All Beings Confluence - Martha Cole's Community Project in Victoria

Martha Cole, a Saskatchewan fibre artist, has brought her monumental community art project to Victoria for the first time. You can see it in the Cadboro Bay United Church until May.

"All Beings Confluence is a community-based, interactive project that was directly inspired by Carolyn McDade, a composer, social activist and environmentalist whose music has sustained and nourished many over the decades."

The opening reception at Cadboro Bay United Church was a moving experience. One could walk around and through the many panels while listening to music, singing and poetry readings.

Martha explained how the project came about and how she came to bring it to Victoria.

Next stop is Parksville, Vancouver Island.

When Martha arrives in a community she runs a workshop where people work on long sheer panels each depicting one being found on our planet. These panels are then hung together with previously made panels creating paths and a changing kaleidoscope of views through transparent layers.

Here is the website to learn more.

George Town, Penang, Street Art, Malaysia

'Marking George Town started off as a competition initiated by the Penang State Government to physically brand George Town as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2009, an international competition was held aimed at exploring innovative ideas in art and design for public spaces in George Town.'

Cannon Hole

A canon shot fired during the 1867 Penang Riots made a large hole in this area, hence the name. Location: Lebuh Cannon.

'Out of the 40 entries within the country and from abroad, sculptured work triumphed with its design concept of 'voices from the people'.

Bullock Cart Wheel

In the days when your money could be as "big as a bullock cart wheel", this was a popular rest stop for limousines of the time. Location: Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling.

'Subsequently, 52 unique and humorous illustrations in the form of iron rod sculptures were installed against the city's building walls.'

Double Role Fire! Fire!

'Up until 1909, the police doubled as George Town's firefighters. Location: Gat Lebuh Chulia.'

The fire hose attached to the wall has been incorporated into the understanding of the sculpture.

Quiet Please

'To the dismay of parishioners of the Portuguese church there, Church Street also housed the headquarters of the notorious Ghee Hin secret society. Location: Lebuh Gereja.'

In the hot humid equatorial climate the steel sculptures are aging well and can still be seen clearly while the walls age and develop an attractive patina.

Roti Benggali. Kulit asing?

'Roti Benggali came from the word, 'Penggali' (shareholder' in Tamil). Location: Lebuh King.'

The humour and style remind me of the work of the famous Malaysian cartoonist Lat.

Cheating Husband

Location: Love Lane.

Shadows cast by the art on to the walls at different times of the day add a changing dimension to the works.

High Counter

'The counter of the pawnshop is typically higher for security. Location: Lebuh Camarvon.'

Boy on Chair

'In the George Town Festival 2012, Earnest Zacharevic was commissioned to paint a few murals...Since then, a few other artists have also contributed to the current street art popularity in George Town.'

These murals are popular photo opportunities with people participating making it a tableau vivant, a living picture. 

Old Motorcycle

Location: Lebuh Ah Quee.

Like the chair in the previous mural, the actual motorcycle is real. The art work is titled after the motorcycle but it is the boy that has been painted.

We stayed in the Spices Hotel, an award winning renovated building. A guest, a Russian woman, painted this 2 story mural on the wall beside the stairs up to the second floor

She also painted a portrait of this well known 'street' person. She chose to tuck her under the roots of an ancient tree that has become part of the wall.

Bruce Lee

Location: Lebuh Ah Quee

The picturesque decaying walls are so much part of each mural.

Elizabeth stands beside a mural. I couldn't find out anything about this one. It is just one of so many waiting to be discovered down narrow lanes, on pillars and high up on walls.

There was also more graphic art work.

The work on the left could be considered graffiti in style and purpose.

Sebastian waited by this wall art to make sure I didn't miss it as I tried to take photographs and keep up with the family group.

There is so much to see and do and explore in George Town, all within walking distance.

Each day I had to pick a theme or 2 to focus on otherwise I would have been in a constant state of sensory overload. What a wonderful place.

'Small Expressions' Opens in Tulista Gallery, Sidney BC

The Community Arts Council of Saanich Peninsula is hosting its annual 'Small Expressions' exhibition in the Community Arts Centre at Tulista Park, Sidney BC, March 4 - 30, Tuesdays to Sundays, 10:00 to 4:00 pm.

A team of us spent 9 hours the first-day accepting work and hanging the show.

One of the challenges with hanging the show is all of the works are small. 

Artists were challenged to work within a 12" x 12" x 12" framework. This is not always easy when one is used to expressing ideas in a much larger format.

It is interesting to see how many of the artists take the opportunity to explore a new technique or medium. They take more risks and they make discoveries. I wonder if for some this Small Expressions exhibition works as a catalyst or a jumping off point to head in a new direction.

When planning the hanging we had to forget about going for contrast in size and focus more on themes, colour contrasts and compatibility and how different works influenced each other. 

With all the works being small we hung them close together and in groupings ensuring each work sit comfortably with the others.

That is why it took 9 hours the first day and more hours the next day to straighten, adjust, fine tune, tweak, and add labels. I wasn't able to help the second day because I was out at Sooke hanging the VISDA 'Current Threads: Garden Tapestry' exhibition I posted about here 

One of this exhibition's charms is how it makes the viewer  physically get up close to the works. Each work enters the viewer's personal space creating a feeling of intimacy. Having to look at one work at a time slows the viewer down and encourages contemplation. Long distant scanning of the walls is unsatisfying. There is an absence of the usual back-and-forward dance in front of the wall. Instead, the viewer moves along the wall with their nose nearly touching the works.

Jane Davies' 'Big Fat Art' Workshop

I attended a Jane Davies' 'Big Fat Art Workshop, Jane's Blog.

We did many 'technique' exercises working quickly on large sheets of inexpensive paper.

It was all about layers using many different media and working quickly to stop over thinking it.

A sampler recording how to block out large shapes with different edges.

An exercise in breaking all the design rules. Every added element had to be different in shape, colour, placement etc.

I have never been shown how to work properly with acrylics but this didn't stop me.

I made some ugly pieces but learnt a lot doing each exercise.

We all worked hard and fast and it was very freeing.

Thanks Jane for a great workshop.

Dorothy Caldwell: Book Making - Putting it all Together

Dorothy showed us many other methods for making our mark on fabric and paper. She also showed us many examples of what others had done in the past and what contemporary artists are currently working on. 

 We were left to continue exploring the methods we liked.

Then is was time to start thinking about how various elements and pages could go together.

Cleverly Dorothy got us to use the sheet of paper we had been working on top of to make a practice book with a woven spine binding. I was delighted I am a messy worker because I have lots of random marks in the pages of my book.

Another book involved folding and cutting up the large piece of paper we marked with ink while outside. This book was such fun to make. It now awaits embellishment, or not.

After the practice books, we worked in earnest on assembling our main book. Dorothy sat with each of us while we showed her our marked pages and she offered advice, suggestions and help that kept us going until the end of the week.

The last activity involved everyone sharing their books.

Such a wonderful workshop.

Thank you, Dorothy.

Studio Construction:The Finishing Coming and Going Begins

I claimed my space by placing a table and 2 chairs on the porch.

Dave has been working on the outside staircase. It is made from big chunks of Western Red cedar that will resist rot without needing any finishing or sealing. The wood will fade to a soft mottled gray.

The metal treads allow litter from the tree canopy and rain to fall through to the ground below to keep the soil alive. It will also allow shoe grit to drop before I walk into the crawlspace - a good thing because I'm not looking to cleaning the floor more than is necessary. I have other work to do.

The finishing carpenter, Mike, has been working on the window sills. They now have to be filled and sanded then the painter moves in.

The cabinet makers, South Shore Cabinetry, dropped off the built-in cabinets.

They look like big Lego blocks waiting to be put together. 

Now the plumber needs to come in to install the sink pipes then the cabinet maker can install these cabinets.

The construction is at the stage where people come and do a specific task then leave. Then the next trade is able to come in and do their next task which then means the next trade can come in. It is taking a lot of coordination by a number of people to do it all in a timely fashion, namely Ron, the general contractor Aaron Yager and Dave the lead carpenter. They are doing a good job. There is progress most days keeping the whole project moving forward.

Studio Construction: Finishing the Walls

Cameron on Stilts

At the end of the clip, you can hear Cameron ask me if I have been waiting for him to use his stilts. I answered "Yes, I had been waiting all morning to catch him in action on them".

Jordan and Cameron are tapers. They are doing an excellent job on the walls. They taped the joins, trowelled on wet plaster mud then left to wait for the plaster to dry. When they returned they sanded the plaster to a smooth finish.

Cameron holds a strong light at different angles while he sands so he can see any imperfections in the plaster.

Next, Marshall, the painter arrived. He wasn't long putting the first coat on every surface.

Everyone has done such a good job the walls and ceiling are perfect.

Initially, I looked into alternative finishes for the interior but drywall and paint have lots going for them. Drywall has high resistance to mold if kept dry. It has a high fire resistance rating, provides rigidity to the wall and its acoustic rating is OK. It is relatively inexpensive and can be easily repaired. When it is plastered and sanded to a smooth finish then painted in a light colour it is a highly reflective surface. In my working area, I need to have even light without distorting shadows. I want to make the most of the light coming in the windows and the walls reflection of that light so the minimum amount of electrical lighting needs to be installed to do the job.

Time for me to do another vacuum.