Showing posts with label Leighton Artist Colony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leighton Artist Colony. Show all posts
November 25, 2011
January 02, 2011
New Addition to the Blog!
Just to let you know I have added the sidebar (along the top!) with my gallery of art. Have just started putting pieces up, so there will be more to come, but these are my newer pieces that are not on my web site yet.
I am busy finishing up my very newest work for the 2011 exhibit at the Whyte Museum of the Rockies in Banff this fall. This all started with our artist retreats to the Leighton Artist Colony at the Banff Centre in 2008 and 2009.
In 2008 Articulation invited specialty speakers (Ben Gadd, Tara Moran, Jennifer Salahub, Willi Schmidt, Paul MacKay) on mountain culture and had several tours of surrounding geology and general terrain. In 2009 we rented studio space and were able to do large production work using silk screening, printing, and dyeing.
After two years of researching (Whyte Museum Archives) and coming up with design ideas, I currently have ten pieces on the go at the moment!
I am busy finishing up my very newest work for the 2011 exhibit at the Whyte Museum of the Rockies in Banff this fall. This all started with our artist retreats to the Leighton Artist Colony at the Banff Centre in 2008 and 2009.
In 2008 Articulation invited specialty speakers (Ben Gadd, Tara Moran, Jennifer Salahub, Willi Schmidt, Paul MacKay) on mountain culture and had several tours of surrounding geology and general terrain. In 2009 we rented studio space and were able to do large production work using silk screening, printing, and dyeing.
After two years of researching (Whyte Museum Archives) and coming up with design ideas, I currently have ten pieces on the go at the moment!
March 31, 2009
Banff - Day 31
Leaving day - but first Wendy and I got up at 6:30 am to head over to Vermillion Lakes to take some sunrise photographs. The progression of our time on the water...
These photos are taken an hour later, but a day earlier (we went to Vermillion Lakes yesterday but got there too late for the sunrise, but did manage to get photos of other lovely things - and we saw our first pussywillows of the year.)
Yesterday ReBecca and I headed to Johnson Canyon and took our lives in our own hands by hiking up to the Lower Falls on the very icy pathway - we managed to make it back in one piece, so then headed out to Lake Louise along the 1A Highway. This last shot is through one of the main floor windows as the early socialites would have experienced Lake Louise and Victoria Glacier 100 years ago.
And, as souvenir of our time once again, here is the signed ceiling beam to mark our month in the Leighton Artist Colony, Banff Centre.
These photos are taken an hour later, but a day earlier (we went to Vermillion Lakes yesterday but got there too late for the sunrise, but did manage to get photos of other lovely things - and we saw our first pussywillows of the year.)
Yesterday ReBecca and I headed to Johnson Canyon and took our lives in our own hands by hiking up to the Lower Falls on the very icy pathway - we managed to make it back in one piece, so then headed out to Lake Louise along the 1A Highway. This last shot is through one of the main floor windows as the early socialites would have experienced Lake Louise and Victoria Glacier 100 years ago.
And, as souvenir of our time once again, here is the signed ceiling beam to mark our month in the Leighton Artist Colony, Banff Centre.
March 29, 2009
Banff - Day 29
Spring is definitely here!
The Centre is posting notices that the first bear of the year has been sighted in the National Park, so to be careful on walks. They emerge from their winter dens hungry and there isn't very much food around.
The other sign is the two robins I spotted this afternoon - my first of the year. Although I have been reading on Facebook that other people down on the prairies saw their first last Monday, the 23rd.
Remember this? from Flossie's studio of collected art...
I wrapped it with cotton material that had been soaked in vinegar and left it overnight, and this is what I took off the table...
After washing it and letting it dry, this is the final result. Basically the process is staining with rust - don't you love it?
This fabric will go into my general stash until some future project calls out for it.
Tomorrow is our last full day and I will be taking ReBecca (from New Brunswick, who has never been in Banff before) out for a day of sightseeing.
The Centre is posting notices that the first bear of the year has been sighted in the National Park, so to be careful on walks. They emerge from their winter dens hungry and there isn't very much food around.
The other sign is the two robins I spotted this afternoon - my first of the year. Although I have been reading on Facebook that other people down on the prairies saw their first last Monday, the 23rd.
Remember this? from Flossie's studio of collected art...
I wrapped it with cotton material that had been soaked in vinegar and left it overnight, and this is what I took off the table...
After washing it and letting it dry, this is the final result. Basically the process is staining with rust - don't you love it?
This fabric will go into my general stash until some future project calls out for it.
Tomorrow is our last full day and I will be taking ReBecca (from New Brunswick, who has never been in Banff before) out for a day of sightseeing.
March 27, 2009
Banff - Day 27
I got in a couple of hours in the dye studio finishing off my silk scarves, then headed upstairs to the Other Gallery to hang art for our exhibit. Each of us had one wall to fill with work of any kind, produced while here in Banff for the past month.
The first thing people noticed when they walked through the door was COLOUR!
Here is Jo in front of part of my wall...
ReBecca's wall...
part of Lesley's wall...
Linda and Gloria's work...
and 7 of the 10 Articulation members, dressed in artist black.
Lesley, Gloria, Linda, Ingrid, Donna, Wendy, ReBecca
A group of special friends came from Calgary: Lindley, Donna, Ros, Patti
and my daughter Elizabeth drove from Lethbridge to spend the weekend with me.
We were kept busy for the two hour reception and received lots of positive feedback about our work. Thanks to all who attended for supporting us.
The first thing people noticed when they walked through the door was COLOUR!
Here is Jo in front of part of my wall...
ReBecca's wall...
part of Lesley's wall...
Linda and Gloria's work...
and 7 of the 10 Articulation members, dressed in artist black.Lesley, Gloria, Linda, Ingrid, Donna, Wendy, ReBecca
A group of special friends came from Calgary: Lindley, Donna, Ros, Patti
and my daughter Elizabeth drove from Lethbridge to spend the weekend with me.
We were kept busy for the two hour reception and received lots of positive feedback about our work. Thanks to all who attended for supporting us.
March 26, 2009
Banff - Day 26
Dyeing silk - ahhhh, love it!
It is so nice to be back getting instantaneous results in the dye studio. I was dyeing silk and viscose devore scarves today and the colour by the end of the day hanging on the lines!!!
But first we had to light the pilot and engage the safety value on the bank of three industrial propane burners - this is not an easy job. It involves a huge wooden mallet, a lighter, your knee and two thumbs. Almost impossible for one person to do alone so we got everyone involved. Here is Wendy manning the mallet to hold the pilot light on...
Lesley and I started the day by using the dyes in their pure colours to test dye samples she had stitched with various cotton and silk fabrics and threads. Here we are mixing the chemicals...
Then the fabrics are heated to a simmer...
And after we finished the samples, I started combining colours and adding my devore scarves to the pots...
I did almost twenty scarves today and will finish the rest tomorrow. These photos do not do justice to the shine that silk has - the lustre is amazing!But we had to quit for the night early to head out to the CBC Radio 2 concert to hear the compositions (see the March 24th post for details on the composition competition). The five pieces were all amazing and one of the most interesting parts of the evening was how each of the five composers used the ensemble instruments in such different ways - it was the first time I had ever heard a bowl of water being played (amazing); or the inside of the piano (I have heard a couple of strings being plunked but this was even more); and the percussionist was my favourite player (he had half the stage filled with all his instruments, including an old fashioned typewriter). The composer I picked for viewer choice was the one who took home the big pot of money - Andrew Staniland with his piece "Devolution" in three parts. Congratulations to all five of the young men.
Tomorrow we hang our work-in-progress from the last month for our exhibit "Loose Threads" in the Other Gallery in Gylde Hall. Come and join us for our artist reception from 4 to 6 pm Friday evening. The show is up until Sunday night. If you can't make the opening but are in town on the weekend, feel free to get in touch for a personal tour.
March 22, 2009
Banff - Day 22
Snow! Just when you think spring has sprung - the last couple of days have been about +10c - you wake up to fresh snow, lots and lots of it! Because we are safely hunkered in and don't have to shovel it or drive in it, we could just sit back and admire how gorgeous the mountains look blanketed and muffed by it, while hearing reports of how Calgary was snowed in. My husband reported that the snow was over the top of his shovel and because it was so wet and heavy, it was exhausting shoveling it.Here are some shots of my Rundle mountain and those pine from yesterday...
Meanwhile we were safe and warm in our cabin in the woods and everyone was working at being very productive. Wendy... Gloria... Ingrid... Lesley...
I was working on a couple of pieces. One was the squares I was attaching by hand that I finally finished and am now considering the next layers. I am between a gridded sheer, a hand dyed silk, or a combination of the two - leaning towards the combination.
Then I got back to my Rocky Mountain flowers and making dye samples for when we return to the dye studio on Monday. I have a hand-painted cotton background that I stamped the first week with hand-made stamps of the Brown Eyed Susan, Queen Anne's Lace and Indian Paintbrush flowers. Then I have been playing with squares of hand-dyed silks and their positioning. I have decided to echo the original spiral shape and sew them on with free machine embroidery. The next step is to put them into a dye pot where I will dye the cottons one colour and the silks another colour.
March 21, 2009
Banff - Day 21
A gorgeous day in the mountains today, so I went out and did some photography. Here is some growth of conifer and juniper with berries that have survived through the winter.
Then I started focusing on the bark of the pine trees around our studio. Some with lichen growing in it, some with sap running down, and just all the different patterns in the bark itself.
But the worst of all was the evidence of the mountain pine beetle which is decimating the forests throughout the Rockies. Where do they live? Right here...
Read about the beetle on Parks Canada website here.
But some good news on the horizon helping Alberta's fight, read the latest news and the results of our cold winter.
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/mountain-pine-beetles.html
I am working on six pieces for a series based upon the results of the beetle for the Women Rock study. Did lots of hand stitching today on my pieces, but never took any photos of them... maybe tomorrow.
Then I started focusing on the bark of the pine trees around our studio. Some with lichen growing in it, some with sap running down, and just all the different patterns in the bark itself.
But the worst of all was the evidence of the mountain pine beetle which is decimating the forests throughout the Rockies. Where do they live? Right here...
Read about the beetle on Parks Canada website here.
But some good news on the horizon helping Alberta's fight, read the latest news and the results of our cold winter.
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/mountain-pine-beetles.html
I am working on six pieces for a series based upon the results of the beetle for the Women Rock study. Did lots of hand stitching today on my pieces, but never took any photos of them... maybe tomorrow.
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