Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Happy New Year!

So I know I'm late on wishing everyone a happy new year but I just came from an hour and a half hot yoga class (not something I normally do) so you've gotta give me some credit. I'm sitting here soaking in cold sweat and making it my mission to fill you in on the holidays and my goals for the New Year. 

First, I thought I'd just share some highlights from the holidays. Last week Dee Barsy and I were featured on  Eat Your Arts and Vegetables hosted by Derek Brueckner and Aleem Khan. We chatted about the art that we're making and Gallery Ingenue. Dee and I made a last minute decision to bring vegetables as presents for the hosts - Dee looks at lot more natural posing with her squash than I do with my carrot...


It will be online to listen to for about 9 more weeks so if you were able to catch it follow the link at the bottom of Derek's post

It's also January so we've switched over to Ashley and Tim's photography show Interiors/Exteriors at Gallery Ingenue! We set up last weekend and the opening is this Friday January 7th from 7-10pm. Come down to meet the artists and like lat month if you bring two non-perishable food items for Winnipeg Harvest you'll receive 10% off your Stella's meal! And stay tuned for a drink special - we're in the midst of thinking up another hot bevvie to warm people up!


Ashley and Tim hanging Ashley's photographs


Hanging Tim's photographs


I made Ashley pose like this :)


Tim's Regina series


Tim's Pinawa series


Christmas was also great. Lots of family time and Darrin and I made our very first all vegan Christmas dinner: Lentil loaf, gara masala cornmeal crusted brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, gravy, and chocolate bread pudding for dessert! The rest f my family ate their regular Christmas meal but were trying bits of Darrin and I's and were very impressed :)

I also took time to dress Frankie and Toulouse up in dollarstore Christmas outfits - very important...



And since it's safe to share them now I wanted to give a run down on my handmade Christmas presents. I managed to do about 75% of my Christmas shopping second hand and handmade by me.

Clocks... I got the idea from 'La Dolce Vegan' - but instead of buying clock parts from a craft store (the only craft store we have in Winnipeg is Michaels and it's so expensive it should be illegal) I bought clocks from the dollarstore and took them apart so now I have perfect circular pieces of glass for another project.



I strolled through the movie section of Value Village for the old VHS tapes and the chocolate box is actually my Grandma Hil's. My 'Gammy Hil' died in the fall and I inherited a lot of her crafting materials. I decided it would be nice to make use of them for family christmas presents so everyone in my family could have something to remind them of her. 


I made this clock out of a chocolate box she kept her needles and thread in and I gessoed on a two of her cross stitch patterns. The Mexican one is very special because my mom, my aunts, and my grandma have been going on a girls trip to Mexico every year for the past fifteen years. I'll be going joining them on my reading week this year for some sun.

I also came across these light switchplates in my endless drawers of craft stuff so I collaged pieces of my grandma's cross stitch patterns, writing, and bits of her little odds and ends onto them.



These other two are for my roommate Kate, and Darrin. Kate's is the floral one - she has a very classic aesthetic so I thought it would be nice and Darrin's is the buildings and the little couple.


I also hosted an All-Vegan New Years potluck brunch! It was AWESOME and I would recommend everyone have one! It's a really great way to get people excited about vegan food and to get friends together... even if your best friends happen to show up in fur... life is full of contradictions right?


Everyone chatting and enjoy the food...


Me peeling ginger for rhubarb ginger loaf




My dear and long time friend Katie Boyd


Ryan Trudeau and Kara Passey


In preparation for mimosa's


Kara Passey and Dayna Danger! This was Dayna's last day in Winnipeg before returning to her job at the Banff Center for the Arts. But then she's back next week and we're having a play date in my studio!


Lauren McPhaden and her fiance Andre - they just moved into their first apartment sooo close to my place :)

And this is my 1x1ft Secret Santa painting! Everyone seems to have gotten a little behind and we're all still working on the finishing touches so I'll be dropping this off at the studio for my person tonight. I decided to paint something completely different than my thesis theme so I painted a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. 


And it's been delayed but this is the bull painting I was talking about in my previous Botero post.



And last but not least my Goals For 2011!
(in no particular order)

1. Floss twice a day
2. Be in the studio at least 6/7 days per week
3. Stay active - right now I'm trying this hot yoga thing again, I'm trying to wrap my head around why people would want to do something daily that makes them dizzy and want to puke so we'll see how it goes
4. Apply for as many art shows as possible
5. Graduate!
6. Move to another city after graduation - I plan on taking at least a year off between my undergrad and grad school and I've never lived in another city before so I'm on the lookout for art-related opportunities in Montreal/Ottawa/Toronto
7. Research wool and how it is taken from animals - decide how I feel about this
8. Find the right artist and get my graduation tattoo. I promised my parents I wouldn't get anymore until I graduate - but guess what - graduation is fast approaching! I'm planning on getting a juicy pomegranate on my arm. It will be a reminder of my years in my art school undergrad and my thesis year. I love pomegranates because they remind me of femininity, fertility, the human body, and the way the juice oozes out reminds me of blood. Being forced to wait has already made this my longest planned tattoo. I'm very impulsive so the wait has been eating away at me. 
9. Visit the animal farms on campus - I feel it is necessary for my work to see firsthand how animals are treated when farmed to make animal products.
10. Paint a 9x12ft painting
11. Have a solo show
12. Learn how to bake my own bread (my roommate works in a bakery so I'll have her as a resource)
13. Make vegan ice cream - I received a food processor for Christmas from Santa (mom) and a vegan ice cream cookbook from my roommate so now I just have to track down an ice cream maker and I'm in business!
14. Go to Mexico! (will be there in 1 month)
15. Teach art classes (I have two classes starting next week!)
16. Give the Gallery Ingenue blog a facelift with the help from KylaRoma at Freckled Nest
17. Learn to sew
18. Go to as many art openings as possible
19. Make a wiki page on the Ace Art website
20. Go into the U of M's archives and find photos and information about the Art Barn before it was the art barn and when it was the dairy barn. 
21. Nerd out and read the book Robert's Rules of Order - this is an assignment for the entire student council
22. Give more gifts and have more visits with family and friends - just because

I'll probably think of more to add later but I think that's a pretty good list for now. Anyways time to get ready and meet my studio quota!

3 comments:

  1. Hey Babycakes!
    I just love reading your blog! It was fantastic seeing you just before I took off! Even though none of the items contained pig fat, it was delicious! I am so excited for our studio/art/play date!
    See you soon!
    <3

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  2. Great list of goals for the new year. If you want to do some of your sheep/wool research amongst our little flock, you would be most welcome. Last year our friend Angela did some of our shearing. The sheep love her, and were calm and relaxed during their trim. Some of our sheep also have the primitive trait of naturally breaking their fibre at some point in the spring, so that it can be pulled off by hand. There's a post on our blog about that from last September if you want to see a picture of a half-plucked sheep.

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  3. Dayna - I'm so happy you're blogging! I love seeing your process - when you get a blog button send it my way and I'll put you on my sidebar - excited to hang next week!

    Cloverleaf - I'm so happy you sent me this! I love wool products but being a new vegan I'm exploring all the animal products I use to determine which ones I'm ok continuing to use. It's great to see happy sheep and am excited to read your blog and learn more about your farm :)

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