Sorry for the lack of blogging and art updates lately, balancing a full-time job and an art practice is not an easy task. I'm doing what I can and I'm happy to say that I'll be in an exhibition this month. It's an exhibition celebrating women in history, in conjunction with International Women's Day.
“International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8 every year. It commemorates the movement for women’s rights. The earliest Women’s Day observance was held on February 28, 1909 in New York.
The Celebration of Herstory Art Exhibition is Thursday, March 8 from 5:30 to 7:30pm. It will be held at the White Rock Community Centre at 15154 Russell Avenue, White Rock.”
I'll be showing my new cross-stitch piece "Yayoi Kusama: The Queen of Dots", a portrait of an artist who has always been source for inspiration for me. Kusama is known for her obsessive practice that utilizes the simplistic form of dots. The cross-stitch piece took a total of 45 hours hours to complete and was framed using resources I had on hand in my studio. The wooden frame was from an old canvas painting and was repainted with the Kusama's signature dots. The window matte was cut from black paper and the cross-stitched canvas is fixed to recycled cardboard. This process of recycling and repurposing old materials connects back to my goal of a $100 art budget for 2018.
I have also been hired as an Artist Mentor throughout March and April, for a mural project with 8-10 high school students from Elgin Secondary. Along with Rachel Kirkpatrick, we will be leading this group of AP Art students in the creation of a mural to be painted in White Rock (East Beach Residential location).
Rachel and I scoping out the mural site during our first meeting discussing planning and preparation for our upcoming studio sessions with the Elgin Park students.
The planning for the mural will take place over the course of three studio sessions where the students will collaborate, brainstorm, and pitch a mural concept/sketch. They will be presenting their idea/concept to White Rock City Council for approval. Once the mural has been approved, Rachel and I will oversee the painting of the mural until it's completion. The plan is to have the mural completed by the end of May at the latest. Hopefully, the weather will improve and we can get it thrown up in April.
That's all for now, stay tuned for updates on the #WRYouthMural!