Doors Open Ottawa - Ottawa School of Art: June 6th, 2009 Print Room Demo 1-3pm

From the City of Ottawa Website:

Ottawa was the second city in North America to launch this prestigious
event based on a successful European program dedicated to built heritage, architecture and design.

Each year, visitors hear first-hand the remarkable stories that have shaped the National Capital region. As Ottawa’s largest heritage and architectural event, Doors Open has recorded more than 340,000 visits since it began in 2002.

Currently, 48 European countries participate during European Heritage Month. In addition, Australia and the United States have joined the highly successful Doors Open movement.

Doors Open Ottawa is brought to the community by the City of Ottawa and a dedicated group of volunteers, in collaboration with Heritage Ottawa, Heritage Canada, the Ottawa Regional Society of Architects and the Ontario Heritage Trust. We strive to build partnerships between the City of Ottawa, building owners, neighbourhoods, and the corporate community.

More Info Here: http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/heritage/doorsopen/

PDF guide to all the locations available here

http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/heritage/doorsopen/pdf/guide_en.pdf

Argyle Series by Katie Argyle

I spent the day in the print room today. There were people on the roof installing a giant air conditioning unit and they were super noisy. Some sounds were interesting, but mostly it just grated on your nerves. Inspite of this I got good work done. Here are my proofs for a triptych.

Good prints should be made over the weekend at Doors Open Ottawa. I'm demonstrating printmaking at the Ottawa School of Art on Saturday, 1pm-3pm. I plan to be printing these up and doing proofs of my bus strike series for a book.

1. Argyle Socks lino cut relief print 8x10

2, Argyle Socks lino cut relief print 8x10


3. Argyle, No Socks lino cut relief print 8x10

The Bounty of a Grocery Store

When I worked for a local grocery store, before they went bankrupt and we were let go without notice, (alas my tales of working for others are short and seem to end this way) I used to take home these fantastic Argentinian Pear shipping crates.

There was something about the wood. it was smooth in places, like they'd finished the slats by hand and other times rough like you'd get a million slivers just going near the thing. I found them mysterious, wondering what kind of tree that wood came from. They were inspirational and I did a lot of work on these small bits of wood that ended up becoming large paintings over time. I was just going through my archives and thought I'd post these.

The Big Nut

Other Uses For a Magic Wand No. 1

The Bath

Icarus Was a Gifted Flyer

You Smiled At Me

I have to tell you, I LOL'd at this version of the You Smiled At Me. Is it ok to love your work that much? *blush*

Franklin: Working In The Bone Yard

Franklin's working his fingers to the bone.

Distribute Freely

Here's a poster for the Urban Art @ Minto Park Show. I am organizing this art in the park along with Tim Hunt this year. This image will give you two flyers (fold and tear in half lengthwise) to hand out or to paste up anywhere in the city... not that I'm suggesting anything... ;)

Illustration Friday: Adapt

Adapt to your environment.

Welcome Earthling

conte, charcoal, cyanotype, van dyke brown, serigraph 22" x 30"

Shoes Make The Man

I didn't think I was starting to work on more astronauts yet but what I think and what I do sometimes aren't in sync and it's often better that way. At least when it comes to artwork that is.


I found myself unexpectedly inspired by this cover: the federal finance minister getting new shoes for the budget this past spring.

Here was my first go at my version of this but I got stuck at this point. It sat there for months until I found myself back in astronaut territory and it just came together.

The Right Shoe 36" x 24" acrylic on canvas

Called The Right Shoe I am quite happy with it now, not just with how it turned out but that I am starting to work on astronauts again. This makes me extraordinarily happy.

New Paintings for the Ottawa School of Art Boutique

These are my latest paintings since I've completed my program at the Ottawa School of Art... graduation posts to follow, but not yet.

The three paintings are available in the school boutique here in Ottawa. That cat must have resonated with the zeitgeist of the times as he was snapped up in two days. I hope it's gone to a loving home... kitty needs some love methinks!

Cat Wants Out 16" x 20" acrylic on canvas 2009 sold

O Happy Day 16" x 20" acrylic on canvas 2009

You Look Good 16" x 20" acrylic on canvas 2009

Urban Art @ Minto Park July 18, 2009 Elgin at Gilmour Street, Ottawa

This is a year of new adventures for me. Perfectly in line with this is my new position as one of the organizers of the 4th Annual Urban Art @ Minto Park art in the park show.






My good friend Tim Hunt is the other organizer. Between us we hope to get this thing going!







So, on bustling Elgin Street, one of the few Ottawa streets alive with action day and night, you will find the Urban Art Show on Saturday July 18th, from 9pm - 5pm, rain or shine. We are currently lining up participants for the show and if you are local to Ottawa, and a fine artist, I encourage you to apply. It is a juried event and it is an event strictly for handmade goods.




We are looking to give a hand up especially to those new to art shows in general and we hope your experience at the show encourages you to keep going. We need more artists in the world that's for sure.







I'm excited to announce we'll be participating in a community art event linked to a giant world-wide event called Art for Miles. At our show we'll be rolling out a 12' x 5' canvas and inviting the public and our artists to help create a mural on the topic of the Urban Environment. Our mural will join many many more from all over the world in May 2010 in Egypt.

FROM: TO:

At that time all the murals will be linked together and wrapped around a pyramid in Giza in an attempt to create 12,000 miles of murals for peace for the world, and possibly to break a Guinness Book of World record for the longest mural. This project has been in the works for TEN years. I love the idea that a part of Ottawa will be around a pyramid don't you? Over the years my art has gone around the world, to many places I have never been. This one totally captures my imagination.

More info on the event itself at www.the-art-miles-mural-project.org/

And if you are curious about Urban Art @ Minto Park check out the blog. You can find the info and application there as well as an intro to some of the artists appearing at our event. Or you can email the show at urbanartshow@hotmail.com

Franklin: Post Playoff

The Senators didn't make it to the playoffs this year. Franklin demonstrates what they're doing now. Let's hope we're not all as old as Franklin the next time they make the playoffs.

Illustration Friday: Fleeting

rise above 8"x16" acrylic, wire, glass & friendly plastic on canvas

He had a hard time concentrating on work when fleeting thoughts of escaping his humdrum routine took him away to dream of other things...

Illustration Friday: Talisman

strategic plan 22 x30 lithographic print on BFK Rives

He appeared confident in all situations

but no one knew his secret talisman was luck.

Here's the my actual stone being inked up. Lithography is like anti-printmaking. It is so odd to keep the stone soaking wet while you ink it up. All the signs that tell you a print is ready to be pulled are muffled in this process; it's the water. It totally threw me off. I think it could take many years to really understand this process. Interesting.

Here's the first print coming off the stone. It was a good one too. I was lucky, (must have had a talisman of my own that day), cause I don't know much about this process yet, so it sure wasn't a success due to skill!

Easter Franklin

Here Franklin is wearing the easter bunny in a carrier. Franklin cares.
And look! Franklin's leg is back! I was concerned it was lost forever after it disappeared for St. Patrick's Day.

Illustration Friday: Poise

With some guidance she was able to achieve inner peace which appeared as poise in all situations.

St. Patrick's Day One Day Later

Ah. Poor Franklin. Here he sits,

St. Paddy's day gear in place

but look! He's lost a limb!

Did this happen in a drunken brawl? Was it lost to a bet? Did he trip and fall?

Oh Franklin.

As promised: Friendly Plastic on set

I last wrote about starting an animation using Friendly Plastic as my set and here are a few jpgs to see what I mean.

Here's the interviewer and his guest. Note the furniture. I melted FP onto

thin masonite and used the heat gun to fuse it to the material. I made the legs by sandwiching two pieces together and using the heat gun to fuse them, and I attached them to the table top and the chair bottom by melting a piece of fp onto the surface and pressing my already-made legs into it and holding it until the legs fused into place.

Macaroni is my guest star. He looks good here.

Here's another still, showing my spaghetti audience.

BTW I made my interviewer from what I learned in the Graeme Patterson workshop I was at this fall. Here's the post I made showing the construction of a puppet.

And here's Graeme's website. Take a look. I was lucky to have had the chance to learn from him.

Friendly Plastic New and Old

I was cleaning the living room and discovered a couple of friendly plastic things. Here's a lady relaxing on a chaise lounge skritching a very pampered kitty. This piece is about 14" wide by 7" tall, all one piece. She's really fun and I guess I still have her because I really liked her. Every once in a while I put something away instead of putting it up for sale. I might make her part of a larger piece, maybe place her in a hand-printed background or something.

And here's something from my plastic box. I carry my sticks with me when I am out at the farmer's market and I keep them in a see-through Tupperware box with a lid. I remember I had my plastic underneath my chair and the sun came around and all it took was a few minutes of direct summer sun and this happened! A whole bunch melted together. You can see one of my handmade stands in there and a tag that I attach to my work all melted together. Sometimes I can pry this apart. This one is a write off. I will have to use it for filler for bigger pieces.

My current use for friendly plastic is as material from which I am making a set for an animation. I have indian red chairs and a table, all based on the set from Inside the Actor's Studio. Once I have it all set up I'll take some jpg's so you can see it.

Catching up with Franklin

We had a 52 day bus strike so I didn't get to see Franklin regularly. I did manage to catch up with him though and while carpooling I caught this image at the end of January.
It's a plea for carpoolers to say hello. I took it out a car window while driving by in the carpool I was in. (Thanks Val for slowing down.)

This was Franklin today.

Not sure if bunny ears or a St. Patty's day get-up will be next. Time will tell.

My Current Gallery Show - Handmade Books and Prints

Secrets Between the Covers
Feb 3rd to Feb 17th Lee Matasi Gallery (Extended to March 3rd, 2009)
Ottawa School of Art
35 George Street in the ByWard Market


Currently I have a show of the work I made during my apprenticeship with Britt Quinlan at the Ottawa School of Art from September to December 2008. I focused on the topic of secrets and created a series of books to illustrate one secret in each book. I find the process of creating a handmade book completely satisfying. Within this art form you can include any art-making process you need to get your story across. It is endless.

As for my video skills, well I forgot that moving pictures are not still pictures and when I turned my camera so the view was vertical the image didn't follow.
D'oh!
So please forgive me this error and consider it intentional (in the best art-making sense of that word).

Illustration Friday: Flawed

Though he tried to dress for success he often forgot a crucial element. On this particular day, his flawed belief that he was pulled together was betrayed by the fact that he forgot an antler at home.

Groundhog Day, Yay!

And the rodent has spoken...

Willie, Sam and Phil agree - North America faces six more weeks of
winter

WIARTON, Ont. -
The deep freeze felt right across the country this winter isn't about to end any
time soon, according to some famous prognosticating groundhogs.
A groan arose from a large crowd gathered in Wiarton, Ont., to hear Wiarton Willie's
prediction when the furry forecaster made it known there would be six more weeks
of winter.

It was clearly not the answer the crowd of about 200 people, some
wearing groundhog noses or carrying signs pledging love for Willie, wanted to
hear. There were a few cheers at the prospect of a long winter, but most people
looked disappointed - and cold - and then shuffled off to work on a Monday
morning.

He emerged from his den just after 8 a.m. ET and saw his shadow,
which according to groundhog lore, means more winter is in store.
Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam also saw his shadow Monday morning. The groundhog was roused by a town crier and the skirl of bagpipes at the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park, about an hour north of Halifax.

Had they not cast a shadow, as has been the case for Willie the previous four years, it would have signalled an early spring.

No such luck this year, said Mac McKenzie, who founded the
Wiarton Willie Festival 53 years ago. He said Willie's never wrong.
"Not Wiarton Willie," said McKenzie, 82. "He always is bang on - and I use the
expression bang on loosely, but that's the way it is."
He said he can't argue with the groundhog's gift of foresight, but wishes the pronouncement had been different.
"This has been the worst winter we've had in years," McKenzie said. "Snow, snow and more snow. So we want less snow next year.

Sam and Willie's U.S. cousin, Punxsutawney Phil, also predicted six more
weeks of winter when he stepped into the Pennsylvania sunlight.
His forecast was announced in front of thousands of revellers gathered at Gobbler's Knob, about 100 kilometres northeast of Pittsburgh.
German tradition holds that if a hibernating animal casts a shadow Feb. 2 - the Christian holiday of Candlemas - winter would last another six weeks. If no shadow was seen, legend said spring would come early.

Copyright © 2009 Canadian Press

January Franklin

Here's Franklin in his Christmas-y outfit. We've had a bus strike so this image was taken from a car window. I can't reach Franklin on foot...

So, not the best image, but at least I got a record of what Franklin's been wearing since mid-December. I predict it's some Valentine's Day get-up next.

Is it over?? Winter I mean? Is it??

Everything you ever wanted to know about one of the best days of the year