Teachers are always teaching.

Such a big week! A little overview for you...

• We are head-on tackling our annual Guess Who's Coming to Dinner event, coming to Florenceville-Bristol May 1st. Support your gallery while hosting or dining with us!
• I also had a museum board meeting at Kings Landing earlier this week, chock full of interesting information. So many informative tidbits, to be expanded on some other time... 
• I was the guest host at storytime upstairs at the library Friday morning for the preschoolers. I presented the new Stories in Art program I've been working on for the 3-5 group, an introduction to art via childrens storybook illustrators. Following our main topic this month, the common thread throughout these illustrators was mixed media. We had illustrators who created their art from plasticine, from paper, and even quilted illustrations. It was a very successful workshop, the kids seemed to have a really great time! Free rein of the art materials (yarn, papers, buttons, ribbon, feathers) and 'glue paint' (watered down white glue to apply with paintbrushes, great for sticking materials to) generally equals a good time for this crowd. To really push their brains outside of what they might think art is, there wasn't a marker, crayon, or paint in sight. But of course, that age doesn't need much of a push to think outside of the box, they haven't had as many years as the rest of us at being pushed into the box! 

Where I really learned a lot though was, of course, in my teachers workshop Thursday evening. Always at it, those teachers. This workshop was technically the first flop I've had. There were three of us. Just three. Wonky.

But the three of us sat and did our own mixed media self-portraits anyway. And ate brownies. Maybe I forgot to advertise that there would be brownies?! And it was sooo lovely! I'm going to do it again! I won't give up on the teachers workshops, not yet.

Here's a few things I learned from the teachers workshop:

• Almost May is almost June, which in teacher language is 'school is almost done for the year'. Fall may be a better time to start this program.
• My planned target for this workshop were the elementary teachers, who are responsible to cover visual art in their curriculum but who may not consider visual arts education to be their strong point. I'm thinking now that they may not be the group that I can actually attract to take an evening out to come do and talk art with us. The elementary teachers did look at me a little like I had three heads when I advertised the teachers workshop at their staff meetings, but they jumped at the idea of me coming in to offer childrens art workshops for their classes. So taking the art to them I will do! I hope, along with classroom workshops for the students, to offer art workshops for the educators via their professional development days. You likey?
• And my grand discovery? The workshop actually did attract the highschool and middle school art teachers, people already dedicated to the arts and excited to meet with like-minded colleagues to soak up more about the topic. And the relaxing art making, along with the peer discussion on art techniques and how those can be applied to the classroom, was the perfect art therapy to end a crazy day. I'm thinking Thursday evening studio time at the gallery may be my new favorite idea to brainstorm! What do you think? Are you up for a little studio time at the gallery? We'll see what we can arrange...

An Easter overview.

Let's talk mixed media and Easter eggs. Better yet, let's do it!

We talked about what mixed media is (which is using anything and everything to make art with!) and big hands and little hands created side by side. Family Art workshops may be my new favorite thing. What better to nurture the natural creativity littles have than to get the big people in their lives creating alongside them.  

Workshops with the artists!

We are very excited to offer workshops with the artists this Saturday!

Felting with WhiteFeather
Saturday, March 27th, 2010 
10:30 – 12pm
$12/child

WhiteFeather will lead children ages 5-10 in a workshop on making felted shapes from wool, such as a small multicoloured ball and a 'snake'. Wool fleece dyed with different flavours of Kool-Aid will be supplied for felting, and participants should be prepared to get a little bit wet and soapy! Wool felting is a satisfying sensory experience for all, but especially for young children. Rhythmic and peaceful, the process is as enjoyable as the finished product as warm water and soapy bubbles delight. WhiteFeather instructs Fibre Arts at NB College of Craft and Design in Fredericton.

Block Printing with Carol Collicutt
Saturday, March 27th, 2010
1 – 2:30pm
$12/child

Discover the possibilities of block printing on paper using the simplest of materials. Create a template which can be used for one print or many. An easy introduction to printmaking. Carol is an artist in Fredericton, NB, practicing for over 20 years from her studio at the Gallery Connexion. She currently instructs Mixed Media at NB College of Craft and Design in Fredericton.

The mythical, the spiritual, and the corporeal

So you've at least had a peek at a bit of Ex Corpore on yesterday's post. Maybe you've even been in to the gallery to see the show yourself. What do you think? The feelings this exhibition provokes are probably not those of the warm and fuzzy type. An uneasy feeling is more probable. And that's just fine. You might even contend that this is exactly the point.

As art has served to do throughout time Carol and WhiteFeather's work mirrors our world and points out what's happening around us, invoking us to think critically about our own understanding of the cultural and social issues that snar us. The pieces you will discover in Ex Corpore are intended to provoke contemplation, to encourage the viewer to consciously register their reactions, mull over their automatic thoughts and feelings brought on, and decipher why these pieces symbolize what they do to them. Through sculptural fibre-based works and assemblage of found and mixed media and organic materials, WhiteFeather and Collicutt address topics surrounding their identity as women and what physicality encompasses, the mythical, the spiritual, and the corporeal.

It is accurate to state that WhiteFeather creates intricately adorned little dolls. However, the sweet little Danish blonde haired, blue eyed cherubs that my grandmother crafted are not the imagery you're looking for. WhiteFeather's 'dolls' are created of materials like animal bones, human hair and bird feathers, among other materials. The juxtaposition of the materials and the context is unnerving at best, but it's exactly this contrast that speaks to us so starkly. The symbolism of disembodied hair and discarded body parts is strong. To take advantage of WhiteFeather's message and appreciate this exhibit, you need to dissect the symbolism. Consider why it is that the same long and shiny black hair on the head of a young woman is beautiful, but off the body (in your food, on your sweater, in your art) is repulsive? Disembodied pieces, materials WhiteFeather has referred to as 'material the spirit once inhabited', symbolize death to us, which in turn raises our fear of the unknown, and the superstitions and paranoia that accompany that fear. When WhiteFeather creates new bodies for these old and broken body parts it raises the kinds of questions around physical mortality that we generally prefer to avoid. These dolls are eerily neither 'here nor there'. They too will grow old and decay, but what of their spirit then? What of their spirit now? We can't put our finger on what happens to the spirit after life, and body parts after death are grating symbols of that unknown. As a general rule humans hate the unknown. It bothers us and we create theories to explain it. What is rational and irrational blurs. WhiteFeathers 'Alma' takes all of these reactions to another level entirely. At life size, she is much more impossible to downplay or ignore than the smaller pieces. And she has a bunnytail. And not of the Hugh Hefner variety.

Carol's work also reminds us of our own mortality and the questions and fears we have around it. How do we handle the deterioration and decay of our own bodies? As a culture we respond with an obsession in beauty and youth. An evolutionary standpoint would remind you of our origins, tell you that health, vigor, flawless beauty are obviously the most attractive and desirable choice because they are signifiers of the heartiest mate, that we are genetically predisposed to choose flawless for the best chances for our lineage, for the survival of our spawn. This lingering mindframe results in a desperate fight against disease and ill-health, and maybe even more profusely against even the symbols of aging. Our feelings of self-worth can be derived by a culturally dictated view of our bodies and fear drives decisions to options like elective surgical interventions, which really only mask the aging. As Collicutt presents it, you realize this is the ultimate mashing of external and internal influences on our bodies. In spite of our extreme attempts to present an outward appearance of youth we are still encased in bodies that inevitably wear old. Disease that requires surgical intervention is a crisis that is all encompassing for us, our physical bodies and mental states and cultural ideals are inextricably interwoven. In 'Damaged' Collicutt addresses gender specific ailments and diseases such as breast cancer and hysterectomies. Carol's scar tissue artwork consists of removed ages spots and scars framed in embroidery hoops and again we see these familiar materials of 'women's work' out of context and alluding to our art of denying aging. Like our reaction to WhiteFeather's dolls we would rather not look at changes in our bodies that remind us of our own decay, we would rather cut them out, just get rid of them, and maybe we can escape death altogether also.

Ex Corpore

In case you haven't been in to see the collaborative exhibition by Carol Collicutt and WhiteFeather, here's a few peeks. The show will be on display from March 18th to April 17th, 2010. You mull over the art, this work begs you to contemplate your own reactions to it. I'll be back tomorrow with my thoughts! 

Welcome

Phew! It's like the day after a big party here at the gallery! Thursday night we hosted the opening reception of Ex Corpore, a collaborative exhibition by well-renowned Fredericton artists, WhiteFeather and Carol Collicutt. The opening also doubled as our own big reopening. The gallery had been temporarily closed for a few months and our whole community is very excited to see it reopen, arriving at the opening in droves. I'm very excited to be here to facilitate this revival!

I think today I have been here as the new director for very close to one month. I began back in February, while the gallery remained closed with no art up. Together with the board I've organized and revamped the space, among other projects revitalizing the gallery entry into a welcoming and attractive space fit for our beautiful gallery. The entry had formerly housed the directors desk, a messy entry at best! Now I sit at my desk in the new office further back from the entry, enjoying the open doors to the gallery as guests peruse, enjoy, and take in the exhibit on their Spring Saturday. It's wonderful. We're now officially open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, from 10:30am to 3:00, and Thursday evenings, 3 to 8pm, closed Sunday and Monday.

I have big plans for Spring at the ALMAG. I hope to have people of all ages in through our programming. We have workshops with each of the artists this Saturday, March 27th, Felting with WhiteFeather for 5 to 10 year olds and Block Printing with Carol for 8 to 14 year olds. We're offering an Easter family workshop on April 3rd, where we'll be discussing the exhibit and mixed media, what it is as an art and experimenting with our own mixed media Easter eggs! The evening of April 15th brings Teachers Night Out, a chance for teachers to join up to discuss art education. We're having Susan Galbraith lead the discussion this month, and we'll be focusing on Responding to Art. This should be a really enjoyable and enlightening conversation. Friday morning, the 16th, I will be visiting the preschoolers upstairs at the library, bringing Stories in Art to storytime. This will be an introduction to fine art via the illustrators, in relation to our current exhibit we will be focusing on mixed media. As always, for more information visit our website, give us a call at 506-392-6769, or pop in at 8 McCain Street in Florenceville-Bristol, NB.

Alright, enough with the promo, get out and enjoy your first weekend of Spring! I'll be back soon with my own thoughts on Ex Corpore. It's a deep exhibit full of subtle and not-so-subtle nuances and topics for dissection, one I'm looking forward to exploring with you.