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Ode to Workshops
Works by the Visual Artists Guild
In October The Arts Station Gallery will be exhibiting brand new images by the artists in the Visual Artists Guild.
In the 2012-2013 season, the Guild had the fortune to host two workshops, both financed through CKCA grants. The theme of the workshops was aimed at teaching emerging artists the skills to accomplish ‘Fearless Painting,’ and this exhibition will showcase their brave new work.
In November 2012 the first workshop was given by Karen Tamminga-Paton. Karen is an artist, mother of three teenaged girls, and a high school teacher in Crowsnest Pass. She is a graduate of the Emily Carr College of Art and Design.
Karen’s goal was to pull in new and emerging artists who wanted to “get their toes in the water but ;were afraid of getting wet.” Her style develops through story telling with the use of paints and collage. The idea was for each participant to express personal ideas and visions.
Karen started the first day with a large sheet of paper, liquid paints and collage pieces, mainly magazines. A story on the paper unfolded with limited colours and unlimited printed words and images. It was amazing to see personal stories unfold from the page.
On the second day, she dumped multiple containers of collage materials – fabric, wire, paper, items. These were used to create a story using a shoe or a boot as the base or ground. From each technique, a verbal, emotional story emerged. Both days of the workshop initiated an unusual but very interesting method of creating art for the guild. But most of all, the importance of telling a story was given.
In February 2013 the second workshop funded by CKCA was held. The instructor was Michael Hepher, owner and operator of Clawhammer Press and Gallery, lead guitarist of the RedGirl band, marketer and logo designer, and artist – among other things. Mike’s focus during the two-day workshop was to create emotion through the use in a painting of different colours than expected.
Michael’s goal: “in running this workshop was not to teach the attendees to paint like I do, but to expand the range of colours they use. I chose the title ‘Uncommon Colour’ because I wanted to challenge them to think about things like mood and emotion when choosing colours, and allow themselves to let go of what’s ‘real’ and experiment with making unorthodox colour choices work. I hope the participants took a way a fresh way of looking at their own way, their own style, and added a new vocabulary to their colour palettes. I enjoyed the energy and passion of the people who attended, and found the joy they had in painting to be inspiring and contagious. It was a great group, I’d do it again for sure.”
After taking both workshops these fearless artists will display their new works at The Arts Station for the month of October, come see their paintings, collage, sculpture and even an old boot or two!
The opening reception will be on Thursday, September 26 at 7 p.m., meet these fantastic artists, see their newest creations, and enjoy refreshments.
The exhibit continues until Monday, October 28.
The Arts Station
