Yep. I LOVE spring.
Cut Paper Cube Sculpture
I’m continuing with my close-up look at some of the recent work I created for Voices From Another Room at Hot Art Wet City.
I wanted to explore different forms with the three dimensional paper cut vessels, and I had this idea of creating a sculpture of stacked cubes. Some of the previous vessels are pieced together from multiple pieces of paper, while others are created from a single sheet. In the case of these cubes, these were each cut from a single sheet of 8.5″ x 11″ black cardstock.
I found a template on creating square boxes and used this as my guide to the structure of the box, but hand drew each one in the end. The designs were created freeform and hand cut using an xacto knife. I made six of these in all with the idea they would cluster together on a plith. Each cube is 2.5″ x 2.5″ square.
As with the flowerbust installation shared previously, I think I will continue creating more of these to build further on the idea for a future show.
Hot Talks @ Hot Art Wet City: Billy Marchenski & Alison Denham
The upcoming speakers at Hot Talks at Hot Art Wet City in April are two of the interesting people who live in my East Van building, Billy Marchenski and Alison Denham. We know each other in passing, and this was my excuse to hear more about they do as dancers, performers, and choreographers.
Alison Denham and Billy Marchenski present choreography and slideshow excerpts from their piece Slowpoke, a performance inspired by their experiences visiting the Chornobyl Exclusion zone in the Fall of 2011. Slowpoke starts off as a pilgrimage to rediscover lost roots and turns into an analysis of ideas of authenticity and human beings’ relationship to the eternal in everyday life.
Read the full description here.
Join us for this latest Hot Talk on April 24th at 7pm. Tickets are by donation and are available for purchase through Eventbrite.
Hot Talks: Billy Marchenski & Alison Denham
Hot Art Wet City
Date: April 24th, 2014
Time: Doors 6:30, talk 7pm
Address: 2206 Main Street (at 6th Ave), Vancouver
Flower-burst Installation
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…?
Exhibition Photos: Voices From Another Room
Tonight is the opening reception for Voices From Another Room: Five Artists Explore Paper at Hot Art Wet City. The show features work by Connie Sabo, Joseph Wu, Sarah Gee Miller, Alison Woodward, and me.
These are photos of the exhibition I took yesterday after we finished installing all the work.
Detail of work by Joseph Wu
Detail of work by Connie Sabo
Detail of my paper cut sculptures
Detail of my paper cut installation.
Collage work by Sarah Gee Miller.
Detail of work by Alison Woodward.
Detail of work by Alison Woodward.
A collaborative installation between work by Connie Sabo and me.
Voices From Another Room: Five Artists Explore Paper
Hot Art Wet City
Dates: April 3rd to 25th
Opening Reception: April 3rd, 7pm to 11pm
Location: 2206 Main Street at 6th Avenue
Altered Book Workshop at Hot Art Wet City
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
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)
Kimonos at the Textile Museum of Canada
Many years ago I worked as a photographer part-time at the Textile Museum of Canada in Toronto. It was an amazing opportunity to be hands-on with a very special collection of objects, and be exposed to a huge variety of beautiful things from all over the world. I was part of their early efforts to document and digitize the permanent collection, which at the time was around 10,000 objects.
The experience really broadened my knowledge of what the word “textile” means, and inspired me to explore different media beyond photography. Of course a visit to the Textile Museum was a must do while I’m in Toronto, and I was thrilled to see a collection of kimonos and obis on display.
As you can see, I took many photos while I was there. The details of the kimonos are intricate and delicate. It’s an amazing display of wearable art.
There’s a mix of embroidery, shibori, and painted details on all of these beautiful things. It’s an amazing amount of work that goes into each piece.
It was a very inspiring visit, and I was glad to connect with a place that was such a privilege to work at when I lived in Toronto.
Opus In-Store Demo: Freeform Paper Cutting Techniques Returns
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
Hot Talks @ Hot Art Wet City with Julien Thomas
Our next speaker at Hot Talks at Hot Art Wet City is Julien Thomas, a Social Artist and Facilitator based in Vancouver.
His recent initiatives include Park-a-Park, Vancouver’s first mobile park, and the Commercial Drive Parklet which was successfully funded through Kickstarter in late 2013. Julien pursues his passion by creating spaces that forge new connections and radically engage participants.
Confessions of an Urban Interventionist
We find ourselves in a concrete reality of streets, curbs, and sidewalks that guide our daily path. Despite this hard situation, we do have a choice: What if we decided to step off the curb and chart new directions? What actually compels us to walk the straight and narrow?
Read the full description here.
Join us for the latest Hot Talk on March 27th at 7pm. Tickets are by donation and are available for purchase through Eventbrite.
Hot Talks: Julien Thomas
Hot Art Wet City
Date: March 27th, 2014
Time: Doors 6:30, talk 7pm
Address: 2206 Main Street (at 6th Ave), Vancouver