art of the Peace | Issue #11 (Part 1)

Fall / Winter 2008

Issue 11

www.artofthepeace.ca

of the Peace A Publication for the Visual Arts

TINA MARTEL tenuous

Open-Endedness

Three Abstract Artists art of the peace 1

UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS Nicole Bauberger 100 Dresses for Grande Prairie

Cultural

MONTROSE CENTRE

November 1 - 10, 2008 Residency November 14 - 24, 2008 Exhibition

We're moving!

Nicole will be painting at the Grande Prairie Regional College in the Pillars area November 1 - 10, 2008.

The Prairie Art Gallery and the Grande Prairie Public Library will be moving into the newly built Montrose Cultural Centre in Spring 2009.

We hope everyone will visit us in our new location at 9839 - 103 Avenue.

All of the paintings will be exhibited in the Glass Gallery at the Grande Prairie Regional College from November 14 - 24, 2008.

www.makeitgrand.ca

Here Now or Nowhere Curated by Micah Lexier January 2009 Here Now or Nowhere is a group exhibition featuring installation, video, and printed media art work by internationally renowned artists. This art work will be displayed in various locations within Grande Prairie.

THE PRAIRIE ART GALLERY #103, 9856 - 97 Avenue Grande Prairie, AB T8V 7K2

Annie Pootoogook

PH: (780) 532-8111 FAX: (780) 539-9522 E-MAIL: info@prairiegallery.com

February 1 - March 31, 2009 Presented by the Prairie Art Gallery

www.PRAIRIEGALLERY.com

Kin Gallery

The Kin Gallery is located in the lower level of Centre 2000, 11330 - 106 Street, Grande Prairie. art of the peace 2

Hours of Operation: Monday - Thursday, 10am - 5pm Friday, 10am - 9pm, Weekends, 10am - 5pm

The (First and) Last Word: Yin and Yang

by Wendy Stefansson

T

his being fall, we wanted to showcase the talents of two of our well-loved and talented teachers: Tina Martel of Grande Prairie Regional College, and Laine Dahlen of Northern Lights College in Dawson Creek. We thought it was an interesting symmetry, equal but in many ways opposite – Alberta and BC, female and male, mid-career and nearing retirement. Martel’s body of work has been largely comprised of abstract painting and mixed media works. Dahlen’s has been devoted to refining representational painting, constantly aiming for perfection. Martel’s has been a love affair with surfaces and textures; Dahlen’s has shown a devotion to depth, or at least the illusion of it. Hers is ephemeral; his is made to last.

Together they represent two sides of painting: a unity of opposites.

Continued on page III...

Three Abstract Artists

23

8 10 III

Art Books in Review Exhibitions & Opportunities

contents 13

26 Art Out There

Frances DuPerron

19

(The Other) Table of Contents Art of the Peace Visual Arts Association acknowledges the financial assistance of:

Tina Martel

City of Grande Prairie Arts Development Fund

The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Q99 Radio Station

©All rights reserved Art of the Peace 2008 Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.

Art of the Peace makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information it publishes, but cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from errors or omissions.

Cover Shot: Tina Martel, photo by Lena Gilje.

art of the peace 3

art out there...

The Chair Affair

O

n May 24th, 30 wooden Muskoka chairs embellished with original paintings by Peace Country artists were auctioned off at The Chair Affair – a fundraising event for The Community Village Society in Grande Prairie, Alberta. The Community Village is a coalition of social service organizations, including groups as diverse as Habitat for Humanity, Peace Country Health and the Lesser Slave Lake Indian Regional Council. At the event, $34,000 was raised for the purpose of renovating the former St. Joseph’s Catholic Church site into a space where 15 to 18 agencies can be housed. The planned facility will cost upwards of $2 million dollars, and will sport an exterior designed by Grande Prairie muralist, Tim Heimdal. Renovations are expected to begin in the spring or summer of next year.

Art chairs from The Chair Affair.

Organizer Brenda Moore expects that The Chair Affair will become an annual event. To get involved in next year’s program, go to www.thecommunityvillage.ca or call Moore at 780-897-0440.

New Outpost for Grande Prairie Art & Artists

F Paintings by Carmen Haakstad & Carrie Klukas grace the gallery’s rustic brick wall.

ive local artists turned Calgary into a temporary outpost of the vibrant Grande Prairie art scene this September! With a show called Outpost of Wonderment, the five – Carmen Haakstad, Carrie Klukas, Todd Schaber, Sabine Schneider, and Marian Jacoba Shilka – showed as a group at Art Central from September 4th to 30th. “This is a terrific venue in the heart of downtown Calgary,” said Klukas. “The centre is made up of several gallery spaces and every first Thursday [of the month] there is an open house. So for a group like us trying to test the market it was an excellent venue to experiment with a minimal cost to each artist.”

She adds that, “Because of the diversity of clientele coming through, each artist was appreciated. It was a great experience.”

art of the peace 4

Smoke Signals by Sonia Rosychuk

Smoke Signals

A

teepee was erected on a bed of river rocks outside the Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre in September, but it’s a teepee with a twist. Called Smoke Signals, this teepee is made of reclaimed rebar and other pieces of found metal. The sculpture is the creation of Peace River artist Sonia Rosychuk, and functions as a sign for the facility, with the word “museum” written in metal around the interior “fire pit.” The cladding on the teepee framework integrates metal articles that were given to Rosychuk by members of the community – a pickaxe without its handle; a pump for pulling gas from a barrel; shovels; a hammer and shears; a hinge from a barn door; a meat grinder, and more. All of the pieces are historical artifacts from the area, each a tool of the various activities and industries that compromised the huntergatherer way of life of the original inhabitants. At the top, however, the teepee poles are wrapped with chains: “We’re all connected,” Rosychuk asserts.

Guest Goes to the National Gallery

I

n May of this year, Peace Country landscape painter Robert Guest and his wife, Myrtle, made a trip he describes as a “pilgrimage” to Ottawa to see the National Gallery of Canada. For Guest, this was a self-described “working holiday”, as his agenda included time to experience the compelling and expansive architecture of the facility, close scrutiny of the extensive Canadian art collection housed there, and a meeting with Charles Hill, Curator of Canadian Art. Guest had met Hill on the latter’s visit to Grande Prairie and reports that, “he spoke kindly of the Peace River Country.”

Grande Cache artist Robert Guest outside the National Gallery in Ottawa.

Guest’s conclusion? “I think there is a lot to be gained by visiting the national capital, by mixing with Canadians from other parts of the country, and by seeing high standards in the visual arts.” He recommends that, “more people from the Peace River Country make this thoroughly worthwhile trip to Ottawa.”

Bringing Potters to the Peace

O Cheryl Brown making glass beads.

Photo by Diana Rinne, Grande Prairie Daily Herald Tribune.

Living Art History

T

he Sixth Annual McNaught Festival was held at the McNaught Homestead historic site near Beaverlodge, on July 26th and 27th this year. The festival is held every summer to honour the spirit of Euphemia McNaught; both her life and her remarkable art career. Appropriately, then, there were numerous art demonstrations provided by Peace Country artists – Cheryl Brown on glass bead making and raku firing, Lynn Brown on weaving, Darlene Dautel on batik and encaustic techniques, and Katrin Sannig on felt making. Grande Prairie photographer and writer Catherine McLaughlin performed readings about McNaught before an art exhibit. Rounding out the program, were horse drawn wagon rides, nature trails and games for children, and a Strawberry Tea hosted by the IODE as it had been in 1920 on the same site.

TISTS AR

AN NO

Art Show and Sale

RTH

Grande Prairie Inn November 15 1 - 9 pm

Supporting Parkinson’s Research

Phone (780) 568-3334

n July 26th and 27th, a small group at the Centre for Creative Arts in Grande Prairie was treated to a ceramic demonstration and workshop

by Yasuo Terada, a fourth generation master potter from Seto City, Japan. Terada is known and respected the world over for his knowledge and technique as much as for his Yasuo Terada adding a coil to a thrown vessel. pottery. Working literally from the ground up, he digs his own clays, makes his own glazes, and builds his own kilns. “It was wonderful watching Yasuo work on his pots,” workshop participant Candace Hook recalls. “Every movement he made seemed thoughtful yet so natural for him after a lifetime [of] … working with clay.”

Terada’s journey to the Peace Country was facilitated by Hythe resident, Bibi Clement, an internationally recognized ceramic artist in her own right. Clement has had a long and creative working relationship with Terada since meeting him in Japan in 1997, and has hosted him here in northern Alberta numerous times. In Japan, Terada’s time is much in demand, but Clement says: “Here, he creates because he has the peace.”

To see what’s new at the Centre visit our temporary location

10031 103 Avenue Grande Prairie (Old RCMP Building)

• Monthly Gallery Exhibitions • Store featuring local artists • Classes for all ages and skill levels

THE CENTRE FOR

CREATIVE ARTS www.creativecentre.ca

(780) 814-6080

info@creativecentre.ca

Instructors and Volunteers Needed art of the peace 5

We would like to thank our sponsors, supporters, volunteers, staff, artists and the people of Edmonton for another great year!

Apply for The Works 2009 Artisan Market.

TREX

The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program

deadline is Feb.15, 2009 www.theworks.ab.ca

For the 2008/2009 Travelling Season the Prairie Art Gallery presents four new Exhibitions: Collective Soul: PNCR 2007

The Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) has supported a provincial travelling exhibition program since 1981. The mandate of the AFA Travelling Exhibition Program is to provide every Albertan with the opportunity to enjoy visual art exhibitions in their community.

Three regional galleries and one arts organization coordinate the program for the AFA: Northwest Alberta: The Prairie Art Gallery Northeast and North Central Alberta: Art Gallery of Alberta Southwest Alberta: The Alberta Society of Artists Southeast Alberta: Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre

Anne McKenzie, 2007

‘Studio B’ Prairie North Participant from Calgary

Common Threads: Textiles in Art Melanie Jenner

‘Pink and Yellow Petals’, Artist from Grande Prairie

displace/graft/retrace: Catherine Hamel Catherine Hamel

Artist and Professor of Architecture at University of Calgary

Checkerboard and Other Patterns Daniel Campbell

from the Prairie Art Gallery Permanent Collection

For a complete list of exhibitions visit www.prairiegallery.com

#103, 9856 97 Avenue Grande Prairie, AB T8V 7K2 P: (780) 532-8111 | F: (780) 539-9522 | E: info@prairiegallery.com Mon. - Thurs. 10am - 5pm | Fri. 10am - 9pm | Weekends 10am - 5pm art of the peace 6

water hazards climate soil resources humanity recycle reduce reuse

2008, the Year of Planet Earth CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:

Open juried competition for Alberta artists in any medium presented by The Alberta Society of Artists.

Indulge yourself – escape to a week of art this summer

Deadline: November 28, 2008 Exhibition in Spring 2009 hosted by the Leighton Arts Centre, Calgary, with catalogue and province-wide tour to follow.

Download an application form from www.artists-society.ab.ca

The Alberta Society of Artists

SERIES ‘09

RDC’s Residential Summer Art School 2009 Register early to avoid disappointment!

Widest selection of art materials and best prices north of Edmonton.

Brushes|Paints|Specialty papers|Raw Canvas

Fairview Fine Arts Centre

Gift Shop

Unique.

Local Art. No GST.

Hours of Operation: day-Friday 8:30am - 4:00pm Mon P: (780) 539-2926 F: (780) 539-2768 TF: 1-888-539-GPRC al College Grande Prairie Region or Main Campus, Main Flo e, AB iri Pra nde Gra , 10726 106 Ave

Open Noon to 5 pm, Tuesday to Saturday 10812 103 Ave. 780-835-2697 finearts@telus.net

IMAGINE

Santa's Workshop Visit the Children's Library Story Room for an evening of fun crafts, hot chocolate, and treats.

Parents and children of all ages welcome.

Registration required.

make Wednesday December 10 7:00 - 8:30 pm

Call (780) 532-3580 ext 226

Art

a part of your

LIFE

a world without ART

supporting visual arts in alberta

e r o t s k o o B

Visual Arts Alberta

Check out program details at www.rdc.ab.ca/continuingeducation

The Alberta Society of Artists is a proud supporter of the arts through exhibitions and education.

To join call (780) 426-0072 or visit www.artists-society.ab.ca

1.866.421.1731 / info@visualartsalberta.com

CONTINUING EDUCATION

art of the peace 7

Art Books in Review Abstract Painting in Canada

by Roald Nasgaard

A

bstract painting is commonly defined by what it is not. It is not representational.

It is not objective: it depicts neither an object nor the space that it occupies. It is not the Renaissance notion of a painting as a view through a window. It is, in the words of Canadian abstract painter Françoise Sullivan, “‘a form of painting about nothing, a painting dependent on nothing, and that [can] hold together through nothing more than its inner force.’” ‘Nothing,’ perhaps, in the Zen sense of the word – what artist Christian Eckart describes as, “‘arguably a representation of God for our times.’”

Not all abstract artists regard their work as being “about nothing,” however; much less about God. What makes abstraction so difficult to sum up is that it is at once so wide-open and so complex. In Abstract Painting in Canada, art critic Roald Nasgaard has attempted to write an overview of the diverse histories of abstract painting in Canada, stretching from Bertram Brooker in the 1920’s through to the still-fertile present. Along the way he includes artists we in the Peace Country have crossed paths with: Ted Godwin, Harold Klunder, Chris Cran. He includes artists working in an expressionist mode, those doing hard-edged geometric painting, those painting conceptually, and more. Much more. To infinity and beyond.

Nasgaard’s writing is passionate, verging on the poetic at times. Supported by 200 large colour photographs, this book has an elegance that makes it a treat to read and a scope that will make it a valuable reference work for many years to come. Read it like you read your favourite art magazine - devour it from cover to cover, or nibble on it, savouring it over a long period of time.

J u n e 1 7 th - 2 1 st, 2 0 0 9

iskoteo

A R TS FE S TI VAL

5 da ys o f c ult ur a l e ve nt s in G ra nd e Pr a ir ie , hig hlig ht e d by t he Lie ut e na nt G o ve r no r o f Albe r t a Ar t s Awa rds G a la Wordspinner Grande P rai rie Friendshi p C entre

art of the peace 8

Frances DuPerron (1924 - 2007)

Frances DuPerron. Majestic Solitude.

A

rt, as a reflection of one’s inner life, has the power to communicate experiences and portray the artist’s world view.

The creation of art, therefore, combines one’s own deep experiences with a more immediate sensory perception of the world. Through my paintings, I have tried to mix the two and develop my own creative style, allowing me to share with others the special places and contexts of my deep experiences, in a manner which is open and relevant to them. I have often experienced a feeling of majestic solitude in our great wilderness areas and this is what I have tried to capture in many of my landscape paintings.

art of the peace 9

BEAVERLODGE, ALBERTA • Beaverlodge Cultural Centre Exhibits & Events

All shows & sales open at 2 pm at the Centre.

Sean McPherson Show & Sale September 28th – October 31th Tim Heimdal Show & Sale November 2nd – November 28th Toni & Janine Schuler November 30th – December 23rd

Programs

Beginner Oil Painting Instructor: Mary Mottishaw Saturdays, Nov. 3rd - Dec. 6th 12:30 pm - 3:30 pm The Studio @ the Art Gallery

Opportunities

Gallery exhibition and gift shop sales opportunities are available.

Please call Debbie at 780-3543600 for further information.

DAWSON CREEK, B.C. • Dawson Creek Art Gallery Exhibits & Events

South Peace Art Society Annual Christmas Show and Gift Fair November 15th 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Dawson Creek Art Gallery Call Ellen at 250-782-2601 Christmas Tea, Bazaar & Craft Sale November 23rd 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm Parkland School To reserve a table or for more info please call Kim at 250-843-7018

art of the peace 10

Creative Peace - Winter 2008 December 12th – 14th Tumbler Ridge Community Centre 1-866-516-1902 for information Creative Peace - Spring 2009 April 3th – 5th Tumbler Ridge Community Centre 1-866-516-1902 for information

Stained Glass - Session 2 Instructor: Debby Chaffey November 19th - 20th 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Chaffey Studio

• Fairview Fine Arts Centre Exhibits & Events

contact information and hours.

Ongoing programs in pottery, stained glass, batik, weaving, acrylic, oil and watercolour painting classes for a variety of ages.

Please call Debbie, 780-354-3600 for dates and details.

Opportunities

Stained Glass - Session 1 Instructor: Debby Chaffey Wednesday, November 13th 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Chaffey Studio

exhibitions & opportunities Refer to the Galley Directory for locations, Programs

TUMBLER RIDGE, B.C.

Time Out For Seniors - Session 1 Instructor: Edna McPhail Wednesdays, September 24th December 10th 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm The Studio @ the Art Gallery Time Out For Seniors - Session 2 Instructor: Edna McPhail Wednesdays, January 7th March 18th 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm The Studio @ the Art Gallery Jewellery Making - Advanced Instructor: Joyce Lee Thursday, October 16th November 13th 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm The Studio @ the Art Gallery For more information or to register for any of the course please call 250-782-2601

Opportunities

Opportunities for exhibition in the gallery are available. Guidelines for exhibitions can be viewed at www.dcartgallery.ca.

FAIRVIEW, ALBERTA

Peace Printmakers and Friends September 19th - November 5th Aurora Cinema Monday Night At The Movies Showtimes start at 7:00 pm October 27th - Amal November 10th - Passchendaele January 12th - The Duchess Aurora Cinema Centre

GRANDE CACHE, ALBERTA • Grande Cache Tourism & Interpretive Centre Exhibits & Events

Constance Davidson & Heather McNair - Of a Different Feather October 4th - 31st Fairview Fine Arts Centre

Exhibiting the Palette Pals Art Club, local art, year round. Check out www.grandecache.ca for an up-to-date schedule of exhibitions and events.

Visions of Stories November 7th - 22nd Fairview Fine Arts Centre

GRANDE PRAIRIE, ALBERTA

Fairview Fine Arts Centre Member’ Christmas Show & Sale November 29th - December 31st Fairview Fine Arts Centre Bernice Trider - Show & Sale January 10th - 31st Fairview Fine Arts Centre Catherine Hamel - displace, graft, retrace February 7th - 28th Fairview Fine Arts Centre Kristine McGuinty - Show & Sale March 7th - 28th Fairview Fine Arts Centre

• Centre for Creative Arts Programs

The Centre has classes for everyone! Check out our website, www. creativecentre.ca, to find out more.

Opportunities

We are currently looking for instructors to teach a variety of classes. Interested parties can contact the Centre at 780-814-6080.

• Grande Prairie Museum Exhibits & Events Lantern Tours October 24th & 25th Pioneer Christmas December 7th

Heather McNair - Pottery Show & Sale April 4th - May 2nd Fairview Fine Arts Centre

Family Day Celebrations February 16th

Programs

Programs

The Centre offers fine art courses on an ongoing basis. For course and membership information, phone the Centre at 780-835-2697 or send an email to finearts@telus. net.

Tours and school programming available by phoning 780-5325482 for further information.

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C.

Annie Pootoogook February 1st - March 31st Kin Gallery

• Fort St. John Community Arts Council

10320 - 94 Ave., Fort St. John, BC ph 250-787-2781 www.fsjarts.org

• Grande Prairie Heritage Discovery Centre Exhibits & Events

• Grande Prairie Regional College Exhibits & Events

Fine Arts Contemporary Showcase November 14th DJ Cardinal Performing Arts Centre & Room L106 Visitor in the Arts - Kevin Kerr November 26th 11:40 am - 12:50 pm Room L106 Visitor in the Arts - Kelly Mark January 14th 11:40 am - 12:50 pm Room L106 Visitor in the Arts Marie Clements Frebruary 25th 11:40 am - 12:50 pm Room L106 5th Annual Art Symposium March 18th Visitor in the Arts Laura St. Pierre April 1st 11:40 am - 12:50 pm Room L106

Glass Gallery Rotating exhibits on an ongoing basis throughout the year.

Micah Lexier, curator Here Now or Nowhere January 2009

GALLERY

Programs

Annie Pootoogook February 1st - March 31st Kin Gallery

Helena Bergman November – December

New Travelling Exhibitions

Diane Bertold January – February

The Fine Arts Department Classes include Diploma, University Transfer programs and courses in Music, Art and Drama. Programs may also fulfill Fine Arts option requirements with FAD credit courses. Non-credit Visual Arts courses include drawing, painting, digital arts and photography.

• Picture Perfect Opportunities

The Robert Guest Gallery at Picture Perfect is available for exhibitions - call Allan at 780-539-4091 for information.

• Prairie Art Gallery Exhibits & Events

Nicole Bauberger 100 Dresses for Grande Prairie Residency - November 1st - 10th Exhibition - November 14th - 24th Grande Prairie Regional College The Pillars

Donna Kaut September – October

For a complete list of travelling exhibitions please check our website at www.prairiegallery.com.

Programs

Check www.prairiegallery.com for current programs for all ages or call 780-532-8111 for information.

Opportunities

TREX For information about the Travelling Exhibition Program contact The Prairie Art Gallery 780-532-8111 www.prairiegallery.com

• Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, The Courtyard Gallery Exhibits & Events 20th Annual Festival of Trees November 18th - 23rd Bowes Family Crystal Gardens

Beaverlodge Arts Society March – April

SHOWCASES

Laurie Wedler October - November

Opportunities for Artists

For information about exhibitions contact Karen at the QEII Foundation office 780-538-7583. Display cubes (showcases) are also available for collections or 3-dimensional art.

• Unique Gallery Opportunities

Opportunities for exhibitions in the Gallery are available. Call Dan at 780-538-2790.

The

McNaught Homestead The McNaught Homestead was the lifetime home of Euphemia (Betty) McNaught, an important Alberta artist. The quarter section was declared a provincial historic resource on July 23, 2003; marking the beginning of the McNaught Homestead Preservation Society project.

Our non-profit Society has undertaken the restoration of buildings, construction of nature trails and the pursuit of Euphemia's legacy as a Peace Country artist, teacher and leader in Alberta's cultural growth. Painting and working toward an artists' retreat was Bettys' lifelong goal.

of the Peace

Juried Art Show Ar t o f t h e Pe a c e m e m b e r s a re in v it ed to b e p a r t o f t h e Iskoteo Arts Festival, h ig hlig hted b y t h e G a la R e c e p t io n o f t h e Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Fine Arts Awards.

Dig it a l s u b m is s io n - J a n u a r y ‘ 0 9 J u r ie d Ar t Sh o w - J u n e 1 7 - 2 1 ’ 0 9 F o r m o re in f o r m a t io n v is it

www.artofthepeace.ca

The Society's mandate is to make Betty’s dream a reality.

You can learn more by visiting the McNaught Homestead, located 5.5 km south of Beaverlodge, Alberta on secondary Highway #722.

The McNaught Homestead Preservation Society Box 834, Beaverlodge, Alberta T0H 0C0 Phone (780) 512-6316

iskoteo

AR TS FE STI VA L

art of the peace 11

Open-Endedness: Three Abstract Artists

by Wendy Stefansson

Marjorie Taylor

G

rande Prairie artist, Marjorie Taylor, does not work exclusively in abstraction. When she creates with clay she finds herself making vessels or sculpting representational works. But when she picks up a paintbrush and approaches a canvas, it’s with a sense of open-endedness and a willingness to follow where the materials lead her that inevitably results in abstraction. She says: “You lay down gesso on canvas, and already you’ve got form.” After that, “each layer [of paint] brings something new to the work,” and each is a response to the layer before. At some points in the process, “You’ve got chaos on the canvas, but you try to create order. When the order is there, your work is finished.”

Taylor contends that: “To make good abstract art, you have to be honest. You are putting your emotions and your spirituality out there,” on canvas for others to see. It’s personal. What an abstract artist is doing is “really searching for [his or her] own voice.”

Bernadine Schroyer

B

ernadine Schroyer paints in an abstract genre because, she says: “I love paint itself, and colour, and the freedom of the full body movement.”

This physicality is evident in the Grande Prairie artist’s recent series of works, Strata. She began with 17 windows she recycled from her home. She laid them flat on the floor in a grid pattern and painted them all at the same time, actually balancing on the window frames or on a plank she placed across them for greater access. “I was in that painting,” Schroyer explains, exploring ways of “pouring [paint] and brushing, scraping and lifting away colour to reveal the surface beneath.” Later, she painted on panels of Plexiglas and plastic using the same processes. She composed new works by stacking three to four of these layers together, rearranging the various panels until she was happy with them.

These works are “all about layers,” Schroyer says – the obvious layers of glass and Plexiglas, the multiple layers of paint on each of these panels, and the subtler, “non-physical” layers of cast shadows and reflections created by light passing through the complex surfaces.

Above: Marjorie Taylor. Indian Summer. Acrylic/Mixed Media on Canvas.

Left: Bernadine Schroyer. Strata. Mixed Media. Detail.

art of the peace 12

PWS

Dan Wourms

D

an Wourms, artist and the owner of Unique Gallery in Grande Prairie, jokes that he has Attention Deficit Disorder.

When it comes to art, he will turn his hand to “anything and everything,” including sketching, video, watercolour, oils and acrylics. And he likes to work quickly, which may be a part of why he is drawn to abstraction.

“If it takes more than an hour, I probably won’t do it,” Wourms admits. He likes to “pick a size, grab a couple of colours and get started,” working spontaneously and without preplanning. Sometimes he uses brushes to apply the paint to his surface, sometimes palette knives, sometimes his hands.

Whatever his tools, one thing that is consistent in his work is an interest in developing texture. “I rarely have a flat image,” he says.

Peace Country themes and wilderness vistas Picture Perfect Grande Prairie

Unique Gallery Grande Prairie

Cultural Centre Beaverlodge

780-354-2165

“I usually feel I’m done [a painting] when I start worrying about wrecking it,” Wourms explains. The work reaches a point where he knows intuitively that he doesn’t need to add anything more to it.

Dan Wourms. The Warmth. Watercolour.

Tel: (780) 538-2771 Fax: (780) 538-2790 9929 - 100 Avenue Grande Prairie, AB www.uniquegallery.ca Painting by Carrie Klukas. Pottery by Norboru Kubo

art of the peace 13

Photo by Doug Wills.

Tina Martel tenuous D

own a quiet stretch of prairie dirt road on a northern Alberta summer day moves a white pickup truck.

Only it’s not a truck. It’s paper.

And when it moves, there is according to mixed media artist Tina Martel, the work’s creator - “an incredibly organic feel” to it. “It’s almost like an animal when you watch it, because it sort of flops, and flops itself over and it looks like a truck

art of the peace 14

momentarily and then all of a sudden, it skitters.”

The work is called tenuous, and it’s a life-sized cast of a half-ton truck made entirely out of handmade paper. tenuous was Martel’s creative vision, accomplished with the support of the Prairie Art Gallery. However, the scale and logistics of the project required her to mobilize a

whole team of volunteer artists including husband Doug Wills and a number of students from Grande Prairie Regional College, where Martel has been teaching art for the past seven years. Working in a tent erected on the corner of 99th Street and 101st Avenue over a period of two weeks in July, the team mixed pulp in Martel’s large industrial mixer. The pulp was then formed into large sheets

by Wendy Stefansson

which were carefully applied to the outside of a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado, working the sheets together in the places where they joined. Days later, when the paper was fully dried, the team had to tear the cast in several places in order to remove it from the truck, re-joining the paper to make it whole again.

The paper truck was then transported several blocks to the site of the annual Street

“What I’m really interested in is the space in between [these poles] ... negotiating the space between the two extremes.”

Performers’ Festival, where it was displayed for the duration of the festivities. Subsequently, it was photographed and filmed in several locations: first blowing in the wind, and later dissolving back into pulp in a large vat of water. Martel has plans to use the sheets of paper she pulled from the truckreturned-to-pulp for ongoing mixed media work.

Martel, who generally works alone as an artist, enjoyed working communally on tenuous. “There was something very ‘barn-raising’ about it,” she laughed. Widening the circle still further, Martel and her team included members of the public in the process, completing the entire project in full public

view. “Making the whole thing right from start to finish so that they can see the process .... I find that really engages people.

They love to see how things are made, right? So then it [creates] ... a dialogue. They’re coming in ... day by day and seeing us lay the paper down, and seeing how much work goes into it, and just talking about it in a different way as it comes to a finished product.” This calland-response between artist and audience was captured in digital recordings, and will ultimately form an audio loop accompanying the video outgrowths of this project. tenuous was in the planning stages for well over a year before it came to be. Along the

Tina Martel laying down paper on the Silverado’s tire and wheel well.

Photo by Lena Gilje.

way, Martel was told it couldn’t be done. Technical issues involved in getting the paper off the truck were of concern, but in Martel’s opinion: “Those were just details.” More serious was the concern that paper was not a strong enough material.

And yet the surface and the nature of paper was absolutely the point, for Martel. “It needs to be that organic surface,” she insists. “I want to make sure that when you see this thing, you’re actually going: ‘That’s paper.’ It’s not imitating something else. It is paper.”

Paper is intrinsically fragile and perishable, and yet at the same

Tina Martel and various volunteers unloading the finished ‘truck’. Photo by Lena Gilje.

time handmade paper has been known to last for centuries, far outlasting the people who made it. The irony, then, of something as powerful as a half-ton truck being interpreted in a material as delicate as paper, is that it may well be that the paper outlasts the truck.

Martel couldn’t have foreseen and wouldn’t have wished for the closing of the General Motors plant in Oshawa announced in June of this year — the very plant where the Silverado she used as her model was likely forged. The closure of the plant, precipitated by high gas prices and changing attitudes towards the environment, was heralded by many as the death of the pickup truck and the end of an era. The strange synchronicity of this event with Martel’s tenuous adds a level of poignancy to the artwork.

It’s hard to imagine northern Alberta without pickup trucks; they are as iconic here as oil pumps and canola fields. The paper truck – named “tenuous” because the word means “thin, fine, and so easily broken” (according to MAC dictionary) – may well be an image of the future of the truck as a vehicle.

The white, paper truck blows away down the road like the ghost of a truck; like the memory of a truck. art of the peace 15

And yet at the same time the incongruity of a truck that bends and buckles and “skitters” is clearly playful. In this work, Martel sets up apparent contradictions that conflicts with our expectations - the powerful interpreted through a medium that is fragile; the mechanical through the organic, the rigid through the flexible; the masculine and the rugged through the feminine and the vulnerable. She comments: “What I’m really interested in is the space in between [these poles] ... negotiating the space between the two extremes.”

Somewhere between extremes, Martel finds a gentle irony about

the culture of the truck, and an honesty to her own experience.

She hesitates, then gestures with her two hands. “You have art here and life there, and you’re trying to ... maybe not resolve them but negotiate the space between them, so that you can make work that makes sense [relative] to ... where you live and how you live and what you do, and what you’re surrounded by. You know, I always tell my students: you need to make authentic work. And authentic work is about your experiences, where you are, who you are, what you’ve done, and that brings a different level to it.”

Top: tenuous on the road. Photo by Lena Gilje.

Bottom Left: The ‘truck’ breaks down. Photo by Lena Gilje.

Bottom Right: ‘Truck’ being recycled back into pulp for further projects.

Photo by Doug Wills.

Surfacing

t

enuous is a unique work in Tina Martel’s oeuvre, growing organically out of what came before it, but taking it in a new direction.

When she tries to sum up the totality of her work, Martel says: “My work has always been about the surface; and the texture you can get with really beautiful surfaces, and the way that light plays off a surface. Even when [the works] were painted,” – unlike tenuous – “it was still very much about the surface.”

Sensuous and complex surfaces are everywhere in the abstract paintings for which Martel has become widely known. Often integrating materials other than paint – handmade and found papers, gold and copper leafing, fabric and thread – Martel’s process is still very much that of an abstract painter. art of the peace 16

Tina Martel’s painting Wall.

I asked her what drew her into abstraction. Her response: “I started to become less engaged with what was going to happen at the end of [a project], and more engaged in the process. So the object didn’t necessarily … have to look like anything anymore. And for me, too, what happens with abstraction is that … sometimes the work turns out to be not what I [first] thought it was about [by the time] I’m finished.”

Each artwork is a journey without a map. So much so, that Martel concludes: “If you’re making a piece of work, you are going through the process and you’ve already decided what it will be at the end of it, then why are you doing it? It’s done! You don’t need to do it. It’s finished. Go on. Move on.”