Last Night

I was overwhelmed by the 100 or so samples we were gifted for the night by the Surface Design Association - or was it the Tylenol.

Sorry about the quality... if it is really bad bad bad I will take it down.

I decided to go to the meeting last night because, a) I didn't want to miss anything! b) I organised it with help from Arlee and Susan. C) I didn't feel like I would infect folks.  After all, I have had this thing since last week....

I am sure there will be more updates on the SDAlbeta blog but here is a summary:
Susan's wonderful hospitality; (Don't you know how to one use a semi-colon Stoopid?) SDA members wonderful pot luck snacks; Karin's one million types of tea; 20 SDA members and non-members - diversity in experience; relaxed friendly atmosphere; mix and mingle; meet new friends;  too much squeaky talking by Karin; astounding Swatch Collection B;  Home too late for someone who is getting over a cold.
Thanks to everyone who came along.  Next meeting 25th April (A Thursday) all are welcome SDA members and non- members.  Lisa Grey will be talking to us.  Location, time etc to follow.

Shippetri : A combination of Shibori with movement via puppetry.

Attenborough-esque Puppet Moments
Your mind may wander as you watch this brief film, don't be impatient... or feel it necessary to press the stop button, but let time slow down for you  and, for a short time, escape this fast moving life-style we are all living. Perhaps the audio-visuals will move you to a creative, or restful, state.

PechaKucha Kreatures 2013 from Daniel Millson on Vimeo.

Puppetry: Wendy Passmore-Godfrey & Karin Millson
Film: Daniel Millson & Wendy Passmore-Godfrey
Editing: Daniel Millson
Text and Narration: Karin Millson
Full credits are given in the video itself.

If you are a follower of my work/blog, you will know that I have had a long history of creating artworks based on marine worms (Nudibranchia)* from felt, silk, and synthetic materials, using shibori with other mixed media techniques.  
My Kreatures ought to move, they each have a presence, a personality and people want to touch them and move them to give life to the otherwise inanimate; to see how they articulate and how they might have lived.  They are designed to be move and be moved. 

This year I collaborated with the very talented puppeteer, Wendy Passmore-Godfrey, to begin to animate my Kreatures.  There are many avenues we can walk with this but this year's work culminated in a short presentation at the Puppet Power, 2013 Conference : The Fearless Face of Puppetry  at a Pechakucha-style event, in Calgary this weekend.

This was a wonderful opportunity that Wendy provided. The evening was full of very moving stories of people using puppets to approach, teach or overcome social, medical or educational issues.  I was very moved by many of the presentations, and privileged to be part of the occasion.

Our presentation came after the short intermission.  And I believe it provided a period of lighter relief, although one comment on YouTube says "I find myself disturbed and fascinated by this all at once." (Runzu87).  Clearly, our Vimeo film does have powerful messages, as we hoped and as I alluded to during my, possibly, poetic introduction.

On a more personal level, the involvement of puppetry took some of my fear out of presenting my work and I hope we might use the combination of visual and performing arts to even greater effect in the future.
*Thanks due to Gary Cobb and Dave Mullins for their work at Nudibranchs of the Sunshine Coast Australia.  and their generous permission to use their imagery to stimulate my work and presentation of my work from time to time.

Scorsese

Made this whilst demonstrating at school.
Didn't have enough time to add many spines to the puffer fish Scorsese (joke not wasted on anyone who has watched Shark Tale).
Does anyone out there think there is a market for these sort of creatures?  I am willing to sell, I mean how many creepy things does one want in ones house before one wants to move out?

Making Cat Space Module today, but Laura couldn't come and enjoy the fun as we have a storm warning across southern Alberta... winds and snow all day... Not as dramatic as it sounds around our place, in fact  Very pretty.  But very hazardous on the highway to Jasper.
I'll post Cat Space Module if I finish it. It is in the dryer right now.

I just love that the puppet makes the children move... Splendid

More puppetry on film to follow shortly,  this time from  Dan, Wendy and me....

Creepy goes to school

This morning I made.....

Creepy-one

And now I am off to River Valley school to help the students finish off their first work of 3D felting (bowls).... leading on to these fellows next week.
I am sure they will find expressive creatures more exciting than bowls.
Who wouldn't?

Susan Kristoferson (March, 2013)

Susan Kristoferson 

teaches 

Inventive Itajime Paper

Colour Field 1 (Detail)  132 x 66 cm

Artist Susan Kristoferson, 2012

Hand decorated paper with calligraphy inks

Photo Credit Laura O'Connor

Monday 18th March 9:30 - 1:30 pm
Thursday 21st March 9:30 - 1:30pm
(This 8-hour course is spread over two days, to give you time to fold your papers before you stain them)
At: Atlantis Fine Framing Studio

Course fee:    $180 - - Payment is by PayPal, using the Buy Now button above.

Materials fee: $30

Moths in a Garden (Detail) Full piece  4' x 8' approx)

Artist Susan Kristoferson, 2012

Hand decorated paper with calligraphy inks

Photo Credit Laura O'Connor

Here is Susan's informative course description which makes me want to do the course this minute!

"The excitement of a child ‘opening a surprise package’ occurs with the opening of each bundle of itajime (Japanese for fold and clamp) dyed paper!  Learn to master intricate traditional patterns and processes and then explore many different dye and coloring possibilities.  Itajime can be highly skilled and controlled but also always offers up the unexpected.

Work from simple to complex in this structured workshop as your personal stack of amazing papers grows!  Design, color theory, and conceptual problem challenges will be applied to the patterned papers that you work to create.  View actual examples and slide lectures on historic and contemporary itajime papers and artworks.  Then work on artwork compositions or projects (i.e. book arts, origami, sculptural forms) of your choosing, based on demonstrations, assignments, and your own ideas.  This will be a whirlwind workshop, jam-packed with new information, experimentation, invention and your own creativity!"

A list of supplies you will need to bring with you can be found here.

For further information please contact me.

Counterpoint 12' x 3'

Artist Susan Kristoferson

Photo credit Esra Froese

Two weeks on, already.

This week at River Valley School we will be making vessels - everyone will use the same resist and we will see how many different shapes we can create.  Here are two of my own.
It is such a pleasant occupation making felt.  I find it quick at this scale (starting with a 12" circle - I'm still in Imperial) and somehow very natural to me.  Not stitching on there yet... but for these vessels there wont be.