TUGs

art

I am taking 6-week art class focusing on encaustic and collage, which began this week. The first class was so great – I feel like I made my cake and ate it too - all of it - chocolate.

I have some time between work and class start, so I browsed the local bookstore, showed up early, and then thoroughly indulged in the next 2.5 hours.

Using oils & encaustic, I sketched 'Viper' my single speed bicycle that sports a rear basket, a light, and pedal breaks. She is beautiful.

We also began a 4-series collage. The vision for mine includes my four dogs, a tree, and a squirrel. The start I show here doesn't include any of the above, but I think it will come together.
The class is being led by Marlene Collins who is a local artist at Arts Underground.

TD Canada Trust Literacy Centre

The Yukon Literacy Coalition has been working hard to open a Family Literacy Centre at our local Canada Winter Games Centre.  The CGC has donated YLC a room and much work has gone towards making what was a storage space into a literacy home. 

I was up there for a partnership meeting and snapped some shots of the beautiful artwork that is adorning the concrete walls.  This is a work in progress and I'll give an update with new pictures in the coming month. There are several different languages in script on this mural that give life and borders within the scene. The medicine wheel here depicts the importance of considering the whole child:
And this one simply gives imagination some size...
 

 

Yikes - it's December!

I had to change the title, even though my first instinct was to reference the passage of time directly since my last entry.  Things have been so insanely busy, but in a better way than the previous times.  Let me show you... I'll catch up the last few months over the coming days with some snapshots.

I think it was August, or maybe September, four of us got together to help our friend Peter.  He has written some text, although I am not sure how to describe it not having read it.  Peter has created some sort of narrative that relates to wordsmithing, I believe.  The content is a secret until the end of his project, which has already been at least two years + in the making. 

 
Anyways, every word has since been cut into lino, most every one by a different person.  Each stamp has become the physical word. ...am I making sense? Either way, here are the words we made that day.

Signs I like

For the next couple of weeks I am going to concentrate on posting images I have taken of signs I like.  There are many local businesses which have maintained signage that mark their era, and that really appeal to me.  I think perhaps this signage project is linked to my nostalgic love for this place where I have grown up.  It is rapidly losing it's soul to development, which makes me sad.

To start the show I will begin with my bulletin board.  It is lovingly posted above my desk in my very small, closet-like office.  It is a collage of many things I love, along with items found along the trail. 

 

  

  

  

  

Nathalie Parenteau, Nicole Bauberger, Shane Wilson, Veda Hille , Heather Hyatt, Air North, Frostbite Music Festival, Yukon Child Care Association, Calvin & Hobbes, Birds of the Yukon Territory, Dawson City Arts Society, Split Lake - Manitoba, Learning Disabilities Association of Nova Scotia, Partners in Practice... are a few of the namable, meaningful pieces on this live, slowly evolving piece of art. 

PayPal

I don't know if it is spring or if I have simply reached my limit no matter what the season might be. 

My home is undergoing an explosion.  This bit of chaos has to do with what happens when a bit of cleaning happens - things get worse before they get better.  But the main thing is that I simply am inspired by too many areas and have 'too much stuff'.  Also, I live in a fairly small space.  I can organize all I want but in the end there is only so much space. 

Another challenge is that I won't simply 'give it away' or 'drop it off somewhere'.  It doesn't seem right to have an anti-inspirational end result for things that have given me inspiration, and make me happy.

The good thing is that I have discovered a solution!  I am developing a PayPal Storefront widgit where I can post my items for sale to others who are interested in these treasures.   I chose this method over Ebay because I want my process to be somewhat personal versus just an anonymous sale. 

So, please stay tuned as I get this together.  It is a process, but one that I am enjoying. 

Happy day everyone.

Purchases

In the last week I have made a couple of nice purchases.  It doesn't happen all that often that I buy brand new anything so these could be considered a little unqiue.  A little while back I came across  Amy Butler's book InStitches (ISBN 10: 0-8118-5159-1):

The layout of this book was well considered so that it is beautiful and functional.  It is bound with metal coil so it lays perfectly flat and is flexible, it is hard cover, There is a built in heavy envelope at the front, which stores the patterns, pages are all in full colour using a good weight paper... this is all on top of the fact that of course it is aesthetically lovely.  I guess that is why she is a designer?! 

The 2nd purchase yesterday was a pair of Keen shoes on sale! They fit perfectly, and they're tan and orange, and did I mention they were 50% off! A score, if I do say so myself.  For now I'm wearing them around inside patiently awaiting the arrival of summer. ha ha ha ha  Good thing I have patience considering we're only at mid-February.

Yellowknife

Last week work took myself and my coworker to Yellowknife, N.W.T.  This is not to be confused with going to Whitehorse, Y.T., which is where I am on a daily basis.  Many southern folk get the two place names confused.  I think this is because each word has 10 & 11 letters in it, they are both the capital of one of the territories, each are a northern city, and both of these proper nouns begin with a colour.

To add to the confusion, Ottawa, the capital of our country and also is the centre of the universe (next to Toronto), in bureaucratically ignorant wisdom, has gifted each province and territory with a two letter acronym.  These letters are used when using snail mail, federal tax forms, etc. 

Northwest Territories went from NWT to NT, while the Yukon Territory went from YT to YK.....?  We already had two letters and they just switched them to two unique ones.  AND if those little elves on Parliament hill had lifted their heads and asked someone up here, they would have known that YK = YELLOWKNIFE, and cannot successfully be associated with the Yukon!

I regularly hear of snail mail that makes its way to Yellowknife instead of Whitehorse... I have no doubt it is the YK - YK confusion...

To get to Yellowknife we boarded a charter flight with Air North.  Air North is one of my favourite Yukon companies.  They began from scratch back in the 70s and have slowly built themselves up.  The people who work the front lines provide excellent customer service.  The company is the sponsor of countless community events.  I think I love that this growing company has a large human component inside and out; it is real rather than just a corporate facade.

This is a picture looking out of the Whitehorse Airport restaurant window at our plane.    

Although we were there for only two days, we managed to check out the shopping.

The temperature was warmer than here at home by about 10 degrees Celsius but the wind was HOWLING!  Instead of -48 it was only -36 with a fierce wind.  It was absolutely CoLd.

There is a chocolateire... lovely and delicious...

Beside the chocolatier there was an art gallery.  In it I could see a large picture that I think was painted by a Whitehorse artist named Nicole Bauberger.  I really, really like her art.  She uses beeswax and pigment as her medium.  I have one small piece she painted for me while I took in one of her workshops.  It is on my wall at work.  Her visuals of ravens, I find satisfying. 

Dawn Oman is a Yellowknife artist. While walking around we passed her studio.

Craft! Wahooo!

Lovely Lovely Lovely

Last Saturday I joined two of my friends at our Craft Club Meeting!  How fun is that?!  Lovely Lovely Lovely.  One person brought her most beautiful full of projects basket.  The basket itself is something to behold, never mind the inspirations that it holds. 

Aaaannnnddddd I actually started and finished a project during our meeting.  So, as much as I am thrilled with the little critter that was created, I am equally excited to have started and finished something!

This little fellow is the brother to 'Fly'.  Unfortunately I am missing Fly's picture.  Fly's brother was needle felted from wool and then received a surgically attached hair clip to his belly.  He loves the view from atop. 

My other friend was in the process of making her little kitty a pillow.  She was forced to pin and pin and pin so that the slippery fabric would listen.  ha.  It worked! 

Little Friends

I'd like to introduce you to my wee little sock monkey named Soda,

and his sock-dog friend named Davis.  One of my lovely friends gifted them both to me. 

Davis, who is made from a soft cotton sock was a surprise Christmas prezie. Soda, who is a recent addition to the household, is made from a tiny, little toddler sock.  This little blue monkey was wee big (catch that?) thank-you. 

"How lucky am I?" I asked myself.  "Very." I replied. 

This is the story of a BIG idea...

Dawson City Arts Society (DCAS) has developed a gigantic puzzle.  When I say gigantic, I mean GiGaNtiC! It measures 12 feet by 8 feet.   Each individual piece measures approximately six inches by six inches, while the entire finished piece will consist of 400 pieces.  1/2" (?) plywood is the canvas. The individual puzzle blocks have been signed out by local or 'traveling through' artists who then complete their block using a composition of their artistic style / method, etc. 

Part of the project explanation reads:  "The success of our organization begins and ends with a multitude of dedicated individuals who are tireless in their commitment and unite to create a solid base of interlocked ideas, talents and strengths. The puzzle project is a visual map of our success.  Each piece stands alone but also acts as a conributing part of the whole melding exteriors to form one vision, one collective work of art."

It sort of takes me back to the 'paint by numbers' I did as a young child with my Dad.  There is a colour code that matches up with the sections drawn on the piece.  This project is different because the artist composes the materials and methods instead of simply using paint. 

I was just took part in a most INSPIRING 16mm film workshop, which was hosted in the ODD Fellows Hall Ballroom, where the puzzle is being composed.  Today I'll include pictures of the giant master piece and within the next several days I will tell about my workshop.  WoW!  :)