November 2023

Meet Terry Wilkinson and her daughter Ginny Love. 

 

 

 

 

 

They are standing in front of the Wilkinson Building at First Ave. and Cook Street where their family business moved here in the 50's.  Terry Wilkinson and daughter Ginny are decendents of the original owners and I had the good fortune to connect with them recently after a seredipitous  meeting at my art show Industrial Remnants at Douglas College.  I was happy to gift each of them with works from my show.  

 

 

 

 

 July 2023

 

Many of you know that I have a strong love for the Wilkinson Building which inspired a body of work called Industrial Remnants.  I am sad to report that there was a large fire at the north side of the building July 25th that resulted in a 4 alarm response by Vancouver firefighters.  I understand that the fire was considered suspicious and is being investigated.  You can read about it in the CBC new at this link.    https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/large-fire-olympic-village-1.6918019

 

 

 

JANUARY 31ST, 2023

 

Interview with Stephen Quinn Early Edition

 

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-91-the-early-edition/clip/15963375-the-beauty-industrial-past

 

 

 

January 30th , 2023

 

This is it!  My last exhibtion as I am retiring from creating bodies of work and exhibiting.  I am happy about my decision to move out of my Parker Street Studio.  I am finding that working from home is perfect for me. 

My last body of work created in 2020-2022  is called Industrial Remnants.  It is inspired by the Wilkinson Steel Building at First Ave. and Cook Street in Vancouver on False Creek in my neighbourhood.  I am attrackted to the rusty corrugated siding and the patchwork look of the building as it is boarded up with bits and pieces of metal and wood.  It is being preserved as a Heritage Building by the City of Vancouver.  The building looks out of place among the new condos and town houses.  I have taken bits and pieces of recycled fabrics, rusty nails and washers to create collages on panel and fabric.  These works are my interpretation of the beauty I find in the random patterns of this special building.  Many of you have had the opportunity to see parts of this exhibition at the Silk PUrse and Place Des Arts Galleries.  Details of the exhibition is posted on my EVENTS Page. 

 

I would like to thank all my followers who ave attended my art shows and visited me during the Culture Crawl.  I appreciate your support throughout the years.  I will miss having conversations about my art with you.  I have just celebrated my 80th birthday and know that it is time to move on and enjoy a more liesurely approach to my days.  Creating art has been and will always be important to me.  I value all the years I have given to my passion.  Sherry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meet Aiyanas Ormond

 

Aiyanas is a Community Health Worker.  He is one of the many front line workers that keeps our city functioning in these pandemic times.  He was thrilled to receive one of my paintings and I was thrilled to give it to him in thanks for his work in Community Health.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meet Marie Lewis.

 

Marie is a special education teacher with 2 children. She works one on one with some studients who, because of their condition are unable to wear masks.  There is much anxiety when she goes to work each day.  I admire all front line workers who carry on working while facing daily uncertainty and fears of getting sick.  I am happy to show my gratitude by gifting this painting to her.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

November 2021  Culture Crawl.

 

Last year the Culture Crawl was virtual.  I put time into learning new ways of putting my art online and hoping it would be effective in bringing the public to view my work.  The weekend was lonely.  Sitting in an empty studio alone manning my "chat" line, was a horrible experience.  The experience left me very saddened not just for me but for all artists who put so much time and work into what they do for love.  

 

This year's Crawl (the 25th anniversary) was much better.  My expectations were low as I did not know what to expect with the COVID protocols in place.  As it turned out, the Preview weekend was slow and the guests were spaced out and it was very safe.  The public vax cards were checked at the entrance.  All attendies wore masks.  There were no line-ups as people had appointments to the building and it was monitored with security.  Crawl Weekend had no such appointments.  Folks waited in long line-ups for 45 minutes but the people I spoke to said "no worries" and were just so happy to be at the Crawl.  People came in waves and at times it was crowded in studio #108.  I did my best to stay tucked into a corner and generally enjoyed all the comments and sales that took place.  For me, The Crawl was a success.

 

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER 2021  COVID CURTAINS

 

The corona virus pandemic has affected every aspect of our lives in nearly every corner of the world.  It seems as if barriers are being built as we hide our smiles behind masks making it hard to communicate.  

When COVID descended onto the world like a curtain, my experience of the pandemic started in my studio as isolation took place.  I continued to show up at my studio out of habit but I was unable to sustain interest to  complete any project I started.  Nothing I was doing in the studio seemed important.  On several occasions, I ate my bag lunch at 10:30 and let for home at 11:00am.  This was a new experience for me.  I accepted my feelings, got support from my artist friends and eventually reated two works that speak of vulnerability and responsibility

 

COVID CURTAIN: ENCIRCLING

 

 

Using disposable recycled masks collected over time, I changed the masks by perforating them so they are rendered unsafe, disturbing their meaning and unsettling the viewer.  Inside the curtain are suspended puzzle pieces with information on world fatalities collected over months and years.  The puzzle pieces remind us of the interconnections of countries world-wide, the vaccination gap and the knowledge that we are not safe until everyone is safe.

 

 

  

 

 

COVID CURTAIN: DESCENDING

 

 

There are 17 panels of sheer fabric panels with perforated disposable, recycled masks attached.  They are hanging from a Chinese bamboo pole.  At the base of the curtain is street debris.  The perforations render the maks useless and therefore engage our feelings of uncomfortable vulnerability knowing something so essential is also defined here as litter in our disposable society.  

 

 

 

 

 

Interview Prep. August 2020.

 

How would you introduce yourself to someone who has never seen your work.

 

I am an explorer of art materials and processes. My style is mostly mixed media collage but I am always changing up what I do.

 

How did your interest in art begin? Was it something you were surrounded with art growing up or did you come to it later on?

 

My interest in art was always there from my earliest memories. I would spend time in the attic of our house cutting and pasting. I remember feeling delighted when my older sister went to school as I no longer had to share the scissors with her. I was a quiet, introverted child and felt content cutting and pasting in isolation. Even though I was not surrounded by art, I have had an early interest in drawing and creating using different materials since I could hold a pencil or crayon.

 

What drives you and your work? What’s the main motivation to go to the studio every morning to paint?

 

Art is everything. Creating makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something as well as allowing me to learn something about myself in the process. Art is a healthy way to keep depression away as it gives me purpose and power. Art is an escape and also a confrontation with reality.

 

It is exhilarating to uncover beauty and I certainly learn about myself, my environment and perspectives in the process of creating. I never regret time spent in my studio. The process of creating is so important for me. I am grateful to have a studio.

 

What role does does chance play in your work? Do you know early on how it will turn out?

 

Chance plays a big part of my work. I am incapable of following a plan, even if I sketch it out first. I have accepted that I am impulsive, it is a manifestation of my ADHD and I incorporate this into my work process. I have no other choice. I no longer try to discipline myself into any step by step orderly process. I can hardly wait for paint to dry before adding new layers.

 

I welcome the unexpected in my process. I collaborate with it.

 

I am spontaneous and It is fine for me to feel I don’t need to control every aspect of my work. I never know what a painting is going to look like before it is finished. I push boundaries and risk mayhem and failure in the hope of arriving at a more exciting image.

The more I let go and let the work take the direction it wants to, the more I like the results.

 

Looking at the body of my work, what are the touchstones that people associate it with? What do you hope they are?

 

Touchstones, exactly! Touch. My work is about texture, real or imagined. It is fresh and original, energetic and inspired by nature and organic elements.

 

I paint for myself, my paintings owe me nothing. I value the process and experience of creating but not the painting itself.

 

 

Do I have any role models?

 

These are the artists I admire and have influenced me in particular: Vincent Van Gogh. Cy Twonmbly, David Hockney, Jean Dubuffet.

 

What’s next? What projects do I have any unfinished, unrealized work?

 

I have something to say about aging and I’ve tried to say it without success. I am giving myself some space, some time or distance so I can look at what I am doing with fresh eyes and insights. There are many projects I start just waiting for the right moment to fulfill them.

 

What is the best advice I have recieved in terms of creating art;

 

Show up regardless of mood. Get into a routine. Listen to Mary. Mary is my mentor and dear friend.

Try to pay attention to what I pay attention to.

I like the saying: “Life is what happens to you while your busy making other plans.” John Lennon.

 

Or worded a bit differently, I like this insight. “Want to make God laugh? Plan your life and plan your paintings.

 

 

 

 

POPULAR MECHANICS JULY 2020

 

Who knew? Looking back to my formative years in elementary school, I found an indicator of my future road map of my creativity.

 

When other students were learning to read, I spent my library hours looking at Popular Mechanic magazines. In the magazine were visual diagrams of how things were put together. How things worked mechanically. How they were constructed.

 

Here I am today doing exactly the same thing in my art practice. I have an endless curiosity about how materials work together. How to make stuff; how to create something. Popular Mechanics was about creating functional, practical items like birdhouses and toys. I loved looking at the pictures more than the words of explanations.

 

I did learn to read but I read only textbooks. I never read a novel until grade 8 and then another after graduation.

 

 

 

 

 

LISTENING TO AND UNDERSTANDING MY CREATIVE PASSION AND DRIVE. June 2020

 

There was a time when I could never meet my self expectations. All my painting efforts resulted in abysmal failures that left me without power and control. Painting was hard work, giving me very little pleasure as I tried to achieve per-determined results. The gap between my expectations and reality left me saddened and depressed.

 

Having a diagnosis of ADHD at age 57 gave me permission to cast away many years of struggle and conflict. I started to understand my creative passion and drive from a different perspective. Once I accepted that my messy, spontaneous and impulsive way of working was not something to get over, I started to let go of self criticism and the accompanying depression. I have more respect for my artistic process now that I understand what drives me to create like I do.

 

ADHD is common among artists. The label does not define the variations of skills and abilities within that label. Although there are factors which are negative, there are may positive factor as well.

I own my creative process and don’t judge it negatively. I accept that I get overstimulated and excited and unable to finish a painting because new ideas and impulses start driving me in different directions. I accept that having my materials all around me ensures that I can respond impulsively to urges. I therefore have to tolerate a great deal of chaos in my messy environment. I accept that surrounding myself with assorted papers, paints and media allows me to work intuitively as one idea inspires and leads on to others and that I need to work on multiple paintings at once. Each new work is a response to a different direction that comes up in the process of creating. Throughout my creative process I try to remain non judgmental. I accept that there is no way I can complete my vision from start to finish in a logical, sequential order. Once I found avenues of expression that fit with my personality, it was very liberating. I started to enjoy the pleasures of my process and this resulted in success and happiness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                        INDUSTRIAL REMNANTS STATEMENT  MAY 12TH 2020

Industrial Remnants: a series of collages on panel and fabric.

 

 

The inspiration for my collages is the derelict Wilkinson building that I often walk past when exploring my neighbourhood. The building at the foot of First Avenue and Cook Street, was a warehouse built in 1950 to import and distribute industrial metal products. It once was situated on the waterfront on False Creek until the infill gave it a new orientation. Today, it is classified as a heritage building by the City of Vancouver.

 

Its corrugated steel cladding aged and weathered by wind and rain offers up an alternative concept of beauty and the randomness of its rusty decay creates unique surfaces that are raw and real.

 

Although I live in a condo tower and look out daily on Vancouver “The City of Glass” nicknamed by Douglas Coupland, I shun all that is shiny and embrace the past that has survived the passage of time.

Examining, probing, discovering are my research methods. Mixed media collages allow me to approach the limits of this exploration. My art materials bring out the inventor in me. Just as erosion on the steel cladding has created a unique texture, I am compelled to explore and create interesting textures and layers to build unique surfaces , too. I delight in the colour of rust. Iron is such a strong metal and yet, when corroded, it becomes very fragile and unstable. Rust almost always tells of something old and decaying created useless by the passage of time. When old buildings are torn down every day to make room for high-rise apartments, it is amazing to see the old Wilkinson building survive in the heart of the city. It is classified as a heritage building for important and significant reasons but it is the visual look of the building which I find so interesting.

 

 

INDUSTRIAL REMNANTS: MY PROCESS.  MAY 12TH 2020

 

My recycled curtains became the surface of my canvas. I quickly applied latex paint on the dark curtain fabric, letting the fluid paint seep through the pores saturating the surface. What happens on the reverse of the fabric is an uncontrolled surprise. The “front” is my purposeful painting which is different from the “back”. These initial paintings are very experimental as I discover what effects I can control and what works for my purposes, concept and content. These are materials that I have not used before and I have to find out what they can and cannot do. Once I have my vocabulary ready, I proceed to manipulate the elements of texture, line, shape and colour in a controlled manner. With a large selection of panels, I now can begin to choose and discard and collage the fabrics together.

 

For the collage work that I do on the wood panels, I start with producing prepared papers using many mixed media techniques. This is the most enjoyable part of my process because I can be free of decision making while I explore various textural and colour choices. Once I have created a multitude of elements I then begin to chose and manipulate them to my work.

One of the new to me materials I have used in this series is rust patina which comes in a jar. It is a two part process that involves a developer compound. I found it in the dumpster at my Parker Street studio and decided to recycle it into my purpose.

 

ART IN THE TIME OF THE CORONA VIRUS. April 12^th, 2020

Each day starts the same way.  I wake up with the sunrise, make coffee, and visit the John Hopkins University COVID-19 Map to see how Canada is doing compared to other places in the world. How many new cases, how many deaths and how many have recovered. Mostly, this fills me with anxiety; but, it’s become part of my routine. My new normal.

 

There is so much fear right now. I feel it too. Scientists are just learning about this terrible virus and their shared knowledge changes daily. Yes, I am following guidance of our health minister and self isolating etc. Although I spend most days at home, venturing out for a daily walk, I have the option and good fortune to be able to walk to my studio and spend a few hours there. Although I have several studio mates, none of them are coming to the studio, so I am there alone. I am so grateful to be able to do this as it helps keep me sane. There is another concern that is a problem. I am no longer able to go to the art shop for supplies. I could order online but I decided to see if I can carry on without doing this. I am choosing to create art using the materials I have on hand. I am getting very inventive which has always been an important criteria of the art process. Instead of using stretched canvases, I am recycling old bedroom curtains as a support for painting. My inspiration is an old heritage building not far from where I live. I love the textures and colours I found in the corrugated steel siding. I have a selection of photos that makes me appreciate the decrepit and aging look which I find appealing.

My recent work pays homage to this building, not so much for it’s heritage value but for it’s gritty look. I have found rusty nails and washers which I am incorporating into my work. I have been making prepared painted papers from which I can rip and distress to the right affect. I have taught myself how to created rust on paper and fabrics. Today, I ran out of curtain rings needed to support my fabric remnants and figured out that I can create coils of wire that sit in water and rust. They are just another element of texture and colour to enhance my inventive process.

 

 

 

 

 

Prep for the Culture Crawl  October 31, 2019

 

Preparing for the Annual November Culture Crawl

 

I stop painting in the middle of October in order to prepare for the Culture Crawl. This is the biggest Arts Festival event of the year and there will be hundreds of people coming through my Parker Street studio. There were 45, 000 visitors to the Crawl last year. Over 500 artist in 80 buildings. It is a Big Deal! Like doing taxes, once a year I make an inventory of all my new work to date. I photograph them, name them, sign them, frame then, make labels, and price them. This takes time but there is even more things I need to do to get ready for the Crawl. I need business cards printed. I need to update my email list and create a couple of newsletters to inform my contacts of upcoming events. I give out postcards (more labels) and distribute posters and programs. If there is time, I will paint the walls and paint the floor. (I am so messy) In the process of doing all this, I like to touch all my stored paintings and choose to keep them or paint over them. I have limited amount of storage, so I cannot be lazy about this task. All my discards have to be documented on my inventory as I use this inventory for my record keeping for tax purposes.

 

Parker Street Studios has a couple of hundred artists and artisans and it has the biggest draw of all the buildings. It is the traditional hub of affordable rental space long before the Crawl started 23 years ago. It is an old wood building and there is always a worry that it will be torn down by Mr. Beedie and replaced with one of his many condos. Affordable art studios are fast disappearing in our city and it is a big concern. If you would like to read a thorough review of artists studios disappearing in Vancouver check out this link. It is alarming! https://drive.google.com/file/d/146vGvLJW-8fBmJ8btq_rJKBgI4wDEsUv/view

 

I am quoted at the end of the report as my experience with displacement motivated me to contribute to an artist-call. You can find my visual contribution on this topic at the Displacement Exhibition on display now (Nov. 1- 24^th at the Firehall Theatre. Here is the image. It may not be clear, but I have cut out a silhouette of myself at my easel leaving a gaping hole. I have situated myself outside, looking into the hole of Bodega on Main Restaurant menu.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is my statement.

Displacement through eviction is incredibly unsettling. My experience along with my five studio mates of having to leave from our Main Street Studio six years ago for development was filled with angst and great inconvenience. My Main Street Studio was my creative space and it fulfilled all my needs. It was affordable and located within a block of where I live. My Main Street Studio is now a restaurant. I sometimes eat there and I try to sit in the area where I once put my easel because part of me still feels connected through the creative energy I invested there. It was my first out-of-home studio after I moved into a condo.

My first studio was in my home of 33 years and the sense of security I felt was integral to my well being and hence my artistic expression. I expected to have the same sense of security in my Main Street Studio but the eviction came suddenly and I was quite panicky about this loss.

I was lucky to relocate to Parker Street Studios. I had temporary space for a year before I had to move again. Once again, I was lucky to be able to relocate within the Parker Street Studios.

I am a survivor of several displacements.

 

I may be retired from my work as an art teacher and an usher, but I cannot retire from being an artist. It is a constant in my life and is the way I keep my sanity. Art is empowering to me. It is my expression.

Sherry

 

 

 

APPLE INSTALLATION ON GAMBIER ISLAND September 2019

 

Every summer we love to play bocce in the meadow on Gambier Island. It is a tradition that someone in the group will make apple crisp to enjoy after the game. This has been a very poor year for apples and we are struggling to find enough apples to make the crisp. This month, I bought 9 bags (3 pounds each) of apples from the market. I hung them in the transparent apple trees and they look totally interesting in a surreal way. The Gambier friends had fun harvesting the apples and we had crisp. I got the photo to document my concept.

 

 

FIRE AT PARKER STREET

Early one morning in August, an arsonist set a fire next to the Parker building. The fire was near the back entrance by the railway tracks. This wonderful old building is made of wood and a fire did not take long to progress up the side of the building. Luckily the fire department came quickly and sprinklers were activated but there still was considerable fire and water damage to 13 studios. This is devastating for the artists and artisans who occupy this part of the building. I am lucky to have my studio at the front of the building. It is on the ground floor and I have my own entrance-exit and so I personally feel I could escape a fire. However, my paintings and supplies would be left behind to succumb to fire and water. I have never bothered with insurance. I feel that if I lose the work, it can’t be replaced and I would just have financial compensation. I still feel this way and have chosen not to insure my work. I have posted a photo to show you some of the damage.

 

 

SUMMER IS OVER  September 2019

The summer flew by as it always does. We travel back and forth from the city to Gambier Island all summer long. We keep a vegetable garden so we must water our crops from the well water. Summer is over, but September is the best time of year for harvesting our apples, tomatoes, beans and squash. We have an abundance of berries but I leave it to my daughter-in-law to preserve the jams.

I have manged to keep two studio days throughout the summer and then take my paints and canvases to Gambier Island for the weekend. I have worked out a space on the backyard picnic table where I can set up a make-shift easel and keep my momentum going. I am working on painting several trees that I photographed at the Kew Gardens in England last May. The day we chose to go was a school holiday, so the beautiful trees (Turner Oaks) have children climbing the limbs. Although trees as playgrounds is discouraged, the children carry on regardless of any chiding from the staff. I quite like seeing the children in the trees like little monkeys (which they are!). I have included a photo or two of the very beginning stages of the paintings.

 

   

   APRIL, 2019. 

 

STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY DAY  28X40  acrylic on canvas.

This painting was a challenge for me to produce.  I have used thin, transparent paint applied quickly to a gesso surface.  The surface was prepared with energetic, random paint lines in white acrylic.  Paint dripped off the end of a paint brush without control helps to give a lively layer of energy and texture to the otherwise static trees.  The challenge for me was to work quickly without making corrections to my composition.  Having the option of changing the composition or colours is how I normally paint.  I had to think and plan before I painted but once underway the painting is done in an afternoon. 

 LIMITATIONS  February 6th 2019
 "The enemy of Art is the absence of limitations".  Orson Wells

Sherry at her studio work table contemplating choices.

Today the temperature outside is -5 C.  My studio is extremely cold as it is on the main floor next to the loading bay doors which are always open.  1000 Parker Street is a very old wood building without insulation so I am constatntly facing cold conditions in the winter.  I dress warmly, wear a hat, wool socks and hiking boots and many layers of clothing.  Still, I am not able to work in my studio for very long and today, I choose to work at home.

I want to share some thoughts about the power of limitaions in inspiring creativity.

My design teacher at university was the beloved Penny Gouldstone.  She was a gentle soul but had a manner of sometimes acting like a martinet just so she could enforce limitations on our projects.  Her students were always given free range to explore options but always with boundaries.  Penny believed that there was a watering down of focus when her students had too many choices.

Over my art career I have understood the value of her teachings and volulntarily place my own limitations on my projects.  For example, a choice I made long ago was to limit the size of my studio.  Yes, I want a bigger studio!  I know, however, that I would not be happy for long as my stuff would just fill up the space available anyway and soon I would want a larger studio once again.  My fisherman husband sites a common desire among his boat owning friends that they have "two-foot-itis".  They have a longing for a slightly larger boat and this desire somehow never goes away.

I also choose to limit the size of my canvas and panel supports (also determined by my small studio and storage space.)  When my wall storage is full, I work small on paper and store my work in drawers.  My creativity can flourish within those limitations.  Sometimes I choose to work with pencil just to push the boundaries of my creative expression.  Other times, I start with a colour of paint and force myself to explore new colour combinations.  Constraints in many ways stimulate discovery and new possibilities.

I have posted here a photo of my studio work table.  I have spread out and filled my table with a huge selection of papers and fabric swatches as I have chosen to work with collage for a perriod of time.  I have chosen not to use paint in my collages.  I have chosen not to use canvas or panel supports.  I have limited myself to work small: paper on paper.  I am happy with these limitations and am stimulated by these constraints. 

I believe like Penny Gouldstone, that wonderful things can happen when limiting my creative options that force me to explore challenges within boundaries I set for myself.

You can see many examples of my collage work on Instagram.com  @sherrycooperartist.

 

WHAT WILL BE NEXT?  November 22 2018

The Culture Crawl was a huge success this year.  over 3,000 visitors to Parker street on the weekend which is more than ever before.  Thanks to everyone who made it a priority to enjoy all the art that The Crawl has to offer and special thanks to those who found their way to studio 108.  

I will be walking into my studio this coming week and starting new work.  What will inspire me?  Will it be a colour?  a concept?  a new media or process?  Maybe it will be a feathers.  Whatever it will be, it won't be anything like what I have been doing recently as I enjoy learning new techniques and exploring new ideas or concepts.  

 

Liberating  Sept. 11th 2018

 I set up an exhibition of my latest work at the Waterfront Theatre Lobby today.  The body of work I entitled Uninhibited, bold use of colour and definitely NOT shy.  Read more about this on my Event's Page.  

September 12th.  I walked into my studio with 10 of my latest works missing from my walls and felt excited and energized.  Potential and possibilities await my empty walls.  In part, my feelings stem from a satisfaction on the completion of a body of work couple with the opportunity to explore new idea, new visions and ideas.  I enjoy exploring more than repeating past successes.  I add another process, change up the sequence, change up the colour combination and discard the guaranteed result in favour of the unexpected.  I do this by working small.  Multiple works done in a day:  pushing and pulling the boundaries to see what works, and what doesn't and how I can retreive that which isn't working.  If that is not possible I  gesso it out and start again.  No great loss of time or materials.  It is freedom I seek to explore and be educated by the results.  

  April 5th 2018  New Zealand did not disappoint

I was told to expect stunning scenery in new Zealand and NZ did not disappoint.  I love trees and I was constantly encountering huge trees everywhere.  Not just the famous and endangered kauri but other varieties of gum and redwood.  I visited botanical gardens in Christchurch, Auckland, Dunedin and Hamilton and these outstanding gardens were special and memorable.  I have enough photos to inspire me to paint.  The entire journey was an adventure, the experiences amazing and the people so friendly but it was the flora captured in my photos that I will never forget.  Can't wait to start some paintings that will express the majesty of New Zealand trees. 

March 2018 will find me in New Zealand.  I will be travelling there for a month, starting in Auckland and ending in Christchurch.  I have been told the scenery is stunningly beautiful.  I look forward to seeing how it stimulates me to paint.  What will inspire me?  Iwill take my camera and a sketchbook.  On my return, I will be in my studio and I can't wait to see what I choose as memories to capture in paint.  Standby!

Necessary Losses:  Artist Statement.

When I was 38 years old I drew a self portrait and took it to the photocopier.  I photocopied the photocopy.  I kept photocopying each subsequent photocopy until I had 40 images.  Each image became slightly more distorted through a loss of detail.  The final copy was very abstracted and fascinating to me just by itself as a study in mark-making, as subtle changes occurred along the way from copy 1 to copy 40.  I started wondering if I could notice where the changes took place.  I decided to compare the copies by using a black Stabilo crayon and trace over each mark to help me pin-point small changes all the while comparing it to the image that followed.  It was a repetitive process that I enjoyed.

   I see this mark-making as a visual representation of the slow and subtle process of aging.  Inspired by my daily exercise routine where I climb the condo stairs, I questioned if there would come a time in the future where I would not be able to climb to the top of the stairs and if so, at what point would I not be able to succeed?  It seems to me; if I can climb the stairs today, I know I can climb them tomorrow and on and on, measuring success one day at a time.  Any small changes to my endurance could go unnoticed until finally at some elderly age I could not climb those stairs.  These minute changes would have added up to something obvious just as obvious as in the final image of my page by page mark-making project. 

                                      This is the last drawing.   This is the first     PARKER ART SALON  www.parkerartsalon.com  is the unique salon-style exhibition of fine art and sculpture at the iconic Parker Street Studios. During the event, the hallways are transformed and the rugged warehouse becomes an elegant fine art exhibition, with music, food and wine.
      Building on the huge success of the previous three years, this year the Salon will include more than 50 artists presenting their best work on two floors of the warehouse, made famous by its presence in the Culture Crawl.

Collector’s Night: Under the chandeliers art lovers may enjoy the ambience, meet the artists and have first dibs on the best and latest artwork. The SILENT AUCTION on the 1st floor will give a quick overview of what to expect upstairs. Again by popular demand will be our SMALL ART where all pieces are $200. Our cash bars will feature BC wine and craft beer. Appies and a complimentary drink offered to all patrons.   

NEW!! COLLECTOR PASS offers $100 off all exhibited work of $500 or more in value and may be used for up to 3 different art pieces.

Over the course of the weekend, PARKER ART SALON will feature artist talks, studio tours and more. It will be the perfect place to experience art

General Tickets and Collector Passes will be available as of February 15, 2018 through PARKER ART SALON www.parkerartsalon.com and at the door the night of the event. Proceeds from the ticket sales, the Silent Auction and Small Art  will be shared with  AnxietyBC,

Admission:              Friday, April 27 Collector’s Night

6PM – 10PM

$20 online www.parkerartsalon.com   

$25 at the door

$50 COLLECTOR PASS (online and at the door)

       

Saturday, May 26 and Sunday, May 27  

1PM – 5PM

FREE

 

 Mt. Artaban.  Gambier Island.  September 18th, 2017

Another milestone, another birthday.  As I age, I realize there are losses in my body like strength, eyesight, hearing and agility.  I don't want to dwell on these losses, I want to challenge myself and celebrate all that I can do.  With that in mind, I hiked up Mt. Artaban on Gambier Island again this year on my birthday as a commemoration of a positive outlook to my capabilities.  In the past, I have commemorated my 6oth birthday with a view from the bosun's chiar overlooking Cortez Island from a sailboat mast that was 70 feet high.  Although this was not a physical challenge, it was a mental challenge overcoming my fear of heights. It also let me realize that I would never forget the experience.  My 65th was commemorated with an overnight hike up Mt. Garibaldi (there was snow) and my 70th was commemorated by a hike up the Grouse Grind.  Mt. Artaban has an elevation gain of 2,000 feet taking 4.5 hours return.  The Grouse Grind is shorter and steeper 2.9 km. and an elevation gain of 2,8000 feet one way.   And do it goes...as I search for a measure of my abilities and a confiration that I am still vital.  It seems that it is important to me to keep tabs on how I fair by challenging myself.  I have daily routines of walking the stairs of my condo to the 27th floor.  I can tell exactly how I am feeling by this little routine.  How I am feeling cannot be unnoticed and I like this immediate feedback.  This ritual has sparked an art project called Necessary Losses and other stories of aging and change.  I will be writing about this project in a future blog posting.

 

 Summer in Melbourne  August 2017

This summer I had the opportunity to visit Melbourne with my artist friend Sheila Page.

I had never been to Australia before and had heard in the press that Melbourne was the most liveavble city in the world.  Vancouver was voted #2.  In many ways the cities are similar being by the coast and having good public transportation but I went to see a city that has a vibrant arts and culture scene.  I was not disappointed.  We visited at least 20 art galleries in the city core.  All of them free of charge.  Contemporary art was abundant and we were constantly inspired.  One of the most impressive things about this city was the modern architecture.  Coming into the Melbourne skyline from the airport was a high rise tower that was tilted.  It was leaning probably 15 degrees off the vertical.  Now this is eye catching architecture!  The architecture firm is called DKO Architecture.  You can google Marina Towers Docklands for more info.   The Melbourne Recital hall, (Ashton Raggat mcDougall),  The Eureka Tower (Fender Katsilides architect)are also impressive buildings along with Melbourne Central which is a 4 level shopping mall.  (The Red and Black Architecture Firm) My husband and son visited Melbourne about 12 years ago and the National Gallery at Federation Square was just built.  I saw photos of this most unique looking building.  The exterior was faceted with angled designs and there was not a straight up window anywhere.  I was immediatley impressed and intrigued and I am sure, it is the sole reason at the time that I said yes to Sheila when she invited me to share in her home-exchange this summer.

We left Vancouver at the beiginning of August when our weather was hot and sunny and I had been enjoying swimming in the ocean at Gambier Island.  Suddenly, it was winter!  They say there is no such thing as bad weather, only poor clothing decisions.  I had brought all the right clothes with me to enjoy the many variations of a Melbourne winter which included cold temperatures, wind and some rain.  You can tell from the photo above that where also had many sunny hot days too.  The photo was taken atop the Pinnacle in the Grampain mountains where we had hiked.  We had taken a 3 day bus tour south of the city along the Great Coastal Road (12 Apostles) to be awed with wonderful vistas and interesting exlplorations of the many scenic by roads.  I saw kangaroos, Emu, Rosella parrots, Koalas and other wild life.  We even  saw "wails" the auzzie accent for whales.  In the town of Brambuk where we overnighted we visited the the National Park and Cultural Centre where we had the opportunity to taste Kangaroo and Emu meats which were very flavourful and interesting. 

We took in 4 films during th eMelbourne International film Festival and I can heartily recommend all 4 films but I know 2 of them are going to be showing at the VIFF.  They are Mountain (much of this Australian film was shot using drones for thrilling footage.  The film ws accompanied with music provided by the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra.   The Fencer was a true story from 1953 shot in Estonia.  Excellent film, do look it up.  The other Australian films we saw was Ali's Wedding (humorous true story, unfortunately) and The Song Keepers (aboriginal choir from Central Australia doc about the German hymns handed down through generations to be rehearsed again by elder women who go on tour back to preform in Germany. 

The choir was on hand after the film to sing for us which was a very special treat.  

With the exception of the very very long flight to Melbourne via Brisbane, I would go back to Melbourne in a heartbeat.  While there, I would make a point of seeing other parts of this vast country and check in with my rellies in Crowsnest near Brisbane.  Next time.  Next time.  Promises to Jane.  

  Summer is finally here in Vancouver and along with the sunshine is the opening of Claude Monet's Secret Garden.  June 24th to October 1, 2017

The exhibit is exquisite in every way.  I just wish that the whole gallery would be full of his work, however, the main floor is a buzz these days with crowds of regulars and tourists catching a glimpse of paintings from Musee Marmottan in Paris.  There is work from 1870's and work up to the year he died in 1926.  I remember my very first visit to the Museum of Modern Art in new York City when I was in my early 20s and how I was enthralled with the beauty and scale of the Water Lilly paintings.  That was my first trip to New York in 1966.  Much later in my life I had the opportunity to visit Giverney outside Paris where Monet lived, painted and gardened from 1883- 1926.  I was so excited to be there but also disappointed in was Spring and the nasturtiums were not yet ready to trample underfoot.  I had seen photographs of the main garden path with the colourful nasturtiums flowing onto path in an irregular manner and I imagined myself stepping carefully through the coloured blooms so as not to crush them.  I walked the bridge over the pond where the Wisteria hung and I felt like the luckiest person alive that afternoon.  My son, only 10 was with me and I could share my enthusiasm with him and instil delight into his heart too.  This is still a special memory all these years later and somewhere in a box I have some photographs of that visit that I cherish.

 

 This is a little watercolour painting I did when I was 10 years old.  My parents enrolled me in saturday Morning art classes at the Vancouver School of Art.  I remember doing this painting on a piece of cheap manilla paper (which is now very brown) and sitting outside on the street not far from the Art school to make this painting.  We would have gone there as a group and each of us chose the house we wanted to paint.  I believe the street was Hamilton.  These interesting wooden house have long vanished but it is fun to remember they existed as part of the history of architectural Vancouver.

   NEW YEAR, NEW WORK

The New Year is a perfect time to think about my goals for the year.  Many of my goals remain the same.  Maintain my website, blog, studio, facebook Page, flickr, Instagram and host monthly art critique meetings.  I must keep updating my inventory, my mailchimp newsletter contacts and submit to artist's calls and galleries and Open Studios on First Saturdays.  

My studio work decsions are often spontaneous depending on my mood and resources but as I start this new year I have decided to focus on creating small works on panels.  I have taken inspiration from my Instagram postings.  Although they are small works, they are highly detailed and therefore, time consuming to produce.  I want to share 3 of these works with you here.

 

Another group of paintings I am working on are collages using acrylic paint, printed papers, and fabric netting.  At the moment I have chosen to work in black, white and gray.  Here are some examples.

 

 

 

  Anniversary Exhibit

The 20th anniversary Culture Crawl was a huge success this year.  25,000 people visited the studios of Parker Street.  Thanks to all who  came by studio 108.  Although it is a very intense weekend for artists, it is also a wonderful to sell my work and get positive feedback on my paintings.  I enjoy the conversations with all visitors and I love sharing my techniques and inspirations with all who stop and wonder about these things.  I also have fun on the Culture Crawl weekend by having a contest open to all who are on Facebook.  I offer up an opportunity to win one of my Cultue Crows in exchange for "likes" on my Facebook Artist's Page.  This year the lucky winner was Melisa Goodwin.  Congratulations Melissa!  

Now that Culture Crawl is over I am excited to start new work.  I am always inspired.  I never have any trouble being inspired and so, I am jumping into a new process with interesting materials.  Hopefully, it will be successful and perhaps it might just become a new series or body of work for me.   The day after the Crawl, even though I was super tired, I made an effort to get to the studio to "normalize" it again after sprucing it up for visitors.  My new work is underway and I am currently solving problems which is the work of an artist.  Standby for future developments.

  DANCING IN THE SHADOWS

 I create what delights me and a feather's delicate, fragile beauty draws me into its spell.  For me, feathers do not represent a bird nor is it a symbol of flight.  The feather is a punctuation mark on the end of a flexible wire which is how I draw.  Each feather has its own unique gesture and its own expressive moment, voice and movement.  Each feather's cast shadow creates a structure of repetition which echoes its twin.  Cast shadows against the white wall surface are flat and the silhouette I see is my drawing.  I give form to the feathes but ultimately, I leave them to express meaning in their own way.

 

 INTERLACINGS: A GENERATIONAL TRIBUTE

       

 

Recently I inherited several of my mother's lace tablecloths.  I was given several more lace table cloths when my sister downsized to a small apartment.  As I already had two beautiful hand-made cloths that I treasured and with no need to own more tablecloths, I made a decision to use some of them in an artwork.  I deconstructed some of the cloths by cutting out some circular medallion motifs with the intent to reassemble parts of the cloths to make a statement about generational bonds women have over domestic treasures that are passed along.  It wasn't easy to cut up a tablecloth and make it useless.  I treid photocopying and rubbings of the textured patterns as an alternative but it did not satisfy.  Working with lace made me think about how lace making has survived over centuries and how the hand crafted woman's work has evolved and replaced by machine built products.  Hand crafted or machine built, the lace tablecloths are special.  This work is a tribute to my mother and sister.

 

  The Receiving Line installed at The Charles Clark Gallery, Vancouver.

 

Inspiration for The Receiving Line came from multiple sources. Most often my ideas flow out of a previous work.  This is true of The Receiving Line as it was inspired by my project My Fragile Bio-Degradable H’Art installed last spring in Cottonwood Community Gardens.  The paper sculptures I created for My Fragile Bio-Degradable H’Art project were created from recycled paper table cloths which I painted, manipulated and collaged in interesting ways to communicate my ideas.  The Receiving Line sculptures also use paper table cloths but this time without any embellishment other than the “cinch” which alludes to arms.  The torsos are simple and painted with a coat of acrylic.  

Another component to my inspiration dates from 1983 when I visited the porcelain factory outlet of Villeroy & Boch in Luxembourg.  I walked into a showcase room to see a plain white dining room table setting for 12.  In the ceiling above the white plates were projection machines shining images down on the plates of Villeroy & Boch’s latest china designs.  The projectors cycled through all the designs so the customers had no trouble imagining what their table would look like set with each design.  That gave me the idea of cycling images through a projector onto a white surface.

The third component of inspiration was an exhibition I saw in London of David Hockney’s paintings done on an i-phone or tablet.  They were enlarged and printed on paper.  I was impressed with his painterly abilities that took him from a tiny scale to a grand scale.  For me, Hockney legitamized digital painting using a stylus.    Hockney used an

 i-phone app where he could choose a pen or brush.  He could determine the thickness of line, choose and blend colours.    I use a Samsung Note 2 which has a great camera and found later by accident that there is a built-in note function I could use to paint with.  I started making Doodle Designs in my spare time while travelling and started taking it on sketch trips. 

I think about my small studio and wonder if the future will see me creating on a small scale and using projections to share my ideas. Hmmm!  I love the process of creating where I get to manipulate materials and I need to have dirty fingernails.  The Receiving Line is my first adventure into working digitally and using a projector. There is a possibility that I will be inspired by this installation to want to try other ideas.

If you would like to see more of my Doodle Designs they are posted on

www.Instagram.com/sherrycooperartist

 

 GETTING READY FOR THE EASTSIDE CULTURE CRAWL

A weekend of Open Studio is something I really have to prepare for.  Hundreds of people flock through Parker Street Studios and I consider it one of the biggest art happenings in the city.  I am happy to be a part of this awesome annual event.   There are many looky-loos trying hard to see it all.  There are eager buyers hoping to get a great deal on a great piece of work.  There are children and families coming to be inspired.  I am prepared to meet them all, talk to them and explain my inspirations and process and answer all maner of questions.  This interaction is very important for artists as well as the viewers.  There is often a mystique surrouding artists and Open Studio dispells those attitudes.  So talk, talk, talk....often repeating myself till I begin to wonder if I still make sense by the end of the day.  It is my job to try to give others insights into my work and in doing so, I start to build up fans who sign up to my email list or become my friend on Facebook or follow me on Instagram.  

Preparations for me include painting my studio walls with fresh white paint and hanging my work paying attention to making my work look its best.  I make labels.  Title, medium and of course prices.    I make my inventory, I clean up my space putting away all superfulous items like unfinished paintings and art supplies.  Another part of my preparation is sending out announcements to my contacts, posting information on Facebook  Instagram and also my website.  I prepare greeting cards and package them after putting my contact labels on them.    I try to start preparing as early as possible because I cannot afford to get frantic as the countdown to the weekend begins.  I want to be calm, well rested and eager to take on the Crawl.  

 

 RETIREMENT TIME

My time has come to say goodbye to a wonderful job and a great group of co-workers.  I started working for the Vancouver Civic Theatres in 1979.  I have enjoyed every minute of my work because I got to see some exceptional performances in Ballet, Symphony, Musicals, Modern Dance, Plays, Famous speakers and even rock shows.  I have been exlposed to the best of the best and I am so grateful to have had these experiences.  

 

 

Copper Wire and Cinnamon Sticks.  September 2015

Shiny and bright, flexible and strong, copper wire has charmed me into spending time with it.  I can’t recall where inspiration came from.  I know I just pick up interesting materials and start to play.  The copper wire was a gift that I have kept for years and the cinnamon bark came from Chinatown.  I purchased it because I loved the smell and the interesting coiled look of the bark.   The two materials came together in the same place and before long they were united. 

The cinnamon bark has tiny openings or knot holes and this appeals  to me as it is perfect place to pass wire through and it becomes integrated immediately.  

  When I am engaged in art making, I am fully caught up in the medium.  I have learned not to think about the product that I will end up with because the time spent engaged in the creative activity is what is most important to me. 

A bent wire has an expressive gesture.  When photographed from different angles, the sculptures often look like stop action ballet poses.  They are lyrical to me and I can imagine music playing as I study these organic  shapes in space.  

 

 

 

APPLES FOREVER.  The idea of using preserving jars as a means to portray a connection to the past has been on my mind many times.  Images of preserving jars from the early 1900's are not that different from canning jars used today.  Dominion, Bell, Imperial and Crown have been replaced by Mason, however, they all make it possible to enjoy the flavours of the orchard long after the deer have eaten the windfalls of autumn.  The painting shows apples being collected in a bed sheet or table cloth from the shaken branches above.  The middle ground shows the handy home made apple picker stick with a can attached which we use today to bring carefully to ground the chosen apples.  Perserving memories of the past is the reason I paint this series of narratives.  I believe the stories are important to tell and my images intend to communicate my respect and appreciation of the life of the farmer and his family.

 

DEAD BUT NOT FORGOTTEN.  Finally finished. September 9th, 2015.   Among the rusty bits shown in the painting is an apple slicer dated 1898 on Ebay.  Also found while digging in the garden was a pair of sheep shears.  How many sheep were raised on the Orchard?  We found many old medicine bottles while digging in the garden and I wonder what were the ailments?  I love how the past and present connect and that I have found evidence that alludes to a time before I was born.  The artefacts are clues to understanding the history of the orchard.

  July 14th.  Heading off to Gambiter Island for a week and taking my paints with me.  Over the past 15 years I have produced a series of narrative paintings on the history of our Heritage Orchard on Gambier Island.  There are 12 paintings in the series and I thought I was finished with my Orchard Project, but alas, there is still more I need to say.  I will paint a composition called Dead But Not Forgotten.  This painting will describe how on December 8th 1942 the old farmer died and was buried on the property under the stairs of the old farm house. (Norwegian custom).  The water level was high and consequently, the coffin floated in the grave, so the family placed rocks on top of the coffin.  Over the years, all sorts of artifacts have made their way to the surface of the earth through natural processes and also random digging of gardens and wells in the area.  Some of these artifacts will be documented in the painting:  specifically a pair of sheep shearing scissors, vials or medicine bottles and a mysterioius implement that might be an apple slicer or pastry cutter.  It is hard to say as it is rusted and covered in earth.  I checked the Eaton's 1901 catalogue but could not find a replica of this mysterious shape.  Standby.  I hope to post my finished painting in a week, unless I spend too much time swiming, kayaking, celebrating birthdays, and weeding the vegetable garden.  They are distractions, but hey! it is summertime and the living is suppose to be easy.  

 

July 2015.  Today marks a change in our website.  ArtForceCollections is now a website designated to the creative actiity of Sherry Cooper without her partner Mary Blaze.  Mary is venturing off alone with her own website and brand so please visit her at http://www.blazeworksstudio.com/

 

May 2015:  I attended a weel long Artist's Residency on the Hood Canal on the Kitsap Penninsula, Washington State.  I was joined by my artist friends Sheila Page and Mary Blaze on the USA Memorial weekend.  We each came with our own agenda and challenges for the week.  We visited Tawano State Park and the Wetlands where we could sit and walk for hours to observe the natural environment and wildlife.  Sketching and painting and photography kept us all busy.  Probably significant to mention was the chance for us to log off all our connections to the web and telephone and enjoy a true retreat.  

Artist's Retreat on the Hood Canal.

    May 2015.

 

 MyFragile Bio-Degradable H'Art
 

Before and After

When I left my sculptures after the installation, I silently said “you are on your own now”.  There was one sculpture Angst who was visibly distraught.  I could identify with the sculpture Angst, with its H’Art emerging or receding from its tightly wrapped and torn shape.  What was going to unfold throughout the week? 

The next day there were four sculptures on the ground.  I had made some poor hardware choices.  I put them back into the tree.  Later in the day, the rains came and the wind blew hard.  Several sculptures had started to disintegrate and I had to pick up the pieces that were scattered around the garden.   I hauled away three sculptures which were soaking wet and lying on the ground.  I scooped them up in my arms tenderly as if they had drowned.  The sadness I felt at the time passed away when I decided that their beautiful papers would be re-configured for future projects.  The care and attention given to creating the sculptures was no longer obvious and that brought me sadness when I thought about visitors to the garden who did not see their initial splendor.  None-the- less, most of the sculptures were strong and finished out the week of exhibition with most of their parts intact.  I took numerous photos of the pieces blowing in the wind and realized that this airy freedom was what I envisioned for them.  On the last day of the week, I lowered the remaining sculptures and felt like a mother who was tired of picking up after her kids.   The papers will live again in future projects.

 Sherry Contemplating the sad sight of her paper sculptures lying in the grass.  Heavy winds and rains have played their part in transforming the sculptures.

 

 

 

  Part of Tassel-Wrap that came apart in the wind and rain.

 Innovation, Transformation, Contemplation

While other materials are chosen for their permanence, paper is often chosen for its fragility and temporary look which is missing in other media.  Paper expresses vulnerability.  I have chosen to work in paper because I make art for now, not for all time.

Unlike canvas which is traditionally been seen as permanent, art on paper is vulnerable and protected under glass.  Today, paper is used for its’ self, its temporary quality is widely accepted.

I have controlled the surface of my paper sculptures by creasing, folding and scrunching exactly where I need it.  I have chosen to mingle transparent and opaque papers over each other until an integration results which articulates the panorama of natural light.   Light and air move freely around each piece and this movement and energy is exactly what I am looking for.

By choosing to hang my paper sculptures outside I consciously incorporate time and the environment to mingle with the decorative elements and produce visible distress.    I am celebrating the impermanence of my creations by allowing the crows of wind and rain to peck away at my creations.  Whereas regular paintings are expected to be permanent and last hundreds of years, I have determined that these works of art would be temporary and have a short life and their existence will only live on in photographs,    After a week of rain, sun and wind storms, the evidence of their journey: the passing of time and the struggle with the elements have had their hand.  I am feeling the loss. 

 Resurrection:  As I take away distressed parts and pieces of paper, I appreciate their beauty and long to give them new life.  As a mixed media collage artist, it is easy for me to see these remnants as new beginnings.

 

Sherry Cooper & Rick Cooper rigging up the sculptures in the Locust tree in Cottonwood Community Garden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Vol 1, ART/icle 1, January, 2012: 

 

 

 

 

 

Port Moody Arts Centre's Exhibition: 5 January - 19 February, 2012

 

 

The works in the Port Moody Arts Centre's current exhibition give both concrete and conceptual expressions to the words: fragmented, amorphous, impermanence, temporary, transience and ephemeral.

 

 

 

 

In Good Night Good Luck, Maegan Elise's unsettling landscapes of misplaced, fragmented elements, as loosely related to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami of Japan, and echoed by her choice of such fugitive materials as water colour, ink, charcoal, and pencil on paper, invite contemplation of fragility and impermanence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris Mackenzie's Stones, Chestnuts and Snow installation provides photographic documentation of the temporary, ephemeral and isolated nature of his land art, as in his alpine, snow-shoed spiral.  All that remain are his digital images, as capricious as his mountain shadows, yet beckoning consideration of all that is fleeting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The randomness of the patterns and shapes of ink blots and coloured pencil on paper, informed by fractals, sound waves and Rorschach psychoanalysis, conspires to create the visual language of Rosemary Burden's idiom, Breeding Ground, and inspires transcendence into the metaphysical space between science and art.

 

 

 

 

The Gallery's "Cabinet of Curiosity" becomes an idea/l repository for, as well as an adjunct to, Ants Gone Wild, the disquieting transience of Angela Gooliaff's emotional dilemma between comfort and discomfort, here equated to white ants busily circulating and intersecting as imaged onto the interior of the cabinet's glass, that fully engages viewer response.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Port Moody Arts Centre's Susan Jessop has brought together an inviting, enticing and inspiring exhibition of the works of these four artists:

 

Maegan Elise, Chris Mackenzie, Rosemary Burden, and Angela Gooliaff.

 

It deserves to be seen.  The exhibition continues through to 19th of February at

 

Port Moody Arts Centre, 2425 St. Johns St., Port Moody, B.C.

 

Published with permission of Susan Jessop, Port Moody Arts Centre.

 

 

 

All rights reserved.  Reprint with permission: Mary Blaze, at www.artforcecollections.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARTFORCE COLLECTIONS: ART/icles: timely comments on the visual arts and artists, exhibitions, profound thoughts and many not so . . . . Stay tuned for breaking news. 

 

To add your name to our mailing list, or to share comments, sign in on Contact Us.

 

 

Vol. 1, ART/icle 6, September, 2011: Oracular Co-encounters:

 

 

 

 

      There I was on the 17th July, 2011, making oracular utterances that, according to Wikipedia, in extended use, make me an oracle1.  I now review and reflect on my experience.

 

     The locale is the Strathcona Art Gallery (STAG) in East Vancouver, B.C., Canada, www.thestrathconaartgallery.tumblr.com, during the ten day artist's residency of Barbara Bickel, visual and performance artist, researcher, and educator, Assistant Professor in Art Education and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, USA.  www.barbarabickel.com.

 

     To quote in part from Barbara's Artist's Statement for the project:

 

     The STAG residency with its mandate for freeing art is an opportunity to complete an installation of spontaneous artworkings that respond to the commercialized phallic driven world of contemporary art.  With intense physical gestures, I draw and move within the trauma of the art world's edges, tracing and retracing the rectangular form of the mail-in subscription card found within the art magazine.

 

     On removal from five magazines, each of these inserts detaches into two parts to become five pairs of substrates, one oblong 9 x 3.5" and the other 3 x 3.5", on which Bickel obliterates the texts with black and blue, red, pink, green, purple and yellow oil pastels.

 

     The longer card of each pair is then stitched vertically onto a five and one quarter foot (63 inches) length of white, non-fusible interfacing, referencing "women's work," with the smaller being stitched horizontally directly below, creating a dramatic patch of scribbled colour against a delicate white ground.  Several dualities exist here:

 

• The firmer, less flexible card stock / the drape that breathes according to gentle drafts.
• The striking colours / the virginal white.
• The violence of the obliterating marks / the tenderness of the fabric.
• The patriarchal (phallic) dominance / the matrixial response.

 

Given the verticality, this whole may be interpreted as a token crucifixion of the visual art establishment, but this is not enough.

 

     Bickel adds a second layer of meaning, both physically and metaphorically, to her expression, by hanging another length of intertfacing, nine inches in front of the first, this time with a vertical aperture, replicating the space and positioning of the distressed magazine excerpts behind.  Now, not only scribbled, obscured, erased and distressed, but isolated only to be voyeuristically peered at through the aperture, just as the patron peers from behind the bushes, up the petticoats of Fragonard's The Girl on the Swing, late 18th Century.

 

     With the cultural norms now reversed, Bickel scores her coupe de grace with her oracular soundings concept.  This is where I and four other co-creators enter independently into her matrixial world, as video evidenced in performance.

 

     Feeling the need for props, I gather a few rocks and stones as pieces of the natural world within my grasp, and to cradle, as I become the classical oracle of antiquity, as wise counsel of prophetic opinion,2 able to whistle, whine and click my utterances through the aperture, directly at the scribbled patriarchal representations.  Meanwhile, I release my rocks and stones one by one, into a resonant wooden bowl, creating an intonation as if inspired by the gods.

 

                                                                 

 

Oracle Sounding 1_ Mary Blaze from Barbara Bickel on Vimeo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     While apprehensive at the outset, I engage fully without self-consciousness, deliberately at times forcing my soundings onto the fabric for its movement, in the spirit of mystical undercurrents.

 

     I question whether these acts make me a legitimate performance artist and welcome responses from my readers, however, through my faithfulness to Barbara's concept, I do ease my art practice into performance art, take my place amongst a team of respected artists, enjoy the companionship of collaboration and add my voice to ever louder utterances for a gender-balanced society.  I am grateful to Barbara for this journey towards that destination.

 

Footnotes:

 

1. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/oracle: . . . oracle may also refer to the site of the oracle, and to the oracular utterances themselves . . . .

 

2. Ibid.

 

All rights reserved.  Reprint with permission: Mary Blaze: www.artforcecollections.com's Contact Us page.

 

Reprint permission is herewith granted to Barbara Bickel for inclusion in her forthcoming catalogue entitled Oracular Co-encounters.  Watch www.artforcecollections.com's Events page for the announcement of its publication.

 

 

 

 

Volume 1, ART/icle 5, June, 2011: Rhythm, Blues and Burnt Sienna:

 

661 East 15th Ave., Vancouver, B.C., becomes a crossroads on a warm spring "First Friday" evening, for friends, associates and well wishers to interact within a gallery venture that includes a sculptor, a potter, a painter and two Rhythm and Blues musicians. 

 

 

Sculptor, Beth Marshall, established herself in the locale six years ago but it is within the last year that her passion for clay prompted her to transform her work space into the Clay Zone Ceramics Gallery.  Here, she and Noelle Nicole instruct students ranging in ages from four through teens to adults, in clay arts.

 

Each month Beth features the works of a local potter and June sees Sue Griese's richly glazed functional pottery pieces on display.  Of eye catching note are her bright, spring-green glazed bowls that lend a contemporary note to her earth toned collection.

 

Complementing the display of ceramics and the gallery itself, are artist/instructor, Joy Hanser's nineteen acrylic paintings, mixed media and soft pastel works, that reach from 8" x 10" to 24" x 36."  Her land and seascape subject choices, urban and rural sights, harmonize with her palette of variations on blue and sienna, to deftly express the mood of a gathering storm, as in "Open Your Heart," providing an easy segue into the Rhythm and Blues stylings of the harmonica and guitar duo of Leonard Huggard and Double D, respectively.

 

 

 

 The assembly of diverse interests and experiences during this two hour gallery opening is both thought provoking and reflective, as one savours the interactions at this junction of time and place, all because Beth Marshall decided to open her Clay Zone Ceramics Gallery, whose web site at www.clayzoneceramics.blogspot.com gives a more detailed overview along with options to entice a dabble in ceramics.

All rights reserved.  Reprint with permission:  Mary Blaze, on www.artforcecollections.com 's Contact Us page. 

 

Volume 1, ART/icle 4, June 2011: Friendly Web Site Reviews: Karen Begemann:

  

While Karen Begemann's "Work Matters Consulting" four page web site is not about art, it does demonstrate the beauty of design and the mood it can create.

Throughout the pages that introduce her career coaching practice, there is an informed gentleness.  Karen has chosen light grey grounds, where she situates a business card style logo in the freshness of aqua, spring green and dark grey, upper right, as her header, with the green being reflected in her block capital links, each given its own space, separated by fine grey vertical lines, upper left.

All her page content is in clear, Arial, mid-grey text in document style, portrait format.  Her "Welcome" page locates her practice and includes a "welcome" and a "thank you" to her readers, with much of her text as tidy bulleted lists.  Her closing line quotes Tom Thiss:  "Having a purpose is the difference between making a living and making a life."

The footer of each page copyrights Work Matters Consulting, identifies WordPress and notes the site developer as Romak Design.

On the "Services" page, one finds her services more closely defined, again utilizing bulleted lists amongst the text.  Here, Karen invites fee enquiries.

The "About" page is where she establishes her credentials, spells out consultative options and provides the focus of her practice, bounded by an engaging photograph of herself, upper right of the text.

Above the usual responders' boxes on the "Contacts" page, Karen offers a complementary session by phone, along with the number to call.  Below it all, she states her Privacy Policy.

For anyone lost and confused in career planning, www.workmatters.com 's  design establishes a serenity that invites prospective clients to take in a deep breath and relax, while Karen extends her hand in guidance.

All rights reserved.  Reprint with permission: Mary Blaze, on www.artforcecollections.com 's Contact Us page.

 

Volume 1, ART/icle 3, May, 2011: Friendly Web Site Reviews:  Alannah Anderson:

Alannah's four page site is simple, uncluttered and straight forward, making its content immediately accessible.

She has used a white, document style of presentation against light ochre, canvas-textured fields throughout, with consistent headers stating "Art by Alannah Anderson."

Her home page is in scrollable, portrait format and includes five elements: topmost is her navigation links bar, then directly below and across the page are three images, each representing one of her gallery pages and each conveniently linking directly to the viewer's gallery of choice.

Mid-page and in a broken-line box, Anderson states her location and invites studio visits by appointment, with her contact numbers, and clearly states her pricing range.

Her concise biography follows with her childhood art experiences, her scholarship, her post-secondary education and professional life, all interwoven with her passion for art, as she eased into retirement.  These latter notes are bounded on the lower right by her self-portrait.

Beneath it all reads the footer: www.gingermedia.ca

Each gallery page, Water, Earth and Sky; Figures and Faces; Flowers and Fruit, is configured in landscape format.  On the left is a two row, vertical side-bar, displaying ten thumbnail images, with a larger, eleventh painting on the right, interchangeable by a click on a thumbnail.

Simplicity, ease of navigation, and easily viewed images are this site's charm and worth spending some art browsing time on: www.alannahanderson.ca

All rights reserved.  Reprint with permission: Mary Blaze, on www.artforcecollections.com 's Contact Us page.

 

Volume 1, ART/icle 2, March, 2011:

A Review of "Taking Note," an Exhibition of Oil Paintings by Katherine Surridge at the Baron Gallery, 293 Columbia Street, Gastown, Vancouver, B.C.

 

 

      It is an over-cast afternoon in Vancouver, and the predominantly yellow image in the window of the Baron Gallery beckons like a shaft of sunlight.

     Stepping inside, there is a greeting from Rosemary Baron Swingle, the gallery's proprietor, whose space reflects her personal warmth.  The sanded wooden floor, finished in a warm luster, together with the central wooden post, a remnant of the building's previous life, and the presence of an old etching press, lend a comforting ambience to the viewing experience.

     Artist Katherine Surridge's "Taking Note" exhibition of recent, multi-layered oil paintings on canvas, seems perfectly at home in this space.  Twenty pieces, ranging in size from 60" x 72" down to a collection of the smallest at 6" x 6," display an even, unified, subtle and engaging whole, each named "Note . . . ," with a numeric identifier.

     Notes are personal graphics and these specific visual symbols are a challenge to categorize.  There is a liminality about them as they emerge and retreat in their games with the viewer.  They at once take one into their depths, therein to reveal their genesis in terms of nuances of colour and subtleties of mark-making, and lay dormant on the surface, blanched; they meander their scribbled darkness, horizon-like, against their tender hued environs in the space between note and landscape, where the viewer listens for the note of bird's song amongst spring landscapes.  Surridge has a firm grasp on that space and in her own words, uses Words, numbers, landscapes, swamps, bogs, figures, and layers . . . drawing in and taking out . . ..  One wishes to lift those layers in search of origins to define representational versus abstract, or somewhere in between.

     The twenty, 6" x 6" pieces on a more secluded wall, are a change of pace, more textural and speak of strata, as if they are the artist's own notes, giving impetus to the archaeological context of the larger pieces.

 

  

     In conjunction with "Taking Note," continuing to 29 April, 2011, the gallery and the artist are mounting special events on 12, 18, 26 March, and 1 April.

     The Baron Gallery at 293 Columbia Street, Gastown, Vancouver, B.C. and Katherine Surridge's "Taking Note," are indeed worthy of note, at this in between space of winter to spring.  www.barongallery.ca and www.katherinesurridge.ca.

 

All rights reserved.  Reprint with Permission: Mary Blaze on www.artforcecollections.com 's Contact Us page.

 

 

Volume 1, ART/icle 1, January, 2011:

Undercurrents Flow in . . .

. . . Coastal Lives, a curated, Summertime 2010, art exhbition in the intimate spaces of Gibson's Public Art Gallery, on beautiful British Columbia's Sunshine Coast.

Sherry Cooper and Sheila Page present representational paintings in the narrative genre, with Page's having a hint of the surreal.  Both artists use acrylics and collage with Cooper employing various techniques to create textures, and Page adding her photo transfers.

The twelve Cooper paintings are the larger of the two collections, at 32" x 24", 60" x 16", with one variant at 16" x 20."  Nine are framed.  One can stand back to catch the over-all poignancy of these specific Coastal Lives, whose mood is caught by the use of subdued coastal grey-blues, that may well have been augmented by their more liberal use, as in The Daughter-in-Law's Story.   Lena's Story

All but one of the fourteen Page images are 16" x 16" and 12" x 12," inviting an intimate viewer engagement.  Lost, a framed 37" x 29" piece, is the central work in the mounting.  The one small distraction to the presentation's over-all continuity is the artist's decision to paint the wrapped edges of one work.

Historical perspectives overlap within the context of Coastal Lives, with Cooper's falling into the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth, and Page's echoing the early to mid-twentieth.

In the painting of these stories, the two artists skillfully use absurdity to capture the viewer's interest, before the undercurrents deliver their powerful flow responses.  Examples are: the refined woman standing in utter distaste of the pig sty, amongst Cooper's visions, and again in Page's, the invitation to Please Come In with its denial of the imminnt.                           Please Come In

With the stage set, Cooper speaks of displacement from a professional life, clearly designated as that of a Norwegian judge, to the hardships of remote island living, as in Pre-emption . . . and disillusionment, seen in Anna's Reflections.  To Market reads of determination against the overwhelming burden of bare survival.  Ultimately, loneliness and broken dreams as well as relationships, are portrayed in Remembering Springtime.

The invited close readings of the Page paintingsTo Market suggest impending disaster, as in Desk Job, and doom, with her off-balanced Whale Rider.  Loss is seen in the empty Lifeboat, while Ties to the Past takes us in the direction of the innocence of childhood.  Throughout this collection, Page's visual language includes threatening waves and sinister octopi, inferring that these particular Coastal Lives, see life as a risky business.

The two images at the "crossroads" of the gallery, Semaphore  and Love Me Tender,  the one of a little boy earnestly pointing into "his" territory, and now himself as a teenaged young man, respectively, situated behind the gallery desk, tend to be the fulcrum of the exhibition as a whole, and holds the viewer within its grasp of lives lived.Semaphor

Supplementary to Cooper's exhibit is a basket of apples in the corner on the gallery floor, referring to her own lived experience of the storied apple orchard.  Her peeling, flaking paint of the original home window frames surrounding her images, add authenticity to her concept. 

Page employs her own historical seafaring props: six mismatched oars, a wooden rudder and a rusted anchor in support of her theme as well as her supplementary notes entitled, "A Family at Sea," retaining an established sense of foreboding.

All the foregoing describes the reviewer's challenging and rewarding jaunt to the Gibson's Public Art Gallery, http://www.gibsonspublicartgallery.ca/ worthy of bouquets for mounting this exhibition, too important to be allowed to fade.

Ferry schedule time constraints preclude an in-depth review of Michaela Cochran's Keepsake Boxes, comfortably complementary to the two dimensional works.  No slight is intended.

Sherry Cooper's art may be seen http://ow.ly/3BzRB and www.artforcecollections.com; Sheila Page's works may be seen at www.sheilapageart.com and Michaela Cochran's may be found on Google under Coastal Lives,  still up at this writing, and SCAC Gallery Shows archive.

All rights reserved: Reprint with Permission: Mary Blaze, on www.artforcecollections.com 's Contact Us page.