Feast and Forage Under the Hunter Moon

You are cordially invited to an exhibit by two artists based on foraging for food and inspiration in and around the Acadian Forest of Nova Scotia which surrounds our homes.

September......sigh.....

Wow....I can't believe it's September already....and i'm sure I say this every year at this exact date. It's been a funny summer season with lots to do but somehow not completing all that I had envisioned for myself. So, it's back on task after the past few weeks with hurricanes, visitors, seasonal allergies and a new plan for the year. I've been in the studio painting away with a couple of themes happening. So far I have two examples of works completed to show you. I hope your summer season was most delightful and all looks good for garden harvests, a break in hot temperatures and perhaps even a bit of a shift in schedule with something more routine or even something new lined up for yourself to learn. September......I actually like you. :)

Due to unfortunate circumstances I will not be able to make the Artisans at the Distillery Show in Toronto at the end of July. I will however post the artwork that I have been creating for this show online ~ most
likely on the Lala & Gleen facebook page. I'm disappointed but will keep you posted on future shows and exhibits.

Until then, happy summer. :)

New Pieces and upcoming Art show

Since my last exhibit BICYCLE, I have been doing a bit of gardening as a little break before I start my next intensive studio time ~ painting and felting for an upcoming Art & Craft show in Toronto at the Distillery District (July 30th, 31st and August 1st). Of course this gardening project has been very much a weather permitting type of break....so on the rainy days I have been working away in the studio. Here are two of my most recent paintings (continuing the theme of animals on bicycles).

Slow Rider
Acrylic, Pastel and Pencil on Wood Panel
24" x 24"
Price $550

This piece was inspired by a friend who works with seals. Grey Seals can be found throughout various coastal communities in Nova Scotia. I once had the opportunity to swim near them in the wild.

Please do drop by if you are in the area (Distillery District in Toronto) on July 30th, 31st and August 1st. I look forward to seeing you and also meeting those I have yet to have the pleasure to meet. :)

Another person's treasure.....

Every year the surrounding municipality (and province) has one day (in the spring and fall) where residents are allowed to put large appliances, furniture, and boxes of non-toxic, unwanted items on the curbside for garbage pickup. Lots of households opt to toss their goods to the curb a few days before actual pickup day. This gives other people the opportunity to check out the goods and bring them home if they'd like. It really is a great way to reuse and reduce the amounts of items going to the dump. This sort of exchange offers many opportunities in all kinds of ways. It provides people with much wanted items that they simply have not been able to find or afford. It also gives people new ways to look at things by creating projects ~ like painting an old wooden chair or piecing many dresser shelves together to create a dynamic and unique new bookshelf. It's all about divergent thinking (as my friend Tracy would say).

One of my favourite finds is a vintage Remington typewriter which now resides in my studio and provides me with entertainment, thoughts on bygone eras and the quality of goods of those eras. I simply can't walk by it without contemplating how much longer things would have taken compared to our "plugged~in lifestyle" of today.

I am embracing the idea of the Slow Movement in all aspects of life ~ from food, to travel, to lifestyle. I adore the old one speed, back pedal bicycles, handmade bread making and the  clickety~clack sounds from punching the keys on a typewriter. My focus for my next body of work will most certainly derive inspiration from the very things that may have been moved to the way side because they take too long, are not efficient or simply say "old".

Bring on the home infused tonics, garden grown tomatoes and vintage tunes from old record players. I still love my computer and the access to today's modern ammenities, but there is something about the quality and quirky features of yesterday's inventions.

Let's all do our part to reuse something we have found ~ whether in the backs of our closets or on the roadside. I highly recommend the film Wasteland if you need any inspiration.

Happy dumpster diving, roadside recycling and closet creativity!!! :)

Wild Orchids, frogs and spring...

Thanks to all who came out to the opening of my Bicycle exhibit!! :) The show will be up until June 26, 2011 at Harvest Gallery in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. If you are interested in viewing the artwork, you can visit www.harvestgallery.ca (click on events to view the exhibit).

After finally getting the show up, it was time for me to take a break and enjoy the season and rest a bit before I begin my next project. During this rest I took photographs of the wild orchids that surround my home and of course played in the forest with my dog.

I always love this time of year when I get to discover the many variations, shapes and sizes of the lady slippers ~ such a fascinating floral species. They are considered endangered ~ so we are not allowed to pick them. I do remember as I child though, bringing one of these flowers home to my mother. While she appreciated the gesture she made sure I only enjoyed the flowers in nature where they grew. Since then I have appreciated their beauty as every May/June rolls around.

Some of the trails on our property are quite wet due to all of the rain we have had over the past month. I'm sure the frogs LOVE it! I have been taking photos of the same frog for the past week ~ we greet each other with a glance and then he/she sits still while I photograph him/her in the mud. I always thank the frog for its patience. :)

Another wee project I have been working on is a little book titled "Art & Inspiration". It is a collection of art and inspiration based on my daily jaunts through the forest with my dog. Stay tuned for further info. I will be sure to post more about it when it is complete.

I'm off to work out the logistics of my next project. Hope you have a delightful day and have a chance to get outside and discover what exists before your very eyes. "When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change" (Christina Pratt).

Bicycle - a solo art exhibit by Angela Melanson

Two more days until opening day of my solo art exhibit at Harvest Gallery in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. I'm feeling good at this point, but still have a few things to finish up.  If you are in the Wolfville area on Thursday May 26, 2011 please stop by and say hello at the opening reception 7 - 9pm. The show will be on exhibit until June 24th, 2011 so there's plenty of time to see it if you can't make it on opening night. I look forward to possibly seeing your there.

You can check out the link to Harvest Gallery for hours of operation, location and artwork in this exhibit by visiting:
www.harvestgallery.ca

On being an artist.....

These past couple of months have kept me busy in the studio painting away for a couple of exhibits. It's sometimes a lonely journey as I spend hours and days working away without ever leaving my home or seeing anyone else - besides my furry friends. What does get me out though is any opportunity to put the brush down and experience the local art community. Lately our community has been putting on Making Art Mondays with the Alliance of Kings Artists. This is a great way to be introduced to a new medium in a local art studio which is part of the Acadia University Art Gallery. It's also a chance to meet new people and get to know each other through the experimentation of new mediums.

Another favourite thing to do is to go out and explore new galleries (both publicly and privately owned - commercial and non-commercial) and attend openings of some of the new galleries popping up in this area. It is the perfect opportunity to celebrate new work by artists that I know and to be introduced to the work and artists I have yet to meet. I always like to find out what inspires other artists and how they thrive in their own communities (be it locally, nationally or internationally). Having the opportunity to share ideas and stories with other artists promotes new ideas and collaborations that may have never happened if you're always working away in the studio by yourself.

It is this very exchange that promotes growth in artists' own work and provides the feeling of belonging to a community.

Through discussions, artists can also share information like the best places to have marketing material printed locally, new online art sales websites to show work to a broader audience, or new workshops being offered, etc. All of this helps to keep artists informed and inspired to go back into their own studios with fresh ideas, invigorated energy levels and a feeling of belonging to a community or connection to other people who share similar passions.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to meet a local artist by the name of Dick Vandereyk. He is a sculptor, carver and painter and has lived all over the world, learning new techniques, languages and ways of living as he travels the globe. I fell in love with the stories of his pieces immediately after seeing his work at the Evangeline Artist Cooperative Spring Show. Not only is he a highly talented artist, but also a true gentleman. I very much enjoyed meeting him and look forward to further art discussions in the future.

~ Wood sculptures by Dick Vandereyk.













Often times being an artist means making sacrifices.....but it is the community of artists and art events in the local area which keep many artists motivated, revived and inspired. Sometimes it is moments like these which make the sacrifices easier to deal with.

If you are an artist, what are some of the things that you do to keep you inspired, motivated, invigorated to move onward to your next creation? Do you surround yourself with other artists who share similar passions or encourage evolution in your own work?

I'm off to the studio to paint. Hope you all have a most creative day! :)

Forest Exploration with my dog

Every day my dog and I go on a daily jaunt through the Acadian forest which surrounds our home. We listen to the bird songs, call of the owls and occasional coyotes while watching the various flora grow and fade away each season. It is on these daily jaunts where I figure out solutions to problems, discover something new in nature, work on getting over my fear of snakes and of course enjoy the incredible happiness of my dog. Her tail is like a butterfly that never stops moving - even if we've walked on the same trail 364 previous days throughout the year. She is an inspiration for my very being and teaches me to enjoy each and every day and the moment for what it is. She's even a muse for some of my artwork.

Spring Snake (harmless yet still sends my adrenalin a go-go). To get over this silly fear, I have decided to just get right in there and discover the beauty of snakes through a camera lens.

My pooch enjoying the ponds which have developed under the trees which were uprooted in the storm we had this past November.

One of the latest paintings I have created for an upcoming solo show at Harvest Gallery to be held at the end of May.

www.harvestgallery.ca

Solo Exhibit at Harvest Gallery

One opening done, and now working on the next project - a solo exhibit to open at the end of May 2011 at Harvest Gallery in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. More details to follow at a later date. Until then, here's a little sample of what you will find at the exhibit (inspired by bicycles, tricycles and maybe even a unicycle).

Artist Collective SEVEN

My artist collective SEVEN recently opened an exhibit at the Craig Gallery at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. We are all proud of our work that we are presenting for this show titled EXCHANGE/UDVEKSLING. If you have a chance to check out the show, it's up until May 1st, 2011. If you are unable to make it and would like to read what the arts report, Elissa Barnard, who writes for the Chronicle Herald (Nova Scotia's Newspaper) has to say, then here's your chance. *Enjoy
http://thechronicleherald.ca/ArtsLife/1238802.html

Spring has Sprung - finally!!!

Since the official date of Spring has passed (March 21st to be exact), I can finally celebrate the fact that my favourite season is upon us. Yes, i'm being entirely optimistic as I look out of the back studio window and see a sea of white still covering the ground. We just need a couple of warm days for it to disappear. It certainly helped to open the front door yesterday morning to a cheerful greeting of a spring chorus line of birds chirping away with yet another glimpse of the future forecast. :) 

I have been creating some needle felted floral pieces inspired by spring. There is something about the cooler colours combined with elements of warmer tones that really put a smile on my face. I hope you enjoy these too. :)

 

Exchange/Udveksling (Upcoming Exhibit)

I would like to take this opportunity to invite you all to the latest exhibit by SEVEN (an art collective which I belong to). This exhibit is inspired by our last international exposition which took place in Denmark in the summer of 2010. From bicycles to architecture, food, pedestrians, streetscapes and lines - all of these provide much food for thought in terms of what we have absorbed and gleaned from one culture and have embraced overseas in our own setting. The exhibit spans a wide variety of mediums and details how each artist drew from their experience - their own sense of exchange.

Happy Winter 2011!!

This winter we have had a ton of snow and are currently bracing for another storm as of this evening (another 30cm). There is nothing like appreciating all that white stuff by simply getting out there and enjoying every moment in it. My dog LOVES the snow and truly opens my eyes up to the many wonders of winter life. Every day we go out into the forest adorned in snowshoes or skis no matter what the temperature is. Such a great way to start of the day - fresh, crisp air and picturesque scenery. One of my favourite things to do is to follow the many snowshoe hare tracks that crisscross our well traversed paths. Hope you are enjoying winter as much as we are here at the home of Lala & Gleen!

Imprint of my snowshoes left on the deck during light snowfall. I adore my handmade snowshoes which are made of recycled materials and made in Newfoundland.

Snowshoe Hare tracks spotted during my daily jaunts through the Acadian Forest.

Time Flies

Wow! What can I say except that time has flown by without me realizing that I need to spend time on my blog. It was a very busy summer and now fall continues with that trend. I am thankful for the many commissions that have come my way, and have also found time to play in a friends pottery studio quite recently. Thank you to those you believe in me and my creations :)

Although it has been a busy year, it has also been a challenging one. I was without a sewing machine to make my stitched creations for five months - yikes! Also, the recession certainly has had an impact on sales and new projects that I had hoped to go forth with. This time has however made me re-think some decisions and perhaps has even forced me to delve even deeper into the creative think tank. So, I guess it hasn't been all bad. :)

These days I have been taking lots of photographs of mushrooms that exist in the forest which surrounds my home. I have also been inspired by the film Exit Through the Gift Shop in that I am back to screenprinting using primitive methods which are much more environmentally friendly. I have also taken my designs into the woods and have left impressions on the trees which have fallen or will fall in the near future. It's a great way to add a bit more character to the forest which is full of mystery and whimsy. Through this I feel like I too am a bit of a streetscape artist although my vista is within the forest realms.

Life is truly grand with all of its' ebbs and flows. It is the journey of such experiences which allow us to learn, evolve and fulfill many creative ideas. Thank you world for that :)

International Art Exhibit in Denmark

This upcoming August, I will exhibit my work in Denmark along side the artist collective SEVEN (of which I am a member). It has taken many hours, days and a couple of years from initial idea to confirmed gallery dates AND of course, to create the actual collection of artwork. You can follow our steps by visiting our artist collective blog www.sevenartisans.blogspot.com

I am thrilled to finally have completed my portion of the exhibit with just some final touches to prepare such as hanging wire, customs documents, etc. Lots of work still to be done, but we are all well on our way to the exhibit dates :)

Uncommon Commom Art Project 2010

This is year 3 for the Uncommon Common Art Project which happens at this time of year in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada. I love that our community asks artists to create outdoor artwork along trails, gardens, highways and private properties. It's truly a wonderful surprise to come across one of these pieces haphazardly or to make a day seeking each piece out by following a map. For further info on this community artproject visit: http://web.me.com/tdrahos/UncommonCommonArt/10_7.html

Guatemala

I recently returned from a trip to Guatemala with my family members. We traveled across a lot of the country hiking volcanoes, swimming in limestone pools, taking many forms of transportation (public & private buses, boats, tuktuks, chicken buses, taxis, etc), eating local Garifuna cuisine, swimming through caves, visiting Mayan communities and searching for monkeys in Tikal. It was a fun filled adventure. Guatemala is a country of many juxtapositions but one that if you ever have the chance to experience, leap at the opportunity.

You know it's Spring When....

The Forsythia are finally in bloom and it's a great celebration of spring and the glorious colours to come. This time of year is one of my favourites for the very reason of peeking in the garden to see what is growing. The garlic is already 4" in height and i'm excited for the many lavender plants which will add a lovely colour and flavour to the homemade ice cream here at the home of Lala & Gleen.

I am so looking forward to getting outside and photographing the glorious flora and fauna found around my home......and for such elements to show up in my own painted and felted pieces.

Happy spring everyone!!! Get out there and enjoy the sunshine, the fresh air and all of the wonderful things spring has to offer :)

New Pieces...

Thought i'd post a couple of pieces that I have been working on this winter....

First a triptych titled "Even Playing Field" (Acrylic, pastel and pencil on wood panel) Each panel is 8" x 8". The lower image is "Spring Chorus Line" inspired by the many sounds of the birds that came out to sing their songs during a few warm days this March. I used the same mediums to create my pieces. Spring Chorus Line is 20" x 20" on wood panel.

I'm getting ready to begin a medium switch in my studio - from painting to needle felting. This involves cleaning up the whole studio, and moving the new materials in. I will most likely be spending the next couple of weeks focused on creating pieces for galleries and upcoming shows (of which I will try to post at a later date). Thanks for looking :)