I thought I would share some of my newest work in form of paintings. I thought I was coming to an end with my prairies series but the paintings just keep coming. I guess it’s just a sign that I am not done. The first two of the paintings are being exhibited within the auxiliary gallery at cre8ery. You can visit the gallery Monday to Saturday from noon to 5:00 p.m. and Monday and Thursday night from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. I hope you enjoy!
Ciao!
I got up early so I could take another quick walk around Florence before we had to leave for Venice. I found it hard to leave this beautiful city! I will be back – I promise! Once we got to Venice we took a waterbus to our hotel, taking us out of the Canal Grande to the Laguna Veneta. We had some lunch sitting on a patio on the lagoon and then I packed my film and my digital camera and we started walking through the maze of small streets of Venice. I have been to Venice many times before. Most of the time while I was in Fine Arts. I would take a night train from Switzerland to Venice, spend the day taking pictures and then take the night train back home again. Venice is a really inspiring city visually. We walked through the Cannaregio area to the Canal Grande and followed it to the Piazza San Marco with the beautiful Basilica San Marco and the Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace). The breathtaking Byzantine Basilica (San Marco) looks like a picture from a fairytale. It was constructed in such an ornate matter to be a fitting resting place for St Mark and also as a sign of the Venetian Republic’s power. One of the basilica’s highlights is the stunning Western Facade with a succession of domes, columns, arched and spires, interspersed with marble statues, screens and glittering mosaics. Just out of this world!
We spent a big part of the afternoon at the Guggenheim museum. Peggy Guggenheim was an American art collector. Born to a wealthy New York City family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who went down with the Titanic in 1912 and the niece of Solomon R. Guggenheim, who would establish the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Peggy’s father was of Swiss-German Jewish origin, and her mother Jewish, German, and Dutch. By the early 1960s, Peggy Guggenheim had stopped collecting art and began to concentrate on presenting what she already owned. She loaned out her collection to museums throughout Europe and America. Eventually, she decided to donate her large home and her collection to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation on her death. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is one of the most important museums in Italy for European and American art of the first half of the 20th century. Pieces in her collection embrace Cubism, Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism. Peggy lived in Venice until her death. She was laid to rest in the garden of her home, the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni (Inside the Peggy Guggenheim Museum).
We spent the evening walking around to see different sites such as the Campo Santa Margherita, the Rialto Bridge and looking at beautiful Murano glass. We ended the night with a long water bus ride that took us from the Canal Grande to the Laguna Veneta, all the way around to the Canale di Fusina and the Canale della Giudecca back to Piazza San Marco. We walked around the Piazza, listened to an outdoor concert for a while and then started our walk across the city with another gelato in hand. Another great day in Italy!
Ciao!
I had missed the first of the two dates for the Wave Artists’ Studio Tour due to our trip to Europe. I was very excited about going for a drive and checking out some local artists’ studios. We had a bit of a late start and didn’t leave the city until after 2:00 p.m. but at least we would get to hit a few studios on our way up to Gimli. Our first stop was Tim Schouten‘s studio close to Petersfield. I had seen Tim do a presentation on encaustic painting at the WAG earlier this year and totally fell in love with this ancient medium and his work. I was very excited to see his studio and was not disappointed. His property and office space are really wonderful and I am hoping to participate in one of his workshops in the future. I would love to explore encaustic painting. I really love the texture and depth that this medium gives paintings. From there we went on to visit the H.RogueRaiders Studio Gallery in Winnipeg Beach. 5 female artists are part of this studio all drawing from their European cultural heritage. I got to meet Helma Rogge Rehders, one of the founders of the Wave studio tour. I even ran into Jolanta Sokalska with whom I share my studio space at cre8ery with. We drove on to Gimli where we visited two more studios. We started out with Suzanne Barrow’s studio, who’s prairie skies were very inspiring. It was nice to see another artist being inspired by the prairie sky and to see her interpretation. From there we went to the Mermaid’s Kiss Gallery and I totally fell in love with the limited editions photography of Linda Vermeulen. Just beautiful treatments on these photographs. My favorites are “Don’t look back” and “The Darkening”. Our last stop was the Gimli Art Club/Gallery. We ended our day with having dinner on a picnic table on the beach. Listening to the waves and feeling the wind in our hair. It was a wonderful day and it was a pleasure meeting some fellow local artists.
Ciao!
I wanted to thank everybody for attending the opening reception of the “99 pieces of art on wall” show at cre8ery. It was wonderful to see so much support for local artists. I sold one of my photographs during the reception and yesterday I sold one of my oil paintings. It’s been a great week! The show is still on until September 3 so make sure to check it out if you haven’t had a chance to yet.
Tune in tomorrow as I get back on track with my entries about my trip to Europe. Here is a look at the pieces I sold this week.
Ciao!
The sketchbook – it’s like oxygen to every artist. My dad used to say to me that I should never leave the house without my Swiss Army knife. Many years ago I added one more thing to my Swiss Army knife – a sketchbook. There is always one in my bag. I have many different sketch books, different sizes and paper stock. One could say that it is one of my obsessions. I just love the feeling of holding a new sketch book in my hand, so empty, full of possibilities and I love the nervous feeling of making the first sketch in it. Last week I got a sketch book in the mail that I have been waiting for. I have signed up to part of “THE SKETCHBOOK PROJECT”, which is a very exciting project that artists from all over the world can participate in.
If you haven’t heard about this project here is a bit of info on it. To be part of the project you have to purchase a sketchbook for $25 from here, choose a (loose) theme, and sketch away until January 15, 2011 when all of the books must be returned to the Library. In March, the tour will take the thousands of sketchbooks that they receive on an Art Gallery tour. It’s pretty much like a concert tour for sketchbooks. After the tour all sketchbooks will enter into the permanent collection of The Brooklyn Art Library for the public to view. The theme I have chosen is “Below the surface”. I am very excited and maybe a bit scared to start working in my sketchbook. The thought of it going on tour with thousands of other artists’ sketchbooks is exhilarating. Check back to get updates on my progress.
Ciao
A month or so ago K. and I went hunting for a new entrance door for our house. I had something very specific in mind and wasn’t sure I was going to find it. We went to the Old House Revival Co. and like almost always we found exactly what we were looking for. Actually the door we found was better than I had imagined. We loaded into our car and drove it home. Once we got it home the work started. I spent a lot of hours gluing, filling, sanding and finally painting. Now the door is installed and finished and I thought I would share some picture of my labour of love “My yellow door”! Yellow is one of my favorite colors and just says happiness to me. I hope that it puts a smile on people’s face as they are walking by. I know it does it for me every time I come home. Enjoy the before and after pictures!
Ciao for now!
Anja
BEFORE
AFTER
Just a reminder that this week-end is the studio tour “In Plain View”. If you would like to take the self guided studio tour please check out the list of participating artists at http://www.inplainviewwinnipeg.com. I am one of the artists participating and you can come by my studio at cre8ery, 2nd floor – 125 Adelaide between noon and 5:00 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday. Come by to check out some of my jewelry, bags, photography and paintings. Enjoy the tour and I hope to see you this week-end!
Ciao for now!
I am very excited that 4 of my “Home Sweet Home” series photographs will be shown in the “99 pieces of art on the wall” exhibition at cre8ery gallery. The exhibition will be on from August 19 until September 3. The opening reception will take place on August 19 at 7:30 p.m. All exhibiting artists will be present. I am very excited about being part of a show again, it’s been a while since the last one.
Please come and check out the show. Here is one of the pictures that will be exhibited. To see them all you will have to come and check them out in person.
Ciao for now!
As promised yesterday, here are some more examples of my jewelry. Enjoy and please contact me if you are interested in purchasing any of the pieces. I have already sold 2 of the pieces from yesterday’s blog. I can also create custom pieces. Just let me know what you are looking for.
Ciao for now!
I started designing jewelry about 6 months ago and I absolutely love it. The jewelry is made from recycled pure silver also referred to as fine silver. All pieces are hand crafted and therefore one of a kind. Here are a few to check out. I will post more in the next few days. If you are looking for a one-of-a-kind present for a friend or yourself please e-mail me at anjastudios@shaw.ca
Prices range from $10 to $65. Enjoy!
Ciao for now!
