animated cut paper
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Bee Kingdom Glass
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Vinciane in the Bee Kingdom gallery/house for the interview.
Vinciane pulls some molten glass.
It is always enjoyable to spend time in artists' studios and peek in on their process. In our current issue, our Work-in-Progress Society article took a new direction in that we decided to focus on an in-person interview rather than curating from the Flickr pool. Bee Kingdom Glass is an exciting 4-person studio hidden in an unassuming house in a Calgary residential neighbourhood. At one point, some of the members of Bee Kingdom were also roommates living in the house; now the living room is a small gallery, bedrooms are office studios—and the glass studio is out back in a converted garage. This close-knit group is aptly named; as glassblowers they are dependent on one another to see their individual creative visions come into form.
Vinciane de Pape, regular UPPERCASE contributor, interviewed Phillip, Kai, Ryan and Tim while I took photos for the article. When the Bees started a demo, I took an impromptu video of the process. You'll find more of my photos and full article about Bee Kingdom in our current issue.
Join Bee Kingdom this weekend for an open house from 1-5pm Saturday and Sunday. More details on their site right here.
lovely letters pressed with Bird Dog Press
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Loved instructor Allison Bozeman's style.
Re: joyce
Like candy.
Not sure what this is, but I like the way it looks!
Designs for printing.
Lots of happiness in this class!
Piles of supplies.
Hands-on instruction.
Always place the brayer on its handle to avoid damaging the cylinder.
Printmaking on the Excelsior.
Allison and Holland made a numbered edition of 100 inserts for our bookmaking project.
A great class at the Makerie. Maybe next time I can do more than snoop with my camera!
From the Makerie website: "Allison Bozeman wears many aprons as a letterpress pixie / woodtype worshiper / indie ink siren / vintage fabric vixen and owner of BirdDog Press in Lyons. What started as a penchant for pen and paper in the digital age, an obsession with a more tactile, interactive experience grew. Feathered with more than 14 years of design expertise in her cap, Allison began spreading her wings into letterpress printing, non-traditional materials and a handmade eco-friendly approach. BirdDog Press was born when a rescued hunting dog inspired a design + letterpress studio with a trained eye for craftsmanship in place of perfectionism, a love of pattern and perspective and a collaboration of history and modern technology."
Find out more about Bird Dog Press here.
join me at The Makerie
/In a few short weeks I'll be heading to Boulder, Colorado to teach two day-long workshops entitled "Crafting Content". It's a fun and exciting (albeit ambitious) class where we'll not only write and photograph inspirational stories from our Makerie colleagues, we'll also hand assemble the resulting books that weekend as well! It's a great class if you're interested in creating original content for your blog, have aspirations to write a book or want to take your journaling to a new place. (Read more here.) Registration is still open today and tomorrow on The Makerie website.
sparkfly
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Founded by two Vancouver-based photographers, Tamar Haytayan and Cherish Bryck, Sparkfly is a series of gatherings promoting creative development:
"We create curated events for women by women to share, inspire, create and connect. We do this by having two to three presenters talk about their creative journey (according to the theme of the evening) and interact with the participants/audience through activities or just a simple Q&A time. We usually begin the evening by sharing something creative we have done in the past 2 weeks and then pass this on to the audience. We are encouraging community building amongst women and allowing them the time to take part in the creative process even if they do not share in their own words. It might plant a seed that will ripple into effect a while later. Our evenings are hosted at Little Nest which in itself is a fantastic space for such an event."
Register for the next gathering, to be held on February 21, over here.
manly marks
/Brandon Griswold has a campaign launched today on Kickstarter. His video made me chuckle.
"My name is Brandon and I'd like your help to make a hand-bound letterpress book on manhood. I'm a man well versed in things like beard growing, handiwork, carpentry, firm handshakes, and bacon consumption. I'm also an experienced letterpress printmaker. A lot of letterpress these days is associated with wedding invitations and greeting cards. Those are good things, but not very manly. I have a goal to establish more manly endeavors in letterpress printing with this Kickstarter project and many more things to come."
Erick Wolfmeyer
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written by Linzee Kull McCray
Though he embraces a traditional craft, Erick Wolfmeyer says he’s on the margins of the quilting world. “I don’t belong to a guild or go to quilting conventions,” he says. “I just happen to work in that medium.”
Erick—who has a BFA in photography—started quilting on a whim in 1990, when he was drawn to the graphic beauty of Amish quilts and stitched a baby quilt for friends. “None of this was planned,’” he says. “I just had a general sense that I needed to do this. People saw something in my work and that was great encouragement when times were tough.”
Times were tough in part because of Erick’s dedication to his art. His quilts often take up to six months to make and to support himself he drove a school bus and lived in a rural town, where rents were cheap. Though he’s moved into a city and has a fulltime job, he still works in the same way, completing one quilt at a time, then giving away or selling it. While his quilts could be used on a bed—they are intensively pieced and employ no embellishments—they most often adorn a wall. “I think of myself as a painter in fabric, making abstract art,” he says. “It’s the shapes, colors, design, and movement I’m drawn to.”
Even so, Erick has deep respect for traditional quilters and little concern about engagement in an arena traditionally populated by women. “I try to leave gender out of it—it’s about whether the work can stand on its own,” says Erick. “I balance seeing its infinite possibilities with staying true to a medium and history so tightly woven with women.”
Indeed, quilting is a thread that purposefully ties Erick to women—specifically the mother who gave him up for adoption when he was seven months old. “For most of us, some things in life don’t work out as we’d planned,” he says. “Women lose kids, kids lose their moms. I’m working it out through my quilts.”
Recognition of those quilts is growing. In September, Erick was one of five quilters invited to China as part of the U.S. embassy-sponsored Sum of Many Parts: 25 Quiltmakers from 21st Century America. Another quilt recently appeared in Material Men: Innovation and the Art of Quilting in LaConner, WA. While he’s grateful for the accolades and opportunities, Erick’s commitment to quilting doesn’t depend on it.
“My perception of quilting hasn’t changed—the heart and the essence of it are still the same,” he says. “If the shows and fabrics and markets disappeared, I’d still make quilts, even if I had to chop up my clothes. I forever have the compulsion to keep recreating a whole—to put pieces back together. This is how I do it.”
thread week: an eclectic stash
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Artist: Vicky Lindo
As this post goes live, we'll be deep in the midst of thread, vintage finds and crafty friends. Sounds like a perfect Saturday eh? When Janine recently visited STASH, and discovered a kindred spirit, we knew it would be the perfect place to hold our Embroidery Bee and Issue #16 launch.
In addition to her thriving business, STASH proprietress Veronica Murphy maintains an amazingly eclectic Pinterest pressence. If you aren't able to join us visiting her boards will give you a taste of the STASH experience.
Artist: Jose Romussi
Image Source: The Jealous Curator
thread week: knit collage
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Knit Collage makes stunning yarns. The textures, colours and intricate details are so appealing that I just want to keep one... as a pet! I could scarcely bring myself to unwind one they are such gorgeous objects on their own.
With playful textures, sparks, sequins, silk flowers, ribbons and other surprises spun throughout, each is a delightful surprise. Obviously labour-intensive, Knit Collage yarns are made in India. Their website shares the story:
All of our spinning takes place in India, where we recently moved our studio. With the hope of creating work for uneducated women in Punjab, we spend (and still spend!) countless hours teaching the ladies how to craft the yarns on traditional spinning wheels. Through much patience and hard work, more and more women are slowly becoming spinning experts. We now proudly employ 36 women there and that number is growing every month. Not all of those women are spinners, we also rely on ladies to card fiber, crochet tiny flowers and organize the other trims that will later be spun. Our manager also checks and packages each and every skein for quality. Truly each yarn is specially handcrafted with love and care! Through our tiny operation, we hope to create beautiful yarns and better the lives of the women who craft them along the way. We also hope that by sharing our vision of the world through our yarns, we will inspire creative freedom in the people who love and use them.
Knit Collage was founded by Amy Small, who used to design sweaters for Free People and has been hand-spinning wool since 2005.
Amy spinning. Photo via Jimmy Beans Wool blog.
Read an interview with Amy on the Jimmy Beans Wool blog.
Here in Calgary, folks can find Knit Collage yarns at Stash (where we're having our Embroidery B and issue 16 launch this Saturday!)
embroidery B
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Giovannella Brusatin gave this sampler to Janine on a recent trip to Amsterdam.
In Issue #16 we investigate knitting, knotting and needlework. To celebrate the release of our winter issue, we've partnered with STASH Needle Art Lounge and Sublime Stitching to host an Embroidery Bee. Experienced embroiderers will enjoy meeting new crafters and those new to the craft will receive a taste of this creative pursuit. A desire to embroider is not required for this event—join us to say hi and share a treat! Copies of Issue #16 will be available for purchase.
STASH Needle Art Lounge (#1B, 1215 13 Street SE in Inglewood)
Saturday, January 19 from 1:00-4:00pm
Light refreshments will be served
While the creative and curious of all ages are welcome to attend, STASH is a working studio and little people will require supervision.
STASH photos from Janine's recent visit.
creative calgary: Esker Foundation
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Last week, Erin and I had the opportunity to meet with the folks at the Esker Foundation. I had heard good things about this new gallery in Calgary's Inglewood community, but hadn't yet had the chance to visit. We were in awe of the fantastic architecture as soon as we entered the building's atrium and not prepared at how spacious and dramatic the fourth-floor Esker Foundation Gallery truly is.
From their website: "The Esker Foundation is the creation of local philanthropists and art patrons Jim and Susan Hill, and is the largest, privately funded, non-commercial gallery of its kind in Calgary. Esker is positioned as a cultural platform for innovative and exceptional temporary art exhibitions and educational events.
As the cornerstone of a new mixed use building in historic Inglewood, the Atlantic Avenue Art Block, the gallery features 15,000 square feet of environmentally controlled purpose built exhibition space designed by Kasian Architects and Interior Designers and operates within a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver accredited standards master plan created by Abugov Kaspar Architects."
Our meeting was within the suspended nest which was perhaps the most architecturally interesting place I've ever attended a meeting. Throughout the space there were great views of Calgary and the Inglewood neighbourhood. We also enjoyed the excellent exhibition of Landon Mackenzie's large scale paintings and smaller drawings.
Make a visit to the Esker top on your list next time you're in Inglewood... they're open every day except Monday and admission is completely free.
art basel farewell
/Guest post by Rose Zgodzinski
We come to Art Basel to look and absorb as much of the experience and atmosphere as is possible. We’ve never bought anything at any of the fairs, although we have considered a few pieces over the years. The experience is always overwhelming, probably the word that best describes our treks through Art Basel week… but overwhelming in a good way.
If you are a novice and are considering going it might help to do a little research first and then understand that there is no possible way to see it all! So relax, breathe and just start anywhere.
If you know what you like, try and tailor your experience to the fairs that will interest you. (Granted it is a bit hard to distinguish when almost every fair uses the same descriptions: "cutting edge contemporary works, emerging or mid-career, internationally renowned artists". The NADA (New Art Dealers Association) Fair, thankfully, was described as avant-guard—not to everyone’s taste—and they were right!
But more than anything, the Art Basel experience provides something for everyone—even man's best friend! On our last day, wandering through the Design district (in the Buena Vista building) we came across Architecture for Dogs, an exhibit organized through the Design Miami Fair, a celebration of the relationship between humans and their canines. Check out the website that accompanies the exhibit, where you can download free blueprints of the 13 projects on display.
artwork by Vanessa German
A highlight for both of us this year were these tar-baby assemblages by Vanessa German—beautifully forged entities, all precariously perched, and encrusted in found objects. They come prepared with everything that they might need, and are strong and frail, old, yet new. Vanessa German, who has also performed as a spoken word artist, is represented by Pavel Zoubok Gallery, a gallery specializing in collage, assemblage & mixed media.
These globes by Ingo Gunther gave me serious Infographic envy!
I'm looking forward to next year’s visit, and everything in between…
art basel: creative blast
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Guest post by Rose Zgodzinski
Rose designs and illustrates information graphics—Charts, Maps & Diagrams is her website. We asked Rose why she attends Art Basel since it is seemingly so visually and conceptually different that her day-to-day graphics and problem-solving.
I have always needed a more practical anchor for my own expression—a large reason why I have practiced design and not fine art. The Art Basel experience, with all its diverse forms of expression is a huge push for me to experiment.
I connect to any schematics I see at the fairs, because it is the language I work in. But all these diverse expressive languages, which can be understood by anyone makes me feel that I can still practise and be understood in a new language.
noticed at art basel: Jonas Wood
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Rose will be back with some more posts from Art Basel Miami, but in the meantime I wanted to share some of the work by Los Angeles-based artist Jonas Wood. Rose shared a snapshot of his work and I wanted to see more. I love his intricate surface pattern detail and how dimensional planes are flatted and extended to suit his composition.
In contrast to the more complex images above, Woods also has these meditative compositions reminiscent of Alexander Calder mobiles. More here and here and here.
noticed at Art Basel: alexander calder
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Alexander Calder, Untitled (Long Legged Red), 1966
Alexander Calder, untitled, c. 1960 Painted sheet metal and wire
Alexander Calder, The Amoeba, 1974. Painted sheet metal, wire and brass.
More images on the Art Basel gallery site.
art basel: inside manita and randy's apartment
/Guest post by Rose Zgodzinski
Photos by Michael Vaughan
Randy and Manita
The best part of Art Basel for my husband Michael and I is the visit to Manita & Randy's Bayside condo. Manita Brug-Chmielenska is the reason why we go to Art Basel. She is an old friend from Toronto who relocated to Florida originally to investigate southern vegetation (when she was practicing landscape architecture). She found Randy Burman in a neighbouring studio, stayed, married him and became a principal in his graphic design firm, IKON Communications and Marketing Design.
For years Manita has been saying "You've gotta come down and see this! It is the Olympics of the art world! We've taken her advice and this year's annual trek to Art Basel marks our fourth visit. I would be lost without Manita's daily telephone debriefing sessions during Art Basel week—she is the indispensable insider's guide with advice on what to see, what to avoid, restaurant and even traffic and parking suggestions.
We always manage to get in a visit in to their apartment. This year Manita, has organized a morning brunch, in order for all their visiting friends (collectors, out-of-towners, artists) to get together.
Their amazing apartment, which has been organized around a burgeoning art collection (or "Living with our Obsession" as Manita calls it), has been amassing for the past 17 years and reflects their eclectic sensibilities.
Manita describes their collection as "Guided by intuition, personal preferences and sensibilities that lean towards Dada and Art Brut, we have surrounded ourselves with a collection of contemporary, thought-provoking, and often, witty art." The collection of 200-plus pieces consists mainly of found-object assemblages, but there are also works on paper, paintings, woodcuts, ceramics, books, collages, glass, sculpture, advertising icons, and photography.
Visiting the apartment is also an opportunity to catch up with Randy's own artwork; also found-object assemblages and an extensive portrait project of Republicans ("Somebody's got to do it!") for a conceptual arcade-like installation.
art basel
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Yayoi Kusama: Tulip with All My Love. Photo courtesy Art Basel Miami website.
Guest Post by Rose Zgodzinski
We attended the previews of the Art Basel fair yesterday, hoping to avoid the crush of the vernissage—still the place was packed, and people watching was just as interesting as the art itself. This is the sophisticated, classic art fair that oozes prestige—and never disappoints. Languages overheard: Spanish, German, Russian, French and many accents of English.
Jack Pierson, IF. Photo courtesy Art Basel Miami website.
Jack Pierson, The World is Yours. Photo by Rose Zgodzinski.
We also drove through Wynwood—the street art capital of the world, where we saw several crews painting in the dark, getting their walls ready for the day and the expected throngs. We managed to get to preview some art fairs nearby: Scope, Overture, and Art Asia, all in one tent.
Image courtesy Wynwood Walls website.
Photo courtesy Wynwood Walls website.
warmer climes: Art Basel Miami!
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Adam Adach: Gymnastes
Guest Post by Rose Zgodzinski
Over the past decade Art Basel Miami has evolved into a contemporary art extravaganza and It will launch its 11th season this year on Dec 6th to 9th in the Miami area.
Originally established in 1970 as a way to showcase contemporary art in Europe as Art Basel (Switzerland), Art Basel Miami Beach was set up in 2002 as a sister show to forge stronger geographic links with art enthusiasts in the Americas.
The art festivities during Art Basel week are a visual feast with the Art Basel Fair at the Miami Beach Convention Center the main course. 260 international galleries and over 2000 artists will be showing 20th and 21st century art.
But there is much more on the menu in Miami over the next few days—so far I have counted 23 additional Art Fairs, 16 in the city and 7 on the beach. Because so many art people are in town over the course of Art Basel, a profusion of Art Fairs have sprouted into existence in Miami’s nearby art districts.
If you’ve never visited this part of the world before, the art deco hotels on the beach, some of which will be hosting Art Fairs, are also tour-worthy.
It’s not just the added boost of the Florida sun that makes this event so invigorating. It’s great to be able to recharge the creative batteries and all this non-stop art just makes you want to get back to the studio and dig in.
I’m happy to be offering a taste by sharing my impressions and photos of Art Basel Miami over the next few days.
Bon Appetite!
Alex Katz: Sharon
Alexander Ross: Summer III
Alexandre da Cunha: 1623100812
