Day In & Day Out

Monday, 16 December 2013

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.

Friday, 13 December 2013

Studio Series: drawing leaves

Leaf row © Karen Thiessen, 2013

Now that the children's community quilt is finished, my studio tidied, cleared, and my studio floor scrubbed clean, fresh energy is flowing for new projects. I printed out images from my previous two Visual Research posts and pinned them to my working flannel wall. I'm in the active gathering, looking, and reflection phase of my studio cycle. New work is being incubated and I'm always curious to see the progression of the idea or work from point A to point B.

As I was contemplating my newly populated flannel wall, I started drawing a few leaves of significance. The middle leaf is a mulberry leaf and the others are Chortitza oak leaves. I drew them with my fine Pigma Micron pens and found the process to be deeply meditative.

On a nerdy note, I've been thinking of Lent 2014 since October and have a few Lenten practice ideas kicking around. For those who love it as much as I do, Lent 2014 begins on Wednesday March 5 and ends on Saturday April 19. In the past I gave things up, like chocolate, wine or all sugar. Then I added a "doing" component to the "not doing." In 2011 I gave up chocolate and decided to practice a minimum of 15 minutes of yoga each day. I continued the daily yoga beyond Lent and as of today, I've practiced yoga 1059 days in a row. Last year I drew each day of Lent and gave up chocolate. I'm thinking about a drawing/mark making Lenten practice for 2014. Naturally, I'll give up chocolate again.

Wednesday, 11 December 2013

Visual Research

BWD 3 © Karen Thiessen, 2006

Here are more images that I have posted before that I need to see together to connect the dots. I feel a new body of work in my bones.

Sticks & Stones © Karen Thiessen, 2006

Cycles II © Karen Thiessen, 2007

Hella Jongerius Misfit

No Labour No Bread © Karen Thiessen, 2013

Image Transfer © Karen Thiessen, 2010

Women's Work © Karen Thiessen, 2013

Studio Wall of Karen Thiessen; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2013

Monday, 9 December 2013

Visual Research

Karen Thiessen Studio wall; Photo © Karen Thiessen

The Children's Community Quilt is finally finished and my natural dye vats are empty. New ideas are flowing and I'm thinking about next steps. I've posted all of these images before but I've pulled these into one post so that the juxtaposed images may give me some insights. They have a "feel" that I hope to capture in my next series of work.

Rebecca Vidotto Installation; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2011

Jayce Salloum

Mary Snyder Behrens Trammel Boxes

Marla Panko Collage; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2012

Annie Fraser Heavy Lie-In; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2012

Annie Fraser Catalytic; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2012

Tammy Sutherland How to Lift 2010; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2012

Friday, 6 December 2013

Brené Brown: The risks of showing up

Thanks to Lisa Congdon for sharing this video on her blog.

Author and researcher Brené Brown spoke at the 2013 99 Conference by Behance. In her talk, she quotes from a speech that U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France, April 23, 1910:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." – Theodore Roosevelt, delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France, April 23, 1910

–– Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), American politician, conservationist, naturalist, writer, and American President (1901-9).

Brown adds: "If you're not in the arena, also getting your ass kicked, I'm not interested in your feedback." Amen, sister.

For more talks by Brené Brown, check out her 2010 and 2012 TED talks about vulnerability and shame.

Wednesday, 4 December 2013

Artful industry

While I tended my indigo vats in July and August, this writing spider, or Argiope aurantia, kept me company. Day by day I was curious to see how she would change her web. Her artful industry enchanted both my husband and me and we have many pictures to prove it.

Like my beautiful spider friend, this week I have been engaged in hardcore artful industry. I finished hand quilting the children's community quilt on Monday and then yesterday I trimmed it, made binding, and then machine and hand sewed the binding on. It was a very long studio day. Now all is left is to make and attach the hanging device and the label, and cut a hanging stick, then photograph it. If I can maintain my momentum, it's possible that I could finish it this week. This project has been two years in the works and is a labour of love. Now that I've put away the quilt frame, the studio looks more spacious than ever. Once I'm finished, I anticipate that I'll have that empty, lost feeling after I've savoured a few moments of post-goal-attainment bliss.

I'm also continuing to tend my natural dye pots in the unheated garage while the weather cooperates. Today I finally dumped my walnut dye vat. It had done enough. Now I'm down to one onion skin vat. At one point I had four vats on the go. It's been a big week of accomplishment and it's only Wednesday.

Monday, 2 December 2013

Amsterdam: Street Art

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.

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

I'm curious to know what this poster advertised.

Do you see the yellow tap?

An Op art poster for Late Night Tuff Guy.