My connection to the 2010 Olympics

As a leap year baby, the winter Olympics often happened each year I had my real birthday. I used to dream about participating in some way, perhaps as a figure skater. My athletic abilities never reached the world class level as I had to quit my skating lessons at 14 due to ‘weak ankles’, as my doctor would have said. Thankfully I don’t need strong ankles to make art and making art has taken me to places beyond any dream I have ever had. In May of 2009 I was one of 15 Canadian Aboriginal artists commissioned to create an art bottle from Coke’s Iconic shape. I began working on the 6 foot fiberglass base in October ‘09 and finished installing the solar-powered light in December. My husband was a huge help with the wiring and installation of the light and solar panel, but the graphics featuring ravens and flowers in the style of Metis floral beadwork are all my work. There were a lot of problems to solve along the way, like applying a flat graphic to a curved surface, and making sure the paint coverage would still allow light to shine through, but overall the project went smoothly. My bottle was unveiled along with 3 others in Vancouver, British Columbia to a room filled with media from all over the world. The sight filled me with excitement and nervous energy.

These bottles will be auctioned off during the 2010 Olympics with the proceeds going to a legacy fund for Aboriginal children in Canada and I can’t say enough about the opportunity to showcase contemporary Metis artwork to the world and to have contributed to the future of Canadian Aboriginal youth. I am touched to have made my own contribution to the Olympics. Thank you to everyone who has supported me in my art career, your support has encouraged me to continue on this path. Art is the window to the soul. It is able to communicate beyond borders and cultural boundaries reflecting the world we live in and motivating us toward a better future. If you know an artist, please encourage them by purchasing their work, or appreciating what they do. If you are interested in participating in the Coke Aboriginal art bottle auction, it starts February 15, 2010.

Detail of Coke bottle design by Kim Stewart

Detail Coke Art bottle design by Kim Stewart

Kim Stewart with 6 foot fiberglass Coke bottle

I have been debating with myself and anyone else who will listen whether or not to invest in a studio space in the city. I currently live 40 kms north of Prince George on an acreage. My studio has been an unfinished space in the basement for the 6 years that we have lived here. I have worked there, complaining only mildly about the water leaks, dog hair, and noise from the TV in the next room, but the matter became urgent after having several studio visits which left the visitors feeling a bit ‘flat’. Tiny comments like, “oh.” were all I heard after showing them where I create my art. The thing about it is that I want a place where I can go even for a short time, like half an hour, whenever the mood hits or some time opens up. I live a busy life and need to cease whatever time I can for art making. I would use a studio in the basement way more often that one in town, so the basement was the final decision. After securing agreement from my husband that he would be willing to renovate the basement, I approached my brother and asked for his help. He is a genius at many things but his latest thing is home renos and I really wanted to benefit before he changes to something like, flying jet engines, or dog walking. The two men have created a simple, but clean and well lit space with a door that closes and two small windows for natural light. I am very pleased! This space will be used a lot in the next two years as I work on my Master’s, prepare for classes, and create art. Many thanks guys!

This is the north wall of the studio.

wordpress.org website for me?

I have been reading about resourceful individuals who have used http://wordpress.org as a backend for their websites. Apparently it runs using PHP (which is the way information is called up when the browser hits your URL) and MySQL (which is a database that can organize all your content). It sounds very user-friendly for those who are not code-monkeys, like me. I really need a site for my art that is easy to update, and is well-crawled by the search engines. I think I will be doing some further research into this. In the meantime, if any of you have tried this, please share your experience. I’d love to know how it went for you.

New Drawings

I spent yesterday at a local ranch working on some new drawings. Our local art gallery asks artists to come out and work in a variety of gardens and properties and the community come out to tour them. I worked behind one of the cabins on the ground. It felt so good to be connect to the earth. I had prepared several frames with stretched hides, 2 moose and one deer hide. I want to explore these as a new drawing surface. The moose hide was only partially tanned but was already taking on a soft appearance, whereas the deer hide is still in the rawhide state. I use a chalk pastel that comes in a cake, applying it with sponges. It’s like a combination of drawing and painting and I really enjoy the marks I can make. I plan to do more work in this area, conceptually using the circle as a starting point. These drawings were inspired by barbed wire and hair that I had set in a circle on the ground. With the moose hide, interupted circle I also used heat and metal to insize the hide.

Drawing with chalk pastel on paper

Drawing using charcoal, chalk pastel, and heat insizing on moose hide.

Drawing using charcoal and chalk pastel on paper

Here are some of the things that kept me busy this week:

1. Giving meds to my little terrier dog who has slipped a disc in his neck.

2. Driving my daughter and the neighbor girl to art camp.

3. Building wooden frames and stretching rawhide (moose) over them as a drawing surface.

4. Writing colour theory lessons.

5. Making pasta salad and buffalo burgers.

6. Scratching mosquito bites with  my ruler (it happens to be in my hands a lot!)

7. Weeding the garden and eating the fresh strawberries while weeding.

8. Closing my eyes while walking the dogs and letting them lead me down the country road. (it’s a cool feeling.)

9. Listening to my 9 year old daughter tell me all about her day.

10. Watching the sun set from my loft bedroom.

My Dreams, Your Dreams…a reality.

I came across a post on a blog called Mira’s List called “Finding Money for your Dreams” and I was immediately drawn in. This article is about asking for money in the form of Grants for creative writing or artistic work. Mira lets the reader in on her own story, then launches into grant myth-breaking. She says that although you don’t have to be famous or know someone, you do have to have talent. Mediocracy doesn’t cut it. So how do you know if you are any good at what you do? As a “slush pile” worker for a granting agency, Mira tells us that applications that credit Grandma as their biggest fan, or state that the jury will like their art because “everyone does” go directly in the ‘no’ pile. So who’s opinion counts? Your peers, the curator of the local public gallery, people who buy your art, juries for group art shows, art instructors to name a few. The point is to get your work out there. Don’t hide it under your couch like my grandmother did. She was an accomplished hand potter who dug her own clay from the banks of the river, taught community classes in pottery and hid her best work under her furniture. She didn’t believe that her work was valid. As creative people, our work is always valid. It is a way of communicating opinions, thoughts, ideas, and observations. It can be a record of cultural influences, personal history, struggles, joys and sorrows. Those of us who are compelled to create have an important place in society and those who offer grants believe in what we do. They ‘want’ to see us succeed. If you are a creative person, do yourself a favour, go to Mira’s list and read her post, then ‘ask’ for what you need in the form of a grant. I know I will!

Sold 3 pieces

I was thrilled to sell 3 pieces of my work last week, Entanglement II, Bundles I and a little pastel sketch called Flowers all to the same family. I have been thinking about renting a space in town as a studio so that I can continue to work diligently on my art. I am torn though as it is so convenient to come into my basement and work any time without having to travel anywhere. Then again, it is easy to be distracted and interrupted and the studio space is in the basement. It is adequate, but not beautiful and studio visits by potential buyers are a bit awkward. Kevin has suggested we renovate the space and give it a ‘door’. I would really love that! The dogs are constantly coming in and shedding around the place and I would love to lock them out. It would also block me off from the general noise around the house, like music and movies playing. You see, if I hear a movie playing in the rec room, well I often just wander out to see what it is… and then I stay…sigh. What to do?

Trickster

A page from my sketchbook reveals my facination with ravens

My history with corvids (crows, ravens, magpies) goes back a ways. When I was about 14 yrs old, I had my bedroom upstairs in an old farmhouse. There was a small window in a dormer and it lead right out onto the roof. My brother and I used to get onto the roof so we could see to the back of the property. On the prairies anything high will give you at least a 20-50km view. We weren’t the only ones who used this ‘perch’. A magpie discovered it while trying to amuse himself one day. He sat outside my window at about 4am and ’sang’. It was summer and it was hot so I had my window open. His raspy voice sent me flying outta bed. I flung open the screen and started swinging at him with my arms. He hopped out of the way and looked at me with great amusement. “Ach, ach, ach”, he said and look for my response. I cussed him out with every word I knew and he responded, “Ach, ach, ach.” I finally had to crawl out and chase him off. He visited me at 4 am for the next 4 days and sang before he lost interest and looked for someone else to pester.

Deep scars inspire deep questions.

Sitting alone with my tea Saturday morning is something I enjoy. This morning as I sipped with both hands I looked at the moon-shaped scars on my left hand, then an arrow shaped scar on my right thumb. I don’t have many scars, but the ones I do have are connected to my encounters with wildlife. As a kid I spent a lot of time trying to enter the world of small rodents. Any free time consisted of walking around the family’s 160 acre land with my head pointed toward the microcosm on the ground.  I remember digging into tunnels the width of a golf ball trying to see how small creatures decorated their homes. I meant no harm and reasoned that the owner would instinctively understand so I was surprised one day when I received the injury to my thumb from a set of tiny, sharp teeth. It happened so quickly that I didn’t get to see the resident owner with much clarity.  I marched over to my Dad to declare my disappointment but his face clouded with worry and he began to pelt me with questions,  “how big was it?” and “Was it frothing at the mouth?”. The whole entire event was confusing and I quickly categorized it as an exception to my rule. Many years later I received the scars on my left hand through much the same kind of denial.  On this day the dog was barking furiously at a brown furry lump half his size so my brother and I went to investigate. The lump had one good eye and as he turned to look at us I could see the terror and desperation in it. I decided to act. I ran to the house, put on several layers of work gloves, had my brother hold the dog back and approached the lump. He was a muskrat and I knew he belonged at the pond behind our house. I reasoned that with my gloved protection I could pick him up and relocate him to the pond before he even knew what had happened. Well, his teeth were larger and sharper that the mouse. He bit through all 3 sets of gloves and deeply into the flesh of my hand.  I tossed him down and he took off with the dog in pursuit. Amazement turned to worry as the wound wouldn’t stop bleeding. We were alone that day, so we did what we had seen in some movie somewhere and tied a tourniquet around my bicep. The bleeding stopped quickly after along with the feeling to my arm. It’s colour drained and it began to feel cold. Apparently the ’sock’ was effective, but a little too tight.  It was removed an hour later by an amused Doctor and two unamused parents. I no longer approach wild things in an attempt to understand them, instead I try to incorporate their natural world into my art. I share the same world with them, yet their ability to integrate with their surroundings in a way that works within the ecosystem is something I still cannot do. I want to know what they know so that I can live and die an integrated part of the world, as they do. I am deeply embarrassed for humans that we have let hedonistic desire pervert our existence in this world. I see what a mess people have made and wonder if it will ever change.