Oh September

-Monday, September 5: flew to Kelowna BC, drove to Nelson, stayed up for 24 hours as far as time zones and being awake were concerned.

-Orientation at Selkirk College/ in the KSA Fibre program. Classes started out slow, but we are finally getting our first major projects this upcoming week. Got credit for drawing from my BFA.

-I have learned how to use acid dyes, starting to make dye combinations, measure out wool, create a ball from yarn, what kinds of wool there are, how to create felt from wool, 3D felting. I have done two classes of design, very good practice there, and craft history.

-Art is as common as air here, there are people who make a living here off of it. I find that to be a bit of a shock (in a good sense) as Corner Brook didn't have that mind set. There's a much stronger sense of a community in that things are more home produced, and the town doesn't allow big corporations to set up here (examples would be Tim Hortons, McDs, etc).

-Craft fairs every weekend, spring/summer/fall. A support base, people who understand art and are interested in being a part of it.

-Fresh air, lots of greenery, lots of trees. A value on those spaces and on the environment.

-A diverse area, of races, accents, tastes; there is always an option of choice for the vegan/vegetarian. This is more than one place for vegetarian food.

So all that's missing are the friends/family from the other side of the country- you've got to visit this place ^_^

East Meets West!

On thursday, July 21, East Meets West began in Corner Brook. I did more 'chalk walk' along west street, and got a lot of comments (mostly positive! did have the semi-neutral question of if I had permission, to which I replied it is a sidewalk~ no?) and people in general seemed to like it. I even got a participant, many years younger than I.

Lazer show in the pouring rain! Started late, and it was ok- probably because the mood was dampened :)

7Minutes7Days 3 was delayed due to tech. issues, will hopefully resume sunday night :)

Ah, and the Art at the Church show (50 to artist 50 to church in sales) started thursday going through to sunday. I have some pieces in it, and there is some very nice work by Jackie Alcock, Hilary Rice, Vadim Vaskovsky, Mary Keefe, Anne LeMessurier Pinsent, and many others. So go down and see it!

The exhibition in Germany with Stockpile called 3. Internationales Digitalisiertes Filmfestival happened on July 9th-10th. One of ten others, I submitted a short video called 'found performance spaces'. There should be some information up soon on: http://stockpilegroup.wordpress.com/

Corner Brook's Pride parade happened on July 16/ I went down a bit early and did 'chalk walk' along the route they planned to walk down. Later that night another Stockpile artist, Gerri Lynn Mackey, did a music performance with a tuba.



For a slow start, not too bad so far ^_^ This friday is 7 Minutes 7 Days number 3, and next month is the annual Full Tilt exhibition/performance!

Mayday!

So goes this update:
-the woodblock/zinc plate carving is coming along, and I will be ready to start test printing soon.

-been thinking of collaborative performance pieces such as Happenstance: Text, that I would love to do again but I really need 10+ people. Other things on my mind have been continuing chalk/walk and creating a performance/exhibition space that can be temporary or semi-permanent.

-I am planning on doing a couple of separate performances for myself- one is more costume based, the other involves props made of fabric.

What else? There's lots of stuff with Stockpile upcoming, and also getting the last few costumes finished for cosplay. I'm painting the claw hand for Vincent, still working on finishing the arm and boot armor- then it's test out the entire thing so far and maybe make the gun prop. I need to finish the undershirt and headphones for Gakupo, and I've been asked to do a remake of Link, and some black pants ^_^ And I still have to begin making Kaito. So, lots to do on that subject while the art is in progress.

as promised...

Here is my woodblock that I have yet to carve. Still haven't got at it, but I will!

Gaara gourd, travel version ^_~

Vincent Valentine cloak update- I need to put a second layer of sliver fabric paint on it to make it more dimensional, then I might burn the edges of the fabric at the back where the cloak tatters.

Gakupo for Vocaloid- still a bit of work to do on this one, but not as much as Vincent @_@

And I drew words and pictures in the snow one night- I got bored and went out, there was all this fresh snow- just got inspired.



So far I've only been at the cosplay side of things, but I've recently done some short video takes of me and the cats. I suppose this will make its way into a Stockpile video at some point. I discovered my old 4yr costume for 'Introspective' (minus the cloak) and found it works very well for performance in general. Could be that it's just simple black and baggy sleeves ^_^ So I wore it and played 'catch the string'.


Here's a few more things: been wondering about my career in an artistic field- if fabric is the way to go or if I will do a master's someday. I still have no answer, just tons of pathways to possible outcomes- I feel like it's an impossible goal but it has to be achieved.

Been reading and watching a lot about the upcoming Canada election. Got inspired and made paper buttons to put on my backpack. There's no way the one I'm voting for will win, but I want to see how many others choose the same. I don't think this is the place to talk about politics, so I won't go any further on that... Maybe I'll make some art about it and then talk, haha!

Well this blog has been a bit too full of text recently, so here's some of my art. It's all within a past year to present time frame, so it's a good indication of what I'm currently doing. I've been wanting to start selling/making some clothing for people- finally I feel as if I can do a solid job (example/ like making finished seams, linings, simple belts, original design, etc). I am thinking that book art is another way to go; there's still so much to explore with it!








See anything you like?

In the meantime, Stockpile is slowing beginning to unwind from a dormant winter, and I'm focused on saving money for KSA in Sept. Ah, but the day job takes up so much time; I managed to make it through 93 hours of work in the last two weeks, phew! No wonder I feel slightly tired ^_^

Updates on prints: the woodblock print is planned out and drawn, just need to cut it out and do a test run. The plates need test runs, and more etching, I'm hoping I can do that here at home and not have to go up to the school for the press :( I'm not worried about the woodblock so much, as I can do that without any equipment other than my carving tools. I'll be sure to post some in progress pics this month!

marching along

I went to visit a local textiles artist~ Hilary Rice~ a while back, and she does amazing embellishment work using (among other things!) quilting tech. and fabric transformation. We agreed that she wasn't a quilter but an artist- for an artist can use any amount of skills from any source in order to create their work. Just because it looks like a quilt doesn't put the creator in a 4x4 box! She's having upcoming solo shows in BC and ON, and is currently finishing a piece for one. A lot of what she showed me I saw could be applied to a costume- there's fabric that can turn into scales for instance! It was amazing to say the least ^_^

[Her website is: www.mestudios.ca if anyone would like to take a look]

I applied for a craft council job; no big expectations here, but I figured it was better to try rather than not bother. And that's just the thing too, because you'll never know what could happen if you didn't give yourself the chance. Current job is less stressful now that I've got my taxes done- I don't have to worry so much about hours as I have (and this is exciting) paid off my student loans! I have to check the site in a few days to see if I have any leftover interest that lingered but that won't be a problem to get rid of.

And then it will be saving for the next venture: KSA. I'm getting another loan which, now that I've paid this one off, I know won't be hard to handle.

I just finished off my last commission for cosplays, so I'm starting to turn my attention back to my own, and also some of my art. I'm looking forward to warmer weather for performance art!