Upcycled Collage: Book Cover & Birds

August 2, 2011

I removed this cover from a sample altered book I’d put together for one of the workshops I taught earlier this year. I don’t normally remove covers from the books I use but I did in this case and decided to hold on to it and use it in something else. I was really hoping to use it in a collage somehow and here it is at last.

This is part of a series of collages I’m creating as a warm up. I’ve taken most of the summer off from making things and it feels good to get back to it.

As mentioned previously, I’m tentatively calling this series, “Put a Bird on it”, as each one will be a whimsical composition containing birds. They all come from the same bird book I found at Value Village and each collage contains upcycled security envelopes, scrap book pages and thread. I’ve decided to use both found wood boxes and book covers as the “canvas” for these.

Even though it’s still months away my efforts in producing new work is in preparation for the Eastside Culture Crawl in November. Stay tuned for more new work.

Upcycled Collage: Put a Bird on It

July 28, 2011

If you’ve seen the show Portlandia you’ll understand the reference in the title of this blog post. They did a sketch called “Put a bird on it”, where they make fun of the trend of bird motif covered everything. It’s really funny and you can watch it here. I’m thinking it will be the working title of a new series with birds.

As I get back into the flow of creating new work I’ve decided to continue creating small collage using reclaimed materials. I’m focused on sourcing wooden boxes as the base for these collage, and will use scrap book pages, security envelopes, thread, and birds cut from an encyclopedia.

I’m continuing with a style I started working on at the beginning of this year mixing the patterns created by the type on the book pages with the blue prints of the envelopes. Both papers are ones I’ve saved and collected. The wood I’ve used as the canvas for this collage is the cover of a wine box I bought at Value Village. I’ll be using the rest of the box for another piece.

My focus with this series is definitely whimsical scenes with birds. But I also want to create these with reclaimed materials upcycled into art. The most difficult part will be sourcing appropriate pieces of wood, though I’m also considering doing these on book covers.

It feels really good to be making new work.

Deer and Wolf. The Art of Listening

July 21, 2011

One of my favorite group activities that we did on the Foodtree retreat was a game called Deer and Wolf. Our group did an early morning walk from Foxglove Farm to a nearby lake in the forest and this is where we played. We did this exercise in groups of four, with one person playing the deer and the three others as wolves. The deer was blindfolded and positioned in an open area, and it was the job of the wolves to try and sneak up as silently as possible and steal the deer’s tail (a bandana). If the deer hears a wolf and points in your direction, then you’re out.

I was part of the first group to play the game, with Sam and Jonny as my fellow wolves, and Na’ama as the deer. As we started I felt myself slowing down and concentrating on every sound around me. I immediately fell into the mindset of an animal, though I felt more like a cat than a wolf. Pretending to be an animal was one of my favorite things when I was a kid, so I thought this was a great game.

The purpose of the game is to remind you to listen. The deer has to listen for sounds of the wolves sneaking up and prevent them from getting too close, while the wolves have to be as silent as possible.

As I stalked Na’ama I found myself in a state of clarity and focus that I haven’t felt in a very long time. I was actively listening in a way I don’t normally, and what I mostly heard was silence. For the most part the sounds of my own breathing and heartbeat were the loudest things I could hear. I moved as slowly as possible being very careful about where I placed my feet amongst the dry grass and sticks, and used ambient noises to mask my movements when I could. My biggest struggle was trying not to laugh as I did this because the trickster part of me loves sneaking up on people (ask Boris).

This week I’ve been reminded of this exercise as I look after a friend’s dog who is blind. His name is Charlie and he’s been this way since birth, so for him listening is an important part of how he makes his way through the world. As I spend time with him I’ve found myself once again paying more attention to sounds in an effort to imagine how he “sees”.

Active listening is clearly an art I need to cultivate because too often I find myself distracted and unfocused. How often do I really listen without the constant dialogue in my own head getting in the way? Both situations are a good reminder to slow down, listen, and strive for clarity of focus. Too-busy-life be damned. 🙂

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

July 21, 2011

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

Inspiration: Working With Foodtree

July 19, 20116 Comments

Last week I was away on a three day retreat on Saltspring Island with the team I work with at Foodtree. It was an amazing, inspiring, and transformative experience and I really wanted to acknowledge this by writing about it here.

As you may know I was working full time as an artist for more than a year and in March I decided it was time to look for a part time job to support myself. I wrote a blog post about what I was looking for, put it out into the world through social media channels, and back came an opportunity to work with Foodtree.

Foodtree is an internet startup based out of Gastown in Vancouver. The basic concept of what we do is connect people with where their food comes from through web and mobile applications. Our goal is complete transparency in the food system, and our company motto is, “Know More. Eat Better.” The company was founded by Anthony Nicalo and Derek Shanahan, two awesome people who want to make a difference in the world and it all starts with food.

I’ve been working with Foodtree on a part-time basis since mid-April with the title of “Community Techknowledgartist” and responsibilities of supporting Derek as Community Manager. After the initial thrill and excitement about the job wore off I began struggling with what I was doing there and felt unsure about what I had to offer the company.

You see, Anthony is the kind of team leader/employer who gives you a role but leaves it up to you to define it, and that’s not an easy thing to do. There is no time for hand holding in a startup because it’s a fast paced environment, and it’s the responsibility of every person there to move the mission forward. You’re no longer an “employee” but a member of a team. I’ve never ever worked in an environment where I felt so empowered to perform the function I was hired to do. Or at least now I do after our retreat on Saltspring Island.

The retreat came just at the right time after a crazy couple of months of rebranding the company, refining the company’s mission, launching an iphone app, and new people joining Foodtree. I think we all left for Saltspring feeling uncertain about what we were in for, and came back from a very memorable experience that helped bring us closer together.

We spent the three days at Foxglove Farm with a group of facilitators who helped guide us through the process of clarifying the mission and developing our team. It was the first opportunity I’ve had to really get to know everyone and I couldn’t be more impressed by the intelligent, articulate, and amazing group of people I get to work with at Foodtree. The experience taught me that I belong there and that I do have many strengths/skills/ideas to offer our organization. This makes me happy.

The retreat was a huge investment of time, energy, and money by Anthony and Derek in the group of people they’ve brought together.

I’ve never experienced that level of investment from an employer. It demonstrates how much our team leaders value and regard the individual members of our group, and the importance of the role each plays in moving forward with our mission at Foodtree.

I’m very grateful to both Anthony and Derek for including me in the further development of Foodtree. It definitely feels like being a part of something special.

Public Art: McLean Drive Mural Project

July 15, 2011

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.

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.

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

Revising the Tree of [Un]Common Knowledge

July 14, 20111 Comment

The Tree of [Un]Common Knowledge has been languishing away in storage since I last displayed it in November. I’ve always wanted to make it a few accessories from paper, like leaves, flowers, and birds. Last week I finally got around to creating the birds.

I picked up an illustrated bird encyclopedia from Value Village a few months ago with the intention of using the bird illustrations in collage work. Some of the birds are fairly close to the life-size, which made them perfect to use on the paper tree.

I cut out twenty-five birds from the encyclopedia. Each one is glued to a thicker cardstock and attached to the tree with a pin. I wanted to be able to move them around and not make them a permanent part of the tree. The birds are a delightful addition, and I wish I had somewhere in my apartment I could leave the whole thing set up for my enjoyment.

The Tree of [Un]Common Knowledge was supposed to be displayed in the lobby of the Sandbar Restaurant for ReVision @ Creekhouse, which is a show of artwork made from recycled materials. Unfortunately I decided to withdraw it at the last minute because the space I was given in the lobby of the restaurant wasn’t suitable and I felt the tree was at risk of getting damaged.

I’m hoping to eventually find somewhere else to show this, so stay tuned…

Forgotten Knowledge at Stone Age Art Company

July 14, 20112 Comments

The last week and a half has been such a whirlwind that I haven’t had any time to update the blog. I’m behind in mentioning the latest exhibition where you can see my work.

I have work on display in ReVision @ Creekhouse, which is a show of artwork made from recycled and repurposed materials on Granville Island. The show started last weekend and has just been extended one more week (due to popular demand) and will run until Sunday, July 24th.

The Forgotten Knowledge series of altered books that I created last year for Container Art is on display in the window of the Stone Age Art Company. It’s the prefect spot for the books and can be seen even if the shop is closed.

Boris helped me deliver my work to Granville Island last Wednesday and the hilarious thing is we used a smart car from Car2Go to do it. (It’s our only access to a car at the moment, because we don’t own one). Between the four boxes of books, large bag of paper flowers, and one giant paper tree, we were packed in tighter than a clown car full of clowns. (We felt like clowns too).

There will be more work added to ReVision this coming weekend, so if you’re down on Granville Island check it out. Details can be found on their web site.

My Weekend In Photos

July 4, 2011

The photos only hint at the awesomeness of my Canada Day weekend.

Yuuki visits the breakfast table.

Field strawberries and a horse on Westham Island.

Beautiful skies in Steveston.

Poppies on a side street off Commercial Drive.

Garlic at the Kitsilano Farmers Market.

A view of the water in New Brighton Park Pool.

I hope you had a good weekend too.

Vancouver Mini Maker Faire Was Awesome

June 27, 20111 Comment

The title says it all. I really enjoyed exhibiting my work at Maker Faire this past weekend. I talked to so many people the first day I thought I was going to loose my voice. Sunday was a bit calmer, but just as busy as the day went on.

I had many great conversations with people about books, and was glad to hear “book people” such as librarians love my work. It was a pleasure to hear people stop by and tell me they found my work beautiful. I’m glad what I do inspires people.

This is the set up of my booth at Maker Faire. I’m so glad I had the space to include my paper tree. It hasn’t gotten out much since I made it last November.

Congratulations to the organizers of Maker Faire for such a successful event. They did a terrific job of bringing everything together and having the whole experience run smoothly.

Many thank yous to the friends who stopped by to visit and give me a short break, especially to Kai and Boris for helping with the booth set up and tear down.

Canvas to the Imagination

Rachael Ashe – Art | Craft | Life