Quotes: Orson Welles

"I passionately hate the idea of being 'with it.'" A true artist is always out of step with his time. He has to be." –– Orson Welles (1915-1985), American actor, director, & writer

Books: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life

Living and Sustaining a Creative Life: Essays by 40 Working Artists, edited by Sharon Louden. 

I've been reading this book in slow sips over several months and I highly recommend it to anyone who is beginning a visual art practice and to all those who are already established. The gist of the book is that there is no one path. Some artists make their livings from day jobs outside of the art field, others teach or work in arts administration or as artist assistants. A handful make their entire living from art sales and of this handful a few do well and others live hand-to-mouth. In addition to the realities of money, the artists described their art practices. Some need to work every day, others work in waves. They also talk about balancing family and studio. In one hilarious essay, the artist shared how her young son told her that he thought that he needed to see a dentist. Balance isn't easy. The last chapter is an interview with two art dealers who give an overview of the art world. If you do buy or borrow this book, read it slowly as there is a lot to take in.

Cathy Yantsis

Cathy Yantsis Perplexed by Churchill

In February my friend Cathy Yantsis left her full-time job so that she could dedicate herself to her studio practice. In April, this painting, Perplexed by Churchill, was featured in all the advertising for the Art Gallery of Hamilton spring art sale, including billboards!! Not bad, eh? If that message from the universe that Cathy made the right choice to dedicate herself to painting full-time isn't loud and clear enough, I don't know what is. Cathy Yantsis is an emerging artist worth watching.

Cathy Yantsis Perplexed by Churchill, mixed media 48" X 48"

Quotes: Spirit of the West

"And if Venice is sinking, I'm going under
'cause beauty's religion and it's christened me with wonder." –– Spirit of the West (1983-present), Canadian folk rock band
* Source: song If Venice is Sinking, written by John Mann & Geoffrey Kelly, 1983 re: John Mann's honeymoon with his wife Jill Daum in Venice

Shake N' Make potholders by Liss Platt

Shake N' Make potholders (Liss Platt); Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Here's a little colour for your weekend compliments of Liss Platt from the Shake N' Make collective. She made these babies on one of those square plastic potholder looms that girls received as Christmas gifts in the 1970s. They've come back into vogue: My eight-year-old friend makes potholders on a similar loom. Liss buys her loops from Harrisville Designs.

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.

Gathie Falk @ BIG in Nova Scotia, MSVU

Gathie Falk, Beautiful British Columbia Thermal Blanket–– Huyen, 1980; 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.

Gathie Falk, Canadian painter, sculptor, and performance artist, was born in 1928 in Alexander, Manitoba to a Russian Mennonite family and currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. Beautiful British Columbia Thermal Blanket–– Huyen is oil on canvas quilted and stuffed with fibreglass insulation and was purchased by the Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery in 1981. I had the privilege of seeing her retrospective exhibition at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in 2001. 

In addition to Aganetha Dyck, Gathie Falk is another artist of Russian Mennonite descent who has shown me what is possible. In recognition for her contributions to Canadian culture, Falk has been awarded the Order of Canada (1997), the Order of British Columbia (2002), and the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts (2003).

Gathie Falk, Beautiful British Columbia Thermal Blanket–– Huyen, 1980; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

I had to spend time with Falk's painted quilt to truly appreciate it. Some works of art grab me immediately, others are a slow seduction.

Gathie Falk, Beautiful British Columbia Thermal Blanket–– Huyen, 1980; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Small details, like the paint texture in the above image, drew me in.

All the photos were taken with permission.