Blockhead

I finished my installation at the Two Rivers Gallery here in Prince George last week. The opening was Thursday night (Feb 28th). In all the installation took over 1700 wooden blocks, 3.5 inches square to complete a tower 6 feet wide and 8 feet tall. The Dad-guy, my son and I spend months making them. My daughter helped by counting. It was a family affair...or more like 'forced family fun'; the Dad-guy commenting every night after work, "I don't wanna cut anymore blocks." The opening went well with the curator commenting that the blocks seem to be attractive to kids. The gallery apparently had their first 'kid' episode that afternoon before the opening where some of the blocks were moved around by a person under the age of 18. Good thing I am not worried about viewer interaction. I think it helps validate the piece. I promise to post some shots of the work in the next 2 days. It has a message on it in binary code and I would like to see if anyone figures out what it is. I'll let you in on that when I post the photos.

I really feel like I [suddenly] have a lot of time on my hands, so I am asking, 'What's next for Kim?' I have my own ideas on that, but maybe you have a suggestion or opinion you want to share with me?

the bare bulb

Doesn't the bare bulb above someone's head usually signify the arrival of an idea? (my basement studio, Prince George, BC, 2007)

You might say so, but in this case it is the main lighting for my humble home studio. I am not complaining. Working under this bare bulb, I feel connected to generations of artists before me who also created work under dim lighting. I can't even imagine myself in any space that does not have either a lighting problem, a leaky roof, or some sort of heating issues. Let me show you some of my home studios over the years.

View from my bedroom where I worked, down the stairs in the late 70's

This is the room where I drew horse pictures, and horse pictures....(1970's)

In my apartment in Stony Plain, Alberta, 2 friends look at the work I was doing in the Visual Art program at Grant MacEwan in Edmonton, Alberta. (early 1980's)

My studio in our basement suite in North Vancouver, BC. I was attending my 1st year of college in a Graphic Design and Illustration program.

Still in College and pulling an all nighter. This painting was due first thing in the morning. You can see I have a ways to go to complete it.

Sitting and wishing I could go home for a nap. My studio space in the 2nd out of 3 years in Capilano College, North Vancouver, BC

Painting 'en plein air' (which means outside) in Prince George, BC, (2005)

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.

The dad-guy's day

It is a special day for all of you who are a father to some one. They look up to you, they model on your behavior, and they love you. Above are two drawings of Kevin, the dad-guy in this family. I did the top drawing in 1997 and the bottom drawing today. He wasn't very cooperative today. He kept sticking out his tongue and making faces, so the chin area is not as accurate as I would have liked. None the less, here is my tribute to the man who spends so much time parenting our kids with love.

Pine Beetle Art

I had the surprise of being interviewed by CBC Radio for the Daybreak North show on Friday, June 1! It was a matter of being in the right place at the right time. I was setting up my installation of boxes for the Red & Blue Pine Beetle Art show in Vanderhoof and CBC was there. You can listen to the clip at the Daybreak North website up until Friday, June 8th. Take the link above and scroll down to June 1st. The clip starts out, "Like a lot of the north, the road to Saik'uz is thick with dead, red pine trees but many northern artists have found inspiration amidst the devastation." You must have Real Player to hear it.

things are happening...

I received a phone call tonight saying that 2 more of my art pieces have been juried into a show in Vanderhoof at the end of this month. Juried shows look great on a resume as your work must pass through a panel of individuals who evaluate it and decide if it is thematically and technically skillful enough to include in the show. I have a painting and an installation about pine beetle kill in this area which will be included. I further heard that the show received funding and may go on tour! Kevin and I just finished making a crate for my last set of work that is going on tour for a year. Wow, things are really happening. It is exciting, but a lot of work. I thought I was going to be gardening all summer, now I have two software programs to learn and a bunch of art to crate...hey, I asked for it :)

an encouraging nod

Not only was my artwork chosen for the cover of this show program, it was also selected out of 46 pieces to participate in a year long tour to northern communities. The piece you see above is part of a tryptic (a group of 3 drawings) that form one piece.

entry to 'An Uncertain Climate'

This painting will be on display in PG from April 19th until the 27th. The show focuses on artist reaction to the changing climate in our world. This piece called 'Munificence' is about the rape of the earth at the expense of the future.

landscape I painted in Wells BC

My immediate response to the changing colours, diversified by the pine beetle killed trees, intensified by the sun.

quarter moon

This was the view out my truck window as we sped down the highway. When this couple on a bike passed us, we were in for a surprise! The things you see when you don't have a camera!

the front

In reference to my gum-chewed hair cut, A few of you said you needed to see the front of me, so here I am. Keep in mind that my hair has now been growing for 2.5 weeks since my cut. So you can imagine how short it was. The painting next to me is one I finished a few weeks ago of a building in Wells, BC.

sketches

sketches by me for a tryptic I'm working on. Emotional packages, tied up, bound, one cannot penetrate, to see what is inside.

have a seat.

have a seat.

uncommon thread

break from the familliar

Here I am with 6 hours of time on my hands every day. Both kids are back in school. My daughter, for the first time, goes to school all day, every day. I thought I would be a motivated machine accomplishing more than ever before, however old habits die hard and I find myself filling every day with the redundancy of housekeeping. How long will this continue? When will I have had enough? My canvases and brushes call to me everyday, begging me to pick them up, even if it is just for a little while. It will be good when I am finished with this self-inflicted punishment. Maybe I just don't know where to start. There is safety in the familiar. Maybe I could start with rearranging my studio space, but then that is just housework in disguise, isn't it?