Chair Lair

Able wholesale is this somewhat eccentric used goods and Liquidation store on Notre Dame Avenue in Winnipeg, except it's not the cool kind of eccentric like Ragpickers, or that antique store in Osborne Village. It's more like the eccentric-eerie kind of store. I drive past it everyday, and one day in summer I couldn't suppress my curiosity anymore: I entered this three story building mish-mash of furniture, housewares, industrial kitchen supplies and other miscellaneous products. As I was walking through this place it just kept on going and I didn't know what I was going to find next. There was at least one flickering florescent light, and in the back part of the industrial kitchen gear there were some guys moving furniture around. To be honest I felt a lot like I shouldn't be in there, like this is the kind of place that isn't so great for a 20-something to be by herself (no-one in there was creepy or acted weird, it was just the general vibe my intuition was giving me). Nevertheless, I love a good bargain, and can't resist the idea of turning something ugly or almost-good into something fabulous. I happened to find an old vintage desk chair that looks a lot like something that Ikea would mimic nowadays. I got the chair for the fair price of 20 dollars, took it home and refinished it. Here are my visuals from that experience.

Craft on the Loose!

I have been accepted as a participant in Craft on the Loose, which is an event hosted here in Winnipeg by the Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library. The goal of the exhibit "is to adorn an outdoor space with works of craft, to celebrate local craft and craftspeople, and the Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library." Wayward craft items will be placed or hung along Corydon Avenue and will be displayed for a three week period. I'm kind of stoked to have something I make out as a public display. I am really looking forward to seeing what other crafters have come up with. For some reason there is a little apprehension on my part that somehow people won't appreciate what's out there that they won't "get it"... Really I should have much more faith in my fellow Winnipegers to believe that they could come up with some great things to exhibit that will at least make corydon pedestrians smile.

I did a search for knitting art and found this pretty fantastic tree cozy. Also I would say that it's worth an image search for Yarn Bombing, there's some great collaborative work out there.

Here is a brief article on guerrilla knitting: http://flickamag.com/fashion-and-gear/knit-grafitti-guerilla-knitting/
Also this doily covered tree is rather striking and lovely, made by Canadian Crafter Wooly Fabulous

Oh yes, and here's a preview for what I will be displaying. This is only a sketch of my plan. I am embroidering a fabric lantern that will be hung along the avenue. I'm happy with how it's turning out so far. I'll post more details about the event at another date.

A photograph I took was selected for Winnipeg’s first Timeraiser event! Timeraiser is an event that has people bid on art using volunteer hours instead of money. It first buys art from selected artists who apply, then the event is a little like a job fair, only with volunteer opportunities, and future volunteers put a silent bid on a piece of art, and the winner who bids the most volunteer hours gets to go home with that artwork. Timerasier events have occured accross the country for a number of years in most major Canadian Cities. This year's Winnipeg event is taking place at the West End Cultural Centre on May 6th.

Check out a video for it here:
http://timeraiser.ca/en/how_it_works

Inspired in London; Newsworthy Winnipeg Events

I am back from my trip overseas, and am now contemplating what the next step is for me in my art production. The course I took in London at Central St. Martins was honestly almost exactly what I was looking for in a course. It had been several years since the last time I took a drawing course, and found it really refreshing to go back to school after being away for a long time and suddenly I felt more confident in my own style, in what interests me, and in ways of working. Most people in my small class had either completed or were in the process of completing a degree in either fine arts or graphic design. And there were a few who had backgrounds in other academic areas. The class was very multi-cultural, with everyone from different country, except for one fellow Canadian. It was also really great to be surrounded by talented artists.

I feel like I was reminded of the value of sketching, of getting ideas down and actually observing my surroundings as something valuable to record on paper. For so long I have only been creating things out of my imagination and actually rarely use reference photos, and I think that shows in my work. I usually ignore backgrounds, don't use cropping to my advantage, only sometimes mix media together, and usually don't put a lot of value on anything I make that has a "sketch-y" feel to it, I usually prefer if my lines are more accurate. This course helped me to rediscover the fun in drawing and drawing quickly. I always enjoy drawing, but this brought a new light to it, as we would nearly each day go out to an area of London and sketch it- maybe a museum, maybe a public place, but the idea was to get inspiration from where we were and then go back to the studio to rework some ideas or to use that perspective in a more focused work. The course was titled "Graphic Witness: The art of Reportage." We even went to the law courts building one day and drew what was going on with the court proceedings. These were brand new experiences for me, and I found that I really loosened up and was able to sketch fairly quickly to record things. It was rather refreshing. I sent an email to myself on the last day of classes reminding myself of the things I thought that I had learned, so that in case I got home and felt uninspired I could read the list and hopefully assess what I could do to add a little more mojo into what I was making.

A challenge for myself that I am thinking of doing is to create ongoing images based on what's happening in the news, as this idea of reportage has really grabbed a hold of me. My first such image is this one that I created today, pictured above. The Bodies exhibit is coming to Winnipeg,and is something that holds quite a bit of controversy. The display includes actual human bodies that have been changed, exposed and essentially converted into rubber to preserve the human form. Much of the controversy surrounding the exhibit is whether or not is respectable, honourable, right, or deplorable to display human bodies who likely were executed prisoners from China. Under Chinese law the bodies were lawfully obtained,as their bodies were not claimed, however the whole exhibit brings up human rights issues. I am undecided on the issue, as I am personally really excited to see the Bodies exhibit, but I may change my mind upon actually viewing it.

Here is a link to a free press article about the display: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/bodies-coming-downtown-100513534.html

Winnipeg Folk Fest-Night Photos

Here are a couple of pics from this weekend at the Winnipeg Folk Fest. I'm just posting a few night shots I took of the vendors. I liked the glow they gave off. There is something interesting about Food vendors and the lights they give off, (especially on the edge of a field) I will write more once the weekend is over!

Art/Craft/Vintage/Homemade Goods!

The Winnipeg Etsy Street Team is hosting an Etsy Goods sale!

Where: The Costume Museum of Canada. Located at 109 Pacific Ave, in Winnipeg.
When: Wednesday, July 15th. 6-8 PM.

Come check it out, there are some awesome sellers/crafters/artists(myself included)...