Artist in Residence Pt 1 - Day 6 - Mill Pond Gallery, Richmond Hill

Today was the last full workday of my week long residency.

another day another beginning

Since I am on my own and not sharing the residency with another artist, as most of the resident artists are, it means if I have a drop-in visitor or two I talk with them. 

nice carving day.

And that means the work gets put on hold.

painting sketched out by end of the day today

I'm not someone who can ignore or just say HI and get back to the task at hand. So this kind of gallery show/sitting and working does work, I have created work, but not as much as I could have.

getting bigger

That being said, the past two days have brought people into the space who are looking for prints. Mostly it has been word of mouth recommendation. 

Great!

completed skyline, one house, one car - this block will definitely need several proofs

They have heard that prints were being shown and they have made the effort to drop by and look. Many visitors want to make prints but have no access locally to a press of any size. One person has been specifically looking for a local printmaker for 6 YEARS. Others had no idea how prints were really made and once they see the big block and the carving tools and the finished prints they appreciate the work even more. It's about the most an artist can hope for when showing their work I think.

So.

Once I got home I saw that my PRINT FROG arrived from Texas! Yay! I have to try it tomorrow. I have some small blocks to print and we'll see how it works, but really, this is a tool for printing large blocks by hand without a press.

Print Frog - like a printmaking crystal ball

It has serious weight and the grip is good. Kind of wide and loose. Very excited to see what this may add to my printmaking process. It'll definitely need a post or two of its own.

Bonus! Stickers!!

 Gallery Open/Artist in Residence
July 31-Aug 6
HOURS in attendance:
Fri July 31: 1pm-8pm
Sat Aug 1: 12pm-5pm
Sun Aug 2: 12pm-5pm
Mon Aug 3: 1pm-8pm
Tues Aug 4: Gallery Open 1pm.
NOTE: I'm in attendance: 5:30pm-8pm
Wed Aug 5: 1pm-8pm
Thurs Aug 6: 1pm-10pm

Artist in Residence Pt 1 Wk 1 Day 5 - short day - Mill Pond Gallery, Richmond Hill

heading downtown early

Due to an appointment I could not reschedule,

Toronto

I spent only a few hours at the Gallery today. In my absence fellow RHGA members, Andrea and Michelle gallery sat for me making sure the gallery would be open.

Thanks!

I did make big progress creating a pile of wood shavings as I began carving my woodcut.

I am going to hunker down and see how far I can get tomorrow, my last full working day.

Last because with the Mill Pond Concert across the street on Thursday night, I am told the crowd often finds its way over to the gallery so it just isn't a day to make art but a day to talk about art. So be it.

Residency Info and Hours:

Mill Pond Gallery
314 Mill Street
Richmond Hill, ON

Gallery Open/Artist in Residence
July 31-Aug 6
HOURS in attendance:
Fri July 31: 1pm-8pm
Sat Aug 1: 12pm-5pm
Sun Aug 2: 12pm-5pm
Mon Aug 3: 1pm-8pm
Tues Aug 4: Gallery Open 1pm.
NOTE: I'm in attendance: 5:30pm-8pm
Wed Aug 5: 1pm-8pm
Thurs Aug 6: 1pm-10pm

Artist in Residence Pt 1 Day 4 - Mill Pond Gallery, Richmond Hill

Yesterday I chose my image for my next woodcut.

My panel is Russian Birch meauring 24" x 36". I am carving by hand but I may use the Dremel tool in spots. We'll see if that's what's called for.

Today I spent the day transferring the drawing to the woodblock.

charcoal and compressed charcoal

This first step begins the process that makes this image my own which is slightly different from reality as it passes through my brain and into my carving hand.

FYI:  EZcut lino makes for a good eraser.

As an unexpected bonus I decided on an image to paint for one of my reclaimed canvases but not the big one.

I am going to put most of my energy into the woodcut since it is harder for me to find the space to carve than it is to paint on an easel. I want to use my time in residence in the best way I can for me.

I think my work table's surface is fascinating.

this one too.

Residency Info and Hours:

Mill Pond Gallery
314 Mill Street
Richmond Hill, ON

Gallery Open/Artist in Residence
July 31-Aug 6
HOURS in attendance:
Fri July 31: 1pm-8pm
Sat Aug 1: 12pm-5pm
Sun Aug 2: 12pm-5pm
Mon Aug 3: 1pm-8pm
Tues Aug 4: Gallery Open 1pm.
NOTE: I'm in attendance: 5:30pm-8pm
Wed Aug 5: 1pm-8pm
Thurs Aug 6: 1pm-10pm

Artist in Residence-Pt 1 - Day 3 - Mill Pond Gallery, Richmond Hill

 Quiet Sunday at the Gallery. I met Roya today. She was the perfect person to drop in.  (Hi Roya!) Dan came by and we had a good artist talk and a couple pretty much ran through the whole exhibit without saying a word, though I heard them laughing upstairs, which is good cause my funny things are up there.

I made coffee and have been leaving my keys everywhere. Just like home.

I made big progress today. After viewing image after image on the computer I've chosen my next subject for a large scale woodcut in my suburbs series.  Ironically it came from an image I took this morning, and wasn't even on the hard drive, though what I will paint was, but I took that image a day ago. So, very fresh work. Love that.

garden with deer

I started transferring the image to the block but have another hour or so before I complete it. I placed the grid onto my canvas but left it at that. No idea what will go on my extra large canvas. In every way it is a blank to me. Long workday today. Hope to make great progress!

Residency Info and Hours:

Mill Pond Gallery
314 Mill Street
Richmond Hill, ON

Gallery Open/Artist in Residence
July 31-Aug 6
HOURS in attendance:
Fri July 31: 1pm-8pm
Sat Aug 1: 12pm-5pm
Sun Aug 2: 12pm-5pm
Mon Aug 3: 1pm-8pm
Tues Aug 4: Gallery Open 1pm.
NOTE: I'm in attendance: 5:30pm-8pm
Wed Aug 5: 1pm-8pm
Thurs Aug 6: 1pm-10pm

Artist in Residence-Pt 1 - Day 2 - Mill Pond Gallery, Richmond Hill

My first real working day in residency was spent sorting myself out. And in between that I had a few visitors.

My first visitor was a father with his daughter who were looking for a bathroom for her. So my good deed for the day was accomplished. Later my collaborative ceramic friend Minda came by with her husband and they looked at my work and at the same time another artist dropped in.

The Gallery was quiet but I expected it.

I couldn't decide what to do, or even what to choose to do, so I did a simple task of reclaiming some canvases.

Even this simple gessoing is a pain in my small work spaces. But here I worked outside, using the garden hose to first wash the canvases off (5 years in storage) and then right after painting it rained.

No harm done. I hope to get something onto them today or tomorrow. I want to start.

waiting for tomorrow

Residency Info and Hours:

Mill Pond Gallery
314 Mill Street
Richmond Hill, ON

Gallery Open/Artist in Residence
July 31-Aug 6
HOURS in attendance:
Fri July 31: 1pm-8pm
Sat Aug 1: 12pm-5pm
Sun Aug 2: 12pm-5pm
Mon Aug 3: 1pm-8pm
Tues Aug 4: Gallery Open 1pm.
NOTE: I'm in attendance: 5:30pm-8pm
Wed Aug 5: 1pm-8pm
Thurs Aug 6: 1pm-10pm

The Interior of the Fridge Upon First Look: 3 bottle of wine, juice with Minion label, water, ice tea, old fruit, plates, container of peaches, and possibly my first still life subject.

Artist in Residence Pt 1- Day 1 - Mill Pond Gallery, Richmond Hill

The OPEN window

 I started my first of two artist in residence weeks at the Mill Pond Gallery yesterday. This site is a house now used as the home of the RHGA: Richmond Hill Group of Artists. I am a new member. 

from home studio to temporary home studio

Lucky for me, they decided to try an Artist in Residence program over the summer to coincide with the Mill Pond Concert series across the street at the (yep) Mill Pond. 

front room with fireplace and mantle

large front window

front room

The Gallery is given over to the artist or artists to display their work and to make work. For me, it is an opportunity to simply see my work. I have one small wall in my studio, to see my artwork. It took me the whole day to transport, and install my work. The labels are done for the downstairs area but much is left to do upstairs. I'll spend some of the (short) day today doing that but have to begin my work today. 

hallway space

My plans for the week including carving a block a day for my residency and making a multi-image print representing my time here. In addition I will start my next large scale suburban-themed woodcut and a large scale painting. Topic still to be decided. These projects will continue into my second residency at the end of the month.

stairwell

funny stuff all upstairs

This is a real treat. I have searched my archives and on display are all my big pieces. Some new, some old. It feels like a retrospective and a new start at the same time.
 

the sun sets on Day#1

Drop by anytime I am around. 

Residency Info and Hours:

Mill Pond Gallery
314 Mill Street
Richmond Hill, ON

Gallery Open/Artist in Residence
July 31-Aug 6
HOURS in attendance:
Fri July 31: 1pm-8pm
Sat Aug 1: 12pm-5pm
Sun Aug 2: 12pm-5pm
Mon Aug 3: 1pm-8pm
Tues Aug 4: Gallery Open 1pm.
NOTE: I'm in attendance: 5:30pm-8pm
Wed Aug 5: 1pm-8pm
Thurs Aug 6: 1pm-10pm

 

BONUS *rainbow* on my way home

Photos: Purple Turtle Art Festival July 11 and 12, 2015 The Briars - Jackson's Point, Ontario, on Lake Simcoe

                       This past weekend I showed my work at the Purple Turtle Art Festival.

The Briar's Resort

It was located on the grounds of a resort called The Briar's in Jackson's Point, which is a small community on the south edge of Lake Simcoe, Ontario. It really feels like cottage country.

visitor entrance and parking

I like the small (well, some are still small) wooden cottages but the shoreline is almost all claimed and the public access is close to nil, which was disappointing.

vendor entrance

but I saw this bunny in the shade. bonus bunny.

I did get a few sneak peeks at the water but I didn't have time to take a dip.

turn by the red barn into the field and park there

I was driving back and forth to my home after the show (about an hour) and if I had stopped to swim I'm not sure I would have made it home safely. That will be for another day.

view from my booth. missing in this image is the drone of the generator and the tickle in my throat on day 2 when the gas fumes came my way.

Hopefully the hot weather will continue for a while yet. Temps during the show were around 30C plus humidity on the Sunday.

the RC car that buzzed the park. a lot. it buzzed the park a lot.

You know it's hot when people pick up a small ceramic cup and say "oh this is so heavy." One woman asked what it was made of. 

trailer detail - lino stone floor

I said stoneware. 

a little somethin' somethin'

"STONE?!" and she gave me a look and walked away. 

this bench!!!

The show, as you can guess, was not my most lucrative, but the encounters I had were hilarious. 

this wrench!!!!

Or I had sunstroke. 

bench and swing made from the back of pickup trucks-that part that folds down when you put stuff in it

Either way I enjoyed myself. 

Best Walking Stick ever!

BBQ with one of the tallest trees I've seen in these here parts

Meal Ticket, cause working artists need that.

View of Lake Simcoe through a veil of heat and humidity