Moving Pictures

So I guess I'm a video artist now? My video, 'Floathouse', will be shown in Do You Remember? at the Charles Clark Gallery during the Eastside Culture Crawl. Visit the link here for more information!

An International Artist!

I'm Fine. embroidery on handkerchief, 10''x10'', 2012

Tomorrow I am going to attend the Seattle opening for Electric Fields (see the link for the Juror's statement). If you are in the area you should swing by! It will be at the Punch Gallery in Pioneer Square. 

The Olive Tree

The Olive Tree, linocut print, 8''x10'', 2015

Four decades ago, my Great Grandmother brought home sand and water from Israel and the Palestinian Territories. I grew up with these relics. One day I will go on a pilgrimage to return the contents, and explore the concept of 'home' within a larger context. 

The small quantities of sand in my Great Grandma's glass jars is connected to a much larger region that is rich with histories of possession and dispossession. 

If this piques your curiosity, send me a message and I will tell you more! 

Inspired By:

You are invited to Open Book Art Collective's fourth show.

One night only, artists AND author in attendance! 

Still shot from 'The Sins of the Father', 2015

Despite the fire ban...

...I made a little fire with this guy. Working on some footage for a new video piece! 

World Sweet World

World Sweet World, hand embroidery on napkin, 14'' x 14''

A Jenny Hawkinson/Ashley Chapman collaboration for some dear, married friends. 

The Nest Community Mural

The Nest Community Mural Project is made possible through grants from the Community Arts Council of Vancouver, The City of Vancouver, Jacob's Well, Mission Possible and Servants Vancouver. The site of the Mural is the Mikado Martial Arts Supply Building on 701 Hastings Street. The goal of the mural project is to invite participation by residents of the Downtown Eastside Community to enhance their neighborhood through public art. 

Below is a photo-journal of the project from start to finish.

Painting Walls!

The reason for my silence: I'm painting an 11' x 24' mural in the Downtown Eastside

 with Community Members! You can learn more at nestcommunitymural.com 

'Homeward' in Alert Bay: Part 2

 The final installation!

This one was changed after the opening, the bones weren't working inside the boat so I took them out.  

'Homeward' Loonie Auction

My favourite element of 'Homeward' is the community effort that it took to raise the funds to get the show to Alert Bay. When Sarah said I should host a Loonie Auction in Vancouver, my first response was, "Whats that?" and then, "That won't work down here."

I was wrong. I have a wealth of friends who generously donated artworks and other items. The quality of objects for raffle was incredible. And so many people came out to support!

Conceptually, it worked really well with our show. Our desire was to connect both of the places that we call 'home'. I hope that one day the show will make the trip to Vancouver. 

         

Idiot (An Art Show)

Check out the Open Book Art Collective

Does this entice you? Come to the show to see the full artwork!

'Homeward' in Alert Bay: Part 1

It happened! We did it! On May 19, two artists and a dog loaded half an art show into a van and made the long journey to Alert Bay, off of Vancouver Island. It proved to be an epic week, not only because we got lost several times on the way, but it was also my birthday, AND the show was in a real gallery! Thanks to Sarah for hosting us, and making her half of the show, which was sooooo wonderful. More pictures coming! 

Thank you Alert Bay Artist Society! The art really made itself at home in the Art Loft. 

Thrifty finds

Our Home and Native Land, embroidery on found wall hanging, 2014 

House of Dreams

This is the house of my childhood, the place that housed so many of my childhood dreams. The house that my grandparents raised my mother and my aunts and my uncles in. There are so many stories connected to this place. 

House of Dreams, collage and graphite on panel, 48''x24'', 2015

Nostalgia cannot be sustained without loss.

Memoir, acrylic paint and clothe on canvas, 2015

Floating in False Creek

The floathouse has finally made it to False Creek! It looks so out of place in the 'City of Glass'. Can anyone else relate? I know I can... barefoot Jenny from the farm would have laughed in said 'never in a million years' if someone showed her the future. 

In other news, the show Homeward opens in Alert Bay on May 22. 

Still barefoot... ten years later. 

Do yourself a favour and walk in the mudflats with no shoes. 

The final countdown

Nearly finished! I am happy to announce that quilting is not as hard as I thought. I just made a giant collage. It helps that my squares are huge, and the material was easy to work with. The last bit will be a surprise.  

I'm terrible with titling my artwork (as you can see from my lack of creative blog post titles). Any ideas that aren't too cheesy and obvious?

Untitled, soccer jerseys and t-shirts, 56'' x 70'', 2015 

back detail

Candles and Quilts

Today I will share process photos with you. Neither of these projects are finished, so don't jump to conclusions!! The figures are going to be made into beeswax candles, and the quilt is going to be used in an installation for a show (not a wall hanging). 

Process pieces for my artwork based on Dostoevsky's 'The Idiot'

The quilt for a show in Alert Bay. More on this later.

The Sam

This summer I am exhibiting with my friend Sarah Neilsen in an art show in Alert Bay, BC. We are exploring themes of 'homecoming', and I am scrambling, or rather will be scrambling in a few months to get all my work done. In the meantime, I am making art as it comes to me. 

My angle on the show is to connect my experiences of community in my neighbourhood, the Downtown Eastside, with the small town community of Alert Bay. The two places are intimately tied together, and I am finding many bridges and metaphors to play with. For example; tides, water, floating houses, transience, migration, and homecoming.

Last month my dear friend passed away. This is something you will get used to if you live in a small community where health issues, addiction and lower life expectancy are prevalent. But it never gets any easier. I had been playing with the idea of using the wax bones for a sculpture, but nothing was working. When I heard about Sam, I went into shock. I looked at the bones and imagined them in a rowboat, floating away from me. 

Alert Bay is a very small island. There are at least three cemeteries and sacred burial grounds on the island. The reminder of death is so visual and present. Some may find this morbid, but I find it sobering and grounding. Both communities have learned to live amidst the loss.

So Long Sam, beeswax, ceramic and acrylic paint, 2015

Alert Bay

The Nostalgia of Food

Hey, I'm in an art show this week!