Toronto Art Days

I am in Toronto with family for the month of May getting a much needed Urban fix. I plan on seeing as many art galleries as possible and simply wondering the street taking pictures of anything I find inspiring. In the first day we hit a local yard/ street sale, many great finds to be had, (picked up a smoking lily bag for $.25 !)

 Maggie outside the Mascot cafe, she enjoyed receiving a  panda puppet given to her by the owners.

 Local park 2 blocks away, Chad is trying to bump me off the teeter totter, good luck! We walked by a local kids designer and scored a fabulous dragon's tail fancy pants kids   she is a creative mother making cool things. 

 Another momma designer selling fabrics and samples, Aunty Abby busy shopping and Maggie dancing.

Hand made guitars and banjos out of tin, sounded so good, wish I could play. 

Altered - Intersections of Art & Mothering

I have not had a moment to blog about the group art show I am in at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery from May 5th - June 6th 2011.  Here are some photos of the show and the set up to get there. 

I wanted to create a performance piece inspired by my 2 1/2 year old and how she influences my art and alters it as well.  I wanted to incorporate a shadow puppet effect and chose corrugated plastic to make a house that would let the light filter through.

 Keeping with the theme of my studio and to reflect age and time,  I framed the unit on the outside with weathered wood.

 I connected the sides together by a building a frame on the inside.

 On set up day at the gallery I was able to assemble it fairly easy. It would house 2 lamps to create the shadow effect.

 There were five mother/ artists in total. Danielle Arsenault, Sandy Buck, Natalie Grambow, Angela Somerset, Shiloh Sukkau.  We had two days to install our show and used every moment.

 This is Shiloh prepping the wall.

Danielle and Angela are figuring out where to hang their pieces.

Our little Angels were set up in front of a video the night before opening to allow us more time to hang our pieces.

 This is the opening party, the kids really got into the gallery vibe.

the name of the piece was "Tell me a Story"

 the performance piece was a hit. I used images inspired by children story books and taped them up on the inside walls while drawing along in coloured markers all the while while a musical game was repeating itself over and over.  Maggie followed my every move on the outside.  

After the performance, I let the kids go in and add their inspired creativity.  The front child is using the musical toy while others draw on the wall.

here is an idea of how the shadow would have looked during the performance, with the door closed. 

this is Cloe, Natalie's lovely little girl who added her creative touch after the performance...if only I  had thought of using 2 markers at once. Kids are truly inspirational. 

What I would rather be doing....

So many distractions from my taxes... Luckily I have a deadline or I would never get it done.

I can't play a song yet...but I am working on it....Ok, back to adding up receipts. 

death and taxes

What is it that we all have in common? My creative brain has to put on the brakes while I organize my taxes....

stay tuned for the dress made out of receipts.

Open House Fun

On the day of the open house, it rained and hailed but still the sun shone for a moment.

 Little Maggie Rose got into the spirit of things...my little performer, the pear does not fall far from the tree.

 Here are some photos of the Open house on April 3rd.

 Everyone was invited to make something with styrofoam before the show started, wonderful things were made in the art farm hub.  Then everyone was invited inside the (warm) studio to sit and see the puppet show magic.

 After the show, kids and adults were invited to come and play which they did eagerly.

it was a wonderful day and there will be many more to come.

The studio is open for creative business

The studio is finished... for the time being that is... to remind you what it is use to look like, check out the Before photos:

 this corner is where the new puppet closet lives...

 the shelves have lovely doors made of reclaimed wood and the closets are organized (mostly)

 The walls are now painted and the floor is a lovely rose colour, not this dreary gray.

my studio table has been moved over to the middle and houses my fabrics.

 Before my opening I hosted a little fun & cozy  clothing swap with my wonderful friends.  There will be more...many more gatherings like this one...

Special visitor at the Open House Sunday, April 3rd

this is The Wizard, maybe he has another name but I have not found it yet.  He will be a special guest this coming Sunday, April 3rd at my Studio Open House.  He does not belong to me and this is his first big show from what I understand.  Come see what he says.... 1pm - 3pm.

I am attaching branches to the wall so that I can hang curtains from them.

 The branch is from an old Arbutus tree we brought back from Hornby Island...very magical and hard as nails.

 The sun came out and wow, the view never ceases to take my breath away, here is hoping we get some sun on Sunday. 

 Here is the studio with the garage door open.

 I broke out my favorite summer time cd in the world...hippy dippy for sure.

The curtains are up and I am out of time... see you at the OPEN HOUSE