yesterday morning
One of the photos I took yesterday morning – can you guess what it is? **
Compare it to these photos taken about 6 months ago on December 5th, 2004.
** Check out Answers.com
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by Marja-Leena by Marja-Leena artists’ quotes
Words of my own fail me today, but these artists’ words sustain and inspire me:
“Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye.. it also includes the inner pictures of the soul.” – Edvard Munch
“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way–things I had no words for.” – Georgia O’Keeffe
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.” – Pablo Picasso
“The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration.” – Frida Kahlo
“I like making work in my studio day in and day out, but I’m not so interested in the business side.” – Jenny Saville
“There were only five galleries in those days, and the artists really depended on each other socially, psychologically, and even critically. It’s impossible now. Business sure screwed up the art world universally.” – Robert Rauschenburg
(From artquotes.net)
An older post with quotations on art
by Marja-Leena Canada’s visual artists
Statistics Canada reports 15,000 artists in Canada.
The direct impact of culture on GDP was $40 billion.
78% of BC artists earn less than $10,000 per year making art.
There were 2400 applicants for 220 creation grants last year.
The visual arts section of the Canada Council has the smallest budget (3.5 million/ 150 million).
Post secondary institutions are graduating 8000 fine arts students per year (double 5 years ago).
These shocking numbers are excerpted from BC president Femke van Delft’s front page article in Visual Arts Voice, newsletter of CARFAC BC, Spring 2005 issue, concerning Canada Council’s proposed changes to grants. Unfortunately it’s not online.
This was published just before Canada Council for the Arts announced their new program.
Links for further reading:
– The story on CBC
– Chris of Zeke’s Gallery keeps on top of all this and has put together a bunch of links on the subject.
– CARFAC (Canadian Artists Representation)
– CARFAC BC affiliate (sadly not updated)
– my older post about CARFAC
by Marja-Leena Cultural Creatives
How intriguing! A couple of days ago, in a playful mood, I posted a quiz that identified me as a Cultural Creative. Last night as I browsed through some blogs that I visit on a biweekly basis, I came across a post called “ARE YOU A CULTURAL CREATIVE?” at Robert Brady’s Pure Land Mountain.
Here I learn that there is an actual Cultural Creative organization. These movements include those focused on civil rights, the environment, womens rights, peace, jobs and social justice, gay and lesbian rights, alternative health care, spirituality, personal growth, and now, of course, stopping corporate globalization. All of those concerns are now converging into a strong concern for the whole planet.
Curiously, the words cultural and creative are given new meaning here. It’s interesting reading, offering a very positive world view, yet it’s strange that the authors mainly focus on Americans, while I believe these “cultural creatives” as labelled are everywhere. Do go read Brady’s post and the links and please let me know what you think!
by Marja-Leena a quiz
It’s been a busy week with family. Our oldest daughter, who has been living in the Interior since last fall, has been here this week on business. It was great having her here for our youngest daughter’s 20th birthday which we celebrated with all our family at a Thai restaurant. Today eldest took off for a conference in Winnipeg. I have just changed the linens for a sister-in-law who’s coming for this weekend. Tuesday night eldest returns for one night on her way home, so it feels like I’m running a bed-and-breakfast! Ah well, not to complain, I do enjoy seeing the family, but isn’t it funny how “when it rains, it pours?”
Since I had a few minutes to spare to wander the blogosphere, and maybe feeling a bit silly from cleaning fumes, I did this quiz , something I usually ignore because the results are usually meaningless. I rather like the results on this one, so decided to share the fun – try it!
 |
You scored as Cultural Creative. Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational.
What is Your World View? |
Found at Fresh Paint
by Marja-Leena Interview
Melanie McBride of chandrasutra* felt that Big Media has been misrepresenting bloggers and decided that it was time we spoke for ourselves and let them (and everybody else know) who we actually are, who we link to and why we blog. She decided to do an interview series by bloggers about bloggers to publish onchandrasutra*. She sent out questions to a selection of bloggers she read, from well known to lesser known bloggers, men and women from different walks of life.
Now I’m excited that Melanie has posted her interview of me*. I feel very thrilled and honoured to be included with such a distinguished group of bloggers! Many thanks, Mel!
UPDATE May 14, 2007: *Chandrasutra has gone offline. Please see this post.
by Marja-Leena mother’s day
made by youngest daughter Erika
A Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers everywhere!
Mother’s Day Proclamation at wood s lot
and at watermark
by Marja-Leena one of those days
Yesterday morning I met with friend W. to take slides of some of my past year’s work. Our group had arranged a slide shoot day in early April, setting up professional lights and equipment. Lots of work was shot, but time ran out for a few of us, including yours truly, whose work was there but whose body was in bed with bronchitis.
So today we set up the lights and equipment again but ran into delays searching for missing light reflectors and their connectors for the tripods. Duct tape, as usual, came to the rescue. The setting up and shooting took about two hours for my six pieces; fortunately N. came in right after me to do hers, so the setup time was more worthwhile. Many thanks to W. for his photography expertise and taking time out from his very busy schedule to do this for us!
I learned that our favourite and best film processor who would do slides overnight has gone out of business. Now I wait ’til Monday to see how the the slides turn out. I might still take digital shots of the last three prints at home because the tungsten lights for the slide film produce a brown cast in digital, or I will scan the slides. So, a little more patience before they are uploaded here.
When I got home around noon, I discovered that our internet was down. NO email, no blogging, no browsing; four hours later, ditto. So we called our IP provider who said there were no service interruptions in our area. Checks and restart attempts determined that our modem was not working. Someone would come by the next afternoon (today).
My other half had gone out of town on business earlier in the day. Daughter and I went to our local library to use their computers. I could not access my mail because I could not remember my password for webmail, not having used this service with this account yet! However I got some books and we rented a DVD movie for a mother-daughter night! She missed her IM friends, I missed the blogosphere, but we enjoyed our supper and movie.
This afternoon, our connection is working again, after seemingly a mere tweak by the serviceman. Life is back to normal – or is it?
But what does other-half’s going out of town have to do with any of this? Well, it’s become family history that almost everytime HE goes out of town, something breaks down. When we had babies and diapers, it was the washing machine. Later on, the boiler (for hot-water home heating) would give up on the coldest days of the year, including once or twice with both of us gone leaving the kids with Granny. HE is the fixer-upper, the handyman and the troubleshooter, and HIS machines at the home front miss him, we believe.
by Marja-Leena a bad week
I’ve been trying to start this post several times but incoherent thoughts, suddenly worsened keyboarding skills, (I do wish spellcheck would fix the typos!) and constant heavy rib-hurting coughing haven’t made it easy.
Last week Thursday, I felt wonderful having successfully completed my recent project. I’ve mentioned that I’ve been making prints that are on paper, with a clear printed mylar layer on top. After testing various methods of attaching these layers, I chose three eyelets, or small grommets, along the top edge. I’m very pleased with this because it gives me the option of using clear pushpins to hang them close to the wall, or they can hang off long nails out from the wall, or use nylon line and hang them freely anywhere. A bonus is that the editions are easy to store flat, remaining attached and ready to hang. So, I was pretty excited and really full of ideas for the next pieces.
That night I began to feel like a deflated balloon, the next day, like I’d hit a wall. I had caught this nasty bronchitis-like bug going around the family. So, lots of sleep, chicken broth, tea and water. But as the cough worsened sleep became more difficult. I’m told it may still take another week to get over the worst, then some to fully recover. Maybe my mind will clear up soon so that I can at least read some books, the usual delicious benefit of sick days. Hopefully regular posting will return soon.
Friend Anna knows how to cheer me up with visions of lovely English fields of blue scillas and this.
by Marja-Leena Flat Files needed
REPEAT POSTING from last fall:
This is an unusual request…several of my artist friends and I are all in great need of reasonably priced flat files or map files for our studios, to safely store our prints. The above picture is just one example, we are interested in different sizes. I personally need an extra large size. We have looked at auctions, classified ads and word-of-mouth for good second-hand ones but they are hard to find. Anyone out there, in the Vancouver area or even Victoria and Nanaimo areas on Vancouver Island (BC, Canada) have some that they are getting rid of, or know of someone doing so? Please contact me by email if you can help us.