Intimate Studio Visit with Hugh Kearney

On the weekend I attended the first in a series of monthly studio visits organized by the Eastside Culture Crawl. Hugh Kearney hosted our small group in his cosy Railtown studio and his colourful work was the perfect counterpoint to the dreary weather outside.

My friend Val and I were the first to arrive, and Hugh treated us to genmaicha in beautiful handmade mugs while we waited for the rest of our group.

Hugh Kearney is a mixed media painter creating very colourful landscapes, abstract work, and sculpture from found objects. I really enjoyed his talk because he spoke at length about the evolution of his art career and how this affected his process over time.

He mostly works on paper and is heavily influenced by his environment, both natural and handmade. He’s also a musician, as evidenced by the guitars and amps placed around the studio.

These intimate studio visits are a great opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the many artists in Vancouver. The series will continue once a month until June, so stay tuned to the Eastside Culture Crawl facebook page and website for details of these upcoming events.

Studio Sale – Clearing Out Older Inventory

I’ve had a very prolific couple of years creating artwork almost constantly. So much so that I’ve begun maxing out the storage capacity of my apartment. I think it’s time to make way for creating new work in 2012.

To clear out some of this older work I’ve decided to continue with the inventory clearance sale I held during First Saturday a few weeks ago. Come find a great deal on one of my metal prints, or maybe an altered book is more your style.

Here are a few of the items I am selling:

Altered Books

altered-book-cherry-blossoms
In The Shade of The Cherry Blossoms – $300 (regularly $450)

button-book

The Buttons Fasten & The Threads Tie – $300 (regularly $450)

Circle Away and Return
Circle Away & Return – $300 (regularly $550)

Metal Prints

Magnolias - Image transfer on aluminum
Magnolias 24″ x 12″ Metal Print – $150 (regularly $300)

Red above - Image transfer on aluminum
Red Leaves Above 24″ x 24″ Metal Print – $300 (regularly $500)

Please note: the altered books included in the sale are ones I consider one-off experiments. Most of the altered books are regular price, but are also available for viewing.

The work can be viewed at my East Vancouver studio by appointment. Contact me by Email: rkashe (at) gmail (dot) com or by Phone: 604.787.9237 if there is something you’d like to see.

Book Launch: Making It! A New Book from Chris Tyrell

Chris Tyrell is the author of Artist Survival Skills: How to Make a Living as a Canadian Visual Artist, and he’s just published his second book. Next week he will be at Opus on Granville Island to celebrate the launch of this book, Making It! Case Studies of Successful Canadian Artists.

Making It! explores the professional experiences of various artists through interview and panel discussions. The book examines business practices that have significantly contributed to the development of visual artists’ careers. Chris will deliver a short presentation and be on hand to sign copies of his book and answer questions.

I am one of the artists he interviewed for the book, and I feel honoured to have been included. I met with Chris twice last year, once as part of a panel of artists, and then again for a one-on-one interview. It’s great to see all of his hard work come together in print form. I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.

Date: Thursday, July 28, 2011
Time: 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Location: Opus Granville Island
1360 Johnston Street, Vancouver BC

Public Art: McLean Drive Mural Project

One of the things I love most about living in East Vancouver is that we have a staggering amount of public art in the form of murals. They make the neighbourhood a colourful place to wander, and in many ways they tell the story of life in East Van.

The latest of these murals is on a large stretch of wall behind Britannia High School along the McLean Drive bike route, between Parker and William Street. It depicts a flock of crows in flight, with decorative details of ferns, beetles, and other native flora and fauna. It’s a radical transformation from drab concrete wall to one with so much colour and life. I love it.

McLean Drive Mural Project-10
McLean Drive Mural Project-9

The mural is a community project lead by artist Richard Tetrault, and is painted by an team of volunteer students and residents from the area. It was still in progress when I came across it last week.

McLean Drive Mural Project-6

McLean Drive Mural Project-8
McLean Drive Mural Project-7
McLean Drive Mural Project-4

McLean Drive Mural Project-3
McLean Drive Mural Project-2
McLean Drive Mural Project-5

For more photos of the mural please visit Richard Tetrault’s web site.

Booklyn Book Arts From Brooklyn

On Friday I had the pleasure of attending a presentation by Felice Tebbe, the Collection Development & Education Director of Booklyn Artists Alliance. They are a book arts organization based in Brooklyn, and Felice was in Vancouver as part of a West Coast tour to present and share books from their collection. And what an amazing collection!



The presentation was hilarious because of Felice’s deadpan commentary, but it was also inspiring to hear about how much Booklyn does to nurture and promote their artists. Book arts is alive and well in Brooklyn, and some day I must visit their collection.

Check out the Brooklyn web site to view more of their amazing artist books.

This is East Van Community Project

Last week I attended the book launch of the “This Is East Van” community project at the Waldorf Hotel. I was really looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of this because it looked so wonderful from what I’d seen online. Also, there are a large number of people I know who have work in the book, and that’s just awesome.

This is East Van - front

This is East Van - back

The project was put together by Erin Sinclair and Jason Uglanica, two East Van locals who love their neighbourhood and wanted to organize a community project. They did a really fantastic job of selecting work to include and curating the flow of one photo to the next. The book beautifully captures what life it like in Vancouver’s eclectic east side.

This is East Van - organizer tag

You can purchase the book online through Cargoh.com.

Secret Stairway Under the Burrard Bridge

Thanks to an interesting project by Josh Hite and Scott Billings I had the opportunity to visit the secret stairway under the Burrard Bridge last week. It’s been abandoned since the 1930s, and when I visited I could understand why. I imagine it would be a creepy place at night because it certainly was during the day.

Secret Stairway under Burrard Bridge

The guy in this photo turned out to be an upstairs neighbour from my building who I never see. It was hilarious to run into him in such a random place. He and his girlfriend were helping out as actors during the filming.

Secret Stairway under Burrard Bridge-3
Secret Stairway under Burrard Bridge - old graffiti

The metal column going down the centre of the staircase was set temporarily for their project of filming the interior of the stairway in a helical movement. I didn’t see much of the filming because they were still setting up but I was really impressed by how much equipment they brought all the way to the bottom of the stairs. The only way in is from the top of the bridge because the city bricked up the bottom entrance ages ago.

Secret Stairway under Burrard Bridge, window

Secret Stairway under Burrard Bridge - looking up from the bottom
Secret Stairway under Burrard Bridge - looking up from the bottom

There was plenty of ancient graffiti covering the stairs and walls, which indicates people have been able to sneak in there in the past. I wonder if the Department of Eternal Art is still around….?

Secret Stairway under Burrard Bridge - old graffiti
Secret Stairway under Burrard Bridge

The whole experience gave me a killer case of vertigo but it was an amazing opportunity to get into this space which is normally restricted from public access.

The Blue Trees

The most recent addition to the Vancouver Biennale are a series of installations, The Blue Trees by Konstantin Dimopoulos, placed around the lower mainland. Boris and I went to visit the Garden City Park location in Richmond on the weekend, and it was quite an adventure getting there by transit. Well worth the effort though because the seeing the Blue Trees in person is pretty spectacular.

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The Blue Trees-5
The Blue Trees-4

The Blue Trees

For more information about Konstantin Dimopoulos’ Blue Trees visit the Vancouver Biennale web site.

Selling Work Through Bird on a Wire Creations

My exciting news this week is that some of my altered books are now available for purchase through Bird on a Wire Creations. At last I have someone else taking care of the marketing and selling of my work.

Bird on a Wire is a relatively new retail store located on Main Street near Broadway, and it carries nothing but beautiful handmade items by local artists and crafts people. If you haven’t been to the store, it’s a warm welcoming space run by Karen Unger-Strickland. She’s very interested in supporting local artists in what they do, as well as building community around her space. I felt it was a good fit for my work, and I’m confident I’ve put the altered books in good hands.

Bird on a Wire Creations
2535 Main Street
Vancouver, BC – V5T 3E5

Fall store hours:
Monday to Friday 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Saturday 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM
Sunday Closed (for now)
Stat Holidays 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM