Home

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Colour: A Personal Response Exhibition at ArtSea Gallery in Tulista Park, Sidney

Opening Reception of Colour: A Personal Response - Lesley and Sarah.
Thank you, Louise, for thinking of and taking a photograph of the 2 of us on the night of the opening.

The gallery waiting for the first viewers.

Each of the works is monochromatic, made using only one colour.
We hung the work with Sarah's making a colour wheel going clockwise around the room.

And my work making an intersecting colour wheel going anticlockwise around the room.

The result was each work was hung in a group with its complement.

At the small books table, we asked people to pick a colour and write their thoughts or feelings about that colour. It was a popular centre on the opening night and throughout the week.

I love the little drawings the children made.

Sarah and I spent our time while sitting the exhibition talking to people about how the work came about and what our concept was. There were lots of conversations in front of the works over the week also.


People stopped to read our artist statements and bios.

Sarah at the front desk keeping track of visitors, sales and answering questions.

Sarah had cards for each of her works for sale and did a brisk business.

Each work had its colour book. Sarah's were a result of her research on each artist she studied and made a work on. My books were marks showing the energy of each colour in a different medium - paint.

The fabric colour cards were displayed on turntables grouped by temperature.
The cool colours of the colour wheel.

The warm colours.

We sold a good number of individual fabric colour cards but the packs with all of the colours were the most popular.
The tally of visitors to the show tell it was a successful exhibition. For Sarah and I, we know it was successful because of the interest shown in our work by so many people over the week. They wanted to hear all about everything to do with how the idea started to how we worked, how we made each work and how we hung the work. There were people who came back again bringing other friends with them. Our viewers wrote lots of encouraging words in the guest book and have sent us emails of thanks since.
Sarah and I want to thank everyone who came to the exhibition and also all of those who have supported us while we worked to produce this body of work.
The exhibition is going to be travelling for a while. I'll keep you posted on where it will be stopping.

Monday, September 18, 2017

Colour: A Personal Response Exhibition Gets Hung in ArtSea Gallery Tulista Park, Sidney BC

Sarah unwraps her artwork.
The first task once we got access to the gallery at 6:00 Sunday evening was to set up tables to work from.

We laid sheets on the floor along all of the walls we were planning to hang on.
We did a check to see if it would all fit in the space.

While Sarah and I did a rough hang of the work Ron sorted out all of the hanging cables and placed what was needed above each work.

While Ron and I got each artwork leveled, at the right height and spaced from its neighbour, Sarah set up different colour centers. 
Here are the Fabric Colour Cards in their individual racks on rotating stands. We are selling individual cards and have complete sets of 24 cards packaged up as well.
On the wall is one of each colour card mounted in a frame by our fabulous framer Jane Conner in the Mat Shop. She framed all of the works in the exhibition and gave us lots of good advice along the way.

Another colour centre is in a quieter space in the back alcove of the gallery. I made 24 little colour books and am asking people to pick any book and write in it how they feel about the colour.

Another colour centre has 36 colour books set up in racks. 
Sarah is going through a book with Isobel Jones, an early visitor to the exhibition the morning it opened.
I'll show a better shot of this centre in a  later post.


Sarah has chosen not to sell her original works at this stage but has made prints and cards of individual works to sell.


Speaking of selling - here is Ron programming my Square in preparation for sales.
We worked until after 10 last night and were back in the gallery early this morning to do all of the remaining tasks before officially opening. The gallery committee support person, Dale MacEwan, was in the gallery last night and first thing this morning to explain all the gallery systems to us. Thank you, Dale, for all of your support.
The gallery is open. The exhibition is on!



Saturday, September 16, 2017

Colour: A Personal Response Exhibition - getting ready to hang

For the past 2 years, Sarah McLaren and I have been producing bodies of work based on how we feel about specific colours.


I have produced 24 works, each one exploring the energy I feel from a specific colour.

Sarah has explored each colour through the works of one of her favourite artists.
Here is her 'Modigliani in magenta' and my 'Synesthesia #5 Green'.
Earlier in the year, we set up a little taster of our exhibition in the gallery where we will be exhibiting next week - ArtSea Gallery at Tulista Park, Sidney BC, September 18th to 24th.

We both made colour cards in 24 different hues with shades, tints and tones in fabric on one side and paint on the other. We are busy packaging these up in sets to sell.

 We both made colour books, one to match each of our fibre works.
Here are my books laid out flat while the matte medium layer dries.

 I also made a second set of smaller books. 

The rack cards and poster have been designed, printed and distributed.
Many thanks to Sarah's daughter, Margo for all of the work she has done to promote the exhibition. 
In these last few days, we are working through our checklists of all those tasks that need to be done to mount an exhibition. Labels - check, print stickers - check, pick up cards - check, .....
Sunday evening we begin hanging. Sarah and I are very excited to see for the first time how our work looks together. I'll keep you posted.

'Colour: A Personal Response' 
September 18th to 24th, 2017
Artsea Gallery, Tulista Park, 9565 Fifth Street, Sidney BC
Open 10am to 4pm daily
Opening Reception September 19th, 2017 from 4 to 6pm



Saturday, September 2, 2017

Garden Report: The First Flowers in May

At the end of May, the first flowers bloomed in the garden.
I had planted lupines around every tree because they are one of the best-known plants for working together with rhizobia who fix nitrogen from the air and make it available to nearby plants.

Chives were also an early flower.

The comfrey plants were already getting large so it was time to cut them back.

The cut leaves quickly wilt and decay providing valuable minerals to the soil.

With so many new beds I haven't been able to plant very many of them yet the bees are visiting looking for food. It was for the bees and other nectar seeking insects that I left a lot of comfrey plants to flower.

The bees love comfrey flowers and were too busy to stop for a quick photo op.
Next spring I plan to have a greater variety of flowers to attract a greater variety of insects.



Monday, August 28, 2017

Backyard Project: Completing the Last Few Tasks

Josh helps Dave adjust his mask before they get down to a stinky job.

Josh is ready


They apply a glue to the underside of the propagation table lining.


Meanwhile, Josh has hung the upper shelving unit in the Potting area...

...and he has hung the shelving unit in the Project area.

He is now working on the countertops.

The first one is in place.

Last year I planted a range of plants in the Gravel Bed garden as a trial to see which ones thrived in the sunny dry conditions with minimal watering. I had a few deaths (Corsican mint) but the majority are loving the conditions. The Wooly thyme has already grown together to make the first part of the path through the bed.

I had used empty pots to mark out where to put plants for the rest of the path.

Now it was time to plant more of the path. I have picked up ground-cover plants that can take being walked on, whenever I see them for sale. The garden bed is going to look spotty for another year so I just have to be patient.



Friday, August 25, 2017

Backyard Project: Pattern Language: #243 Sitting Wall Guides the Pergola Design

Another delivery of lumber for  a new project - Pergola seating

Brace support for a bench around the perimeter of the Pergola.
Pattern Language #243 Sitting Wall
Problem "In many places walls and fences between outdoor spaces are too high, but no boundary at all does injustice to the subtlety of the divisions of spaces." p. 1125.

Somewhere along the edge between the Pergola and the Arbour, "there is a need for a seam,  a place which unites the two, but does so without breaking down the fact that they are separate places. If there is a high wall or hedge, then people in the [pergola] have no way of being connected to the [arbour path]; the people in the [arbour] have no way of being connected to the [pergola]. But if there is no barrier at all - then the division between the two is hard to maintain." p.1125. 
Without a low wall it would feel uncomfortable sitting in the Pergola because one would have the feeling of being unprotected - a 'sitting duck'.

Josh continues to demonstrate his high level of wood working skill.

'The problem can only be solved by a kind of barrier which functions as a barrier which separates, and as a seam which joins at the same time." p.1126.

"A low wall or balustrade, just at the right height for sitting, is perfect. it creates a barrier which separates. But because it invites people to sit on it - invites them to sit first with their legs on one side, then with their legs on top, then to swivel around still further to the other side, or to side astride it - it also functions as a seam, which makes a positive connection between the two places." p. 1126.
The two different ground materials also help to define the separate rooms while at the same time the materials are connected by their common local source.

Dave applies a coat of sealer to protect the horizontal surface from moisture damage.
The Pattern Language is very specific about the height and width of a low wall for it to be successful. It needs to be 16 inches high and at least 12 inches wide.
This low wall/bench seat has made a big difference to the whole feel of this part of the backyard. It feels much more complete. The Pergola and even the Arbour feel more grounded.