Spotlight on ~ Margaret Bremner

I have never been a painter of local landscapes. While houses and buildings, trees and skies are recurring subjects, they are figments of my imagination, realistic-enough looking, but wonky and whimsical. I hope that my artwork uplifts the spirits, is a source of comfort and tranquility, and reinvigorates a sense of the sacred.

‘Playful Planet’, 10.5 inches square, pen-and-ink, pencil, acrylic

 

For many years I focused on mandalas, a wonderful vehicle for colour and detail. Several years ago I returned to an earlier love: pen-and-ink, this time in the meditative Zentangle® style using structured patterns. Currently, my work is moving towards more mixed media.

People sometimes comment on one of the witty titles. I think titles are important and I hope never to call a piece “Blue Square #14”. Usually a title pops to mind quite early in the process, which is fine if that’s a direction I want to go!

‘Oakenfall’ 8 x 5 inches, pen-and-ink and pencil on eco-dyed paper

Colours, patterns, visual textures and designs thrill me. I love how a line can change from chubby to hairline and back again. Prairie sunsets, fireworks, and night skies full of stars leave me speechless. I am enchanted by small things and details, and fascinated by how the very large and the very small are so very similar. I love translucence and coloured glass and light in water and sparkly things. Perhaps I would have been a good magpie.

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Spotlight on ~ Kathryn Green

“How do you decide what to paint?” That question fascinates me. I paint ‘intuitively,’ meaning that when I begin a work, I don’t have a set idea of what I am going to produce; I start painting and see what happens, making choices as the work develops. (I used to say, “I don’t really know what I’m doing, I just begin to paint and trust it will work out somehow,” but I think “painting intuitively” sounds better!)

This first painting is an example of what I’ve ended up with using this process. I certainly didn’t have an image of this in my mind when I began to paint . . . so where did it come from? It looks a bit to me like an aerial view of land masses, oceans and clouds, but others might see something completely different. My best guess is that everything I’ve ever taken in visually is stored somewhere in my brain and when I make art, bits and pieces come out, mixed together in a new form.

‘Map of the Heart’, 24 x 36 inches, Acrylic on TerraSkin

Then last summer, I was introduced to photographs of thin sections of rocks, as seen through a polarized-light microscope. I was astounded by the variety of colours, shapes, and textures and immediately thought, “These look like abstract art!” So I decided to try going back to the way I used to paint, except instead of working from a photo of a landscape, I took my inspiration from these images of rocks. Doing so has introduced some new shapes and colours into my work, but the process of working from a reference photo rather than simply my imagination feels quite strange—I can almost sense different parts of my brain firing!

 

‘The Secret Lives of Rocks 1’, 18 x 24 inches, Acrylic on TerraSkin

Kathryn in her studio

Seasons change and so do we…..

We have gathered back together at Grace Westminster Auditorium to begin our 26th year. Last April, we celebrated our 25th anniversary at our annual show. Here are a couple of photos of the group taken then.

This was taken with all of us, except Eva, who wasn’t able to be there, a few days before our show.

Just before our show opening, all dressed up. After the show, we all headed off to our summer break.

On May 30, our dear Lou passed away. One of Saskatoon’s best known artists, Lou was one of the original group members and was happily part of our anniversary show. Even though over the years she had faced a number of health challenges, she faced them with her usual grace, gentleness and humour.

Lou sketching in the garden

Then, unexpectedly on August 27, our dear Valerie Borycki passed away after a very brief illness. We are still finding it hard that she won’t come bursting through the door, with stories to endlessly entertain us. Eleanore Romanow wrote a limerick that was read at Val’s memorial:

A Limerick for Val Borycki

There once was a lady named Val,
She was an extraordinary gal,
With dazzling red hair
And a wardrobe with flair,
She was a loving and generous pal.

Now our Val had an interesting life,
Not free from the occasional strife,
Believing ‘Come what may’
She enjoyed every day,
Colours bursting, from both brush and knife.

Some people just light up a room,
And wash away otherwise gloom,
We could count on our girl
With a swish and a swirl
To deliver her own va-va-voom.

Our beautiful spirit has fled,
And all cares of the world are shed.
She just slipped away,
On a late August day,
Not a good-bye word to be said.

We are here to honour our friend,
Who sparkled right to the end!
Although we have wept,
Your memory we’ve kept
With all of the love that we send.

So farewell dear Valerie – we will all miss you very much.
Your gal pals at Artists’ Workshop.

We will miss both of these talented, generous bright spirits so much.

And we have had one more of our group decide to move to new ventures, after 25 years with the group. Karen Maguire is joining the Studio on 20th. We will miss Karen’s great style, humour and enthusiasm and wish her the best in her new studio.

We reflect back on our lovely friends, and now look forward to the year of art to come.

We welcome two new members at this time, Bobbi Clackson-Walker and Paige Mortensen. Bobbi is an exciting mixed media artist, and Paige is expanding our horizons with her unique watercolour batik work.

We have some new plans for the fall, and we will keep you posted with some news very shortly. This includes a new Facebook page, and a special November pre-Christmas sale at a gallery location in Saskatoon. Check back soon for details.

See you soon!

25th Art Show and Sale – 2015

It gives us great pleasure to announce our 25th Annual Art Show and Sale! We hope to see you there to help us celebrate this special year for us.

This year’s event will take place Friday, April 17, 2015, 7 – 10 pm, Saturday, 10 am – 5 pm, and Sunday noon – 4 pm, at Grace Westminster Church Auditorium, Saskatoon.

Upcoming shows: Karen Maguire and Kathleen Slavin

Two of our group members are having shows in the next couple of weeks. We hope you can come out to these events!

Karen Maguire is part of Open Studio 2014, for the Studio on 20th. This is a one day event, Sunday November 23, from 12 – 5 pm, 236A 20th St W, Saskatoon.

 

Kathleen Slavin is having a show of her work, entitled “Nature’s Performance” at Hues Art Supply, 818 Lorne Avenue (corner of Lorne & Taylor) in Saskatoon.

The show will be up for the month of December 2014.  There will be an opening reception on Saturday December 6 at 2:00 at Hues.

Betty’s View

Urban Blue Tree

Last Rays

 

Our 25th Anniversary Show April 2015

This year marks Artists’ Workshop’s 25th year of making art. Mark your calendars for our Silver Anniversary Show in April 2015.

Grace Westminster Church Auditorium, 505 10^th St East, Saskatoon.

Friday April 17, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Saturday April 18, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday April 19, noon to 4 p.m.

We hope you can come and help us celebrate our 25th!

Art Trek 2014 – This weekend!

Art Trek 2014 is coming up this weekend, June 13 and 14th.

Please go to our Facebook page for photos, updates, and the map of locations (see below also for a map).

We are now on Twitter too, so you can keep up to date there too!

This is going to be THE weekend in Saskatoon for art lovers and city explorers! Take the studio tour at your own pace to discover some of Saskatoon’s finest artists, watch them at work in their spaces, talk to them about their art-making processes and experience a wide variety of demonstrations.

Date and Hours: Friday, June 13, 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. and Saturday, June 14, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Locations: The Studio on 20^th – 236A – 20^th St. W.

Stall Gallery Basement Studio C – 220 20^th St. W.

MIX Artists’ Collective – 212 – 20^th St. W.

330 Design Group – 330 Avenue G South

Atelier 2302 – 2302 St. Patrick Avenue

Artists’ Workshop – Grace-Westminster United Church, 505 10^th St. East

Textile Arts Group (TAG) – basement of Grace-Westminster United Church

Studio 5 – Fifth floor, 331 1st Ave N (Charter House Building)

Lauriston Street Studios – 510 Lauriston St