A Fine Catch
By Jenny Shea & Tiffany Teske
Mixed Media
12 x 9"
$125
I would like to thank Camara Miller for the awesome article that follows...
Mixed Media
By Camara Miller
As local artist Tiffany Teske walks around her
newly opened collaborative show at the Banff Public Library, she
contemplates aloud about the possibility of wax and photo transfers on
metals — techniques she has never tried before.
“(Jenny and I) are really just scratching the surface,” Teske said.
The two met a couple of years ago and immediately decided to collaborate.
“I’m drawn to metal,” Teske said, describing the inspiration that comes from working with another artist in unfamiliar territory, and in this case, developing a curiosity about working with metal.
Although the show has many solo pieces, the collaborative works had each artist making the background for a few compositions, then swapping to add onto the backdrop. Teske, specializing in photography, would then switch canvases with Shea who was creating a copper-work foundation. The pieces might have made another trip back to the original artist before each was complete.
For Shea, the process was a new experience.
“It was fun because I would see a story in one of Tiffany’s photographs and try to finish the story in my own way,” Shea said.
Teske emphasized that it really came down to trust. Both admit it wasn’t ideal to work in separate workspaces, but was the best way to work since both have young families.
While no initial themes were discussed, the show exhibits nature with a modern take on the classic subject. However, another theme that stands out is one of community. The library is an accessible venue and Shea commented that the opening last Friday led to some fantastic conversations about the works.
“Everyone will see something different in the pieces,” Shea said
The feeling must come naturally when you
think about how the images were made. While the workspace arrangements
may not have felt ideal, it developed some interesting art under the
circumstances. One would begin the story, the other would interpret the
beginnings and it would be passed back and forth. Instead of one uniform
intention behind the show, it was a collage compiled by moods if the
artist or stories from their own life.
