Thursday, July 26, 2012

The World Tour 2012 Sketchbook Project Toronto Stop


The World Tour 2012 Sketchbook Project

Toronto Stop ,July 19-22 , 2012 at The  Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen Street West



I first heard about the sketchbook project (http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject2012/ ), based in Brooklyn New York, US in 2008 on an artist/ gallery website , ARTMESH, based in Berlin , Germany from a calligrapher ,friend living in Melbourne, Australia.  Speaking on going global, here we have it , smile !

My first participation (http://www.arthousecoop.com/portfolio_pieces/11824 ) in 2009 with the " One Million Little...Trips" , a sketchbook - diary about my weekly trips to art related sites in Toronto ( galleries, museums, public  spaces, parks...)and it was a fun project .

The catalyst between my sketches through the 36 pages of my sketchbook , were small tags , receipts from museums, parking payments or public transport tickets I paid to get from place to place during my visits .

In 2011 I sent in my second participation(http://www.arthousecoop.com/submission_images/35659 ), " Monochromatic" , a more " me kind" of work, one with black and white acrylic drawings, on gessoed paper : 36 pages of abstract reflections about monochromatic sketches .

                                    
                                      "Monochromatic" 2012 Sketchbook by Bianka Guna (one of the 36 pages )

This more elaborate booklet is traveling , with other 7500 sketchbooks ,through big cities in the USA ( New York, Chicago, St .Luis , Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, Miami) ,Canada( Vancouver, Toronto), UK ( London)and Australia ( Melbourne) in The World Tour 2012 Sketchbook Project.

I am following the tour on line and, finally,  last weekend The World Tour 2012 Sketchbook Project arrived in Toronto, and was hosted by The Gladstone Hotel , on 1214 Queen Street , on the second floor.

This hub of the latest artsy events in Toronto, was certainly the "it" place for  


                                   The Gladstone Hotel, Toronto, On, July 19 th , 2012 Sketchbook Project Stop
 the tour. Music bands, interior design shows, juried art shows, burlesque  theater , you can find it all at Gladstone.

I visited with my daughter on the opening day, Thursday evening, July 19th 2012 , and it was very well attended from the first minutes of the first hour.
                                                                          The Library Card

The young organizers from Brooklyn who are traveling with the books , documenting ( photos, YouTube movies...) certainly did a great job: they arranged the books, created  stations for searching on line, brought us the booklets , and created stations for sitting and reading, or drawing , or buying small souvenirs from the event, all in good taste and orderly manner.

We were handed four books at a time, my daughter took out my book and I searched for the ones of my artists friends from around the world. It was such an enlightening experience to see what other artists did with their small booklets. I found in the library the booklet of my  friend from New Mexico , US  artist extarordinaire ,Cassandra Gordon-Harris and was so happy to see her beautiful drawings in "flesh".
                                                          Moi with Cassandra's Sketchbook
                       
 There is no end to human creativity when it comes to sketchbooks : some made harmonicas from them, some wrapped them in plushy textiles, some cut them into folding cards, or they constructed small boxes and envelops...They were writing, drawing, collaging, assembling , or using calligraphy , for a totally original look, working wonders with words, poems, inks, pastels, watercolour paint, acrylic paint, classic or digitally manipulated photography.

When we left , a couple of hours later, it was just to make space to other many visitors waiting their turn, the magic was certainly working , a very pleasant experience and a memory  to cherish for a long time!!!




Wednesday, July 11, 2012

The Best 10% at TOAE 2012


Toronto  Outdoor Art Exhibition (TOAE) 2012

The  Best 10%



A scorching weekend ( + 37C) in Toronto couldn't stop me from visiting friends at TOAE this year , and I was  there first hour  Friday 6th of August , to take all inn before the big wave of  heat .

Just observed that this year were less artists in the show, and happy to report that the cutsy, crafty are slowly but surely disappearing, good riddance!!!I am all in for quality over quantity, and even happier to see that some of my most admired artists in Ontario were in the show.

Some of my studio neighbors in the Case Goods Warehouse were showing , also met new painters and  art schools graduates , students or winners of local government grants.

All in all ,a pleasant morning, and if I wasn't so busy last weekend , I wanted to visit again , but there are only so many hours in a day .
                                                        Friday July 6th 2012 at TOAE , Toronto , On

 So here's my  best 10%  , these are  the works I admired the most this year at TOAE:



1 . Oil Painting

 Chris Knights   www.christopherknights.com

Julia Wandepolder   www.juliawandepolder.com



2. Encaustic

David Brown   www.encausticcollage.com

Su Sheedy      www.susheedy.com



3. Drawing

Thelia Sander Shelton  ( on paper) www.theliashelton.com

 Monique McCabe  ( on maylar) (no website- student ) 

Jeremy Leung ( on paper) www.jeremyleung.com





4. Collage

Tatyana Abel    www.tatyanaabel.weebly.com



5. Sculpture

Ross Bonfanti   www.rossbonfanti.com

Tracey Martin ( sculpture and knitting)  www.traceymartinartist.ca

Steven White  www.stevenwhite.com

Debbie Evans Schlums  www.debbiebanksschlums.com



7.Ceramics and Glass

Christopher Reid Flock  www.studioreid.com



8. Mixed Media




9. Acrylic Painting



9.a Abstract Surrealist

Jaber Lutfi ( Montreal) www.jaberlufti.com



9.b Abstract Expressionist

Frank Mayer    www.frankmayerart.com

Leanne Lang    www.leannelangpaintings.com

Paul Boddum   www.paulboddum.com

Bill Philipovich  www.philipovich.com

Ehrling White  www.ehringwhite.com



9.c Acrylic Figurative

Adrienne Dagg   www.adriennedagg.com

Derek Stefanuk   www.derekstefanuk.com

Peter Barelowski  www.peterbarelowski.com



9.d Acrylic Landscape

Mark Resmer   www.markresmer.com



Very sad to say that not even one of the Watercolour artists in the show made my list, and I love the medium ,the works were mediocre and the subject matter too expected , nothing original.



I am very curious to see if any of my chosen artists will make it into the juried show in January

 2013 .Meantime I loved the show, this was a must see Toronto!!!!

Monday, July 9, 2012

The Sad Exit


The Sad Exit



There are people in our lives, who “die” for us, long before they literally do so. First their presence is becoming scarce, then when you meet them the conversations dim, the time you are spending with them on the phone  thins out and the conversations are diluting to almost nothing...until one day, that's it , there is nothing more to be done : they are gone !!!

Some of the reasons this can happen are slipping our hands, like being too far away , or you are moving on in your career or adding members to your family , having new kids or having successful kids when they have failure ones, changing professions, being an only child and being the caretaker for your aging parents....

One of the reasons for losing a friend, is when they are divorcing or becoming widowers. When they suddenly become singles, first you try to continue meeting them with your partner, the way it was done before, but your spouse is slightly getting "bored" to have no "male" interaction so you start meeting your  friend alone , but , after a while, then you feel like you betray your companion by letting them " out of the loop".

But the saddest thing, and it just happened to me a couple of months ago, is when they become ill themselves and they start to act different. You want to "be there" for them , but somehow you are left outside , as immediate members of the family, kids, brothers and sisters , get involved helping them , and you cannot reach them anymore. Calls are not answered, e- mails are ignored, your messages are not replayed .What's to do? Their program is changed, they don't work, they have different schedules, and the treatments leave them frail for gatherings, events. They don't call to say happy birthday, you cannot invite them to your joyous events, as you don't reach them and anyway it's superfluous to be happy when someone isn’t. You don't want to be a pest.A few months later, you are eventually told that they had surgery, or a long chemotherapy series of treatments, but they are tired to meet you, or have some common activities. They resent you not being there for them, when they needed you, you feel you were left out of the loop...It's not the same as before, it's the end of your friendship.

Nothing lasts forever , but sometimes ties are cut at moments when you least expected, life is taking you by surprise !
                                  "Drama Queen" 2012 Series, W/C on W/C paper by Bianka Guna 30"x30"

Sunday, July 8, 2012

On Artistic Success


On “Artistic Success”
by Bianka Guna
September 29th, 2011

I am sitting and looking at the faces of people that surround me. The film has just ended, and the lights have been flicked on. Somebody asks, “What is artistic success?”

I think to myself, really? “What does artistic success mean”? People answer: money, fame, and glamour. I think about living off one’s art, but in modest means—the joys of living in a room of one’s own comfortably. After downsizing from a suburban house (which contained my studio in it), to a small apartment in the city, I missed the nights I spent surrounded by my paintings. It was just me, myself, and I filling up my empty canvases and papers with colour, and that was enough to awe me and send a rush of blood to my head. I kept to myself.

How does one measure success? People in the room answer: a high education in art, monetary rewards, awards, solo shows, juried group shows, art galleries, and museums around the globe. Others say being elected into venerable art societies, being published in serious books and catalogues, or acknowledgement from knowledgeable or wealthy people that dream of being glued to the names of the geniuses they have sponsored.

I remember one of my beloved teachers, Peter Kolisnyk, a well-known artist in the ‘70s, but who chose to live remotely at the end of his rich artistic life, mostly forgotten by the media. He himself did not want to be a part of the “art circus”. He painted daily in his small apartment and several times a month would give art critique classes in order to make some money to survive. When we, his students, complained about the vicissitudes of life—illnesses, divorces, rebellious kids, politics, religion and war—and we did so often because we were all a bunch of middle-aged haggard ladies, or when we complained about our art materials being too expensive, Peter would say, “sell your jewels, your husbands, and mortgage your homes!” We laughed, but he was dead serious.

An artist cannot stop. The art becomes, for serious artists, a compulsion. We go to galleries, read art books, watch films about art, write articles about art, teach it, take classes with people we admire, and discuss art with like-minded people over breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Art is our life, our religion, our air. What makes us successful? I don’t quite know, to each his own. Perhaps just to be human (true to yourself and aware of the human condition), to share what you know with youngsters, or to be tough on moral crime. I am speaking of the kind of crime people in the “industry” commit every day in the name of art: abandoning their young, taking to substance abuse, deceit, accepting abuse from gallery owners, misleading others, giving hope and leaving people dry, ignoring what is quality and praising charlatans for some hidden motive. I keep all of this to myself.

The commentators continue: “artistic success means money, sales, recognition from the public”. Yes, but what public? People that buy trinkets and souvenirs, or those that are knowledgeable in the subject? I think being in the “wrong” galleries or participating in the “wrong” shows is not healthy or flattering at all. Then again, “self esteem is for sissies” some wise guy once said. Maybe a balance between the two. Hard to keep. Can one exist as a people-pleaser, putting on one’s different personas, and still excel in every one? The housekeeper, the perfect mother of two, the lovely partner and wife, the “accomplished” career woman, the feminist bitch, the nature lover, the city gal, the politically correct or active citizen, the well-rounded middle-class traveller, the perfect daughter, the considerate teacher, the atheist, the peace bringer…

We must always make a choice. We excel in something and must give up other things. The question then becomes, what are we willing to abandon? Be selfish like others before you: betray your country, your lovers, your friends, abandon your children, husbands, and parents, kiss ass, eat others’ bullshit, pretend you are someone else… Why? Why can’t we be absolutely normal and great artists? Is it not honourable to get up at 5 a.m., work hard until 6 p.m., and then come to our families at dinnertime? Why are we not paid like plumbers, doctors, taxi drivers? We went to school, we too are overqualified, and we too invest in our careers. The artist must always doubt his art. As an artist, I would never go up to a dentist, let’s say, and tell him his root canal does not make sense and why did he not do it another way. But as an artist, one must face hundreds of sermons from people and what they are looking for in “a piece of art”. People who have become connoisseurs of “what art is” in the seconds before.

Nonetheless, to have too much confidence in one’s work is another sign of artistic weakness. I think of parents that raise their children into thinking they are the center of the universe, raise them with distorted perceptions of their talents and selves. To “believe in yourself” when you art so obviously lacks any spark or glimmer of creativity is a bit of a dirty trick.

The question of artistic success seems extremely intrusive, and I look around me at the puzzled reactions of people confronted with it. I think to myself. To have a voice, to be left alone and be independent of others, and create what you want when you want, free of criticism and praise, that is artistic success to me.
                                    "Dreams" Acrylic on W/C Paper by Bianka Guna 11"x15"

Friday, July 6, 2012

Forget -Me –Not


Forget -Me –Not  Kind of Art



I was asked many, many, times by my students : What do you need  in a successful painting ?

 Will it be that  a good sense of humor , some crude and raw feelings not very well masked into beautiful shapes and colors, or what about some soft edges or maybe unusual textures covering political issues ? What about an enchanting color palette , that can be properly messed up ? Painting classical in a humorous way, or go with stick people on social issues?

Well, too much beauty will bore us , the same as to much ugliness , and beware of the perfect balance too , I am always answering.

A bit of craziness, some serious thoughts, and of course don't forget your personal touch: it can be the softness of paint  application, or on the contrary a rough textured surface, calligraphy, a sense of depth and tri dimensionality , the scale, or maybe the lack of it. Paint on the back of the stretched canvas, or wrap a watercolor  on a stretcher, cover it in wax, or maybe hung the papers like clothes on a line , go with something that speaks to you. Paint something that is uniquely you, be memorable.

Yes, we are, much more than we think we are, a complex organism capable of amazing inventiveness, we can say many things at once or concentrate  on one idea,  and be concis .

And most importantly I am adding, let's not be shy, scared, inhibited ,let's  not have an inferiority complex, let's not be too harsh on ourselves, let go, fly, fall, free!!

We are the envy of the 99.99% - we , the artists!

 Leave the modesty at the back door, please!!!

For years and years , when people were asking   what do  I do , I was answering " A Painter!" , " Ah, you paint houses ?," they will ask.  “No,  not that kind, the fine art more like painting”, " Oh, an Artist!!!" ,  " Yes, That kind. I guess ! "

Shy no more, care no more, just be ! No shame! Self -esteem is for sissies ,anyway, somebody said !!
                              "Kaleidoscopic Days" 2011 Acrylic on Canvas by Bianka Guna 36"x36"

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Canada Day Weekend


Canada Day Weekend ,July 1st 2012



The New Yorkers , especially the American Abstract Expressionists in the 40's and 50's , were in love with jazz music and were listening to it constantly , as the abstract quality of jazz melodies were so infinite in their possibilities , the way non objective art is.

I tend to listen to jazz much more these  days than ever ( classical music is the other choice of mine).

The long weekend of Canada Day , June 29th- July 1st, this year coincided with the last days of Toronto Jazz Festival , and the wonderful weather made it possible for me to let the windows of my studio , in The Distillery Historic District, open , and let the sounds of divine music get in while I was painting.

The Distillery  being such an artistic hub , attracted a long array of talented musicians and music lovers.

Bossa Nova, Soul, Reggae and variations of  Dub, piano recitals, trios, Kleizmer… we had it all. Trios, solos, string quartets and trumpets bands, samba squads...they all attracted the crowds and it was a memorable experience .

What I observed  is  that when it comes to jazz listeners , you can see the quality of the crowds.

 People visiting my studio - musicians family members, la boheme, young artists and musicians who came to support their performing friends, middle aged intellectuals ( music teachers, ex teachers, designers, film makers), young intellectuals professionals - were all in good  taste. You can tell by the lighten smile on their faces when they enter my studio and they stand in front of my works, that we share the same sensibilitie . I can tell by the way they react and by listening to their comments and questions,  that they appreciate not only good music but they respect visual arts, and they enjoy contemporary art. Definitely my kind of crowds!

                                           "Drama Queen" 2012 Watercolours Series by Bianka Guna, 30"x30"
Happy Canada Day indeed!!!!

Monday, July 2, 2012

Sunny Summer Days


 Sunny Summer  Days



The older I get the more forgiving I am towards youth's follies ,nature's beauty and the passing of time.No , I still cannot forgive war ,politics, ill intended  religious ignorance and stupidity, violence, women's repression, bad manners and ..bad art. There is a limit to my acceptance, of course.

I used to think that worth young people ,should be serious and well behaved ,the bright image of their future self, the pride of their schools, parents and countries, on their fragile shoulders leaning the future of the planet. Somehow I still do.

Nature's frail beauty was to me something abstract , the picture perfect setting to more important things like science, culture, goodness of superior intelligence .

Time passing was the most annoying things of all: only so many hours a day, careers to build, children to be taken care of, homes to be made spotless, art to admire and worst, create, on top of being somebody's wife, somebody's daughter, somebody's best, second.. .friend.Too little time for all this amalgam.

Rarely having time off , to watch plants grow after I planted them, the sun rising between morning daily chores and speedy rides to the other side of the city to work, or watching small insects or birds building nests - the way I used to do when I was small, in rural Romania at my grandparents vineyard, these were the things to do during short summer holidays , or things to read in books, to watch in movies or paintings and photographs, in museums, the way a tourist doesn't have time to enjoy the sites he visits , because he is too busy taking photos or filming what he sees- believe it, it happened to me too.

Recently it occurred to me that the connection with the nature ,we are about to loose now if we don't get up from our sleep, has to do with everything: food, health, future generations, our whole well being.

Time is another dimension of our life , and youth , yes, youth can be laid back, (not lazy ), cool, and not so stressed over the future.The new generation seems that figured all out how to behave and  go for it's share.

In a sunny summer day ,on my way to the studio, listening to a pianist playing on an electronic piano ,the main musical theme from the old movie " Zorba The Greek"  (with Anthony Quinn ), while I was carrying to my studio ,in a ceramic pot ,a beautiful sunflower , I finally got it: Life is Beautiful!!!Why spoil it with endless worries of artificial things? Today I will just listen to the soft part of my mind , enjoy good music , admire my beautiful sunflower and my bright orchids, , will only watch happy birds nesting around on the crevices of old brick walls, in a balmy +28C , here in Toronto!!

                              "Elephant Dub" Acrylic on Canvas 50"x90" by Bianka Guna(backgound )
Yes , and what about some  chocolate  in my ginger lemon tea!!!!
Atta Girl!!!