Preamble

Photo Credit: Elliot, first year preschooler

Four years ago things were looking up, so far up. Obama was still president; I was excited that we Americans would likely see our first woman president;  I was trundling off to a semester of art school followed by two years of teacher school, to become a dependable, respectable, contributing human in this world and to devote the majority of my time to teaching art to adorable children. 

Ha, four years ago. What an age has gone by.

The Obama days are so long gone, and no, we did not elect Hilary, in case you didn’t notice. I am definitely not a “contributing human,” and instead of choosing the respectable stability of a school teacher I am now a certified artist and work three different non-art jobs while I begin the task of “emerging” my own art practice amidst a pandemic. 

nbd

I did not go for my BFA Honours. While completing the honours year would have theoretically  helped me craft a well thought out artist statement and graduate with a body of work, I opted out of my honours year–I thought going back to school for a second BA in my 30’s was extravagant enough and it was time to reintroduce myself to my husband and friends.

In lieu of that honours year, I am going to hash out my process and ideas here here on my blog over the next academic year.  I know myself enough to know that left alone I will quickly melt into a hyperactive ball of chaos and accomplish a lot of very little, so I am setting some direction to my creative energy.  

Speaking of chaos…

Here is what I know so far about my practice. I am a little obsessed with the theme of order and chaos, and more specifically, the edge between them where you find the weird, sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes beautiful emergence of new forms. I love Dadaists, and specifically Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven.  And yes, I think Duchamp ran with her idea and now gets all the credit for the first conceptual piece of art. Oh, and I reeeeeallllyyyy like multimedia installations.  Ann Hamilton is another hero of mine. Just think about it! She left UCLA to live in Ohio.  She makes me believe that I can be a contemporary artist based in Mitchell, Manitoba.  Also, she has pigeons and choirs as part of her work. What is not to love?

So that is my starting point. 

That is, in fact, where four years of art school left me. 

I look forward to where this road takes me, even if it’s four more years of… dare I say it? I can’t. no, it won’t happen again, surely! Ugh, I’m still bummed that Bernie dropped out.