Tag: artist

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Reflecting

I just got home from dinner with a very good friend of mine, a fellow artist and an amazing woman.  It’s incredible to see somebody live out their dreams and make it work and it makes me think that I need to try harder. I feel inspired by the conversations we had tonight and I am sitting here in bed reflecting on my life and my art.

I know what my dreams are and I need to go after them. Nobody is going to do it for me and make it happen. So I am making a promise to myself tonight to start by making time for my art, no matter what. Another week cannot pass that I am not picking up a brush or a pencil or my camera. I am reminded that I need a creative outlet and that I have ignored this fact over the past few months. I need to spend more time in my studio again and I need to cherish the amazing friendships I have in my life.

Sweet dreams!

Anja

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A month later…

I can’t believe it’s been over a month since my exhibit closed. I have been taking some time off to take care of the business side of things. I had to do my accounting for the year and file my taxes, finish all the orders from my exhibition and just take a little bit of time off. It was nice to have a bit of a break and I feel ready to get back into it again. Last week I started taking a screen printing class at Martha Street Studio. I have always wanted to learn how to screen print but never got a chance to take it in Fine Arts, so now I am finally doing it. The first class was really interesting and I am excited to start playing. 8 weeks of classes – yeah! Stay tuned for some pictures of what I will be creating over the next couple of months.

I wanted to share some of the beautiful pictures that the fabulous photographer Dave Swiecicki took during the opening night of my solo exhibition. I also did a walk through video for all my friends and family in Switzerland that didn’t get the opportunity to be there in person.

Enjoy the pictures and the walk through!

Ciao

                     

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What a night

It’s been a couple of days since opening night and I have caught up on some sleep. What an incredible night! The gallery was packed. There were so many people who I knew and I spent all night talking to people and still feel that there were so many  I didn’t have a chance to chat with. I am overwhelmed by the support I have received from the media before and after  opening night along with the support of my friends, family and the art community. I will never forget this special night. Thank you everybody for making this such a magical night. So far I have sold 6 paintings and 9 photographs. If you missed opening night, the show is still on until April 3 at 6:00pm. Hours are Tues & Thurs: 12:00pm to 9:00pm and Wed, Fri, Sat: 12:00pm to 6pm.

Here are some links to some of the coverage I got:

CBC Manitoba Scene 

CBC News

article in the community papers city wide
fun photoshoot after opening night. Photo by Dave Swiecicki.

Thanks everybody!

Love

Anja

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Home

I love Switzerland so much I am even watching the Bachelor right now… they are in Switzerland and not just anywhere, they are in Zermatt, so extremely close to my hometown Visp. The images of the Matterhorn and Zermatt are making me so homesick and I thought when better to post my Pecha Kucha presentation from a few weeks ago. 

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14 days to go

It’s been a while since my last blog entry. I have been busy working on my exhibition. It’s been a lot more work than I thought it would be but I have really been enjoying it. It’s been nice to live and breathe my art and to have my life taken over by it. I always spend a lot of time on my art but this reminds me of being in Fine Arts when your art becomes your life. Still one of my favourite times of my life, but back to my exhibition. All my paintings are done and half of them are wired for hanging. All the Photoshop work is done to my images and I am picking up the last set of prints tomorrow. All the pieces are named and labels have been drafted. Tomorrow I will be wiring the rest of my paintings and on Saturday I will be starting to frame my photographs. 24 of them to frame so it will take a while. And then I have to finish my installations… So there is still lots to do before the show is ready to be hung on March 21, but I know I will get it all done and I am going to enjoy every second of the preparation. What’s the saying “stop and smell the roses”… I have been really trying to live by that! I will keep you posted on my progress…

Back to work!

Ciao

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Exhibition poster and invite

I am so excited! I just received the printed posters and invites for my solo show. I wanted my materials to have the look and feel of a vintage travel poster and I am really happy with how they turned out.  A big thanks goes out to my friend Charity for the design and to Prolific for the printing. Now I just have to start promoting my show and of course finish all the pieces for my show.

Ciao

Home Sweet Home poster

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Thanks and Happy New Year

I wanted to thank you for your support in 2011 and wish you only the best in 2012! I really enjoyed sharing my art work and things that inspire me through my blog. I had 3,900 blog visits from all over the world (Canada, US, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Columbia, Brazil, Switzerland, Italy, England, France, Germany, South Africa, Nigeria, Indonesia, India, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand).

2012 is going to be an exciting year. My first solo art exhibition is only just over  2 months away. I am really looking forward to seeing the show come together and being able to share it with all of you. I am especially excited that my parents are flying in from Switzerland for opening night.

Thanks for your support and I am looking forward to continually share my passion for art and design with you.

Happy New Year und es guets neues Jahr!

Ciao

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Xmas sale

I can’t believe it’s that time of the year already when we all start thinking about Christmas shopping. My good friend and fellow artist Charlene Brown and I have joined forces this year and are putting on a Christmas sale at Charlene’s studio. Please come visit us….drink some coffee….do a little shopping (pottery, jewelry, photography and textiles)….Nov 26 & 27, 12-5p, 1178 McMillan.

Xmas sale
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Great painting technique

We are currently renovating the upstairs of our house and I have been thinking of doing something special on the wall behind our bed. I love the look of wallpaper but didn’t really want to go through the hassle, plus if you get tired of the look then it would be so much harder to change. I was asking myself why I couldn’t recreate the look of wallpaper with paint. I’m an artist after all! I started looking around on the internet for stencils and found lots of really nice ones. Most of them a bit too girly for K. but I ended up finding one that we both love. A great pattern of circles overlapping. Modern, clean and geometric!  I got the stencil in the mail  last week and this weekend I finally got to try it out. We painted the room in 2 different greys (Benjamin Moore Whitestone and Gull Wing). The original idea for the stencil was to use a varnish only so that the effect would be very subtle. I did a test strip in the studio and realized that it worked well on lighter colors but that the Gull Wing grey was too dark for it to work, so I adjusted the plan and used the Whitestone for the stenciling. It took 5 hours to complete but it is so worth it. The end result is amazing. Here are a couple quick photos. I will make sure to blog again once the bamboo hardwood floor is down and the room is put back together.

Here is what you need for this project:

•Paint – 0 VOC (better for you and the environment – you don’t use very much paint so maybe you can use up some paint from a previous project. Think green!)

•Dense  paint roller

• Masking tape

•Stencil (I got mine at cuttingedgestencils.com)

•Spray adhesive (optional – I didn’t use it and it worked out fine)

•Lots of patience!

Just think of the possibilities. Be creative and green at the same time.

Ciao

Anja

First row of stenciling
worth the hard work
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Maternity photos

After a long break I finally took some pictures this Saturday. It’s been a while and my camera it’s still broken, but luckily I could use Amanda’s camera for the shoot. We had lots of fun taking her maternity photos. We played around with different outfits and set ups and I am really happy with how they turned out. It’s nice to be able to record such a wonderful time in somebody’s life, especially when it’s for somebody this close. Here are a few pictures of our shoot.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING and ciao