Church Residency 2
What am I looking for?
In a place so full of beauty, I am on the quest for something very specific response: "aesthetic arrest”. This is a sight that stops your heart, not necessarily because of beauty, but because of a culmination of meanings, feeling and visual salience - something that holds your heart and creates a feeling of expansion.
It’s what I want to convey in my artwork and that’s what I seek in the world.
After sketch books are full, the next challenge is to pare down a focus. I study Colin McCahon’s “Northland Panels” . The solid number of loose canvas panels offers a structure that helps me edit the flood of ideas and move forward in an organized way with a clear goal.
Northland_Panels
Colin McCahon , Northland Panels
The residency experience, with its unique challenges, pushes me to learn, explore and respond in new ways. It is a catalyst for experimentation and often, the next evolution of an artist's working style.
I’m in a small town during the holiday season. There are no stores to speak of here in Rawene. It has an artisan shop, a cafe, a fruit/veggie shop, a bodega and a fish&chip shop.. all essentials for civilized living - but for paint/products I have to head out into the wider world. My new favorite recipes are a mix of house paint and old tattoo ink applied with homemade bamboo brushes.
Heartfelt Thank Yous to the generous local artists who helped me achieve my goals!
Ceara Lyle, provided her sewing skills to fit the canvas with loops for hanging
Mario for providing me your old tattoo ink!
Mara Land, guided me through working w/flax in making the muka twine to hang the works