I’m pretty thrilled to share that two of my paper cut vessels are amongst the amazing selection of work included in a new book of paper art. Paper Play is edited and published by Sandu Cultural Media.
Normally I would recommend buying it from a small independent book store, but we’re running out of those in Vancouver. You can of course always find it on Amazon.
On Thursday May 8th, I will be speaking at the next edition of Sparkfly along with Vivienne McMaster, and Denna Erickson.
Sparkfly is a series of evenings featuring diverse women in Vancouver sharing their creative journeys. It is a place where women can share, inspire and create. It is a small and intimate gathering creating a warm and safe space for the speakers and audience to reveal their experiences, ideas and dreams.
As part of the evenings activities, Vivienne and I will be collaborating on a fun exercise with participants. I hope you can join us.
Tickets cost $17.00 and are available for purchase through Eventbrite »
What began as playing around in the studio last July, evolved into a long term side project by September, has become an intricate paper installation for Voices From Another Room.
I’d always had the idea in mind to create something larger from this series of small paper cut “flower-bursts” but until fairly recently, I had no idea how to bring them together. I’d considered stitching them, but decided the thinly cut paper was too fragile.
When I was experimenting with pining these to a wall, the pins were to delicate and difficult to penetrate the surface of the wall. I decided to use a piece of black foamcore as my base, which also allowed me to place and arrange the flower-bursts in layers. Eventually I figured out I needed to cut the foamcore into small circles of various sizes and have the installation become a modular piece I can arrange in various formations.
The end result is what you see above.
I’ve decided to keep making these and eventually create an even larger arrangement for a show I’m doing a year from now. At the moment I have just over one hundred individual paper cut flower-bursts, but how will it look with two or three hundred…?
I am teaching an altered book workshop in conjunction with Voices From Another Room at Hot Art Wet City in April. I get many requests for this workshop throughout the year, but this is the first one I’ve scheduled since sometime in 2012.
The class takes place on Sunday April 13th, 12:30pm to 4:30pm, at Hot Art Wet City gallery located at Main and 6th Avenue.
Student work in progress from previous classes.
The altered book workshop is an introduction on how to create sculpture from books, using techniques like folding, cutting, rolling, and working with three dimensional objects. The goal is to inspire participants, and guide each person through creating a finished piece of work by the end of class.
To read the full description of the class as well as sign up, please visit the Hot Art Wet City web site »
Voices From Another Room: Five Artists Explore Paper
Hot Art Wet City gallery in Vancouver
This exhibition showcases paper as an artistic medium unto itself, and demonstrates its versatility beyond the role of a mere surface for other materials.
Rachael Ashe, Alison Woodward, Sarah Gee Miller, Connie Sabo, and Joseph Wu produce strikingly different styles of work but approach working intimately with paper through similar methods. Each of the five artists transforms their materials using one or more techniques of cutting, folding, twisting, painting but with a unique take on the end result. The work in this exhibition reveals the infinite possibilities of paper as alchemical material in the creation of intriguing pieces of fine art and craft.
Please join us for the opening reception on Thursday April 3rd, 7pm to 11pm. The show continues until Friday April 25th, 2014.
Voices From Another Room
Hot Art Wet City
Date: April 3rd to 25th
Location: 2206 Main Street (at 6th Avenue)
Coming up in April I will be on location at Opus Art Supplies Hastings Street location giving an in-store demo of paper cutting techniques. The demo is FREE but you must register by phone (604‑678‑5889) to reserve a spot as space is limited.
This is the first demo I’ve done since last September, and for the first time it’s happening on a week day. I hope you can join me.
Opus Artist Demo: Freeform Paper Cutting Techniques
Two hour in-store demo at the Hastings Street location of Opus Art Supplies.
Date: Wednesday April 9th, 2014
Time: 12pm & 2pm
Cost: Free
Location: Opus Art Supplies, 100-207 West Hastings Street
It’s been a month since I did my talk at Creative Mornings in December, and I’m only now getting around to sharing the video recording. The audio is a little quiet so be sure to turn up your volume.
I am very happy with my delivery of the talk because I put a lot of preparation into it, and it paid off. I felt relaxed and confident on stage, and said everything I wanted to say. The audience was engaged and attentive during the talk, and I’ve had great feedback on the whole thing. I spoke for about thirty minutes but it went by in no time for me.
I have a few more posts to write related to the talk, including one about the process I went through to develop the whole thing. In the beginning I had no idea where to start in putting it together but luckily I had many friends who are experienced speakers to ask for advice. It’ll be helpful to others to share what I learned from the whole experience.
Beyond the utilitarian use of letterforms, typography can be beautiful art. This show features typographic-based works from Bennett Slater, Scott Sueme, and Frazer Adams, plus guest artists Ben Knight, James Knight, Erin Gibbs, Brandon Cotter, Ali Bruce, and Rachael Ashe.
Typo: Typographic Art
Hot Art Wet City
Dates: January 9-25, 2014
Opening reception Friday January 10 from 7pm
Location: 2206 Main Street at 6th Avenue
Tomorrow morning I take the stage at SFU Woodwards and present myself to the world at Creative Mornings. I’ve known about this talk for months, so I’ve had plenty of time to acclimatize to the idea of talking in front of a large audience. Public speaking has always been a huge fear of mine, and normally I avoid it even in small ways.
By going through the process of developing this talk I have challenging a long held fear. Not to say my anxiety has completely gone away, but it feels manageable now rather than completely overwhelming. I’m extremely grateful this opportunity came my way, and also that I had the sense not to refuse it.
The whole experience has me wondering what other fears I should face…
Watch this teaser video about my talk:
On December 6th I will be the featured speaker at Creative Mornings Vancouver. I am both really excited and extremely terrified about this opportunity because I’ve never done any major public speaking like this before.
It’s an honour to be stepping into the role of speaker as I’ve been attending this event since its launch in Vancouver two years ago. The theme for December is Make, which is a perfect fit for me.
Please check out my profile and Q&A on the Creative Mornings blog »
Creative Mornings is a monthly speaker series that happens on the first Friday of every month, and features creative people from a wide range of professions. The event is free (but ticketed) and tickets are made available on the Monday before the event.
If you’ve never attended before all of the talks by previous speakers are available online. This is a great resource for inspiration, along the lines of Ted Talks or Pecha Kucha.
Cross your fingers. Wish me luck. Say hi if you happen to attend.