Opus Art Supplies just released a beautiful new video campaign this morning, to inspire people to put aside the negative voices and create in every way possible. I make an appearance in the video along with 17 other artists. You’ll probably recognize the paper cut word Create from last year.
Check out this blog post mentioning the full list of artists. The video was shot and edited by the talented, Ryan Mund. (He doesn’t have a website but you can contact him at: me(at)rymu(dot)ca ).
On Saturday I popped by Equinox Gallery on a whim to see their latest shows. At the time I didn’t realize it was the last day of shows by Marie Khouri and Dempsey Bob, so I’m very glad I managed such terrific timing because the work was too good to miss.
I didn’t take photos of the work by Dempsey Bob, but it was stunning hand carved work. Each piece was highly detailed and glowed with the life of the wood it was carved from.
Marie Khouri’s work was an interactive installation of flowing white forms for the viewer to touch and sit upon. The work is based on the Farsi language and spells out words in large scale. I walked around the room to study the arrangement from every angle because it felt like a piece of work that should be seen while moving around rather than standing still.
I feel this has been a good year for strong art shows in Vancouver so far. It makes me happy to see arts and culture do a bit of thriving.
I dropped into Back Gallery Project last week to check out Ben Skinner‘s show, Colouring Outside And Reading Between. It is art that is both playful, and very clever. The artist plays with words used within the work, and does interesting things with very simple materials.
These are a series of sculptures using words repeated twice in the English language. It’s pretty funny to realize how many there are. My favourite is Beep Beep.
Why yes, these are hundreds of pencil crayons sorted by colour and arranged in a spectrum. This thing is fascinating to view as you walk around it.
Colouring Outside and Reading Between ends this weekend. Visit Back Gallery Project at 602 E Hastings Street at Princess to see it.
The monthly Art & Craft Social at Hot Art Wet City is happening this Wednesday June 25th at 7:30pm. My co-host Kim Werker and I invite you to bring a small creative project to the gallery, make a donation, and hang out with us.
It was oodles of fun when we kicked things off in May, with a diverse group of people and their projects in attendance. If you can’t make it this time, Art & Craft show is an on-going event on the last Wednesday of every month at Hot Art Wet City.
Art & Craft Social
Hot Art Wet City
Date: Wednesday June 25th, 2014
Time: 7:30pm to 10:30pm
Location: 2206 Main Street at 6th Avenue
I thought I’d belatedly share a few photos from Late Night Art, which I attended a few weeks ago as an artist in residence. It was a crazy/fun evening of meeting people, sharing food and conversation, and trying to inspire people.
The food just before it was served.
Table one of guests drawing and drinking.
Table two of guests drawing and drinking some more.
The next Late Night Art (which I won’t be at) is happening on June 25th, and tickets are already on sale.
Last night I helped launch the first Art & Craft Social evening at Hot Art Wet City, with Kim Werker as my co-host. The event drew a crowd of close to thirty people, and the place was packed.
It was amazing to see all sorts of projects on the go, from felting, to knitting, drawing, painting, spirograph, and so much more. There was even someone who brought a typewriter to write letters. I took photos of some of the many projects people were working on. Look at all this fabulous stuff!
Art & Craft Social is now going to be a regular event on the last Wednesday of every month. The next one is happening on Wednesday June 25th, and I hope you can join us.
I’ve been invited to take part as an artist-in-residence at the next evening of Late Night Art. The event is a dinner and art party encouraging guests to meet new friends while getting creative and enjoying good food.
Through experimental art making, fresh local food, and gratuitous beats, Late Nite Art brings the community together in a fun social art experience to share conversation, art, food and drinks. A host, a chef, and a select group of artists, combine forces to create an intimate socially conducive environment and produce an engaging and highly entertaining night.
The fun-filled evening starts with dinner. Guests share a carefully curated charcuterie board with a friend, but get this; it must be a friend they just met. Through sharing food, guests quickly make new friends, opening them up for the explorative art party that follows. Eight long-tables are covered with drawing paper and art supplies straight out of grade school. Each artist in residence leads a group through the hands-on experience as creativity spills from the heart and mind and is left on the table for everyone to share.
For this special edition evening there are seven artists-in-residence, Jamie Smith, Rachael Ashe, Zack Embree, Rup Sidhu, David McLeish, Sarah Clement, Sean Karemaker. Each artist will be the facilitator, leading intimate groups through an evening of experimental art making.
Tickets are available through eventbrite.
Late Night Art 29
Date: May 31st, 2014
Time: 7:30pm to 10pm
Location: Gesamtkunstwerk, 1460 Howe Street
On Tuesday May 27th I am launching a new event at Hot Art Wet City as a bit of an experiment. I’ve often hosted artist evenings at my home, where people bring art/craft projects to work on in the company of others. I was curious to see whether this has appeal on a larger scale, and would be an event to attract visitors to the gallery.
Think of the Art & Craft Social at Hot Art Wet City as a stitch n’ bitch, crafternoon, and art jam all rolled into one. HAWC provides the chairs, tables, and space, and participants bring a small creative project to work on.
The event is an opportunity to bring together a cross-section of makers, crafters, artists, designers (and all those other titles creative people give themselves), to knit, sew, collage, draw, or paint while they socialize and share. Entry is by donation, and the money goes towards supporting Hot Art Wet City.
The lovely Kim Werker is my co-host for this event. Between the two of us, we’ll ensure people are engaged, meet new people, and have an enjoyable time. Everyone is welcome.
Art & Craft Social
Hot Art Wet City
Date: Tuesday May 27th, 2014
Time: 6:30pm to 9:30pm
Location: 2206 Main Street (at 6th)
Boris and I visited the Emily Carr grad show last weekend, and I wanted to share some of the work I really liked and felt inspired by. It’s a very random selection, and I also missed photographing a few favourite things, but you get the idea.
Sculptor’s Sketchbook by Angela Smailes
Illustrations by Jori van der Linde
Pandora by Pandora Young
Love Seat by Wesley Horsfall
Embroidered illustration by Kelly Baker
Illustration by Sabrina Ting Yu Hsu
Paper cut sculpture by Alison Woodward
East of the Sun, West of the Moon by Eden Cooke
Where are the hydrangeas? by Justin Ng
The graduation exhibition continues on through May 18th, so get yourself there and check it out.
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 »