Category: Uncategorized

ALLEYJAUNT is Toronto’s alternative, urban, community arts event. The event gives exposure to local artists, encourages public interaction with art, and reaches out to a diverse community of all ages within the Trinity Bellwoods Park neighbourhood setting.
In additional to our juried exhibitions, this year’s ALLEYJAUNT will also include two externally curated and juried sections to the event. Please clearly specify which of the three calls for submissions you are applying for.
1. The Jaunt. ALLEYJAUNT’s general call specifically seeks art exhibits, installations, and performances that respond to the environment of the garage, the alley and the local urban community. Proposals should reflect this mandate.
2. Surprise. Ephemeral artistic interventions into collective spaces can surprise and provoke, make the familiar strange and provide for a momentary critical reflection of the nature of urban experience. This is a specific call for temporary installation or performance works designed for the sites and spaces beyond the designated garages. We are seeking projects that will tie together the various exhibition garages with another layer of artistic intervention that captures the flux, chance and accident of everyday life.
3. Give! We invite submissions that investigate the dynamics of gift-giving as a concept, creative statement and mode of operation for subversion, intervention and connection. Gifts may be ephemeral or physical, an action or an object, articulated as street actions, mischievous interruptions, spontaneous interludes, or unconventional connections confronting the ways we practice shared urban space. Without being limited to the designated garage spaces, artists are encouraged to address the multiple faces of gift-giving, so that engagement is simultaneously affectionate and cynical, intimate and removed, charitable and motivated by criticality.
The 4th annual ALLEYJAUNT will be held on August 12 & 13, 2006
3 Calls for Submission
Deadline: May 1, 2006
Submission Requirements:
-CV
-Identify which call you are submitting to
-A short description of project (max. 250 words)
-Support Mateiral (Max 10 slides/jpgs on CD)
-Include SASE if you want support material returned
Please send submissions to:
ALLEY JAUNT
17 Bank Ave.
Toronto, ON
M6K 1R4
Queries: info@alleyjaunt.com www.alleyjaunt.com

I’m still waiting for further developments in the ASAP show. When the news first broke, it was a whirlwind of activity, and I was worried about not having everything ready in time. I work well when I have deadlines, but when I make them, and nothing happens, it leaves me feeling a little anxious. Understandable, I suppose. But now I’ve got all these paintings on-deck, waiting for transportation to their destination, still with no word on when that’s going to happen.
There’s an unexpected bonus to this, though. Now my slides are getting developed, and I’ve got most of my portfolio put together, just in time for another deadline with the Cambridge Centre for the Arts. They’re looking for submissions for the 2007 year, and I’ll be able to submit to it for the end of March.
So, it’s still working out. I’m not wasting my time by getting everything together.

Who am I?
I’m an artist living in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. I was born in London, Ontario, and went to university in London and Toronto, living in both cities for a number of years, finally settling down somewhere in between the two.
What am I about?
I paint. I photograph. I maintain an online journal. I occasionally edit videos and make music. Mostly I paint. To me, it’s a way of expressing some thoughts and feelings which can’t be expressed through words or sound. If you’ve ever felt mesmerized by a single shape or colour, or been lost in a photograph, this is where I spend my time. I often paint unconsciously, without thought or plan, without theme or pretense. I simply put the colours where they should go.
My paintings tend to convey a feeling of immediacy; quite often one gets the impression of motion or movement out of the static pieces. Part of this sensation may come from how I’ve integrated my film and video aesthetics into paintings. Some viewers are often reminded of video test patterns and scrambled pay-TV channels in the work. In some cases, I even letterbox my paintings (it adds to the drama). The paintings are created quickly, passionately — they are exploded on to the canvas, assembled outside of thought and emotion with all the raw materials.
What’s my technique?
I use vibrant acrylics — thick textures, glossy and flat, varying levels of geography and real estate on the board. Reckless abandon always wins out over a steady hand.
Palette knife, brush, or any blunt object at hand. I’ve used pieces of wood and cloth, hand tools, sponges … anything that makes an impression in soft gelled acrylic or the underlying media.
For me, a piece has turned out well if it balances vibrant primaries and dark, earthy colours, positive and negative space, geometric order and chaos.
My standard painting surface is a 61cm, 91.5cm, or 122cm square canvas or masonite sheet with reinforcements against warping. They are rarely framed. When placed on a wall, they resemble windows into insane and abstract worlds.
Where have I been?
My most recent solo show was part of the Kitchener Business Association’s Available Space Art Project.
What have I learned?
I’m still learning. It’s part of a life-long evolution of style, content and technique. I have a B.A. with a double major in English and Film from the University of Western Ontario, and I’m currently investigating supplemental fine arts courses at Conestoga College and the University of Waterloo. I would like to work with other artists in the region as part of a peer support and training group. We could discuss art topics and critique each other’s works, offering suggestions and alternate methods and styles.

The artist résumé is different from a curriculum vitae or artist bio. The c.v. is a record of all professional activities within academic careers, and is intended for use in academic situations only. An artist bio, while containing information similar to the artist résumé, is presented in a different format than the résumé. An artist bio is most often written in the third person and in paragraph form, and it highlights the information present on your résumé.
Artist Statements
Many artists are downright intimidated by the thought of writing an artist statement. We have all read too many bad artist statements. In addition, I think artists hear a lot of different advice when it comes to writing about their work. The best statements I have read are written by the artists themselves. Statements written by those with a commercial interest tend to be more marketing pieces than informative statements—which in certain situations is appropriate. So again, know your audience.
NYFA Interactive – New York Foundation for the Arts

ArtistsRegister.Com- artist directory for western states
As any craftsperson or avid collector will attest, there is something truly special about buying a piece of art that was carefully crafted by human hands. But being invited into the artist’s psyche, learning more about the work and its creator can make the experience even more remarkable
An artist’s statement can be your best marketing tool, yet it is the aspect of craft marketing that is most often overlooked.
A well-executed statement is far more useful than the conventional résumé that we have come to know and revere. In today’s competitive marketplace your artist’s statement can not only contribute to increased sales of your work, but also to increased validation and visibility in the world of crafts.

So this is an interesting development in the whole “gallery without walls” project:
—–Original Message—–
From: Available Space Art Project
Sent: Monday, February 27, 2006 9:44 AM
Subject: Re: Call for Artists ASAP: Gallery without walls in downtown Kitchener
Your paintings are installed at Queen St. yoga. I talked to the owner and she agreed to have more of your work in one of their studios. How many pieces do you have and when is a good time for you to bring them?
—–/Original Message—–
Nice. I followed up on this. It’s a big studio (OK, yoga centre), and they want 10 more pieces. Looks like I’ve got a whole show to myself. I’m going to be taking slide and digital photos this week, and I’ll get the paintings into presentable condition. Now, I just have to figure out how to get them all down there.
Wondering if I should also have an art opening or something? I should probably see what options I’ve got at the Yoga centre.

I’ve finished most of the work on the art wall. It’s this contraption which Ted Godwin described using in his book, “The Studio Handbook for Working Artists”. It is like a main easel for a dedicated art studio, and is made out of a sheet of 3/4″ plywood and 2x4s to provide mass and stability. Here it is with a mounted poster of H.R. Giger’s “Birth Machine” (I’m sure I’m using the image without his permission, but it’s more to show how big the wall is).

The trick was to come up with a way of mounting something on the wall without making it obtrusive, especially if using it as a photographic base for making slides. These shelf brackets worked really well for this job, and will suit my 61cm square pieces and just about anything larger. The spacing of the brackets is such that smaller pieces may need a strip of moulding glued to the bracket clips with construction adhesive, or perhaps a third bracket in the middle. I know the size of the pieces I work with, so this is fine by me.

This thing is damnably heavy, by the way. Some handles are really helpful for making minor adjustments to the positioning, and for moving it out of the way. In my case, I’ve got 4 different places to put this wall in the central loft chamber (I’m actually not sure what to call that big hole in the loft floor).

Also helpful are the heavy duty felt pads I’ve stapled to the bottom of the legs. These allow for small adjustments, but have enough friction to prevent the whole thing from sliding out and falling over. Still, I’d like to get some hooks for the top, while it’s leaning against the loft edge.

Please – add your voice to the call! Sign this petition.
Click onto the link below (“The Undersigned”) or go to the web address provided.
http://www.petitiononline.com/carv2006/petition.html
To: Canadian Artists, Artistes Canadiens
PETITION: A Living for Visual Artists
CARFAC and RAAV hope to significantly raise exhibition fees over the next few years.
At the same time, under the Canadian and the Quebec laws on the status of the artist, CARFAC and RAAV are pursuing artists’ rights through negotiations with presenters. Jointly, Carfac and RAAV are negotiating with the National Gallery of Canada. RAAV prepares important negotiations with Quebec presenters. These actions are extremely significant for artists and will impact on our ability to earn a reasonable income for years to come.
There is some opposition by public galleries to the fee increases. While the percentage of fee increase might seem large, these simply represent the percentages that are needed to catch up. Fees have not been increased, except for cost of living, over the past 20 years, and there was no differentiation in the fees paid by large and small galleries.
When exhibition fees became a legal right for artists nearly 20 years ago some public galleries were reluctant to pay them. Some still don’t want to pay them today. Many ask artists to waive many of the fees they are legally entitled to.
Public art galleries are public institutions operating in a public economy. Artists are part of that economy and essential to the public exhibitions they present. As the creators of the work exhibited Artists deserve to be compensated.
CARFAC and RAAV need your support in asking for fair treatment and our basic rights.
“I petition that artists in Canada deserve proper compensation for the work they present in our public art institutions. The rights that artists are demanding are basic human rights. As culture becomes more central to our social and economic well-being, artists have a right to fair compensation for the work they do and the right to decent living and working conditions.”
“I support CARFAC and RAAV in their efforts to improve the livelihood of artists through the new 2005 fee schedule and fee policy, and in their efforts to negotiate a fair deal with National Gallery of Canada and other public presenters across Canada and Québec.”
Sincerely,
http://www.petitiononline.com/carv2006/petition.html
Credited to Mike MacDonald, National Spokesperson CARFAC and Yves
Louis-Seize, Président du RAAV

I figured I should photograph these paintings before they go out (you know … artists and inventory, and that kind of crap), so I quickly converted my computer room into a photography studio, complete with 3200K lamps and 50% grey mat background, camera tripod, etc. I can’t say I’m particularly pleased with the photos, especially since I had them slightly skewed (hard to make a painting completely perpendicular on an executive chair). Also, the first painting was done with a heavy gloss acrylic medium, so it’s got a lot of reflective glare on it. This, despite covering the front of the lamps with white paper. The digital camera pics up a lot of glare, which is why film is preferred.


I was going to do several other paintings, but I was pressed for time, and my patience was growing thin. It’s much too crowded in here, and I was a little worried about blowing the already overloaded circuit with the extra 500W of electricity I was using.
Once the weather clears a little, I’m getting the art wall in place and moving the photo studio out of here.

I just found out about the Available Space Art Project (appropriately abbreviated to ASAP) in Kitchener, and am busting my ass to get some pieces into it for Friday. It’s not a particularly glamourous show: apparently it’s a volunteer project in which artists display their artworks in vacant or disused storefront space throughout downtown Kitchener. But it’s something to put on your CV, and it’s especially useful when your CV contains nothing pertaining to acrylic painting since high school. I’ve also been looking into getting some custom shipping crates made (actually, it’s cheaper than I thought) at this place just down the street from where I work.
I still have some photographing to do, and will try to get those pictures up on the site when they’re available.