Halifax Street Art

Barrington Street Mural; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2016

While in Halifax this summer, a massive mural by Jason Botkin (b. 1974) caught my eye. He's an ACAD graduate who originally hails from Denver, Colorado and is now a Montréal-based artist and a co-creator and co-director of en Masse Collaborative Mural project. The mural overlooks a sad parking lot on Barrington Street directly across from the Grand Parade, formerly the site of a gorgeous old Birks building, torn down in the early 1980s to make way for a government building. The empty lot has been an eyesore for more than 30 years.

Barrington Blocks Ceramic Installation; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2016

This Barrington Blocks installation by NSCAD ceramics graduate Catherine Laroche, is interactive. The ceramic blocks are glazed with a different colour (orange, yellow, green, grey) on each of the four sides and rotate independently: they are pixels one can touch. The installation screened the aforementioned sad parking lot. 

Halifax poster detritus; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2016

And finally, a collage of chance.

Studio Series: future tags + small disaster

Great Opa B's notes; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2016

Last fall my mom handed me an old cookie tin that contained documents belonging to my late great-grandparents. One item was an old notebook that my great grandfather kept. He wrote with a fountain pen and his hand-writing is elegant and beautiful. Unfortunately it's written in an old German script that I'm unable to read. I scanned a few pages and digitally printed them onto fabric. After rinsing the fabric, I painted it with washes of walnut ink and black tea. In a few days I'll rinse the fabric again and then stitch them. Working with my great-grandfather's words is very special.

To digitally print the text, I used C. Jenkins Miracle Fabric Sheets and they are best used for black-and-white images (colour is a bit washed out on them). I thought it would be cool to feed my own fabric through the printer, so I ironed grocery store freezer paper to fabric that I cut to size and fed it through the printer. Big mistake. The fabric came away from the freezer paper and wrapped around the printer's roller. Thankfully my very patient husband is mechanically adept. With great care he took the printer apart, fished out the fabric, and put it all back together and it works! I will never do that again. C. Jenkins sells a strong freezer paper, but I am not going to test fate (although I am slightly tempted).

Amanda McCavour @ Fibreworks 2014

Amanda McCavour, Black Cloud, 2014; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Black Cloud is a radical departure from Amanda McCavour's machine-embroidered installations. It's very sexy in a playful S&M-meets-Kindergarten-art-class way.

Amanda McCavour, Black Cloud, 2014; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

At the opening, Amanda told me that she made this work while she was doing her MFA at the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. She told me that at the beginning of her degree, her instructors would not permit her to use the sewing machine. They wanted her to recapture the mystery of making objects by hand quickly and directly. Her exquisite free-motion embroidered installations require a lot of designing and planning which can take the mystery out of the making process. They encouraged Amanda to experiment with basic materials and basically re-embrace the kinds of artistic activities that she did when she was in Kindergarten. Black Cloud has elements of construction-paper lanterns and crayon scribbles but her use of black removes all trace of childhood innocence. If she were to make this same piece in bright colours, it would read very differently.

Amanda McCavour, Black Cloud, 2014; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Although Black Cloud is installation-based, like her much-lauded free-motion embroidery (FME) work, it is different in every other way. It is visually heavy and playfully ominous –– a contradiction. It is also opaque, whereas the FME work is light and transparent. I wonder if and how the essence of Black Cloud will be absorbed with her pre-MFA FME work. McCavour has built a reputation with her FME installations. Will she risk this by shifting the direction and tone of her work?

Amanda McCavour, Black Cloud, 2014; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

I love how the matte black materials reflect the light. 

Black Cloud, 2014, cut paper, toothpicks, thread, straws

Amanda McCavour artist statement: "This piece is a collection of lines, a drawing in space where materials become the mark. I am interested in a line's duality – its subtle quality versus its accumulative presence. This project came out of an exercise where I made a different work in my studio each day for ten days. I chose simple, readily available materials so that I could experiment more freely and openly. Paper, straws and toothpicks were among my many choices. Black Cloud is the result of gradually paring down, combining, altering, and then expanding the elements of my daily experiments within my studio. Within this work, I play with line, shape and surface."

Amanda McCavour: Embroidered Spaces @ Homer Watson House & Gallery

Amanda McCavour, Floating Garden; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

I first saw Floating Garden at the 2012 Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition and the setting was less than ideal. It was, in fact, a liability to the work. In the Homer Watson House and Gallery, Floating Garden sings. 

Amanda McCavour, Floating Garden; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Amanda McCavour is a master of free-motion embroidery (hereafter FME) and installation work. Each flower module is machine-stitched with thread onto water-soluble fabric. When finished, she immerses the unit into water and the background fabric dissolves. She can opt to not thoroughly wash the module so that some stiffness remains.

Amanda McCavour, Floating Garden; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

I took multiple photos of Floating Garden and it was difficult to share only three. It's an engaging piece in many ways: the flowers move with the air currents and the mass of threads from which the flowers are suspended are beautiful in their own way.

Amanda McCavour, Stand-In for Home; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Stand-In for Home worked well installed next to the old fireplace. It's like a ghostly apparition of what once furnished the space.

Amanda McCavour, Stand-In for Home; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

McCavour's three dimensional FME drawings cast exquisite shadows. Note the yellow roses wallpaper and the electrical outlet.

Amanda McCavour, Stand-In for Home; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Amanda McCavour's Embroidered Spaces at Homer Watson House & Gallery ran from May 9th to June 14, 2015.

Cliff Eyland @ Halifax Central Library

Cliff Eyland, Library Cards, 2014; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Summer isn't complete without a visit to Halifax where my husband and I reconnect with good friends and spent time in a city that we love. One highlight of our visit was spending time in the new Halifax Central Library. We've been watching its progress for many years. Cliff Eyland's installation of 5000 "tiny paintings" graced a long wall on the main floor and an upper wall on the top floor. A few months ago I stumbled across his work when I was looking for information about Aganetha Dyck and I wrote about him here.

Cliff Eyland, Library Cards, 2014; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Have I mentioned that I am obsessed with modules?

Cliff Eyland, Library Cards detail, 2014; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Eyland (pronounced eeland) has worked in the 3" X 5" index/recipe/library card format since 1981. I wonder if he ever deviates from this format. Thirty-four years is a significant commitment to one size. It's like a good marriage.

Cliff Eyland, Library Cards detail, 2014; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Before the advent of computers, one had to search for library books at a cabinet containing multiple drawers filled with cards. Unless the cards were typed with information, they looked a bit like the card in the above image, sans the Letraset dot inclusion.

Cliff Eyland, Library Cards, 2014; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

In December 2014, Nora Young interviewed Eyland for her Spark program on CBC Radio.

Cliff Eyland, Library Cards, 2014; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

This group of modules was on the upper wall of the upper floor of the library. The space had the feel of a classy living room with leather club chairs and sofas. The three directional view was spectacular regardless of the weather. When the fog rolled in, it felt like you were floating in a cloud. 

On a practical level, I'm curious to see how these Cliff Eyland modules will age when exposed to so much light. I'm also curious to see how the library maintains them: next summer will I see them encrusted with dust and cobwebs?

If you visit Halifax, Nova Scotia, do explore the Halifax Central Library. How often are libraries tourist attractions?

Ritsuko Ozeki @ Froelick Gallery, PDX

Ritsuko Ozeki, Down Up, 2014; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

While in Portland, Oregon, I stumbled across Japanese artist Ritsuko Ozeki's exhibition Distance at the Froelick Gallery. It ran from July 21 to August 29, 2015.

Ritsuko Ozeki is a Tokyo-based painter and printmaker. She studied painting and intaglio at the Musashino Art University in Tokyo, Japan and earned both a B.A. in 1994 and an M.A. in 1996. Down Up is massive: it's 98" X 137" and arrived at the Froelick Gallery neatly folded in an envelope. Ozeki printed the artwork in modules of Japanese paper using about six different plates and then joined them together to create one large whole. She employed etching, aquatint, and collage in her process. According to Froelick Gallery director Rebecca Rockom, Down Up references the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in 2011.

Ritsuko Ozeki, Down Up detail, 2014; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Ozeki's prints, especially Down Up, drew me in immediately and they have had a significant impact on how I think about my work, especially her spacing, line, and repetition of modules. 

Her use of folds is right up my alley too. This week I started reading Sarah Thornton's 33 Artists in 3 Acts and her mention of the folded work of Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco (his Corplegados) and Chilean artist Eugenio Dittborn caught my attention.

To learn more about Ozeki:
http://ritsukoozeki.tumblr.com
http://ritsukoozeki.com

Postcards: Yoonhee Choi @ Blackfish Gallery, PDX

Yoonhee Choi 2013 exhibition postcard; Image credit: Karen Thiessen, 2015

Yoonhee Choi's exhibition, Trawling (June 2015), at Blackfish Gallery in Portland, Oregon was over by the time I visited, but I was able to see three framed artworks that were hanging in the gallery office. The above postcard is from an exhibition in 2013. 

Yoonhee Choi is a Korean-born artist who trained as a city planner and architect before turning her attention to fine art. She uses found objects and obsolete planning and architect supplies in her artworks. I am smitten with her two inch collages (framed size is 11'' square) and installations. Yoonhee Choi is a faculty member in the School of Architecture at Portland State University. 

Of Note

1. Titles of books noticed in a San Francisco Airport bookstore in December 2014: Blink, Bounce, Choke, Nudge, Sway.

2. Tea bags are made from Abaca hemp, a very strong fibre from the Banana family.

3. Cliff Eyland (b. 1954), is a Canadian painter who has been making art in the 3" X 5" (index card) format since 1981. That's 34 years for those who are mathematically challenged. He's from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and currently lives in balmy Winnipeg, Manitoba. His work is permanently on view in the new Halifax Central Library: 5000 paintings! He's a graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, where he began his index card-sized work.

4. Claire Cameron, Canadian author, writes Notebook pages (part of her blog). They are collages of images and text taped onto lined paper. Visually, they are nothing fancy, but they are definitely thought-provoking. She's a cousin of food writer/stylist/broadcaster Lindsay Cameron Wilson. Story-telling runs in the genes.

Kaj Franck Tako Cards

Kaj Franck Teema brochure from the Design Museum Denmark, 2013

This year I've been reviewing my sketchbooks, my stuff, my work. In the course of sorting through my paper dilemma I'm finding some gems, one of which is this small Kaj Franck brochure from the Design Museum Denmark that I picked up in 2013. I was about to pitch it in the recycle bin when this page about Tako cards caught my attention. I did a search for Tako cards on the web and learned that Tako can mean either octopus or kite in Japanese. Tako, Chiba is also a town in Japan. Nowhere did I learn about the 11 X 15 cm Tako cards themselves. They are probably the blank, slightly larger equivalent of an index or recipe card (7.5 X 12.5 cm). Author Anne Lamott keeps one or two index cards in her back pocket at the ready to record thoughts or flashes of insight when she's out and about. Character Kinsey Millhone (from Sue Grafton's Alphabet mysteries) uses index cards to record information and then shuffles them like a deck of cards or spreads them out on a table to make new connections when solving a mystery. If you have more information about Tako cards, feel free to share via a comment.

Studio Series: Mixed Media tags

Mixed media tags © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Since January, I've been on a tag making, collaging, painting, stitching, and varnishing blitz. So far, I've completed about 165 collage tags. I haven't counted the completed textile tags since they are a different studio process and I keep them separate. The top photo shows a selection of the 165, all that could fit on my 1960s family room wet bar. The pink tags in the foreground are a significant shift in colour palette for me.

Mixed media tags © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Working with #6 shipping tags has been a gargantuan learning experience. I've learned plenty of what doesn't work and with a lot of persistent trial and error I've learned what does. As you can see, I've incorporated my screen printed and intuitive mark-making papers.

Mixed media tags © Karen Thiessen, 2015

After making the first batch of tags that I exhibited in my 2013 solo show Unit(y), I learned that acrylic medium never cures. This means that if a pile of collage tags are stored together, they stick. Not good. While reviewing old sketchbooks I learned that Fran Skiles varnishes all her completed work with Golden acrylic polymer varnish. I bought some in January. Resistance (a.k.a fear) kicked in so I made a lot more tags before I finally had the courage to learn how to use it and complete all that I had started. The Golden varnish was easy to use and very forgiving. Now that I have the hang of it, I complete tags in batches of fifteen, versus waiting until I have 120+ tags in limbo. Now it's time to start applying for shows.

Rebecca Roberts @ BIG in Nova Scotia, MSVU

Svava Juliusson (foreground) and Rebecca Roberts (painting); Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Last September I saw the Big in Nova Scotia exhibition at the Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery near Halifax. The show, curated by Ingrid Jenkner, ran from August 23 to September 28, 2014 and featured the work of nine artists. Painting, sculpture, and textile-based work made within a 33 year time-span (1980 to 2013) were included and, as the title suggests, all the artworks in this exhibition were BIG.

One highlight was seeing Rebecca Roberts' sprawling oil on birch plywood painting Untitled in its entirety. It's 74.8 X 8 m (installed) and was painted in 2000. Roberts and I were at NSCAD at the same time and I remember seeing one section or a study for this painting in the Anna Leonowens Gallery. If I remember correctly, this is a self-portrait.

Rebecca Roberts Untitled detail; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

The painting is modular, and this was the first time that it had been exhibited in the MSVU Art Gallery in its entirety.

Rebecca Roberts Untitled detail; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Roberts was born in Halifax in 1977 and now resides in Brooklyn, New York.

Rebecca Roberts Untitled detail; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

The painting sat in her mother's basement until 2013, when she donated it to the MSVU Art Gallery. I'm grateful that it is finally seeing the light of day. 

Rebecca Roberts Untitled detail; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

The painting is a fractured narrative, it is one of intimacy and vulnerability.

Rebecca Roberts Untitled detail; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Rebecca Roberts is the author of the quirky blog Manna from Brooklyn and set aside her paint brushes to be a wrangler of words.

Rebecca Roberts Untitled detail; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

All the photos were taken with permission.

Svava Thordis Juliusson @ Big in Nova Scotia, MSVU

Svava Juliusson Blanket Sacrifice, 2003; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Last September I saw the Big in Nova Scotia exhibition at the Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery near Halifax. The show, curated by Ingrid Jenkner, ran from August 23 to September 28, 2014 and featured the work of nine artists. Painting, sculpture, and textile-based work made within a 33 year time-span (1980 to 2013) were included and, as the title suggests, all the artworks in this exhibition were BIG.

Svava Thordis Juliusson (b. 1966 Siglufjordur, Iceland; currently lives in Hamilton, Ontario).

The moment that I entered the Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery last September, Svava Thordis Juliusson's Blanket Sacrifice grabbed my attention. How could it not? It occupied most of the gallery floor real estate. I'm familiar with Juliusson's rope and cable tie sculptures, as well as her mammoth rope and cable tie installations so her use of discarded clothing came as a surprise to me; her affinity for large scale did not.

Svava Juliusson Blanket Sacrifice, 2003; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Juliusson graduated from NSCAD in 1997 and then earned an MFA from York University in Toronto, Ontario in 2007. In the late 2000s she founded and ran List gallery on the Danforth in Toronto. She's followed this up with numerous residencies and awards.

Svava Juliusson Blanket Sacrifice, 2003; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

In 2003, Blanket Sacrifice was exhibited at ArtsPlace, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, at the Mary E. Black Gallery in Halifax, Nova Scotia and then it finally made its way into the collection of the MSVU Art Gallery.

Blanket Sacrifice: about 60 sheep-sized elements (salvaged woollen blankets stuffed with discarded clothing), wooden barrow, wooden platform.

All the photos were taken with permission.

Maggie Leininger: Specimen

Specimen by Maggie Leininger (image from a SDA conference brochure)

A few years ago I came upon this image of Maggie Leininger's Specimen in a Surface Design Association conference brochure. This ongoing series, presented in glass-topped aluminum watchmaker's cases, examines molecular microscopic images. I've been thinking about modular art since 2005, and Specimen fit the bill. Inspired, I bought a set of watchmaker's cases and discovered that if you insert a small circular rare-earth magnet between the textile and the tin, you can install the cases on the wall (you have to put a steel nail or screw with a decent sized head into the wall first for the magnet to work). Leininger's website is worth a long look. I especially appreciate her socially-engaged woven artwork, Rhythm, with Snow City Arts. Data visualization is on my radar and, once again, Leininger's Rhythm fits the bill.

Dorothy Caldwell Silent Ice/Deep Patience @ AGP 9

Dorothy Caldwell Collecting cards (journal); Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

In her 2003 In Good Repair solo exhibition at the Textile Museum of Canada Dorothy displayed several bound notebooks (along with white cotton gloves with which to handle them) in which she had made marks with ink and with burning/scorching. Collecting cards is a notebook in another form. One hundred and twelve cards are pinned to the wall with three-inch black specimen pins. The cards are about 2" X 3" and appear to be heavy cotton rag paper, similar to BFK Rives printmaking paper. The edges are nicely deckled and I wonder if Dorothy purchased the cards this way or if she moistened the heavy paper and then tore it against a sharp edge.

Dorothy Caldwell Collecting cards (journal); Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

The Collecting cards are small intimate studies that Dorothy stitched, wrapped, marked with earth ochre, ink, and appliquéd with plant material (leaves, small flowers).

Dorothy Caldwell Collecting cards (journal); Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Together they resemble an ancient alphabet.

Dorothy Caldwell Collecting cards (journal); Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Note the layers of shadows cast by the cards.

Dorothy Caldwell Collecting cards (journal); Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

A stitched leaf. Could it be eucalyptus?

Dorothy Caldwell Collecting cards (journal); Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Earth ochre, stitching, plant matter, and black charcoal marks.

Dorothy Caldwell Collecting cards (journal); Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Dorothy Caldwell Collecting cards (journal); Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

The middle card is adorned with either delicate plant matter or dead mosquitoes.

Dorothy Caldwell Collecting cards (journal); Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Collecting cards was one of my favourite parts of the exhibition. The cards are very personal and reveal the research and thinking behind Dorothy's new work.

All photos were taken with permission from Dorothy Caldwell and the fine staff of the Art Gallery of Peterborough.

Sarah Boyts Yoder @ Mennonite Arts Weekend

Sarah Boyts Yoder Mega Bun in Watermelon & Mint, 2014; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2014

Mega Bun in Watermelon & Mint: Mixed media on paper and canvas

Sarah Boyts Yoder is a mixed-media painter currently living and working in Charlottesville, Virginia (USA). I met her at the biannual Mennonite Arts Weekend in Cincinnati, Ohio in February where she was a presenter and exhibitor. From the moment that I saw her work, I was smitten with her bold lines, irregular shapes, and use of collage. I also admired that she uses mis-tinted house paint in her work. The work is fresh, bold, and loose.

Sarah Boyts Yoder Bun Shield with Blue, 2013; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2014

Bun Shield with Blue, Mixed media on paper and canvas.

Boyts Yoder is a mother to two young children, so she paints in spurts, making the most of small moments. Reading to her children almost doubles as studio time, since she draws inspiration from children's books. The bun, a recurring shape in her work, is one example of a shape that came from a book that she read to her children.

Sarah Boyts Yoder Comb, Bun, Gun, 2013; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2014

Comb, Bun, Gun, Mixed media on paper

A few years ago, when Boyts Yoder first moved with her family to Virginia, she had no studio space, so she set up shop in the small attic and in stolen moments started painting on paper. There was no room to paint on canvas. Painting on paper was a gateway to her cutting up paintings and then collaging with them. Although she now has a dedicated space large enough for working on canvas, she continues to incorporate collage into her work. I am grateful for that attic and how it broadened her work.

Sarah Boyts Yoder Foot, Gun, Bun 2014; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2014

Foot, Gun, Bun, Mixed media on canvas

If you look closely, you can see collage elements on this painting on the above canvas.

Sarah Boyts Yoder Green Bun on Pink, 2014; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2014

Green Bun on Pink, Mixed media on paper

Boyts Yoder installs her mixed-media-on-paper artworks with tacks that pierce the upper corners. Some of the galleries that exhibit her work embrace this, others choose to frame the pieces. 

Sarah Boyts Yoder Over the Hill, 2014; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2014

Over the Hill, Mixed media on paper and canvas

Sarah Boyts Yoder Rain Bun, 2014; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2014

Rain Bun, Mixed media on paper

Sarah Boyts Yoder Smoke & Cup, 2014; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2014

Smoke & Cup, Mixed media on paper

Sarah Boyts Yoder Black Feet, Green Brush, 2014; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2014

Black Feet, Green Brush, Mixed media on canvas

My photographs don't do the paintings justice. To learn more about Sarah Boyts Yoder and her process, visit her website or her blog Life and Limb.

Photos taken with permission from the artist.