Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house...
...a creature was stirring but it wasn't a mouse
An Alternative to Disney
During the Christmas season we are posting earlier videos for you to enjoy. This is the first of six.
If you have time over the holidays and would like to entertain yourself with more videos just click the link here.
The evolution and fine tuning of a space
...so it can be received and enjoyed by our visitors.
Where World Maintenence is an Ongoing Concern
...the title of the painting by E.J.Gold that we hung today amidst the plants in the library.
Street Life
Please click on our side menu to visit arcturus books.
Looks Like a Pocket Dial
We never moved off our stools today
Tempestuous Melody
Collage by Eron Boyd using a copy of the painting by Edward Burne Jones
Between the Covers
We have copies of this book available for viewing and or purchase
at the gallery for our discounted price of $55.00each.
Somewhere not too far from here
It is easy to forget that we live on a lake with a sky above.
Photo by Barbara Kellam on her morning walk
Creating a Reading Room
Now that we are taking on the making of books
we are creating spaces within the gallery where
the books can be enjoyed, spaces where the one
reading does not feel too exposed at the same
time they feel part of something bigger.
We didn't want to do it but we had fun
Today we took down the old and hung
up the new in the collage gallery.
There is always resistance to take down
something that you love but once started it is very great to rebuild the space.
We Can Finally See the Light!
5:45pm we just uploaded the book for publishing.
No computer screens for the whole weekend!
The Second of Three
This is the second book that we are publishing about Floyd.
It should be ready to send out to publisher tomorrow and
we may see the hardcover by next week. Soon as we have the link for the finished book we will post it here.
The third one will follow.
MoVing BaCkwaRds THrough TiMe
Today both Sae and I were very focused trying to recreate the happenings of the gallery through 2019 til the end of 2020.
Sae collecting images and I recording the dates and actual unfolding of exhibits. It is a strangely disorienting task
to go back in time but we seem to have survived. We agreed that this image conveys a sense of the experience.
Visiting Picasso
The Blue Period meets the Rose Period
"Who Are You?"
The question goes both ways.
It sounds so simple but finding the answer is not.
They call it mellow yellow..that's right
"I'm just mad about saffron, mmmmmm"
Six Feet Under
... but still standing
(click on images to see them larger)
Artists Together
This week we finished the book that we have
dedicated to Floyd Kuptana, our friend and
fellow artist who inspired and worked with us
on the drawings shown on these pages.
We invite you to click on the link and enjoy.
https://www.blurb.ca/books/10873186-artists-together
The book will be available in hardcover, (at a discount), from the Gallery within the next month.
Places we are no longer allowed to visit
Collages by Eron Boyd
Keep Dancing
This is dedicated to Mark and Barbara
Sending out the surprise packets
...for the online collage workshop
A Mysterious Meeting
One and the Other
when meeting become transformed
neither obscured nor diminished
but subtly and inexplicably enhanced.
Our Book Making Muse
The studio organized and prepared
for book making.
The beginning of a new year
and a new project.
September Morning
Exaltation
Consider What is Happening
Actions motivated by fear
never end well
Variations on the 'Cellist' by Chagall
These collages were done by the participants of the Series #9 online collage workshop. Visit our website to see more.
The Architecture of Thought
The architecture of thought is a mysterious space
The architecture of thought has a noble character
The architecture of thought intersects the past and future
Death as our Advisor
Being aware of death,
our own and of everything that lives,
can frighten or enable us
to focus on what is possible now.
Shaped by the Wind
soft clay on the potters wheel.
fingers of wind curled around a frozen breath.
floating weightless above the trees.
Less Information More Observation
Removing most of the colour changes the way that we see, what we see. Shapes, patterns and textures stand out in a way that is often disguised when we are overwhelmed with colour.
Celery Juice
We all had a sip
celebrating being together again.
(that's because deborah is back)
My Muffins Are Back
Do you know the muffin man,
the muffin man, the muffin man.
Do you know the muffin man that lives down Drury Lane.
Meeting Again
6 steps apart
looking up
looking down
We have lift off!
Preparing for departure.
Healing Hands
These were done simultaneously today from a distance.
Exercising Strength
Strength should not be confused with aggression.
Strength does not need to assert or defend itself nor does it desire to be offensive.
It allows us to be contained and to observe without reacting.
Language of Objects / Objective Language
The ladder speaks vertically.
It allows us to climb up towards the sky.
The bike travels horizontally.
It propels us along the earth.
We know this without words.
Everything in nature is authentic without our saying so
Drawings by David Sapp, Mansfield, Art Centre
It seems to me that 'authentic' is a presumptuous claimfor any of us humans to make about anything that we 'do'.
It is true to say that artists are 'touching the surface'.It is what artists do. They choose a medium, paint, graphite, clay, glass, metal,and they manipulate it, usually with their hands, in order to discover something.
Perhaps they do not know what they are looking for and maybethey do not find out but it is a worthy pursuit to inquire intothe honest motive and completed gesture of the work.
Touching the surface is a courageous act, making a visible mark which can be witnessed and judged, seen and experienced by othersbut mostly in the hope that it can penetrate to something deeper.
Untimely Meetings
Tonie Norman is one of the participants of online collage workshop.
For some reason these works were not posted online
so we are happy to show them now.
TGIF
A meeting up of the clan ( a little awkwardly by phone)
Bed Frames and Windows
Collage by deborah harris
photos by Sae Kimura
Same day 200 miles apart ( as the crow flies )
What Happens When We Meet
by Eron Boyd
by deborah harris
by Sae Kimura
Having a Gesture with Space
It is a gift to be able to have a relationship to a space especially one that is otherwise unoccupied.
Most spaces we simply pass through but sometimes, on rare occasions, we can meet ourself in a new space.
Somewhere Over The Rainbow
Breakthrough into open space
Trying To Find Our Way
"Where are you?"
Says the one who stayed behind.
"I'm not sure yet. I can't see very far ahead. I am climbing slowly uphill towards the light."
An adventure for us both.
Each day is a journey and the journey itself life. Basho
Into The Woods and Out Of The Woods
Working together from a distance is
like riding a boat through the trees.
We will be blogging for the next little while through phone space,
that is somewhere between the forest and the trees.
Bear is a temporary stand in for d.
No Words... just turquoise and red
Our most beloved friend Floyd Kuptana
................................left this world today
Seeing and Being Seen
Who is looking at who?
Queen Victoria wishes all of her subjects a jolly celebration of her birthday!
May 24, 1819 - 1901
Queen of England from 1837 - 190l
Meetings
What is the language of images which lets them speak to each other?
Shapes, the subtlety and variation of tone, light and shadow,
a shared atmosphere and intimacy...
a quiet exchange
and comfort in each others company.
Standing in One Place Looking to Another
Sculpted head by Pablo Picasso
Wandering in a Maze of Light and Reflection
Picking up a passport today on Victoria Street south of Shuter.
Warmed by the Sun
Chagall and Miro
embrace
Some Kind of Passage
...on the way to an unknown.
Giving in to Gravity
I used to think outside was outside
and inside was inside
what happened outside didn't affect inside
but we breathe
inhale and exhale
out and in,
Inside / Out
Perhaps you will recognize the inspiration for these two beings...
Check out the blog last Wednesday.
Small Fry by Sae.
Big Eye by dh.
Taking Art Out To The People
During this time people can not come in to visit us
so we are finding ways to go out to meet them and you.
The piece above is a chalk drawing by Floyd Kuptana.
Look Up, Look Way Up...
and let the wind tell you a story
The Love of Creating
Today our exploring found this young
sculptor name Callum Donovan Grujicich. Please have a look a the video.
He is a very inspirational artist.
We Are In This Together
Maybe a little closer than we're allowed.
The Age of the Fishes is Ending
The Age of Pisces began around 100BC and ends 2100AD.
We are now entering the Age of Aquarius.
What is Beauty?
The question and conversation today.
What Could We Possibly Have In Common?
These collages happened simultaneously around the table.
(It gets pretty intense around here.)
Today Was A Conversation
"What are the circumstances that call a creative gesture?"
Today it was the necessity of the Blog, trying to make visible something of the conversation.
The Camera as a Key to Unlock the Many Spaces of Arcturus
Our new home page on our website
On the Other Side of Dark
t h e d r a w i n g r o o m... featuring work from artist Daniel Hanequand
Another new gallery space you can visit when we re-open
A Place to Discover...
A new space opening up in the gallery
A Portrait of Hands
farm hands
hired hands
ranch hands
gallery hands
mOVING dAy
Today 'we' had the idea to open up one on of the gallery spaces
for a new purpose. This meant moving couches, chairs, books bookshelves etc., Much lifting, pulling, pushing, with arms and legs. Girls have to be tenacious to move heavy things but it can be done!
This image seems to represent the effort very well.
This collage above was done by Rena Sava, a participant in the online
collage workshop series #5. If you would like to see more of the work
you can go to the gallery website arcturus.ca
Completion
Sallie's last collage
We remember today Sallie Lyons, a dear friend and recent collage participant who passed away peacefully at her home on Monday February 15th . It is a privilege to witness someone meet death with courage and gratefulness for a life well lived. This was Sallie's gift to all of us who loved her.
Movement On The Other Side of Glass
Flurries interspersed with calm.
A Path To Spring
...still a ways away.
The Official Chinese New Year - The Year of the Ox
Sent today from our friends in France, Joan Cullen ( artist of the painting shown here)
and Dominique Cruchet (the photographer of the ox also shown here in the background)
A reminder of what it looks like...
...to be determined and self directed
Today Sae n I went for a walk. When we arrived at Double Take
(our favorite second hand store) we saw these guys in the window. By simply pointing someone inside brought them out and let us pay for them.
These four fat cats were just too jolly and intentional to resist.
Treading water or whatever else you are drowning in
But we are still breathing and there is light.
pORTRAIT OF TwO gIRLS aNd a sCreeN
wOndeRiNg wHaT haPpeNeD toDaY!
Collaboration
In collaboration, each participant recognizes the unique talent, perception and skill of the other. There is a knowing that these differences when brought together in a shared effort can achieve something extraordinary. True collaboration does not dilute individual expression; rather it allows this expression to be more revealed by its proximity to others. Collaboration requires heart and seeing. It is always surprising and its essence is joy.
This especially describes what is
happening in the online collage
workshop. If you haven't already
visited please click on the name.
Enjoy.
Two Horses That Have Lost Their Heads
This is how we appear, from the perspective of the computer, after six hours of looking at the screen.
It's The Same Moon
here and
there
A Response to Jackal
Collage by Sae Kimura
Discovering Red
Cruising around the internet today, looking at different artists work,
we happened on this painting, 'Jackal' 2016,
by Japanese artist Miroco Machiko.
This painting with its redness and intensity seemed to infuse our day today.
It's Still Winter
These are colour photographs!
This Day Somewhere Far Away
Flower Garden Odawara, Japan
Black and White with a Splash of Red
the description of a day
Something of an Uphill Climb
...with heavy boots
The Pieces Aren't Where They Are Supposed to Be
...hence there is confusion
I dOn'T thiNk I cAn tHinK .... a n y m o r e
w e i g h e d d o w n stuck in a cup of hot water
Reviewing the Past Year
a sensation of being sucked backwards through time
The Birds Come Home to Roost
A gift to us from Carole Aida
Mixed media collage and drawing
This is our first day back from the holidays, something of a reunion and celebration.
The Year of the Ox May Be Turbulent
Make sure your boat is seaworthy
and steady yourself
to ride out a storm.
This too shall pass.