Debora Alanna

Off Label by Debora Alanna (Digital Art Weeks 2011 - DAW11)

2012-02-10T22:03:00.001-08:00

Here is the 'Report' I wrote (with pictures) on the Digital Art Weeks 2011 International event (DAW11)

'The Off Label Festival' that took place in Victoria last autumn.

http://www.digitalartweeks.ethz.ch/web/DAW11/Press?action=download&upname=OffLabelReport_ALANNA.pdf

http://www.digitalartweeks.ethz.ch/web/DAW11/Press

Recent Drawings

2012-01-29T14:37:00.004-08:00

Here are some recent drawings done at the end of this year, and this month.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/embellish4art/

Drawings - Victoria BC 2011

2011-10-23T14:47:00.000-07:00

Absorbed, drawing to mark out a secluded life amongst strangers, segregated by dispossession, I allow arduous thought to transform, become tenuous acts of creation.

Fright wakens and slinks into weedy grounds where positive acts strive to flourish. Black and white lines enable my transition into new understanding. Drawn from some unacknowledged terrain where I am past worrying, the drawings reshape tolerance and capture my curious nature, where buoyancy supports insight and breathes delight.

Here's some drawings I made this year...

“ In search of the absurd “ by Philip Willey

2011-10-19T09:15:00.002-07:00

“ In search of the absurd “ by Philip Willey

Here's the bit about me at the end of the article by Philip Willey on Exhibit-v...

"It’s been a good year for the Xchanges balcony. Back in May Helen Rogak, Betty Meyers, and Cheryl McBride transformed it with tar paper and paint. Later Christine Clarke’s vultures flew down from Deep Cove. It’s a conceptually challenging space and now it’s Deborah Alanna’s turn to tackle it. She has hung out some laundry. Clothes dipped in plaster of Paris to be precise. It’s about being frank, letting it all hang out, exposure. And by some curious piece of synchronicity she has been watching a film about the Franklin Expedition and the poor souls who died of exposure in the Arctic.

So there we stood in the parking lot behind the Dairy Queen looking up at a balcony. LED lights in the frigid laundry stared back at us like a row of eyes. A very strange experience. Debora Alanna never disappoints." ~ Watch Video ~

Thank you, Philip!

Here's a slide show of this work and more...

Hanging Out the Laundry - Video by Exhibit-v

2011-10-18T19:29:00.002-07:00

Hanging Out the Laundry - Installation

2011-10-17T23:56:00.000-07:00

I think there is more than laundry, there is 'Mistress Quickly', laundress and so much else. (Merry Wives of Windsor/Shakespeare) And the stream of streams, the Balcony proved to move thoughts: "This stream had been the good angel of my thoughts all the day, keeping them ever moving and ever fresh, cleansing and burnishing them, quite an open-air laundry of the mind." (The Quest of the Golden Girl/Gallienne)

Will stares of clothed apparitions last the month? How transitory are our hopes and fears, that they need to be wrung out more frequently than our clothes? Laundry is a comfort, if it does nothing but allow time to pass thoughtfully in the open air.

Evening...

Daylight...

One year ago, I was making this...

2011-10-14T20:39:00.001-07:00

Hanging Out the Laundry - Poster

2011-10-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

Artist of the Month

2011-10-01T18:54:00.004-07:00

Exhibit-v has chosen me as Artist of the Month for October!

http://exhibit-v.blogspot.com/2011/10/debora-alanna-october-2011-artist-of.html

Hanging Out the Laundry

2011-09-30T23:55:00.002-07:00

"Hanging Out the Laundry"

12 sculptures by Debora Alanna

Curated by Christine Clark

Balcony Gallery
(part of Xchanges ARC, 2333 Government St).

Opening: Saturday 15 October 2011 @7 pm.

Manifest - A group of sculptures by Debora Alanna - 2011

2011-08-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a group of sculptures I made... (Paraffin and jewler's wax on dental plaster)

Syngja

2011-07-30T22:21:00.001-07:00

Here are some of my videos of Syngja, solo recordings of talented Tyr Jami, known as the cellist, composer and singer of The Winks performing the in Vancouver BC on December 2010 are accompanied by stunning visuals created in situ by Jasa Baka.

Tyr Jami and Jasa Baka are artists that live and work in Montreal PQ.

Tyr is returning to the West Coast in August to play in Vancouver, Salt Spring Island, Pender Island and Victoria on Vancouver Island, British Columbia:

August 4th: North Pender Island

August 5th: Victoria, BC @ the Red Door with Freak Heat Waves
http://freakheatwaves.bandcamp.com/

August 10th: Saltspring Island: noon hour Music and Munch concert series

August 11th: Vancouver @ The Red Gate

August 12th: Vancouver @ Thors Palace with Aaron Read, Andy Dixon, Garland and Yarn
https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=253367694678239

Syngja will play in Vancouver and Victoria
http://www.myspace.com/syngja

Pender and Saltspring Islands I will play with Graeme Wilkinson (piano)

Arvo Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi: Sinfonia in F
Sylvia Rickard: Song for the Earth
Dmitri Shostakovich:Sonata in D minor Op. 40
Icelandic Folksongs
George Gershwin

Video of Mary and Moses Sculpture Garden

2011-07-27T09:18:00.001-07:00

Here's the Mary and Moses Sculpture Garden video by Exhibit-v You can see my work at 9:15 (at the nine minutes and 15 seconds mark).

Mary and Moses Sculpture Garden show presented sculpture by the following artists:
Christine Clark, Debora Alanna, Elyse Portal, John Luna
Marlene Jess, Michael Jess, Todd Lambeth, Troi Donnelly
Tyler Hodgins, Sarah Stein, Wendy Welch.

"An afternoon at Deep Cove" by Philip Willey

2011-07-27T00:19:00.000-07:00

"An afternoon at Deep Cove" by Philip Willey

Philip Willey wrote an entertaining piece on the sculpture show I participated in:

The Mary and Moses Sculpture Garden Show
July 22,23 & 24, 2011
Moses Pt. Rd., North Saanich
Victoria, BC Canada

Mary and Moses Sculpture Garden

2011-07-24T13:09:00.005-07:00

White on Black - Yin (Photo by Christine Clark)

White on Black - Yang (Photo by Christine Clark)

The Mary & Moses Sculpture Garden Show

Christine Clark,artist writer, curator of the Balcony Gallery invited a group of artists install sculpture on 4 acres of forest lined with Deep Cove ocean expanse. The garden belonged to Mary and Moses Martin (from England), and their sons kindly consented to share the magical gardens with artists this weekend at the "Mary and Moses Sculpture Garden" show.

Todd Lambeth. Surveyor’s stakes in a grey scale.

Christine Clark. Cabbages (paper and paint)

Debora Alanna. White on black, in the pond.

Elyse Portal. Clay pieces in the trees.

Tyler Hodgins. Tent City in miniature.

Troi Donnelly. Nonsense words and plastic cones.

Wendy Welch. Chairs.

John Luna. String and other things.

Michael Jess. Burial Performance–time capsule.

Review on Exhibit-v - John Luna - Home Show and Sale

2011-07-18T11:34:00.002-07:00

Exhibit-v posted my latest review: John Luna's Home Show and Sale

John Luna "is an artist based in Victoria British Columbia. He has exhibited installations of painting and sculpture in connection to poetry, collage, stencils, sculpture and historical artifacts, in Victoria, Kelowna, Calgary, San Diego and San Francisco. John has published catalogue essays and criticism in Victoria, Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, Winnipeg, Los Angeles and Jakarta, and is an instructor at the Vancouver Island School of Art and the University of Victoria." ~ From John Luna's website: http://johnluna.ca/

Exhibit-v "provides an extensive monthly calendar of openings,ongoing art exhibitions and the most reliable list of art galleries in the community. Video clips of exhibitions and the people attending the events, as well as interviews with artists will enhance exposure for these visual arts events." From the Exhibit-v website: http://www.exhibit-v.ca/

"Outside In" ~ Review by Chritine Clark

2011-05-27T14:07:00.002-07:00

Outside In - Ministry of Casual Living ~ Photo by Aubrey Burke - Minister of MOCL

Outside In - Detail 1 - Ministry of Casual Living ~ Photo by Aubrey Burke - Minister of MOCL

Outside In - Detail 2 - Ministry of Casual Living ~ Photo by Aubrey Burke - Minister of MOCL

Outside In - Ministry of Casual Living ~ Photo by Aubrey Burke - Minister of MOCL

"Outside In" ~ Review by Christine Clark

Outside In: Debora Alanna

At the Ministry of Casual Living this week is Debora Alanna‘s in situ work,

Outside In.

For those of you who don’t know Debora, she is one of the primary art writers currently gracing the webpages of Exhibit V. Her written work is incredibly learned, incredibly erudite, with reference material drawn from poets to philosophers. Too, she has a fine sensibility, a great seriousness and a (perhaps somewhat) unusual sensitivity to the processes of other artists.
from Buffet, a Review by Debora Alanna
“Ian Rorie built Hunter-Gatherer with plywood, and fastened a trap, labeling it, so we would know what lurked inside, lighting the way to entrapment. Sustenance begins with death of some kind. Whether it is the reaping of grain, produce and gathering of the harvest or hunting the animal to produce the sustenance of the meal, there is the death, transformation and nourishment, ultimately. But is this really what is happening here? As Baudelaire points out in his 123rd poem of Les Fleur du Mal, “Death… Will grow the flowers of their brain!” Death, personified as the hold that cannot be captured, grown and gathered will, when we are faced with this fact, allow ideas to manifest. Artists must let imitation or misrepresentation die or die creatively. Rorie presents the diversionary plotting we must struggle with, and face to overcome trepidation. We must hunt out our nemesis, gather our wits, be aware of contrivance and allow our minds to feed us. Be hungry and you will capture what you need”.

And here we have her first exhibition of work in Victoria since 1973; a draping, swathing, theatrical (the word has been used) sculptural installation viewable both outside and through the windows at MOCL.
With a budget of $42, much of the material was found or donated. The fabric she used came from another artist’s studio space; homey scraps she liberated and transformed with a coating of grout compound. No longer colourful and flower patterned, the fabric is grey and pebbled, highly suggestive of classical sculpture; fraught with a powerful undercurrent, perhaps sexual, and immediately reminiscient (to me) of Daniel Laskarin‘s now beacon now sea.
now beacon now sea is a steel chair riddled with bullet holes and draped in a silky grey cloth; the very image of violence and romance; the swirling cloth, the explosive scars of penetration (of bullets ripping into steel), a sense of yearning.
Something similar is happening in Debora’s work, Outside In. A yearning, not exactly romantic, but desiring to be so. The materials and the space almost preclude romance. Inside of MOCL, the air smells strongly of mildew and it’s cold, bone chillingly so. The materials are not expensive; the gallery space is not pristine; in fact the work itself is not vaunted. She gets a week to show and barely anyone came to the opening (although the people who did brought wine). The connection to Laskarin (and his precursors) has everything to do with the essential emotion, the central experience of yearning.

The violence , though, in Outside In, is the effect of reality; it’s not a theatrical affectation, an idea to muse over; it’s truly present, possibly within Debora’s life, but certainly within her art making.
Daniel welded his chair in his very tight and bright backyard studio space and he shot the gun (many times over). Perhaps shooting bullets into a steel construction is an invitation to chaos and the unexpected, but essentially he was in control of his process, his materials and in the end, the exhibition space as well, the AGGV, although not directly controlled by Daniel, is certainly a controlled environment. It’s clean, there are bathrooms, and guards. People paid attention to the work. A lot was written.
Debora doesn’t have a studio space. She needs a job. She made the work over the course of two days right at the gallery. She had to bend to the structure of the gallery (the cement walls, the claustrophobic size) and to time.
It’s impossible to think of the violence of poverty, the poverty of materials, and space and attention, without thinking about vulnerability. The delicacy and the fragility of art made of bits and pieces, and installed temporarily is almost heartbreaking. Also the sweetness of faith, in the process, and in the need, in spite of any perceived privation, is almost unbearable to imagine. There is a wonderful quality to the work that speaks of living rather than enduring, and although it’s difficult to contemplate, it is very inspiring. Poverty is brutal; poverty destroys dignity. Poverty is cold and dirty and requires scrambling for the necessary. Debora’s eyes are closed, I think, to poverty.

Outside In is incredibly beautiful, and I wonder, is it poverty that is beautiful? The making of something from next to nothing? The insistence of making in spite of poverty? I don’t know. I don’t think so. I think the spirit of beauty is there, inherent and relentless, regardless of any void.
Another kind of violence, perhaps.

Debora Alanna at The Ministry of Casual Living

2011-05-25T22:45:00.002-07:00

Outside In

2011-05-23T23:18:00.000-07:00

Outside In
Debora Alanna
21 May to 27 May 2011

A sculpture installation.
...Opening: Sunday 22 May - 7:30 pm.

Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 of May will be the construction/installation day.

Come by if you want to see the work in progress, produced 'in situ' at the Ministry of Casual Living.

"The MOCL in my mind is cloaked in intrigue. As is Victoria in general, as it pertains to its art and artists. There are pockets of activity and secretive cliques that share what they do with the public in a limited way. Perhaps all art communities have a kind of mystique.Nnot a native of Victoria, I found this to be particularly true here. I wanted to demonstrate how I felt in relation to the community here. The MOCL is ideal as it allows a site-specific work to show a sculptural depiction of an art myth.

The interior spheres are what is inaccessible, visible from the outside(ers) point of view through the plate-glass window. The swathing of the exterior of MCL allows a sensibility of inclusion with out providing true access.

***************************************************
Outside In
by Debora Alanna

A cantankerous glow
the outside in
braves plucky eyelid’s weight
over waves of
coarse tears.
Tearing through
times’ wasting, a
quiet introversion.
Look out.

http://exhibit-v.blogspot.com/2011/05/outside-in-at-ministry-philip-willey.html

2011-03-13T13:26:00.000-07:00

Drawing.

For the past few months daily drawing with a black Bic pen in a notebook has been a means to explore what I think and feel. I have not been able to write much, except a few (20 since last spring) art reviews. Making one work for the Deluge Lost LP Cover show, which did not sell - can you guess which one is mine? (Any takers?!) has been my sole sculptural output since Edmonton. I would like to blame the weather, the lack of studio space - monetary concerns. However, there is nothing stopping me, should I want to use found materials and wrap them around a telephone pole, for example, or trench sand into forms or use myself as a sculpture, performing some ritualistic incantation, calling the muses to my rescue.These drawings are my collected dream of work yet to come, and with some internal reconstruction, this may yet happen.

Considering 3D

2011-01-08T09:46:00.003-08:00

Would you like to take my course? Here's the synopsis of 'Considering 3D'... Find this course description and register on the Royal Roads website here:

http://www.royalroads.ca/continuing-studies/CYTAAC2269-Y10.htm

Considering 3D - Basics of Abstract Sculpture - TAAC2269
Date: Sat, Feb 5, 2011

Length: 1 day
Times: 10am - 4pm
Cost: $95 + applicable taxes
Best to Register By: Sat, Jan 22, 2011

Course Description

This hands-on workshop explores basic forms as the essence of abstract sculptural practice. All sculpture begins with the understanding of spheres, tetrahedrons (pyramid) and cubes, which each participant will use as a starting point to build their own abstract sculptures,

A brief introduction will show how basic forms exist in nature, and how sculptors have applied these forms. Using wire frame, wire mesh and plaster bandage, participants will learn how to construct the essence of abstract forms. From that starting point, development of those forms will use repetition, incising of forms, mirroring and more as techniques to expand their personal vision.

Topics:

* Three basic forms as they exist in nature
* Basic construction techniques
* Diversifying basic forms to explore relationship, rhythm and movement
* Exploration of independent vision

Facilitator: Debora Alana graduated from the Ontario College of Art in Experimental Art. Known for her installation work and “Photo-poetics”, she has held solo exhibitions in Kazakhstan, Italy, France, India, and Canada. Recent group shows include SurrealEstate – Mobius, Boston MA, Um Livro Sobre A Morte - Museu Brasileiro da Escultura, Els Colors Del Foc (The Fire of Colour) –- Exposició Collectiva de Davis Museum, Barcelona, Spain; Look - CACGV, Art & Soul, Victoria. Debora has lectured in art institutions and universities in India and Kazakhstan, and art venues in Canada. She writes art criticism for the Exhibit-v blog in Victoria, BC.

Auricle and Revisioning - Public Opening

2010-11-01T20:59:00.002-07:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/embellish4art/

Seeking Kali

2010-10-16T10:52:00.007-07:00

	This is my contribution to the Seeking Kali exhibition. Oil Pastel - 16 x 24 inches - August 2010.
Seeking Kali

Summer drawings for new sculpture

2010-10-14T16:51:00.002-07:00

Here's some drawings I did over the summer that are more in my own sensibility (as opposed to trying to figure out what a client wants, and executing the work from descriptors someone else provides). I envision this work to be large - at least 3 x 12 metres. Thinking of using cement fabric and translucent cement.

Edmonton Commission - Summer 2010 - Creating a Myth

2010-10-13T13:10:00.002-07:00

Graham Burns of Ant with me (Debora Alanna) on scaffold, installing Revisioning

Process of project development for Auricle and Revisioning or Creating a Myth

In July 2010, I received a call from Joe Clare. A colleague, painter of the Free Rain mural, James K-M had some of my sculpture in his studio, which Joe saw when visiting. This work seemed to generate the beginning of opportunity for me, and I responded to Joe’s ideas by coming to Edmonton to produce Auricle and Revisioning. Joe’s inspired idea to involve Edmonton business brought us to Durabond, where we were graciously provided with working space, technical support and material. The work took 6 weeks to complete. Graham Burns, owner of ANT, craftsman extraordinaire, provided installation expertise. Ron Snider has kindly been the project photo-journalist and Brandi Elderkin administrative and logistic support. Thank you to the muses that enabled Joe Clare’s vision. His enduring and sustained determination has provided an amazing orchestration to bridge art and business, giving possibilities a life. Thank you to the entire team, and especially, Joe Clare, for your generous spirit.

AURICLE

Clairaudience (mystical hearing) is integral to the Anahatha or heart/stillness Chakra. Through this spiritual centre, we hear the pulse of the universe.

Auricle is composed of four sculptures because four denotes earthly phenomena, grounding us to be accessible to numinous experience. As we are bound by Earth’s four cardinal points (North, South, East and West), time’s four seasons/ four lunar weeks we are also associated with four classical "elements" of fire, air, earth, and water. The association with Earth means that four symbolizes being "down-to-earth." Four is the first composite number is linked to the idea of an other-directed or "composite personality" that takes cues from diverse and often contradictory sources, leading to fiercely autonomous, "out-of-the-box" thinking. Auricle allows diverse hearing of disparate thought.

Joe Clare’s prolific community development has become another success. His vision manifests into a sculpture garden commission, where 4 carved works, Auricle, are attentive to and emanate the essence of his vision. Through Debora Alanna’s sculpture, produced at Edmonton’s Durabond facility while employing their wondrous product, Clare’s visualization enabled hearing the need for this sculptural presence to embody his perceptions, manifesting the interaction between earth-bound seekers of truth.

Auricle - 1 of 4 (night view)

Auricle - 4 of 4

Street view of Auricle - photo by Ron Snider

Work waiting for installation

REVISIONING

“The subtle essence acted on him like a charmed draught, and caused the opaque substance of his animal being to grow transparent, or, at least, translucent; so that a spiritual gleam was transmitted through it, with a clearer lustre than hitherto.” The House of the Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorn.

Revisioning is the 7 masks/faces of discovery, sagacious explanations and penetrations into the true essence of our internal contemplation of self. The number seven, considered a sacred numeral because of the seven phases of creation (Genesis), seven plexuses or chakras or Etheric body and some versions of the Kabbalah have seven sphiroth. Seven possesses the quality of psychic awareness and has the ability to question sincerity. Through humour, these comedic masks emulate Aristotle’s Poetics: “...the comic mask is ugly and distort, but does not imply pain.” We can don a face that emulates our joyful nature, embracing the ludicrous with a numinous experience. We can revision our thinking to encourage a magical outlook.

Joe Clare conceives and generates opportunity to integrate community and business involvement with art practice. Revisioning is another of Clare’s achievements. Celebrating the power of myth – 7 masks joyfully combine our daily need for metaphor and symbol with a salute to Edmonton’s lively festivals.

Revisioning installed (7 masks)

Installing 1st of 7 masks (Revisioning)

Revisioning - 1st Mask

Revisioning - 2nd Mask

Revisioning - 3rd Mask

Revisioning - 4th Mask

Revisioning - 5th Mask

Revisioning - 6th Mask

Revisioning - 7th Mask

Working at Edmonton’s Durabond facility, utilizing their exceptional product, Debora Alanna produced Revisioning. This collection of 7 masks embodies the ludicrous, the mystic purity of humour through silent stories that delight or provoke - symbols of personas. The magic of these abstracted mask-faces confront the mischief within existence, allowing consideration of life’s artfulness with humour. The colourful masks are playfully telling as the 13^th Century Sufi jester, Mulla Nasruddin would tell stories to teach. Each mask is a truth told with merriment.

Signs of our times

2010-07-03T23:13:00.002-07:00

Here's another adventure - sharing observations, this time signs. A group exhibition of international submissions will take place September 14-19, 2010 at Mobius in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Curated by Jane Hsiaoching Wang.

The call for contributions can be found here: http://mobius-signsofourtimes.blogspot.com/p/signs-of-our-times-call-for-works.html

Submit your Signs!

"INTENT:

Have you ever been walking, bicycling, driving, sitting in a bus or train and suddenly seen a sign which made you do a double take? or seen a sign whose meaning escaped you or initially gave you pause and then perhaps you comprehended its meaning or didn't? or a sign which made no sense at all? or a sign that just made you laugh or cry hysterically for some unfathomable reason?

This call is about those puzzling/surreal/emotionally evocative signs of our times. "Of our times" is defined as either drawing from your own personal experience/history or the collective's present, near past or imagined future."

Here's my contribution: http://mobius-signsofourtimes.blogspot.com/2010/07/debora-alanna-7.html

Belief in Magic

2010-06-05T13:30:00.001-07:00

Frogs dominated a creek near my childhood home. Constantly handling these creatures, I believed the myth that my countless warts resulted from this activity. My grandfather explained that wrapping a hand-spun strand of wool around the warts, and burying the fibre on the south side of the house under my bedroom window would remove the unsightly bumps. I allowed his patient hands to circle each bulge, and caringly plant the contaminated strand in a soft earth mound as I watched. Waking the next morning to wart-free hands, my wonder at the results superseded rational nay saying. My appreciation for the magical power of belief in acts of kindness prevails.

Wants and Needs

2010-06-02T10:20:00.001-07:00

One blistery winter storm, I asked my grandfather (Avi), Thorvalder to go to the store for much needed glue to complete a school project. Either his deafness or my poor explanation of what I wanted was the reason for his return with dressmaker’s coloured transfer paper, where you could draw on the back and lines of orange, green, purple, blue, yellow or red would show up on fabric. Having braved the blizzard for my benefit, he handed me this prize with his one yellow tooth brimming with accomplished joy. My 8 –year-old heart didn’t have the will to tell him the packet of drawing sheets was not what I asked for. I am recalling this now, remembering that what you think you want is not necessarily what you need.

Light

2010-05-24T10:02:00.002-07:00

When reading is a challenge, it sometimes feels like this...

Three is a war

2010-05-24T09:55:00.002-07:00

Recently, I have become a member of Global Poets. Here is my latest posting to this site: http://globalpoets.org/community/Embellish4art

(You need to click the image twice to read the poem without distortion.)

Debora Alanna - Relationship - 6 sculptures in progress

2010-05-20T22:11:00.002-07:00

Spring by Debora Alanna - a poem for new beginnings

2010-05-20T21:06:00.002-07:00

1
Thunder rarely claps here
light that shone
between us, crescendoing
now a veil of retraint
Polite, the soak of mezzo forte
lightning subverted
Blue eyes rivet
curtailing conversation
to a pont.
2
A flicker
the unified sky
brushes wind
amongst park trees
held fast by crab-grass
blankets
A caw
crowing, mocking
the promise of intensity
held fast.
3
The song
his voice a fugue
mine a silent opera
opening skyward
rankling, robust
electricity unplugged
dropping rain
splatters
Thump pump
cheeks dry
retreat.
4
Rock beds
mount
obtaining lichen
little mountains
maintaining structure.
Sad silly symphony
Rest, the wind is planting
Grow slowly, gentle
plants
persevere. Behold!
That clapping sound.
Light.
5
Crow hops and flutters
the pavement pounds
from little footsteps
Crow up
flight is easy
for a crow.

Surrealestate - Mobius Artrages - International Artist List

2010-05-06T09:59:00.002-07:00

Mobius (est. 1977), located in Boston MA "is a non-profit, artist-run organization, whose mission is to generate, shape and test experimental art." As part of the event ArtRages, 70 international artists have contributed to the exhibition SurrealEstate. I have been fortunate to be one of these contributors.

The Hermitage

2010-05-03T23:36:00.004-07:00

The Hermitage

Alone.
Square walls close inward
slanting out light
straightening hope.

Displaced memories hover
insulating resistance to wholesome thought.

Mouldering bane
Tortuous recall
restricts grace.

Racing through pallid walls
suspended dreams grey
preserving dimness.

Reckless solo banter subjugates solace
scaring
crushing aspiration.

Company is the wayward bug
flying inward
through the gaping screen
defying regulation
to open
unprotected refuge...
insect thwarts total isolation.

Languid
work collects dusty melancholy.
Stalled: industry
Ceased.
FLY!

My reviews at Exhibit-v

2010-04-19T16:58:00.004-07:00

As a regular contributor to the Exhibit-v blog 'Write-ups' section, I have the privilege of interviewing artists in Victoria, BC, and learning about their art practice. Exhibit-v has posted my reviews of some work shown locally: http://exhibit-v.blogspot.com/search/label/write%20ups

Exhibit-v promotes artists in Victoria by listing current art exhibitions and art galleries. Through video clips of shows, artist interviews and commentary on the Exhibit-v blog, podcasts and Facebook exposure, this virtual compendium of media is Victoria's indispensable cultural information source. From the Exhibit-v website, you can also access the blog, as well as a calendar for openings ~ interviews for the Victoria, BC and area art community, and art enthusiasts. A great site!

Surealestate

2010-04-12T16:41:00.004-07:00

This is my contribution to the Surrealestate show at Mobius - Artrages 2010.
Opening... 2 May 2010, Boston MA.

Exhibit-v

2010-04-08T13:44:00.003-07:00

Exhibit-v is how we find out what art is showing in Victoria, BC. The Exhibit-v blog, Exhibit-v website and Exhibit-v Facebook page is our most expedient way of finding out what is going on in this Capitol's art scene. Efren Quiroz informs us about openings, on-going exhibits and documents the shows and artist's point of view with his videography.

The Exhibit-v website is sleek and very userfriendly platform for showcasing Victoria, BC's art and events provocatively and faithfully.

"Exhibit-v provides an extensive monthly calendar of openings,ongoing art exhibitions and the most reliable list of art galleries in the community. Video clips of exhibitions and the people attending the events, as well as interviews with artists will enhance exposure for these visual arts events."

Write-Ups! features reviews of exhibitions that are current on the Exhibit-v blog. John Luna and Debora Alanna (that's me) as well as other TBA contributors share our insights in this ambitious and commendable on-line venture that celebrates and promotes artists in Victoria.

The Exhibit-v FB Fan page conveniently and comprehensively announces Victoria's art events, widening the public awareness of how to participate in this thiving art scene. Thank you, Efren!

Embellish4art

2010-03-09T19:45:00.002-08:00

Debora Alanna - Some of my sculpture featured on this site... Although thi site is limited to a few sculpture works, my art practice is more diverse. Yet, I am compelled to allow this sculptural practise to 'float' to the forefront, as I find sculpture adresses the unspoken, unadulterated discovery of internal clarity.

Slide Show of Selected Sculpture...

2010-02-28T16:38:00.000-08:00

"Look"

2010-02-27T10:56:00.001-08:00

Finding Direction Pastel - 8" x 10"

Ascension Pastel - 8" x 10

2 works of mine are part of the group exhibit produced by the

Community Arts Council of Greater Victoria called "Look".

This show runs through the month of March 2010.

UM LIVRO SOBRE A MORTE: Debora Alanna (355)

2010-02-21T19:15:00.003-08:00

UM LIVRO SOBRE A MORTE: Debora Alanna (355)

This is the link to my work on the "Book About Death" blog, for the exhibition Um Livro Sobre A Morte at the MUSEU BRASILEIRO DA ESCULTURA.

"A Book About Death"

2010-01-30T11:22:00.012-08:00

http://umlivrosobreamorte.blogspot.com/2010/01/debora-alanna-355.html#links

http://www.mube.art.br/?Expo&area=futuro&id=42

These two works have been reduced to 4" x 6" postcards and mailed to

"A Book About Death" for the exhibition at the MUBE in Brazil

Museu Brasileiro da Escultura

Av. Europa, 218São Paulo - Brasil

This contribution appears on their blog:

http://umlivrosobreamorte.blogspot.com/2010/01/debora-alanna-355.html#links

http://umlivrosobreamorte.blogspot.com/

I was informed of this opportunity through the

Davis Museum, Barcelona, Spain.

Davis Lisboa

http://www.davislisboa.com
http://www.davismuseum.com/

Corbu - Space, Light, Order

2010-01-29T10:22:00.000-08:00

Le Corbusier (Corbu) quotes (Swiss architect and city planner, whose designs combine the functionalism of the modern movement with a bold, sculptural expressionism. 1887-1965) :
“To create architecture is to put in order. Put what in order? Function and objects.”
“The home should be the treasure chest of living.”
"Space and light and order. Those are the things that men need just as much as they need bread or a place to sleep"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Memory is eidetic, thinking back to my Corbu experience, almost 14 years ago. http://embellish4art.blogspot.com/2004/09/villa-sarabhai.html
This link (above) begins to describe a part of my soul's formation and how Corbusier had a hand in this.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://issuu.com/shear/docs/24sept09_visual_portfolio_low?mode=a_p
http://www.askart.com/askart/w/robert_winslow/robert_winslow.aspx

Randy Shear of ShearDesigns, posted the third quote listed above to his Facebook page. Robert Winslow, sculptor/painter commented. I also posted a comment. These FB contributions discuss the concept of order. I learned there is an architectural order that is referred to by Corbu, and this inherent order is beyond my capacity to emulate. I can embrace that capacity in others, especially because Corbusier, author of this quote, has provided a profound living memory through his order, his space and light that continues to structure my life. More, I am grateful for social networking to revive this memory, its impact and further develop its consequence.

Villa Sarabhai is a "treasure chest of living". Here, Corbusier incised space through architectural order amplifying light and enabling energetic connectivity. I remember rooms merging and ceilings expanding, surprising spaces presenting opportunities for congregating and repose, eating, sleeping and reflection. Pouncing and dancing of juxtapositions that engaged and cuddled, that invited and developed a magical space of contrapuntal rhapsody. There was a comforting weight of solidity, windows of intrigue and mystifying integration of landscape that cradled the walls. Breathing with anticipation, each corner, every turn revealed an new way of thinking, allowed integrity of beauty to expand. The many artists that lived and worked in this home must have felt this, from the explosive production of art they left for Sarabhai.

W.B. Yeats described the 'space between' in a poem I once read. The title of this poem title escapes me, however, the experience he epitomized refers to the energy that is created between people, their experience of each other, what they create by interacting, feeling, and all that people do together. Corbu's Villa Sarabhai orders space and light, encouraging this dynamic. The intoxication, a love affair with his architecture is intensified by the order. I don't know if I heard the cacophony of Paradise Flycatchers, Magpie Robins and Malabar Whistling Thrushes or the mimicry of Racket-tailed Drongos. I do know that teasing monkeys in the canopy of tall trees were likely oblivious to my presence. Whether Areca Nut, Mango or some other variety is of no matter. I am overjoyed to be a participant in the effervescence that Courbousier created.

vORtEx

2010-01-28T11:15:00.001-08:00

Poetic soul, sculptor's sensibilities, abstract thought process, sensual underpinnings, visionary meanderings... I am in a vortex of discombobulation. The equation for making art work with a monetary outcome eludes me. I need help! Any suggestions that this universe will impart would be welcome. Please write: d_alanna@ yahoo.ca Thank you.

Collective Works Gallery and Dogwood Initiative

2010-01-27T19:41:00.003-08:00

I have been accepted as a guest artist for the group show at

Collective Works Gallery with Dogwood Initiative.

Above, is what I will be contributing to this show:

Friday, January 29th.

7-9 pm at 1311 Gladstone Ave.

Fernwood. Victoria, BC Canada.

Debora Alanna - Saatchi Gallery - Online

2010-01-26T20:32:00.001-08:00

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile/Debora+Alanna/117918.htm

Here's my profile at the Saatchi online gallery. This presents an overview of my work to date. The pictures are not entirely in sequential order. The descriptions of the work may enable a further glimpse into my work practice.

More marker drawings - Preliminary development of installations

2010-01-25T15:27:00.002-08:00

These drawings are beginnings of a complex installations.

Materials are chosen tofurther develop the concept.

Size is determined by location.

These works would be composed of light (type to be determined),

glass and metal. Possibly other materials would be integrated,

depending on the size and location of the final work.

Prelude to sculpture drawings

2010-01-21T13:32:00.002-08:00

Here's some drawings that are preliminary ideas that may become sculpture or installations. Some themes are reflected previous work. New drawings replenish the concepts. This is a way to start thinking about making new work. The minimal colour allows concentration on form.

"When I let my life speak, it says to me..."

2010-01-15T10:29:00.006-08:00

Created 13 January 2010

Royal Roads University - ESA program
Post forest walk, facilitated by Hilary Leighton, Director, Continuing Studies
*************************************************************
Jargon juxtaposed

with composted fellings
stretched and striated.

Brambles of thought
entangled, jangling
redundancies.

Clarity shrieks
and clearings emerge
with gatherings of saplings
glistening and swaying
gently in sun kissed
quiet.

Bridge that expanse
of field and furrow
including doubt
and sorrow
to saturate beyond
sunlight’s marrow
wrinkled water’s
agitation burrows.

Incising, exorcising
percolating musically
with brisk and unrelenting
nervousness, daunting taunting
cajoling, reminding and imploring that fun is fine

Fun is mirth and breath.

Festivities of silence feast
on absence of vision
regaling whiffs of rancour
begs for indifference.

Release the light.
Lift the dream.
Endanger the debilitation.
Enable the laughter.
Provide simplicity -

Abundance.

Sunday Pastels

2010-01-10T15:42:00.002-08:00

This is my Sunday output. Haven't used pastels in years. Kinda fun.

X

2009-12-16T17:14:00.001-08:00

Criss-crafted
Cross-crafted
Tied to the dock
Submerging somewhere
On land’s founding
Raft.
Clocking this day
Wayfaring lay
Calcitrant
Calibrating, clocking
Time inbounding
Knouted with NOT
Necessarily knotted
Needling niceties.
Cresting tidiness
Appertain.

ACHE

2009-12-16T16:47:00.001-08:00

Rotting light
Blessing blackness
Crunching away
Toothy smiles
Breaching pain
Sugary fright
Sanction liberty
Effective plight.

La Pomme

2009-12-16T16:20:00.001-08:00

The weight of the flesh

Weighted apple

Through handling

Firm, unbitten

Shielding unblemished skin

Turning

Palm; round and heavy

Yellow praise

Consume.

Art and Soul - Installation at group show

2009-10-28T14:18:00.004-07:00

This work was produced for the 'Art and Soul' exhibition, held 17 October 2009 at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. I have called this type of work Photo-Poetics as I have combined my poetry with photographs I have taken.

'Art and Soul' was part of Homelessness Action Week in Vcitoria, BC, billed as "a special evening featuring the art and music of people who have experience homelessness."

Some new photo-poetics

2009-10-22T05:40:00.001-07:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/embellish4art/

DAVIS LISBOA - DAVIS MUSEUM - BTV

2009-10-21T12:28:00.004-07:00

http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_south/victorianews/entertainment/64430292.html

2009-10-16T09:43:00.001-07:00

http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_south/victorianews/entertainment/64430292.html

Shared via AddThis

THE COLOR OF FIRE - DAVIS MUSEUM

2009-10-03T15:46:00.015-07:00

ELS COLORS DEL FOC -

EXPOSICIÓ COL·LECTIVA DE DAVIS MUSEUM

Cicle sobre sostenibilitat."Els 4 elements: El foc"Fum. Flames. Explosió de colors. Cendres...L'ésser humà pot utilitzar-ho per a treballar, alimentar-se, viatjar...a través de la mirada dels artistes ens aproparem a aquesta capacitat de transmetre sensacionsque ens aporta el foc com element versàtil i metafòric de la nostra realitat.Continuant amb el cicle presentem el foc com a segon element. Reflexió sobre la seva vital importància. Font de vida i destrucció, alhora, ens adonarem que no només n'hem de tenir cura perquè el necessitem en la nostre vida quotidiana, sinó perquè el foc ha estat sempre un element entorn al qual explicar contes, llegendes, reflexionar i transmetre coneixement popular. Recuperarem, per tant en aquest cicle el foc com a font de colors, emocions i sentiments.

http://frengly.com/#

THE COLOR OF FIRE - COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION OF DAVIS MUSEUM series on sustainability. 'The 4 Elements: The foc'Fum. Flames. Explosion of colors. Ash ... Human beings can use it to work, eat, travel ... through the eyes of the artists we approach this capability to transmit sensacionsque gives us the fire as an element of the versatile and metaphorical realitat.Continuant cycle with our present fire as the second item. Reflection on its vital importance. Source of life and destruction, while we realize that not only have we should be careful because the need in our daily life, but because the fire has always been an element around which tell tales, legends, folk reflect and transmit knowledge . Recover, so in this cycle as a source of fire colors, emotions and feelings.

Artistas:

Debora Alanna

http://embellish4art.blogspot.com/

Phyllis Alter

Sonia Burel

http://www.soniaburel.com/

Edward Lightner

http://www.edlightner.com/

Davis Lisboa

http://www.davislisboa.com/

Centre Cívic Parc-SandaruC/ Buenaventura Muñoz, 21, 08018, BarcelonaDel 7

al 22 d’octubre de 2009

Inauguració: Dimecres, 7 d’octubre, a les 20:00 hs

Centre Cívic Parc-Sandaru

http://www.ccparcsandaru.cat/

TASCA Projectes d´animació sociocultural

http://www.tasca.cat/

Davis Lisboa

http://www.davislisboa.com/

Davis Museum

http://www.davismuseum.com/

Ajuntament de Barcelona

http://www.bcn.es/

PRISM

2009-09-29T18:58:00.006-07:00

Wake.
A dream?
That door - home!

Looking inside out.
Any time I want.
Open and shut.
A key, my own.

Ascending, descending

The impossibility of
Hope’s taunt
Securely fastening
This dreamer’s
Spectral promise.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/home

HOME

1. A place where one lives; a residence.

2. The physical structure within which one lives, such as a house or apartment.

3. A dwelling place together with the family or social unit that occupies it; a household.

4.
a. An environment offering security and happiness.
b. A valued place regarded as a refuge or place of origin.

5. The place, such as a country or town, where one was born or has lived for a long period.

6. The native habitat, as of a plant or animal.

7. The place where something is discovered, founded, developed, or promoted; a source.

8. A headquarters; a home base.

DAVIS MUSEUM - MKAC, MUSEO KARURA ART CENTRE - SECOND LIFE

2009-09-10T22:42:00.004-07:00

DAVIS LISBOA - DAVIS MUSEUM - MKAC, MUSEO KARURA ART CENTRE - SECOND LIFE

DAVIS LISBOA - DAVIS MUSEUM - MUSEO KARURA - SECOND LIFEEXHIBITION OF THE

PERMANENT COLLECTIONOF CONTEMPORARY ART BY DAVIS MUSEUMMKAC, Museo Karura Art Centre

Second Life.

September 1-30, 2009

DAVIS MUSEUM'S ARTISTS:Hadeel A. Dhaher, Debora Alanna, Mauro Alberti, Phyllis Alter, Marina Berdalet, Ruth Bolduan, Sonia Burel,María Cañas, Alicia Cayuela, Roberto Contini,

Neda Darzi, Malules Fernández, Simone Gad, Asher Hartman,Davis Lisboa, Colleen Mulligan,

Gê Orthof, Chen Ping, PSJM and Alfonso Siracusa.

DAVIS MUSEUMhttp://www.davismuseum.com/

MKAC, MUSEO KARURA ART CENTRE

http://www.mundosl.com/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=37 http://davislisboa.blogspot.com/2009/08/second-life-es-un-programa-muy-complejo.

SECOND LIFE

http://www.secondlife.com/

DAVIS LISBOA

http://www.davislisboa.com/

Roots

2009-09-10T17:10:00.003-07:00

Strolling down an avenue, encountering the billowing roots of aging trees, I think of rooting, embedding myself somewhere, settle, become familiar enough with a locale to burgeon, evolve and become rooted. Yet as I see these roots spill over paths, forced into confined quarters barricaded by sidewalk and curb, I think that the contortion is descriptive of how I would feel. But perhaps I need this squishing to produce new work. Limitations often provide an environment where production is prolific.

Letter Writing

2009-07-26T10:50:00.002-07:00

Letter writing, whether on paper or computer screen is a practice that is, in my experience a difficult one for many people. I have acted as ‘ghost’ writer for many individuals, including executives, business managers and physicians, both ESL and those educated with English as a means of communicating. The ability to write words describing what one means to say, a seemingly simple act, is beyond the capacity of countless of those wanting to express themselves with letters.

However, for many that are capable, there is a persistent fear to have thoughts and feelings existing for others to read, and refer to; a letter becomes a testament to their perhaps changeable mind. Permanently existing, a letter, whether a personal or business communication, discloses thoughts and sentiments without the guile of gesture, inference of body language, and cleverness of tone of voice that a personal interaction or phone conversation would enable.

The time consuming undertaking of letter writing seems to continue to dwindle due to the expediency of texting and cellular communication. Although an avid email letter writer, I find myself affected and indulgent. The need or desire for speed supersedes the luxury of an enduring hand written letter. It is a loss I feel compelled to take responsibility for, as I too have succumb to promptness over the thriving grace of a letter that has had thoughts wrought through pen and paper.

Summer Arts Workshops

2009-07-24T19:38:00.004-07:00

This is the poster for the Stage Design course I am teaching this summer in collaboration with Opera Lirica Italiana. Intake is on-going. This workshop is located in the Sheppard and Yonge area. Please email or call to book a space!

Blind's Eye

2009-07-02T18:40:00.004-07:00

'Blind's Eye' is work created after experiencing temporary blindness in my right eye. The work below is the feeling of sight impairment. The work to the right is the affect of that temporary condition - sight has been restored, more or less.

Muse

2009-04-07T20:30:00.001-07:00

You are the grit

in my oyster.

You cause ideas

to Pearl.

Some things that influence me during my formative years...

2009-04-05T17:50:00.005-07:00

Formative Years

Birth – Born 5 August after 6 extra weeks gestation, with umbilical cord wrapped around my neck, by Cesarean section; bottle fed with Carnation evaporated milk.

Age 1– Father, aged 32, decapitated when exiting vehicle in a snowstorm at a railway crossing, when confronted by an oncoming train; played in playpen made from wood planks, large enough for an adult to recline in.

Age 2– Daycare provided by grandparents, Icelandic settlers to the Interlake that did not speak English; became bilingual, learned to write with pen and ink – first letter: T.

Age 3 – Companion to my grandfather while planting the garden with potato pieces, sharpening tools in barn, drinking with buddies – was the camouflage to prevent discourse/reprimand on evils of drink by grandmother, singer of sagas; mother remarried.

Age 4 – Moved to small village of 600 people into a white, rented house; played in coal bin – fuel for house. Sister born prematurely; we started being cared for by a Polish nanny. Went to kindergarten, learnt about and delighted in using hands in flour paste to make art. Friends with first love, Ernie.

Age 5 – Moved to newly built house on river in same village; boated in container for mixing plaster on flooded fields. Saw Rodin at Winnipeg Art Gallery, and escorted from premises when found stroking statue’s penis; started making forts in river willows. Fed my sister black chalk, to see what would happen, and waited.

Age 6 – Witnessed step-father, planner, (vodka) and grandfather, builder, (rum) reciting poetry while playing chess, each intoxicated; observer of project development and completion: landscaping, breezeway, interior waterfall, plant conservatory. Saw first movie – ‘Swiss Family Robinson’, with mother - cost: 25 cents; started piano lessons. Constantly ill with 'childhood diseases - mumps, measles, rubella, whooping cough; read Nancy Drew books and learned to love to colour with Crayola crayons.

Age 7 – Spent school year with teacher that was cruel; spent many hours at principal’s office after being ‘strapped’. Grandparents were care givers during holidays when parents went on exotic holidays; given loose change to placate spirit. Learned to skate, and participated in winter carnivals with hair coiffed with rags into ringlets – got first ‘Barbie’, a clone – Oleg Cassini doll. Witnessed mother’s desolation after after death of 4th child, a brother who died hours after birth – saved from immediate death by breathing device designed and employed by step-father.

Age 8 – Was tortured in school with yardstick smacks, writing ‘lines’ and holding encyclopedias with arms outstretched - always had name in ‘black book’; “Strapping” was abolished; watched grandfather save house during brush fire. Played in mountain of sand dropped on neighbour’s yard. Watched mother ‘Roto-till’ and plant garden, feed it fertilizer; watched kingfishers and sandpipers on the riverbed flats; crossed footbridge over river. Drew murals of the Amazon.

Age 9 – Grandfather died of tetanus after amputating toe in lawnmower (he laughed walking to the hospital across the lawn for treatment) – nurse did not administer tetanus shot; grandmother sold house and moved to apartment above a store; started organ and ballet lessons; saved from step-father’s belt beatings at home by dog, an overweight golden lab named Bunsy; started to be administered Dial soap after swearing at parents.

Aged 10 – Learned to love science. Wanted to be a nuclear physicist; bought taxidermy animals from teacher. Won public speaking prize; won 4-H photography demonstration prize. Learned to volunteer through mother’s activities – Women’s Hospital Auxiliary, School Board trustee. Caught on fire while burning garbage in the incinerator – rolled to stifle fire. Began to cut grass for 3 hours a day every summer on a Toro sit-down mower.

Age 11 – Suffered loss of hearing from multiple ear infections while learning to swim off docks where boats dumped raw sewage. Wrote poems on top of parents’ roof, at the riverside while sitting on concrete slaps that were dumped to prevent flooding of the river – trees along the embankment had been removed to ‘beautify’ the village. Wrote a poem for the teacher at the end of school – he cried.

Work in progress

2009-04-05T09:12:00.004-07:00

Trials of leading...

Either I know where I am going, or I don't. This is the first time in living memory that I am at a carrefour for months. Disconcerting.

However, some work is being produced...

Answering my own questions - some...

2008-11-11T08:52:00.012-08:00

I realized at least one archetype is dominant in each figure.

Some figures can be construed to reveal more than one archetype...
The spiral in the central configuration is an archetypal symbol...

The shapes that each figure is composed of are abstracted primal symbols – triangular, circular and square.

Some hieroglyphics, pictograms, marks representing sacred iconography are in the lines of the figures.

“Archetypes provide the deep structure for human motivation and meaning. When we encounter them in art, literature, sacred texts, advertising—or in individuals or groups—they evoke deep feeling within us.
These imprints, which are hardwired in our psyches, were projected outward by the ancients onto images of gods and goddesses.
Plato disconnected these from religion, seeing them in philosophical terms as "elemental forms."
Twentieth-century psychiatrist C.G. Jung called them archetypes.”

'The Fan Blade is often an archetype reflecting rotating, spinning movement through consciousness, time and dimension. "

Afterthoughts - 'Congregation'

2008-11-11T08:28:00.006-08:00

In my opinion, artists create self portraits, no matter what the original intention – the outcome of the work reveals self. Try as we might, we reveal our identity, our uniqueness, a signature of our soul. This is how I view one aspect of my recent installation. I did not consciously set out to do this. Once the work was presented, I was struck by several levels of interpretation the work may be subject to or clarification the sculpture would explain, and especially, how it revealed who I am and how I think of myself.

First I realized at least one archetype was dominant in each figure. Some figures could be construed to reveal more than one archetype – or if I think about it some more, maybe more than two... Even the spiral in the central configuration was an archetypal symbol... And further, the shapes that each figure was composed of were abstracted primal symbols – triangular, circular and square. I even began to see some hieroglyphics, pictograms, marks representing sacred iconography in the lines of the figures.

After digesting that revelation, I realized I was describing life stages. Simplification of life stages - but surely they were there. And more, the stages were equal to the next, none more prominent, as if there was a balance. Each was interconnected with the other, and each was blatantly important as the next. –Interestingly, I did not order them sequentially. What did that mean?

Now my questions for myself...

So what does this say about me, how does it portray my character, my personality?

Why did I call the work Congregation, when none of the figures actually meet? Why do the figures only connect by the spiral, the whirling...?

Then I need to understand and explain the shrouding, the emptiness within the figures, the broken fragility of the sculpture, the facelessness.

So what does this say about me, how does it portray my character, my personality?

Why did I call the work Congregation, when none of the figures actually meet? Why do the figures only connect by the spiral, the whirling...?
Then I need to understand and explain the shrouding, the emptiness within the figures, the broken fragility of the sculpture, the facelessness.

And finally, the cluster of apple branches placed in the middle of the spiral centre must be clarified, which can be described as the only congregated gathering of any kind in this show.

Kazakhstan Exhibition

2008-11-01T01:22:00.006-07:00

Please check out my Flickr account for more photos...

Here is the installation of "Congregation".

ARTIST STATEMENT

30 October – 1 December 2008

National Museum of Art, Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Title: Congregation

This exhibition will be comprised of 5 over life sized abstracted human forms depicting the monumentality of human alliance and our large capacity for responsiveness to each other. This work will be displayed on the 2nd floor, Gallery 11, A. Kasteev State Museum of Arts on 30 October – 1 December 2006. Congregation is inspired by the momentous Kazakhstan historical works displayed in the gallery. More, as the work depicts people convening, the sculpture is about gathering – an assembly of people, a collection of perspectives, exchange.

Canadians are known as travellers. We explore our own nation and love to visit other countries. Kazakhstan has a history of nomadic existence, and some citizens describe themselves as part of a nomadic culture. Whether on a customary journey or because of a particular adventure, meeting new, companionable people is a wonderful opportunity to impart stories, commune, and interconnect. This work will show how amity and fellowship is universal, and how the act of congregating with each other enlarges each person, our communities, and our dimensionality.

Kazakhstan Residency

2008-10-15T21:41:00.004-07:00

Getting materials for my work, here in Almay requires going to a construction bazaar. Each vendor is independently competing for your business. Here is where I bought expanded mesh wire. I did not speak, as my host, curator Yuliya Sorokina, asked me to NOT SPEAK, having done so while at the previous vendor... the price was adjusted accordingly.

My driver, Shokan, is a stunt driver, when not driving me around for materials. His driving on the streets of Almaty makes me feel like I am driving in a movie scene, like that in the Bourne trilogy... It was suggested, that because he has been driving with such confidence, the chances of an accident are greatly reduced.

Here is the 'store' where plaster was procured. Here, they call it gyps, and as I was requiring the material for sculpture, they assured us it was just for that purpose. Using it, I found it to be full of sand and rocks, as well as a match-book. Not ideal.

This is the gallery space at the State Museum of Art in Almaty Kazakhstan, where my work will live from 30 October - 11 November 2008.

Sand People

2008-10-15T21:40:00.001-07:00

Sand People
Dwell on the beach
Each day wallowing
In granules of thought.
Rooted in shifting drifts
Piling high with godly gusts of bluster
Raging mounds of dusty irritation
Collects about them.
Stuck to malicious pandering
Sand people hold handfuls of
Scorn
Speckled slurs that desiccate
Blister in the searing sun of
Feigned saintliness...
Scourge decency of those
That get sand
Whipped
In the eye;
Blinding cruelty
Blown By sand people.

New Residency

2008-08-26T12:52:00.007-07:00

Just waiting for my Visa to Kazakhstan...

View Larger Map

New residency, new thoughts and feelings to aquire, new work to be done... New show to produce... new friend to make. ADVENTURE!

The Word of the Day:

peregrination \pehr-uh-gruh-NAY-shun\, noun:
A traveling from place to place; a wandering.

Peregrination comes from Latin peregrinatio, from peregrinari, "to stay or travel in foreign countries," from peregre, "in a foreign country, abroad," from per, "through" + ager, "land."

http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/archive/2008/08/26.html

Crafting Memory

2008-08-02T23:58:00.005-07:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/embellish4art/show/

Crafting memories, prying them from the jumble of images that dart and skip, viscous fluid of blinking eyes brings sounds and smells that tingle and tremble ears and nostrils. Lateral sequences can be extracted from 'global thinking', but the curse of ordering excerpts in time and space directs mindful censorship to edit out discomfort, where flashing imagery allows generous dwelling on lost and found syncopated feelings; all.

Bashing. Crescendoing recollections of touches forced to join with word phrases, waiting, vacant spaces of time to calibrate the emptiness with feelings... there is an attempt to push or playfully awaken associations. When coherency forms, new perceptions can emerge. Sometimes new images are created, not what existed, but what might have happened -should, could, would. Desires. Regrets. There, pictorial scenarios can be more powerful than what has transpired.

Backwards and forwards, those meanderings flow. Future probabilities, presence, presumption, peace intermingled with exasperation, exasperates the creation of memory.

Most importantly, for me, is the vast omnipresence of spirit that occupies me, charging up to shape and form structural dimensionality through this 'crafting' process. Sometimes, time and circumstance allows me to explain this loveliness in to sculpture, and I am grateful.

Past Reviews - Some Published - Some Not

2008-07-11T19:06:00.008-07:00

Hello readers of Embellish4art blog.

I have decided to post some of my art criticism - some articles were kindly published, others live here only. The published reviews' publishers are noted. All work is copywrite protected. If you want to use anything, please write me first for permission: d_alanna@yahoo.ca
If you would like to refer to them, kindly post my URL in your work. Thank you.

Debora Alanna.

The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) Sculpture Retrospective 1996
Published in Asian Sculpture News 1996, Editor – Ian Findlay-Brown. http://www.iht.com/articles/1995/06/26/magcon.php
http://www.worldsculpturenews.net/

By Debora K-M (aka Debora Alanna/ Miss Debora)

PLEASE NOTE: The links below seldom refer to the specific work described in this review.

The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) http://www.ngmaindia.gov.in/about_ngma.asp invited Latikat Katt http://www.dosco.org/news/2006/02/lalita_katt_holds_art_exhibiti.html#more , professor at the Jamia Millia Islamia University Jamia Nagar, New Delhi to curate an ambitious show of sculpture with work from the HGMA dating from 1833 to the present. The exhibition has revealed an extensive sculpture collection. The last comprehensive sculpture show the NGMA presented was in 1953 when the museum was inaugurated. Professor Katt, an instructor at the Jamil University successfully shows she understands the importance of revitalizing the public’s awareness of its modern sculptural heritage.

Intrinsically steeped in tradition, the consistent theme of this show as revealed in the sculpture is the artists’ experience that they are part of society that can draw from tradition but also must create something new for the world. This show is an overview of work from the last 50 years, produced in various materials and genres. The artists evoke pride in the crafts of the past, traditional materials, as well as show an evolution of sensibilities that sculptors are concerned with this century.

There are some stars in this show.

Abanindranath Tagor carved Personage in wood in 1940. http://www.sciy.org/blog/_archives/2005/10/3/1275976.html His playful yet austere miniature is an icon that pays homage to the complexity of the Indian character.
The wistful harlequinade-like work called Musical Construction (’67) by Dhanraj Bhagat combines the understanding of an Indian musical heritage with that of the experimentation of the 60’s international analytical musical musings.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1422/14220980.htm

Balbir Singh Katt’s (’67) piece When Man and Woman Perverted from His Glory (wood and stone) is the first work in the collection that used two disparate materials. The strength of this juxtaposition indicates the lead given to the blunt inception of the idea of self consciousness. http://www.lalitkala.gov.in/golden_jubilee/arties/view_large.asp

Several sculptures in the show exemplify India’s concern with the animal world. The carved Animal by Nagi Patel (’74) attends to India’s devotional ancestry to the animal realm. In Memory of the Lost Cow by Rajinder Tikki (’91) is most poignant; it is a testament to the future of India.

The developmental change in social history is perceived by S.G. Vidya Saakar in Mgail (’89) where an ornamental metal tree supports a woman on a swing. The hands of the swinger are dismembered.

The Pink Marble by Ramesh Pateria is a vertically positioned stone that is gouged, sawn, worn – evident is the pain of technological penetration, the affects mechanism has on traditional material and philosophy of art practise. http://www.lalitkala.gov.in/golden_jubilee/arties/view_large.asp

1994 Emerging by Gyan Singh adeptly addresses the theme of autonomy. http://www.lalitkala.gov.in/golden_jubilee/arties/view_large.asp

Deity by J. Swarminathan elegantly and poetically discloses spiritual wisdom. http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Everlasting-Beauty-of-Sculptures&id=1229436

View Through Emotion (’95) explicitly orders the chaos that this emerging national character is experiencing. Mrigendra Pratap Singh, with objectivity and gentility puts a rational matrix on intense disorder. http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Art-Of-Our-Times-Cheaper-And-Better/102786/

Madan Lal’s untitled marble and Brij Mohan Sharma’s untitled work acknowledges the consistent Indian capacity for sensuality and exoticism.

Professor Katt’s vision of India’s contemporary sculptural astuteness is not only evident from work chosen from the NGMA but is revealed in her own work, also part of the collection. Growth (’80) signifies the struggle and frustration of independence from preconceptions is experience, a challenge to all artists of the 21st century. A stunning, wood and leather bound catalogue, designed by Professor Katt, accompanies this show.

I highly recommend this exhibition.
*********************************************************************************

1996 Thiruvananthapuram, India

Sculptor Aryanad Rajendram is a 35-year-old Thiruvananthapuram artist that has recently carved a meticulously realistic portrait of the father of Greek medicine, Herodotus for the Medical College of Thiruvananthapuram. He has an additional commission there to carve another portrait, which he has begun with a more geometric panache than the highly graphic Herodotus bust. The second work is organized with exactitude, the rectangularity is precise. Yet this diversion of style cannot prepare the viewer for Rajendram’s contribution to the group show at the Thiruvananthapuram Museum Auditorium this past November. The transformation, a sculpture titled We, Leaders and Money is 3 feet of green coloured plaster of Paris, and exorcized tirade on the artist’s relationship to those artists that have (the money).

The murky green of this piece is the colour of resent, of jealousy. The leaders are watchful of their bounty, ‘We’ are resentful of their spoils.

The colour of the work can also be interpreted as the raw greenness that the work also projects – the easily deceived, inexperienced public, the unprepared, culturally untrained politicians, the artist’s new practice of emoting.

‘We’ (that don’t have the money) are heads squashed by a hierarchy of totemically arranged leaders. The totem also extends to protrusions that effectively look like an orthodox crucifix. An upwards growth and extension of power of the leaders is an affliction to be borne.

A moneybag, larger than any head, balances on the contorted upper most head of the ‘leaders’. The features of the leaders become more gargoyle-like as they move up to the top. The head directly under the money is almost unrecognizable in its twisting out from human shape. Money is in their domain, high above ‘we’, and the weight of it distorts their vision, their intelligence. Justification has influenced and depressed the attributes the leaders once had.

The thrust of the manipulation of the contorted faces, the abandon of craft and precision for volatile expressiveness makes the viewer wonder whether the same sculptor produced the stone and the plasterwork. There is no dispute that he did. The question is, is the subject of the plaster the reason the stone sculpture does not render more exuberance? The stone carving is of the utmost sincerity, the control exercised is not ridged – the features are exquisite.

There is an obvious restraint in the artist’s stone output. He surges to embody his frustrations, such as those exhibited in We the Leaders and Money. For example, although the work visually describes the significance of money, poised at the top of the sculpture, the artists’ anger prohibits a consistent fluidity of spirit in his work. Yet knowing the sculpture this artist has previously executed, one can only applaud the vivacity he has allowed himself to display and hope the lively energy will extend to his carving endeavours.

We, Leaders and Money is currently on display at the Salyan Art Gallery, Thiruvananthapuram.

Slideshow of Work

2008-06-18T17:53:00.004-07:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/embellish4art/show/

Some Photos of Artwork on Flickr

2008-06-17T16:33:00.004-07:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48600079099@N01/sets/

WHAT!

2008-06-13T03:01:00.002-07:00

The adages that trace over this quirky pondering about who an artist is amuses, bewilders, annoys and enthrals me simultaneously. Being blessed/cursed with this beloved and derisive existence I can say that the question is what not who is an artist. An artist is an entity, a quality of being. It is not the person but a manifest. I do not blink or wink or itch with any special talent. Nail and hair growing are effortless. 'Artist' is an embodiment of a way of living that occurs because there is no filtering - sensory overload, if you like - art is the filter, what we can manage to capture for articulation of our existence. This process and the result may seem coy or persuasive, banal or exotic, lively or suppressive. It may engage joy or spirituality to awaken. A response is not required, but sincerely feared and appreciated or despised or rockets the doer into a spiral of self-loathing or ecstasy. What can I say... each work I make is a compulsion, a vent to exercise my psyche into another realm of contemplation. Each new idea propels me towards the next, and without a physical explosion of work, I cannot realise the enormity of what was given to me, an ability to incise and perplex or reveal the ambiguity and precision I endure and love. What a gift!

Can't Breathe

2008-05-12T22:49:00.002-07:00

Craters of understanding
Understood?
Walking naked in my memory
Recollecting fine manipulation
In deep pits of consideration
Retreating into cavernous space
Finding wistful triangulation
Strangulation.

Months, Days, Years

2008-05-11T14:23:00.003-07:00

Months are predicted on the days, and the days define the year. What will I remember this year being about?

Stagnation, redefinition, lunging towards and away from dolour...that heartbreaking sorrow, cultivated by the relationship that I need to release.

So far and farther...

Confabulation. Not my style.
Substance, conversation.
It's about understanding...
Talking 'small talk'?
Quirky and vague. I cannot prattle.
Fabricate a memory? Too much work.

Trust. Trust? Dubiety is gone. I no longer have any doubt.
I need a new horizon, fresh stories, suprising escapades, amazing reverie, wonderful opportunies for mysterious and joyful, expansive dimensions...

Strange

2008-03-04T02:52:00.005-08:00

Strange how the choices we make do not seem to be choices at all. There is a craft in our sense of development, where leaving things alone will transform a situation, and acting on an impulse will stagnate our hopes. There does not seem to be a balance, only a cosmic humour, toying with our will.

Frenzied fighting freshens
Fear and freedom recoil,
Stirring dreams unrealized into
Pandering.

Crazed remembering
Where no thoughts dwell
Only the feel of a
Forgotten fish
Or stink of recalcitrance
Slither into our possessive
Deliverance.

Breath, lightly, breathe well
Breadth and depth of
Singularity –
There is not a chance
There is change
There is. There is not.
Where is the duck pond?

Can it really exist, or is it just a place
Where I will never go?

Feeding wild ducks seems
Beyond my comprehension.
Weeping willows
Drip
Endless tendrils
Creeping onto my
Memories of mother.

She adored that idea
Left me , wondering why.

And there he stays
Leaping, flapping near that pond
Into a world of
Family and brave assertion.

A broken name
A bereaved heart
But still he chooses that
Betrayal
Needs the comfort of
Regeneration, of a child’s world
To nurture them
To rear himself.

I am only a mirror of his
Luxurious mind.
So he can see himself
So he can be.

He can share nothing
That we are not creating
And there is the flailing truth.
One day
The globe will spin, and I will
Fly away.

That ugly duckling without
A pithy pond.

There will be no musing,
Lose
Elude, escape
and soar.
Instead of feathery caresses
And flight, sight into new dimensions
He will only have the drooping
Strands, stranding
Only hair
Red drippings
To wrap up his thoughts
To tie them up
To keep them in his secret world
Where they will remain
Curled into a reflection
That he can look into
At that stagnant pond.

And mother will say,
To him from some hymn
He will hear
‘Give me some seed
To feed
The ducks.’
And there will be none.

Just the sound of quackery.

As He Lay Sleeping - Introduction

2008-03-02T21:29:00.005-08:00

THis is a draft of a collection of poetry and stories I have written for the past 10 years.

As He Lay Sleeping
Introduction

Figuration dominates. A form of a human being shapes itself under the covers, reclining into dreams. There are times when a wink is a sigh, and feigning sleep when none is to be experienced becomes a ritual or habit, of life as a lie. A simple thing as pretending to be sleeping, yet remaining in repose anyway can dissolve away desire for life’s pleasures. Insomnia becomes a sleeping soul.

There are those that give us solace, and resistance to their power is futile. That comfort and acceptance will drive us to accept ourselves, believe in ourselves, and work miracles with our talents. Ignoring our gifts creates weight of frustrating circumstances. Lying to ourselves and to others covers our feelings of inadequacy. On-going deceit generates a need to doze, to lie down and sink into the console of a sofa or bed. The stories need consistency, plausibility, and especially, a degree of excitement to grab the listener, a story to convince the listener, which benefits the teller by releasing doubt. When these lies are told for years, the succour that was once found in a willing, kind believer is desecrated. Laying down a friendship to support a habit of deceit is a tragedy.

Here, is a tale, a story of transition and love, of worship chained to greed, and affection transformed. Questions are unanswerable, as the questions are vague transitory emotions that explode into events. The questioned becomes inventive in order to answer with élan, leading with a lie, preventing a truth from holding him, imprisoning him.

Somnambulist? No. The sleeper is conscious. But as he lay sleeping...

Getting there and back...

2008-02-02T17:58:00.001-08:00

ANGEL - 3D Scan - Raw

Comforting, is the knowledge that once an idea is born, there is hope that it will come to some form of existence.

You have to have an idea of what you are going to do, but it should be a vague idea. ~Pablo Picasso

If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it. ~Albert Einstein

An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy to be called an idea at all. ~Elbert Hubbard

Unforgiven

2008-01-24T14:09:00.003-08:00

Blank
Pages of unwritten sadness...
Words have no meaning
Because everything you said
Are lies.
Lie in your beach
Bungalow wallowing
In the slink of Chanel and Ferrari
United with the allure
From those Louis Vuitton and other
Assorted chattels
A jewelled chimera
Sliding over your prevarication
Snug as the sand cuddling waves
Of salted truths
Whisking the winded chimes
Into dulcet paltering
Your tides of emotion wax and wane
Through the pulverized sincerity,
Tergiversate.
What you have
Is not a foundation
Only the fantasy
Of felicity
Pounding and powdered
Are your claims of love
Your devotion
To expend a presence
A charisma built on
Shadow and promise
Let the fog dwell
In the house of your golden ring
As there you will find a love that can be bought
And it is not mine.

A brief overview of this past year...

2008-01-02T05:20:00.002-08:00

2007 was a concerted effort to delve into my soul and scrape away what I could of extraneous forces, reveal what I could, and find further inspiration in destinations that had called to me for some time.

It was a success in that I was able to create 3 solo shows of my sculpture, and participate in another group show. What I have been doing, what I will continue to do, is to fortify my art oeuvre, and proceed to discover new possibilites for myself, for my work and present them to the world.

From there to here...

2007-12-25T08:20:00.001-08:00

The last time I wrote here, I was struggling with producing a show. Now, having produced and exhibited 3 solo shows and been in one group show this year, I needed to decompress. Can Serrat is a residency near El Bruc, around 40 km from Barcelona. It seems to an ideal place to get reaquainted with myself, rest, and get spiritually centred. I feel that next year will be a gargantuan whirlwind of activity, although I have no idea why I say this.

Frumpy Mood

2007-10-25T04:29:00.001-07:00

I now remember why I am not a painter. Having to 'waterproof' my work for the show tomorrow is a nightmare. First, the original colour I chose, the colour of Texas cream limestone, I thought, dried differently than the swatch in the store. So back to the store to get marine white.

Just waiting for paint to dry, when a very heavy object fell. One of the pieces mysteriously found its way to the floor. Emergency repair job. Spray some white into the centres, where the brush wouldn't go in the first coat. Now I can't breath in the room - and waiting for the second misting. Still have to measure/design the stands... for the 2 architects coming a 8pm to help me cut wet wood, donated to me by the gallery because- they were going to throw it out anyway.

Very tired - working from 6 or 7 to 22 or 23. And tomorrow I have to cook for the invitees - still don't know how many to cook for. First come - will have a taste... More painting now... Harumph.

Venice Show

2007-10-20T11:45:00.001-07:00

http://www.spiazzi.info/

http://www.spiazzi.info/documenti/2007_10_%20debora_alanna.htm

Here is the listing for my show in Venice.

Venice Show

2007-10-20T11:42:00.004-07:00

23/10/2007 -

Canal – Ebb and Flow, is a sculpture installation at Associazione Culturale Spiazzi by Debora Alanna. The work is about a concept of passage, and the oscillation between waning energy and fluidity in uninterrupted movement of conscious and unconscious thought. Inspired by the wake from the vapporetti, and gondolas on the canals of Venice, the movement of the boats breaking the water‘s stillness, unrelenting, moving forward distorting surfaces; the water remains unchallenged. The canal holds all surface warps and entwining penetrations, and remains an unaffected system, a way to and from somewhere. Coming or going, the surface is thrust into undulating forms. The work is a steadfast concentration on forms that do not fluctuate, that are statuesque, in that they impose stillness upon the viewer, requiring concerted enquiry. There is no geography or architecture to give it reference. This work is about movement, but does not move. It is ceremonious as a meditative offering, discovering form and content, allowing the undulations of ebbs and flows to be still for sustained viewing. The canal is the emotional space that is created by the expectant forms that have optimistically emerged as sculpture. d_alanna@yahoo.caper saperne di più sul lavoro di Debora AlannaGli eventi sono organizzati in collaborazione con il Comune di Venezia – Assessorato alla Produzione Culturale/ Cultura e Spettaco Associazione Culturale Spiazzi Castello 386530122 Venezia infospiazzi@libero.itwww.spiazzi.info Tel. +39 041 5239711

Creating Quality of Being... d_alanna@yahoo.ca

Embellish4art Canal: Ebb and Flow
Exhibition of Sculpture Friday, 26th of October, 2007 6pm
Debora Alanna

Ass.ne Culturale Spiazzi, VeneziaCanal - Ebb and Flow - Canale - Flusso e Riflusso Istallazione dell‘artista canadese Debora Alanna nella corte interna di SpiazziDal 26 Ottobre al 21 Novembre - Vernissage venerdì 26 Ottobre alle 18.30Un’installazione dell’artista canadese Debora Alanna. Il lavoro esplora il concetto di passaggio, e l’oscillazione fra il descrescere dell’energia e la fluidità in un ininterrotto movimento fra pensiero conscio ed inconscio. Tutto prende ispirazione dalla scia che le barche lasciano sui canali veneziani, quel movimento che provoca una “rottura” nell’immobilità dell’acqua, che sposta e distorce la sua superficie; un’acqua che anche se provocata non accetta la sfida. Il canale trattiene tutto l’intreccio simile ad un ordito che vi si specchia mantenendo però la sua pura inalterabilità, una via per e da qualche parte. Da o verso la superficie viene spinta nella direzione delle forme ondulate.Il lavoro è una concentrazione costante di forme non fluttuanti, statuarie, in questo esse svelano a colui che le guarda nella loro immobilità.Non c’è alcun riferimento alla geografia o all’architettura. Questo è un lavoro sul movimento ma non si muove. E’ come se scaturisse da un’offerta cerimoniale, che scopre forma e contenuto e che permette alle ondulazioni del flusso e riflusso di placarsi davanti ad un intenso sguardo. Il canale può considerarsi lo spazio emozionale che si crea dalle speranzose forme che ottimisticamente emergono e diventano scultura.

Canal

2007-10-16T02:11:00.003-07:00

This is some work in progress for my show at Spiazzi (Associazione Culturale Spiazzi) in Venice, Italy. It will likely take place on the 26th, a Friday. I am calling the work Canal - Ebb and Flow.

The reason for this title, besides the obvious geographical reference, is the concept of passage, and the oscillation between waning energy and fluidity in uninterrupted movement of conscious and unconscious thought. The wake from the vapporetti, the movement of the gondolas breaking the water's stillness, unrelenting, moving forward with surfaces changed, but the water remains unchallenged.

The canal contains all penetration, and remains a way to and from somewhere. Coming or going, the surface is thrust with undulating forms. This is where the inspiration for my series here comes from.

But this is more than living in Venice, and observing its functionality. The work demands a steadfast concentration on forms that do not fluctuate, that are statuesque, in that they impose upon the viewer, requiring concentrated evaluation. In the video barrage of contemporary culture, this act of concentrated viewing may be unfamiliar. There are no buildings to give it reference, such as the statues on cathedrals or cherubs on ceilingwork.

This work is about movement, but does not move. It is ceremonious as a meditative offering, discovering form and content, allowing the undulations of ebbs and flows to be still for sustained viewing.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/canal

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ebb

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/flow

Italy... Residency

2007-09-29T07:50:00.002-07:00

The Venetian light was slow in appearing. Rain soaked bags up and down campos, after a ferry ride to Rialto, lugging heavy luggage up and down stairs, nearly into a canal, up narrow dead-ends and back over cobbled streets, finding 'Planet Bar', a rendezvous for the landlord... finally.

The 10 hours of travel from Casole d'Elsa

with 3 transfers prior to setting foot in this watery city proved to be eventful.

Trains changed platforms of departure continuously - while waiting for one train at #5 - it was changed to #3 and #1 within 15 minutes. One station - Pisa - had elevators. Florence, and the station on the mainland before Venice did not. Kind strangers felt inclined to assist with hoisting the heavy suitcases with me some of the time - up & down stairs, and onto and off trains, sometimes. Being a working artist, and carrying garments for 2-3 season and tools is a daunting journey, especially when there is any distance to be made en route to the destination.

The crisp autumnal air pervades, and sitting with an espresso dopio and vino rosso, there is some solace knowing where my designation is. After a 3 hr. search or the address, I found the gallery/residency/workspace, SPIAZZI.

Situated near Campo San Martino, at the end of a bridge on an estuary of a canal, it is an inauspicious doorway, signified by a fading print of its name on the side of the ancient door. The door number refers to a whole area of the Arsenale district.

Large felt curtains greet the visitor before entering the gallery.
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Sitting in a plaza opposite a naval museum, one cannot help wondering if the patio this cafe is situated on was reclaimed from the canal. Porticoes seem eroded by the former waterways. A water taxi passes under a re-articulated bridge made of wood and metal steps, easing to the plaza with rounded stone steps. Cafe dwellers shoe away the birds, which seem to b uninhibited enough to light on tables and would perch on glasses, if allowed. Vegetation is scarce in Venice. A sad tree, some pots of flowers is all that is seen of any natural foliage, and habitation for the flying creatures.

Corroded and encrusted doorways, the smell of stagnation, giant lions and shlepers of boxes, creates, pictures and bags jostle between tourists hoisting cameras and knapsacks.

A parade of people looking upward - onward, staring unabashedly, drinking in history - the marvel that this place exists at all - and I am one of these.

Verrocchio show

2007-09-29T07:04:00.003-07:00

Verrocchio Art Centre - Casole d'Elsa, Italy

2007-09-25T13:39:00.001-07:00

Looking through the wisteria aperture to the hills of Tuscany from Casole d'Elsa's Verrocchio Art Centre.

Restless Night

2007-07-19T05:40:00.002-07:00

This is a view of what I see as I drive towards my studio. The Vancouver docks are a bustling place, and trains, seagulls, vehicular traffic create the cacophonous night. Sometimes there are people heard, but not to the extent heard in the 'West End', otherwise known as downtown Vancouver. This is an industrial zone, as opposed to a residential and commerical area.

But it is not the sound of the streetscape or dockside that keeps me awake. It is the dread, regret and projection of future confrontation, unresolved issues and deceit - most of all deceit, that keeps me from sleeping.

Listless

2007-06-16T19:45:00.001-07:00

When I returned to Vancouver, just 6 weeks ago, sitting on this waterway seemed an appropriate reacquainting act. The restlessness of hands occupied with the tasks of everyday living are not yet finding materials that make this artist functional.

A studio is secured, and is currently housing remnants of other's lives; sorting, discarding and repacking are the daily activities. I can see the floor, now, and am hopeful that by months' end I shall resume my work.

Beginnings and endings. Begin again.

End with a new beginning.

Mediteranian Musings

2007-03-18T15:08:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of a rumsteak dinner with truffles that I had in the neighbourhood restaurant a few days ago. I thought my
computer 'ate' the photo.

I have a few snaps of scenic jaunts around where my residency takes place I thought I would share.

To the left is a close-up of a cork tree. As I have been consuming wine with the stoppers primarily made from this tree, it seems appropriate to include this picture, taken en route to a quest for sculpture materials and tools. The harvesting of the cork bark may or may not be bad for the tree. I broke off a piece, as a memento - I doubt the tree will miss the bit I would like to bring back with me. Maybe customs will prevent that?

Departing from the harbour at Cannes...

A passenger on the boat to the L'isle de Lerins...

On the edge of the Mediterranean Sea... off the L'isle de Lerins

A few picture of the Fort Royal - Saint Marguerite...

En route to the rampart...

A view of Cannes from the gun-hold...

Raku my World

2007-03-13T06:21:00.001-07:00

This is was Raku day...

A.I.R. Vallauris - The beginning of the residency

2007-03-10T13:50:00.001-08:00

Seems like another world has embraced me - a time where plagues were rampant, Napoleon landed, a time where tampanade and truffles are ordinary fare. Only the olive spread and dark aromatic culinary delight are the norm, as is the well-worn architecture.

A labyrinth-like geography, this town has four corners, a plaza on each. Cloistered in one of the towering houses, I share an Ikea furnished living space with two other artists, one American, another Irish. We each have a separate studio, and mine is shown above (exterior). I have only visited my converted donkey stable, and wonder what kind of work will be produced in this stone chamber.

Extreme sensory perceptions are rampant as I walk up the cobbled, steep hill to the place where I can concentrate on sculpture again. The heavy stones calm me from my mysterious angst. History presses on this West Coast inhabitant. I need to dig deep into my ancestral past to find the sculpture within me.

Deception's Wake

2006-10-22T21:20:00.001-07:00

Le songe d'un promeneur (The dream of a wanderer).

Awakening to the dream
Of convolution,
Responding
The wanderer in me sings.

An aria?
It’s not revelry
Or recitative.
My song stills.

Where is time thwarted?
On my journey
Wandering resolute
To candour’s concord.

Captivated by presumption
By reverie
I form a vast rapport
Of deception’s wake.

Simply wandering
Between forms
Between terrain’s contour and firmament
I dream of impossibilities.

Neither up nor down
Junctures of meanderings
Create new beginnings.
Simply, there is a caress.

Stressing the Weak - Loss of Consciousness

2006-10-17T21:46:00.001-07:00

Noun 1. syncope - a spontaneous loss of consciousness caused by insufficient blood to the brain
deliquium, faint, swoon
loss of consciousness - the occurrence of a loss of the ability to perceive and respond

2. syncope - (phonology) the loss of sounds in the interior of a word (as in `fo'c'sle' for `forecastle')

syncopation

phonemics, phonology - the study of the sound system of a given language and the analysis and classification of its phonemes
articulation - the aspect of pronunciation that involves bringing articulatory organs together so as to shape the sounds of speech

syn·co·pa·tion (sngk-pshn, sn-)
n.

1. Music A shift of accent in a passage or composition that occurs when a normally weak beat is stressed.
2. Something, such as rhythm, that is syncopated.
3. Grammar Syncope.
syncopation
from Mozart's Symphony no. 25