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GREATLIFE | ARTISTS One chip leads to another AT STUDIO 52

STORY BY JOSIE RANDALL

Melissa Bruglemans-LaBelle gets a nasty creative block from time to time.

To get through, she started collecting paint chips using the name and colour as inspiration for her artworks.

“One chip was called ‘blue suede shoes’ so I painted Elvis, and another was ‘two peas in a pod’ and you just kind of take it from there,” says Bruglemans-LaBelle.

“Studio 52 wanted to ramp things up again after the pandemic, so I pitched the idea to them for our 2022 project.”

Studio 52 is an Airdrie-based group of local artists whose goal is to create a unique and original piece of art every week for a full year.

Early in 2022 the group unveiled their ‘Luck of the Draw!’ project where five artists were given 52 randomly-drawn paint chip colour cards. The idea was for each artist to use those chips as the base for their artwork through the colour, name of the colour, or both.

Over the next few months Studio 52 will gather to share ideas for their 2023 project. Until then, the group will continue to finish off their 2022 projects and potentially show off their works in the spring.

SHARON SHUTTLEWORTH Project name: Fish Out of Water

Sharon focused on using watercolours. Acrylics are her first love because they are very quick to dry and they stay where they’re placed - a perfect medium for an impatient artist. To paint effectively with watercolour, Sharon will have to have patience and be okay with the paints doing their own thing - this is way out of her comfort zone, thus her project’s name: “Fish Out of Water”. Her paintings will be based on the name of the paint chips and not necessarily the colours. Some will be mixed media, some will be only watercolour, some are based on only one paint chip, others on a few.

>>> CINDY ZAMPA

Project name: Postcard Palettes

Studio 52 founder Cindy Zampa says this year’s project has given local artists the freedom to experiment with a like-minded group of people. Over the last year she’s been using the colour chips to teach herself colour theory. Trying to create each specific colour using the three primary colours along with white to adjust value. “All 52 chips must be used by artists by December 31, 2022,” says Cindy. “Over the past year we’ve each shared different ideas, and inspired each other in our own way. Kind of like ‘Oh have you thought of this?’ and ‘What about thinking about green that way?’ “That’s originally why I started Studio 52. To connect, and make lifelong friends with a creative itch to scratch.”

“I wanted to challenge myself in a way that I haven’t been able to creatively challenge myself before.”

MELISSA BRUGLEMANS-LABELLE Project name: Made in the Shade

“I wanted to challenge myself in a way that I haven’t been able to creatively challenge myself before. I didn’t really want to use paint,” says Bruglemans-LaBelle. “So I kind of tore them up to create a natural scene in its simplest form. Think landscapes, seascapes and land formations. It’s been a challenge for me because I am used to using coffee or paint as my medium, but here I had to piece together a physical image and created pieces I am really proud of.”

PEARL TAYLOR Project name: Stuff and Nonsense

Pearl is getting back into artistic mode and doing what she loves! She used her paint chips to inspire a variety of serious and nonsensical pieces. Variety is her focus, with some silly poems thrown in for good measure. You can expect to see watercolour, pencil crayon, pencil, acrylic, mixed media, and a variety of supports.

SARA ZAMPA Project name: Long Story Short

Sara has had a part in Studio 52 since her mother, Cindy, created the group in 2018.

As a graphic designer and storyteller, Zampa says it’s been challenging incorporating the paint chips into her artworks.

“For me, I am used to writing and you don’t really have to worry about visuals. So I have to get creative and think of intertwining both words and colour so it all comes together in a way that makes sense,” says Sara. “For example, I haven’t really been inspired by this off-white colour that says stone, but you kind of have to draw blood from stone sometimes.” life