PAST RESIDENT: SUSAN GARDINER BOURLIER
Hip One Hop One, Acrylic on Canvas
Time to travel back to the early days at Spark Box to reflect on resident Susan Gardiner Bourlier. In 2009 Susan attended the residency as one of our Emerging Artist Award Winners. She had completed her studies as an architect but after working in the field for a short time realized that it wasn’t for her. Her passion was painting and so she quit her job and set out to work full time as an artist. This was when we met Susan. We could seriously relate to her drive and passion for the arts.
Command Break, Acrylic on Canvas
To give you a little glimpse into Susan’s personality I have posted this write-up found on her website:
“These are the words on a button that I found while living abroad in Barcelona.
They resonated instantly, prompting me to spend the single euro required to acquire the souvenir. In the years since, I have spent a lot of time thinking about the button and the meaning of its words (or so I thought):
confusion is clarity
Having spent a great deal of my life in a state of confusion, I think I found this reassuring – but also, and more importantly, true. Although it is one of many, small and inconspicuous, not particularly beautiful, and has no value as defined by the standards of our society, this small object has become a sort of talisman for me. It reminds me to trust my instincts, because they have never failed to steer me in the right direction. Even, or perhaps even more appropriately, when I found out that the line is not a philosophical revelation, but a humorous Spanish phrase, more accurately translated as:
this confusion is very clear
A small, but significant difference.“
Push One Pull Two, Acrylic on Canvas
Push One Pull One, Acrylic on Canvas
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RECENT NEWS: ART, FOOD AND NATURE
Katie Bruce (right image taken by Katie)
This week was filled with work but also play. Residents Katie and Jane continued their pieces from last week. Katie brought in a new colour to her embroidery pieces which really highlight the embossed areas found in our old wood floors. Jane started a new print inspired by the many cat pictures she has up in her studio and also finished her prints from last week with glitter and sequins.
Jane Wiseheart
Kyle and I ran a private silkscreen workshop which went really well and we are happy to have two new open studio members at Spark Box because of it! We also met with Kristy from Pathways to Independence in Trenton and are going to be hosting a workshop with a group their later this month.
Cooking at From the Farm
This week also brought a lot of cooking and great food. My mother, sister, grandmother and I went to a cooking workshop at From the Farm where we learned the art of cooking Italian food. We made a four course meal during the four hour. We started with an artichoke dip, followed by handmade ravioli, the main course brought pesto wrapped pork with roasted fennel and arugula salad and finally an upside down apply cake. Amazing!
A Weekend Away
In addition to the cooking, printing and workshops of this week Kyle and I spent a lot of time outside. We went away for two days this past weekend to a friends cottage on the Kawartha Lakes. It was a great little break and a nice weekend with friends we don’t see very often. We also starting working in the garden which is hard work but extremely rewarding.
Our Garden
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COMMUNITY PRINTSHOP: BOOKS
We are always using books as reference here at the studio. They are great resources for workshops, inspiration and trouble-shooting. Here are three of our favourite printmaking books.
The Printmaking Bible
This book lives up to its title covering intaglio, screen print, relief print, monoprint and chine-colle. It is packed full of step-by-step guides, 1,000′s of full colour images and tool/material lists. Sadly, it focuses on traditional (toxic) materials, most of which we don’t use in our studio. We still use this book during workshops to give students a quick guide to what they will be learning. What I love most about this book is the example images. They use contemporary artists to illustrate the processes and all of the images are in full colour.
Print Liberation
This is a really fun book about screen printing. It covers both DIY printing and commercial printing. There is a fun little history section that I love using in workshops. They also included pre-made stencils which not only work as great examples but can be used by someone trying screen print for the first time.
Print Workshop
This is a more recent addition to our resource library. Like the Printmaking Bible this book is packed full of different techniques ranging from relief printing to solar fabric printing, however, unlike the Printmaking Bible this book is all about DIY culture. This book simplifies the processes, highlights the beauty of imperfections found in handmade prints and creates a fun, DIY atmosphere around each process. This approach makes this the ideal book for kids workshops and workshops we don’t host in our studio.
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PRINT SHOP HOW-TO: RE-STRETCH YOUR SILKSCREEN FRAME
Not too long ago Chrissy and I purchased a hand silk screen stretcher online. I think we were both in agreement that shipping ripped screens to Toronto to have another company re-stretch and ship them back to us was becoming a hassle and too expensive. We purchased our stretcher from a company call ASC365. I’ve recently gone through the process of re-stretching 20 silkscreen frames and wanted to take a moment to share my experience. Even before we begin I’d like to mention that this tool is fantastic and I recommend it.
How to re-stretch mesh onto an aluminum frame:
1. First, take the broken screen and cut a ‘plus’ sign into the mesh. I found that this gave me a good starting point to ripping the mesh off. When I tried using a X cut from corner to corner, it left a lot of remaining screen debris towards the corners. Rip the mesh along one edge towards the corner, then rip the other edge towards the same corner, now rip the corner section off. Repeat this for all the edges.
2. You may see that there are bits of mesh still remaining glued down near the corner, try to remove what you can by picking at it and hopefully you can pull it off. I found that using a utility knife helped in removing the last bits. Don’t worry too much if there is some remaining, when we grind the frame it’ll come off.
3. If you can, go outside and set-up a work table. You will be grinding aluminum and thus creating dust, so doing this process inside the studio was a big ‘no go’. You will need several tools. A metal grinder with a grinding disk, palm sander with 80-120 grid sand paper, particle respirator (not a dust mask, a real respirator, protect your lungs), gloves, clamps, and safety goggles.
4. I clamped the screen down to the table, and begun lightly grinding the frame. The idea is to remove all the glue off the frame and at the same time give the frame tooth to accept a new layer of glue. When you’re grinding the frame you’ll want to be careful not to spend too much time in one spot otherwise you may grind a pit into the frame, and that’s not good.
5. Afterward I used the palm sander to quickly run around the whole frame, this cleaned up some (not all) ink stains, hardened emulsions, or weird glue deposits from tape. When finished rub the frame clean with a rag.
6. Set-up a large station inside, I had to push to a couple desks together. I recommend that you avoid using the floor as a work surface, the mesh is oddly charged with static electricity and will pick up all the dirt off the floor. The stretcher we bought came disassembled in 8 pieces and was really easy to build following the manufacturers instruction.
7. Once the system is set-up and the frame in place, coat the frame with a layer of glue. We purchased the glue from the same company that sold us the stretcher, it is clearly an extremely strong contact cement. I recommend that you open a window and wear a vapor rated respirator mask.
8. It takes 8-10 minutes for the glue to become ‘dry to the touch’. At this point lock into the stretcher your desired new mesh. Crank all the clamps down onto the mesh and begin stretching each side a little bit at a time. You can buy a tension meter which will tell you exactly what tension of the screen is or I compared the tension to another commercially stretched screen we had in the studio.
9. When you’re happy with the tension cut a piece of cardboard slightly smaller than the interior of the frame and place it on the screen. Now apply a second layer of glue to the frame. The cardboard prevents any stringy bits of glue from falling onto the middle of the screen. Like I mentioned earlier the screen has a lot of static electricity and so it tends to attract the stingy glue. Once done let the frame sit for 25 minutes.
10. When you loosen all the clamps and remove your newly stretched frame cut off the excess screen mesh. Finally, use metal foil tape (purchased from a hardware store in the duct working aisle ) to cover the glued side of the screen. That’s it, finished.
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PAST RESIDENT: JOSH DANNIN
- “!!!”, Linocut, 2010
- “Not My Cup of Tea”, Linocut, 2011
In September 2011 we hosted Philadelphia printmaker Josh Dannin at the residency. He stayed with us for a month and worked on two relief print pieces. Josh’s work “has evolved to feature a series of relief prints that comment on social and political turmoil. Much of [his] work touches on contemporary political gridlock and the absurdity of such a thing. In the form of dictator-like portraits, satirical caricatures, and bold text, [he] references the turbulent times of today. Citing words made famous by dystopian writers such as George Orwell and Aldous Huxley, [he] is intrigued by how the themes these authors address increasingly parallel modern society. What originated as fiction has, in certain aspects, become reality.”
"Granny Smith", Linocut, 2011
“Not My Cup of Tea” and “Granny Smith” were the final pieces done by Josh at the studio. These works reflect some of his recent work which has “…grown increasingly fascinated by the topic of evolution, and where it falls in political discourse. The close relationship between humans and chimpanzees is one that is confirmed by science yet remains debated among ideologies. The clash of Darwinism and Creationism, among other absurd political arguments, will act as a platform for future projects, in which he intends to experiment with print-based installation works.”
"Banana Republican", Woodcut, 2011
"Theory Of...", Linocut, 2011
Josh was a great resident and has remained a really good friend. Two weeks ago we had the chance to see the BFT Wolfbat project he worked on in New Orleans while we were down attending the Southern Graphics Conference (to read about that project click here >>). We hope to have Josh back to work in the studio again soon and wish him good luck with his MFA program he recently was accepted to.
"Wolfbat Box Car", Bill Fick, Carter Eggleston, and Josh Dannin, 2012
Wolfbat Box Car", Bill Fick, Carter Eggleston, and Josh Dannin, 2012
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THE JOY OF KITCHEN LITHOGRAPHY
As you know Kyle and I made the choice to make our studio as safe and green as possible, so there are some processes, like stone lithography, that we can’t offer at the studio. Of course stone lithography happens to be my favorite print process. So, you can only imagine my joy when I stumbled across a video by French artist Emilion explaining a new technique called “Kitchen Litho”. In the video Emilion walks you through her process of drawing with a grease tool (in this case soap made with animal fats) onto tin foil, etching the image with Coke and printing it like you would a litho stone.
I was amazed at how simple she made the process look and excited to get into the studio and give it a try. I called on a few former workshop participants and a couple friends to see if they would be interested in trying this new method with me and the six of us got together a few weekends ago.
We started our afternoon of experimental printmaking in the kitchen, as to keep with the theme of the process, but seeing little success moved out into the studio in order to use the printing press. Unlike the video the process was a bit more challenging. Like stone lithography sometimes your image doesn’t etch into the tin foil or it begins to fill in after a couple prints. However, unlike with stones you can simple crumple up the tin foil and try again– quick and easy!
We experimented with a number of different drawing tools to see what worked the best. We tried lithography crayons, sharpie markers, touche and Crisco. We wanted to see the different textures we could achieve and if spending the money on lithography crayons was worth it. It turned out that sharpie marker was the most reliable tool while the lithography crayons were a close second.
While achieving a print was challenging, the process itself was amazingly easy. Draw your image on the tin foil, etch it with Coke, rub it with vegetable oil, ink it and print (see the whole process in the video on Emilion’s blog). After a great afternoon several of us left with a some good prints and I plan to keep experimenting with this process in the future.
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WORKSHOP: ETCHING WITH LOYALIST
For the past three years we have been given the opportunity to have the students of the Loyalist College Art and Design Foundations Program come to our studio to learn acrylic resist etching. As with prior years the workshop this February was a great success. There were over 30 people working in the studio but by having organized the space with inking station, drypoint stations, printing stations and drying stations each student had a chance to experiment and print a number of times.
With past workshops Kyle and I would prep all of the plates for the students, which meant cutting the copper, file the edges, degrease the copper and apply the hard ground resist. But since Kyle and I are teaching in the program this year we had the chance to show the class how to prep plates and coat them with the hard ground. Although this is not the most interesting part of the process it was great for us to share this step ( it is pretty crucial step to the etching process). There is always the fear with acrylic resist etching that degrease process was not done properly, potentially causing the hard ground not to adhere to the copper. Luckily each student did a great job applying their ground and not one plate was lost in the etching process.
The students had one week to draw their image onto their plates, after which they were brought to the studio where Kyle and I etched them and prepped them for printing. The workshop only ran for three hours and within that time 90 prints were made by the class.
*Above print done by Colleene Rowley
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THIS WEEK AT SPARK BOX
Carl Wiens’ silkscreen pieces are near completion with just one last layer. Can’t wait to see them all finished! Looking forward to seeing some more people working in the Open Studio including Nicole Armour. If you haven’t seen Nicole’s handmade books you really should take a look, they are beautiful! She also has a very insightful blog about books, movies, music and friendship called The We of Me.
We are excited to start another month and invite new people into our home and studio. On Wednesday we picked up our newest resident coming to us from Israel and staying for two weeks. Nava Astrachan will be working on three etchings during her stay. (image below taken from HERE).
On Thursday Kyle and I got to see all of our work up at the John M. Parrott Art Gallery and share the moment with our friends and family. The evening was a success and we were so happy to see friendly faces out for an evening in Belleville to support us and our work.
The end of this week finds the end of Sarah Burwash’s residency with us. It has been great having Sarah at the studio. I love her work and will be sad to see her go. I mean just look at this map she made of the area … awesome!
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PAST RESIDENTS: GLYNIS WILSON-BOULTBEE & PAUL BOULTBEE
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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LAST WEEK AT SPARK BOX
embedded by Embedded Video
vimeo Direkt
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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FEBRUARY WORKSHOP
Our upcoming workshop is a great place to start learning about printmaking if you have never tried it before.
WEEKEND MONOTYPE WORKSHOP
Come and experience the painterly printing method of monotype printing. This comprehensive workshop will introduce you to basic printmaking techniques and processes, as well as, the history of monotype. You will be encouraged to experiment and explore colour mixing, chine colle, stencilling and painting in positive and negative space. You will learn to use our printing press and printing inks in order to create several one-of-a-kind prints. SIGN-UP HERE
THIS WEEK AT SPARK BOX
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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JANUARY WORKSHOP // ETCHING WEEKEND
This introductory course requires no previous experience with printmaking. Students will begin the lesson with fresh copper plates and learn how to transform them into a small edition of prints. This workshop will teach students a non-toxic form of etching and will include hard ground techniques, aquatinting and soft ground techniques. By the end of the course students will have an understanding of the basic principles of printmaking including the above etching processes along with working with printing inks and using a traditional etching press.
Weekend workshop
January 21 & 22
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
$200.00 non-member
$185.00 member
*materials included
PAST RESIDENT- ALISON THOMPSON
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.
PREPARING FOR WINTER
The “joys” of owning your own house …
We have been spending a lot of time lately getting our new place ready for the winter months. Summer was hectic for us and we put a number of projects on hold. Now that things have slowed down we are trying to get these projects finished. A number of these tasks are outdoor projects and we want to make sure everything is sealed up, winterized and ready before the snow falls.
We love our new studio but sadly the tin roof hadn’t been cared for over the past few years and so we had to spend a few days putting in new screws to prevent leaks and to keep out the country critters. We bought a new shed for storage, as we turned all of our outdoor storage into studio space. And, with the help of Alex Fida and Kyle Lane, we finally have boards and battens up on the exterior walls of the studios!
The past year of renovations has taught us a number of valuable lessons, here are a few:
1. A strong support group is important when attempting to complete a major project. We were lucky to have great friends and family by our side the whole way through. Without their hard work, heart-to-hearts, comforting shoulders and helpful advice there is no way we would have been able to get through this project.
2. The art of compromise. We were warned before starting the work on the house that many of our hopes and desires would change or become impossible and that renovations are filled with unexpected twists and turns. Even with this knowledge we were unprepared for the number of changes, modifications and compromises we had to make during the project. Luckily, we listened and trusted each others opinions making these changes less stressful and resulting in a pretty great space.
3. I think it goes without saying that any project you undertake requires a great deal of patience. Home renovation is no different. Becoming aware that every project takes longer than you wanted and that nothing is ever as easy as it sounds is extremely important when taking on a renovation project.
RESIDENCY AWARD
Beginning your career as an emerging artist can be tough, which is why Spark Box Studio is offering FREE RESIDENCIES to fine art students and emerging artists. This residency opportunity is a unique way for young and emerging artists to cultivate new ideas, access a rich library of arts resources, learn about career-building opportunities, and develop an understanding of the art world from a business perspective.
Six emerging artists will receive a one-week (7 days) residency at our Open Studio in Prince Edward County. The selected applicants will be given a private studio space and given access to the Spark Box Studio equipment and resources, as well, winners will be provided with living accommodations for their weeklong stay. They will also have access to career guidance from owners Chrissy Poitras and Kyle Topping, along with, local community members.
The winter residency award runs from January 9, 2012 to March 31, 2011. Please be advised that the award is for 7 consecutive days.
Applying for the Residency Award gives artists the opportunity to practice an essential business skill in the art world: the application process.
APPLY NOW (DEADLINE NOVEMBER 1, 2011) CLICK HERE>>
SPARK BOX SHOP
We have been working hard on putting together the merchandise section of the studio. As some of your will remember the “sale” area of the last space was crowed in a hallway, not the most convenient place to look at printed goods. We decided we wanted to make one full wall of the new studio dedicated to printed goods that were for sale. This would include materials from our craft sales, Square2 Magazine and personal art work. Like most projects it took a lot longer than we anticipated to get it together the way we wanted … but it finally feels close to finished.
We have also been updating our Etsy shop with new products and recently put up a table on the Poppytalk Handmade Online Market. So, if you are looking for a handmade gift for the upcoming holiday season please make sure to pop in. We are open year round Tuesday – Saturday 12 – 6 PM (Thursday we are closed).
PAST RESIDENT-MONICA LACEY
P.E.I. photographer, potter and printmaker Monica Lacey worked at our studio during the month of July. Monica’s work primarily focuses on the beauty of the broken, overlooked, or discarded (maybe a residency in rural Ontario was a perfect choice 
).
During her stay she worked with solar plates, a printing process we hadn’t used at the studio before. Solar plate printing can be used to create intaglio prints or relief prints using photographic negatives. To find out more about this process click here >>
Monica’s working habits meant that the studio first needed to be prepped. Found treasures, personal photographs, great music and inspiring messages filled the space and quickly transformed it into a beautiful environment for working. Her studio space perfectly reflected her lovely personality and it became a great place for me (Chrissy) to get out of the July heat to share in thoughts about art, life and the power of a great beach!
Monica made several prints during her stay with us, each done from photographs she had taken prior to arriving. These images were of abandoned places, animals and amazing bits of nature. This imagery worked beautifully with the solar etchings. She even left us a small print in which she combined a bit of scrap paper from a note book we had found under the floor in our upstairs. Along with all the work she produced, Monica found time to enjoy the local scenery and reflected on her stay with us through her blog >>
GUEST LECTURE AND WORKSHOP
We are very excited to soon be sharing our studio space with professor of print and innovative artist Nicolai Sarafov. Sarafov will be traveling from Germany to visit friends at Blizzmax Gallery this August. During his stay in P.E.C. he will be hosting a week long etching workshop, as well as an artist lecture.
About the Instructor:
Nicolai Sarafov studied for five years at the College of Fine Arts in Sofia, followed by six years at the Munich Academy. His etchings are figurative, narrative, filled with a literary references and rich with critical humour. Sarafov has been teaching for 25 + years, he has published a number of catalogues, books and magazines and has exhibited internationally.
About the Workshop:
The etching workshop with Nicolai will be a week long workshop starting Monday 8th and ending Friday 12th. The workshop will walk you through the various techniques of the etching process, including hardground etching and aquatint. You will learn about working with copper plates to create images and using an etching press to transfer your work to paper. The workshop is open to all levels, including experienced printmakers.
$250 (includes material fee) Monday, August 8 – Friday, August 12 6:00 – 9:00 PM
About the Lecture:
Here Sarafov will speak about his work, his founding of the “Institute for Bagonalistik” and his publications.
Sunday, August 7 Starts as 2:00 PM FREE *limited seating*
Please contact chrissy@sparkboxstudio.com to book for the workshop or the lecture.
REFLECTING ON PAST RESIDENTS: HANNA HUR
photo taken from May Truong
Last summer we had Toronto artist Hanna Hur stay with us for a week. Hanna and I became great friends in the short period of time that she was here and I had the pleasure of interviewing her for the April issue of Square2 Magazine. Hanna’s work ranges from drawing to photography and she deals with a multitude of different topics. She has worked on several projects with her twin sister Laurie Kang and recently she has been developing many drawings based on themes of self-identity and her departure from the Christian faith.
What’s next for Hanna Hur? She is off to Berlin in May where she will be mentoring with artist Candice Breitz.
COUNTY RADIO SHOW
Kyle and I were lucky enough to have been interviewed by the County Radio Show, a feature on the newest County website Horntrip Magazine. The magazine focuses the local food and wine industry but the County Radio Show speaks to many different Prince Edward County entrepreneurs. Janet Davies was kind enough to think of us for there most recent podcast. Listen to it here and be sure to check out the Horntrip site to find out about all the other great things going on in this area!
BETH FREY
Beth Frey has an interesting way of looking at story telling and the creation of visual narratives. During her spring stay at Spark Box Studio this multidisciplinary artist created a number of highly detailed works on paper.
To some Beth’s work may appear to be quirky illustrations full of humorous characters in exotic environments, however, coming from a performance and video art background it is not surprising that Beth’s core concept is the history of story telling.
The drawings she made while at Spark Box were for a show in Toronto at the Gladstone. The curator had given the artists a short story of a young boy who was traveling through an enchanted forest being tricked by several squirrels along his journey. Beth’s visual interpretations of this story were soft in palette but complex in imagery. The piece ended up being a triptych full of elements that walked the viewer through the narrative of the fairy tale.
For more information on Beth, including upcoming exhibits please visit her website www.bethfrey.com
DON MAYNARD
In mid-winter of 2010 we had the pleasure of hosting Kingston-based artist Don Maynard at our residency. Maynard has explored a variety of mediums over his career, spanning from drawing to multi-media installation, the latter being very impressive and mesmerizing. During his time at Spark Box Studio Maynard developed a mock-up for a sculpture commissioned by the City of Ottawa Archives. The sculpture is a floating house, which appears to hover 20 feet above the ground, and is held down by six stainless steel ropes lashed over the roofline—“ropes” that actually serve as a giant support structure from which the house hangs. Maynard remarked when asked why he decided to do a residency “Sometimes you have to get away from your own studio to get something done”, making Spark Box Studio a great location to prepare the scale model for the sculpture.
We couldn’t have been happier to have him working in our studio and to later feature him in the first issue of Square2 and exhibit his work at the launch on the upper floor of Books and Company.
To learn more about Don Maynard pick up a copy of Square2 Magazine!
