The power of getting out of your personal studio.

During the summer of 2010 we accepted our very first artist couple. This was not something we had considered when planning the residency, in fact, we were surprised when Glynis Wilson-Boultbee and Paul Boultbee’s application came to us. After thinking it over we decided that it might be fun to have a duo working in the space. In fact, this might be the way Kyle and I would approach a residency. It turned out to be a great decision. Glynis and Paul came to the studio from Alberta, Canada. While staying with us Glynis worked on a variety of writing projects while Paul worked on pieces in preparation for an exhibition held this past December.

The great thing about Paul and Glynis was that they really found a way to enjoy the area and incorporate it into their work. Paul had originally planned to work on a completely different series but changed his mind after becoming inspired by the Glenwood Cemetery built in 1873. With its 62-acre property of rolling hills, mature trees and winding dirt roads it is hard not to be inspired by its beauty. This is something I really love seeing with visiting artists. It is pretty incredible how much a place can effect your work.

By changing your environment you can sometimes end up created something completely new.

For me this is exactly why we decided to start a residency program. We wanted artists to experience a new space and have that new space effect their work. Paul’s work is a great example of that.

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We had to say good-bye to Kirsten McCrea and J.P. King  at the end of last week. The two left to begin their new life in Toronto. They are already off to a great start with a presentation at the Come Up To My Room “Let’s Talk” conference. Last Friday J.P. spoke to the C.U.T.M.R. crowd about his Free Paper Press project (see the video above to find out more about this really cool project).

Luckily, before they headed off we got to have one great event at the house with them. Last Wednesday we hosted a collage party inspired by all the great work J.P. was making while at the studio. To our surprise people were excited about created collaborative collages and we had a great turn out.  I plan to scan all the collages that were made and create a collage party pdf book.

With all this going on Kyle and I still managed to finish all of our work and set-up for the upcoming exhibition at the John M. Parrott Art Gallery, which opens this Thursday from 6:00 – 7:30 PM.

Sarah Burwash received some amazing press on two great art  websites – the Jealous Curator and Art Hound. She was also kind enough to give Spark Box a really sweet shout-out on both, here is a little bit of what she had to say about her stay so far (taken from the Jealous Curator post):

… it is so blissful to be in a big old house surrounded by corn and hay feilds, it is peaceful and relaxing, and also productive and inspiring. The sun has been out often and the fields are dusted with snow. Chrissy and Kyle who run Spark Box are amazing hosts, light hearted and ambitious pair, they make you feel very comfortable and welcomed and go out of there way for you. I have a large studio space to work, and there is a great library of books from art books, to wild flower books, to old life magazines.

Genna Kusch and Carl Wiens both used the open studio to continue to work on personal projects. Carl worked on a new silkscreen piece from his Swimmer Series (my favourite) and Genna continued working on her woodblock insect pieces (as seen above).

**I would like to thank Genna Kusch for the images she supplied of the Collage Party **

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It has been a productive week here at Spark Box. With three residents and Kyle and I using the studio there has been so much work being created. After having a couple months with no residents at all it feels so nice to have an energized studio space.

Kyle and I continued to work on different projects in the studio including etchings, silk screens and watercolour monoprints (one of my new favorite processes!). I finally got a new website put up for my personal work which can be found at chrissypoitras.com.

J.P. King has been making some awesome collage pieces, including some sculptural collages. These pieces inspired our upcoming Collage Party happening this coming Wednesday the 25th (find details by clicking HERE). Kirsten McCrea started working on some great paintings but has also been making these intricate patterned works, which I really want to see as wallpaper.

Sarah Burwash has been painting up a storm in the outside studio. It’s so fun sharing studio space with her and chatting about the stories behind each one of her paintings. We have also been listening to a lot of Radiolab … always filled with endless discoveries.

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As per usual I am trying to stay on top of the blog. I am realizing that I may not be as good at multitasking as I would like to have myself think. With the upcoming exhibition at the John M. Parrott Art Gallery I have been trying to go back and forth between the studio and Spark Box admin, which is proving to be difficult.

Anyway, onto the post about residency award winner Sarah Ammons, who was awarded time to work on a series of etchings a few years back. At the time Sarah was in the middle of her BFA at Queen’s University. We love encouraging artists in their undergrad to participate in the residency program as it is an ideal way to meet artists and build new connections.

We were quite excited about having Sarah work in etching since prior to her stay we hadn’t had many printmakers participate in the residency program. Sarah’s etchings were manly based on portraits and in her words were a “reflection on her outlook towards life”. During her stay she completed a number of medium sized works and had the opportunity to learn our non-toxic process.

Picked up a copy of Prefix magazine last night at Chapters and found Spark Box in the Opportunities section. I knew that we might be mentioned but didn’t know it actually happened so that was a nice surprise. Prefix Photo is an engaging magazine, based out of Toronto. It is dedicated to contemporary photography and related arts. Characterized by innovative design and outstanding production values, Prefix Photo consists primarily of portfolio and essay sections, providing a complement of intelligent texts and breath-taking visuals. These features are accompanied by newsbriefs which provide information and opportunities for professional photographers, including new technological developments. Each issue of Prefix Photo presents the work of Canadian photographers, both emerging and established, alongside that of their international counterparts.

When people apply for our Artist Residency Award we ask them to list their top three questions about being a professional artist. It was my plan to answer these questions after each award segment, but, alas time is always an issue and so far that hasn’t happened. The great thing is I am ready to start tackling these now. The first question I am going to address is a great one and also one I have been giving a lot of thought to lately (as I have been updating our Etsy shop). This question is “How do I properly Document my Work”.

Documenting your work is THE most important part of promoting yourself as an artist. Images of your work are what get people interested in what you are doing. Because of this, documenting your work properly is an important investment as an artist and entrepreneur. Personally, I like to hire a photographer to take images of my art work. I struggle with taking great photos and I am even worse with editing them. My paintings often have different textures, vibrant colours and high shine areas which make them very difficult to take images of.  I would rather ensure that I get the best photo possible by hiring a professional. You can see in the example below why working with a professional can give you that added advantage. In the image I took there is glare, the image is dark, the colours are off, but with the professionally taken image the colours are true, you can see the details in the work and there is no glare.

If you choose to take this route here are some tips I have learned over the years when working with photographers:

1. Find a brightly lit area of your home or studio where you can set-up the shots. It would be best if this space has a blank wall you can hang your work on easily (or a place where you can set-up a table for three dimensional work).

2. Have everything prepared before the photographer arrives. I like to make sure I have all the work I want photographed set out in the order I want them taken. I also have a nail in the wall where I can hang each of my paintings. This way the photographer just has to set-up his camera in one spot and I can change the work for him or her. This makes the process much faster which is good for both the photographer and yourself (especially if you are being charged by the hour).

3. Remember to get details. This is something I often forget when working with photographers. If you have the time consider getting some close-up images of your work (especially if there are interesting textures in your pieces). It is also nice to have a “in situ” shot so that a potential buyer can see what your work looks like in a space, this also gives them an idea of size.

If you are confident in your photography skills or if hiring a photographer is just a bit out of your means that is fine as well. We have a wonderful PDF written by a close friend and photographer, Paul Hubble. Paul outlines, in detail, all of the information you need to take images with your own camera.

There are also a number of online resources with helpful tips on this topic. I recently watch a great video on the Etsy website about how to take product images. Even though you might not be photographing crafts these tips can be easily used for paintings, prints or sculpture.

This time last year we had  printmaker Tessa Androutsopoulos staying with us. Tessa traveled to us from Finland. She studied printmaking at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen, Scotland and in her application she sent images of her degree show entitled “World Destroyer”. This exhibition explored imaginary of cityscapes through wall painting and traditional printmaking. This was one of the most vibrant applications we had received and I was very excited to see what she would create while at Spark Box.

The work she completed while at the studio lived up to our expectations. Tessa was with us for two months and during that time she made a screen print series inspired by the circus, as well as a number of large and small linoblock prints. She had made so much during her stay and had met so many people we thought it would be fun to host an exhibition of her work. The exhibition was great and the party was so much fun. Tessa’s work filled the front room of the old studio and people young and old enjoyed her humorous images and lighthearted display.

A past winner from the summer 2011 residency award was painter and textile artist Alison Thompson. Her stay at Spark Box ranged from working on her paintings, to discussing the cross-section of art and craft, to embroidery our vintage chair, to exploring the Prince Edward County scenery.

It was such a joy to have her at the studio, her positive energy filled the house. Her work perfectly reflected her personality – bright, cheerful, vintage and fun. The work produced at the studio expressed her interest in the world of craft and her passion for the world of art. Her embroidery work filled the desire to work with traditional women’s needle craft and her watercolour paintings of quilt patterns addressed her pursuit of the fine arts.

This summer we shared our home and studio with artist Cynthia Hsieh. Cynthia works primarily in drawing and painting and in her own words ” the narratives of [her] drawings and paintings aim to allude to the outward appearance of the good life with delicacy, subtly, and humour. They exist in the context of an imaginary reality where expectation of the beautiful and other external elements fuse, hence [her] commentary of such seemingly desirable world.”

Being from Shanghai Cynthia wasn’t used to living the country life of P.E.C. It took some getting used to but by the end of her stay she was surprised at how much fun she had had in a small town. During her stay she took part in a number of different “Spark Box” activities. She came with us to the Picton Picturefest, to Nicolai Sarafov’s lecture and exhibition and to many trips to the various P.E.C. beaches. Before leaving she gifted us a hilarious drawing of me with my still-not-created terrarium (the image is based on a photo in a 1970s foliage book).