exquisite corpse

This is my latest piece, done in collaboration with artists Claude-Aimee Villeneuve and Joanne Kielo. We are exhibiting at Galerie Ouest and our vernissage is tonight. The show is called Exquisite Corpse.

In the 1920's, the Surrealists developed a game that involved creating a collage of words or pictures. It was played with several people, each of whom wrote a phrase or drew an image on a sheet of paper, then folded it to conceal what they created and passed it on to the next person, who added their contribution. Only at the end of the game was the whole poem or creation revealed. The name Cadavre Exquis or Exquisite Corpse was taken from the first phrase that was generated by this game: "The exquisite corpse--shall drink--the young wine".

The concept of this show was similar. Three artists team up. Each artist chooses a section of the body and creates a piece independently of the other two collaborators. We then meet to reveal our pieces to one another and to connect our works to create a single piece.

My section of the torso was highly personal and reflects how I was feeling after the death of my father this summer. Scroll down for some detail shots.

and a few more reliquaries

spinal notes (2008), 7½” x 7½”, cast paper, silver wire

spinal notes (detail)

waiting... (2009), 4½” x 4½”, cast paper, beeswax, glass

waiting... (detail)

resolve (2009), 4½” x 4½”, cast paper, ptarmigan feathers, shale fragment

resolve (detail)

more reliquaries...

despite harm (2009), 4½” x 4½”, cast paper, washi, silver, tangerine tree thorn, ink

despite harm (detail)


thwarted (2008), 7½” x 7½”, cast paper, beech seed pods, waxed linen cord

thwarted (detail)

seeking tenderness (2008), 4½” x 4½”, cast paper, silver, washi

seeking tenderness (detail)

reliquaries new and old

I participated in a local studio tour this past weekend and made a few new reliquary pieces. I thought I'd show them here over the next few days with some of my older pieces.

shout (2009), 7½” x 7½”, cast paper, plaster bandage, ink, thread

shout (detail)

tenuous abundance (2007), 7½” x 7½”, cast paper, thread

tenuous abundance (detail)

contained no more (2008), 4½” x 4½”, cast paper

contained no more (detail)

sticks and stones

I am pleased to report that three of my pieces have been accepted for a show at Ciel Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina! The show is called Sticks and Stones, featuring art created from natural elements, and runs from March 6th to May 1st. Apart from being included in the show, the exciting thing is that Jerzy and I are taking this opportunity to do a road trip, so I can attend the opening on March 6th. I've never been to North Carolina, so I'm really looking forward to the whole experience. It's about a two-day drive from here to there, and once we are there and I've delivered my pieces, we plan to explore the State a bit. So lots of driving! Below are my pieces...I consider them a triptych.

synapse 1

synapse 1 (detail)

synapse 2

synapse 2 (detail)

synapse 3

synapse 3 (detail)

cast paper fragments

My cast paper fragments eventually dried and when I pulled them I was able to see which were successful and which were not. These are the ones I like. I'll make multiples of these and experiment with different designs as well. Stay with me as I progress with these. Lynne has helped me to figure out how to make all my images clickable so now you can click on each for a full view. Warning: these images are huge! They look better this size.

not in the cards

Thanks for all the encouragement for finishing (and starting) my cards but perhaps cards are not in the cards for now. Yesterday almost everything that could go wrong did go wrong. My cast paper fragments that I cast on Thursday night were not dry (except the two pictured above) and are still not dry this morning even though I've had heat and fans working all night. When I realized that I could not work with cast paper yesterday, I tried making some ink drawings with some new inks that I have. As I mentioned before, I'm not very experienced at drawing or painting except in an intuitive way, so I just experimented and had fun with them. I enjoyed making them but made very few. I realize now that these will not be very cost effective, selling them as cards. It takes too much time and people will not pay much for a card. It's a lot of work and energy for a few dollars. I may be better off framing them as small ink works. Here's the dilemma (that most artists face)...I could go into mass production and make some very cute and quick cards that would sell well but would not be "me". Or I could stick with my style and my vision, take the time needed, charge what I think is fair, and those who like the work will buy it, even though the work may not be a big seller. Yup, that's what I will do. So no cards today! But I will do my cast paper demonstration today so I'd better go and get set up! Below are my ink drawings.

remnant reliquaries

Last night I was adding some photographs of my latest pieces to my website, and while I was dragging them around the page they happened to end up in a clump resembling a grid pattern. It occurred to me that they looked very cool like this, so I am posting them all here in grids. I love them all together!