Monday, November 1, 2010

Artists in Plain View are in Plain View! - this Saturday and Sunday!


Ghoulies and Ghosties have gone back to their haunted places, so on to the next thing!!!

Studio Tours!
The In Plain View Winnipeg Artists' Studio Tours 
Are Happening this coming Weekend!

Visit us where it's at - in our studios
and artist-run galleries.

31 Winnipeg artists and galleries open their working spaces to you on 
Nov. 6 & 7, 
from 12 - 5 pm.

Check out the artists on our website:
www.inplainviewwinnipeg.com

Download maps to help you find your way, join your friends, get in a car, or hoof it, and come enjoy our hospitality.

See the environments where we create our art.
Talk to us about our work and our concepts. 
Find those very special gifts for family and friends.

And Support Your Local Artists! 
 


Thursday, October 14, 2010

Mary Anne Rudy In Plain View
















Mary Anne Rudy is one of the new artists opening her home studio during this upcoming tour. Mary Anne lives and works in Headingley. Check out her location on our tour map at: www.inplainviewwinnipeg.com. There are other artist in Charleswood to check out as well, as you can see on our maps. Mary Anne  has the following to say about her work:

I am currently interested in creating mainly mixed media monotype prints that are generally abstract, but often include some realistic aspects such as flowers or landscapes.  The first part of the print is created on a metal plate using rollers, brushes and other tools to develop and create patterns of all types.  Blank and partially blank areas are left on the plate in order to allow for further development once the print is run.  Once the print has been run, then it is worked back into with some type of realistic or semi abstract landscape or floral image. Other patterns and metallic embellishments are added as well. I am particularly fond of gold and silver leaf, so a great number of my paintings and prints incorporate the use of this material.  Monotype printmaking of this type involving traditional and innovative techniques provides many opportunities for happy accidents as well as the grace to influence the finished product.
My most recent two person show at the Birchwood Art Gallery included fourteen larger acrylic canvasses, which were mainly semi-abstract landscapes and urban landscapes.  The canvasses were fairly experimental and the semi abstract landscapes seemed to evoke past memories for places people had visited or lived and allowed people to place themselves into the painting in their own way.
As an Interior Designer, I began to produce watercolour paintings as a method for clients to visualize the interiors I was presenting to them.  From this, developed the passion for painting and now my artwork is exclusively prepared for the enrichment of interior spaces.  My influences are everything I see, feel and experience in the built and natural environment.  My daily life involves architecture and interior spaces, therefore art pieces are created as pieces that enhance, and beautify, as well as provide a focal point for the interior environment in which they are placed, private or commercial.  Explanation is generally not required, as it is my hope to evoke visual pleasure for the viewer without a right or wrong message.  It is my intent to generate paintings that speak for themselves and allow the viewer to receive their own message.  Throughout history, art as a means of beautification for our living and working environment has been considered a valid reason for the creation of art.  My paintings are meant to delight and gratify the people who display them in their home or work surroundings. I would like to think my art is grounded in pleasure and aesthetics.
Recently four of my monotype prints have been selected to hang in Canada’s Official Residences in Rideau Hall in Ottawa and Citadel in Quebec City.

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Many of In Plain View Artists are involved in this show:

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Kathleen Black, an In Plain View Winnipeg Artist Invites you to:
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The next In Plain View Winnipeg
Tour is coming up: 1st weekend in November 6 & 7
Join us!!!
Check out our website for information and tour maps:
www.inplainviewwinnpeg.com. 
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Thursday, September 30, 2010

Autumn and Artist Studio Tours In Plain View

The crunch of fallen leaves underfoot heralds the changing seasons. Leaving behind the slow, long, warm summer days and BANG! into frantic preparations for the oncoming winter.
It's always something of a shock, isn't it? Where did summer go? What happened to our sunlit summer evenings?
But what beautiful visual vistas! The trees donning robes of gold and orange. Gradually shedding them to display their limbs in diaphanous veils.

But enough of that - On to the news.
The new In Plain View Winnipeg brochures are here! They will be hitting the stands soon. To get your hands on one, check out our website and call an artist near you to pick up a brochure.

Our Website:  www.inplainviewwinnipeg.com.
Here you can find all the information about our artists, their work and vision. You can also access maps that help you find where the studios and artist-run galleries are located.

The Next Artist Tour will be on the 1st weekend in November - the 6th&7th.
All studios will be open from noon till 5pm.

Come out and support your local artists. Visit their homes and studios and
see where creative inspiration begins. 
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Katharine Bruce

         KICK ASS art show/sale

 Thursday, Sept. 30, 5-8 pm

at Lazy Monk - 843 Corydon @Lilac

This is the OPENING for KICK ASS artist Katharine Bruce show of paintings. It will be up for the month of OCTOBER
Wed-Saturday 1-5pm


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Life Structures & Other Personalities by Jordan MIller, 364 Artworks
 
Opening Reception October 1*, 7:30-11 pm; free


Additional Hours: Tuesday Through Saturday, 12-5;
Monday* & Thursday Evenings, 6-10 pm *closed Thanksgiving Monday*
Exhibition closes October 12, 5 pm
Artist Statement:
Predominant themes from my past exhibitions regarding life, time, and relationships have resurfaced in Life Structures & Other Personalities, an exhibition of 364 mixed media/collage works and stitched 'personalities'. Each work represents a day in our daily life.
Overall, "Life Structures” is a personal reflection and commentary on how people's lives differ, how busy we all are, how much or little we appreciate what we have, and how easily we can push away important aspects of life—joyful moments and people we cherish.

“Other Personalities” is a playful interpretation of stitched hands interacting like bodies, some of which are abstracted and morphed into humorous or serious characters.
Inspired and guided by both beautiful and devastating images, this series was created as a representation of the lives of others, a concerned reaction to the environment, and an emotional response to the moment in which it was created. 
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 Wayne Arthur Gallery
186 Provencher Blvd


Invites you to
HERSTORY
Paintings and Stories by Naomi Gerrard and Lori Zébière
From October 5 to November 2,
Artist reception Thursday, October 7 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM,
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 11AM to 5 PM

Web site: http://www.waynearthurgallery.com

For more information
Call Bev at 477-5249
About the show
HERSTORY - Canadian Painters Naomi Gerrard and Lori Zébière explore life experiences, beliefs, loves, losses, hopes and dreams from the female perspective. They invite you to share in their unique stories, and then to ponder your own. If you were to tell your story, what would it be?

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Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Government Support In Plain View


Last Friday I had a very welcome visitor -
Rob Altemeyer, MLA for Wolseley. 
Rob had a present for me. He brought a cheque from the provincial government department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism. This was wonderful news for our In Plain View Winnipeg co-op - This was a grant to our organization to help us carry on our community cultural events - our Artists' Studio Tours, and the second year we have received this recognition.
We are very grateful to the province of Manitoba, and in particular to Culture, Heritage and Tourism for this assistance, and to Rob Altemeyer for being the bearer of such good news. Thanks to all.
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Wayne Arthur Gallery
186 Provencher Blvd
Invites you to
ABC’s The World as a Bee Sees Photographs by Stew McCulloch
Opening Wednesday, August 4,
and continues to Wednesday, August 25
Artist reception: Sunday, August 8, from 1 to 4 PM
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 11AM to 5PM
Web site: http://www.waynearthurgallery.com
For more information
Call Bev at 477-5249

Monday, July 26, 2010

Cottonwoods in Plain View


My back yard has recently been looking a little like a winter scene. The ground and decks are covered in a fine dusting of white.

But it isn’t snow – it’s fluffy little seed parachutes from the cottonwood trees on the riverbank. They drift along on the breeze like little ghostly creatures, tumble along the ground and collect in white heaps in corners, catching on spider webs and giving the place that creepy Hallowe’enish look.
There is so much of the stuff, it leads me to wonder if the cottonwoods know something. Are they trying to proliferate their kind in a desperate bid to populate the earth with as many trees as they can? Is there a foreboding that the bank from which they grow will cave in and they will all fall into the river? The water is still so high that I worry about this too. Is the bank being eroded silently from underneath by the fast-flowing, abnormally high water?
The riverbank where I live changes thus from year to year. Parts of it have collapsed into the river and trees have been lost. On the other hand, following the annual spring flood, new river-mud has been deposited on top of the banks and so they build up again, with new young trees pushing up through the cracked river clay.

The river giveth and the river taketh away.
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Jane Gateson, an artist In Plain View Winnipeg, is also a member of a group of seven women who call themselves
The Group of Eight
They will be showing at the Wasagaming gallery at Clear Lake from August 13 to Sept. 6.
The opening is Friday, August 13 at 8 p.m.
This is how they describe themselves:
As a group of artists who share a passion for painting, we embrace the tradition of the Salon as ". . . an intellectual, social, political, and cultural gathering under the roof of an inspiring hostess or host, partly to amuse one another and partly to refine their taste and increase their knowledge through conversation.” (Wikipedia)

The Group of 8 Artist Salon has been meeting monthly since 2008. It is made up of 7 women artists, all of whom studied under Milos Milidrag. The eighth place is a virtual one, reserved for an invited guest to join the group for an evening.
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And In Plain View Winnipeg Artists Studio Tour is gearing up for our new season. Come visit our homes, studios and galleries on Novemember 6 & 7. Check out our website at http://www.inplainviewwinnipeg.com/.

   

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Artists, Cats, and Other Things - In Plain View


There are times when the little thing is not quite dead, and times when it is very much alive, flying around the room, battering against the windows, trying to get out, or if a non-flying creature, running around desperatelly trying to hide in every nook and cranny.

If it’s still alive, I swing into action – close the door, grab a towel or a box, and race around trying to catch it before said cats do. All the while with the dogs sitting on the bed barking encouragement. I even have a butterfly net stashed in the corner of my bedroom for such occasions.

I usually manage to rescue these creatures: birds, mice, squirrels, even baby rabbits. If they are badly injured, the rescue includes a trip to the Humane Society or even out to the Wildlife Sanctuary in St. Adolph.

However, once I woke up and spotted two tiny creatures squirming around on the bedroom floor. Two tiny newborn mice. They were each about the size of a thimble, hairless and blind. And they were alive! Obviously the cats didn't know what to do with them.

I called the Humane Society and the Wildlife rescue people to no avail. They would have nothing to do with mice. Even my vet was no help. He could only offer to euthanize them. I felt that the gods had put these helpless creatures in my path and it was up to me to do something about it.

So I checked out the Internet and – of course- there were websites that told me what to do.

I went to the nearest pet store and bought some canned kitten milk, improvised a feeding bottle from an eyedropper and a rubber squeezebottle cap over a small metal dye applicator tip, and began a feeding regimen that consisted of feeding warmed kitten milk to these tiny things every 4 hours , day and night for the next two weeks.

Sadly, one of the mice didn’t make it, but Victoria did. When her eyes opened, I started her on adult mice food. She thrived. She especially liked oatmeal.  And I bought her an aquarium to live in, with toys and a running tube made out of a flexible plastic duct tube actually intended to catch sawdust from a table saw.

Victoria lived for 2 and a half years. This is, apparently, a very long life for a wild mouse. She provided endless entertainment for my cats, needless to say. They would sit beside the aquarium for minutes on end, peering in at her, trying to convince her that they intended no harm. She was really their pet.
By the way, does anyone want an aquarium?

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Now that the June Studio Tours are over, some of the artists are onto SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!


For example, Aliza Amihude has taken a break from making that fascinating, and "out there" jewellery, and has turned her attendtion to her other interest in life: Song, dance, and other things.

She and her troupe: Aliza and the KGB (Klezmer Gypsy Boys) will be playing at the Rachel Browne Theatre, 211 Bannatyne Ave,
Winnipeg, MB during the International Jazz Winnipeg Festival

Monday, 28 June, 2010 @ 8pm.

Tix $12 in advance, $15 at the door

Buy tix online: http://www.jazzwinnipeg.com/



Here's info about the band:

Aliza and the KGB deliver Klezmer music with a Gypsy heart. Aliza Amihude's expressive voice and
theatrical presence blend perfectly with Eli Herscovitch's smooth clarinet and sax playing like bagel with
cream cheese. Timothy J. Butler, Daniel Koulack, and Ariel Posen make up a world-class string section.
The KGB's repertoire includes original Klezmer and Gypsy melodies, jazz standards translated into
Yiddish, French swing tunes, and Russian folk songs.

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Wayne Arthur Gallery
186 Provencher Blvd

Invites you to
"ART ON THE BOULEVARD"
Paintings by the Norwood Art Group (NAG)
Opening Sunday, July 4, 1 to 4 PM
and continues to Saturday, July 31
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 11AM to 5PM


For more information
Call Bev at 477-5249

About the Show:
Come see the work of multi-talented artists featuring contemporary original paintings in watercolour and acrylics.
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Thursday, May 27, 2010

Artists' Studios In Plain View - Tour June 5&6

Auugghhh! It’s studio clean-up time again! Have to get ready for the next studio tour coming up next weekend, June 5&6. Believe it or not, some artists have declined to be included in these tours because they did not want the hassle of cleaning up their studios. At this point in time – I understand.
This is what my painting and clay studios look like right now. What a mess! So much to do - so little time!










Last Saturday I took some time off to go visit a bee colony. Looking at my messy studios reminds me of a look inside a beehive. It looks like total chaos. The difference, of course, being that the hive is controlled chaos. My studios, not so much.


Organizing these tours is also a little like trying to create order out of chaos. Dealing with so many artists, each of whom has a life with varying demands creates inevitable scheduling challenges.
 
Therefore there are some changes to look out for on this tour. Some artists cannot be involved and a couple of others will be located in different places, and we've added some new artists.
 
Here's the scoop:
Two new locations will be added to this tour -
Steve Jorgensen at 455 Churchill drive and Stoneware Gallery at 778 Corydon Ave. Check them out on our website: http://www.inplainviewwinnipeg.com/.
 The following artists will not be available on this June tour: LeVerne Tucker, Kathleen Black, Larry Rich and Briony Haig
and Guy St. Godard and Nancy Blokland will be in their studios only on Sunday, June 6.
Katharine Bruce will show her work at her home at 139 Canora in Wolseley (not at her Portage Ave. east studio) and
And, as Karen Johannssen has closed her Lipton St. studio, she will be showing work at Pat Courtnage's studio at 164 Langside St. at Sara. (Altogether there will be 4 artists at Pat's - Gloria de Neve, Jane Wood, Karen Johannssen and Pat Courtnage.)
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  Speaking of Karen Johannssen..... Karen writes:
I have been part of a project at Good Neighbours Active Living Centre called "City of Trees, World of Trees".There were a series of storytelling workshops plus workshops in various art media. I of course did BATIK classes.People have asked that the Batik classes continue in the fall..If people are interested they should call Vanessa at Good Neighbours 669-1710. Following  is a description of the proposed class.
 
Thursday from 1-2:30 pm
This is a traditional art class where a wax based method of dying cloth is used. There will be an example on display at the front reception area. Throughout the classes one on one instruction and the opportunity to execute different techniques will be applied. This class potentially may be held in the fall, if you are interested in joining please sign up at the centre, we need to see if there is enough interest to run a class. Instructor: Karen Johannson Cost: $50 (supplies included)
Here is some of Karen's work:


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At cre8ery gallery & studio
various artists will be available with their doors open! Follow this link to see images of who is at cre8ery for inplainview:
Also in our main gallery is an exhibition by f/stop collective called "Made In China"
Information about the collective & exhibition can be found through this link:
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MEDEA GALLERY
132 Osborne Street
Listing for the week of May 25, 2010
"Faces, Places, et al." paintings by Lillian Toews
Opening Reception: Sunday May 30th, 1 - 4 p.m.
Exhibition cont. to June 12th.
***
Gallery Listings for week of June 7th, 2010
"Manitoba Light"
New Works by photographer Dave Streeter
June 13 - 26, 2010
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Wayne Arthur Gallery
186 Provencher Blvd
Invites you to
Land of Promise, Land of Pain
Paintings by George Gartrell
Opening Saturday, June 5, and continues to Wednesday, June 30
Artist reception, Sunday, June 6, from 12 to 5 PM
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 11AM to 5PM
Web site: http://www.waynearthurgallery.com
For more information
Call Bev at 477-5249
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Jolanta & Zbigniew Sokalski presided at the unveiling of their huge stained glass window titled "Dream Gate" on Tuesday, May 25th,
at the school: Henry G. Izatt Middle School 960 Scurfield Blvd, Winnipeg South.

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PRAIRIE STAINED GLASS invites you to
The 31st Anniversary Glass Show and Sale
Please come and join us to celebrate excellence in Glass Art.
When: May 31 to June 12 Mon to Fri 9 AM to 5 PM Sat 9 AM to 1 PM
Where: Prairie Stained Glass and School of Craft
587 Sargent Ave
Categories: Stained Glass- Fused Glass- Art Clay Silver- Glass Jewelry and Beads- Mixed Media
GLASS SHOW PARTY!!! THURSDAY June 3 from 7 to 8:30.
Wine, Cheese, music, meet your local artists and take part in a discussion of the techniques used to create many of the pieces on display. Everyone is welcome.
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Check out our website to familiarize yourself with the artists and galleries included in the upcoming
June 5&6 Tour;
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Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Crows in Plain View

These days I wake up in the morning to the noise of a “murder” of crows. That old English collective noun designating a flock of crows is more than apt.
Several crow families have chosen this part of the riverbank for their homes, and they let the world know where they live, vociferously and at great length, especially early in the morning.
They also have designated some of their number as outlooks – warning all and sundry about the approach of any cat or dog in the vicinity.  In fact, I think they have decided that I, too, am a threat, cawing away whenever I step outside the back door.
Every once in a while they spot an aerial enemy, usually a traveling bird of prey - a hawk or an unwary owl, who has perched for the day in a branch of a tree on the riverbank, probably resting on its migratory route. Then the “murder” begins in earnest. The local crows call in all their nearby relatives and thus begins a cawing, screeching, campaign of terror. The flock surrounds the poor unfortunate creature, dive-bombing it, until they drive it off its perch into the air where they pursue it mercilessly, attempting to force it onto the ground, where they will peck it to death.

The first time I witnessed this tragic ritual, I had stepped out into the back yard, hearing an incredible cacophony of sound. Over the river flew a great, flapping black cloud of screaming crows. The cloud circled several times, and then turned and flew over me, and as I looked up at the phenomenon, I saw in the centre of this black swarm, a white face looking down at me with two great terrified eyes. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was a vision that I will always remember.
I realized after this strange image passed overhead, that the crows had flushed a snowy owl. The whole crowd swirled on down the river and disappeared from view. I hoped that the owl got away, but its chances of getting back to the north were probably pretty slim.
That image – the flying face – has sometimes shown up in my work.

Pat Courtnage also has a fascination for crows. She has found interesting ways to express this:

Pat is having a sale at her studio - but these collectibles are different!
Sale of Vintage Clothing & Accessories
 Saturday, May 15, 10 – 2 pm
Sunday, May 16, 12 – 2 pm
164 Langside St. at Sara
Buckskin jacket to mink stole, casual to elegant
Shoes, bags, hats, scarves, jewellery
For more info contact: Pat 453-3819
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Coming up on the evening of Friday,  May 14 and Saturday, May 15 is the annual Wolseley Arts Festival.This year it has a classy new name: Envision, and will be held as always at Robert Steen Community Centre, and will feature all kinds of art - music, dance, visual art (painting, photography, pottery, glass, etc)
Several Artists In Plain View will be showing work: Pat Bragg, Jane Gateson, Katharine Bruce, Kathleen Black, Gloria De Neve, Nancy Blokland and Jo'Anne Kelly.
Come out and get cultured in Wolseley!

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Bev Morton at the Wayne Arthur Gallery at 186 Provencher is offering a new concept:
A POETRY CONTEST (2010)
Come into the gallery and write a poem about a piece of art in the gallery.
Contest starts May 2 and runs until May 25.
Come out to the gallery on Friday, May 28 at 7 PM and read your poem and listen to others.
Contest open to all.
Prizes: Drawings by Wayne Arthur
Judge: Laurie Harper-Winning, an avid reader who is knowledgeable about Canadian literature, an experienced Toastmaster judge and the President of Sherlock Holmes Club

For instructions, contact Bev by e-mail:  bemorton@mts.net or phone: 477-5249

The contest is open from Sunday, May 2 to Tuesday, May 25.
The judge will read the poems and announce the winners here at the gallery on Friday evening, May 28 starting at 7 PM.
Check out the website: http://www.waynearthurgallery.com/
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Take Note! The next In Plain View Studio Tour will happen on the weekend of June 5 & 6, from noon till 5 each day.
Check out our website for information about the artists: http://www.inplainviewwinnipeg.com/.
There will be some changes on the tour, so check out this blog for updates.
One change will be Katharine Bruce's location. Since the building where her studio is on Partage Ave. E., won't be open for the weekend, she will be showing at her home in Wolseley, 153 Canora St, not at her studio on Portage Ave.
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Speaking of Katharine Bruce. She will be holding painting workshops all this month. These will be at her studio on Portage Ave. E. Here are the particulars:
KICK ASS Painting Workshop with Katharine Bruce

10-4pm
138 Portage Avenue East (studio 709)
$65   plus small fee for supplies

How aware are you when you are creating? feelings? movements? markmaking? choices? Do you feel stuck, repetitive, even lazy at times? What influences you and why?
Need a little jolt? some new energy? some new ideas for your work?
Everything in this workshop is geared to help you become more aware of your energy, what you are choosing for your life, your work, your art and how to change it if you want to.
We will do some Qi-Gong exercises, meditation, sound-movement markmaking, work on a collaborative painting and create a large individual canvas painting, as well as have some relaxed discussions.
Do you dare?

May 12 class full
May 16
May 20, 21, 27, 28, 29,30 available
also: two day workshops available
call Katharine at: 204-786-3052 or email: kbruce@kbruce.com  for more info (groups of 4, any day of the week)
Here are a couple of Kick Ass paintings by Katharine:


                                                             

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Out and About, Yahoo!

It is action time for Pat Bragg who will be out and about, loving the spring, promoting and selling her photographs.
In addition to several commissions, she will be participating in the Mother’s Day Art Sale in Warren on May 8th and 9th, the Rendezvous Canada Uniquely Manitoba Gift Show at the Centennial Concert Hall on May 10th, the Wolseley Arts Festival, May 14 and 15, and of course the In Plain View Studio Tour on June 5 and 6. In July the Pine Ridge Hollow Market Garden starts up again and the River and Osborne Farmer’s Market on Thursday evenings. Pat will be at both of these venues off and on.
Pat’s latest works feature unique presentations of flowers, gardens and winter landscapes. She is also helping capture the essence of people in personal portraits.
She is looking for a full flax crop in bloom, hopefully next to a flowering canola crop this summer for a series of photographs she has in mind. If anyone notices this setting please give her a call at 254-1184 or email at patbragg@shaw.ca and she will dash out in the early morning to shoot. She has heard that flax crops may be scarce because there is an issue with our flax crops (overseas markets are not buying) so if anyone is growing flax, let her know!
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Kathleen Black reminds everyone that Medea Gallery is having a wonderful Spring Exhibition Opening of "DRAMATIC MOMENTS" this Sat. afternoon, May 8.  Come enjoy the new dramatic art and enjoy some fine cheeses and a glass of wine.
Kathleen Black has some new fabric paintings on display. Check it out. Mother's Day is coming!

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Jane Gateson is involved in the Norman Art Group Annual Juried Show and Sale at George Waters Middle School, 190 Ferry Road, Sat. May 15 from 11-4 and Sunday May 16 from 12-4.
and
Guy St. Godard is in the Conservatory Gardening Show this Saturday at the Mennonite University on Shaftsbury
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Yolanta Sokalska writes: "Recently, we finished creating Awards for Manitoba Magazines' Publishers Association.
They chose ART pieces from our studio as prizes  to the Manitoba Magazines' winners.
The celebration was hosted in Forks Hotel in April 2010."

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Trees In Plain View

This is my favorite time of year. I love it when the small leaves on the trees create that soft green veil around the branches. Each tree looks like a primavera goddess – a true spring bride.
These lissome beings dance in the wind all along my riverbank, their limbs clothed in transparent green gauze.
It isn’t difficult to understand why the ancients believed that trees were inhabited by supernatural beings.
I have lots of trees in my yard. In fact I often say that I live in a small forest on Wolseley Ave. 

Four years ago, I had to have my favorite tree cut down. It nearly broke my heart.
It was a huge basswood, towering over my house – taller than any other tree in Winnipeg, I think.
It had five large boles, each as great around as the trunks of individual elm trees growing along Wolseley. They all branched off from a huge trunk that must have been about 30 feet in circumference.
When the tree-cutters came I asked them to leave a high stump. So there it stands, an altar to treedom – 6 feet high and 25 feet around.

The wonderful thing is that it is still alive! It has produced several young trees from suckers, ringing it round and two of them have reached a height of 20 feet or more. Last year they managed to produce flowers and I look forward to even more this spring. I have missed the heavenly smell of basswood flowers in my back yard since the big one was cut down. I will enjoy them again, as well as the low hum of bees in the branches, They probably travelled miles to harvest the nectar.
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And here is an invitation from Medea Gallery.
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This is a painting by our newest member - Jane Gateson. She says of her work:  "Paintings are visual words, and each person can read them in a unique way. My visual words arise from a longing to understand the mystery of the link between the human and the divine. The hours of the day, the ordinary things, always bring colors, shapes and textures...often an unexpected and holy beauty, often a gift of understanding which though impossible to capture, compels me to try.
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                                Nancy Blokland invites you to the
Spring Craft Market

May 6 and 7th from 11 am -1:30 pm both days
Portage Place Shopping Center
Edmonton Court (under the clock)

Vases, bowls, mugs and many other items
perfect for Mother's Day etc...

204-799-3792 e-mail nancyblokland@msn.com    
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Wayne Arthur Gallery

186 Provencher Blvd
Invites you to
Minis, Not Quite Miniatures: From the Drawer and New Small Works
Mixed media and acrylic by
 H. RogueRaiders
May 2 to June 2, 2010
Opening Sunday, May 2, 1 to 4 PM
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 11AM to 5PM
Web site: http://www.waynearthurgallery.com
For more information
Call Bev at 477-5249

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3 Beautiful Weimeraner Dogs Looking For a Home
A friend of a friend is looking for a home for these three beautiful dogs (weimeraners). She's moving west and isn't able to take them with her and if she can't find homes for them, will be forced to consider euthanasia. It is breaking her heart and I want to do all that I can to help.

The three dogs are:
3 year old female (blue)
9 month old male (blue)
4 year old male (grey)
All are neutered/spayed and have been well cared for. The three dogs are all crate/house trained, well mannered. She takes them to the dog park and walks them all together - in one hand! :)
If you are looking for a dog or know someone who is, please let me know and I will pass along the contact information.
e-mail Jo'Anne at j.kelly@shaw.ca.
        
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All artists In Plain View are gearing up to get ready for our next tour.
This will take place on June 5 & 6, all over the city. It's a self-guided tour of Winnipeg artist studios and galleries and you can go to our website to get more information about us and our tour: http://www.inplainviewwinnipeg.com/.



Monday, April 5, 2010

Spring is here in plain view


This evening I walked my dogs wearing only a sweater over my clothes. This in early Aptil - mirabile dictu!.
A benign, mellow evening worthy of early June.
Later on tonight, I'll continue to imbibe the soft spring air,  sitting out on the deck behind my studio and listening to the dark, swollen Assiniboine River rush by. Last night I heard the small tinkling bells of the breaking ice as it jostled and pushed its way eastwards. Tonight the river waters are free of ice and flow swiftly and purposefully onwards.
I might be joined by some curious but cautious racoons. I have seen them luxuriously reclining on the lounge chair on my studio deck. And a couple of nights ago I spotted a couple in amorous foreplay.
Perhaps even the local red fox might prowl by, if I am quiet enough. He came into the yard about three weeks ago, presaged by his otherworldly cry - sounding like a lost soul, searching for its mate. Perhaps he was.

There was an ice jam on the river this past weekend, and it left fascinating piles of ice which remain on the bank. They remind me of Jolanta Sokalska's glass work.

I visited Jolanta and her husband Zbigniew in their studio this past week and found them working on a commissioned stained glass project which was a collaboration with students in a school in South Winnipeg and will grace the halls of that school.
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Katherine Bruce has offered new work for out delectation. She will also be offering all day workshops in May. Go to her page in the In Plain View Winnipeg website to access her website information.













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Kathleen Black sent along an invitation to (W)rites of Spring where a piece of hers is being auctioned. This info is as follows:


A fundraiser for the League of Cdn Poets
Day: April 9, Friday

Time: 7 pm -10 pm
Place: Cre8ery Gallery
Upstairs at 125 Adelaide (across from Cdn Footwear)
Free admission, Cash bar, Cupcakes by Finales
Win: Fine art Pate de Verre piece by Kathleen Black, glass artist. ($250.00)
Win: One League of Canadian Poets membership (Associate, or eqivalent, 1 year)

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Wayne Arthur Gallery

186 Provencher Blvd
Presents
Grandma Jean Paints Animals and Other People
Paintings by Jean McCormack
Opening Saturday, April 3, 1 to 5
And continues to Wednesday, April 28
Gallery hours: Tuesday to Saturday 11 to 5 PM
Web site: http://www.waynearthurgallery.com
For more information call Bev 477-5249






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And inside Jo'Anne Kelly's studio on the swollen riverbank, a number of paintings have recently been birthed. Here are a couple of them -
 
 
 
 

To find out more about us go to our website: http://www.inplainviewwinnipeg.com/.