A full heart

 A heartfelt 'thank you' to everyone who came by my studio for the Eastside Culture Crawl. I feel so affirmed that I'm going in the right direction with my artwork, and I cherish all of the amazing conversations and vulnerability that was shared this week. Stay posted for the next event!

Wreckage and Resurrection

Wreckage and Resurrection is a series of assemblages that were shown in 'The Signature of All Things', an exhibit inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert's novel of the same title. 

These pieces took a lot more work than I anticipated. I thought long and hard on how to fit the different elements together, but it didn't click into the week before they had to be finished. The rocks, dried flowers, boat and the bone allude to my own childhood collections. 

Throughout the novel, Alma is burdened with external expectations, repressed desires, heavy responsibility and her husband’s secret life in exile. The specimens under glass follow the arc of Alma’s progression from overwhelming grief to finding her way.

Moss had the temerity to begin luring the forest back to life. It is a resurrection engine. A single clump of mosses can lie dormant and dry for forty years at a stretch, and then vault back into life with a mere soaking of water. (169)

The materials used in Wreckage and Resurrection are incongruent - lace and ceramics coupled with dirt and bones; pluralism of the known and the transcendent. The dried flowers and bones reference vanitas, a highly symbolic art form exploring mortality mainly used by the Dutch still life painters of the 17th century. In each of the sculptures, lace plays an integral role in adorning, obscuring and uncovering the figure. 

The Signature of All Things: An Art Show

The next big thing!

And a poorly photographed detail of one of my pieces for the show...

Foraging and artmaking

This week I am working on three assemblage/sculptures for OBAC's art show at VanDusen Gardens. Usually I have a good creative flow in the studio but yesterday was a bad day. Sometimes nothing works and you have to bike to Stanley Park to forage moss. Then things will be better. 

Diaspora

Diaspora, ceramic tiles found in the Holy Land, 2016

How to blend in

I wore this dress during my artist residency in March. I considered wearing it every day but later decided that it wasn't comfortable enough, and I wasn't that committed to the performance part of the art project. I designed the dress to be plain so that I could blend into the landscape. The belt is hand embroidered with a quilt block shape has appeared intermittently in my work for the last five years. It references my Great Grandmother, the woman who taught me to sew and whose footsteps I followed to Israel and Palestine. The buttons are souvenirs carved from olive wood that she purchased forty years ago.

Below are screenshots from the video I'm editing: the Dead Sea, Masada and a farm outside of Bethlehem.

The Significance of a Journey

This month my artwork is featured in the newly minted ceramic studio and gallery, Hello World! Stop by to also check out Linda and Nicole's amazing ceramic work. So thankful to be a part of this!

The Significance of a Journey, photo collage and carving, 60''x67'', 2016

Artist Statement:

In March I attended a month long artist residency in Israel/Palestine. During my time, I apprenticed at a wood carving shop in Bethlehem. I was inspired by the many broken carvings that were shelved to be fixed for later. Olive wood brings to mind ancient generations, resilience and peace, while ironically harvested from a land that is infamous for its conflict. The figurines represent characters from the Old and New Testament in the Bible, some of which are also recognized in the writings of Judaism and Islam. Each carving is significantly flawed. There is a violence in these images, but they are also achingly human. These were ordinary people who were called into extraordinary and extreme circumstances. The stories they represent involve risk; leaving the relative comfort of the familiar for a promised (yet uncertain) future. The carvings are broken, they express a yearning for something better. One day they will be fixed.

What elements fuelled the mass exodus (or conversely exile) of nomadic groups in the ancient land of Palestine, and are those reasons any different from what is happening today? I am interested in applying ‘exile’ and ‘exodus’ to modern day issues of migration, deportation and nomadism. An increasingly relevant topic during our time as countries are emptied and borders are more defined.

Soldier Boy, olive wood and string, 8'' tall, 2016

In the House of my Pilgrimage

Please join Sarah and I at our opening next week! This is the show we exhibited in Alert Bay exactly a year ago. The work explores themes of home, transience and displacement. Hope to see you there!

Jaffa Gate and the stone

Heirloom Inventory, mixed media on paper, 2012

This is the first piece from my Great Grandmother's collection that I returned. All her other souvenirs have more specific labels like 'Sea of Gallilee' or 'Jacob's Well'. This one perplexed me. It could have gone anywhere. Or at least thats what I thought. I left it at Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. Later I learned of the complex history between East and West Jerusalem, things were not as straightforward as I had presumed. Ironically, the 'Israel' sticker fell off before I placed the stone on the ledge. I was able to return the object, void of labels. It could decide for itself. 

Apart from the socio-political ramifications of my action (unbeknownst to me), the first returning was more emotional than I expected. This little stone had been in my family for forty years and it felt wrong to leave it behind. It was so small, so insignificant and vulnerable. I had to fight the urge to turn around and rescue it. Maybe I could go back on my word slightly, set it down so it could get to know its mother stone, and then pocket it again. It would be safer with me, anyway. In the end, I forced myself to walk away empty handed. Not even allowing myself to look over my shoulder. 

Developing my lino-printing muscles.

Since my return from Israel/Palestine (March 30) I have been lino and screen printing with every spare second of studio time. The middle picture is a sample of the 25 limited edition pieces that will be available for sale very soon! I'm excited to get these prints in the mail to send them to their new homes. Thanks again to all you who have financially supported the residency!

Post-Pilgrimage

Today was my first day back in my studio post-pilgrimage. I spent time cleaning, printing a proof and sorting through all pieces I collected in the West Bank. It feels SO GOOD to be in production mode again.  

Things found by the wayside.

I found these beautiful pieces today. Such beauty found in such a dark place. I'm learning to thank the land for what it gives me. Shukran, salaam. 

Searching for stars.

More stars and moons in Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

A morning with the sawdust.

Learning in the wood factory. 

Kingly Stone

In this region, all the buildings are made of mizi, also known as 'Jerusalem stone' or 'kingly stone'. To me it looks luxurious and expensive. But actually, it is cheaper to build with than wood because it is so accessible. This limestone is extracted from a quarry close to Bethlehem.

Still from a video that I'm working on.

The wood shop

I met the owner of a wood carving factory in Bethlehem today. He let us wander through the shop and into the back courtyard where all the scraps are kept. I told him about my residency, and how I wanted to work with olive wood. He offered to teach me! I don't know if I'm cut out for carving, but as Jack says, "The carving is in you or it isn't. If you are an artist, and you know how to make things, it will work". Here's hoping!

Moon of Bethlehem

Chef Hostel in Tel Aviv, does this shape look familiar?

 I've only been obsessed with it for the last five years! 

I must be in the right place. 

Fulfillment

Six years ago I did a performance art piece in university called 'Family Ties'. This was the first time I started engaging and collaborating with my Great Grandmothers "relics" in my artwork. Today I am going to fly to Israel with these relics to return them (after four generations). This is an important day.

I am a mess of nerves, excitement and wonder. It's finally happening!

Iconic

I still haven't thought of the perfect title for this one. Hit me up with suggestions! 

Pilgrimage clothes.

Twelve more days until I leave for my artist residency! I  love lists, but I will spare you the details of everything that I have to finish. One thing that I did cross off my list is making the dress for the performance/video. Two prototypes and numerous alterations later, and this is the result... almost. 

On Pilgrimage and Solidarity.

Rough-Hew, linoprint (artists proof), 2016

In four weeks I am going to board a plane and fly to Bethlehem, Palestine to embark on the biggest adventure of my life! This adventure will involve art-making, learning about peacemaking in the land of conflict, collaborating with Israeli and Palestinian artists, and exploring. 

If you want to learn more about the trip, you can visit my Indiegogo campaign, 'Becoming Human'. 

There are 12 days left to fund the project! 

Little Monuments

This image is a still from a stop motion animation that I am experimenting with. Stay tuned for February, where I will unveil the details of my big trip!

Sand in my subconscious

Petra, a stop motion study. 

The process was very experimental and free flowing. 

Sand is drifting in my subconscious. 

Silent nights

December was a quiet month. Here is a side project I am working on for the Strathcona Vineyard Church. There will be four panels depicting different images connected to the season of Advent. Each image is made up of collaged material picked and placed by community members. It will eventually be large wall hanging.