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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PAST RESIDENT: PANSEE ATTA
The Lotus Eaters
Recent Queen’s University graduate Pansee Atta attended the Spark Box Residency this past February to work on a number of paintings.
Pansee’s work stems from her upbringing: “Having lived in 13 residences in 6 cities in 3 countries in 22 years, I have never had the privilege of calling one place home, or one tradition my own. Nevertheless, the internal conflict between my hybrid Egyptian upbringing and my Canadian influence has been a primary focus of my art.”
Catharsis
While staying with us she started several paper works for her New Gods series. This “series involves reworking mythologies to find archetypes that cross cultural boundaries. Linking culturally-specific images from different contexts that serve similar purposes for their respective communities.”
Totem 2
Totem
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RECENT NEWS: NEW RESIDENTS, INTERNS & APPRECIATION FOR SLEEP
Katie Bruce taking an embossment of our floor
This week was packed full and left Kyle and I feeling a bit under the weather.
The week started with us happily welcoming our new residents Katie Bruce and Jane Wiseheart.
Katie Bruce joins us from Alberta and will be working on her delicate modified embossment pieces. This week she took an embossment of our living room floor and has started the embroidery element.
- Jane Wiseheart’s Stencils for her silkscreen print
Jane Wiseheart, from Boston, drew out the stencils for her first silkscreen piece. If you think this part looks great wait until you see it with glitter! That’s right she “glitterfies” each work.
Intern Nick Taylor working on our new promo material
We also started working with our new graphic design intern Nick Taylor. Nick is a student at St. Lawrence College, he will be working with us for the next couple of weeks. This week he started putting together a new series of promotional material for our workshops, curio shop and open studio.
We got up to a number of other things this week like saying farewell to former Oeno Gallery staff member Ivan Tanzer who is off to work at the Galerie de Bellefeuille in Montreal and hanging some of our new work at Angeline’s Inn for their photo shoot with Toronto Life.
As I mentioned before all of this activity left us both feeling a bit under the weather but I found some links that made me want to drink a big glass of OJ and get working:
-This awesome design magazine Udo Mag.
-Nell Casson’s inspiration for the mural painting for the outside of the studio– Steve Powers.
-My Pinterest Board for Green Spaces (I have also been working in the yard a lot recently … can’t wait to plant our garden)!
-This hilarious and awesome tumblr site by magazine editor Ann Friedman (found on Cup of Jo).
I hope this week is productive and fun!
-Chrissy
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RECENT NEWS: WORKSHOPS, WOODCUTS & TRAMPOLINES
I can’t believe it’s Wednesday and I am just now getting to our post about last week. As you can probably imagine it was packed full (mostly of marking student work for final grades). We had three great residents staying with us last week– Kristy Lynn, Tamara Sponder and Genna Kusch, an etching workshop, Loyalist marking and a kids birthday party!
Fox Drop by Kristy Lynn
Cosmic Honey, Books Series, Kristy Lynn
Last week was Kristy Lynn’s final week with us. She decided to add a little printmaking to the mix and finished two editions in silkscreen. Her prints turned out great (you can see them at the studio in our Curio Shop). We were really impressed the the number of pieces she completed while at the studio. While I was going through the updates she made to her website I noticed the image above, a page from her notebook, which made me feel so happy about the our home and studio.
Woodcut by Genna Kusch and Tamara Sponder
Woodcut by Genna Kusch and Tamara Sponder
Genna and Tamara, both friends from Queen’s, came down to work on a number of projects for the week. They had started a woodcut at the studio two years ago and finally completed it, they also began an installation project which I am curating with them and finally Tamara worked on a series of etching for her Littlest Print Exchange submission.
Workshop with Trenton High School
Workshop with Trenton High School
Near the end of the week we hosted the second half of the Trenton High School Etching Workshop. During this half the students came to the studio to print their etched copper plates. We taught them about the etching process, the inking process and how to use the intaglio press. They each had the chance to work with two different colours and chine-colle. All the students left with at least 6 – 8 prints. We were contacted afterwards by the teacher with a biggest thank you email and an invitation to be the keynote speakers at the school Art Awards (so nice).
To top it all off we got some time in on my nieces new trampoline when Kyle and I (plus two of the residents) went to her third birthday party.
Links for this week:
- I am hoping to get as good as these kids on the trampoline.
- I want to write a convincing letter to Printeresting so we can get a free can of their Gamblin Ink.
- This post made me pretty excited about planting a garden this year.
- I really love the paintings of Jules De Balincourt!
What a great week!
-Chrissy
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RECENT NEWS: NEW RESIDENTS & CITY OF CRAFT
Works in Progress by Kristy Lynn
Works in Progress by Sylvia Chan
This has been such a fun week. The weather was amazing and I felt inspired and productive. Early in the week we picked up our two new residents Kristy Lynn and Sylvia Chan. Both have been amazingly productive over the week resulting in a studio full of new paintings.
Works in Progress, New Linocut Prints by Kyle Topping
Kyle and I have both been putting a lot of focus on creating our own work. It’s amazing how challenging it can be to get into the studio. Kyle printed his vintage camera series early in the week (they will be going up on Etsy shortly) and began a new series of reductive linocut vintage trailers. I have been working on a new series of bags inspired by my trip around North America in 2008 (finally putting those pictures to use)!
Last week we also went to City of Craft in Toronto. It was so nice to head out of Picton for a day in the city. Ever since meeting Jen Anisef, creator of Toronto Craft Alert and former organizer for City of Craft, Kyle and I have all become interested in participating in sale. When I found out there was a spring sale I was set on heading to Toronto to check it out. It was a rainy day but a nice afternoon of visiting some of my favorite regional makers:
*Kid Icarus who had these awesome 3D posters of flying Canadian Geese.
*Raymond E. Biesinger who had funky large scale geographic prints of different cities.
*JP King and Kirsten McCrea who had many great prints, postcards and little books of poetry.
* Lines by Davis who had his kitty cat printed bags and textiles, plus these new wax canvas bags (which I loved!).
*Bookhou who had their collection of clean and simply designed textiles (the large pouches are my favorite).
*Field Guided who had a selection of lovely silk scarves along with tote bags and prints.
Hope you had a great week too!
If you like these Ontario artisans perhaps others will too:
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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BUSINESS OF ART: CROWDFUNDING
We recently attending an event organized by the Kingston Arts Council called Building Artist Communities. This event was a public forum in which the participants were seated, in groups, at different “topic” tables. Each topic addressed an issue found in most art communities– collaboration, funding, communication, space, etc. The event asked for each person to answer two questions in response to their tables “topic” and as a group discuss the answers. For example, Kyle and I sat at the Funding Table where we responded to the questions based on the topic of funding and discussed with the group issues with funding for the local arts community.
It was a question brought up with this group which inspired me to write this post. It is a well-known fact that arts organizations and independent artists are often searching for funding to start projects, access space, etc. It is also known that the federal, provincial and municipal arts councils offer funding options but that this money is difficult to access because of the number of applicants and limited funds to disperse. The question asked was essentially, what other options do you we have as artists and arts organizations?
The first thing that came to my mind was crowdfunding, but to my surprise no one else at the table knew what this was. Obviously I realized this would be a perfect Business Art post as crowdfunding is a great way to access funds and use the amazing networking power of social media. Crowdfunding “describes the collective cooperation, attention and trust by people who network and pool their money and other resources together, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations.” (Wikipedia). As you can probably imagine this is an excellent way to get your ideas out to a large audience, heighten interest in your creative venture and gain support and funding from real people who are interested in what you are doing. I was going to do my best to explain crowdfunding but then I found a post on The Small Business Blog which provides much more insightful information about the process then I would have been able to. As well the Small Business Blog posted a link to the infographic found at the end of this post (just click the image below to make it larger), which was commissioned by PleaseFund.Us in collaboration with Crowdsourcing.org and designed by Dorothy Sanders of Sandfishdesign.co.uk, which provides all the information about this amazing funding opportunity. I want to thank Dorothy for allowing me to use her graphic to give you all a new way to think about fundraising and financing your creative projects!
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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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GRADUATE SCHOOL
This weeks The Business Side of Art question is: What are graduate schools looking for in terms of potential students?
This was a surprisingly difficult question for me to answer because I have not considered applying for a masters degree. I looked long and hard to try to come up with an answer to this question. After hours of hunting online I really came up with little concrete information. But I did come up with a different way of looking at this question. I considered the fact that every school is looking for something different and therefore there is no one list of traits a potential student should have. After thinking about it this way I realized the real question is “what are you looking for in a potential graduate school?” Once you have this answered you will find that you are what that school is looking for in a potential student.
After creating the new question I started asking myself what I would look for in a school and I came up with a few questions you might want to ask yourself:
1. What type of work you would like to focus on? Are you a painter? Illustrator? Photographer? Are you going to need access to any special type of equipment (i.e. a darkroom or print studio)?
-Not every school is going to offer the equipment you might need for your discipline, in the same vein, not every school is going to focus on every field of art. It is important that the school you select is one that is going to suit you and the art practice you want to focus on.
2. Do they offer private studios to each student? Is this important to you?
-Are you the type of person who likes to have a studio they can have to themselves? Somewhere you can leave your work, shut a door and create independently? You might want to make sure that the school you are interested in provides this. Not every school is going to have the same set-up so always double check.
3. Is the school located somewhere you’d like to live and work in the future?
-This may seem like an odd suggestion but I think it is important that you are going to live somewhere around the place you decide to go to graduate school. If you consider the reasons for attending graduate school – becoming a teacher or driving your career through new contacts – you will begin to see why this is a really important question. It is going to be easier to utilize these connections if you continue to work in the area after you graduate.
4. What are the professors like?
-These are going to be your mentors for the next few years, so respecting their work and philosophies will make this experience much more enjoyable. Take the time to do some research on their work and select a school that has professors that work in a similar medium or style to yours. This way you know you are going to respond well to their feedback.
5. Will you need funding?
-If you need the school to help support you financially through such things as TA-ships it is important to make sure that they are available. Also, it is good to know if there are scholarships available to students entering the MFA program.
These were my top five questions. But after writing these out I went hunting for other questions people were asking when considering graduate school. During this search I came across a great article from the New York Foundations for the Art website. The Ten Tips for Those Considering MFA Programs article made many of the points I had made but had some great reflections from current MFA students. It also added a few additional points such as considering the duration of the program, thinking about your expectations, taking your time and supporting your own decision to get your MFA. I especially thought author Ilana Stanger’s question about becoming a teacher was a good one to consider. The article points out that “… if you’re not excited about teaching, you should apply for residencies instead. The MFA qualifies you to teach. That’s it. Think about that.” Let me ensure you that I don’t just like this point because I run a residency but because I think it is important to really understand why you are taking your masters degree.
Now that you have some questions to help you narrow your focus and you have answered why you want to attend an MFA program I think you will find that you have answered the question “what makes a potential MFA student?”.
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LAST WEEK AT SPARK BOX
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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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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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PAST RESIDENT – SARAH AMMONS
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.
ETCHING WORKSHOP WITH MOIRA SECONDARY
In anticipation of starting up workshops again I have decided to reflect on our most recent workshop at the new studio with a group of high school students from Belleville. Over the past few years we’ve worked hard to build a good relationship with the different schools around the area. We see art as a truly beneficial experience for any young person. Art provides youth with a place to express themselves in an open and nurturing space and we love giving a young person a chance to participate in an environment where they can freely be who they want to be.
This past fall we had the pleasure of hosting a two day etching workshop with a group of art students from Moira Secondary. Their teacher Rosanne Duke (a big supporter of the studio) she asked if her class could learn intaglio printmaking with us through the process of etching. We have done this workshop with Loyalist in the past and it has been a huge success so we jumped on the chance to share this very old process with her students.
This was the first big workshop we have held in our new space, making it a bit nerve-racking. With over 20 students we weren’t too sure how the space would hold-up, but to our surprise it turned out very well. We first went to their classroom to give each student their pre-grounded plates and the step-by-step instruction on how to carve their image. Then the entire class came to Picton to print their plates on our press. Each student had the chance to make an edition of four prints in two different colours. During the first half of the studio day students were timidly working with the inks and using the press but by the second half they were experimenting with different application processes and producing some really inspiring pieces.
If you are interested in learning about etching be sure to sign-up for our January Etching Workshop >> find out more here <<
PREFIX MAGAZINE
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.
CRAFT MONTH AT SPARK BOX
It has been a busy month here with all the holiday sales over the past two weeks. Nell and I were making new items inspired by the galaxy for this holiday season, including cards, bags, pins, housewares and toys. Now that the sales are over it is time to reflect on all the great people we met while running around from sale to sale. The first sale was the OCAD Book Arts Fair in Toronto. It was a great Saturday and we met a number of really nice people. Our booth was right beside Jeffrey Macklin owner of Jackson Creek Press in Peterborough. Jeffrey’s printed work is so much fun and all made with by hand with a genuine old-school letterpress.
We did some great trades at this sale with Alex Froese and Tiny Press and met some really awesome crafters like the two ladies behind Good Plant.
On the Sunday we participated in the Fat Goose sale in Kingston. This is another fantastic event and always a good night. It is so nice to spend time with some of our favorite Kingston artisans like Vincent Perez of Everlovin Press (featured in Square2), Julian Berry of Ironclad Graphics and Brandy Olley of Salvage Designs. It was also a great place to meet new people like Jeff Woodrow of Joy T-Shirt. Joy T-Shirt is a really interesting idea, Jeff creates graphic t-shirts that are inspired by a real people. The shirt has a drawing of a real person printed on it and the idea is that when you wear your shirt you are encouraged to think about that person and how your everyday actions can affect others and the world we live in.
Last weekend we were part of the Busy Hands sale in Picton. Like Fat Goose it’s always a great time to re-connect with local crafters and say “hi” to people we haven’t seen in awhile. I got a chance to meet a few new people at this sale as well like Kathyrn Orok and Mags Kandis. It has been a fun two weeks but I am excited to spend a weekend at home and in the studio. If you missed the sales and are curious about what we have been up to please feel free to stop by and visit us.
PAST RESIDENT: TESSA ANDROUTSOPOULOS
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.
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: CYNTHIA HSIEH
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).
