Scenes From A Paper Cutting Workshop at Opus

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It’s been almost a year since I last did a demonstration of paper cutting techniques at Opus Art Supplies. I was feeling a bit nervous before I started because I was going to try something new, and more hands-on this time. In the past it’s been a demonstration only, and this time it was to be a workshop with people making things. I decided to use Japanese and Islamic patterns as printed templates to guide participants through the paper cutting activity, and I was a little worried this wouldn’t be interesting for them to work on.

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It turned out to be the best thing for the amount of time we had for the class. I went through my information, did a quick paper cutting demonstration, and then got everyone working on a pattern paper cut selected from the printed templates I provided. It was interesting to see everyone choose a Japanese design over the Islamic ones. I suspect this is because they are perceived as easier to work with.

I had a fun group of participants in the class, and they seemed to enjoy and get inspired by everything I taught them. There were many converts to my beloved Olfa art knife, after each of them compared cutting with it versus an xacto with a #11 blade (they are the worst!)

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Above are some of the work-in-progress by participants in the class.

This group was a pleasure to teach, and I left afterwards feeling inspired and incredibly satisfied with a teaching job well done.

Art Supply Giveaway 2016

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It’s spring cleaning time in the studio, and this Sunday I will be part of an art supply giveaway with a group of artists in Strathcona. Drop by 800 Keefer Street to browse a selection of unwanted (but still viable) supplies. I think this is the fourth year in a row my friends and I have held this event.

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Everything is free because we just want someone to make use of the materials. At this time I have no idea what supplies will be available from each artist so come see for yourself. There’s always something for everyone.

Paper Cutting Workshop at Opus Art Supplies

I am teaching a short paper cutting workshop at Opus Art Supplies Hastings Street location this Saturday, 11am to 1pm. The demo costs $10 to participate and you must register by phone (604‑678‑5889) to reserve a spot as space is limited.

Work in progress - pattern paper cut

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I’ll be doing thorough run down on knives, paper, techniques, and different ways to use paper cut elements in artwork. Participants will also get the chance to work on their own paper cut pattern to take home, like the ones pictured above. Visit the event page for more details, and to read the materials list »

Opus Artist Demo: Creative Paper Cutting Techniques
Date: Saturday April 9th, 2016
Time: 11pm & 1pm
Cost: $10
Location: Opus Art Supplies, 100-207 West Hastings Street

Start With Art at Seymour Art Gallery

I’m thrilled to be part of this kid-focused art exhibit. I’ve contributed six pieces to the show, including collage and altered books I hope the kids will enjoy.

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Join us for our 12th annual Start with Art exhibition at the Seymour Art Gallery. This truly unique exhibition focuses on engaging, inspiring, and encouraging children to appreciate, collect, and curate their own art collection. With an added emphasis on motivating children to create art, participating artists offer advice for budding artists, share childhood memories about art-making, and frequently spark the idea in kids that one day their work could be shown in a gallery too.

We’ve assembled a fantastic group of established artists who work in a diverse variety of media. The artwork is hung at “kids-eye-view” and is priced in a kid-friendly range, making Start with Art truly kid-centric.

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Participating artists: Kristian Adam, Rachael Ashe, Michael Binkley, Yvonne Hachkowski, Andrea Hooge, Shima Itabashi, Julia Keutz, Meghan Parker, Anne Love, Ron Love, Monique McEwen, Kim O’Brien, Robin Reid, Sarah Ronald, Mary Anne Tateishi, Liane McLaren Varnam,

Start With Art
Seymour Art Gallery
Opening reception: Sunday April 10, 2pm to 4 pm
Dates: April 6 – May 7, 2016
Location: 4360 Gallant Avenue, Deep Cove

Hot Art Card Trades From CARDED! at Hot Art Wet City

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I love how The White Rabbit reproduced as a tiny artist trading card. I love it. This is a paper cut piece I created a few years ago for an Alice in Wonderland themed show, and I entered a cropped photo of it in CARDED!

The White Rabbit as an artist trading card

Art Cards

The bottom photo are my favourite cards I manage to get in trade. Boris and I hung out at the opening for an hour and a half, chatting with people, and trading until we got the art cards we wanted. We’ve attended this show many times, but this was the first time I participated as one of the artists. It was so fun to trade away my own card, especially when people liked it enthusiastically.

CARDED! at Hot Art Wet City

I’m super excited to have a piece in this show, presented by Hot Art Wet City on Saturday April 2nd, 7pm to 11pm.

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The creators of Hot One Inch Action present CARDED! a one-night only show of art reproduced on trading cards. The work of fifty artists is presented on trading cards and made available for art lovers to collect and trade. These 2.5″ x 3.5″ cards are displayed on the gallery wall and the audience is offered the opportunity to buy random cards in mixed packs of five for $5. If you purchase a pack that doesn’t have your desired card, get into some fast paced trading action with the people around you. How bad do you want that card!?

Artists in this show: Andrea Hooge, Andrew Ferneyhough, Aynsley King, Bryce Aspinall, Candy Hsu, Carelle Dunn, Chiara Ferrari, Chris Carr, Darren Dinh, Doug Savage, Erika Medina, Flavia, Gabriel Koenig, Gabrielle Ng, Gordana Ristic, Hailey Sato, Haley Smith, Hazel Cheng, Heather Gilbraith, Hryanskim, Ilya Viryachev, Jason Fielding, Jenn Brisson, Jennifer Chernecki, John Shigeta, Joy, Julia Iredale, Karyn Wong, Kathryn Mussallem, Kathy Moyou, Ken Rolston, Kim Nipp, Kimberly Parker, Kristian Adam, Kristina Kolosova, Mandy Lau, Marina Leclair, Megan Majewski, Michael King, Nada Hayek, Oliver Hine, Phresha, Quinn Lincoln, Rachael Ashe, Sean Moxley, Serena Inman, Shary Contrary , Vincent Truitner, William Weird and Yvette Tang.

Scenes From My First Braided Rug Workshop

I was very close to having to cancel this workshop on the weekend, because in the days leading up to it I came down with laryngitis. My voice came back by Friday afternoon, so I decided to go ahead with it.

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The workshop was held at Studio 126 in Chinatown, and I had a small group of people in attendance which was the perfect size for the space. This is the first time I taught people how to make t-shirt yarn and braided rugs, so I wasn’t entirely sure how things would go, or how much space each person would need.

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We spent the first hour and a half making t-shirt yarn. I introducing them to the joys of cutting fabric with a rotary cutter, which makes it so much easier. Everyone made a few balls of yarn before we switched over to getting started on braiding rugs.

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One participant decided to include an upcycled pillow case in her rug, which didn’t seem to work as well as t-shirt fabric because it is less stretchy. I’d been thinking about testing out other types of fabric, but I think stretchy fabrics probably work best.

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The final photo is where everyone left off by the end of class. It’s a good start, and I hope each participant will eventually share their rug with me when they are finished.

A Crowd of Succulents

The thing I like most about making multiples of the same type of paper object is how they look when grouped together. I made more green succulents this week to balance out the red and orange.

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Even though these are fairly small they are beginning to overrun the studio…

An Update on Spring Blooms

This spring season has been as wet as last year was dry. It’s been a downer on my mood in the short term, but I hope it ensures we’re safe from a long dry summer.

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Delicate white magnolias

Tiny pink blossoms

The flowering trees keep doing their thing, rain or shine. I admire them for that. As always, they are the best thing about spring in Vancouver.

Flying Over Four Feet of Tyvek

On Wednesday I managed to make it past the four foot mark with the tyvek piece. To document this progress I took a video with my phone and shared it on Instagram. It’s impossible to fit it into the frame of one photo, so this works rather well.

I think of this as a “fly over” video, similar to filming while flying over the earth in a plane.