June 9, 2014

Residency at KIAC in Dawson City, Yukon

I just looked through my blog and it is looking pretty lacklustre, as of late. It's not because I haven't been up to much - just the opposite in fact! I'm fresh off of spending part of April and most of May in beautiful Dawson City, Yukon, at the incredible KIAC (that's Klondike Institute of Arts & Culture) artist residency. After that I was the artist-in-residence for two weeks at La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse in Montreal, and I am currently writing this from Residency #3 at beautiful Sparkbox Studios in Prince Edward County, Ontario. But for the sake of brevity, I'll stick to the Yukon for this post. 

Here is a random smattering of images that in their own imperfect way document what was arguably one of the best months of my life in recent memory. I drew a ton, made great new friends, saw gorgeous wilderness, and had some seriously great moments of self-discovery. The Yukon is a very special place. Dawson 4---> 

Beautiful contemporary carvings in the Whitehorse airport, done by people in their early twenties! Mad skills. 

The plane couldn't land in Dawson City due to fog cover, so it continued on to Inuvik and Old Crowe, and landed in Dawson later in the day. I didn't mind - free aerial tour of the arctic!

Old Crow is a fly-in only community. I told my mom I went there and she said, "Oh, that's your second visit. I went when I was 7 or 8 months pregnant." What? Crazy, mom. 


The residency begins. Did I bring enough pens???
(Okay but seriously, it is kind of terrifying going to make art in a place where you know you cannot buy new materials if you run out. Embrace the unexpected, I know - obstacles lead to creative problem-solving, which can have great results. But my inner control freak totally insisted on packing over 200 pens and pencil crayons. I am so not Zen.)

Lucky enough to go not once, but twice, to Tombstone National Park. The first time everything was covered with snow and the mountains looked like Lawren Harris paintings. It was the quietest place I have ever been. 

There were 2 more hours of sunlight a day by the end of my month-long visit. Including dusk and dawn, it basically got dark from 2 am - 3 am and that's it. I hear that by solstice you can read outside 24 hours a day. I loved it.

Experimenting with collage. Quelle surprise!


The entire town looks like a Wild West movie set. People are almost bizarrely friendly. So much fun!


I could spend every day here. And...I am sure many do. Can't get over how great this bar is.

After the river broke up we had a pic nic on an iceberg. So Canadian, right? Actually no one I know has ever done that. 

My obsession with antlers was satiated every day. 

More collage. An almost ridiculous amount of cutting up flowers = so many Radiolab podcasts listened to.


Dilapidated buildings are everywhere and are mysteriously beautiful.

No trip would be complete without a visit to the cancan girls.

I actually got a lot of drawing done. I finally proved to myself that art *and* socializing are possible. There ARE enough hours in the day (when the days are 23 hours of light long...)
View of the town from Moosehide Slide. It is stunningly beautiful. I've never seen a sky so blue!

More patterned animal drawings on the way!

The fruits of my labours. Finished about 10 drawings and am crazy prepared for some serious collaging!

The other artist in the house with me was Sarah Smalik. After our artist talks we threw a dance party! It was extra sweaty because no one could figure out how to get the storm windows off. It was also kind of weird having a dance party while it was still super light outside. 
1:30 am on my last night. Waaaaaaah! Eternal sunlight is the best.
The little drawing I left as a gift for the walls of KIAC. Every artist leaves something when they go. My personal favourite is Shary Boyle's self-portrait from 2002.

Prints & Inks: Exhibition in Ottawa June 20-22

Jp and I will be showing some of our recent risograph prints (printed by Paper Pusher) at the upcoming Prints & Inks Exhibition in Ottawa. We are thrilled to be invading Canada's capital with some of our weird and pretty patterned/geometric work.

Presented by Spins & Needles, Prints & Inks is taking place at the multidisciplinary collaboration venue, IdeaSpace in downtown Ottawa June 20-22. Full details below.




What: Prints & Inks 2014 presented by Spins & Needles
When: Friday, June 20, to Sunday, June 22, 2014.
Opening Party: Friday, June 20 from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m.
Weekend Hours: Saturday, June 21 to Sunday, June 22: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: IdeaSpace (131 Bank St., Ottawa), (top floor)
Admission: Free
Curated by: Melanie Yugo, Spins & Needles Creative Director

This weekend-long show will feature the work of exciting Canadian talent in print, illustration and design, alongside a pop-up shop, hands-on print activities, and a late-night art party. Work by Spins & Needles Silkscreening 101 workshop alumni will be on display. Original, affordable artwork, limited edition prints, clothing, zines and other print items will be available for purchase.

We’ll be at the new multidisciplinary collaboration venue, IdeaSpace, top floor.

:: OPENING NIGHT

Opening night is Friday, June 20 from 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.,with resident DJ Jason Skilz spinning underground beats, cash bar and hands-on print activities. Works will be for sale and several artists will be in attendance.

:: WEEKEND HOURS

The show is open to view on Saturday June 21 and Sunday June 22, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on both days.

:: PRINT LAB

The Spins & Needles print lab will be up and running throughout the weekend. Silkscreen your own Prints & Inks poster or experiment with the other screens available.

:: FEATURED ARTISTS x ILLUSTRATORS X DESIGNERS

Featuring 30 selected artists, illustrators and designers from the capital and other Canadian cities working in the diverse field of print and graphic arts. A mix of emerging and established talent, many of whom are showing in Ottawa for the first time. Curated by Melanie Yugo, Spins & Needles Creative Director.

Raymond Biesinger (Montreal)
Andrew Benson (Edmonton)
Diane Bond (Ottawa)
Bookhou (Toronto)
Gregory Brunet (Montreal)
Julia Dickens (Toronto)
Michael Haddad (Ottawa)
Merle Harley (Halifax)
Josh Holinaty (Edmonton)
Danny Hussey (Ottawa)
Kid Icarus (Toronto)
JP King (Toronto)
Jenn Kitagawa (Toronto)
Jadyn Klassen (Winnipeg)
Eunice Luk (Toronto)
Kirsten McCrea (Toronto)
Drew Mosley (Ottawa)
Elyse Moir (Halifax)
Alicia Nauta (Toronto)
Le Pire Shirt du Monde (Montreal)
Popolo Press (Montreal)
Ross Proulx (Ottawa)
Luke Ramsey (Pender Island, BC)
Marta Ryczko (Toronto)
Amery Sandford (Halifax)
Stephanie St-Jean Aubre (Gatineau/Montreal)
Jill Stanton (Edmonton)
Guillermo Trejo (Ottawa)
Anne Tessier (Ottawa)
UNIK Print Shop (Montreal)
Colin White (Ottawa)

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