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.)
************************************************

  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:


********************************************
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:
*****************************************************
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
*******************************************
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
***************************************
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.

************************************************

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.
*********************************************
Check out our website to familiarize yourself with the artists and galleries included in the upcoming
June 5&6 Tour;
****************************************

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
*********************************************
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!

                                   ******************************************
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/
                                            ************************************
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.
                                        ************************************
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:


                                                             

************************************************************

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!
                                         ********************************
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!

   *************************************

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
************************************
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."