Digitization of fish pattern

I have finished drawing a large portion of the pattern in Illustrator. A portion of the pattern was used in a public art call that I just completed today. I want to use it again in a different context. I really love the interesting secondary shapes that can be discerned when you look at portions of the pattern. I think I will print it out and do some colouring! I have some velum that runs nicely through my printer and a brand new set of pencil crayons. Very relaxing - at least as good as Yoga.

First

Here is a photo of my artwork hanging in the UNBC Rotunda Gallery. It's a digitally woven blanket with beadwork applied on the letters and some of the shapes and forms. I used a photo of 'Mrs. Gullion' (Athabasca Archives) and placed her within my own drawings. The text running along side her on the left is from a scan of the original Metis land scrip document issued to George and Margareta Gullion for their son, Franklin Gullion (my great grandfather). It says, "was the woman half-breed, indian or other? ....Halfbreed." I could go on about the derogatory meaning that is now attached to the label 'halfbreed' but in 1900 that was how Metis people were referred to. There is an excellent essay on the subject at this link: http://scaa.sk.ca/ourlegacy/exhibit_scrip It describes the process by which using land scrip Metis people were stripped of their aboriginal title to a traditional land base.

I think the blanket looks amazing between the wooden lamps. Thank you to the group who put together the show for the Aboriginal Women's Honouring at UNBC.

Kim (gullion) Stewart website

I finally have a website up and running. It has been many years of wishful thinking, interface designing and plans. I finally had to admit that I do not have the time to program the site myself. So, I have settled for a Content Managed site by Livebooks. It is super easy to update and looks great. Please visit when you can: kimstewartonline.ca

I will eventually have my own designs one day, but for now I am just happy I can share with you!

New commercial gallery in Prince George!

I am so excited that my friend Melanie Desjardines is opening Groop Gallery! It has been a while since there was such a place and I know that the artists in this town have work just piling up at home with no where to display it. The grand opening is tomorrow night and I am sure the crowd will be large. I have a gorgeous piece in the show, but I you will not see it here. If you want to see it you need to show up tomorrow night on 3rd avenue across from the court house, right next door to the new farmer's market at 7pm. I hope to see you there!

the bidding begins...

The Coke Aboriginal Art bottle auction has begun. You can bid on my bottle at Ebay until February 25th. The bottle would be a perfect addition to a corporate workspace. To see my original post on this piece of art check out my connection to the 2010 Olympics. The proceeds go to a legacy fund for Aboriginal youth. What a great investment in our Canada!

New Drawings

I spent yesterday at a local ranch working on some new drawings. Our local art gallery asks artists to come out and work in a variety of gardens and properties and the community come out to tour them. I worked behind one of the cabins on the ground. It felt so good to be connect to the earth. I had prepared several frames with stretched hides, 2 moose and one deer hide. I want to explore these as a new drawing surface. The moose hide was only partially tanned but was already taking on a soft appearance, whereas the deer hide is still in the rawhide state. I use a chalk pastel that comes in a cake, applying it with sponges. It's like a combination of drawing and painting and I really enjoy the marks I can make. I plan to do more work in this area, conceptually using the circle as a starting point. These drawings were inspired by barbed wire and hair that I had set in a circle on the ground. With the moose hide, interupted circle I also used heat and metal to insize the hide.

Sold 3 pieces

I was thrilled to sell 3 pieces of my work last week, Entanglement II, Bundles I and a little pastel sketch called Flowers all to the same family. I have been thinking about renting a space in town as a studio so that I can continue to work diligently on my art. I am torn though as it is so convenient to come into my basement and work any time without having to travel anywhere. Then again, it is easy to be distracted and interrupted and the studio space is in the basement. It is adequate, but not beautiful and studio visits by potential buyers are a bit awkward. Kevin has suggested we renovate the space and give it a 'door'. I would really love that! The dogs are constantly coming in and shedding around the place and I would love to lock them out. It would also block me off from the general noise around the house, like music and movies playing. You see, if I hear a movie playing in the rec room, well I often just wander out to see what it is... and then I stay...sigh. What to do?

My Art at Two Rivers Gallery

I was pleased to have 3 pieces chosen for the Two Rivers Gallery 'Flux' show which is on here in Prince George until May. You can see one of my pieces on their website, Flux In my artist statement I talk about the work being my reaction to comparing the Christian iconography I knew as a child in the Catholic Church with Cree Medicine bundles of my aboriginal ancestors. Specifically exploring the idea that these visual 'objects' were thought to have incredible positive influence on the lives of those who had them, but as we move forward, not only are notions about these things changing, but the objects themselves are being represented digitally and through art. Do these 2D representations hold the same power and mystery as the originals?

Back to Babel

You may remember my art installation. I had installed a 2100 block tower in the Two Rivers Gallery last year (2008), and more recently had it installed in the College of New Caledonia where I work. When the time came to remove the installation, the kids and I knocked it down first. What a blast hearing all those blocks come down. The dad-guy recorded the event with the only device on him, his cell phone. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5ytWAOFqtY&hl=en&fs=1]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfpFaLeyr3M&hl=en&fs=1]

me, myself and I

I have been drawing a self portrait each day for 2 weeks. First thing after breakfast I would drag myself over to the mirror and try to capture what I saw. I discovered that mornings are not when I look my best as many of the drawings show a grumpy, puffy looking face peering back at me. It was an excellent exercise, kind of a 'photo of the day' thing. Anyway, I am sharing my favourites with you here. The full colour one is a digital drawing done in Illustrator based on a photograph of me. Everything else is drawn using some sort of pencil-like instrument.

missing!

I heard through friends on Friday that 2 of my drawings that are currently on tour with the Artfest Show in Northern BC have gone missing.(see my original post Thursday, April 26, 2007). I had a 3 drawings, about 2.5 ft high and 1.5 ft wide that were a set. Apparently the Gallery at MacKenzie did not receive all three pieces, only one. They hung the one piece. When I heard this I had several questions. 1. How could the gallery not see that there were 2 pieces missing when all 3 pieces are shown in the program for the show, which they would have, and each piece is labeled 1 of 3, 2 of 3, etc? And... if they did notice the pieces were missing, didn't they feel that this was something to be alarmed about and that it warrented a call to the show organizer or even the last gallery that had the show to inquire about the missing pieces? As far as I know, none of this has happened. It took an alert person who was viewing the show to notice that these were missing and discuss it with another artist who just happened to be a friend of mine. Yes, this is how I found out that my pieces are missing. I have been wringing my hands as the call I placed to the show organizer will not be answered until Tuesday, when he is back in his gallery. I will keep you posted on the developments.