snow motif

victoria park boardwalk, Charlottetown

Well winter is here. Time to hunker down, plastic the windows, and start a new photo-a-day project!  I'll be starting on December 1st and I'll be joined by 5 other photographers so it should be a great time.

In other news, I got my Canada Council grant submitted last night so that is hugely satisfying - and I'm really thankful for all the folks who proof-read my application and gave me great suggestions for edits!

I'm spending the next couple of days thinking about new projects, new ideas, new things to try - it's always kind of an exciting season in the art world as it's submission deadline season, so it's a great time to cast your net & plot the course ahead.  I got a few sent out and this grant submitted, so now the next round of deadlines is in the Spring, which gives me a bit of time to brainstorm.

novemberish

afternoon light - monica lacey 2014

An 'unseasonably' warm November day today had me out walking in the sunshine, mostly to enjoy the weather, but also to procrastinate a bit.  I'm in the middle of writing a grant application to the Canada Council for the Arts.  You have to be 3 years out of school to apply, so this is the first year I've been eligible.  I'm almost finished the application - in the final stretch of finishing touches, which is often the hardest part, requiring the most concentration.  I'm applying for a new project called everything is fine, which is about the comfort & security of daily routines/rituals in the face of collapsing environments.  I believe strongly in the project so I'm hoping that the assessors of my application see the merit in it as well!

In October, as part of the Island Media Arts Festival, I was invited to mount a reworking of my installation piece, The Sky is Always Moving, for a one-night only exhibit of media arts works at Springhead Studios, a working soundstage in Charlottetown.  It was a great time & a good learning experience to present in an unusual space.

installation view at Springhead Studios - photo by Renee Laprise

The first time I showed this work, at the UNB Art Centre in 2012, I projected the video portion onto a white screen.  It was a wonderful discovery during the install to find that I could project onto a black cloth/screen to mesmerizing effect.  Ah, but it's so often the accidents that lead you to your next great thing, isn't it?