The Art Of Living Fundraiser

I was asked to donate some work in support of The W.K.P Kennedy Gallery

North Bay's only public art gallery

for their Biggest Arts Gala of the season called "The Art of Living"

 So I donated two prints of my most favorite lino-cuts

 

 I went in yesterday to check out the preview and was so pleased at what I saw.

 

 

Such a variety going on...

 

 

There are quite a few artist-created Muskoka chairs...

 

There's quite a lot of original artwork...

 



 

The selection is pretty large and I am sure there will be something for every ones taste.

 

 

Super great birdhouses...

 

 

 

Paddles and furniture...

 

 

More Muskoka chairs (they are the main event after all)

 

It'll be a great evening with live music, food, drink, auctions, raffles.
Tickets are $150 for 1 artist-created chair plus all the evenings events, food & entertainment
or a $25 ticket gives you access to all the evenings events like raffles & auctions, food & fun.

It all goes down tonight, June 26th at 7pm at 150 Main Street East, North Bay for anyone near by!

Stories, Dreams & In Between Exhibition

My 4th solo exhibition 'Stories, Dreams & In Between'
was pulled down a couple weeks ago.

I am so very very happy with how it all went.

 

The show was well attended during it's run and

the closing reception was wonderful and very busy with over 200 people coming through.

 

I wish I could have bottled up the energy and good vibes I was receiving.

I wish I could have recorded all of the amazing comments and

lovely conversations & connections made...

it was humbling and exciting and had me buzzing for quite some time after.

 

It was an awesome realization that I really really needed at this point in time...

that people love my work and
that it's striking chords with young and old and male and female.

 

It was also a great chance for me to let people read the quirky little stories I come up

with for some of my characters...I admit, I was REALLY nervous to do so

but they got such great response.  I saw people reading every single story I put up, laughing and smiling and turning around to grab someone to share it with...I LOVED THAT. It felt priceless.

 

All my thanks to the W.K.P Kennedy Gallery, to Alex Campbell the director,

to Sheila the indispensable gallery docent/volunteer.  To all my family & friends who came out

and to everyone else, known & new who came by, your encouragement means the world...

it was truly wonderful, my favorite showing yet.



Stories, Dreams & In Between

Here's the poster and write up for my upcoming solo exhibition 

 

Spring is on its way finally!

We’ve been in this deep white freeze for much too long now

and Mandy Saile’s upcoming exhibition “Stories, Dreams & In Between” is the perfect way

to usher in spring with lots of fresh bright colours and an abundance of joyful whimsy.

 

With this collection of coloured pencil and mixed media works

Mandy will show mostly newer pieces but also a few of her older favorites as well. 

The theme is just as the title suggests, pictures about dreams; ones dreamt of and ones longed for, fantastical stories for a motley crew of quirky characters and a few images where the viewer

can decipher if the story is based in myth or truth or somewhere in between. 

This exhibition opens to the public in Gallery 1 of the W.K.P Kennedy Gallery

on April 26th with a closing reception on May 16^th

in conjunction with the Downtown Gallery Hop.

The artist will be present at the closing reception and loves to chat about her work.

Mandy encourages adults to bring their kids, for her images are for adults and children alike. 

 

Birds Of A Feather Invite

This is what we conjured up for my exhibition's invite...



What do you think???

XO Bijou, Soon To Be Having Her 3rd Solo Show XO 

I am doing it again! - The Paddle Project 2009

I guess my self-acclimation of giving myself a break from donating work till 2010 falls short when I somewhat quickly said 'Yes' when asked if I would be a contributing artist for the WKP Kennedy Gallery's 2009 Paddle Project! So yes, I will be an artist for the unique exhibition this June 2009 called "The Paddle Project"... How could I not! Since Dennis Geden and I were the creators and conjurer's of the very first and hugely successful Paddle Project, during my time as Gallery Coordinator at the WKP Kennedy Gallery. It just felt odd to not be part of something that I helped nurture and create and I just honestly didn't like the ideal of this 2nd incarnation coming and going without my involvement in some way! plus, I was pleased to be asked to be an artist...last time my paddle was one of the first ones picked and that's always abit of a high for any artist involved in an auction style exhibition.

Here is a little montage of the last paddle project, (which I believe was in either 2001 or 2002)...being coordinator had it's advantages of course and I was able to involve my talented brother (pictured below with moi) and my own creative honey (not pictured here, but whose paddle I ended up purchasing, and which now hangs in our living room). My paddle was done in coloured pencil with securely attached flower beads working their way through the mermaids hair and up the whole paddle shaft (I wish I had taken better documentation of my creation however, these were the best photos I could find!) Creating the paddle was fun and exciting, though time-consuming and I am happy to be part of it again.

I plan to pick up my blank paddle from the Gallery sometime this week and I'll share with you my 2nd paddle creation once I've completed it, already my brain is whirling with ideals, yet I think a 2nd mermaid of some form is calling the strongest at the moment. My mind is just buzzing with new illustrations and ideas that want to come out...time seems so short...early mornings are a must...but oh I am soooo not a morning person! These early mornings are something I ultimately love but which I have a real struggle with in making routine! Until tomorrow where I share a special evening with you all....thanks for taking the time to join me here today....now I am off to tend to my sore little head.

Shadowy ART for a Shadowy Planet

Good Monday everyone. I have quite a few things which I am excited to share with you, but I am trying to pace myself to 'reveal' them slowly over the next couple of weeks instead of all at once, ha ha.

I really wanted to share with you my photos from the Shadowy Art for a Shadowy Planet exhibition/auction. Jonathan and I went to the preview last Saturday and had a good time. There were 30 artist created original shadowboxes...here's a sampling...

...and of course, as you know by now...here is mine "Earth Intruders".

Let me show you some of my favourites...here is one by Alex Maeve Campbell. She is now the gallery coordinator (in my old position) and she's doing a great job as far as I can see. Alex had brought me into her office to give me a sneak peek at the other boxes when I went in to drop off mine and I saw this one and said "Ohhh, I love that one..." and she said with a happy smile "Thanks, that one is mine..". Love it when that happens. Another Favourites of mine was actually Alex's dad...the ever cool and amazingly talented world-reknowned potter/sculpture Keith Campbell (check out his website, Keith makes great pottery). I took some classes with Keith and he's also an amazing teacher. He is also a fellow chronic/acute migraine sufferer so it's always nice to chat and complain with him because we know we totally understand what the other is going through. Now, I am against guns (except for law enforcement) but I just loved this box. It is all created from Porcelain I believe, even the gun. I just find it so strong graphically and therefore beautiful. I also really liked the minimalistic colour and of course the craftsmanship.

And I have to show you Arlie's box. Everyone was so thrilled with Arlie's box because it was so very cheeky and such a departure from Arlie's usual work. Whenever someone would see Arlie's name on the tag they'd go "What....I love it..." ha ha...

The guest support artist for this whole exhibition/auction was local artist Betty Sager. I never get tired of looking at Betty's work, she makes these incredible little self-contained worlds, each one so different then the other. I would like to have one of Betty's pieces someday. I had the pleasure of working with Betty abit when I worked at the Gallery and I remember her being a very nice and warm person. Her shadowboxes are so crowded with doo-da's one would just have to wonder where in the world she gets all the teeny tiny stuff. Apparently she has a group of family and friends who help her collect, they find stuff for her in their basements, at thrift stores, at garage sales etc and pass it along to Betty for her collections and art...I'd love to see her studio. I know that Betty lost her son a few years ago...and well I was happy to see all of these new shadowboxes and to see that she is indeed still creating despite her immense loss.

This was my favourite one of Betty's. I think it was called "The Underground Woman". Some thing hit home with me in this piece. The streets above seem abit cold and full of people and bustle, yet ultimately full of nothing-ness...yet below is this sweet and endearing old lady, cozy in her little crowded abode...the place is full of cats, one sleeps on the bed...there is a photo of a boy hanging on the wall (I assume it's her son) ...I just could have looked at this piece for hours and still find something new.

Here is a detail...

So the big auction night was this past Friday. I did not go as I wasn't feeling well but I hear from a few people that it was a great evening. Sales were abit slow apparently but there were a few boxes that harnessed bidding wars and I was happy to hear that mine was indeed one of them. I know that local artist and metal smith Peter Sloan won my box and I really hope he's happy with it. It always strikes me as funny...just when you think you know who likes and who doesn't like your work, someone new pops in the mix, it's a delightful thing.

So with all that shared I must go. A busy week is ahead of me I think. Jonathan and I are unfortunately starting this new week quite tired from the crazy weekend we just had with house/studio projects. As mentioned before, with the increase of snow and lowering temperatures we're in a race against the clock to get projects in the garage done.

Until tomorrow, be well and Happy Creating.

Friends In Exhibition & And More Prints For The Shop

Hi Everyone, these two prints will be added to The Shop today. This one is called "I Saw The Three Sister" and the print is from one of my original coloured pencils. This print is called "Peggy's Cove" and is from one of my original watercolour's. Enjoy!

I can't go further this week without mentioning three friends who are exhibiting at our local gallery very soon. Claire Calarco, a beloved local talent will be having her show in the smaller gallery at the WKP Kennedy Gallery and coinciding is a show with Dave Carlin and Nancy Davies called "Parejas/Couples", for this one Nancy and Dave team up with two Cuban artists, Nancy Brossard and Norberto Marrero and I trust that both shows will be fabulous shows. Claire Calarco is not only an artist but also an actress, she participates in many local films and she co-owns with her husband, a production company called "Pair of Ducks Productions", she's a very busy lady. I am so proud and happy of her...her exhibitions are usually well received and I can't wait to see what she has been up too, to go visit her new studio sometime this fall. Claire, doesn't have a website as far as I can see, I am going to have to convince her to get one soon so the whole world can enjoy her talent. Here is the announcement for Claire's exhibition... Nancy Davies is another local artist. I've seen a lot of Nancy's clay works and I just love what she does and I am anxious to see what her part in this exhibition includes...paintings, clay work...I just don't know but I am sure it will be good. Nancy doesn't have a website as far as I can see. Dave Carlin...well honestly no words can fully describe dear Dave Carlin...he is needless to say a local treasure. Someone everyone is in awe of. Someone everybody wants to be around and make proud and just an amazing and talented human being. Dave was my high school art teacher and honestly one of the big reasons I choose OCAD as my post-secondary institution...if Dave Carlin went to OCA, I wanted to also...and at the time I applied, they were only accepting 300 students out of thousands of applicants and Dave was one of the very first persons I told that I got in and he was so proud of me. It was through Dave that I realized I wanted to be an artist and it was through his nurturing that made me believe it was possible to be an artist. It was also through Dave that I came to love lino-cuts and printmaking. I bet he doesn't even know he did all of these things for me. So Dave if your ever reading this....know how very treasured, loved and admired you are dear dear man...and an early Happy Birthday to you talented and inspirational sir. (Dave has a blog here...though it doesn't look like it's updated much check it out.) Here is the announcement for Dave and Nancy's exhibition... I just can't help but gush and rave about the people I admire, love and look towards for inspiration..for any of my local readers, don't forget to come out for these two openings...they will amaze and delight I am quite sure. October 4th - November 1st, 2008 at the WKP Kennedy Gallery, North Bay. Opening: Saturday October 4th from 1:00-4:00 (and I am sure that drinks and food will most likely follow at Greico's after the gallery bit is finished up). It's kind of nice to be back to more frequent posts...so I'll see you tomorrow. Happy Creating.