sand and water are good for the soul

sandbanks provinical park - monica lacey 2011

I’m an island girl, through and through.  When I’m inland for any length of time I start to get claustrophobic – it feels to me like being in a room with no visible doors.  Last night one of my housemates took myself, and Cynthia (the other resident staying here, who is from Shanghai) to Sandbanks Provincial Park.  It was paradise.  Cynthia said she had never been anywhere like it.  Giant sand dunes on a bay off Lake Ontario, the sun was just setting, the water was warm, and you are still allowed to walk/run/play on these dunes!!  Years ago in PEI it became clear that frolicking on the fragile dunes of the north shore was a practice that was destroying the dunes, so now you have to use the boardwalks and paths instead.  As much as I support preservation of ecosystems, I sure had missed running all over the dunes.  At Sandbanks last night I was transported back to Greenwich beach, back in the old days before it officially became a park, and the joy of rolling down the dunes, running along the ridges - oh man those were fun times.

Today was an epic day of photo editing.  I’ve been procrastinating from sorting and editing for a few months, which meant I had a backlog of about 500 or so images to go through. The other blessing of going to Sandbanks was that it was a spectacular place to shoot – I saved those ones until the end today, so that I could savor them again.

I remember when I first studied photography, at Holland College in Charlottetown in 1997, and the excitement of processing a roll of film and making prints.  Although I have been messing about in darkrooms the past couple of years, I mainly shoot digital and the gratification is fairly instant.  I realized today, however, that the editing process still holds some pleasant surprises – a photo can go from good to great when you add a certain temperature to the light, or play with the tone curve, or switch from colour to black & white, for instance.  It’s days like these that I fall in love with photography all over again – it’s been ongoing since my Dad gave me an old Pentax when I was about 8 years old.  I still have it, and it even has a roll of B&W in it, waiting to be finished off & processed :)

small dogs have the greatest perseverance

from the window of a speeding train - monica lacey 2011

When I arrive in a new place one of the first things I like to do is grab a map, learn street names, and get oriented.  Where I'm staying is a bit out of town, so one can only explore so much on foot - today I got dropped off in town to walk around & experience Picton.  It's a pretty lovely town from what I can see so far - chock full of artists & art appreciators, lots of cute little shops & cafes, and my personal favorite:  a great second-hand bookstore!  It's attached to a cafe called Miss Lily's, the staff of which are very friendly and happily ground my Kicking Horse coffee for me, even though I didn't buy it here.

I'm enjoying my time at the studio - the folks at Sparkbox have been setting a great example of professionalism & community building & it makes me really glad I chose this place to spend a month of my time.  I've even been [slowly] bonding with the small dog (not usually a fan of the small dogs), Rico.  He's been relentless in his charm & is winning me over despite the ear-splitting yelp he emits every time the door opens :)

Speaking of perseverance, I had a great chat with my mum last night about general stick-to-it-iveness and about starting an arts centre on PEI, working as an artist, and basically about my future from this point forward.  I finished the conversation feeling really inspired, and grounded on my path and what I want to do.  She has a way of making me feel like I really can do whatever I set my mind to and I don't know how I'd piece it all together without her support.  It was an important chat to have, as I've been feeling a little freaked out since I graduated.  (Apparently that's quite common?)  Feeling a lot better now - thanks mum :) 

time + energy = art

Arriving at Spark Box Studio was like stepping into a perfectly heated bath - welcoming, comfortable, soothing, uplifting and inciting a long "ahhhh" from deep within.  The property is about 5 km outside the charming town of Picton, Ontario, and the vistas are full of are climbing vines, flowering trees, and huge open horizons.  It is wonderful to be here :)

A weekend in Toronto was just the thing to prepare me to come here & dig in - especially Pedestrian Sunday in Kensington Market, just the day before I left.  What an explosion of culture that area is - the city celebrating itself in a hundred different ways, from the Capoeira players to the 40-piece Samba band to the Chinese dragon dancers to the many different musicians, spoken word artists, MCs & DJs that lined the streets of the Market.  Not to mention all the yummy food! 

So now it's time to get started.  It feels very much like starting a new job, which is great, because that is exactly what I'm doing!   I've been an artist my whole life, but only recently am I viewing it with the real dedication and drive that a career warrants.  Since I started looking at it more professionally though, things having been going better than I ever imagined.  Such is life - energy and commitment.

lose, seek, find - mini ceramic tiles - monica lacey 2010

a bridge through the physical world

The title of this post refers to a poster I saw this morning while walking to Dufferin station in Toronto.  It got me thinking about the purpose of art in my life, something that has been on my mind pretty steadily since I graduated and was released into the wilds of the art world.  Authenticity is of utmost importance to me in my artwork, which is a priority necessitating a considerable amount of self-reflection - a practice that, while essential (in my opinion) to one's well-being, can be exhausting as heck.  I think that the phrase on this poster I saw - printed in white sans serif on a bright red background, no doubt someone's installation-about-town - comes close to hitting the nail on the head for me.  Making art = a way to move through the world and a way to manage/express the intense examination of the world that is the way I see things. 

Today I spent the entire afternoon in one building:  401 Richmond.  If you've never been, I recommend you drop by the next time you're in Toronto.  It is an incredibly beautiful building full of gorgeous old rough-hewn beams, exposed brick, and handcrafted doors as well as galleries, public installations, a musical instrument museum/shop, a design bookstore I spent 1.5 hours in (true story), an aviary populated with colourful budgies & other birds, a rooftop garden, a great cafe, and lots of other things I didn't get to see in the hours I spent wandering around in there. 

Years ago a friend who was into aromatherapy told me that you can only smell three different scents in a row, and after that we have trouble distinguishing the scents & can get overwhelmed.  Today I was thinking that maybe that can happen with art as well.  I felt like I had overdosed a bit by the time I left the building, but there were a few highlights:
I had a wonderful tour of Open Studio, which is like heaven for printmakers;
the 'green monster' smoothie in the cafe;
the Gallery 44 members exhibit of alternative process photography;
finding a new Shaun Tan book in the bookstore;
and the work of Teri Donovan at the redhead gallery .

driftwood on Robinson's Island, PEI

It was good to 'overdose' a bit today - I've been in a seeing-art-everywhere-I-go state lately & today realized I'll need a bit of a break from visual art before I dive into 4 weeks of art-making.  Between a nice fluffy rom-com tonight, and then shoe shopping & a funk band tomorrow I think I'll be all set.  :) 

Chronic Advance Planning

 I've always been a bit of a worrier, or as I like to say, an Advance Planner, so when I saw that Spark Box Studio, where I'll be doing a 4 week residency, had posted images of the new location they've just moved into, I breathed a sigh of relief:
The newly renovated Spark Box Studio 
It looks like paradise to me and I can't wait to sit in the yard and pull out my watercolours!  

Part of the reason I chose this location for a residency is that I've always dreamed of having a place like it on PEI -  an open studio that local artists could rent, workshops & outreach programs, and residency opportunities.  I'd love to build it, and luckily my partner, Devon, is an exceptional draftsman & designer & is also interested in this plan.  He's also a gifted musician and we'd really like to accommodate not only visual arts, but music & dance as well.  So on top of going to reflect/process/make art/learn from fellow artists, this is also a recon mission to see how the young couple who owns SBS makes it work. 

I've never been to Prince Edward County, but by all accounts it's gorgeous & peaceful.  Yum :)

Now if I can just resist spending all my money on art supplies when I go through Toronto....

first day of summer, two sleeps to travel

In two days I leave for Toronto, and then Picton, Ontario, where I'll be doing a 4 week residency (basically 4 blissful weeks just to make art) for the month of July.  I'm nervous, excited, and happy to be going into unknown territory, both in geographic and career terms.  The last time I had a stretch that long to make art I was extremely prolific, so I'm hoping for a similar amount of energy.  I'll be working on photo-etchings using SolarPlates, like the proof shown here.  I'm new to printmaking (but smitten with it!) so I'm looking forward to learning from the other printmakers at Spark Box Studio, where I'll be staying.  

Still reeling a bit from graduation (it was just this past Saturday - finished 3 years of study at the New Brunswick College of Craft & Design in Fredericton, NB), and looking forward to processing all I've learned.

I'll be writing about my residency experience, and filling you in a bit on the back-story, so come back & check in or follow along!