i’m offering this drawing for the CFCR art auction fundraiser.  CFCR is saskatoon’s community radio station and this art auction is an important way people can support them.  other local artists are also taking part, so if you’re around in saskatoon today, please come out and show your support for CFCR.

“Artist for Alternative Radio”
community radio’s 6th annual art auction
CFCR Art Auction Fundraiser

7:00pm - viewing, silent auction, and reception
8:30pm - live auction

tickets: $25 per person ($15 tax receipt)

November 15, Saturday at Riverside Golf and Country Club
3180 Grasswood Road West
Saskatoon SK

another drawing from the group show ‘flatlanders’ at mendel art gallery (september 2008 - january 2009).

this image will be one of the designs of the posters for the group show ‘flatlanders’ at mendel art gallery.

thanks to everyone who came out to the opening reception for the group exhibition, “flatlanders” at mendel art gallery last friday night.  i really enjoyed talking to you all and meeting some of my blog readers.

many people said very nice things about my drawings.  i was very happy to hear that.

the gallery was totally packed with a flood of people.  there were so many people that we wanted to talk to.  elijah didn’t cry, he was very quiet and wanted to be held all night.  he seemed overwhemed by the number of excited people.  originally we’d planned to stay for just an hour or two, but elijah fell asleep in my arms so we were able to stay until the end.

elijah has been to the mendel art gallery before, 16 months ago — 3 days after he was born.  we were discharged from the hospital on the last day of the show i was in, ‘political :: personal’.  we grabbed all our new baby gear and drove to the gallery.  elijah was pretty good at first, sleeping quietly, but then he woke up and started to cry wildly.

at the reception for ‘flatlanders’, a few people told me that they liked the ‘political :: personal‘ exhibit more than this show.  they missed seeing animals in my new drawings for the current show.

the drawings i showed in ‘political :: personal’ were my favorite picks from the last two years.  for the ‘flatlanders’ show, i only had a couple of months to prepare, and during that time i had the fringe festival, so i did all the drawings in the course of about five weeks.  the curator told me they wanted all new work, and i’d already promised most of my recent work to other galleries, so i had to start from scratch.  i wanted to do a series of drawings in a common style.  even though i did some other, different work during this time, i edited down to 7 drawings that are similar to each other.  i finished the last drawing on a saturday, did the framing sunday, and delivered them to the mendel on monday for installation.

the 7 drawings all have the same style: girls’ heads with no body and the hair made of wood (you can see the wood grain).   different things happen to the heads in different drawings.  one drawing is bigger and more complicated, with three heads joined together.

‘tricolore’ (click image to enlarge)

it’s a different style than i’ve drawn before. my interest changes all the time and so my style changes with it.  i can’t make myself draw the same thing twice.  if you look back at my drawings over the last 4 years, you can see the changes.  i guess some people want me to keep drawing schoolgirls with fish or elephants, again and again.  it’s hard to enjoy the unpredictability.  but i can’t repeat myself, even if i wanted to, so please bear with me. :)

now i think about it, i ended up drawing only heads during the five weeks because i was wondering if my head was going to explode.   i was staying up late every night drawing and waking up to take elijah to the park during the day.  eventually my head did explode and you can see the bits and pieces of my heads on the wall at the mendel art gallery.  better for my exploded head to end up in a gallery than in the hospital.

the next day was a panel discussion with most of the 18 saskatchewan artists exchanging their opinions on:

• the impact(s) of isolation and community on your work / how the changing Saskatchewan economy may be impacting your work / the role of Saskatchewan geography/history/culture in your work, etc. / the social role of artist in our province
• Spirit and Matter: i.e. is the art world like a “religion” unto itself? / how spirituality may or may not factor into your work / the importance of craftsmanship / responsibilities of an artist
• Technology and Ecology: i.e. ecological sustainability in art / impact of digital technology and communications on your work

many topics to cover in just over an hour.  it was interesting to hear other artists talking about their work.  i don’t spend much time hanging around with artists lately.  it reminded me of the ‘pause talk’ session i took part in this january at cafe pause in tokyo, without the cigarettes and the wine and the darkness.

i only spoke up a couple of times in the group discussion.  the conversation was mostly people explaining why they do what they do and analyzing the meaning of it.  i don’t spend much time thinking about what i do, i just do it.

some people were talking about how they like to work ’slow’, avoiding technology like digital cameras and using old-fashioned techniques.  i said we should imagine the world a hundred years from now, where today’s digital cameras will seem very old-fashioned and slow.  not that i care, by then i’ll be dead — everyone laughed when i said that.  someone else pointed out that even a pencil is a kind of technology.  i agree, that’s why i like to use the latest in superslow modern technology, my colour pencils.

paul took care of elijah during the panel discussion.  they got a seat near the front so elijah could see me.  but maybe it wasn’t a good idea — he’s been very mama-obsessed recently so he couldn’t leave me alone.  right from the beginning, elijah started calling out to me saying, ‘oppai~, oppai~’ in his most adorable gentle voice.  it’s good no one understood what the hell oppai means (”breast” in japanese).  so paul had to take him out and walk around the rest of the gallery, trying to distract him.  every time i spoke into the microphone, i could hear elijah in the distance, calling ‘mama~, mama~’.

i wish i could split my body into two to cuddle him.

after the panel discussion, elijah and i sat together on the gallery stairs and he asked me “so, you’re an artist?!’

i said, ‘am i?’…

i’m showing this drawing at a group show, ‘flatlanders’ at mendel art gallery in saskatoon. (september 19 - january 2009)

i made new postcards of these wooden head drawings.  they will be available soon from my online shop.

i’m taking part in a group show titled ‘flatlanders - saskatchewan artists on the horizon‘ opening this week at the mendel art gallery here in saskatoon.  the show is curated by dan ring and the new assistant curator, jen budney.  18 emerging artists were chosen from the province of saskatchewan, exhibiting a wide range of media including ceramics, video, printmaking, photography, paintings, drawings, sculpture and installation.  you can read more about the show on the mendel gallery’s current exhibitions page.

i’m showing seven new drawings, all featuring wooden heads.  none of my work for the show has appeared online yet.  i’ll be putting images on my blog over the next few days.

two of the artists are japanese — kiyoko-san and me.  kiyoko-san does very beautiful abstract paintings and i draw bleeding heads or breeding heads. i think it’s cool we immigrants are part of this exhibit.

the opening reception for the ‘flatlanders’ show is tonight, from 8 pm until 12am.   i’ll be there, at least for the early hours (before i have to take elijah home for bed).  if you’re around in saskatoon tonight, please come and check out the show and chat with me :)

i’ll also be taking part in a panel discussion with the other artists in the show saturday at 2pm.  if you’re interested in listening to my nonsense talk, please come.

the show runs until january 4th.

FLATLANDERS:
Saskatchewan Artists on the Horizon

OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, September 26 at 8pm
ARTIST SALON: Saturday, September 27 at 2pm

Mendel Art Gallery
950 Spadina Crescent East
Saskatoon, SK
Phone 306.975.7610

9 am to 9 pm daily
Closed Christmas Day
December 24 (Christmas Eve) 9 am to 5 pm
December 31 (New Year’s Eve) 9 am to 5 pm
FREE ADMISSION

ah~, it’s so nice to be on the street with my drawings.  i started busking at the fringe festival here in saskatoon last night.  this is my first fringe since elijah came along.  and this is my first time ever being away from elijah for more than an hour.

i’ve been showing my drawings at galleries nowadays, which is very nice.  but i really like being on the street, where most of the people who come by are there just to look around, not because they’re particularly interested in art or in my drawings.  i like the randomness of having people stumble upon my work and seeing their reactions, good and bad.

the busking areas at the fringe have been very busy already this year.  i’ve been setting up on broadway, near 10th.  i have a little table with books of prints and postcards that people can browse through at their own speed.  there are a couple little stands that i put single prints in, so people can see them from a distance walking by.

some of the prints and postcards are of my newer drawings that i’ve never made into prints before.  the only one of the newer drawings that i’ve shown in saskatoon before is ‘new wings’.  the other new drawings are on first view, but i’ve already put the images up on my blog.

for the fringe festival i do a different printing technique than the archival prints i sell in my online shop.  they’re not as expensive to make, so i can sell the 8.5 x 11 prints for $10.  postcards are sold for $2 each, or 6 for $10 (i’m from kansai, i have to offer a good deal).  people keep telling me the prices are way too cheap.  i want them to be cheap enough that even little kids don’t have to worry about the cost if they find an image of mine they want to take home.

this year i’ve already had a lot of people coming up to me who know me from somewhere — my blog readers, people who remember me from previous shows in saskatoon, and even some asian girls who saw my drawings in the hong kong fashion magazine, milk.

a couple people asked for my autograph.  i double-checked to make sure they weren’t out of their minds.

i got a few negative reactions — people saying ‘urrghh’, or ‘creepy’ — but not as many as i was expecting.  one older woman did sniff at me with a disapproving face, which i was glad to see.  i don’t know why, but those negative comments don’t hurt me anymore.  i kind of enjoy them.  a couple of harsh comments go a long way to motivate me to draw more.

i ran into some of the local artists as well — artist kris moffatt, poet taylor leedahl who is representing local book company jackpine press, artist carole epp, and young artist michael.  i’m hoping to meet the artist kristin bjornerud who will be back in saskatoon for the summer from hamilton.

if you’re in saskatoon, come and see me on the street at the fringe festival!  you can say whatever you want, and you don’t have to pretend to be nice.  i’ll be happy to see you anyway.

i’m taking part in a group show called ‘environmental 911′ at gordon snelgrove gallery at university of saskatchewan.  it’s been a while since i got to show my drawings in saskatoon.  i’m very happy.

we’ll be at the closing reception probably from 7 to 8pm-ish.  please come and say hi if you’re around in saskatoon.

oh, this drawings is called “new wings”.  16 x 20″

Gordon Snelgrove Gallery

3 Campus Dr.  Saskatoon

this will be my first art fair since the birth of elijah. i’m really looking forward to this.

city park artists showcase
hosted by city park community association

Featured City Park Artists are: Chris Savage— Ivor Jones— Judith Bensen— David Geary— Lia Sunshine— Celine Schmidt— City Park Cycle — Wendy Waters — Kathyrn Trembach — Lynn McGinnis (Musician) — Shannon Brunner — Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan — CFCR — Taylor Leedahl — Mike Magnussen — Kris Engstrom — Priscella Settee — Yuka Yamaguchi — City Park Preschool —CPCA — Milton Taylor (Photographer) — City Park Collegiate Art department — Tannis Pratt — Craig Nelson — Tammy Boehmer — Pete Burgess

Music by:

Sean Hogan David Hutton Paul Tobin

Poetry performance by:

Taylor Leedahl

Date:
Friday, April 18, 2008
Time:
7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location:
City Park Collegiate- Gymnasium
Street:
820 9th Ave North
City/Town:
Saskatoon, SK

$10 admission ( also includes coffee/tea/punch and samples of food)
Kids under 12 free

a saskatoon design company, beagle productions contacted me to be part of their online gallery of saskatoon artists. some of my artist friends here in saskatoon are also on the spotlight. you should check them out. the purpose of this project is to attract visitors to saskatoon. i hope a lot of people will come to saskatoon. saskatoon is booming, you know.

Our Curio

The Spotlight on Visual Art Curio in Beagle Productions showcases Saskatoon’s eclectic collection of artists and their paintings through an in-person display as well as kiosk and web technology. This Curio builds on the growing popularity and success of the Crescent’s art community by providing the opportunity to display these impressive works year round and to a broader audience. Not only does this add value to the cultural community in Saskatoon, but it will also encourage an appreciation for local art, culture and heritage by making it easier for artists to present and the public to find impressive local art.