Saturday, November 8, 2008

Art Every Day month – Day 8

I had a day full of eye candy! I just wish I had pictures to post here. There seem to be a lot of shows and studio open houses on during this time of the year…the Christmas-time shows. Today we (Cariño and a friend) went to two of them…

First we went to the 260 Fingers Show – an invitational show and sale of 26 clay artists. It was wonderful…such amazing and beautiful things…I fell in love with many pieces! There were the gorgeous pots, mugs, platters and bowls that you would expect at a pottery show…but this was not just a pottery show, it was a clay artist’s show, so there were also sculptural pieces.

I was truly inspired by two of the sculptural artists – one of them didn’t have a card and I was hoping to be able to see her on the web site…but now that I am looking I don’t see her listed…I may be haunted by this…I hope I get to see her work again…it was mixed media incorporating clay, wood, leather, metal and bones I think – just amazing. She had two wall hangings that I could have looked at forever! I am going to have to hunt down her name…

The other sculptor that I really, really loved her work – Christina MacEwen – also did mixed media – using much the same materials (clay, bone, metal, wood, linen and paint) - wonderful, tall ‘creatures’ or spirits - about 6 to 9 feet tall!…she had a book for sale called “Spirits from the Shore” showing her sculptures as well as writing about them…it is the only thing I bought at the show…I just had to have it!

There were a few other artists that I really liked as well – Chandler Swain – I love her works…my favorite coffee mug is one of hers – has a happy woman floating along on it. Tim Storey’s fanciful creatures were great – his Big Fish was especially wonderful and he had a dragon tea pot that I wish could have followed me home! Paula Murray made exquisite sculptural containers out of porcelain…so fragile looking – some looked like curled birch bark.

After the 260 Fingers show, which was on at the Glebe Community Centre, we headed over to the New Edinburgh area of Ottawa for the MainWorks Studio Open House. Karen Bailey (who I have mentioned before) has a studio here along with 14 other artists. MainWorks is located in the old Crichton Street School which is now the Crichton Cultural Community Centre. The artists’ studios are up on the third floor – huge windows, super high ceilings…it is a neat spot!

Saw some paintings there that I would have liked to have had follow me home as well…but, thankfully, most of the ones that I really liked were sold already! It’s ok if they are sold – then they can’t haunt me! It’s when I really like them and they aren’t sold that they can leave lingering whispers in my head!

As for creative things that I have done today…not much… but that’s ok…it was an inspiring day with all the creative eye candy I got to see!

I am still sitting with the big painting…

I did add a bit more to this little one…it is one I take out every so often and add to…not sure where it is going…it is becoming fanciful…sort of gives me the feeling of a dream…a nice dream…

1 comment:

Leah said...

i love the rich colors you've got going on here. looking forward to seeing where it goes!