Try again

Opps, I think I uploaded just one still. Hopefully this second attempt is the whole video.

Nope, it doesn't work. I'll have to play around some more.

In the meantime, I must get back to my Opus work. I am reading about whether there is a way of seeing the world that is inherently male or female. A big question. I know there are differences so I am looking into recent scientific research on the topic of differences between the male and the female brain. If I can't find anything convincing then maybe the differences are cultural.

African art and Picasso

Kwele initiation mask, Congo

With my Opus BA studies I have been looking at how African art...

...inspired Picasso. This is a detail from Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907), a painting so daring it even shocked the other avant-garde artists hanging out in Paris at the time.

Gunther von Hagen's Bodyworlds Exibition, Edmonton, Alberta

We drove up to Edmonton for Thanksgiving with family. While there we took in Gunther von Hagen's Bodyworlds exhibition, http://www.bodyworlds.com/ . Over the last weekend the Science Centre was open 24/7 to cope with the crowd of people wanting to see it. Along with the many other procrastinators we lined up and filed in at 10:45 p.m and emerged nearly 3 hours later in a state of awe.

The atmosphere created by the gentle, murmuring, moving, packed in spectators was an experience in itself. The only other time I have experienced such a hushed reverence combined with a vibrating static in the air was when I filed past Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party.Having spent the summer wrestling with drawing the human body, I was totally absorbed and fascinated by what I saw. I came away with an even greater admiration for artists who can capture the complexity of the human form in a drawing.
The above image is of a rabbit but only its blood vessels. Red plastic was pumped through its entire blood system. Once this plastic hardened, all its organs, tissues, bones etc were removed, leaving the blood system in tact.
If I am ever again anywhere near a Bodyworlds exhibition I will certainly visit it again.

Middle Class Regency Women

Today I got together a power point presentation in preparation for a talk I am giving to the Calgary Guild of Needle and Fibre Arts, my local embroidery guild. I am going to share with them the research I did for an Opus module where I looked into the interests and activities of middle class women during the English Regency period (1800-1830).

I found it to be a fascinating time for women. For example, it was one of the few times in history women wore clothing that didn't distort or contort their bodies into unnatural shapes. They had a freedom of movement which allowed them to lead active lives and to follow their interests.

Earth From Above

In a past life I studied landforms, Geomorphology, then taught Geography. Even though I have done many more things since those days the shapes of the earth still fascinate me. I love to travel so I can observe humans interacting with their environments. When I can't travel I go to movies to look at the scenery, I go to photographic exhibitions and I examine glossy photographs in coffee-table books. One of my favourite photographers, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, is bringing his large scale work to North America. Take a peek at this website to see some samples of his work.


Earth From Above comes to NYC - The Big Picture - Boston.com

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Eroticism and the Body in Art

Today, for my Opus studies, I compared these 2 works of art in my answer to the question...

Is the body in art always eroticised, if so why? To answer the question I have done lots of reading on the history of psychoanalysis, gender issues and 'the gaze'. All very interesting stuff.

Flowers & Snow

When I was in the Rockies at Lake Louise a couple of weeks ago I was attracted to the faded colours of this late summer border planting.

We went into the Louise Railway Station restaurant for lunch. When we came out the flowers were covered in snow. I was too busy running to the car park to stop & get a picture of them in their changed state. We are always warned about the changeable weather in the mountains but I didn't expect the seasons to change from summer to fall while having lunch.

The Odalisque & Bathing

I have been studying images of nude women all week for my new Opus module. It is very interesting to read different people's opinions as to why nude women were featured so often in art.

Two of the most interesting views are in the book 'Women and Art contested Territory' by Judy Chicago & Edward Lucie-Smith. As one would expect, Judy hates these 'masterpieces'.

Hiking in the Rockies

I went for a hike up Paradise Valley in the Rockies this weekend. It was spectacular with the larches turning. BUT, I forgot my camera!

So I am showing you images from a hike I took a couple of weeks ago. There were fresh mushrooms, toadstools and many other types of fungi lining the trail. They were so fresh, dewy & shiny they looked as though they had all emerged overnight. They are great inspiration for future fibre art work.

Opus BA Studies

I have been so busy these past 2 weeks finishing up the summer module of work for the Opus BA course I am doing. This afternoon I put everything in a box and sent it on its way to the UK to be assessed. What a relief. It was a challenging module, all about learning to draw the human figure to express personal ideas.
This is an image of a quick stitch sample I worked up for 1 of the assignments where I explored mothers & roses.
It is already 2 weeks into the new semester so I now must focus on a new module of work.

Canadian Prairies Study

We, Articulation, went to the prairies in August to catch the harvesting of the crop. We saw the high tech modern way...

...where some famers use GPS as they move around vast fields.

We visited a restored historic farm, W R Motherwell Homestead, to see how it was done in the late 1800s.

Prairie Architecture

This is what comes to mind when one thinks of unique Canadian prairie architecture.

The wooden grain elevator standing as a sentinel for its town.

But there is a new sight on the horizon.

Mammoth 'inland terminals'.

Farm Study

We (Articulation -the fibre arts group) had an amazing time this year (each year we go somewhere special together) ...

...out on the Saskatchewan prairies during harvest time.

Over the week, our host, Leann Clifford, a farm girl herself, kept us busy from dawn 'til dusk exploring all things unique, interesting & exciting to be found in the Land of Living Skies.
Each of us now has full flash cards, bulging sketchbooks, grain samples & an armful of brochures to work with to produce a body of work.
Thanks Leann for a wonderful, unforgetable week,

End of Summer

I have just got back from my summer holidays -time out on the magnificent Canadian Prairies and time in the Gulf Islands & Strait of Georgia between Vancouver Island & the mainland of British Columbia. I'm still unpacking and catching up on life and need to put in many hours to complete the summer semester of my Opus module which is due in England soon.
It was 3 degrees this morning so it really does feel as though summer is over. Now for my favourite season.

Artawearness IIX Again

I found all of the students' work so thought provoking so I am sharing with you some more images of this year's performance.
A big part of my Opus studies is sketchbooks. I am learning to develop my ideas visually and to record the process on paper which acts as steps towards realising them in textiles. This entry in the performance is by a 4th year drawing student, Jennifer Crighton.

Jennifer has literally brought to life drawings from a sketchbook. One of the interesting things about how these 'creatures' came about is they are a result of 'shared drawings' by a group of her fellow students at ACAD.

Students with 'individually diverse' practices are able to communicate through a sketchbook what fills their imaginations. This collaboration illustrates to me how well ACAD students' creativity & talents are developed at the school.
To quote that now famous quote,
"I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution." Albert Einstein
This is the message in the movie 'The Diving Bell & the Butterfly' and it adds memories to the mix.