Interview with Art Lab Artist in Residence, Karolina Baker

You can see Karolina Baker in the Art Lab September 21, 2016 – October 30, 2016.

Reception: RMG Fridays, October 7, 7-10pm
Artist Talk: October 16, 1-3pm

Capturing Whitby sound, Tuesday 2pm.

RMG: Please tell us a little about yourself

Karolina: I was born and raised in Ottawa and moved to Toronto in the late 90s. I made my way to Whitby because my husband had a job at the Oshawa airport and I’ve been here since. I’ve always had an artistic current running through my life. I studied acting in Toronto for ten years while freelancing in the film production world. I’ve always maintained that accidentally walking into the 2001 Biennale in Venice, Italy was a true aha moment for me. I was there for a wedding and we had a few days to discover the islands. Unbeknown to me, a whole section of the city was mapped out into these massive art installations. To see art on such a large scale was mind blowing and extremely exciting because it felt like I found my kind. I know that sounds funny, but I really felt like I found a group of people, despite my lack of Italian, who spoke my language and understood the ideas in my head. Since then I knew I had to create my ideas. Now add in four kids and it is a bit more difficult to tap into my creative current! Right now my time is primarily taken up by my kids, but when inspiration and time collide, I am thrilled to make my ideas come to life.

RMG: Why did you apply to the Art Lab artist in residence program?

Karolina: My studio space is in my house and where ever I can make my ideas happen. The Art Lab residence program is a gem of an opportunity for me to approach it like a job, leave my house everyday and go to “work”. I’m a stay-at-home mom, so there are always things to do around here and I seldom allow myself to work on my art projects.

Screen capture of book trailer video shot for author Nerys Parry’s Man and Other Natural Disasters. Published by Enfield & Wizenty.

RMG: What will you be creating during your residency? What can visitors expect to find in the Art Lab?

Karolina: I want to record sound and manipulate it. I’ve done audio for short videos I’ve shot, but I haven’t worked in sound alone. I’d like to record sounds, manipulate them, loop them and amplify them. What sounds will people stay and listen to? I’ll have my laptop, speakers, a recorder and microphone. My initial proposal was to record my daily surroundings, but I would also like to record voices and items in the lab. Having said all that, it is a lab so maybe I will have to let go of my ideas and go down the rabbit hole. I will plug in my speaker into the common room across from the Art Lab and play my experiments. I will write my daily thoughts on the wall so people can follow my journey. I understand it will be hard for people to look in the window to “see” what I am doing, so I welcome any visitors into the lab, to listen and have a chat. We can always learn from each other and that is exactly what I want to do with the art lab; discover a new way to communicate my ideas.

RMG: What inspires you? Is there a particular artist’s work that has inspired your practice?

Karolina: I don’t text or use my cell phone (my husband would add here that it is because I usually don’t know where it is). I do not like anything to take me away from observing. I am a fierce observer of life around me: patterns, old things, kindness, quietness, order, underdogs, movement and colours.

Artist Janet Cardiff absolutely inspires me. I discovered her in 2001 and she has resonated with me since. I walked through one of her sound installations at the Power Plant in Toronto and visitors were sitting listening to her piece, crying, drawing, dancing, meditating. It was remarkable to see how moved people could be by someone’s idea. Douglas Coupland is another Canadian artist I love to follow. I love his artistic diversity. He writes, makes films, visual art, public art and observations. He uses anything he can to convey his idea and he’s an observer.

The Power of Imagination

This fall, we are asking our viewers to experience a world created by the imaginations of contemporary artists. When you walk through the front door this season, you will enter a world created in the minds of some of the most engaging emerging artists in Canada today.

So, we ask, what is the power of imagination? Does it make you envision a world of Elsewheres and Magical Mystery Beards, as in Jay Dart’s Greetings from Yawnder! Does it allow you to disrupt the status quo and express individual experience, as in The Images in Our Heads? Does the freedom of the imagination transport you to a far away land, as in Robert Bourdeau’s Edge of the Visible, or does it take you right back home, as you experience Canadian landscape in Land, Sea & Air?

Imagination is key to our exhibitions as it is essential to the artist’s practices. By imagining alternate spaces, we can create new realities with which to forge identity and experiment with new ideas.

When you visit, we hope you will allow your mind to wander and be open as you experience the installations. You will have the opportunity to be both the viewer and the story-teller as you inhabit worlds filled with creativity and fueled by the most powerful material in the artist’s studio: imagination.

Volunteer Profile – Steven Bland

A retired teacher, Steven Bland has been volunteering with the RMG as a tour guide, gallery attendant, community outreach facilitator and research assistant since 2013.

Dynamically guiding schools and private groups, Steven goes above and beyond for visitors. When touring the “Red Hat Ladies”, he took it upon himself to create his own Red Hat, adorning the brim with flowers and a scarf. As gallery attendant for our “Pride” celebration, Steven accented our usual ”Ask Me” buttons to include rainbow ribbons and created comprehensive booklets with exhibition information for newer volunteers.

Steven Bland gives a tour

Steven ran a gelliplate workshop for volunteers, creating materials for our art tent at the annual “Tree Lighting” ceremony. He developed a project and donated supplies to our Art Express tent at Oshawa’s annual Peony Festival. While facilitating projects, he promotes gallery programs and events; A vital component in engaging the public and broadening our reach as an organization.

The Red Hat ladies Tours

His newest project teams up our Senior Curator and Manager of Community and Volunteer Development. Steven will research and interview community members who have witnessed the gallery’s evolution over the past 50 years. This aims to engage and educate the public about the gallery’s impact on artists, citizens and local history in celebration of the RMG’s 50^th Anniversary in 2017.

Steven Bland with school tour

Steven’s energy, enthusiasm and continued support means we can reach beyond staff resources and engage citizens on a higher level, serving our statement of purpose: The Robert McLaughlin Gallery is dedicated to sharing, exploring and engaging with our communities through the continuing story of modern and contemporary Canadian art.

Meet Carla Sinclair, our Manager of Volunteer and Community Development

Today we sat down with Carla Sinclair, the RMG’s Manager of Volunteer and Community Development to find out more about her role and what she gets up to each day. You probably recognize Carla as your host of RMG Fridays – say hello next time you see her in the RMG Shop.

The RMG: What’s a typical day like for you?

Carla Sinclair: My day looks very different day to day depending on which part of my role I am working on. I manage our volunteer program, plan RMG Fridays, the gallery’s monthly community event as well as manage our gallery shop.

Between internal staff meetings, volunteer interviews, community engagement, consignment artist acquisitions and a number of cultural advisory committees/professional development associations, meetings can often fill up many of my days. Some days are quieter allowing me to spend hours on my computer sending emails, doing research, paperwork, and planning. If I am hosting an RMG Fridays or representing the RMG at a cultural event, I get to be social and interact with the community. The flexibility of my job caters to my multi-faceted personality. I love the diversity in my role!

The volunteer umbrella involves responding to volunteer requests, booking interviews, meeting with and assessing which department best suits new recruits, managing and posting new volunteer opportunities and keeping track of hours worked. As a member of multiple volunteer associations, I attend monthly meetings that provide professional development opportunities in the industry of volunteer administration. Thinking of new ways to incorporate the many skills that walk through the doors here at the RMG is always a priority.

RMG Fridays: Wonder Women

Planning RMG Fridays involves looking at curatorial schedules and building an event around exhibitions set to open or tour each month. I often choose a theme and try to connect all of the activities that are going on during an RMG Fridays: Live music, short films, exhibition tours, studio activity, community partners, food vendors. I love to add cultural elements that engage our audience by bringing in local theatre groups to perform a teaser of their show, a dance company, spoken word poet – just about anything that showcases the incredible local talent we have here in Durham and beyond! Booking musicians is typically the first element, and when possible this happens 4-6 months in advance. Sometimes artists reach out to me, other times I get suggestions from community members. I also try to find talent by attending local music venues, open mics and cultural events.

Short films for our Friday Film Features screening room at RMG Fridays get submitted through our website. These are viewed internally and 1 or 2 films are chosen to screen every 15 minutes throughout the evening. For food vendors, they are local, independent restaurants or caterers who put together a table of delicious eats to sell in the lobby, giving local entrepreneurs a chance to engage with the community and showcase their business. I typically contact them individually but encourage anyone interested to reach out to me as well.

Carla at RMG Exposed 2015

Community partners come from a variety of sources, some send requests, others are contacted based on the mandate of their organization and how it ties in to our event theme. After the details are nailed down, the next task is submitting the information to our Marketing Manager for promotional print materials and booking volunteers to help run all of the components of the evening. We typically have 8-15 volunteers behind the scenes making RMG Fridays happen, in tandem with our incredible audio engineer, DJ Lynz and dedicated RMG staff. When the big day comes, I spend the afternoon and early evening setting up tables, chairs, AV equipment, signage, printing schedules, shopping for supplies, greeting performers and partners. I then hold a meeting with our event volunteers at 6:30pm before doors open. The rest of the night involves hosting the event on stage. I, along with my colleague and co-host welcome guests, introduce the musicians, performers, and partners while sharing all of the awesome things happening in the building that evening!

The gallery shop is another component of my role including retail management, volunteer management (our friendly sales associates are all volunteers!), merchandising and researching consignment artists. Over the past year we’ve shifted the shop vision to include primarily Canadian consignment artists. This means I have to find talented artists whose work suits our local market. Some artists approach me, others I research, or find by planning volunteer outings with shop associates to canvas art shows/studios for promising candidates. Within the shop role is a lot of paperwork; Daily sales sheets, monthly shop deposits, quarterly consignment inventory and payouts as well as general correspondence. I host a monthly shop volunteer meeting to update our associates on new product, hear customer feedback and to build community amongst our volunteers.

RMG Shop Volunteer Trip

RMG: How did you get into this field?

CS: Having worked at the Nelson and District Arts Council, in on-air broadcast radio, teaching film programs and as a partner at Empty Cup Media, I’ve always invested my career in the arts and culture. One of these roles was producing video projects for The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, where I came to know the inspired team of staff that run this incredible space. The sense of community fostered here compelled me to be a voice in Oshawa’s expanding creative culture.

RMG: What skills or training do you need for your job?

It’s such a mixed bag, but I’d say…

Excellent written and communication skills
Creative thinking
Computer proficiency
Eye for merchandising and attention to detail
Organizational skills
Ability to recognize individual talents and abilities
Public speaking
Event management
Ability to teach and explain tasks well
Excellent social skills
Avid interest in being active in the cultural community
Strategic planning

Culture Meet Up

RMG: What’s your favourite part of your job?

CS: RMG Fridays! If you haven’t already been out to this awesome monthly event, I encourage you to come to the next one. Bands, artist talks and local partnerships create an atmosphere unlike any other you will find in Oshawa. I love the crowd it attracts and see it as an accessible, creative hub for entertainment, education and networking.

RMG: What are 5 things you couldn’t live without in your job?

CS: My top 5 are:

Charity Republic – Volunteer database software
Post it notes
Google
Coffee
Amazing Volunteers

RMG Fridays: HipHOpera

RMG: What do you get up to outside of the RMG?

CS: Outside of work at the gallery, I make films with Empty Cup Media. Our team has been working on a web series over the past couple years which means I’m heading to South Africa in October 2016 to film one of the latest episodes! I also spend time with my squishy faced pug Gryffin, have joined an adult ballet class after recently retiring from 5 years of roller derby, and love checking out local live music at Oshawa’s Memorial Park or The Moustache Club.

Artisans of the RMG Shop – soap and tea

The RMG Shop features creations by local artisans and artists. We’ll be profiling these artists and introducing them to you. For this instalment, we’re featuring two of our best selling artists who create soap and tea. Visit the shop to purchase one of these unique items!

Michelle Treen in her workshop. Photo by Jason Chow.

Michelle Treen is the face behind Aide Body Care, a small batch apothecary body care company that specializes in cold process soap and natural body care products. The traditional cold process technique uses a combination of natural oils and shea butter blended with alkali. Each bar is hand cut and cured for at least four weeks, creating a mild pH and a long lasting bar of soap.

Michelle uses top shelf plant based oils and Fair Trade shea butter in her cold process soap. Aide body care is rooted in natural ingredients and uplifting body care products. Each item is made by hand in small batches from the Aide body care studio in Oshawa. All of the soap made by Michelle is guaranteed vegan, bio-degradable, paraben SLS and phthalate free. Michelle is passionate about the environment and makes sure the soap is bio-degradable.

Natalie Gilday at the Honey & Tea store. Photo courtesy of Natalie Gilday.

Oshawa native Natalie Gilday has been on a mission since adolescence to change the world around her, advocating for the lost and broken-hearted. After living in three countries outside of Canada, Natalie returned home in 2009 with a vision to help homeless youth in her own neighbourhood. After researching and observing the success of Social Enterprise in rehabilitating at risk youth, Natalie founded Honey & Tea.

Honey & Tea is an Oshawa based loose leaf tea retailer who sources the freshest teas and provides the added value of tea themed events to our clients within Durham. Honey & Tea exists to turn profit into opportunity for homeless and at risk youth through mentorship, training and employment. We introduce the tea enthusiasts of Durham to an exotic array of premium teas, while educating health conscious consumers as to the lifestyle benefits of tea consumption. Tea talks and customized in-home parties are available for consumers who want to delve deeper into the extensive tea world. Honey & Tea is determined to define Canadian Tea Culture and improve the quality of our clients lives through natural RemeTeas.

Unique items by RMG Shop artisans

The RMG Shop features creations by local artisans and artists. We’ll be profiling these artists and introducing them to you. For the third instalment, we’re featuring three artists who use materials in innovative ways. Visit the shop to purchase one of these unique items!

Courtney O’Reilly in the RMG Shop. Photo by Carla Sinclair.

Courtney O’Reilly studied Bio-Medical Sciences at the University of Guelph. During her studies at Guelph, she became interested in the overlap between her anatomy studies and yoga postures. After graduating, Courtney O’Reilly completed a yoga teacher-training course and became a yoga instructor.

Courtney’s wood burning art is created on thinly sliced trunk canvases that have been kiln dried to prevent cracking. Courtney creates because she enjoys the feeling of joy that she gets from making art. She describes this as balance, purpose and inspiration. Courtney studied science, she considers herself a self-taught artist. Her creations have hopes of instilling feelings of mindfulness and peace.

Peter Martin with one of his inuksuk. Photo courtesy of Peter Martin.

Peter and his wife Thelma split their time between their home in Oshawa and their beloved cottage in Fenelon Falls. This has allowed him to not only take the time to develop his talent further but also to participate in more shows. Peter still attends classes himself, mainly in Haliburton. As he says, “You are never done learning. There are always new techniques to learn.”

Peter generally works in Brazilian soap stone, Quebec soap stone, Alabaster stone from Spain and some stones from China. He is currently working on a panda, carved out of aptly enough, Panda stone. The stone most of us are familiar with is the green Quebec soap stone. Much of it is used by the Inuit carvers that we often see. It is quite a symbolic Canadian material. Peter’s carvings take many different forms. He equally enjoys carving animals and landscapes. Owls, bears, musk ox and wolves sit comfortably beside pine trees and schooners carved of stone. The love of the outdoors and everything it encompasses shines through in Peter’s work.

Callum in his home making dolls. Photo courtesy of Julia Donovan.

Callum Donovan is an eleven year-old artist who lives in Whitby, Ontario with his parents, his younger brother and his beloved dog Jiggs. From about the time he was learning to walk, Callum showed a strong inclination towards expressing himself through art, preferably in three dimensions.

Last summer he began experimenting with the creation of art dolls and has been passionately constructing them ever since. They are made from a variety of materials, including paper clay, wire armature and stuffing. He hand sews all the clothes. Callum is very excited to be sharing some of the characters that live in his head and hopes people enjoy looking at them as much as he enjoys making them.

When he grows up, Callum aspires to become a professional artist, perhaps expanding into theatre and film design. Callum has recently started an art school fund and any proceeds from the sale of his dolls are being deposited in the account.

Meet Alex and Austin, Our YCW Summer Students

Austin Henderson is a third year student at Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, majoring in Fine Art. Alex Myrie is a second year student studying Arts Administration and Business at Bishop’s University, Sherbrooke, QC. They are our Young Canada Works students and will be leading summer camp this season.

The RMG: Why were you interested in working in an art gallery this summer?

Austin: I worked as a Gallery Interpreter the RMG last summer, and absolutely loved the experience. Last summer, I was able to learn a lot about my skills as an art instructor to young children, so I’m looking forward to exercising that skill again, and watching their little hands create projects in the studio is one of the best parts of the job. I also enjoy the atmosphere of the Gallery. The staff is so warm, friendly, and they are happy to lend their professional guidance. Since I’m considering a career in curating, this is the perfect place to be!

Alex: While majoring in Art Administration: Visual Arts, I wondered what it would be like to work in an art space. I had placed my resumes for various art positions where I knew I could use my skills and experiences. In doing so I believed it would be a great idea to focus on gallery applications since the artworks are greatly focused on the Visual Arts. I believed that working in a gallery I would be able to learn about the arts, multi-task various matters and constantly be on the go to complete daily tasks. In addition, I enjoy verbally exchanging views and perspectives with others on understanding the arts.

The RMG: What will you be doing during your placement at the gallery?

Austin & Alex: During June, we plan the summer programming based on the advertised themes released earlier in the year. As well as designing the camp schedule, we are responsible for compiling a materials list, ordering materials, and training our volunteers. Throughout June, we may also assist Jennifer, the Education Coordinator, with any school tour groups. Closer to the end of June, we test out some of the activities (that’s really fun!) and prepare the materials.

This year, Summer Camp will be running from July 4 – August 26. We instruct the entire camp for eight weeks, with the assistance of our wonderful volunteers and co-op students. We really appreciate everything they do for us because we would not be able to manage without them! Seven weeks of camp are devoted to campers aged 5-10. The week of August 2-5 is split up for toddlers and parents (in the morning) and teens (in the afternoon). In the last couple days of August, we clean out the studio and run an inventory on studio materials to prepare for fall programming. It’s crazy how fast the time goes!

Summer stduents Austin Henderson and Alex Myrie

The RMG: What is one thing you want to share about the RMG?

Austin: I took some classes at the RMG throughout high school, and I knew it was a gallery that was close-by that exhibited some really interesting work, but what I didn’t know until starting this job was how extensive the Gallery’s collection is! It houses over 4,500 works in the permanent collection alone, and it has an exceptional art library open for public use.

I think it’s also important for the public to know how much the RMG cares about Oshawa and greater Durham Region. RMG Fridays and Yoga in the Gallery are just two examples of many events that the RMG hosts regularly to strengthen community engagement, but so much more is currently being planned by the Gallery’s passionate staff and volunteers!

Alex: The RMG is one of the greatest and open workplaces I have been part of. Those who facilitate and maintain the gallery are amazing. They constantly work hard and diligently to allow all individuals of various backgrounds and views to have great opportunities in the gallery. They are very passionate about their work and they are always there to help one another when needed. There is a positive environment as well as vibe in the gallery where you can feel free and safe with others.

The RMG: What is your favourite museum?

Austin: Last November, I went to New York City with my school’s program, and we visited dozens of galleries, big and small, all throughout the city. However, the museum that stuck out to me most was the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Its collection is one of the best in the world, and I could easily spend weeks through its corridors. I think it’s such a special place because it exhibits everything from Ancient Egyptian artifacts and medieval armour, to contemporary artists’ works, so there really is something for everyone. Pierre-Auguste Renoir is one of my all-time favourite artists, and I distinctly remember walking into a room filled with his works, and just being awestruck. I traveled to New York again earlier this May, and paid another visit to the Met to see the Costume Institute’s annual exhibit, Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology, which was nothing short of spectacular.

Alex: By far my favourite museum is the Vatican Museum in Rome, Italy. In my final year of high school I was granted a great opportunity to visit Italy and Greece for the March Break. While touring Rome, Italy we had visited the Vatican where I was truly mesmerized by the different mediums of Renaissance art. I remember while walking through the corridors there were so many art sculptures, sewn images on massive drapes and even paintings on the ceiling. I could not believe how much detail and time was invested into each section. However, what really made me fall in love with the Vatican was when I saw The School of Athens painting on the wall, which consist of the two well-known philosophers Aristotle and Plato. I had seen the painting in my study textbook and I greatly admired the painting since then. The funny thing was it never dawned on me that I would be seeing the exact painting right before my eyes and so when I saw it in person I felt like one of the luckiest persons in the world.

Summer stduents Austin Henderson and Alex Myrie

The RMG: What is your first memory of art?

Austin: My affinity for art-making probably stems from the movies I watched as a child, specifically anything by Walt Disney, and The Wizard of Oz, which is still my all-time favourite. I would draw the characters on my Magna Doodle so often that I went through several of them! I think those films inspired me to create images based strongly on my own imagination, and without them, I really don’t think I’d have the same passion for art that I do today.

Alex: My first memory of art is a bit faint as I was very young at the time. I remember my mom and I always making craft activities together whether it was painting pictures with my big paintbrush or creating animated designs with hole punched paper. I also remember when I got up Saturday mornings I would go downstairs by the big window where my paint was set-up and feel so excited to paint. My mom has always encouraged me to explore and be creative since I was young and it has led me to never look back as well as embrace my admiration for the arts.

The RMG: Aside from schoolwork, what do you do within your university during the year?

Austin: For the past two years, I’ve worked on the Creative Team for Vogue Charity Fashion Show, an annual student-run fashion show at Queen’s. This past year, my job as one of the Creative Directors required me to conduct photo shoots, conceptualize the show’s theme, attend weekly meetings, and create any graphics or promotional material for the show. This year, we raised $37,000 towards the Happy Soul Project, a Kingston-based charity focused on embracing differences. Aside from that, I volunteered as an Orientation Week Leader in the fall, which was a crazy fun experience! I also work with the Queen’s Smith School of Business as an Illustrator for the Queen’s Business Review, and as a student representative for the Fine Art Departmental Student Council.

Alex: As academics are important I also love to do activities outside of school. I enjoy volunteering in my community such as helping the Bishop’s Annual Fashion Show, sitting on various school committees, participating in the art club and tending to the duties as a Student Representative on the Student Council. I also enjoy doing yoga, reading, swimming with my friends and volleyball. I am hoping in the months to come I will be able to take up snowboarding again!

Noel Harding Remembered by Linda Jansma

I came across an “RIP” for Noel Harding on Facebook last Friday. I was both stunned and disbelieving and contacted the notification’s author for verification. The next day, emails and other postings would confirm that it was true: Noel had died suddenly on Thursday, May 26.

Noel Harding, Reverb, 2015 at the General Motors Centre

Less than a week ago, Noel had called to ask me to be a reference for a sculpture commission he’d been short-listed for. He was excited about the project and the possibility of its realization.

Noel was an artist with incredible vision and energy. Born in England in 1945, his work originally consisted of video art—he was a pioneer in Canada in that medium in the 1970s; then it was video projections and installation in the 1980s; kinetic installations in the 1990s and over the past 20 years, his practice has primarily been one of public art.

Noel Harding at the opening of Reverb. Spring, 2015

I first met Noel in 2002 when he was short-listed for an RMG-commissioned sculpture. While the jury did not choose his work, his attention to the site of the sculpture was both well-considered and memorable. We were happy to see him submit to the RMG’s call for proposals in the spring of 2014. The short-listed proposals were presented to the jury in the fall of 2014 with each artist given the opportunity to explain their work. Noel came in with a wonderful maquette (model of the sculpture) a flashlight and lighting system He wanted us to see the shadows that the sculpture would make in the day and set up what the lights would look like when triggered in the evening. The jury decision was unanimous: Noel had sold us on his vision, and his enthusiasm for that vision was contagious.

Noel Harding, Mayor John Henry, city councillors and RMG staff at the opening of Reverb. Spring, 2015

The idea behind Reverb is connected to our community. Noel had asked me to arrange for two tickets to an Oshawa Generals’ hockey game—he’d never been to a hockey game and, since the work was to be positioned outside the GM Centre, he wanted to get a feel for the place. It wasn’t the game that captured his imagination as much as the crowd. Reverb reflects the enthusiasm of those who visit the GM Centre—they are the ones who trigger the light show in the sculpture. The work is less about an artist’s vision, but the reflection of a community. And that consideration of our public is what helped tip the scale in Noel’s direction.

Noel Harding, Reverb, 2015 at night

The best part of what I do is working with artists and I feel privileged to have spent time with Noel Harding. The Canadian art world has become a poorer place with his passing.

– Linda Jansma, Senior Curator

RMG Shop artists using colour

The RMG Shop features creations by local artisans and artists. We’ll be profiling these artists and introducing them to you. Visit the shop to purchase one of these unique items!

For the first instalment, we’re featuring three artists who use bright colours in their work. From prints to handbags to scratch-boards, all three artists use colour in a unique way.

Kelly Grace in her workshop.

Kelly Grace

Kelly has two approaches to creating art. One is a more traditional style of painting and the other combines elements of more than one different art process. Kelly’s mixed media style combines drawing, painting and a print making process called pigment transfer. Typically this image transfer is used as a photo transfer technique but Kelly is transferring her own pencil rendering images instead of photographs. One pencil sketch acts as a collage template for a small edition.

Some of Kelly’s Wizard of Oz editions.

Every piece of art that Kelly makes goes through several layers of hand applied process. Despite the images of the one style being made in editions, every piece has it’s own unique qualities and no two pieces look the same.

Kiri Martin posing with one of her handmade bags.

Kiri Martin

Kiri has been sewing since she was a kid, but only recently took that passion and turned it into a business, instead of just doing it for family. Kiri’s shop came about as a result of her love for fabrics, sewing and creating unique designs.

Some of Kiri’s bags on display in the RMG Shop.

One thing that gives Kiri distinction from other fabric based artists is her variety of fabrics. She also works with her clients to bring their ideas to life, making connections with her supporters. Kiri likes the challenge of taking someone else’s vision and doing collaborations with her clients.

Lisa posing with one of her etchings in the RMG Shop.

Lisa Martini-Dunk

Lisa takes her daily life and puts it into her artwork. Everything she sees, feels and experiences influences her art. She has a strong pull toward nature and architecture. As wide as her influences, Lisa’s use of different mediums gives her work a sense of a primitive state, as if her art doesn’t comply to a style, but merely her untouched thoughts.

Lisa uses her artwork to tell the stories of life. She has always felt like an observer and can now tell the stories to her personal audience, through her artwork.

Interview with Art Lab artist Jessica Field

Jessica Field is our Art Lab artist in residence from April 25 until July 10. During her residency in the Art Lab, Jessica Field will be experimenting with relational aesthetics and drawing to create a body of work that focuses on the influences that technology and science have on the way people socially develop their identities. Through her performance research, she will be creating fictional spaces and developing relational encounters with participants to create maps of how they relate to technology and science and attempt to place how their subjective values and feelings are connected. Most of Field’s works are parodies on the scientific methods, gender issues and the tension between subjective values, feelings, prestige and how these function in the technological complexity of our current culture. We sat down with Jessica to learn more about what she has been up to in the Art Lab…

The RMG: Hi Jessica! Please tell us a little about yourself.

Jessica Field: I am an artist who has lived in the Durham region for most of my life. Growing up in Pickering and then starting my own family here in Oshawa. I am a very curious person who enjoys spending an exorbitant amount of time trying to answer big questions. I am most fascinated by human nature in how complicated we are, on one hand we can be very dismissive and selfish, yet vulnerable but we have the capacity to choose to be very empathetic, imaginative and offer a safe unbiased space for others depending on how life is effecting us.

Jessica Field in the Art Lab. Photo by Lucy Villeneuve.

RMG: Why did you apply to the Art Lab artist in residence program?

JF: I applied to the Art Lab to experiment with new materials and interact with the public to create interesting conversations and learn more about how we are programmed. I am also very interested in doing research in the RMG’s library and with the collection to assist in informing my work. I am also very excited about working in a large gallery to be inspired by a space designed for exhibiting work and becoming more involved with the Oshawa art community.

RMG: What will you be creating during your residency? What can visitors expect to find in the Art Lab or during one of your performance events?

JF: I will be creating a series of drawings that will attempt to grapple the impossible question of “how we are programmed.” Visitors can expect to see a room full of large format drawings that address these questions. In the coming weeks, there will be glass markers and chalk available for visitors to contribute their impressions of the drawings in the studio. Any visitor will be very welcome to interrupt my work and offer their insights into this impossible question of “how we are programmed” as these interactions are a crucial part of my residency. In this upcoming month, my focus is in the collection of information. Then the work will become about editing and fine tuning the drawing content, this is a space for visitors to enjoy viewing complicated maps and moving or adding their interpretation of what these drawn landscapes could represent.

RMG: Tell us a bit more about your artist workshop on June 12. What will students learn?

JF: The workshop on June 12 will be offering a technique for students to use to help them learn about creating systems and see how a system or methodology can eliminate such creative challenges as creative blocks, the stress of how strong an idea is and to find methods of expanding a personalized idea into something that becomes larger than the person who imagined it in the first place. The strategy of the workshop focuses on utilizing the student’s imagination, ability to empathize and drawing attention to the importance of developing impartial judgment. These values allow people to think in larger terms then their individual selves and thus learn an ability to create artworks that speak to the larger picture of what life is all about which is something everyone has invested interest in understanding on some level. The workshop will offer an activity to help students engage in this space to find their own important contribution to this large discourse that others will value and have the added effect of enriching their own creative goals and interests.

Photo by Lucy Villeneuve

RMG: In a nutshell… what is “relational aesthetics” and how does this principle impact your practice?

JF: Relational aesthetics is rooted in a dissatisfaction in the art market where art is bought and sold. Those who work in this practice are really focused on the experience of art, the experience of seeing something that has qualitative value and can be enriching to a persons life whether this is an experience of awe, revelation or a strong emotional experience that becomes a lasting memory. The art as an object is always in danger of being superficialized by popularity or become convoluted and intimidating by our stress of how the art institution values the work.

Relational aesthetics is an attempt to bring a genuine and meaningful experience between the artist and the viewer where the viewer becomes a collaborator in the experience of the work and integral to its validity. There is an equitable exchange between the artist and viewer where the viewer in their participation receives an experience of value that they should feel compelled to cherish and the artist is given material to assist in creating a project that is larger than themselves and not limited by their personal biases and experience.

The use of relational aesthetics in my project is an honest art practice that can allow me to grapple an impossible topic like “how are you programmed.” I can set up a performance which is really a collaborative exercise with the people who wish to participate and in these actions we carry out together. The objective is to really become aware of human diversity and celebrate these differences as being something valuable and important rather than peculiar or unusual. This creates a space for people to feel comfortable with enjoying the pleasure of imagination, empathy and impartial judgment in a safe space to do so which is my responsibility in executing the performance.

Jessica Field. Photo by Lucy Villeneuve.

RMG: What inspires you? Is there a particular artist’s work that has inspired your practice?

JF: I have many references that inspire me and my inspirations are always changing and are very fluid. For this residency, I am focused on Yoko Uno’s drawings and instructions from the RMG library, the pilgrimage drawings mapping the roads of life, illustrations of human life created by Christian artists in the 1800s, the Zen Ox herding drawings, and the youTube channel the School of Life. In looking at these very diverse sources, I hope to find commonalities and create maps and flow diagrams. I am also very curious in receiving input from the public on how they relate to these maps and will hopefully offer insight into what this landscape could look like.