Work & Life

Front porch cicada; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2016

I've been a bit absent from blogland for a few reasons. I've been writing various artist statements during my daily 30 minute office practice. It seems that the words and time that I normally dedicate to my blog are being used for my statements. On Monday I felt disillusioned with the results of this new month-old habit. I expected that I would have a resolved Poetic Memory statement and already be writing an essay for another series. Nope. Then yesterday I had a breakthrough for how to install my tags. Today I realized that the results of my 30 minute office practice are non-linear. Yes, my Poetic Memory statement is moving forward, but I am reaping other rewards too.

The other reason I've been absent is that I had surgery a month ago and I'm still recovering. S l o w l y. I've since learned that it can take 4 to 6 weeks for all of the chemicals to work their way out of your body. Like my new office practice, I've learned that recovery is non-linear: Some days I feel like my normal self and then I'm exhausted for a few days. Such is life.

April snow!

Oak leaf in April snow; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2016

Here in Ontario, Canada we were blessed with an April 3 snowstorm. This oak leaf landed on the snow and the sun warmed its dark surface enough to melt the snow beneath it. Isn't the leaf crater beautiful?

Studio Series: still life

Still life; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

While I was overcoming resistance, I channelled my inner Camilla Engman and played with photographing a few vignettes. Camilla makes it look so easy. It's not.

The path to new work: it's a spiral

Spiral Staircase; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

"The path isn't a straight line; it's a spiral. You continually come back to things you thought you understood and see deeper truths." – Barry H. Gillespie

Days after I started feeling more like my pre-accident self I celebrated by pulling an all-nighter to do a big clear out of my studio. I filled two recycle bins and moved out the clutter. The space now has breathing and thinking room. My work requires use of materials and tools (fabric, paper, acrylics, thread, brushes, needles...) that in certain quantities or arrangements look like clutter. Just the right amount of clutter stimulates creativity and too much or too little will stifle it. 

Along with decluttering my studio, I have swept the porch and I've been preparing surfaces for collage. These actions are harbingers of new work about to be made. I can feel the energy building.

Amsterdam: princess & laughing woman

prinses irene; photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2013

A sign for a Kindergarten named prinses irene. The crown is a nice touch.

laughing woman; photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2013

I met this laughing woman at the Saturday farmers' market in the canal district. The market was a nice combination of food and flea market stalls.

Studio Series: Post office grille

Post office grille; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2013

A lifetime ago I photographed this window grille with an SLR and black-and-white film, processed the film and then developed the picture in a dark room. Times have changed. The SLR is tucked away and a digital camera and computer has taken its place. After I took the photograph, the post office was converted into a court house and the grilles were removed. When I was a textiles student at Sheridan, I screen-printed this image onto fabrics and then made quilts with those fabrics. Now I've returned to this image and am playing with it in Photoshop and am generating collage papers with the grille pattern that I tone with walnut ink that I made. Although pixels have replaced the SLR and dark room, the hand still has a direct role in making art with this image.

Amsterdam: Street Art

Rabbits; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2013

Amsterdam grew on me. I loved the old buildings, which are ancient compared to those in North America. The city is rich with design luminaries: Droog and Moooi both call it home. I must confess that although we walked by plenty of museums, we didn't venture in. Since we only had five days in Amsterdam, we wanted to see the city and its people. There was a lot to see. Every day we found new streets and alleys in neighbourhoods that we thought that we had explored thoroughly.

Dots; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2013

This aboriginal-like black-and-white dot design caught my eye on our first day.

Freedom; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2013

I'm curious to know what this poster advertised.

Text; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2013

Water; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2013

Do you see the yellow tap?

Club up; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2013

An Op art poster for Late Night Tuff Guy.

Wow power

Echinacea flower 

May this photograph of an Echinacea flower brighten your day. My hubby took it this summer and it's a wow image for me. I didn't adjust it in Photoshop: this is what it looked like. 

This past weekend I met one deadline and am now working on another deadline for next weekend. Natural dyeing continues to distract me from the immediate tasks at hand in the most wonderful ways. The physical labour of filling large dye pots with dyestuff and water, of tending the simmering pots throughout the day, of scouring fabrics, mucking out spent dye stuff, washing fabrics, and then ironing them is a welcome relief. Aside from the wonder of the colour changes of the fabrics, I think the physicality of natural dyeing is what I like best. It also feels like being part of a mystery, not knowing how the fabric will respond to the water and dyestuffs, and this unpredictability is what keeps me hooked. Soon my garage will be too cold to carry on as I have been the last four months and I will miss this daily rhythm.

Halifax: Unlikely Beauty

Blowers Street paint; Photo © Karen Thiessen 2013

My husband and I were in Halifax recently to visit good friends and our niece. The above building on Blowers Street has fallen into disrepair. When we lived in the city it housed an eatery called Big Life that served delicious vegan, wheat-free chocolate chip oatcakes. Big Life relocated to the Brewery Market where they still sell oatcakes and other goodies.

Décollage; Photo © Karen Thiessen 2013

 Layers of torn concert posters are beautiful.

Weeds; Photo © Karen Thiessen 2013

Have you ever tried to take a picture close to the ground on a steeply sloped sidewalk? Tricky. One day I'd like to learn how to identify weeds.

Blur

Blurred image of Singapore #1 quilt © Karen Thiessen, 2013

Play at work. 

Blurred image of Singapore #1 quilt © Karen Thiessen, 2013

I took a lot of blurred pictures in order to get three that I was happy with. It's harder than you'd think.

Blurred image of elastic balls © Karen Thiessen, 2013

Try it, you'll see what I mean. But, you may have too much fun to notice.

Day of Labour

Barbecued peaches & plums; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2013

My husband and I are enjoying our last long summer weekend. Here in Canada it's Labour Day and we have been labouring over food preparation. This weekend we made a quintupled batch of peach chutney and today we barbecued some of the remaining peaches as well as some plums. Barbecued peaches and plums are absolutely delicious hot or cold and are sure to be a regular feature of future summer meals. This was the best summer ever and now I am refreshed and ready to return to my regular studio space and practice.

Summer highlights 1

Mulberry stained fingers; Photo credit: © Karen Thiessen, 2013

Summer is normally too hot and humid for me, but this year the weather has been perfect and as a result I've been enjoying it differently. Evening mulberry walks are a summer tradition and we've introduced it to our nieces, nephew, and our adventurous friends.

Dried mud puddle; Photo credit: © Karen Thiessen, 2013

I saw this dried mud puddle while out for a walk and had to go back for my camera. When I lived on the farm, I had fond memories of walking on these barefoot, breaking up the mud shards. Squishing warm, wet mud through my toes was also fun. I seldom see mud puddles in the city.

 Variegated Canna Lily leaf; Photo credit: © Karen Thiessen, 2013

Twice this summer, we've brought a picnic lunch to Niagara-on-the-Lake. NOTL is a tourist town with the Shaw Theatre, picturesque shops and a showy streetscape with benches and dramatic greenery. When I was young, my grandma would take me there each summer. I preferred its calmness to the chaotic Niagara Falls.

 Adolescent robin; Photo credit: © Karen Thiessen, 2013

 This young robin claimed our patio as his own and made his mark, so to speak. 

 Red & White twist tie on hexagons paper; Photo credit: © Karen Thiessen, 2013

This twist tie against the hexagons paper pad that I bought at Cinnober makes me very happy. It's a small, simple delight.

Copenhagen: Random goodness

I love the font and the food at 42º Raw. We ate lunch here almost every day and then had supper at Simple Raw every other day.

The trains have a quiet area. How civilized.

Copenhagen: Grønlykke

Grønlykke 1; Photo credit: © Karen Thiessen, 2013

Do you believe in coincidence? By chance, I dug out my pile of Uppercase magazines a few weeks before our European adventure. Issue 2 featured a mention of Grønlykke: two shops with one name. One is located in a basement and offers paper goods.

Grønlykke 2; Photo credit: © Karen Thiessen, 2013

Next door is the fabric shop on two levels. They are located in the Strøget area at Læderstræde 3 & 5. 

Grønlykke 3; Photo credit: © Karen Thiessen, 2013

The second floor was my favourite space. Plastic tabling in a Danish design and some Japanese fabric caught my eye. I only bought 0.5 m each because we were travelling light (no checked baggage) and because it was expensive (198 DK per metre, about $40.00 Canadian/m).

Grønlykke 4; Photo credit: © Karen Thiessen, 2013

 The striped fabrics were tempting. 

Grønlykke 5; Photo credit: © Karen Thiessen, 2013

The owner generously allowed me to photograph the store.

Grønlykke 6; Photo credit: © Karen Thiessen, 2013

 This is some of their plastic tabling.

Grønlykke 7; Photo credit: © Karen Thiessen, 2013

A lovely colour-coordinated stack of bolts of their quilting fabric. I'm loving the dotty fabrics. By the way, I do not believe in coincidence.

Copenhagen 1

Copenhagen bicycle; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2013

My hubby and I visited Copenhagen and Amsterdam recently. I chose our destinations for nerdy reasons: urban planning, architecture, and design.

Copenhagen bicycle parking lot; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2013

In Copenhagen, bicycles are everywhere. Pedestrians, cyclists, and cars each have their own "lanes" that are distinct from each other. The sidewalks are about 10 cm higher than the bicycle lanes and the bicycle lanes are 10 cm higher than the road.

Copenhagen sidewalk, bike lane, road; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2013

Do you see what I mean? It is safe and orderly for everyone.

Copenhagen Strøget aerial view; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2013

The Strøget was particularly inspiring. It was one of the reasons why I wanted to go to Copenhagen. The Strøget is the longest pedestrian mall in Europe. Why don't we have the foresight to do this in North America? The car does not need to dominate our landscape. Note the gorgeous pattern on the sidewalk.

Copenhagen Strøget; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2013

Another view of the Strøget. Fountains, statues, and prams were other notable features of the city. 

Copenhagen Liebe shop; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2013

The old architecture was a huge draw for me too. Liebe is a cute shop in the basement of this ancient building. I'll share more images and insights of CPH another day.

Stamens

Stamens © Karen Thiessen 2013

Summer is finally here! The past few weeks have been eventful and I have much to share with you. Yesterday I reviewed and fed a few sketchbooks and looked at how I would best like to spend my summer. An indigo vat is high on my list. I'll start with synthetic indigo from Maiwa because summer is too short to risk a failed vat. I'll keep you posted.

Steeples

Steeples © Karen Thiessen, 2012

I live in a place where city officials allow developers to tear down beautiful old buildings and then replace them with cheap stuccoed monstrosities. These golden beauties in the image above reign the sky for now. It might be interesting to construct these shapes in Adobe Illustrator and play with putting them into repeat patterns. The negative spaces would be divine.

Ant

Ant on peony bud; Photo credit Karen Thiessen's hubby, 2012

Ants are remarkable creatures. They are ordered, industrious and work together in communities called colonies. Oddly, they sound a lot like Mennonites. For the past fourteen years I've been working off-and-on a sprawling Russian Mennonite material culture project. Early in the project I interviewed elderly Mennonite women about the textiles that they made and used while still in South Russia (present-day Ukraine). I'm grateful that I gathered these interviews (from 1999-2003) because all of the women are now deceased. They told me stories that I never expected to hear. Naively, I thought textiles were a neutral subject. They weren't. I knew that the Mennonites who came to Canada in the 1920s had survived multiple horrors but would not talk about them. When I asked the elderly women about textiles, they unburdened themselves and told me about bandits, hunger, murder, sickness, and fear. Bandits stole clothing, thread, food, and people. They brought typhus laced lice. They raped, pillaged, murdered, burned houses and barns to the ground. To survive, Mennonites revived dormant silk industry skills and started raising silk worms in their kitchens so that they would have thread to mend clothing and knit socks. One woman cut up the skirt from her wedding dress to make diapers for her infant daughter. They made bread from floor sweepings and boiled plum branches to eat. Some survived, some did not. Those that survived carried on and worked together to rebuild their lives, a lot like ants.

Annie Fraser @ Hamilton Artists Inc II

Precious Sand by Annie Fraser, 2012; Photo Credit: Karen Thiessen 2012

Annie Fraser has a way with materials and shadow. Check out the shadow cast by Precious Sand. Her sensitivity reminds me of Rebecca Vidotto's work that I wrote about in 2011 here and here. Annie and Rebecca are both graduates of McMaster University's Fine Art program. McMaster isn't renowned for its art program. Medicine, engineering, and business put McMaster on the map. Obviously the Mac fine arts program, although small, is doing something right. 

Revel, Unravel by Annie Fraser, 2012; Photo Credit: Karen Thiessen 2012

In her statement for the show, Annie states:

Home is an extension of its dweller. For some it is simply a place to seek shelter and warmth before moving on to a new place or carbon copy of the previous one. Regeneration exists in removing unfamiliar choices but the home’s skeleton remains intact.

Through mental recollection and invention, the work documents reality with a slightly skewed subjective record of time and space.

The resulting work is comprised of basic materials, wood, paper and metal. These elements, rarely used in their purest form, are introduced as tattered documents, photographs, furniture, architectural remnants and containers. Through the assemblage of materials the work functions as a synthesized archaeology of belonging and exploration. It is a reminder that nothing and everything changes over time.

Red Buttons by Annie Fraser, 2012; Photo Credit: Karen Thiessen 2012

Red Buttons by Annie Fraser, 2012; Photo Credit: Karen Thiessen 2012

Plans is the simplest of Annie's assemblages and one of my favourites. Its delicate lines cast exquisite fine shadows on the wall below. The fragility of Plans sets up a tension in me–– it is hung with a simple clip and not protected behind glass. I fear for its well-being. Work that evokes an emotional response is effective.

Plans by Annie Fraser, 2012; Photo Credit: Karen Thiessen 2012

Plans by Annie Fraser, 2012; Photo Credit: Karen Thiessen 2012

Annie Fraser is an emerging artist to watch. If you are in the Hamilton area, see the show before it comes down. Re:Structures is on at the Hamilton Artists Inc from June 29 to August 5, 2012.