1/19/2019 0 Comments Make it HappenI have an amazing friend who goes through life expecting that what she wants to happen will happen. For the most part it does. School, family, career, you name it; things fall into place to fit the way she wants them too. But it's not wave your wand say a magic word in quasi latin and poof there it is* magic. It takes hustle and planning and work. Sometimes it takes re-adjusting what she wants to fit in with things beyond her control because life often throws us a curve ball here and there to keep us on our toes. She makes it happen. She's magic and I'm forever grateful to have her in my life. Last year when there were a lot of "what ifs" and scary changes being juggled up in the air, I decided that I was going to take a page from her book. I looked, really really looked at what was going on with my career, my art and my family and decided what was important to me, what I wanted to make happen. Then I took up the Mantra; "It's going to all fall into place". Then I started to work for it. I updated my resume**. I researched the options of whereI could do what I love, looked up who to contact at these places and went to work. Things started to fall into place, mostly because of quantum.*** I hustled, I planned and I got to work, with a little help from my friends and family, because noone is an island. With all of that in place, oppurtunities started to present themselves. I took on a temporary teaching gig at Place Des Arts in Coquitlam. I began talks with the Pacific Autism Family Network about a teaching opportunity in a new program (JET) for adults with special needs and I started to hear back from some of the places I'd applied. It's not been super smooth sailing. there have been long periods of waiting, and adjustments and re-adjusting because of those life thrown curve balls. I've kept my mantra going. The thoughts we put out have energy, even if that energy only affects our own point of view. So I'm teaching one day a week so far with the JET program at PAFN with the option to add more days as the program grows. I'm doing an artist in residence two day workshop at a school in West Vancouver, I'm joining the Shadbold Centre in Burnaby to teach in my community for after school programs. I'm offering mini term sessions at Muckabout Gift Gallery and I'm booked for Spring Break camps and Summer Programing at Place Des Arts in Coquitlam. All these activities will be updated in Classes and workshops on this site as registration becomes available. And with all that I'm still hustling because you have to put the work in to make it happen. *Sometimes there's a little bit of that, because who doesn't enjoy a little magic in their life right? ** note to self, keep that sucker updated as you go from now on. trying to remember where and when I taught specific workshops and classes, showed art and volunteered after x number of years teaching, volunteering, and showing art is exhausting. *** I'm a full on believer in quantum.
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12/31/2017 0 Comments December 31st, 2017What a year. We're heading into new territory that looks suspiciously familiar. Just like every new year. I have resolutions and I am resolved that they may change. My main resolution is to be better in the coming year. A better artist, a better teacher, a better maker, a better mom, a better feminist, a better ally, a better environmentalist, a better neighbour, a better contributor to this blog. Not that I feel like I've not been good enough. It is more along the lines of moving forward, improving and learning. In case you've missed it I've started a new blog on this page in addition to this one. While this blog chronicals the lessons and my art instruction with a smattering of my own personal art making the new blog will be specifically for documenting the book making art practice and the way that it progresses and transforms through the year. The title: The Highest Form of Hope, references a quote about art made by the artist Gerhard Richter. It also defines succinctly how I feel headed into this new art practice venture. I am hopeful about where this journey will take me; how it might both stay the course and transform along the way. I hope you take the time to stop by to see how things are progressing, and comment and share if you see something you like. Our winter break has been full of family time. We spent the 25th with extended family, took in the in theatre screening of the Doctor Who Christmas Special (to say goodbye to the 12th Doctor and to welcome the 13th) and rode the ferry to Nanaimo to visit dear family friends in their new home. We look forward to a week of art making at Artspace and Muckabout Gift Gallery with more opportunity to see friends and family and enough food to last at least a week and a half with left overs. I wish you and yours much joy this holiday season. I hope that your celebrations were full of love and warmth. The last year was not an easy one for many people; I wish you a new year full of your own brand of being better, whatever it may be for you and your loved ones. HAPPY 2018! 11/8/2017 0 Comments From Top to Bottom and backTo follow up from my last post; every year around this time I take some time to reflect on the previous year and to look forward to what I want in the coming year. I've got my goal; creating a body of art work for exhibition. Setting the goal is easy. Execution on the other hand is daunting and involves a lot of work. As an art teacher I dabble a lot. I have a large tool box filled with art techniques and skills that I require so that I can pass those tools on to my students. They are handy to have for my own practice as well. I can approach a problem and reach a solution by using more than one direction. It's brilliant to use those skills and gratifying (it's one of the reasons that momentum art and creativity is so important in education). The down side (and I don't like to admit that there is a downside) is that all those skills and techniques can create a bit of creators block. I have a degree in Fine Art. I majored in photography but I am not a photographer. I have a background in Printmaking but I'm not a printmaker. I love to draw and paint but I am not a painter or an illustrator. I enjoy creating collage works and assemblage works but I am not a mixed media or sculptural artist. Contrary to all of those statements I am all of those things as well. I am an artist. I make art with photography, paint, assemblage, paper, pen, pencil and a few other media as well. I am an artist. I make art. So if I am an artist and I make art I must also have a voice. Something to say; to share with my audience. Just like with writing we require some guidelines, some learning, some limitations and some specifics. the one thing I didn't list above is that I love to make books. Over the course of the last year about half of my personal practice has revolved around journalling and bookmaking. While I was in art school I made my first book as a final project for a printmaking class. I had never made a book before. I had no knowledge of how to make a book beyond the single book offered in the college library and the final project did have some great intaglio prints on it's pages it was cumbersome and didn't open properly or lay flat. In my first year at Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design I took a bookmaking course with Author Celia King. It was a revelation. The class covered the basics of a number of book making styles and I created a number of great little art books. I loved making books. Loved it. it's been a part of my practice for some time and I often boundaries the notes for that class when creating. As much as I love it I've never made it the prime focus of my practice. It's a personality quirk of sorts. I will circle around the things I like on the edge for a time before fully revisit. Even though I have a passion for bookmaking, but bookmaking hasn't been a focus for my practice. I will be creating in an artist in residency program in the new year where the goal will be to create a body of art books for exhibition sometime n 2018 or 2019. It's a pretty daunting goal for me and when the idea presented itself I knew I had to jump at it; that I could do it but now how I would do it. Five years ago I would have backed away and delayed. Five years ago I didn't have some of the tools I currently tote around in my artist's toolbox; didn't have the organizational skills or the time to commit. In five years I've gained a little more time and have planned and executed hundreds of classes and workshops. Sitting down to plan how to meet my goal within a committing program is still daunting but totally doable and I have an idea of how to break things down in order to succeed. None of these steps are set in stone but they are a good place to start. 1. I will create a zine a week on any topic spending no more than 20 to 30 minutes on the creation during the scheduled studio time used for my residency. I will create a small run for free distribution. 2. I will practice making different book types, creating blank journal prototypes for finished art book works. 3. I will create collections of themed artworks in various media to be bound into final residency works. These will be exhibited in a gallery setting to be announced in the future. 4. I will teach 2 book making classes free to the public and 1 more intensive class that will have a registration fee. 5. I will spend three dedicated studio hours per week focused on the above goals as well as any extra time I find available. 6. I will document the progress and process of my work My residency program begins in the new year but I'll begin the steps listed above before then to get the learning going and keep it moving. Planning a project like this often requires that you start the project with the end in mind. I know what I need to accomplish. I have the steps down to get there. I also have a support system in the form of my peers and family to help keep me on track. |
Peanut
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