Blog — Mallory Donen

painting

December 2018 - Update

  • Art on Demand 4.4 - Opening Reception

  • Glitch Series 03

  • Search & Rescue Fundraiser

  • Mainstreet Mixed Bag

Art on Demand 4.4 - Opening Reception

“When I Cross-Stitch I Feel Like a Machine” is now open at The Reach Gallery & Museum, for the Art Demand 4.4 exhibition and will run until January 6, 2019. Below are some installation photos from the night of the opening, stay tuned for high res images of the exhibition.

Glitch Series 03

I’ve been working on Glitch Series 03 and finally finished Crop 2 out of 9. Below are photos showing the progression of how it all came together. In total this cross-stitch took 25 hours to complete!

Search & Rescue Fundraiser

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Over this past year, I’ve been part of an art collective called “We Are Pie”, that meets once a month to discuss various art topics and support our art practices. In November, a few of us participated in a fundraiser for Search & Rescue at the Reach Gallery & Museum in Abbotsford. The theme was “Nature”, but a couple of us decided to put a little art collective flair into are paintings and put “Pie in Nature”. Below are process photos showing the step by step progression of the painting I did for the fundraiser. The painting was not sold at the fundraiser and is still looking for a home. I personally think that a baker needs this painting in their kitchen, what do you think?

Mainstreet Mixed Bag

I set up a booth for Mainstreet Mixed Bag in November, which was my second market! I also participated in the first Holiday Mainstreet Mixed Bag market today.

October 2018 - Update

I’m finally blogging again! After a much needed break from art and life, I’ve been working on my mental health over the past few months. Being an artist is a gruelling practice, you have to go through constant rejection and heaps of doubt. People are always telling you that you aren’t going to succeed and there are moments when you believe them. It can be difficult to stay motivated, but in the end it’s worth it. I can say with every cell in my body that I am an artist and I will always be passionate about making art and sharing it with others. This passion is what keeps me going and when I listen to my heart I know I’m doing what I should be.

It’s a bit delayed, but please read the rest of my blog for an overview of what I had been working on earlier this summer and what I’m up to right now!

  • Neither Here Nor There

  • Diane Arbus 

  • Paint by Numbers

  • Glitch Series 03

  • Upcoming Art Market: Maker Market, Friday, October 26th, 5:00pm - 10:00pm

  • Upcoming Solo Exhibition: Art on Demand 4.4, The Reach Gallery, Abbotsford, Nov. 15 - Jan. 6

Neither Here Nor There

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Glitch Series 01 was part of a group exhibition, July 7-20, Neither Here Nor There, at South Main Gallery, Vancouver, BC. I'm so happy to have been a part of the exhibition, showing with several other emerging artists in Vancouver. See below for photos from the opening reception and documentation of the whole exhibition. 

Diane Arbus

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I've finally finished my Diane Arbus portrait and I've decided to take a bit of a break on my Women Artist Portraits for the moment. I'm trying to figure out the direction I want to take the series before I continue any further.

Paint By Numbers Series

Still continuing to work on more Paint by Numbers quilted paintings, but I've been starting to think of how I'm going to frame this series. I'm also thinking I might start another set of larger paintings! 

Glitch Series 03 

After showing Glitch Series 01 and getting lots of positive feedback on the work, it's inspired me to keep working on more pieces like this. I finished a mini set of cross-stitched glitch images titled Glitch Series 02 and now I've begun another Glitch Series 03 that will be larger than Series 01 and 02. See photos below for the first complete piece from Glitch Series 03. 

Maker Market

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Some awesome news! I’ll be selling my art at the Maker Market, at the Ellis Building (1024 Main Street, close to Science World), on Friday, October 26, 5-10pm. Now is the time to start thinking ahead of the game and find something unique for your holiday gifts! Also it’s a chance to see me with my art, my true passion.

Art on Demand 4.4

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Even more exciting news! Art Demand 4.4 is an upcoming solo exhibition at The Reach Gallery, in Abbotsford, BC, November 15 - January 6, 2018. I will be showing Glitch Series 01, When I Cross Stitch I Feel Like a Machine, as well The Machine: Knitting Ouroboros, which will include the video and installation. The challenge with the “Ouroboros” installation has been trying to figure out a way to mount the piece onto the gallery wall. Through trial, error, and many discussions with my peers and the curator, I’m still working on a solution. All in all, I know we’ll come up with a way to show the piece even if we have to change the format slightly.

July 2018 - Update

  • Upcoming Show: Neither Here Nor There

  • White Rock Youth Mural Complete!

  • Paint by Number Series - Progress and more videos

  • Diane Arbus - Almost done

Neither Here Nor There

So excited for this upcoming exhibition which features an all female roster of artists! The artists showing include the following: Madison Tyrell, Sara Khan, Marzieh Mosavarzadeh, and myself.  I'll be showing work from Glitch Series 01, as well as potentially a few other works. The opening is next Saturday, July 7th at 3pm. But don't worry if you aren't able to make it that day, the show runs until July 20th. Plenty of time to go check it out! The South Main Gallery is located in Vancouver at Main Street and 6th East Ave. 

White Rock Youth Mural

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Great news! I'm happy to share with you the finished photos of the White Rock Youth Mural. It was a long process to get this thing completed, but it's finally done. This residential area between Finlay and Victoria street just got a little brighter. Take a gander when you're visiting White Rock Beach this summer and be sure to see it in person.

Paint by Numbers Series

Still trucking away on my Paint by Numbers Series of quilted paintings. I even made one while I was camping last weekend! It's a bit of a tedious process, but I'm starting to slowly see this body of work come together. The next step will be to start framing them! I'll continue posting videos where I will reveal the squares for each painting, if you haven't watched any check out the videos below for a peak behind the scenes of the selection process.

Watch me choose the next set of squares for Pattern #3, which is part of the "Paint by Numbers Series". The series of quilted paintings, further explore ideas from my thesis "I Come From a Long Line of Machines".
Watch me choose the next set of squares for Pattern #4, which is part of the "Paint by Numbers Series". The series of quilted paintings, further explore ideas from my thesis "I Come From a Long Line of Machines".
Watch me choose the next set of squares for Pattern #5, which is part of the "Paint by Numbers Series". The series of quilted paintings, further explore ideas from my thesis "I Come From a Long Line of Machines".

Diane Arbus

Stayed tuned for final photos of my cross-stitched Diane Arbus portrait, it should be completed by the next month's blog update!

In the meantime, here's a close up photo to show some of the detail in her face. 

May 2018 - Update

RAW: Vancouver

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Thanks to everyone who showed up to support me at the RAW: Vancouver showcase back in April. For those of you who couldn't make it, don't worry there's always next time! The event was a success and I definitely learned some valuable business skills while preparing for the show, setting up, tearing down, and of course throughout the night while interacting with lovers of art and newbies alike! I love hearing everyone's opinions and reactions to my work. It is especially interesting getting feedback and unique perspectives outside of an academic setting (this is still fairly new for me). Please check out a selection of photos from the event below, taken by the official photographers, Mike Chen Photography and Evan Chen Photography.

Paint by Numbers Series

Watch me choose the next set of squares for Pattern #2, which is part of the "Paint by Numbers Series". The series of quilted paintings, further explore ideas from my thesis "I Come From a Long Line of Machines".

Settling In to My Vancouver Apartment/Studio

A week or so ago, I finally hunkered down and spent a day hanging my art onto my walls. My apartment now feels like a mini gallery of my work and it feels a lot more like home. It's also starting to feel more like a studio and a space where I can be inspired to continue to create on a constant basis. Instead of looking at blank walls, I look up and I can see a timeline of my art over the past several years. This inspires me to keep going and to assess where do I go from here? What do I want to make now? 

There are days when I'm not sure what project to work on and sometimes I question why I'm spending every spare moment of my time on art. But when I look around my space and remember how far I've come and how hard I've worked on my art, it pushes me to keep on moving forward. I've been reading "In the Company of Women" by Grace Bonney and it's reminding that being a creative individual is hard work, and it takes time, patience, and perseverance. These are things I struggle to often remember, but I'm doing my best to be present in the moment and enjoy the journey. I have to keep reminding myself that every artist starts somewhere and I'm just at the cusp of being an emerging artist. Patience doesn't always come easily to me, but it's something I'm working on. Like a muscle, I know it'll get stronger with more exercise. 

Horror Vacui - Exhibition Documentation

Earlier this year I was in a group exhibition at Deer Lake Gallery, in Burnaby, called "Horror Vacui". The show included myself, as well as two fellow UFV BFA grads, Kendra Schellenberg, and Julie Epp.

For those of you who were unable to make it out to see the exhibition in person, here are some documentation photos of the exhibition. 

Fall Exhibitions!

I'm excited to share that I will have two exhibitions coming up this Fall! The first is a group show with some fellow classmates, Julie Epp and Kendra Schellenberg, we all received our BFA degrees from UFV. The exhibition is titled, Horror Vacui, which simply means the fear of empty space. As you can imagine all the works in the show are extremely detailed and obsessive in nature. The show will include works created individually, as well as a collaborative mural we will be painting/drawing directly onto the gallery wall. Read more to learn about each of our inspirations for the show, as well as the exhibition statement. 

Horror Vacui

Horror Vacui is the fear of empty space and the filling of emptiness with details in a work of art. This visual art expression is an important source of inspiration for artists Mallory Donen, Julie Epp, and Kendra Schellenberg. Each artist struggles with issues of fear, joy, and acceptance throughout their creative process. Donen’s practice is driven by the conflict between order and chaos, and explores the infinite nature of digital imagery. On the other hand, Epp’s process is a battle with fear, inner thoughts, and a search for calm in the mundane creative process. Lastly, Schellenberg uses the overwhelming visual aesthetic of horror vacui to engage in conversations about gender, beauty standards, and acceptance. Everyone struggles with inner conflict; Horror Vacui visualizes the mental chaos of life. Art allows us to engage in moments of deep consideration and at times can be a gateway into a numbing calm, empty of worries or thoughts. 

Mallory Donen

My process fluctuates between spontaneity and my obsessive need for control. I find comfort in keeping things in order, but at the same time when things become too controlled there is little room for growth and change. That is why I am always pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and intentionally creating moments of disruption. This struggle between chaos and order is the driving force of my art practice. I am constantly introducing ways of relinquishing control throughout the artistic process. But I inevitably end up back where I started, in an ordered, restrained system of creation. My work explores notions of obsession, control, chaos, infinity, and absorption. Inspired by the theme of horror vacui, my art reflects on the infinite calming chaos of digital imagery.

Julie Epp

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In an age where lives are lived through online experiences, my brain has become over stimulated. Multitasking, my old friend, is an enemy of productivity; I must embrace the mundanity of focus. My artwork is likely the only consistent focus I’ve had. My mandalas sit inches from my eyes while I draw, and though I am focused, my brain is crashing, burning, bursting with thoughts. It might seem like a good opportunity to be thinking; a chance to be inspired. But the thoughts hang dramatically over me like a creature ready to crush. They are ideas and aspirations but they are also pressure and panic. My work is a chance for me to focus my energy, and it takes a lot of work to get into a headspace where something good comes out of it.

            My mandalas are a product of years of disrupted focus, followed by relief. The sculptures are the opposite: they are a product of intense concentration followed purely by thirst and hunger. To me, horror vacui is about the fear of allowing empty space to be filled by anything but artistic joy.

Kendra Schellenberg

I have always been drawn to work that contains a lot of detail. When I am creating my own work, there’s always a part of me that needs to prove that my art is worthy of attention, and my solution to this is often to fill it with detail—as if this somehow proves that I care about my work, that it is something of value—because I’ve spent a lot of time on it. At the same time, my art practice is an extension of my feminism, and is a way for me to engage with issues that trouble me. I saw an opportunity to use the overwhelming nature of horror vacui as a means of conveying the overwhelming feeling of needing to conform to gender roles and beauty standards. By incorporating imagery I’ve tapped into in previous work, I hope to dig further into representing the affect of the socially-constructed gender binary that is so prevalent in the media we consume.

The second exhibition is a solo exhibition, which will feature my new work titled Glitch Series 01. The show will also include a select few works from my MFA Thesis Exhibition. During the opening reception of the exhibition, on Friday, October 27th, I will also be giving an artist talk discussing ideas from my thesis and how it influenced the creation of this new body of work being showcased in the solo exhibition. The talk will also include a slideshow of images that give an even more in-depth look into my process and my hard drive of digital files. 

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day everyone! What an amazing country we live in. I can't think of a better place to live. Living in such a beautiful country and province, it's not very surprising that I love nature. I've been doing lots of biking since I've been home in BC for the summer. I try to take my sketchbook with me every chance I can so that I can sketch things while I'm taking a break on longer bike rides. Last week I biked 26km from Crescent Beach to White Rock Beach and back home. Here are a couple of sketches from the journey. 

 

I also started to do some more watercolour which I'm very excited about, since I only really started to get into watercolour last year. I recently did a series of watercolour paintings of leaves that are based off of images found in a book I bought from Black Bond Books in South Surrey. After I painted them, I added fine line details with a black pen. 

This series of leaf paintings are going to be used as source images for a new digital artwork I will be creating as part of my MFA studio work. I also have two other projects I will be creating during the summer for my MFA including one based off of the human body and one based off of sea creatures/sea-life. Stay tuned to see more of my MFA summer projects!