Visit From an Old Friend

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!

I didn't even realize until later that I could buy copper sheets that were already shiny and flat.  I had forgotten that I was making masks from "junk" all those years ago. Thanks Heather!

Heather Boyd is a multi-talented artist who has been making fantastic wire jewelry for years and is fast becoming a you-tube sensation with her instructional arts and craft videos.  Check it out!

“Where the wire is.”
On-line shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/heatherboyd
Website: http://heatherboyd.org/
Blog: http://heatherboydwire.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Heather-Boyd-Jewelry/169083695448
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/heatherboydwire
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/HeatherBoydWire/videos
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/heatherboydwire/

The Art of Junk, in the Ottawa Citizen, June 18, 2012

Photo by Chris Cobb of the Ottawa Citizen

Peter Simpson did a review on my show  at Zen Kichen for the Ottawa Citizen (thanks Peter!), which first appeared online on his blog Big Beat, and the following week in the print edition of the paper. Note that the show will run until the end of August.







Also reviewed in the article are two other artists you must check out : the always interesting  Marc Adornato, with 3 simultaneous shows at Shanghai Restaurant , the Daily Grind, and the Hintonburg Public House; and John Sekerka with a collection of playable art guitars at Gigspace.





 The print edition appeared June 18, 2012, with different  pictures.  You can view it here at PressDisplay.com

Virtual Mini-Tour on Google Street View Interiors

Zen Kitchen is now on Google Street View Interiors and as a happy coincidence the Google camera people came just after my show was mounted. Now you can take a virtual walk on Street View and walk right into the restaurant to see Tribal Masks of Urban Culture.










 If you click on the little man icon in the corner of the picture on the google maps page, you can "look inside" the restaurant, pan 360 degrees and zoom in on some of the artwork.

Of Course a Google visit is no substitute  for the real thing, so if you want to get a really good look at the artwork and more than a virtual taste of the fine cuisine you'll have to drop by Zen Kitchen!!!

It's Not Over!!! Chinatown Remixed 2012

(photo by Dave Loan)

In case you thought you'd missed it, Chinatown Remixed runs until June 12, so there's still time to wander over to Somerset West and check out local artists hosted by this neighbourhood's interesting and diverse businesses.

I set up my show on the Friday before opening day at Zen Kitchen.  The vernissage went splendidly, with a steady stream of friends, acquaintances and other curious folk passing through.



Thanks to all who came for your kind words and comments and of course a special thanks to those who added  my work to their own art collections! A huge shout-out as well to all the organizers and volunteers who made this unique event happen.  My only regret was that I was too busy to take in the festivities going on outside along Somerset street!

A hearty thanks to the staff and proprietors Dave Loan and Caroline Ishii for making me feel so welcome at Zen Kitchen and creating such an inviting atmosphere.  Caroline kept platters filled with chipotle hummus and poppadums and gluten free bread for dipping, not to mention pieces of delectable chocolate cake!(see menu).  Understandably, many visitors lingered! Check out Caroline Ishii's on CBC's All in a Day where she serves up a fiddlehead recipe and plugs my show at the restaurant :-)

While Chinatown Remixed will be coming to a close June 12, my exhibit will be held at Zen Kitchen until August 31, so please stop by and see my work and while you're at it, check out what this fabulous restaurant has to offer. (see Restaurant reviews).

Timothy Hunt @ Zen Kitchen for Chinatown Remixed 2012

Tribal Masks of Urban Culture

New work by Timothy Hunt
Saturday May 12, 2012 (continuing until August 31)
At Zen Kitchen,(Stop # 32 on the tour)
634 Somerset Street West
Vernissage: 2 pm to 5 pm
As part of the Chinatown Remixed street celebration

Chinatown on Main St -- Chinatown Remixed 2012

I went a-posterin' in my neighborhood on the weekend.  Here's a taste of Chinatown Remixed around Main Street and the Canal.  It's always bustling around here; Spring is in the air, Market season has begun, bike races, Tulip Festival...

and then a quiet moment on the Pretoria Bridge on Saturday night gazing at the Super moon.
 

Riveting! -- Chinatown Remixed 2012

 My friend Randy Cartwright introduced me to the pop-rivet gun back in Sudbury, when we were working on a friend's rusted out Camaro.  He could fix or make anything and won all possible awards in Shop class from grade 7, right through high school. 

   The hand riveter I use now, I bought at the old Pascal Hardware in Montreal for seven bucks.  In our street-vending days on
Ste. Catherine st., I used it to rivet pieces of hardware to leather bracelets, and it has been useful for making and repairing all sorts of things since.

  It has been especially handy for making masks, like the ones I'll be showing at Zen Kitchen for Chinatown Remixed. A true craftsman like Randy would find a way to hide the rivets, but I like the way they look.  Like my old math teacher used to say..."show  your work!"

Hope to see you all on Somerset St. this Saturday!!!

Where do you find this Stuff?--Chinatown Remixed 2012

One question I am asked most often by those viewing my artwork is, "Where do you get this stuff?"
The odd bits of junk I use to make collage, sculpture, and the masks for my upcoming show at Zen Kitchen for Chinatown Remixed, are culled from here, there and everywhere.

I have a large collection of scrap metal pieces that have fallen off cars that I pick up off the road and throw in the milk crate on the back of my bike on my rides home from work in the wee hours.  Most of these have been sculpted by rust and salt and flattened by traffic.

I am also a collector of bikes and a lot of bike parts make it into my work.  This bike was rescued from the canal--Check out the zebra mussels that have attached themselves to the bell.
















Friends an neighbours who see me at work offer me things from their garages and basements and trunks of cars.


Don't kid yourself, Ottawa is not all tulips and Parliament buildings.  We have our share of nitty gritty vacant lots, dead ends and it is sad and surprising how many things show up in and along the banks of the Rideau River where I canoe with my sons.

We throw out a lot of good things, some of them admittedly obsolete.  When I find beauty and mystery in something useless, rusty, and broken, I take it home and try to make something out of it.

Junk Sketch, May 2012

Chinatown Remixed 2012- Sorting things out

With Chinatown Remixed coming up, I have been hunting and gathering and sorting through my materials for my show at Zen Kitchen, May 12.
I am working on a series of tribal masks for urban culture and in order to get the creative juices flowing , I need a critical mass of objects to draw from.
Once I have the items sorted into somewhat recognizable categories I can begin to lay things out and start to piece them together.The masks change a lot during this process; objects gravitate to one another, grouping together by size, colour, shape and texture. Once a piece feels "right", it is time to drill, screw, rivet, solder and wire things together.

Chinatown Remixed 2012

I'm very pleased to have been selected to participate in this year's Chinatown Remixed. I have been paired up with the award winning Zen Kitchen, home restaurant of Dave and Caroline of The Restaurant Adventures of Dave and Caroline which aired on the W network. My work will be on exhibit for 3 months starting on May 12th for the opening of the festival. Here is Wei Zheng's poster for the event featured on the festival's new website at chinatownremixed.ca


Here is a map of the venues and participating aritists, and please check out the website for a full list of festival events and information on becoming a volunteer.

Junk Mail Post Card #2

Mr Lee's epic search for a pen continues (4"X6" postcard)

Junk Mail Postcard #1, 2012--Happy New Year!!!

One of my resolutions for the new year is to send more snail mail. I make this resolution every year with limited results, so this year I've decided to send out handmade postcards (4"X6") made from recycled bits destined for the black box and post each one here as a record. This first one came out as an abbreviated passport application for Captain Highliner.

Email is an amazing thing, to be sure, but it means that all that comes in the tin mailbox anymore is bills and junk mail. There's nothing like getting a bit of personal mail, so I'll be cleaning up my mailing list and sending these out. Happy New Year and write soon!

White Christmas

Last week we wondered if we would have enough snow for Christmas. Things were looking pretty green outside the King of the Christmas Trees, beside the "closed for the season" Dairy Queen on Merivale.


But, Friday morning we had just enough snow to cover the ground and it was cold enough today to ensure that it won't melt before Christmas. Still, not so much snow that a last minute Christmas Eve snack run could not be made by bike.

Merry Christmas to all!

Festive Cookies!

I was asked if I would make a cookie cutter in the shape of "Dovercat", mascot for Dovercourt Rec. Centre, and having never made a cookie cutter before, took up the challenge. (Thanks M.B.)
I had a week, and after 98 % procrastination and 2% work, I cut up a coffee can and put the strips together, and...voila!
My work here is done. I wonder how the cookies will turn out?

M.B. found a great gingerbread recipe and the 75 odd cookies held up well.
Volunteers made eyeballs, and Claude made a big vat-o-blue icing!


At the Annual Spaghetti dinner to raise funds for the Ottawa Mission, kids decorated their own cookies...

With fantastic results!!! You can never have too many sprinkles, can you?

Dovercat, him(her?)self showed up and while the big blue creature does not speak, he was clearly impressed.

Occupy: the show continues

Occupy continues at Cyclelogik , 1111A Wellington St. Opening night was packed to the rafters and I was pleased to sell one of my pieces. My "Longhorn" sculpture is hanging in the window (thanks Andrea!). I snapped this picture on my way home from work in the wee hours. The show continues until the end of the month, so drop by for a coffee and check out some local art over the holidays.

Cyclelogik's 4th Annual Holiday Show - "OCCUPY"

This will be my second time participating in this well attended event which merges two of my passions: art and bicycles. Any bike shop that serves up coffee and art deserves a lingering visit. It opens at Cyclelogik in Hintonburg tonight, and runs all month.

Friday, December 9th, 2011
8 pm

Andrea Stokes and Cyclelogik are proud to present the 4th annual Holiday Art Show, "OCCUPY".

Over 40 local, emerging, and established artists will occupy the walls of Cyclelogik for the month of December, beginning with a fabulous opening on December 9th.

1111A Wellington Street, (613) 722-2345

This highly anticipated annual event features food by Essence Catering, ale from Kichesippi, music by DJ Greg.

SKETCH 2011, Friday November 25, 8 pm -2 pm

Come on out to SKETCH, the annual fundraiser for Galerie Saw Gallery. I will be among 150 artists who have contributed affordable works (starting at $10), with all proceeds going to this artist-run centre. Admission is $5. Hope to see you there!

Urban Masks at The Linda Street Gallery--Dovercourt Community Ctr.

At the Linda Street Gallery, in the lobby of Dovercourt Community Centre, 411 Dovercourt Ave., until Oct. 23, 2011.

Artist's Statement

Alright, I collect junk. Let's just get that out of the way For over 20 years I have been making art from "found objects", not to reduce my carbon footprint ( a happy byproduct), but because these are the things that inspire me. Rusty nails, bicycle parts, things that fall off cars and all manner of unidentified corroded objects make their way into my carefully selected inventory of art supplies. I'm never sure how I'll use these items when I find them, but each one has a sense of history an purpose that I can't pass up. This series of masks is a continuation of a series that was selected for the Lumiere Festival this past summer. I see them as tribal masks of our urban culture.

Rin Tin Tin

Goalie

Longhorn

Bad Idea

Babar


Erik The Red

Artist's Statement

Alright, I collect junk. Let's just get that out of the way For over 20 years I have been making art from "found objects", not to reduce my carbon footprint ( a happy byproduct), but because these are the things that inspire me. Rusty nails, bicycle parts, things that fall off cars and all manner of unidentified corroded objects make their way into my carefully selected inventory of art supplies. I'm never sure how I'll use these items when I find them, but each one has a sense of history an purpose that I can't pass up. This series of masks is a continuation of a series that was selected for the Lumiere Festival this past summer. I see them as tribal masks of our urban culture.