To ArtsPeak Canmore and Beyond

Synchronicity, The Tipping Point and a little bit of 

It Was Meant to be.

When I saw Quilters' Inn B&B, during my online search for accommodation for the Canmore ArtsPeak, I thought "Surely someone is telling me to stay there. " and sure enough it was a match made in heaven as they say...

Roseanne told me later that she believe that all women share a link and that is the needle (sorry, R. for any mis-quote). I felt that connection this weekend.

I feel very much at home (as you can see)  in this B&B where Roseanne and Grant have surrounded visitors with antiques and treasure of their full and eventful lives, and quilts galore.  I have a respect for Grant for his work and community service, awards for these are discretely placed in the visitor's lounge and for Roseanne for all the textiley homely touches... even individual ribboned soaps.

And everywhere Quilts.  Quilts that speak of frugal living in Canada just a generation ago; quilts - the new holiday scrap-book; quilts - the fabric representation of an observant mind; quilts of mathematical precision, geometrics gone crazy, with colours that are the most shocking or the most-muted; quilts that store flotsam and jetsam - a hoard from healthy living and walks on mountain passes in the Rockies; quilts telling the story of a husband and wife who so clearly love and support each other as in He Cooks She Quilts.  Humour, sensitivity and sentimentality (in the most positive sense) are all values expressed in Roseanne's quilts.  Yes, I am in awe of her skill and output!
Some highlights of the decor:

Yesterday evening was the inauguration of PortalXII, an outdoor art installation by Lucie Bause  in Canmore.

The rain held off and the opening was attended by about 30 folks who, mostly, selected waterproof shoes, or wellies to get the better of the unpredictable weather.
Canmore's mayor gave the opening address which was followed by Cheryl Baxter  of Elevation Gallery, and Lucie herself (show).  The speeches set the piece in context very well and made the evening more meaningful and memorable for me.  Thanks Alasdair and Susan for taking me along (wonderful dinner too).  A highlight of the evening was a chat with Louis Kamenka of Kamenka Quarry

from which the Triassic, Rundle Rock (of the Spray River Group - for the geologists amongst us) was taken for the installation.

Artist in residence: Studio //6 Spring Creek
Today I heard it called a transitional period for some quilters in Canmore.  And there was certainly much interest in my zany use of fabric and thread... and plastic and metal and all the rest.  So I am thrilled that there might well be an opportunity for me to share some of my experience with such a wealth of talented stitchersin Canmore in the future... time will tell.

I probably had 60 people come through the studio in 6 hours.  Thanks mainly, I think, to Roseanne who emailed the entire Quilters' Association about my demonstrations.

I shared studio space with Nicole Byl - of Safron Collective Studios whose music and the gentle hum of her pottery wheel kept our studio animated all day.  I am sure that Nichole can tell visitors the story of my art-works tomorrow, she has heard them so frequently herself today, poor girl.

Larissa and Annie in the studio opposite have a colourful presentation of water-colours and mixed media and have worked wonders on their studio which was just a bit of a mess when they arrived.

Tiffany Teske   who loves working with polaroid and demonstrates lifting (floating) and transfer of the image off the paper and using it in mixed-media pieces had no trouble pulling a crowd for the show.  Check out her Etsy site for beautiful work.

Sunday Shannon appeared and worked non-stop on her Encaustic pieces and demos.  Very refreshing pieces made in this way.


As well as.....

......Many artist painting en plein air.  And doing the most amazing work... how do they do it?  Did you leave me a treasure gift in the boot of my car, please get in touch... soon.

Patti Dyment, another plein air artist, was kind enough to spend some time with me.  She will have a show at The Edge Gallery shortly - she has lived at Spring Creek with her family and I am sure there will be many local stories told through her paintings.

Here are some shots of my bit of the studio... What a wonderful space to live and work... For those artists out there who want to live and work in a wonderful location, remember the name, Spring Creek, Canmore.

What? an empty shelf - yes... a sale!

And my demo area... very busy zone (... well this was before 9 in the morning). Folks were wowed by the magic of transfer paint!  And look, more empty spots.

It has been a lovely day.  Thanks to everyone for helping make it so. Dana, Frank,  Dave and Kathy, Roseanne and of course my family for giving me the 'weekend off'.
See next blog entry for what I consider to be the outcomes of this day for me....