Paper Cut Work: Wind & Water Series (Part 2)

As mentioned in my previous post, I have two more works to share from the Wind & Water series. Here they are in all their crazy paper cut glory.

I built the series around the repeating pattern of a slender crescent shape, combining them into larger swirls, which in turn create an overall form. Each work is cut from a single sheet of white paper and mounted within a wood cradle panel.

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Wind & Water series (3 of 4) 12″ x 12″

Wind & Water (series) - detail

Wind & Water (series) - detail

I will continue to work on this series because I want to further explore layering the cut paper.

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Wind & Water series (3 of 4) 12″ x 12″

Wind & Water (series) - detail

Wind & Water (series) - detail

This work and more can be seen in my upcoming solo show, Currents of Nature. It opens this weekend at Ranger Station Art Gallery in Harrison Hot Springs as part of the 35th Annual Harrison Festival of the Arts.

Paper Cut Work: Wind & Water Series

I’ve been holding back on sharing a collection of recent paper cut work because until yesterday, I just hadn’t gotten around to photographing it all properly. I find it tricky to photograph the paper cut work, to capture the layers and textures, and make it readable to the viewers eye.

The two pieces included in this post are part of a series of four. I’ve decided to title them Wind & Water because their patterns remind me of both the ripples and eddies of water, and the billows of smoke and clouds.

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Wind & Water series (1 of 4) 12″ x 12″

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Wind & Water

Each piece is cut from a single sheet of white paper and mounted within a wood cradle panel. I’ve shared the work below in a previous post but wanted to place it in the context of the rest of the series.

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Wind & Water series (2 of 4) 12″ x 12″

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Wind & Water-6

I’ll share the other two from the series in a separate post. This work will be on display in my upcoming exhibition, Currents of Nature, opening this weekend at the Ranger Station Gallery in Harrison Hot Springs.

Hello Pretty is Pretty Smart

Hello Pretty is a handmade marketplace for South African designers and artisans filled with amazing stuff I wish I could buy. The site is the brainchild of Scott Hadfield and Sam Marx, who recognized a need for an Etsy-style web site catering specifically to the South African market.

The site has grown by leaps and bounds in a short amount of time, and they’ve been getting terrific exposure from local press. The latest is this short interview with Sam (click image for a larger view).

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The pretty in pink photo featured in the article is a portrait I took of Sam a few years ago when she was in Vancouver for a visit. You can view the original version on Flickr.

A Love of Landscapes

I’ve been sharing a lot of landscape photos over on Instagram lately. The photos are as much about the big puffy clouds and blue skies as it is about the earth below them.

A bench with a view

A tiny Boris against a great big sky

Farm Country in Delta

Looking good East Vancouver

These were taken a few weekends ago during an outing to Westham Island for strawberries and honey, and a visit with a friend who lives in the Woodward building. Amazing views abounded!

Paper Inspiration For Your Friday

On Pinterest I have a board called, Paper Inspiration, where I collect all sorts of paper-based art work, installations, and sculpture. (Follow it here if you’re interested).

Some of the recent work I’ve come across to inspire me:

Kirigami by  Kanako Yaguchi

Kirigami by Kanako Yaguchi



Paper Sculpture by Jacqueline Rush Lee

Paper Sculpture by Jacqueline Rush Lee



Paper Cut illustration by Nicola Moss

Paper Cut illustration by Nicola Moss



Paper cut work by Pablo Lehmann

Paper cut work by Pablo Lehmann



It’s pretty amazing what a skilled artist can do with a simple piece of paper.

Currents of Nature at the Ranger Station Art Gallery

In July I have a solo show at Ranger Station Art Gallery in Harrison Hot Springs, as part of the 35th Annual Harrison Festival of the Arts.

Currents of Nature is a mix of new works in abstract cut paper sculpture as well as installation works made from repurposed books, all inspired by elements of the natural world.

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Please join me on Sunday June 30th, between 2pm to 4pm, for the opening reception of Currents of Nature. I will be in attendance and look forward to seeing you there. The exhibition continues at the Ranger Station Art Gallery until Sunday July 28th.

Currents of Nature
Date: June 30th to July 28th, 2013
Opening: Sunday June 30th, 2pm to 4pm
Location: Ranger Station Art Gallery
Address: 98 Rockwell Drive, Harrison Hot Springs, BC

Hot Talks @ Hot Art Wet City: Bruce Alcock

The Hot Talks series continues in June at Hot Art Wet City with our latest speaker, Bruce Alcock. In his professional life Bruce is the Creative Director of Global Mechanic, as well as an award winning film maker and animator with a passion for music and fine art.

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I’m intrigued by the description of Bruce’s talk (below), and think it builds very nicely upon the themes explored by our first speaker in the series, Kim Werker. (Listen to her talk online if you missed it previously).

Your Self Out There:
Walking the spectrum from bullshit to truth in the creative life

From waiting tables to making art to advertising Coca-cola, Bruce Alcock looks over the last 25 years to examine who he is when he’s at home, or at a meeting table, or managing staff, or standing up and talking to a group of people in a gallery. Is client interaction performance, or are you simply who you are? In this age of digital self-representation, does your private identity change to sync with your public identity? The Onion’s headline “I am a Brand, Pathetic Man Says” points to empty self-representation, but any time you put yourself out there, you’re creating a persona that reflects your assumptions about the people you’re talking to, or working for, or just passing time with. From small talk (excruciating) to work talk (boring?) to letting out your inner beast, or weenie, or feather boa, what’s real and what’s not, what works, and what can you live with?

Bruce’s talk happens on June 25th at 7pm. Get your tickets online through Eventbrite. I hope you’ll join us.

Hot Talks: Bruce Alcock
Hot Art Wet City
Date: June 25th, 2013
Time: Doors 6:30, talk 7pm
Address: 2206 Main Street, Vancouver

Dream Boats

Dream Boats is the beautiful new children’s book illustrated by Kirsti Anne Wakelin and written by Dan Bar-el. I’ve been following the progress of the development of this book for the last few years, and can hardly wait to get my hands on a copy. The illustrations are lush, finely detailed, and filled with imagery to stimulate the imagination.

Take a look for yourself, and I’m sure you’ll agree.

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A description of Dream Boats from the Simply Read web site:

Where do children go when they close their eyes to sleep?
They step onto their dreamboats and sail toward adventure.
From Maiqui in the Andes floating through the constellations, to Aljuu paddling along the shores of Haida Gwaii with Eagle, Orca and Black Bear, to Ivan sailing into St. Petersburg, then sneaking between the bony legs of Baba Yaga, stories and memories lead them on.
Dream Boats takes readers into the dreams of children around the world, dreams that are filled with family and legends, culture and love.

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There are so many lovely details to this book. From the end pages filled with instructions on how to fold your own paper boat, to the flying fish swooping off the credits page, and the beautifully designed barcode on the back of the book.

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Dream Boats has its official launch next Thursday June 13th at Christianne’s Lyceum of Literature & Art in Vancouver. Dan and Kirsti will be in attendance, and copies of the books will be available for purchase.

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All photos courtesy of Kirsti Wakelin

Snapfish Photo Books as Portfolio

One thing I’ve been wondering lately is whether or not an artist still needs to maintain a print version of their portfolio or does digital suffice. I have no idea what the right answer to this is, but I decided it couldn’t hurt to have something in print. Rather than doing this photographically and inserting the prints into a a traditional (but boring) black portfolio case with plastic sleeves, I decided to make a digitally printed photo book.

I chose Snapfish because it came recommended by my friend Valerie Arntzen. She uses the service to print books on an annual basis to keep a record of the work she’s created over the course of each year.

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Snapfish book

Snapfish has a good variety of formats and sizes for their photo books. I chose the 5″ x 7″ Everyday Book, which costs $12.99 per copy and comes with a paper cover in your choice of colour. The book layout is created by using a browser-based interface, which takes a bit of experimenting with to get a feel for, but is fairly easy to use.

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A big reason I chose Snapfish over other photo book services is because they have a Canadian website and reasonable prices for shipping to Canada. I had my books within a week of ordering, and the shipping cost $10. I’ve used Blurb Books in the past and their shipping costs were higher and the order took longer to arrive.

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The print quality is excellent, and the work looks good and reads well despite the small size of the pages. I’m very happy with these little books and will definitely use Snapfish again to make more printed collections of my work.