Paper Doll - Ravishing in Red

Hot of the printing press, literally. This piece is a paper doll with many, many clothes. She is mounted in a deep box frame.

The Reason

I have finished the clay piece, The Reason, based upon the well know poem by an anonymous writer. The piece was partly inspired by seeing the play Beauty and the Beast and the opportunity to see the elaborate costumes up close in a back stage visit. Thanks Rebecca.

The piece is made up of three individual pieces each representing part of the poem, The Reason, The Season and the Lifetime. The sculptures create hearts at the openings at the top and all three intertwined also create heart shapes.

It will be exhibited May 5-16, 2014 at the Gordon Snelgrove Gallery on the University of Saskatchewan Campus.

Born Twice

Just finished this today.  It is the lifecycle of the bee.  Reductive technique linocuts dipped in beeswax.  Some prints have 12 colours.

The text is a writing from 1572, La Masion Rustique by Charles Estienne.

 

Charles Estienne, La Maison Rustique (1572)

Trans. Richard Surflet (1600)

The householder shall make choice for the keeping of his bees of some fit and secret place in his Garden of Pleasure, in the bottome of some valley if it be possible, to the end they may the more easily rise on high to fly abroad to get their food, as also for that when they be laden, they descend more easily downward with their load. But let us see to it especially that the place be open to the South sun, and yet notwithstanding, neither exceeding in heat nor in cold, but temperate; and that the same by hill, wall or some other rampart be defended from windes and tempests, and so also as that they may flie their sundrie and severall waies for to get diversitie of pastures, and so again may returned to their little cottages laden with their composition of hony; and againe in such a place, as wherein there is great quantitie of thyme, organie, ivie, winter savorie, wild thyme, rosemary, sage, corneflag or gladdon, gilleflowres, violets, white lilies, roses, flowre-gentill, basil, saffron, beanes, poppie, melilot, milfoile and other sweet herbs. 

  

Success is for Sale

 

It’s a Shoe In – Success is for Sale

Clay, glaze, paper, ribbon, staples and plastic

This old phrase “It’s a Shoe In”, historically refers to the horse races where a horse was a sure bet. In thinking about this and the prizes given to award winning horses, the ribbons and medals, I was inspired to produce this small series called “Success is for Sale”. 

To be an award winner takes money. Not just the horse races but also any sort of athletics or career.  At the same time as thinking about buying success I was researching Affluenza for a different body of work and found a connection between Affluenza and being “a shoe in”.  Those with money are buying their way in. Any success costs money, many people never reach their goals or dreams because the financial cost is too much.

Success is for sale in this time in history, major athletes are buying various performance enhancing drugs, bribing judges, quitting work to train full time, having personal trainers, massage therapists, spending money to be in the right circle of friends and hiring psychologists, is just a small list of the costs of success. Being an Olympian or bringing home an Olympic medal costs money. The more money spent, the more medals is often the story we hear in the news (Own the Podium program).

This series replicates a store shelf but “success” is for sale.  It is for sale for all those suffering from Affluenza, Kalopsia, as well for parvenus and arrivists. The QR codes are real, as are the UPC codes. Scan the UPC code and the product numbers spell “Success is for Sale”. Scan the QR codes and you are linked to a webpage about the series and links to instances where “Success has been purchased”. 

Forest Gold

Here are pieces from my new series (a small series of 4). The nests, eggs and the background are made from old gold mining maps. The nests are printed using a linocut technique and then cut out.  They eggs are very small measuring only 2cm. The last photo gives a scale so that you can understand the size of the pieces.

Thank you to Theresa for collecting and delivering this wonderful material for me. I am so thrilled to work with it.

World Friendship Tulip - Planting Ceremony - Istanbul, Turkey

November 15 in Emigran Park in Istanbul, Turkey was very special as it was the baptism of the new "World Friendship Tulip"  and the first official planting. The Mayor of Istanbul, Kadir Topbas, Klaas de Geus (Maveridge Bulbs), Michel Gauthier and myself were part of the official ceremony. It was a really special moment to plant the blubs that I had a part in bringing to life. I had an idea quite a while ago now that the World Tulip Summit Society needed its own tulip and pursued the idea with Klaas, and it became a reality this year in Istanbul. 

The garden will be in Emigran Park as a symbol of World Friendship. 

I created an accompanying linocut print for the occasion. 

 

The tulip bulbs being guarded after the ceremony, those are really special bulbs.

Favorite Nests at Disney

My time here is winding down, here is a shot of my favorite nests made from clothes hangers. It was a lot of work but also a lot of fun trying to figur out how to make them work.

Temporary Installation Paris park