FASHIONSIGN EZINE VOLUME I
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PHOTOGRAPHY Mitch Wiebe ARTWORK Greg Harder
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TABLE of CONTENTS Artists (any medium) Illustrators Galleries Art organizations Art classes Crafters (sewing, felting, knitting, fabric stores +) NOTE: IIF YOU HAVE A BUSINESS THAT IS NOT ENLISTED, CONTACT US FOR MORE INFOMATION.
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DESERE PRESSEY WITH NO FORMAL ART TRAINING, DESERE PRESSEY SURPRISES CALGARY’S ART SCENE WITH HER INNATE ARTISTIC TALENT.
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here is no escaping art for local artist, Desere Pressey. Even as a child, she was always fully immersed in her own tiny little world. Call it weird or unique, but these moments of being detached from the natural setting of life made her the artist that she is now. When Pressey tried to follow the conventional path of life, she honestly thought that art was just frivolity. She never gave art a chance to rule her life, but rather she focused on being a “normal” person, making ends meet by going to school and working at the same time. It was not until she was consumed by her own family life that she realized she was not living THE dream. Marriage and three kids soon thereafter, she found herself depressed and didn’t feel like she was being true to herself. ART saved her. Pressey, who was never formally trained (except for a beginner’s intro class in oil painting, if you can count that as training) and who never painted anything major before (besides some paintings she did in school and at home), found her true calling. “I have no better or more poetic way to put it: I was simply feeling broken and needed to go back to my elemental roots. There was a call beyond logic that drew me to the canvas and for the first time in a long time I found myself following the call of whim.” That artistic whim made her rent a studio a week later and she has never stopped creating magnificent pieces ever since.
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You would think that someone with such immense natural talent would be too confident but just like her art, Desere surprises, “I don’t feel as though I am trying to teach the industry anything. I feel as though I have much to learn and am humbled by the acceptance I have felt from the local arts community.” Desere has drawn much of her strength as an artist from her community and now dedicates much of her time to giving back. She is one of the pioneers of a local group called, ‘Calgary Emerging Artists’ where local artists have been given a platform to share their works and pay homage to other local artists who inspire them. She also runs ‘Calgary’s Off Beat Figure Drawing Sessions’, which these monthly gatherings include lovely creatives, models, live music and photography. Desere is also in the process of opening a brand new art studio/workshop/gallery in the SE called ‘Hatch Studios’. This space is the home of ‘Off Beat Figure Drawing’ and soon to be occpied by 10 professional artists who will have the opportunity to make additional funds beyond their art by teaching workshops in the space. Pressey hopes to help other artists to take the ‘leap’ to dedicate their time and energy to their craft by offering a subsidized studio and means to make additional income beyond the selling of their work. For Pressey, school doesn’t necessarily mean formal training but learning from each and every artist you come across with – that is her school. It also doesn’t hurt that what she once considered frivolous is now what lights her up and makes waking up every morning worthwhile. Her advice for artists like her is do some soul searching and really think about what makes you happy. “When you live and work from a place of authenticity, you will be met with success,” •
ARTICLE by KD Faustino PHOTOS by Boon Ong