Common Journeys and Solo Flights

I really like the title of this show. It represents the members of Gallery 96, an artist co-op that I belong to, very well. We are a mixed group that work in a variety of media and are following different paths, ideas and themes.
This is our last show that is funded by the Trillium Foundation. We will be on our own from here on.

Here are a few photos from the show, there are alot I couldn't take because of the glare from the glass. I entered my birch bark corset, and snail armour which you would have seen in previous entries. I also added a new piece that expressed my view of the dieing coral reefs.

                                          
                                    These are 2 great pieces by Val O'Flynn

                                               
                                     Some luscious apples by Anna Koot

         

          This is a self portrait by Kathi Posliff in a dress she did for
                      "Wearable Art", earlier this fall

Here is another of Glenn Elliotts terrific metal sculptures, flanked by 2 encaustic pieces by Michelle Salter from her winter series.

Check out Glenn's work athttp://web.me.com/glennelliott.ca/  You will get a great view of alot of his work.

         These are 3 pieces by cartoonist turned painter, Erik Sansom

Pardon the glare on this acrylic piece by Wendy Orr. Yes there are 2 Wendys in the group. I keep thinking we should do a show called Wendy squared ( can't make the2 in to a Sq. sign, is that even possible?)
We also seem to be having an apple theme going, must be the season, Ontario produced tons of apples.
You can see more of Wendy's work on her blog, wendyorr.blogspot.com.

                             
                                 These are clay pieces from Bonnie Steinman's "Skin Series".

A not very good photo of photographer Lesley Walker Fitzpatrick's work, altered and collaged water photos. If you click to enlarge you get a slightly better image. More of Lesley's work is on mayafair.ca

Printmaker Lucinda Jones piece from her water series, sorry for the window reflections. As I said the glass was a problem and I"m not a professional photographer.

Our last effort for 2010 will be our big fundraiser, November 20th at 7pm, VineArt, an evening of tasting, good music and gourmet food as well as a silent auction of small artworks by members as well as guest artists and vendor donations. Generally a fun night.

Avonbank

Busy weekend with the aforementioned 2 shows on, haven't got the photos yet of "Common Journeys" but here are a few of the old Avonbank church. It hasn't been an active church in 43 years but the rural community in Downie Township have been using it for a variety of events and have been keeping the building up. The plumbing leaves a bit to be desired but the building itself is great.

This was the location for "In the Spirit", an artisan show this past weekend. Here are a couple of things I had up for sale. Little needle felted purses

Next are some encaustic figures, hard to do when you have to cover 4 sides. Anyone who has done encaustic knows the wax tends to run where ever it wants.

Upcoming Shows

October 16th is the opening of another Gallery 96 show called "Of Common Journeys and Solo Flights", a show curated by Gord Hatt. We don't usually have funds to hire a curator but this one is through a Trillium grant. The premise of the show is that we are a group of varied artists using  different media, each of us working on different bodies of work. This  made it easy for members not to have to change course and adhere to a theme different then what they are working on yet gives some cohesiveness to the show.

 

This show is in the gallery space at Factory 163, 163 King St. Stratford, Ontario.

Also that weekend is the previously mentioned "In The Spirit" at the old Avonbank Church out in the country in Downie Township, it's to the south west of Stratford. So it will be a busy weekend for some of us.

The Elora Gorge

Yesterday I went on the Elora Fergus Studio tour with friends. The Elora Gorge is incredibly picturesque and is part of the Grand River water system. There used to be alot of mills in the area for obvious reasons.The are either derelict or converted into homes, restaurants and the like. One of the studios we visited had a spectacular view into the gorge.

in ruins

Elora Mill

the gorge itself

Elora Fergus Studio Tour

It was a damp rainy day yesterday, we seem to be having alot of that lately. Despite that, a couple of friends and I wandered off to see the artists on the Elora Fergus Studio tour. I've been once before a few years ago. There were some of the same artist and some new ones. We came away inspired by several of the artists, also gleaned a few tips and interesting information. At a couple of the places, our heads nearly fell off our shoulders looking at all the art , etc. My favourite was the mixed media artists.

Supria Karmakar is an encaustic artist who I've met  before. She is always very friendly and full of helpful information and I really like her work.

Step Out on Faith, Encaustic Mixed Media Collage, 24 x 24, 2010

You an find her work at http://www.supriasdesigns.com/ orsupriasdesigns-encausticmusings.blogspot.com

Another artist that had a wonderful display of her work was Grayce Perry, a self taught artist. She used to do alot of clay, but has moved to mixed media painting. Unfortunately Grayce does not have a web page, so I can only show you some of her work from the tour blog. Grayce's home was full of interesting artwork and curiousities. She also had some of her daughter's work. It was equally impressive.

The first piece is done on mylar with oil paint and pen. It gave you areal  feeling of depth. An interesting technique, I'd like to try sometime. Like I need another project. The second piece shows some of her clay figures.

"Weathering the Storm"
 by Grayce Perry

"Women I Have Known" 2009
by Grayce Perry

 Jo Lomas was  clay artist in this studio  along with Shirley Al, both of whose work I enjoyed.

by Jo Lomas

 

 

Here are a list of the other artists , you may wish to Google:

2010 Artists on Tour

• Shirley Al - Clay Sculpture
• Vivian Andrews - Watercolour
• Vicky Beverstein - Stained Glass
• Dorothy Collin
• Linda Risacher Copp - Batik
• Jerre Davidson - Glass
• Beryl Dawson - Painting
• Tony DeLuca - Goldsmith
• Mandy Deskur - Macadi Jewellery
• Carla Drimmie - Jewellery
• Neil Hanscomb/Gisela Ruehe - Glass
• Bob Hill - Garden Art
• Supria Karmakar - Encaustic
• Stephen Kitras - Art Glass
• Jo Lomas - Clay Sculpture and Painting
• Anne Luxton - Textiles
• Joel Masewich - Painting
• Barry McCarthy - Painting
• Erin & Rachel McCarthy - Mixed Media
• Lorraine McDonald - Watercolour & Drawing
• David McCord - Metal
• Tim & Katherine McManus - Art Glass
• Melanie Morel - Weaving
• Jane Neff - Pottery
• Dennis Novosad
• Grayce Perry - Painting & Sculpture
• Jacqueline Tate - Pottery
• Melitta Toth - Painting
• Lois Scott - Glass/Mixed Media
• Pam Starratt - Pottery
• Eleanor Steffler - Painting
• Stephanie Smith - Painting
• Maggie Vanderweit - Textiles
• Sheri Visakaly - Photography
• Dave Wilcox - Photography
• Heather Wood - Glass