G A L L E R Y
A R C T U R U S
The Daily News
For Our Dear Friend Eron...
...in memory of his beloved mother Georgia Boyd - December 1939 - March 27 2020
Reconnecting 'Round the Table
It seems that what can be expressed through art cannot be translated into words.
None of us spoke while we were working today
even though we have not seen each other together for many days.
But the work speaks for us in inexplicable ways.
It is a mystery.
cOFFEE IS eSSENTIAL
Today we made this flyer for Stuart, the proprietor of our neighborhood cafe in hopes that he can stay open and solvent through this shutdown.
If you want to pick up a truly great coffee drop by B U L L D O G.
Don't Be Scared It's Just Us
It seems we are all a bit confused and shy to follow the directions for COVID 19 but it is our duty to be responsible
not only for our self but for those who share the world with us, those we love and care for and those who are unknown.
Many lives depend upon our correct action, this situation may be the shock needed to shift our awareness.
It gets easier if we are all in this together. (that's why Sae and I are practicing and trying to get you onboard)
Preparing
...it's not all bad
Remember to Step Outside
Today we walked and walked and remembered how good it is to breathe the air outside.
We are being asked by the conditions at hand to stay close to home and avoid crowds and travel.
A moment or two of this is advisable.
Today was a difficult day
...confusing and messy
ragged and sharp edged
There is a lot happening that we have not encountered before
inside and outside
we are challenged to be balanced
to use our common sense
to remain calm and disciplined
Today we were not quite there yet.
How Differently We Each Interpret The World!
Often we think that it is important that someone share our opinions but not so with art.
In art we can appreciate our differences, in fact we celebrate them.
Maybe it is not so vital that we all think and say the same thing.
Maybe we can look and listen and learn.
A Different Blue A Different Circus
The objects and subjects of the gallery basement.
The World is a Blue Circus
Marc Chagall
Blue Circus
1950
Pacino di Bonaguida
The Creation of the World
1309 - 1347
How the Body Remembers
After using collage with this Medieval set we went out on the street and photographed an old building in the state of demolition and salvation
and found that we had somehow created almost exactly the same construction as in the painting, (seen in our Feb 27th blog).
This was unconscious and therefore surprising, the way we take in impressions and remember them in our bodies.
Becoming Animated
... thanks to Eron Boyd
Picasso Steps Upon the Medieval Stage
St Francis Renouncing Worldly Goods 1295
The Mountebanks by Picasso 1905
The First Star I See Tonight...
Today Sae 'n' I worked on designing a new web page.
We will let you know when it's up and running, should be in two to three weeks.
Fishing for Mary
Night Fishing at Antibes by Picasso 1939 The Disembarkation of Mary Magdalene
possibly by Pietro Lorenzetti 1310
Collage by Sae Kimura
Collage by deborah harris
The Near and Distant Past
Vivian Felsen
Le Duo The Presentation in the Temple
Georges Braque Giotto di Bondone
1937 1267 - 1337
deborah harris Sae Kimura
For these collages we each had a copy of the two paintings shown above which we combined.
All in all we were able to finish thirteen collages using the same material.
These are the first three.
Not sure where the forest ends and I begin
and home is a thought I can't quite touch
Illuminated
Illuminate: To enlighten; to throw light upon; to light up with festal lamps
Cardboard is our new canvas
This strange coming together of elements to make what could be called a sculpture,
is a playful and spontaneous response to the objects and materials present in the space
but also to the inquiry itself. Irrefutable alteration provides a framework to
explore and to perceive variations on a theme.
Looking at the different images on the blog will give you a hint of those possibilities.
Alteration #8
This show that is currently evolving began as P R I M A L J O U R N E Y
with a solitary boat figure in a tumultuous sea.The figure descended and turned,
M E E T I N G W H A L E.
"And then what? we asked. How does this story continue?
Even whales must come up for air. Gravity below our feet keeps us standing or pulls us over.
As you probably saw in earlier blogs we cut the boat and stood it on its end.
A ladder of sorts leaning on the ramparts, an effort to climb away from earth's concerns.
The truth is, after meeting whale one is irrefutably altered and that is the new title;-
I R R E F U T A B L Y A L T E R E D.
The Space Where We Work... Lit by the Sun
This is where your blogs are born.
The Story Must Continue
One cannot stay forever underwater with the whale. One must come up for air.
What was once a vehicle becomes a shelter, perhaps a home, albeit somewhat quirky.
Still Life with Black Jug
For this exercise we decided to interpret the George Braque painting 'La Table de Toilette', using collage, working from a black and white reproduction and each choosing our own pallet. We did not look at the original colour painting til we were finished.
A Meeting Place
Today we all met back at the gallery again, Sae, deborah and Floyd, after a few days apart.
The gallery is a rare and special place, a place where creativity is allowed to live.
This was our second drawing based on 'The Ice House' by Lawren Harris 1923.
The house seems to represent a unique and solitary place, surrounded by the elements.
A mystery which invites one to enter.
We hope the gallery does the same.
...continuing LESSONS WITH THE MASTERS
Becoming Like Children
Today Sae n I spent the whole day with our very favorite 3 year old friend.
This is what we looked like when she left to go home.
Body So Full Head So Empty
collage ensemble by Vivian Felsen
Year Ending and Beginning
We seem to organize our lives into years.
Time lines, running parallel until they don't
a sudden turn in direction sometimes takes us
where we can't imagine going
and every new year we commit to being better
a noble resolution we hope to live up to
falling down,
standing up again
some semblance of structure that we can measure ourselves against,
a path to follow.
Evocative
This is our Christmas card to all of you who visit us on the blog.
We are wishing peace and joy to you and all your family and friends.
Thank you for being with us each day.
Winter
blessed as we are by seasons
humbled as we are by weather
The light is diminishing
and still there is an opening.
Christmas is Coming...
...the goose is getting fat
please put a penny in the old man's hat.
If you haven't got a penny,
a ha' penny will do,
if you haven't got a ha' penny
then God bless you.
Surprised by Light
These are all spaces that can be visited, here at the gallery.
Coming Out of Hiding
Responding to Gauguin
'Breton Eve'
Sorry for Our Absence
One of us was broken but she is mending. We will be back with you on Tuesday.
Four Faces Sleeping with Eyes Open
Variations on a Dali theme.
Friends
Each of us, Floyd, Sae and myself deborah, began with a copy of a Salvador Dali portrait
from his painting 'Paranoiac Face'. We worked simultaneously and these three pieces are the result.
Visions Fugitives
This collage was done after listening to the twenty-one musical portraits composed by Prokofiev while he was attending university.
Some of them are less than a minute in length and each is exquisitely complex and surprising. Please click on the link and enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk0jJyUh0T4
This Is The Book That We Built
Above is the full length of the book unfolded. Below is the folded version seen from the front and each side. Please click on each image to enlarge for reading.
Gone Fishing
Today Sae'n'I spent the whole day looking at a computer screen working on making a book.
It felt a little like ice fishing in the Arctic (maybe a slight exaggeration)
We did have success, just some minutes ago but we went a bit stir crazy.
Onlookers
An important part of the process is being seen by those who share and care for the space with us.
Meeting Whale
The exhibition 'Primary Journey' has evolved to 'Meeting Whale'. Whale is a painting done by me (deborah harris) some fifteen years ago. In this reiteration it is in relationship to the boat figure and represents a deepening of the journey already begun.
All Soul's Day
The day we remember those we love who have passed.
Between the Worlds
Halloween began as the ancient festival of Samhain.
It was believed that at the end of summer and the beginning of winter (november 1)
the barrier between the worlds of the living and the dead became very thin.
Disguises were worn to make oneself unrecognizable to the spirits,
negativity was released to make way for new energy to enter.
Red Music
Today Vivian suggested that we respond to a painting of Gauguin using collage.
It was a very challenging task moving from complete chaos to what you see above.
Erasing the Surround
When we erase what is on the periphery of our attention we lift what is our focal point out of its context,
in so doing what is perceived may become an entrance to what seems to be another world.
Mags in the Bags
...just have to get our hats!
MEMBERS ONLY
Today Sae and I walked with our friend Floyd
to the Old Man's Club, where the cigarettes are cheap.
When we get old we are going to open an old women's club
and serve good coffee and Earl Grey Tea in pots and all
the women have to wear hats!
What is it to wait?
Waiting is not an idea living in the head
waiting occupies the whole of us,
all of our body and senses, our inside and outside must agree
to become receptive, to be ready to receive
what we are waiting for
whenever it finally comes to us.
Today's Meeting
This is what we do when we come together,
how we challenge each other and communicate who we are.
Speed and attention is necessary.
No time for fussing over details.
We all appreciate this way of working together.
A Red Flag Day
deborah harris
Sae Kimura
Floyd Kuptana
These chalk drawings, done today, are copied from the same section of Salvador Dali's painting 'Burning Giraffe'.
Which Way is Up?
Same perspective... different orientation
Does that mean that we only have to
stand on our heads to view things differently?
Mirror, mirror on the ground... (better late then never)
what reflections to be found.
This blog was meant to go up on Friday... we forgot to push the button so it is up now as well as whatever we blog for today.
Sorry we missed sharing with you on the weekend.
Constructing A 'Plane' Language
Two different artists,
two different days,
sharing an understanding.
An artist creates a visual language.
In the beginning it is unknown even by the artist but over time with repetition there is recognition and vocabulary expands.
But the language is not only visual it is also spatial, consisting of shapes and dimensions.
It communicates direction and movement, inward and outward.
Postures and gestures convey mood and complex subtle qualities.
When we give our attention to a piece of art we are learning a language,
one that touches the memory of our senses.
We may be surprised that we understand.
What is Art?
Pruning the big plant in the window, five leaves that were on their way to be discarded...
hung on the door handle they appear exquisite. The gift of discovery can happen anytime.
It is always a surprise.
Trying to Remember Who Am I
Painting by Floyd Kuptana
Looking Out from Inside
Can you spot the two sisters, each perched on a window ledge?
A Journey
We finally completed the current exhibition. The words above are those which helped to inspire and shape this work.
They are from three different sources which seem to weave together very poignantly. Below is a photograph of the boat in the space.
Singing the End of Summer Blues
Warm socks but summer dress!