December 1st? How did that happen? What better way to usher in the final month of the year, than with blistering cold and a trip to the
Habitat for Humanity ReStore?
Drop off donations for Habitat for Humanity, buy a storm door, drink some coffee and talk to a local artist!
At today's art event, dubbed
Refab I (artists showing work with reclaimed materials in a recycling environment) , I was joined by two fabulous interdisciplinary art-friends,
Annette Hegel, and
Nancy Green. I was privileged to spend the day exchanging stories and ideas with these engaging and inspirational folk.
Annette Hegel, a local and international art activist who has done everything (no, really!) , brought intriguing pieces combining miniature figures with reclaimed objects to create arresting environments that challenge ones sense of scale while drawing in political themes.
In
Watching the fireworks, tiny white figures sit watching Gaza burning from their perch on a chunk of rusted steel.
Nancy Green, whose show,
Variable Change at
Zen Kitchen runs until the end of December, is exceedingly resourceful at combining found objects in smart compositions and shows remarkable facility with paint, ceramics and metal while maintaining an art of delicacy.
The work Nancy brought to the show included paintings on off cuts of plastered doors, glassed in drawers with birds nests and framed antique bottles with subtle text punched into copper strapping.
I brought a selection of current junk masks, and debuted my 2013 photo calendar.
Thanks to Myrna and the Gang at the
ReStore for their hospitality and remember, you can now bring your e-waste to either NCR location anytime. Look out for
Refab II, coming in the new year!
A big thanks to Annette Hegel for her generosity in allowing me to use space in her studio for the past few months. I tend to do most of my work outside during the friendlier seasons, so the warmth of an indoor workspace was comfort indeed!.
The masks were right at home alongside the building materials, fittings, hardware supplies and other miscellaneous items that can be found at the ReStore.
Earlier this month I had an email from Heather Boyd, an old friend and fellow street-vendor of Karen's and mine from Montreal days. Heather had lunch and visited my show at Zen Kitchen with her daughter. She made this photo-collage of two masks in the show and wore this mask earring on a necklace (bottom left) that I made in 1989! I used to cut up old copper plumbing pipes, heat them with a torch, flatten them out and pound designs into them. The first ones I made were pretty heavy, which probably explains why it is now on a necklace!
