The paintings of Paul Klee are on show at the Tate Modern, London. If you are anywhere near the British Isles, you must go. It’s not enough to look at reproductions. Please, rather, stare intently and quietly at the original artworks. Early morning is best.
I met Dan Ojari when he interned for our short film ‘Butter Mouth‘ in 2009. He left us one day to start an MA in animation at the Royal College of Art and has since won successive awards for his incredible film ‘Slow Derek’.
Filed under Film/Animation
This magical photo shoot by Sarah Mason and industrious creative soul Hannah Nunn for a Radiance Lighting article in Pretty Nostalgic Magazine has spurred my yearning to live in the woods. Lamp shades by Jennifer Collier, Amy Cooper and Colin Chetwood.
Filed under photography
I was introduced to the dainty illustrations of previous Spark Box Studio resident Sarah Burwash. I particularly admire her subject matter and colour palette. Ceramics… you’re next on my list!
Filed under Illustration, Painting
Prince Edward County was a great inspiration for my pattern projects. I came across some specimens that I hadn’t before encountered. Others were familiar, though I’d never had the time to study them as closely. I collected seeds and leaves and grasses, and blinked snapshots of the animals to memory for later sketches. These discoveries accumulated in my sketch book and then dispersed into a new series of patterns (still in development).
Filed under Illustration, Painting, Print
One of my favourite discoveries in Prince Edward County was the little shop Kokito. Chrissy took us out for a surprise visit to the town of Bloomfield where we became firmly glued to the inside of Kokito until every object had been handled and admired. I had a hard time choosing from a range of embroidery doll kits by Kirikí Press, but eventually picked the little red fox. Kirikí Press is an independent design company run by Toronto-based printmaker Michelle Galletta. The kits are handcrafted and neatly packaged: screen printed animals on cotton with markings for embroidery, accompanied by concise instructions, stuffing and coloured thread. I had the good fortune to meet the maker in London last weekend at the Renegade Craft Fair too. You can find all the embroidery kits on the Kirikí shop here.
Spark Box Studio is a project run by Chrissy Poitras and Kyle Topping in beautiful Prince Edward County, Canada. Chrissy and Kyle open their home to artists of all disciplines and provide a non-toxic print studio for residents and local printmakers to develop their work. The month I spent at Spark Box was a much needed breath of fresh air. With a quaint room of my own, a studio space, a garden to explore and nothing but the voice of nature surrounding us, it was the absolute antidote for a mind polluted by the city. In such a tranquil setting you can get lost in your ideas. For me it was an inspiring and productive time and I was very grateful to be there.
I spent an autumn month as a resident of Spark Box Studio in Prince Edward County, Ontario. My comrade at the residency was Halifax based printmaker Sera Senakovicz. She conducted a fascinating investigation into the history and landscape of Picton called the ‘What Was Here Project’. Before arriving, Sera screen printed handsome posters which spruced up every shop window in town, then visited local residents to hear the stories of their homes. We spent time exploring derelict buildings together and taking walks along farm lanes documenting nature’s claim over agricultural machinery.
Filed under Print
Naturally, science and technology influences contemporary painters, but these paintings by Nicole Duennebier make the connection all the more distinct. In the style of 16th Century Dutch still life painting, Duennebier draws on an interest in sea life and her research into the coastal ecosystems of Maine to create these dramatic depictions of peculiar living organisms.
In my painting I want to create the ‘inexplicably overwhelming.’ The depiction of the growing mass is my best archetype for this experience. Through putrefaction or fecundity the complicated form of the mass adds to itself and spills forward. The mass operates intractably in the dark, grows beyond its recognizable origin to become grotesque. There is an uneasy combination of textural pleasure and disgust in this germination. While fine white hairs of mold are delicate and beautiful they are the mark of decay and cannot be treasured.
Via The Fox is Black
Filed under Painting
Some weeks ago I came across a display of illustrations by the students from Falmouth University. I picked up a number of business cards and secretly longed to be a seaside student myself. Among my favourite sights that afternoon were drawings by Lara Hawthorne: mischievous animals, just the way I love them.
Filed under Illustration
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