Join Me at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Booth #A128

57th Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition

July 6 - 8, 2018 - Nathan Phillips Square - FREE - Rain or Shine!

The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition is open to the public and free of charge.  Artists will be available at their booth spaces for you to see, experience, and purchase their original artworks during the following hours. Our Cascading Beer Garden by Henderson Brewing Co. is open throughout the day for food, beer and refreshments!

Friday July 6  10:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Saturday July 7 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Sunday July 8  10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

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Recent Work images

For the past couple of weeks I have been preparing the photographs I took of my recent work. I'm learning more and more about Photoshop Elements, the photo software I use. It may be Photoshop light, but it has lots to offer and I am enjoying exploring this digital darkroom.

Check out the RECENT WORK page to see the images of my new work, just posted.

Springing into Action!

Now that spring is here and the weather is warm enough to work outside, I have started sanding and drilling wood bases for some new works, in preparation for EVERLOCAL in June and the Studio Tour in September. This year all the sawing, and some of the heavy sanding, has been done at the Danforth wood workshop of the Toronto Tool Library, a fantastic organization. I have to make tough decisions now about how to divide my time between art making and gardening at Everdale. The HomeAlive! garden needs a lot of work too!!

Wood working tools

I like working with wood....a nice antidote to the plastic and metal found in deconstructed devices. I do have some of my own tools, but I have found 2 places where I can make wooden discs for new works, frames, etc with more sophisticated tools, and guidance. I will be checking them out this next week: Site3 CoLaboratory and The Tool Library in Toronto. Both have a set of tools that can be accessed by members or guests....cooperative ventures, so smart!

Hills of Erin Studio Tour a success

I had no idea what to expect as this was the first time I have been part of a studio tour. I was crazy busy getting ready for it, but now I have slowed down and am enjoying the beautiful fall. One of the reasons I signed up was to give myself a kick in the butt to get back to my artwork after a couple of years hiatus...it worked. Met some wonderful people-fellow artists, visitors; got good feedback, and also tips on where to get more materials.

I am now thinking about next steps, but have decided that my artwork will be a main focus in my life over this next year. I have started collecting stuff; someone even returned on the second weekend of the studio tour with a box full of electronic junk for me.

Thanks to Wally and my wonderful friends who helped out. You made a big difference; the event would not have been the same without you!!

Deconstruction

Not sure why, but I really enjoy taking things apart...computers, cellphones, other electronic devices, watches, etc. There is something very satisfying for me in opening up a casing and discovering the treasures within.

The amount of human energy and ingenuity required to produce all the little bits for a video camera, for example, is incredible. I imagine engineers and designers figuring out the designs for these products; then many workers, probably mostly in sweatshop factories in Asia, assembling these devices. What if a fraction of that human capital was put to solving some of the nasty problems of our planet? What a crazy world we live in.....but in the meantime I am enjoying using the detritus of our system.

Stuff

I am still reacquainting myself with the stuff I have for making art. Bins, boxes, bags of stuff squirreled away :)  I have a lot given the relatively small spaces that I work in. My fabric palette is fantastic and I think I have enough for years. I am definitely not allowing myself to go to the Textile Museum Volunteer Committee's fabric sales this year.

I have been working mostly with motherboards so far. I have plenty of them too and lots of various types of cables. Fun