'In Your Dreams'

  On a recent trip to the mail box I received this amazing collage by fellow dreamer Ron Sakolsky. This collage will be a part of the 'dream' show this Summer on Denman Island. The show will feature the mail art submissions for the 'Significant Dream' project as well as dream related art work by local artists.
Please contact me if you have a piece for the show and/or send mail art!
See the 'Significant Dream' page on this blog for more info and check out the most recent submissions.

Signs of Life and Guerilla Art Blogs

Here are a few examples of 'signs of life' I've come across close to home.   

Denman  Island

As you enter Courtenay just before the Walmart turn off.

Rosewall Cres. Courtenay

     I've been meaning to write a review about a fabulous book by Keri Smith called The Guerilla Art Kit- everything you need to put your message out into the world for fun, non profit, and world domination. The first page of this book features a quote by Henry David Thoureau that I want to share.
    "It is something to be able to paint, or to carve a statue, and so make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look. To affect the quality of the day- that is the highest of the arts."
   Recently I came across this blog about guerilla art with a review of this book and lots of great links to other blogs and sites about the guerilla art movement, Enjoy!
http://creativeperch.com/2009/04/13/top-10-guerilla-art-blogs/

Moonlight Madness Collaborative Book Project

   On December 17th, 2010 the 4th annual Moonlight Madness community collage night took place at the Denman Island Arts centre. This is basically a fun, social, 'art jam' where people are encouraged to create a page for a collaborative book. Basic instructions and blank pages were provided along with a variety of art materials. Also, books from the 3 previous years were there to enjoy.
The theme for this years book was "I believe__________"
Thanks again to my co hosts Rox and Kieth, and to LeeAndra for making this an annual event.
Here are some of the pages created this year that will be bound into a book, enjoy!

                                      

On back of page-  "eat organic"

Bound books from previous years (above and below).

Art Jam Report

The Denman Island Community Art Jam, held on Nov. 13th at the Denman Island Arts Centre was a buzz of creative activity. Projects were set up at various stations in the room with simple instructions, fun materials, creative prompts, and some basic info and history about the process.  The artist trading card centre was a hit with the kids and there was a basket for trades. The typewriter was also popular and most of the kids had never used one before. Natasha brought a basket of Oracle cards with instructions to 'take one and leave one'. Oracle cards are post card sized, intuitive collages with random poetry much like Dada poems (see photos).  There was a collaborative book project, the Denman Island Alphabet book (see photos). Mail art projects were posted and some people replied to projects that inspired them (see photos). Info about the Significant Dream project and responses thus far were on display. (Check the Significant Dream project page on this blog to see recent replies). Many people enjoyed the reference corner with past projects, ATCs, catalogues, books and zines to pa-rouse. For some these modes of art making were exciting and new, a couple families with kids made a day of it!  

This event was hosted by the Natasha's ( Roxanne, LeeAndra and myself) and the Denman Island Arts Centre. 

collaborative alphabet book

'Hands Across the Water' mail art project

Oracle Cards by the Denmanastani Pythia

Community Art Challenge! Do you dare?

The post below is a copy of an article/press release submitted to the Denman Island Flagstone Nov. 2010 by LeeAndra Jacobs and Cathy Stoyko (me). If you are not in the Comox Valley area and can't attend, I hope this article may inspire you to create a similar event in your community!

Ready, get set, GO! Where? To the Denman Island Arts Centre, Sat. Nov. 13th, noon- 4PM.  Everyone is invited to drop in, create, and play.  When you come through he door you will find various tables set up with art supplies, projects, and prompts to inspire you to meet  your 'challenge'. One table will dare you to create Artist Trading Cards , the next will set you up to make an 'oracle card' or create a DADA poem. Yet another will have post card blanks and post cards to alter. Mail art projects from around the world will be posted, as well as lots of other inspiring collaborative projects ideas. This special art jam event will be co-hostessed by Cathy Stoyko, Roxanne Cowles-Macphail and LeeAndra Jacobs. Discover the magic of collaborative art, correspondence art , and creating together in a warm and inclusive atmosphere. All materials, tea/coffee, and cookies provided. This is for everyone, regardless of art experience, age...  Children are encouraged to attend but need to be accompanied by an adult. This event is by donation. Donations will go to cover materials and to support Arts Centre upkeep.
   The Denman Island Arts Centre has endevered to set the stage for various community collaborative art events. Beside the 'Art Challenge' on Nov 13, the centre will once again host a community collage night on Friday Nov 17th, 5-9PM. In past years, the Denman community has been invited to answer a question in the form of an 8X6 collage page. The pages are then collated into books which become time capsules reflecting the community sentiments in a year. Thanks to Cathy Stoyko and Cynthia Minden for making these books happen.
Hope to see you there!

P.S. I will bring my typewriter 

Community Altars

Community altar, Cumberland, B.C. 2008

detail from above altar

   This is the time of the year when the veil between the worlds is thin, a time to connect with the dearly departed and ancestors.  Many civilizations and cultures have created rituals at this time of year to honor and celebrate the dead.  Feast of All Souls, All Saints Day and Dia De Los Muertos all fall between the end of Oct 30 and beginning of Nov. Many of these rituals include; visiting, cleaning, and decorating the graves of loved ones, creating altars and, feasting. The above community altar was created for the 'Day of the Dead' art show at the Abbey in Cumberland B.C. in 2008. People were asked to bring offerings for the altar such as; food, flowers, meaningful objects and/or photographs of loved ones, ancestors, mentors... that have passed away. It is a powerful way to celebrate this magical time of the year with community.  
   In the Mexican tradition of the day of the Dead, this not about sadness and grief but a time to celebrate, remember and connect with the dead! I was first exposed to this tradition and, community altars back in the early 9o's when I was working at La Quena, a volunteer run, Latin American coffee house on Commercial Dr. in Vancouver B.C. It was also around the time when my father and grandmother passed away and I found these rituals really resonated with me. A few years later I was a witch in the first Public Dreams 'Parade of the Lost Souls' in Vancouver. Public Dreams Society was created by Paula Jardine, an inspiring Canadian artist that creates community art events, see the 'art in community' link on this blog FMI about Paula Jardine's work. The Parade of the Lost Souls is a collaborative community event that continues to be a Vancouver tradition and community altars and shrines play an important role in this event. Many communities hold similar events involving community altars and personal shrines, examples can be seen on the following links. 
http://www.reclaimingquarterly.org/web/dia/dia-1.html
http://www.allsoulsprocession.org/projects/personal-altars


   

Bee Hive Collective coming to Denman Isl. Oct. 26th

   Denman Island will be visited by the Bee Hive Collective on October 26th. They describe themselves as an all volunteer, internationally renowned political arts and activism group that creates educational materials on issues of corporate globalization, colonialism, militarism, resource extraction, and resistance. Their Denman Island visit will explore the 'True Coast of Coal', and I'm sure they will inspire acts of creative resistance around this issue which is so close to home with the proposed coal mine in Fanny Bay. The bees will be at the Denman Island Community Hall (back hall) on Tuesday evening, October 26th to share information about what they do and, they will present a performance. Also, they'll be doing an art workshop for the school kids at the Denman Community School. I've only just heard about this group myself and I am looking forward to checking it out and encourage others in the area to 'interact with the bees'.

Their mission;

To cross-pollinate the grassroots, by creating collaborative, anti-copyright images that can be used as educational and organizing tools.

detail from the Bee Hive Collective, 'True Cost Of Coal' collaborative poster project

Some more info about the Bees taken from the BeeHiveCollective website- 



The Bees have spent 10 years developing an innovative and story-based education strategy that we share through a variety of interactive, image-based picture-lectures and graphic workshops. We believe that art is a tool for popular analysis, education and organizing- and that the complex and overwhelming issues that face our world can be broken down and understood in simple pictures.
In our workshops and presentations, we use giant, portable murals to deconstruct issues as far-reaching as globalization, climate change, colonization and resource extraction. We strive to provoke discussion, raise hard questions, and share hopeful stories about the small-scale changes and actions we can undertake to build a better world. Our current workshops and presentations include: Mountain Top Removal- The True Costs of Coal, Dismantling Monoculture- Tales of Ants & Economies in the Americas, Mesoamerica Resiste!- Celebrating Resistance to Plan Puebla Panama, and Graphics For The Commons- Collaborative Graphic Design for Movement Building.

  
   
Find out more at-


http://www.beehivecollective.org/english/front.htm