In preparation for my Creative Mornings talk I felt it was important to include examples of my making so it wasn’t all talk.
I used two time lapse videos, one shot and edited by Lee and Sachi LeFever of me making their yarn tree. The second video I did myself using iTimelapse on Boris’ iPhone 5.
This is about an hour of work. Every time I watch this I am amazed I don’t cut my fingers more often….
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:
I was in Seattle with friends this past weekend, and was glad to spend a bit of time on Saturday at some of my favourite galleries. I really wanted to see Guy Laramee’s new work at Foster White Gallery, as well as Marco Mazzoni at Roq La Rue.
The most exciting work I came across, completely by accident, was Deborah Butterfield’s beautiful sculptures of abstract horses at Greg Kucera gallery. I’ve seen these on the internet many times because they get mentioned quite a bit on various art blogs, but they are incredible in person.
They are larger than life-size but have the quiet presence of standing next to a living horse. I never realized her work are bronze casts of the sculptures she first creates in wood.
Take a look at the video below where Deborah Butterfield shares a bit about her process. I wish I had a piece of land where I could install one of her horses. They are inspiring.
Last Thursday I had the pleasure of going out and touring some of the artists studios open for the Culture Crawl, because I was closed for the Preview night while others were open. I haven’t been able to do this in years because I need to be present at my own studio. There was a small group of artist friends who have been doing the Crawl for years touring around for the evening. We all felt excited to see other people’s studios, and the feeling was a bit like having Halloween and Christmas all rolled into one.
The most striking work I saw that evening was by sculptor, David Robinson. The massive figurative piece below was the first thing I saw as I walked into his fourth floor space in Parker Street Studios. I had to stop and stare at it for long minutes.
I am really inspired by his work, and was interested to see some of his recent pieces are molded from cardboard or paper. I aspire to one day create on as large a scale as he does.
Visit David Robinson’s website to view more work.
The featured speaker for our November Hot Talk at Hot Art Wet City is Eagranie Yuh. She is a writer, editor, and master of all things chocolate with a new book coming out next year from Chronicle Books. Eagranie will be speaking about simple and effective ways to improve your writing.
How To Write Gooder
You may be the most talented creative in the world, but if you can’t communicate what you do, why it matters and why you’re awesome, you’re hooped.
In this talk, you’ll learn simple ways to whip your writing into shape and tell compelling stories – without selling your soul.
Read the full description of Eagranie’s talk here.
Join us for the latest Hot Talk on Tuesday November 26th at 7pm. Tickets are by donation and are available through Eventbrite.
Hot Talks: Eagranie Yuh
Hot Art Wet City
Date: November 26th, 2013
Time: Doors 6:30, talk 7pm
Address: 2206 Main Street, Vancouver
With over four hundred artists participating in the Eastside Culture Crawl it’s a little overwhelming to decide who to see. If I wasn’t tied to my own studio for the weekend these are a few of the artists I would visit.
Michelle Sirois-Silver Studio | Textiles
Location: 1610 Clark Drive, Ste 201
Culture Crawl page
Andrea Armstrong | Painting & Drawing
Location: Hamilton Bank Building, 1895 Powell Street , Suite: 4
Culture Crawl page
Connie Sabo | Sculpture/Drawing/Mixed Media
Location: Portside Studios, 150 McLean Drive
Culture Crawl page
Kim Cooper | Sculpture
Location: Vancouver Community Laboratory, 1907 Triumph Street
Culture Crawl page
Arnt Artzen | Sculpture/Furniture
Location: Paneficio Studios, 800 Keefer Street (alley entrance)
Culture Crawl page
Happy crawling this weekend. Come see me at 1660 East Georgia while you’re out and about getting inspired.
In preparation for the Eastside Culture Crawl I decided to translate two more of my paper cuts into laser cut wood. I went with bamboo plywood again simply because I had a few pieces left over from the commission I did for Earnest Ice Cream. Both of these are 23.5″ in diameter.
Remember the manhole cover design I created for Ironclad Art in the spring of this year? When it didn’t make it as a final selection I always had it in mind to use the design for something else. Here it is realized in laser cut bamboo. It would’ve made a crazy, mind-blowing manhole cover on the streets of Vancouver.
This second piece is a translation of the flowerburst/fireworks I’ve been making multiples of for an installation. I cut one much larger than the others (about 9″ in diameter instead of the usual 3″) and this one was the basis for the laser cut. At this larger size of 23.5″ in diameter the design feels really intense. My initial reaction upon seeing it was, “this is crazy!”
I am very excited with the potential for further laser cutting explorations, and how well my paper cut work translates.
Come see these pieces and more at my studio this weekend during the Eastside Culture Crawl.
I have a group show coming up in March of next year at Hot Art Wet City. Recently I came to a decision about the work I want to create for this exhibition, and so I started a new paper cut sculpture.
I want to have three of these triangle sculptures for the show. The one pictured here is the second, and the first I shared previously on my blog. Each will be cut in a different pattern. I want to show these inverted but I need to figure out how to make a stand for them.
Part of my plan for these sculptures is to translate them into another more durable material using laser cutting. I’ll be digitizing the individual pieces before I finish and assemble the completed sculpture. I think this will look amazing in wood or metal.
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.
We’ve had an extended run of spectacular fall colours here in Vancouver this year, because it’s been a very dry autumn. Normally the rainy season begins in September or October, and the leaves are washed from the trees before they get the chance to turn.
It’s really beautiful with all the reds, yellows, and oranges on the trees. I take a zillion photos when I go for my walks during the day.
Despite the beauty, it worries me. We live in a rain forest, and the dry season seems to extend further into the fall every year and so we get less rain. In the long term it can’t mean anything good.