The End Is Near(ish)
Slowly but surely the studio is looking less like a contractor’s workshop/storage locker and more like, well, a studio.
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Monthly Muse
Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight
The title for this week’s post comes from a Japanese proverb.
I’m trying to keep this phrase at the forefront of my mind as the rejection letters start to roll in from the dozen proposals sent out earlier this year.
Some days a rejection letter is as inconsequential to me as a piece of junk mail. I can read it, shrug without attachment, and file it in a manila folder. Other days it is a fist exploding into my chest, grabbing my heart like a sponge and squeezing it dry. As in other aspects of life, perspective is everything.
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Moving Right Along
As someone whose artwork is all about repetitive process I’m surprised at my attitude towards tiling.
Could be it’s the physical discomfort of crawling around on your hands and knees for hours at a time, or maybe it’s impatience at wanting to get on with other reno projects that fuels my dislike (my suspicion is that it’s a combination of the two).
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Occupation
Andrew and I are machete-ing our way through the deep, dark recesses of the reno jungle. I don’t think it could be any more chaotic in the studio – and everywhere else in our unit for that matter!
It’s to be expected. We’re working two different projects concurrently, so things are a little hairy.
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Without Deviation…
…progress is not possible. [Frank Zappa]
Ahhh, progress. It’s happening.
Maybe slower than I’d like, but still, moving forward all the same (and with some healthy deviation).
Thought you might like to share in the smug feeling of accomplishment. 😉
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WDS 2013: Survived, Thrived, Inspired & Alive
Another wild, wonderful, whirlwind World Domination Summit is over and I find myself wading through the requisite overwhelm. The term ‘shell shocked’ comes to mind.
I’m no newbie (alumni WDS2012), so I expected this dazed and confused post summit denouement.
Though not feeling capable of stringing together elegant paragraphs quite yet, I wanted to gather up and share the sparks before they fade away.
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Lucky Little Monkey
Whew! What a week and a bit. I wanted to get a progress post up and published by Wednesday, but I actually have a legitimate excuse: I’ve been busy uploading images of artwork into my new almost-ready-so-close-I-can-not-only-smell-but-taste-it website.
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Construction Production
Summer is almost here. Like everyone else I’m hankering to be on holiday – to take a break from the routine.
But this doesn’t mean I won’t be working. Over the next month or two I’ll be taking a break from working IN the studio in order to work ON the studio.
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Baby’s (Nearly) New Dress
Why the screen shot of my website? Well…soon it will cease to exist.
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Mid Week Studio Peek
I’ve been so excited lately as I make progress on the bats that I’m procrastinating on other aspects of my practice, just so I can spend a few more hours a day creating.
Detail of a couple hundred faces on my work table.
Bon Anniversaire a Moi
I’m coming up on my one-year anniversary of working solely as a self-employed artist.
Friday June 1st, 2012 marked my last day of work for the Burnaby Art Gallery. Those who read my blog regularly may remember that I quit because I had a busy summer and fall lined up, preparing for 3 shows, 2 talks, and 1 workshop. Since the New Year I’ve been mulling over the various ideas I might try in my quest to avoid returning to a conventional job. How can I make a living solely off of my creative skills?
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Sort Of Quarterly Report
I’d meant to do a first quarter report – an update of how work has been going in the studio. Somehow March ended and April slipped silently by. Now we’re half into May…
Think of this, then, as the rather early second quarter report…
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California Dreamin’
The DOXA festival is on this week in Vancouver and as docu-philes Andrew and I couldn’t be happier.
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Vegas Nerve
On Tuesday Andrew and I arrived home from a weekend trip to Las Vegas.
It was my first time in Vegas and I’ve spent the week upon return mulling over my experience, trying to conclude how I feel about it. Best I can do is to admit that I’m conflicted.
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Regarding Gerhard
When I’m having a particularly uninspired day I’ll sometimes watch an art documentary or program.
I have a few that are on my repeat viewing list: Rivers and Tides (Andy Goldsworthy), How To Draw a Bunny (Ray Johnson), Simon Schama’s Power of Art and PBS’s Art:21 series.
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Flip-tenstein
Please excuse the short e-bsence. Andrew and I have been in the UK.
It was our first trip to London, and I hope to figure out how we can return and temporarily live in the small community we stayed in: Belsize Park.
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Getting By (With A Little Help)
From the time I was a little girl I’ve hated asking for help.
Homework, special projects, hobbies; as long as I had the materials and tools I tried to figure it out for myself.
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Skype Studio
My good friend/fellow artist Tzaddi Gordon and I have known each other for 20 years. We met at Emily Carr back in the day when it was still referred to as a “college”. Straight from Emily we partnered with other students to start Dynamo Arts Association. Between Dynamo and Emily, Tzaddi and I have banked over 7 years of shared studio space.
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The Importance Of Being Constant
I had an epiphany this morning while I was watering my overdue-for-a-drink plants. Bear with me while I set the stage.
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Rhyme Time
It’s that time of year again. Time for the CBC Canada Writes Poetry Prize.
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The More, The Merrier (Maybe)
It’s been over 12 years since I left the large, communal, non-profit artist run center studios and gallery that I helped found in 1996: Dynamo Arts Association.
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Absence Makes The Heart Grow…Bigger?
Our 30-day No Video Challenge ended this past Thursday, February 14th.
And what better way to celebrate than to go to Costco, buy a couple of $1.50 hotdogs for Valentine’s Day dinner, and purchase an even bigger TV.
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Inspiration Is For Amateurs
I’m working at being more present on social media with the goal of connecting with other artists and creatives. I try to browse through posts and Tweets on a daily basis, and add or respond to at least one comment a day. It’s not a significant contribution, but it’s a start.
Last week one of my Followee’s Tweeted this quote by artist Chuck Close (if it was you, please let me know and I can give you credit!),
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Free Falling
When you work for yourself, there’s always the potential that you might complete your current project or contract and have nothing new on the horizon.
I associate this with free falling.
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Less Is More
Pretty much any veteran of blogging will caution neophyte bloggers against burning themselves out by trying to keep to an unrealistic schedule.
I’m no stranger to bl-urnout, I’ve fallen victim several times in the past five years I’ve been blogging. The last time I quit posting regularly it was because I was discouraged by my low reader base.
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