G A L L E R Y
A R C T U R U S
My Muffins Are Back
Do you know the muffin man,
the muffin man, the muffin man.
Do you know the muffin man that lives down Drury Lane.
Meeting Again
6 steps apart
looking up
looking down
We have lift off!
Preparing for departure.
Healing Hands
These were done simultaneously today from a distance.
Exercising Strength
Strength should not be confused with aggression.
Strength does not need to assert or defend itself nor does it desire to be offensive.
It allows us to be contained and to observe without reacting.
Language of Objects / Objective Language
The ladder speaks vertically.
It allows us to climb up towards the sky.
The bike travels horizontally.
It propels us along the earth.
We know this without words.
Everything in nature is authentic without our saying so
Drawings by David Sapp, Mansfield, Art Centre
It seems to me that 'authentic' is a presumptuous claimfor any of us humans to make about anything that we 'do'.
It is true to say that artists are 'touching the surface'.It is what artists do. They choose a medium, paint, graphite, clay, glass, metal,and they manipulate it, usually with their hands, in order to discover something.
Perhaps they do not know what they are looking for and maybethey do not find out but it is a worthy pursuit to inquire intothe honest motive and completed gesture of the work.
Touching the surface is a courageous act, making a visible mark which can be witnessed and judged, seen and experienced by othersbut mostly in the hope that it can penetrate to something deeper.
Untimely Meetings
Tonie Norman is one of the participants of online collage workshop.
For some reason these works were not posted online
so we are happy to show them now.
TGIF
A meeting up the clan ( a little awkwardly by phone)
Bed Frames and Windows
Collage by deborah harris
photos by Sae Kimura
Same day 200 miles apart ( as the crow flies )
What Happens When We Meet
by Eron Boyd
by deborah harris
by Sae Kimura
Having a Gesture with Space
It is a gift to be able to have a relationship to a space especially one that is otherwise unoccupied.
Most spaces we simply pass through but sometimes, on rare occasions, we can meet ourself in a new space.
Somewhere Over The Rainbow
Breakthrough into open space
Trying To Find Our Way
"Where are you?"
Says the one who stayed behind.
"I'm not sure yet. I can't see very far ahead. I am climbing slowly uphill towards the light."
An adventure for us both.
Each day is a journey and the journey itself life. Basho
Into The Woods and Out Of The Woods
Working together from a distance is
like riding a boat through the trees.
We will be blogging for the next little while through phone space,
that is somewhere between the forest and the trees.
Bear is a temporary stand in for d.
No Words... just turquoise and red
Our most beloved friend Floyd Kuptana
................................left this world today
Seeing and Being Seen
Who is looking at who?
Queen Victoria wishes all of her subjects a jolly celebration of her birthday!
May 24, 1819 - 1901
Queen of England from 1837 - 190l
Meetings
What is the language of images which lets them speak to each other?
Shapes, the subtlety and variation of tone, light and shadow,
a shared atmosphere and intimacy...
a quiet exchange
and comfort in each others company.
Standing in One Place Looking to Another
Sculpted head by Pablo Picasso
Wandering in a Maze of Light and Reflection
Picking up a passport today on Victoria Street south of Shuter.
Warmed by the Sun
Chagall and Miro
embrace
Some Kind of Passage
...on the way to an unknown.
Giving in to Gravity
I used to think outside was outside
and inside was inside
what happened outside didn't affect inside
but we breathe
inhale and exhale
out and in,
Inside / Out
Perhaps you will recognize the inspiration for these two beings...
Check out the blog last Wednesday.
Small Fry by Sae.
Big Eye by dh.
Taking Art Out To The People
During this time people can not come in to visit us
so we are finding ways to go out to meet them and you.
The piece above is a chalk drawing by Floyd Kuptana.
Look Up, Look Way Up...
and let the wind tell you a story
The Love of Creating
Today our exploring found this young
sculptor name Callum Donovan Grujicich. Please have a look a the video.
He is a very inspirational artist.
We Are In This Together
Maybe a little closer than we're allowed.
The Age of the Fishes is Ending
The Age of Pisces began around 100BC and ends 2100AD.
We are now entering the Age of Aquarius.
What is Beauty?
The question and conversation today.
What Could We Possibly Have In Common?
These collages happened simultaneously around the table.
(It gets pretty intense around here.)
Today Was A Conversation
"What are the circumstances that call a creative gesture?"
Today it was the necessity of the Blog, trying to make visible something of the conversation.
The Camera as a Key to Unlock the Many Spaces of Arcturus
Our new home page on our website
On the Other Side of Dark
t h e d r a w i n g r o o m... featuring work from artist Daniel Hanequand
Another new gallery space you can visit when we re-open
A Place to Discover...
A new space opening up in the gallery
A Portrait of Hands
farm hands
hired hands
ranch hands
gallery hands
mOVING dAy
Today 'we' had the idea to open up one on of the gallery spaces
for a new purpose. This meant moving couches, chairs, books bookshelves etc., Much lifting, pulling, pushing, with arms and legs. Girls have to be tenacious to move heavy things but it can be done!
This image seems to represent the effort very well.
This collage above was done by Rena Sava, a participant in the online
collage workshop series #5. If you would like to see more of the work
you can go to the gallery website arcturus.ca
Completion
Sallie's last collage
We remember today Sallie Lyons, a dear friend and recent collage participant who passed away peacefully at her home on Monday February 15th . It is a privilege to witness someone meet death with courage and gratefulness for a life well lived. This was Sallie's gift to all of us who loved her.
Movement On The Other Side of Glass
Flurries interspersed with calm.
A Path To Spring
...still a ways away.
The Official Chinese New Year - The Year of the Ox
Sent today from our friends in France, Joan Cullen ( artist of the painting shown here)
and Dominique Cruchet (the photographer of the ox also shown here in the background)
A reminder of what it looks like...
...to be determined and self directed
Today Sae n I went for a walk. When we arrived at Double Take
(our favorite second hand store) we saw these guys in the window. By simply pointing someone inside brought them out and let us pay for them.
These four fat cats were just too jolly and intentional to resist.
Sunny Skies, Underwrap and Stacked
Still, no way in.
Social Distancing
West meets East
The dog park at Allan Gardens
A Meeting of the Guardians
from above and below
Facing one way or the other
Looking From Both Sides
Not Quite There
This extraordinary painting by Luke Gilliam is framed under glass
and reflects the the room it occupies.
The added layer seems to amplify the feeling of today... observing from the outside
'not quite there'
In Through the Back Door
Today we sat on a bench in small alley which surprisingly faces exactly onto the back wall of the gallery.
This back wall has many windows. In one of them we had the idea to put a painting facing out
so that those people living in the surrounding condos or, as we did, decide to sit on a bench to have their coffee,
can discover and perhaps even be inspired to visit us.
The Moment Lives On
And what is the moment?
It is a unity, a circle of beings,
content in that moment.
Not reflected
We see our selves most clearly, most truly, in the eyes of those we communicate with.
We reflect each other.
Waking Up
Sorry we were late.
Moved by Wind
This is a gift of spacious
Castillon writes:-
« Listening to Hania's music over and over, I began to dream of a single sequence shot that would follow her music floating in the wind of an unreal Icelandic landscape. I asked each dancer to give a personal interpretation of Hania's song. We were very lucky to succeed in this insane artistic performance despite the great cold (minus 7 celsius), it was such a moment of truth. Shot in Iceland on February 23, 2020. »
Directed by Neels Castillon
Music by Hania Rani
Dancers — Mellina Boubetra, Janina Sarantšina, Fanny Sage
"Caught in a web of contending forces..."
If Only We Were Pigeons...
"I guess a lot of people are feeling that" says Sae.
"Yes, a lot of people are wishing they were pigeons!!!" says I.
For the new blue flowers
Tis is the season for raking leaves and some of us are very enthusiastic about this task.
Unfortunately, the city has suspended the pick up of yard waste and so....
This morning we made a platform for the bags to sit on so that the grass and small flowers
will not be crushed while waiting, wrapping them with canvas in case of rain and tying them
'round with rope so that they will not fall and spill all over everywhere. Practical creativity.
Not particularly beautiful but somehow satisfying.
In the Twilight Zone
...trying to find the light
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.