relationship between the business community and the arts community in the town.

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

Sun Printing With Setacolor

The conditions were right: no wind, sunny, fresh leaves falling fast.

It was the right time to sun-print.

I lay an old door on the grass and covered it with plastic.

I had a collection of leaves I had picked up on my morning walk.

Three Setacolor transparent greens were mixed and thinned with water.

I laid a wet bed sheet down on the plastic and painted it.

Next the leaves were placed on the wet paint....

...and left for the sun to do its work.

Name on the bed sheet.

I like to think Maude is happy with what has been done to her bed sheet.

Body of Work: 'Succession'

'Succession'

96"h x 60"w x 36"d / 244 cm h x 152 cm w x 92 cm d. Materials: cotton, wool, polyester, nylon, wood. Techniques: strip piecing, couching, knitting. Photographer: Tony Bounsall.

'Succession', detail. Photographer: Tony Bounsall.

The well-being of an ecosystem depends on an unbroken cycle of organic processes. This work is knit with a continuous length of yarn made from  textiles usually found in the home. The work can be viewed as a tree, a forest or a web of living organisms - human and botanical.

'Succession', detail. Photographer: Tony Bounsall.

The red is the dark forest floor and red blood cells. Complimentary green is the forest canopy and chlorophyll cells. The shape and structure of both types of cells are the same, which vividly illustrates our intimate human connection with the natural world. 

The Process

A length of cotton cord was covered with strip pieced and couched domestic textiles.

The Process

The ends of the covered cord were joined forming an unbroken circle.

Using large-sized cardboard 'needles', the 'yarn' was knit into a web-like fabric.

The fabric can be continually unraveled from the top with the resulting cord wound into a ball to feed the continual action of knitting from the bottom.

Articulation Study Session in Victoria - Day 3

Articulation members at work; Lesley Turner, Donna Clement, Ingrid Lincoln, Leann Clifford, in the inner harbour. The Empress Hotel is in the background.

First appointment was a morning visit to the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria http://aggv.ca/ to see 'Kimono: Japanese Culture in its Art Form' with many magnificent kimonos revealing the complex codes and etiquette of garments in Japanese culture. Articulation member Shannon Wardroper shared some of her extensive knowledge of Japanese culture to give others a better understanding of the exhibits.

A 2nd exhibit 'From Geisha to Diva: The Kimomo of Ichimara'  is a collection of personal effects of one of the most famous geishas, Ichimara. 

Next were visits to the Fort street auction houses Lunds http://lunds.com/ and Kilshaws http://www.kilshaws.com/ to see if there were any maritime history artifacts that may be useful to acquire. There were none this week but it was fun looking.

There was a long wait in the line-up to get into the popular Blue Fox for a late lunch.

Next was a visit to the Royal BC Museum to see the current 'Vikings' exhibition and a search through the museum's other rooms for maritime history-related displays (no cameras allowed).

The Victoria International Chalk Art Festival is on. A large chalk drawing is being made on the floor of the museum. The distorted perspective makes it look 3D.

A walk back along the inner harbour, past the Empress hotel...

...and a variety of street theatre acts.

SALTS sail boats (floating schools) in the setting sun with the Robert Bateman Museum (Originally the Steamship Company building) next to the legislature buildings, across the harbour.

It was a day focused on getting a deeper understanding of the importance of the sea in the development of Victoria from a shallow place to pull up a canoe to an urban centre.