Sunday, October 29, 2017

Rental Collection 2018, Stewart Hall


Every year at this time Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire invites submissions to their rental collection. Of the 500 or so works of art submitted, about one quarter are chosen for the collection, and exhibited for a month in their lovely, brick-walled gallery.

This is a special anniversary for the Collection, marking their 50th year, and the selection process has been altered to encourage emerging artists to submit their work.

All the works chosen will be on view from October 28 to December 3, 2017. The opening is on Sunday, October 29, at 2 pm. The opening tends to be crowded, and is very much a social happening. Those interested in an opportunity to view the art in a quieter moment are advised to go at just about any other time.

And yes, I am delighted to have one of my new pieces in hand-dyed linen accepted into the show. This marks my seventh consecutive year as a participant.

Gallery hours are Monday - Sunday, 1 - 5 pm, and Wednesday 1 - 9 pm.
176 Lakeshore, Pointe Claire, QC
514-630-1220

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Fourth in new series: The Sum of Its Parts


Again, hand-dyed linen, 24" x 24", mounted on gallery canvas. These first four works have a cohesive palette, as they may well be shown together in an upcoming exhibition. This one was inspired by a composition I have used before, as a painted collage and as a work in cloth and paint.

tentatively titled The Sum of Its Parts



Detail of stitching


I'm including the first three works in this series below, so you can see the progression, "such as it is". (Another good title!)

tentatively titled I have tried in my way to be free

tentatively titled An Unlikely Confluence of Events

tentatively titled In and Of Itself








Sunday, October 22, 2017

Third in new series: In and of Itself

I'm enjoying the complexity of the hand-dyed linen, and letting its richness carry the work, with a minimum of detail. Again, 24" x 24", mounted on gallery canvas.


tentatively titled In and of Itself

gold metallic stitched detail




Wednesday, October 18, 2017

600 posts!



Quite amazes me to realize that this marks my 600th blog post!

My blog serves as a journal for me. Sometimes writing a post about an experience requires me to dig a little deeper into a subject. And the blog allows me to connect with friends near and far. I also enjoy reading your comments, and appreciate your taking the time to respond.

What's in the future? Travel experiences, new work, art shows, museums, local events, books, films: in other words, more of the same. Please join me on the journey!

Sunday, October 15, 2017

Second in new series: An Unlikely Confluence of Events

This is the second in my new series, pieced from hand-dyed linen, with machine-stitching and machine-couching. It measures 24" x 24" and is mounted on gallery canvas.


tentatively titled An Unlikely Confluence of Events

detail of stitching and couching

I need some work to submit to the upcoming Stewart Hall Rental Collection show, and I hope one of my newer pieces will fit their requirements.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

New series in hand-dyed linen

Here's the first in my new series. I'm using simple shapes, cut and pieced from my own hand-dyed linen, and some couching and stitching for detail.

Tentatively titled: I have tried in my way to be free

The pieces measure 24" x 24", and are mounted on stretched canvas, with edges painted black.

This one may be submitted to our small-group show of works inspired by Leonard Cohen, hence the title.

detail of couching and stitching

Sunday, October 8, 2017

Ross King at Storyfest

Storyfest is the cultural "jewel in the crown" of my little town of Hudson.  Run under the auspices of Greenwood, a heritage home, this annual literary festival presents a lineup of distinguished Canadian authors and poets. Past presenters include Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, and Louise Penny.

This year's roster is as stellar as ever. I was fortunate to attend Friday's lecture by Daniel Levitin, the eminent McGill professor of psychology and author of This is Your Brain on Music, The World in Six Songs, and most recently, Weaponized Lies: How to Think Critically in the Post-Truth Era.




Coming up on Tuesday evening is a presentation by Ross King, focused on his most recent book, Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies, winner of the 2017 RBC Taylor prize for non-fiction. You can read the Guardian's review of the book here.

King has made a career of writing about art. His titles include:

  • Brunelleschi's Dome: The Story of the Great Cathedral in Florence
  • Michaelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling
  • The Judgement of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade that Gave the World Impressionism
  • Defiant Spirits: The Modernist Revolution of the Group of Seven
  • Leonardo and the Last Supper



King's lecture, scheduled for Tuesday, October 10, 7:30 pm in the Hudson Village Theatre, is sure to be a treat for any art-lover. Tickets are still available here.

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

New galleries in Hudson


Camden Town #1

Our little town of Hudson Quebec (pop. 5000) now has three art galleries within the town limits, and I am pleased to be showing my work at one of them.


Memories of Newtown

Located at 524 Main Road, A's Secondemain Gallery is part antique gift shop and part no-commission art gallery. With space for 8 - 10 artists, it is open Wednesday to Friday from noon to 4 pm and on Saturdays from 10 am - 5 pm. There is a wide variety of styles, ranging from fresh watercolour landscapes to Old Master-style still lifes to digital photography.


Camden Town #2

I will be showing my work there until Christmas. A special promotion beginning in late November will focus on small works, perfect for holiday giving.

The other two spaces? One of them (2 Barn Owls) is open seasonally on weekends. Owners Nancy Farnham and Mavis Martin specialize in the clever repurposing of old objects into decorative items, and offer instruction in furniture refinishing. They occupy an old, unheated barn at the corner of Cameron and Main. Always innovative and community-minded, they occasionally turn over their space to theatrical and musical performances. A corner of their rustic building is devoted to a rotating exhibition of local artists.

Most recently opened, Hudson Galerie Plus offers the work of local artists and fine crafters, alongside signed and numbered prints, reproductions and art cards. Located at 448 Main Road, Heather and Bert Markgraf open their doors Wednesday to Sunday, 10 am - 5 pm.

There was a time when Hudson was a "destination", and momentum is building to restore its status as a fine place to spend a summer's day. With a small theatre, a fair-trade boutique, a thriving (seasonal) flea market, and many fine restaurants and cafés, Hudson is a pretty special little town.

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Montreal's World Trade Centre

I love it when you stumble upon a hidden gem like the Montreal World Trade Centre. It's a secret haven amidst the bustle of the Big City. To get an idea, have a look at this 360-degree image.

We were taking the metro to meet friends at a nearby restaurant, and emerged at the Victoria Square station. The World Trade Centre is close by, between the downtown and the Old Port, and from the outside it looks unexceptional. I think that the way it fits into the streetscape is one of its many virtues.




The centrepiece of the interior is a vast, table-like fountain, reflecting an antique sculpture of Aphrodite. The courtyard is a successful blend of the old and the new. 


 


Here's how Wikipedia describes the architecture:
"Completed in 1992 by Arcop, it is an example of a 'horizontal skyscraper' and a leading example of urban renewalarchitectural preservation and rehabilitation. The complex united several smaller Victorian-era commercial buildings (including the city's historic Bank of Nova Scotia building and Canada Steamship Lines building) by encasing them in a larger form, in this case a massive glassed-in atrium running the length of what was once Fortification Lane, itself the site of the city's colonial defensive walls. In a kind of post-modern homage, a remnant of the Berlin Wall, given to the city in 1992, is on public exhibit within the complex. The complex includes other historic elements, such as a fountain by French architect and sculptor Dieudonné-Barthélemy Guibal (1699–1757) also donated to the city in 1992. At the far end of the centre is the Montreal InterContinental Hotel."



During the week, the space is a convivial gathering point for office workers, enjoying the cafés and squeezing in some lunch-time errands. On the weekends it's quieter. Whenever you might visit, I can promise that the lively space and its harmonious mix of materials will make a strong impression on any fan of urban architecture.