Reflection/Reflection

Bryan says I'm a workaholic - perhaps it's true. I have a habit of over committing, I have the best intentions, life just gets in the way sometimes and things always tend to take longer than you'd think.

Space In Between

I had hoped that this summer I would be able to create a new piece each week for my series "within every fibre" currently on display at the Flying Apron Inn & Cookery in Summerville (the other Summerville, just a little further down the Avon River, along Highway 215).

My challenge to myself was to work looser; I've really gotten absorbed in the details lately and I wanted to try and simplify. Didn't quite work out :)

I took a little longer with "Familiar Face" than expected... like 3 weeks. There were just so many layers and I wanted the final effect to be subtle, but I didn't want to lose the contrast in the cliffs and banks. I had to put it aside for a few days here and there so that I wouldn't chance over working it... and then we had our museum audit at work and all life stood still for a few days. It may be a few weeks late, but I'm pretty happy with the end result.

Familiar Face

I had been planning a feltscape of Cheverie beach next, but then I received an invite from the Wolfville Memorial Library to show there this November. Last summer I began a series (best intentions) that was centered around my time living in Wolfville when I was 3 and 4 years old. I have many intense memories from that period and realize now that I suffered a great deal of disappointment in my early years, which eventually led to me developing a shell to inhibit excitement. With this collection I wanted to capture that moment of anticipation prior to my eternal disappointment. Conversation with Snow White is a prime example of this. I unearthed many memories planning this series, I'm happy to have the opportunity to work them out in fibre.

I love when my art is revealed to me like a puzzle... when I began working on "within every fibre" I soon discovered it was going to be a series on reflection; reflection of the river and reflection of myself.

I Believe I Can Fly         

Now that I've been given a chance for a re-do I've decided to explore more of my childhood memories between capturing my favourite sites along the Avon River.

My latest memory involves my first kitty, Fluffy. I only had the pleasure of knowing Fluffy for a few weeks, but he certainly made an impression. Fluffy was a wild little critter who thought he was invincible. Fluffy was my first love, a love that was cut short. My father found Fluffy along the curb just outside our house and buried him in the wee patch of grass along the side of the road. Every time we went out I would look and try to figure out where he was buried, so I could say a silent hello in my head. Luckily we didn't live in the house very long, we were in Port Williams a season or two later.

A few years ago my dad joined Bryan and I and several of our friends for a viewing of a Led Zeppelin concert at the theater in Wolfville. Afterwards we went to my friend Eric's house for an evening of conversation, as we pulled out of the driveway to head back home my father exclaimed "hey, that was my house!"

Life is so interesting, happy to know that I can say hi to Fluffy whenever I stop by to visit Eric.

Fibre Art Workshops at Argyle Fine Art

Forbidden Love, the making of...

You have to be patient when you are working with fibre. Things need to happen in a  certain order, one layer at a time, and although many may think that needle felting is quick and easy, it certainly is not if you want a piece that will hold up over the test of time.

 

 

When I started this piece I only had one thing in mind.... Cat Person/Dog Person - it needed to have at least one cat and one dog depicted in it, otherwise, I didn't have a sweet clue as to what the scene was going to be.

 

I approach all my feltscapes as if I'm building the earth from scratch.... first there's the sky, then some land... don't forget to include the atmosphere... you need that before the plants can grow! Even though I try to go with the flow and let the scene reveal itself, I need to think ahead a wee bit and decide a few things, like what kind of day is it going to be, sunny or overcast...

 

 

 

I'm all about the detail when I'm felting little homesteads. I imagine myself walking around the property deciding where to plant my favourite flowers. Each and every single house gets wild roses. That's just the way it goes!

 

 

The neighbours new house just wasn't working for me...

 

...so I added an addition!

 

 

Still needs more roses!

 

 

With the houses nearly complete it was time to add a wee collie, I took my inspiration from one of my favourite Avon perfume bottles. Not the first time an Avon bottle served as inspiration for a feltscape.

 

 

 

This guy has some attitude!

 

 

I always make sure to test the feltscape out by low light to make sure it still reads ok.

 

 

Now that I'm pretty much sure it's complete the entire piece gets a misting and is ready to be pressed.

 
 

 

After some last minute shadows my tabby is complete...

 

 

...and pup looks a little less cranky :)

 

Forbidden Love is now finished and ready to make it's way into Halifax for the opening of Cat Person/Dog Person at Argyle Fine Art next Saturday, February 28th, at 1:30pm.

If you are in the area be sure to come on by and check out all the wonderful pieces inspired by our common love for our furry friends!

 

Argyle Fine Art

 

1559 Barrington Street
Halifax, NS
B3J 1Z7
902-425-9456

 

 

Hours:
Tues - Sat, 10am - 5:30
Sunday and Monday by appointment only

Inspired

I keep floating back and forth between big and little feltscapes... when the big one gets a little over whelming I take a day off and start something small.

This week I've been incredibly productive. Last Saturday I woke up and went to work on adding the finishing touches to my last piece for the Hants County Arts Council's Annual Group Showcase at the Bread Gallery in Brooklyn. This was our first time hosting an opening in the afternoon and I think it's safe to say it was very successful with many new and familiar faces attending the opening.

For me the highlight of the afternoon was receiving a giant shopping bag of wool from fellow fibre artist Rose Marie MacDonald. 

Did I mention I had mistaken the deadline for the Swoon group show and it was also February the 15th... so not only did I wake up felting, I finished out the weekend hooking (Brandt the sweetheart gave me a days extension). 

I don't think it was even 4 hours before I finally had the chance to go through Marie's bag of goodies. Within a few minutes of exploring I was back at it, completely inspired to make use of my new found fibre bounty!
 

Mister checking out my new bag of loot from Marie!

Since I was quite low on many a shade of roving (almost out of blues entirely) I decided to make use of what I did have - black and a lovely lapis lazuli blend by the Uber Wench.

I experimented by starting with the shadows and slowly built up my night sky. I have a habit of starting a piece by working upside down and putting my sky in on the bottom, and then eventually I flip it. I wasn't long into this piece before I decided not to flip my canvas and my dark sky became a wild ocean.

At one point I was going to add white caps but I resisted, and Bryan kept me from adding a fish. With every piece I create I like to live with it for a little while. As I got used to my fishing boat I decided to get past my urge for white caps and giant jumping fish and I made a little "Big Tuna".

The last few days I've been working on a feltscape inspired by the latest handbill for the Bread Gallery, also a Carol Morrison original. Hopefully my 3-D wall hanging will be a fitting tribute to this beauty! This piece will no doubt make an appearance at the 16th annual Great Little Art Show, May 9th - 11th, at the Avon River Heritage Society Museum in Newport Landing, NS.



This showcase features work by myself, Carol Morrison, G. A. Jank
and nearly 20 other members of the Hants County Arts Council.

 

Getting ready to stitch on the foreground of my latest 3-D feltscape ,
inspired once again by the plien air paintings of Carol Morrison.

 

Sometime I just need to sit beside the piece in low light
and map out where I'm going to put the next layers

I'll keep you posted on my progress...

Two openings in one day!

I wish I could have been in two places at once yesterday, but I put on my President hat and attended the opening of the Hants County Art Council's 3rd annual group showcase at the Bread Gallery in Brooklyn. This was our biggest show at the Bread Gallery to date, with 21 of our members participating. The variety of work was impressive, with bright colours being a common theme - a perfect compliment to the blahs of winter.

 

Meanwhile in Halifax it looks like I missed a heck of an opening at Argyle Fine Art. With dog being featured upstairs and cats down stairs "Cat Person. Dog Person. Which are you?" brought many a two legged and 4 legged art lover to the gallery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cat Person. Dog Person continues until March 4th and the HCAC Group Showcase continues until March 30th.

 

 

 

 

"Our own little piece of Heaven" on display at the Bread Gallery in Brooklyn

"A Day at the Beach" on display at Argyle Fine Art in  Halifax

 

Some of my Woodland Wool creations on display at the Bread Gallery


 

 

 

A Part of the Scenery

Home is where the ART is!

Over the River and Through the Woods

I'm happy to announce that I will be once again taking part in the Avon River Heritage Societies 'Great Little Art Show' in Newport Landing.

For their 15^th year, the ARHS is expanding the show's organization to include the Hants County Arts Council. We are thrilled to be working together and we've adopted a theme for this year’s show, “Home is where the ART is”.

The Great Little Art Show is a major attraction in the community and is a significant fundraiser for the Avon River Heritage Museum. It is known as the area’s flagship show fostering local art talent of all ages, right here at home. This year this will truly be the case with the début of our children’s art show, “The Great Little Youth Show” showcasing art from local youth under the age of 16, giving rise to a new generation of artists.

Newport Landing resident Jenny Mitson runs “Little Pumpkins” Daycare and is a pediatric nurse at the IWK. “I am so happy the museum is taking an opportunity to showcase local children's art work,” says Mitson. ”I feel very passionate about encouraging children to express themselves through art using what ever medium they choose allowing them to expose their individual uniqueness. Art is a huge self-esteem builder in a world that can be constricting for our children.”

The opening is Friday, April 26th, 7:00pm to 9:00pm with a wine and cheese reception and an opening presentation by Laurie Dalton.  

Laurie is the Director/Curator of the Acadia University Art Gallery and Adjunct Art Historian in the Department of History & Classics. Her curatorial work emphasizes the role of university galleries as part of the critical academic space of a university, bringing in exhibitions of both contemporary and historical work that promote visual literacy. Her research interests lie in Canadian visual culture, heritage and exhibition history, in particular how meaning is a process of display, didactics and audience exchange.

Viewing times throughout the weekend are:

Saturday, April 27th, 10am - 5:00pm

Sunday, April 28th, 11am - 3:00pm

For more information, contact Heather Desveaux, ARHS (902) 757-1933

www.avonriver.ca

Swooning over Winter!

So far 2013 has been keeping my hands incredibly busy! After the hectic holiday craft season and months of hooking trivets and cozies and felting hundreds of critters - I needed a break! 

You'd think I'd take on something that might be a little easier on my hands.... they had gotten a little angry after a few months of non-stop production... but no, I took on a few projects that required even more concentration and detailed handiwork. Oh well, that's my life!
 

Early in January I noticed that Swoon had put out a call to artists for a winter landscape themed group show and I decided to take on the challenge and create a snowy seascape. 

I'm happy to announce that my piece has been selected to appear along side the works of 40 other talented Nova Scotian artists. With an opening reception February 9th from 2-5pm, this show runs until March 2nd. 

For those unfamiliar with Swoon - Fine Art, Antiques & Fashion it is a commercial art gallery and antique shop located in a two-storey, 9-room Victorian farmhouse, just outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Established in October, 2010, Swoon mainly features the work of professional Nova Scotia artists, craftspeople and designers.  

The gallery presents new solo and group shows monthly throughout the year. Media include painting, sculpture, ceramics, jewellery and textiles. Swoon also houses a fashion boutique, a folk art gallery and a gallery devoted to Nova Scotian Pottery. Antiques, collectibles and oddities are featured throughout, including a room with a large collection of vintage salt and pepper shakers - how exciting is that!

To top it all off they also have a pretty nifty website with an excellent online inventory. So if you happen to not be one of the lucky ones living in Nova Scotia - well not to worry - Swoon has it all right there to view online and will be posting images from Winterscene in the weeks following the opening. You can check it all out here at www.swoonfineart.com
or on their facebook page !