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!