Blog

Has it really been that long?  My hiatus from the studio has been significant.  It has stretched through Covid, and come out the other side.  

I am not exhibiting at the moment, nor do I have plans to.  I am starting to work again after a LONG time away from creative endeavours.  Time has been spent on family, on trying to feel connected to others during lockdowns, and through an empty place in my mind and heart.  I don't know why, it just happens now and then.

So, I am playing...I am taking old compositions that didn't make the grade, and working into them, ripping them up, glueing them down, whatever the day suggests.  I don't have anything to show you at the moment...maybe later.

For those of you who check out my site occasionally, my greetings and thanks go to you.  It is appreciated.

Now...for today's work.....

Welcome to our show!

THE
PRESS
GANG An Exhibition of Work by
GULF ISLAND PRINTMAKERS
AT SEA STAR ESTATE FARM & WINERY
6621 HARBOUR HILL RD., PENDER ISLAND, B.C.
Opening~Friday, June 27th, 4-9
Saturday, June 28th
to Tuesday, July 1st, 11am-4pm
Come & Sample Local Wines.
Listen to Local Musicians &
Meet Pender Island Printmakers.

This event promises to be relaxed and a lot of fun! If you are on Pender, please join us.

Well, I did say infrequent blogs, didn't I....

It seems like the year is flying by. We have been spending time with family, friends, gardening, sailing, and of course, creativity. Don continues to work on his global water and livestock management issues, and I am getting back into the studio more.

It seems difficult to manage more than a few days at a time in the studio, but I'm at least working. Collographs have been my main focus for the past few months. I've been making plates from plywood, plastic, plaster, glue and found objects, with a few elements of "planned" images cut from paper. The results are often surprising, and the enjoyment of balancing it all is engaging. You can see some of the results on my gallery pages. I've also been enjoying playing with monoprints. They are wonderfully free in their nature of association.

In May and June I facilitated a workshop on collograph for the local Artists group on Pender Island. My friend from Duncan, Beverlee McLeod, also a printmaker, came over to help co-ordinate and brought two small presses, which I am very gratefu for. We are both members of the Printmakers Only Group. There were 12 enthusiastic participants and keeping all questions answered, providing guidance for using the press, and troubleshooting would have been pretty difficult without Beverlee's guidane and knowledge to help. The workshop was a lot of fun, and the participants were a joy to work with. They brought their fun, enthusiasm, playfulness and sense of adventure with them, and some of the results were amazing.

This year has also brought the need to jury for Artcraft on Saltspring Island again. Artcraft is a summer long showcase for Gulf Island Artists and Artians. One of the requirements is to be juried every three years to ensure quality, and this was my year. Happily, my work is accepted again, so a few weeks have been spent pulling prints, matting, framing and generally getting work ready for presentation and sale.

Unfortunately, I didn't participate in the Ground Zero Annual show this year....just not enough time to organize myself, I'm sorry to say. Hopefully, next year I'll be more organized.

Presently I am working on a special project for a show in July. Eve Pollard, a photographer on the island, has invited a select few artists to select photos from her upcoming show, and respond in their own medium to her photos. The photos selected by me were black and white, and quite graphic in nature....I'm responding by developing linocuts based on these photos. I'll post photos when the prints are finished and printed.

That is all the news I have for now,

Cheers,

Bev

Ground Zero is sponsoring a project for the celebration of Victoria's 150 year anniversary. As members of Ground Zero Printmakers Society, there are about 18 of the artist members, including myself, who are participating.

The first stage is to go and work plien air in seven chosen historical sites around Victoria. We were asked to choose at least three sites to work in, and be available to the public for sharing with them the various processes we were working in. This exercise was to gather material for development into plates and images later, and to offer to the public the opportunity to see how an artist might gather information for their work.

The second stage is a series of open studios located at the Fisgard Studio, China Town, of Alain Costaz and Victoria Edgarr. This is the home of Ground Zero Printmakers Society. These open studios offer demonstrations by the artists of the next stage of development for their work, and an opportunity to take to the artists more about what they are doing and why. I was attending at the first one, and demonstrated the use of polyester lithograph plates.

The next step is for all the artists to submit 5 copies of an edition of a print they have generated from this project, along with a small write up about who they are, and something about the work. This is due in August.

These prints will be collated into a presentation album to be presented at City Hall in October.

For me, there is more surgery scheduled on July 25th to have a hip replacement, so I am under a bit of pressure to finish my prints sooner, as I doubt I'll be terribly mobile for a few weeks.

So, here are some pictures.....

Step one....having my inked plate ready on the floor, I get some paper ready to print on.

Inking the "matrix"

Printing the matrix

The first step of the final print....no pun intended

Working on preparing the polyester lithograph plates for the next stage of printing.

For those of you who may be wondering why I am starting my image with a footprint, here is my response...

My idea is that a footprint is a significant thing. In any spot on earth, one wonders how many footsteps have imprinted onto that piece of earth, what dramas have occured there, how many lives have intersected, how many spieces have come and gone....there are too many questions to name them all. The fact that we tend to cover the earth with tarmac and then place more barriers between ourselves and the earth removes us even that much more from a sense of connection with the history of that spot.

While living and travelling in Africa, I was often struck by the disconnect of me driving across tarmac in my car with so many barriers between myself and the earth, and moving at great speed. Looking across the plain, I would see cows moving slowly in the heat, and herders following along behind, often barefoot, connecting with the earth with each step. When I got out of my car and walked, it was a very different awareness and sense of connection that was experienced. I was often struck by a sense of arrogance possessed by those who came into a country, didn't connect, and yet felt they knew what the land and the people needed to prosper.

Any place on earth has it's own history which is inclusive and encompassing. We tend to see only our own small sector of history as it refers to us, which is quite an egocentric point of view. Add to that the fact that in a city landscape, we tend to see the history in the artifacts we have built, and it does tell quite a different story than looking through imaginary eyes at the layers of earth supporting those artifacts. I can't help but wonder if all of our pride in structures built may be a bit premature. It is a very interesting question to think about. As creatures who build structures, how does this compare with nature's structures? Will a sky scraper last long than a mountain? Will a river last longer than a culvert? Does building structures like we do and living in them separate us from a sense of who we are in relationship to the earth we are born from?

So, in looking at a very short time span of 150 years in a very finite setting of artifacts, what stories are told? What relationships? What actually makes a sense of place? Is it the structures built, the people who built them, the people who used them in the past, the present, and who will probably use them in the future?

A footstep is indicative of a moment frozen in time....a contact with something; a presence and a connection. In my print, I make the footprint visible. In reality it is unseen by the human eye. It becomes one of many, many past connections, and only one in an ongoing story of connection, one small part of an almost infinite story. One needs different eyes to see the ghosts of the footsteps past, and the vision of the footsteps to come.

As you can see, the studio is now finished. Okay, so the floor space didn't grow any, but the organization is fantastic! In the first shot, you see part of the new counter and cupboard space which houses work that is framed and matted, and provides working space. In the second shot, you see the repositioned sink, the HIDDEN diptank, and yes, more cupboards.

In the third shot you see my inking table and press, and in the last shot, a new cabinet which houses all my bits and pieces, framing needs, scissors, hammers, extra mats and boards, tape, and rollers....all the stuff that loves to clutter surfaces...neatly tucked away until they are needed.

There is a new ceramic floor which is wonderful to roll the press out on, and to keep clean, a spray gun on the sink (YES!), and I love it. Don worked hard on this, taking it back to the studs, redoing foors, walls, windows and plumbing, drywalling and doors.

So...now it is down to work, which I am happily doing. I'm experimenting with collograph and working on new etching plates, getting ready to take part in the 150 VOV project in Victoria (stands for 150 years Visions of Victoria, and you can find information on the GZP Society web page, or check out my events page), and getting ready for Artcraft. I'll be at the Pender Island Farmers Market starting May 19th demonstrating printmaking for anyone who will be in the area and would like to stop by and visit. And, of course, you are always welcome to stop by my studio on Pirates Road and come in for a cup of tea. Look for the Tulifanya Studio sign.

Looking forward to a good, warm summer....

Bev

As some of you know, I have been receiving treatment for breast cancer since September of 2011. My last radiation treatment was March 21st, which is also Naw Ruz...Bahaí New Year. Very auspicious!

Now that I have come past that point, my thoughts and efforts are turning towards the studio again. Don has been working hard at a major renovation to the printmaking studio with lots of cupboard space and more efficient use of the space I have. I'm very grateful for his efforts. It should be functional in a couple of weeks. I will be having more open studio time this year, so if any of you visit Pender, please feel free to stop by for a visit.

I've decided this year not to participate in the Red Tree Gallery. The members have been wonderfully supportive during this past period of time, and I will be sad leave. It is time for me to focus more time on developing new work, and for that I am looking forward to some productive times. I have also met a new printmaker on the island, Don Goedbleod, and I am quite excited to have a new printmaker on Pender to exchange ideas and energy with. He will also be on the Pender Island Artists' Map, so please look for him.

A new direction for me is to participate as a member of the Trincomali Arts Council Board...lots of learning curve ahead of me there.

So, here is an invitation to stop by often to see new work, to visit my studio, and to stop by the market and say hello. 2012 will be a very good year....

Warm regards to you all,

Bev