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Finding Form and Climbing Ladders
What was once a railing has become a ladder.
A bridge between earth and sky.
Close Up and Far Away
We can easily make the close up, such as this screen disappear, just by focusing on what is distant. It is fun to experiment with all the different ways we can look at our surroundings and to notice the habitual ways we have of seeing. I have noticed that whenever I change my perspective new possibilities open up that I could not have imagined before.
It Looks Like Someone Dropped the Bag
And it all unraveled after that...
This was the feeling today,
too many loose end
s
A Kiss
In the dream world the canary and the fish can meet
an unexpected moment of surprise and delight
when one swims away from the many
or sits outside of the cage.
Red Foot Pigeon Theatre
One Crust Eleven Birds Not Sharing
The stage is set...
Enter the birds.
Exit the Birds.
The Crust is Gone.
THE END
New Beginnings
In the process of 'f i n d i n g f o r m', the exhibit now in the Genesis Gallery on the main floor, we introduced 'the egg' as a form which perfectly contains potential. This form has become the central theme in the Collage Gallery which we began hanging today. This exhibit is entitled 'e g g x a g e r a t e d p o t e n t i a l'
and these are two of the new pieces.
DO NOT DISTURB
This baboon skull was found in Africa some forty years ago.
The circular form is an ostrich egg shell.
They are now part of the exhibit entitled 'f i n d i n g f o r m'
and can be seen in the Genesis Gallery at Arcturus.
Seeing Through Reflections
Hard to know which way is which.
Small and Perfect
Little/Little turns one today. Happy Birthday Little/Little. xxoo
The Up North Gallery has moved into fall...
These painted sketches are done by Eric McConnachie of the lands and sky surrounding his home in Haliburton.
The sculpture is by Susan Valyi wearing a mask by Sae Kimura.
The egg in the box is an introduction to the next Collage Gallery exhibition.
Holding Possibility
Ideas float towards us
from outside in.
They enter if there is space to be received.
On Loan
This collage was made at the collage workshop on Saturday past by Petrea Hansen. Unfortunately for her but fortunately for us it was too big for her to take it home on that day. Consequently, we have become the temporary custodians and are able to appreciate it while it waits to be picked up.
The Show Must Go On
Today we are feeling a bit like the three stooges
a little slap-stick. a little sleepy,
but still in sync.
Curly, Larry and Moe
A House to Carry
This house began as a collage (shown in our August 29 blog) Sae began building it as a three dimensional form on the same day that I was introduced to the painting (shown in detail below), by Allen Egan. His painting is further inspiring its evolution.
Floating
What is a cloud?
soft, undefined,
constantly moving and changing shape
blurry around the edges
what is it not?
it is not something determined or decided
it is not focused or sharp
Today we have found ourselves somewhere inside a cloud
bumping around and sometimes into the other.
Portrait of the Day
This is Bear.
He is visiting with us while his family is away.
Sae met him for the first time today
and was inspired to make his portrait.
Counting Clouds
We welcome a new artist into the fold,
Allen Egan is the artist of these two new acquisitions,
which seem already to be part of the conversation begun here in August.
Allen was showing his very inspired work at the Cabbagetown Festival this past weekend. We are hoping for further collaboration.
You can visit his web site eganacci.wixsite.com/allen-egan-paintings
Finding Form
Inside and Out
Welcome to the Secret Gallery
September has arrived and we are open again for what always feels like the beginning of a new year.
Hail, Hail, the Gang's all Here!
Our friend Ariel came to visit today
and we created a gang
to add to our theatre.
The best thing about being together
is working together
and the surprise of what is created.
This is the House that I Built
I have built my house
out of pieces of my life
old and new.
The pieces fit together
sometimes in strange ways
leaning a little to the left
or to the right.
Behind the walls and windows
lives a theatre of characters,
performing a dramatic balancing act.
And in the basement
a shadow lurks
or simply looks
at what is there.
Eclipsed
The planets move and we too
are somehow
in the shadow of each other.
Illusion
It seems
that the forms have sunk into the floor,
a quiet resignation
but all effort is striving upwards.
The Shape of Colour
opposites collaborate
Granting us an audience
We are in love.
Watching this being move and surface, swim close and look unblinkingly at us inspires a long slow outbreath. I guess we just can't help but tune ourselves to its rhythm,
unhurried, steady and perfectly content in the world that s/he is immersed in.
These turtles live in the ponds found at the Brick Works Conservation Area.
An easy eight minute drive from the gallery.
Creating Order out of Chaos
... a constant struggle.
It is easy to be overwhelmed by chaos
and to avoid engaging with it
but today we were reminded
that when we do attempt to return to order
that action often makes us aware of hidden resources
and inspiration that can lift us out of a stuck place.
Grounded
Trying to be focused
and getting pulled up
into a sharp straight point
the sensation on the top center of my head
making it possible to work.
Timing is Everything
On our Thursday hunt we met our friend Joachim on the street and asked him if he knew where we could find an old slide projector. He replied that he had one in his basement and would bring it to the gallery on Tuesday. He did. The metronome has also been added and wound up to keep an even, steady pulse. These are the latest installments to the theater, newly named 'Theater of Perpetual Motion and Continuous Surprise'.
Projector donated by Joachim Oepkes.
Not Found Yet
Sometimes when you can't find what you need
you have to settle for cheese cake.
Kissed by Light and Contentment
A day of gentle doing.
In the Sky
How is it possible for something to look so much the same and to be so different?
The one and the many.
The small and the huge.
A sole navigator and a theater of passengers.
All afloat.
Under a Little Grumpy Cloud
This is something of a tall story, clouds can't really be grumpy and balls aren't usually as big as cows.
But for the best part of the day I seemed to be under a little cloud and I was definitely grumpy.
Not now.
Now the cloud is the best new edition to the 'theatre'.
Bad moods can sometimes be an inspiration.
Far From the Maddening Herd
The library space has become the home of a theatre experiment conducted by Sae Kimura and deborah harris.
It has been given the name:- 'The Theatre of the Unknown'
and will continue to evolve over the summer with it's debut in the fall.
COSMONAUTS
COLLAGING ON THE MOON
Today Vivian was both a collage participant and the one recording the event.
These two collages are examples of the order which can emerge from creative chaos
and of the outer limits which we can travel to.
Inside and Out
Today is a day for building things. Small things like bird legs and wings and a little bird body
and big things like a porch pillar, cutting lengths of wood with a table saw.
There is something the same about these projects,
the concentration and figuring how to bring about balance and strength in the form.
But such a different scale. One requires much moving and the other a certain stillness.
Each project came to the same point of completion at the same time. Each one requires a finishing layer.
An interesting parallel story.
This was today.
Just There
This photograph inspires curiosity. What is it?
This question does not need an answer. It does not require a history or a story made up about its significance.
It is simply a form of a particular color and shape, placed in a context and framed by the eye and camera's lens.
Not everything created needs to be explained. Surprise and mystery can quiet a busy mind.
Places I Haven't Been Before
I take walks when I am working at the gallery. Each day I go a little further, making a bigger circle to explore.
These are the places I discovered this week. SK
Under the Influence
This is a story about the collaboration between a sculptor, a collage artist and two photographers.
We are each influenced by the other to create something unique.
Pete and Sae Conversing
A camera can give permission to go to places that I wouldn't usually go and to look at things differently.
These photographs were taken by Sae Kimura. The top one is of Pete Corr.
Where to now?
A pause to determine where do we go from here?
Moving Forward
Can you see the figure?
Feet planted, skirt full and blowing behind,
face upturned towards the balloon,
red with intent.
A rough terrain to walk in but expansive
with distant horizons.
I feel that I want to be this figure.
One Man's Garbage is Another Man's Treasure
Today we opened up the studio space,
moving things that we had once found to be found by others.
a sharing of the wealth.
An Inspiring Celebration
For the past year we have been exhibiting different bodies of work by Daniel Hanequand.
This Saturday we are holding a closing reception where we will make available for viewing all of the work from those exhibits.
It will be the last chance to see these works in this format. We welcome you to attend between 2 and 5:30 pm.
Through the Lens
For the last week we have been preparing the Collage Gallery for the next exhibition
'l o o k i n g a t p e t e' , reception to be held this Saturday 8th of July, 2:00 - 5:30pm.
Peter Corr (pietdesnapp) has photographed people throughout his life, people who he recognizes as having an affinity for, people who can also see him. There is an agreement between him and his subject, a mutual regarding.
In this exhibit we are introduced to Pete the photographer and to some of the characters he has met in his life as they appear through the lens of his camera, (as seen above).
All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go
Happy Canada Day Weekend!!
Borrowed
It's fun to walk in the rain when you have a black rain coat
(even if it's not your own).
Framed
The sensation of looking out as if from inside a small box can feel cozy and protected or a little cramped and small.
It just depends on the circumstance.
Sparrow
What is perfection?
TGFF Thank Goodness For Friends
It is quite impossible not to be influenced and inspired by each other these are friends of Shmo.
Perhaps there are more friends coming.
Introducing Shmo
This is the newest member of our team created by Sae Kimura.
We all love him.
Not Giving Up
Today is a very serious day
but we are holding on
and dancing our way through it.
Living is courageous
Today we are talking about courage and about being alone and about how small is our place on this earth.
When we are sitting we are not moving. It is a pause when we consider where we are.
This chair was at the corner of Carlton and Church. It is not there now.
Inviting you to look
We are having a conversation about colour,
the alchemy of colour, its energy and effect.
A petal of red on a grey sidewalk is a different sensation from a grey pebble on a red floor.
A pink sleeved elbow resting on the windowsill of a lapis blue car,
a green stink bug on ground covered in fresh cedar chips,
these combinations trigger a most surprising sensation if we pause long enough to notice.
It is not simply the combinations of complementary colours
but the ratio of one to another which is both surprising and mysterious.
Looking Down
A simple tilt of the head and different worlds open up.
Down or up, left or right,
the possibilities of seeing surround us.
Looking Up
The view from the top of the stairs
in front of the door of the gallery.
Unfolding Father Time
Father Time is the title of a painting by Sae Kimura, shown here as she has reproduced it on chiffon fabric. This and other printed fabrics by Sae can be seen at Pamenar Cafe on Augusta Avenue in Kensington Market. Works will be displayed til June 30th.
Something to be found
Even with all the hundreds of high rises being built
we are still a city of green.
What Changes and What Remains?
In the winter of 1912 Lawren Harris painted this building, 80 Gerrard St E.,
which is now Gallery Arcturus.
Pigeon Theatre
just humming a little tune
strolling down the avenue
Nothing! hmm
In the spot light now,
tada tada, doing a little dance.
Oh! what's in here?
Wearing my red shoes
one foot in front of the other...
Les Demoiselles d'Arcturus
When Vivian finished her collage she was reminded of the painting of Picasso titled 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.
We chose a black and white copy of what is a colored painting so that the forms could be easily seen.
Below is a more accurate reproduction of his original.
Artists speak with each other in many different ways.
Placed
Colour comes in all shapes and sizes
but today waiting is black and white.
Bonne fête
When the sky's on the ground
and the world's upside down
la la la la.
In the spirit of Annie Oakley
and girls with gumption,
Happy Birthday Maya.
Kitsune no yomeiri
The foxes' wedding.
It came so suddenly, we almost missed it.
A mysterious occurrence,
we sometimes refer to it as a sun shower.
Spin Dry
Today feels like being turned inside a giant spinning drum
impossible to stop or to get out.
Nothing to be done but record the journey.
Who has seen the wind?
Today we have been visited by the warm winds of summer.
Rhythmic Harmonies
Sina Lack and Jerome Paul came by the gallery today with their instruments, the Hang Bal, Gubal,
Hang Gudu and Pang Sui and played with us for the afternoon.
Please click on the link to have a taste of what we experienced with them.
This two string instrument is a Pang Sui.
As Above So Below
A carpet fallen from the tree tops.
And one who is looking for something.
She Who Knows
Sensing you, our dear friend, Heather.
On an even keel
'on an even keel'
not easily losing balance
or returning to balance after difficulty.
This expression was first used as a
nautical term.
Feet and Inches
Their is a very old saying :-
'To see from another's perspective you must stand in their shoes.'
This is an unspoken request when looking at art and is the reason why art has the possibility of expanding our view.
Shoes themselves are interesting forms. How they touch to the ground, how they lift off.
They tell a story of how we place ourselves here and how we arrange the rest of our body to balance.
It all begins with the feet.
The Red Shoes
Daniel Hanequand's drawings have inspired this three dimensional collage sculpture.
To see more of Daniel's extraordinary work please visit Gallery Arcturus.
Circling
Today we have been spinning like two balls
or maybe it is two holes that we are looking through,
holes that shape what we see and frame what we know,
or are they spheres drawn upon in fine detail
to throw up high or roll across the floor
