Whyte Museum Photography Show - March 24th - May 22nd, 2012

Chateau Dreams 

From the series Seeing Double: Reflections on Human/Nature in Banff 

Original Polaroid Spectra Image (Double Exposure) 

4x4" matted and framed 8x10" 

$125

I currently have work in a photography exhibit at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. This is the fourth show I have participated at this beautiful museum, which is very near my home. The Whyte puts out calls for local artists to submit work in particular themes for these juried shows. The accepted work is exhibited in the Museum Shop and the Swiss Guides Room. I submitted four images from my series, Seeing Double: Reflections On Human/Nature in Banff. The are all double exposure images made in camera, using a Polaroid Spectra. The opening for this show is March 24th from 1 - 4 PM. The show runs until May 22nd, 2012.

2 Exit  

From the series Seeing Double: Reflections on Human/Nature in Banff 

Original Polaroid Spectra Image (Double Exposure) 

4x4" matted and framed 8x10" 

$125 

Deer Sky
From the series Seeing Double: Reflections on Human/Nature in Banff
Original Polaroid Spectra Image (Double Exposure)
4x4" matted and framed 8x10"
$125

Recycled Flowers
From the series Seeing Double: Reflections on Human/Nature in Banff
Original Polaroid Spectra Image (Double Exposure)
4x4" matted and framed 8x10"
$125

Annual Homegrown Art Show in Banff

"Give Up All Preconceived Notions" 

Collage 

12x12" 

By Tiffany Teske 

SOLD 

This is the fifth year I participated in Homegrown Art Show at the Banff Town Hall. It is a fun evening of food, drink, friends, art, and fun, in this amazing little community we call home. My piece sold to a very good friend of mine, which makes me very, very happy!

Food

More food...

Family...

Friends!

A Few Photos from the Opening of Jenny Shea & Tiffany Teske: A Mixed Media Collaboration

Jenny Shea with her babe, Myself, and Jo-Annie with her babe 

I am so behind on this but here they are; a couple of photos from the February 3rd opening of my current show at the Banff Public Library. There was a great turn out, considering there were four other major events happening that night in the Bow Valley. Jenny & I were so happy to welcome our friends to see our latest work. We received lots of great feedback and we sold four pieces at the opening. Jenny brought her new little boy, Luka, who was able to meet my friend, Jo-Annie's little girl, Olive. Fun was had by all! If you would still like to see the show, it will hang at the library through February 29th.

Mixed Media - Article in the Banff Crag & Canyon

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 Shea & Tiffany Teske: a Mixed Media Collaboration opened at the library on Friday and once the pieces were on the wall, Teske and copper-artist Jenny Shea were already inspired to work together again.
“(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.

Check out the exhibit at the Banff Public Library until Feb. 29.

Article in the Rocky Mountain Outlook about My Current Show at the Banff Public Library about Jenny Shea & Tiffany Teske: A Mixed Media Collaboration

Blame It On The Rain

By Jenny Shea & Tiffany Teske

Mixed Media Assemblage

12x9"

$125

 The following article appears in this week's Rocky Mountain Outlook.  

Metal Meets Photography

By Michelle Macullo

Pick-up lines—we’ve all heard them. 

And when they’re not rude, they’re usually lame. ‘Don’t you know me from somewhere? Did we go to different schools together? Can I have your phone number? I seem to have lost mine.’  

But what’s the line when a self-taught metal artist Jenny Shea and a professional photographer Tiffany Teske repeatedly run into one another at art and craft fairs?

‘Hey baby, wanna make art?’

That’s exactly what they did.

And during February at the Banff Public Library Art Gallery, everyone’s invited to see Jenny Shea & Tiffany Teske: A Mixed Media Collaboration. An opening reception with both artists in attendance takes place tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 3) from 7 to 9 p.m.

The exhibit features both individual and joint pieces. At its core is Teske’s ephemeral photography and Shea’s patina-kissed, landscape-inspired copper sheet work. The result is an unexpected flow and ease to it—like to people sitting down, discussing the state of the world, while finishing each other’s sentences.

“I like learning new things and not always doing my own thing in isolation,” Teske says.  “Collaborating...pushes you to try other things.”

The joint works suggest the two sat side-by-side as the pieces came to life, but such was not the case. Juggling young families and life in general, the pair decided to hand their respective portions off without instructions. Instead, they relied on “trust and mutual respect,” to guide the process.

“Here’s my stuff,” Shea asserts. “Decide what you want to do with it. Let’s do this and see what happens.

“And I knew she (Teske) was going to create something amazing.”

Shea says art has taught her to go with how she feels—allowing the linear part of her brain to come up with a rough plan, but listening to the metal and being comfortable with what it offers.

“I’ll have an idea in my head, but by the time I start working on a piece, it can change,” she explains. “I have to let it go naturally.

“Sometimes after I’m done, I’ll go to bed and decide I’m not happy with it. But I’ll wake up the next day and know that it’s beautiful. I love the surprise.”

So now that their first collaboration out in the public domain, will there be a second for the artistic power couple?

“Absolutely,” Teske smiles. “Jenny and I are only just getting to know each other and what is possible together. I can foresee more than one other date in the future.”

Shea couldn’t agree more.

“It’s nice to work with other people’s art,” Shea echoes. “I hope I get to do it again.”

 For more information or to purchase a piece, please contact the artists directly at Jenny@themagpieroom.ca (Shea) and Oldesage@hotmail.com (Teske).

Jenny Shea & Tiffany Teske: A Mixed Media Collaboration is on display until February 29.

Jenny Shea & Tiffany Teske: A Mixed Media Collaboration - Art Exhibition at the Banff Public Library, February 2012

Head/Heart

by Jenny Shea & Tiffany Teske

Mixed Media Collage

 12 x 12"

$150

I have always enjoyed collaborating with other artists. I have never been the artist who toils away in my studio, all alone, hoarding my "secrets", and being afraid of others "copying" me. I have gotten to where I am today by learning from other people, artists, and teachers who have been willing to share their knowledge. I have gone on to have a generous attitude about sharing my knowledge and to have an insatiable appetite to learn.

Ocean Romance

by Jenny Shea & Tiffany Teske

Mixed Media Collage

 12 x 12"

$150

I met Jenny Shea just over a year ago, at the Whyte Museum. We were both participating in a holiday art sale. I was instantly drawn to her beautiful pieces made with metal. Take a look for yourself at her website, The Magpie Room. She also liked my Polaroid transfers and we traded our art. I even bought one more piece of Jenny's work the next day. I had only just met her, but I was excited about somehow trying to combine our styles, for me to somehow use my images on her metal collages.

Make Memories
by Jenny Shea & Tiffany Teske

 Mixed Media Collage

 12 x12"

$150

I have shown my work several times at the Banff Public Library and realized that it would be great to have a show there with Jenny. We applied, got to work, and tomorrow, February 1st, we will hang the show. It will be up until February 29th. If you are in the area and would like to come to our opening, please keep reading for all the info....

Opening Invite: 

Join artists Jenny Shea & Tiffany Teske for the opening of their month-long exhibit at the Banff Public Library at 101 Bear Street in Banff. "Jenny Shea & Tiffany Teske: A Mixed Media Collaboration" is the result of Jenny's metal work and Tiffany's collage & assemblage work being combined into pieces that were completed separately but by both artists. For some pieces, Tiffany created the backgrounds, then gave the pieces to Jenny to finish, and in others Jenny started, and Tiffany finished. Each artist has chosen some of the titles for their pieces. In addition to the collaborative pieces there will be many of Jenny's signature metal pieces and several encaustic collages made by Tiffany. Everything will be for sale through the artists, and Tiffany will bring some prints and items that will only be available that night.

Please join us from 7 - 9 PM to celebrate our show which will run until Feb 28th. We look forward to seeing you, and to showing off Jenny's newborn son, Luka. :)

Artistic Epiphany
by Jenny Shea & Tiffany Teske

 Mixed Media Collage

 12 x12"

$150

My Latest Post on the Highline Blog - Live in the Moment

It has been awhile since I wrote a blog post for Highline but I had one posted a couple of days ago. It is called Living in the Moment. It has already garnering some facebook likes, tweets, and positive feedback, including one interesting comment that I needed to think about overnight before responding. If you would like to read the post, the comment, and my response, please do. And I could love your feedback! Cheers :)

365 Days with Kiddos - #36 - Spend an Afternoon Coloring

I spent hours and hours AND HOURS coloring as a child. While I grew up to make art every day, I didn't have many opportunities to simply color until I had my own kiddos. The enjoyment I used to get from coloring all came back to me when I started to do it with my girls. They have both been coloring since they could hold a crayon, long before they could talk. I really enjoy spending time with them an watching how their skills change as they get older.

My eldest, Quin, who is 5.5 years, is very creative when she colors. She likes to stay within the lines (which in my mind is not required) and she often uses several colors instead of just one in each segment of a coloring book page. Her creations are beautiful! She will use crayons but she prefers pencil crayons (colored pencils) and markers. She spends a lot of time on these creations, and we keep the ones she likes the best in a folder.

My youngest daughter, Emmanuelle, is just 2.5 years old. She has had the benefit of watching her older sister color. As a baby she would clamour to color and didn't spend much time using crayons.

She totally skipped pencil crayons. Her instrument of choice has always been markers. She used to scribble all over the page but recently we were pretty shocked when she started coloring in the lines. Her hand can suddenly control the marker and go exactly where she wants. She now spends up to an hour just filling our coloring books with glorious color. Amazingly enough, she seems to be very adept at color combinations, which I can't say I taught her, she just learned by looking and trying things out.

There are several benefits of coloring that I have seen in my children first hand. They have developed better concentration, their color awareness has grown, Emmanuelle has been able to learn the names of colors, it has helped them to develop their fine motor skills, and I can see that overall it helps them to be more artistically creative, to have better imaginations, and to help them to express their thoughts and feelings.

If you would like to try making recycled crayon cakes from your old crayon bits, please see this post...

I Will Be Teaching Fuji Transfer, Fuji Emulsion Lift, & Other Photo Transfer Techniques at CREATE Mixed Media Retreat in California

I am very excited to be one of 30 instructors at the CREATE Mixed Media Retreat in Irvine, California, May 30th - June 3rd, 2012! It has been five years, to the day, since I travelled to teach. Back then, I brought my 1.5 year old daughter to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, to teach digital travel photography. Now, I have a 5.5 year old and a 2.5 year old, and I am ready to embark on a new adventure, solo this time, in the company of my amazing friend, Dea Fischer. If you love mixed media and are in the area, or if you would like to take a little vacation in Orange County, check out the 60 courses offered at this amazing retreat. There are courses in book making and art journaling, print making and surface design, mixed media stitch, collage and assemblage, mixed media jewlery... wow! The workshops are listed by order of day and can be seen here. I will be teaching Fuji transfers, Fuji emulsion lifts, and Creating the Vision; Printing and Transferring Your Images (with my wonderful friend, Dea!) If you would like to know more please see examples and course descriptions below.

Fuji Emulsion Lifts
Ha Ling By Tiffany Teske 

Fuji Emulsion Lifts (3-Hour)

Date: Saturday, June 2 Time: 6:00pm-9:00pm

Technique: Printmaking & Surface Design

Instructor: Tiffany Teske

Price: $85.00

Materials Fee: $20.00

Looking for a new way to add your images to your art? Let Tiffany teach you how to make Fuji Emulsion Lifts using Daylabs & Polaroid cameras. Whether you are a skilled photographer or a novice you will learn how to turn your images into one-of-a-kind emulsion lifts that can be displayed on their own or used to enhance your mixed-media pieces. If you have experience with Polaroid emulsion lifts, this class shows you a similar way to work with a more readily available film. Participants will leave with up to 20 Fuji images, on watercolor paper, glass, and metal, to use in other workshops.

Students Should Bring: 90 or 140 lb hot press (smooth) watercolor paper in 4x5” pieces (up to 20), 4x6” prints of photographs to work with and/or 35mm slides, Acrylic gel medium (matte or gloss), a 1" brush for applying medium, any porous or non porous surfaces you would like to put an emulsion lift on (examples: shell, metal, mirror, glass, wood, fabric

 

Fuji transfer

By Tiffany Teske

Fuji Image Transfers (3-Hour)

Date: Sunday, June 3 Time: 9:00am-12noon

Technique: Printmaking & Surface Design

Instructor: Tiffany Teske

Price: $85.00

Materials Fee: $10.00

Do you use your own images in your art? Join Tiffany for an introduction to Fuji image transfers using Daylabs and Polaroid cameras. Whether you are a skilled photographer or a novice you will learn how to turn your images into one-of-a-kind transfers that can be displayed on their own or used to enhance your mixed media pieces. If you have experience with Polaroid transfers this class shows you a new (and different) way to work with a more readily available film. Participants will leave with up to 10 finished transfers on watercolor paper which can be used in other workshops.

Students Should Bring: 10 pieces of 90 or 140 lb hot press (smooth) watercolor paper cut into 4x5” pieces, 4x6” prints of personal photographs to work with and/or 35mm slides

Gel medium transfer on glass 

Maine by Tiffany Teske

Creating the Vision: Printing and Transferring Your Images (6-Hour)

Date: Friday, June 1 Time: 9:00am-4:00pm

Technique: Printmaking & Surface Design

Instructor: Tiffany Teske & Dea Fischer

Price: $149.00

Materials Fee: $25.00

You've mastered the photography and you've created images you love. Deepen your layers of creative engagement by learning to incorporate images of your own creation into your mixed-media artwork. Join Tiffany Teske and Dea Fischer to explore fascinating image printing and transfer techniques that can be tricky to master effectively. You will create cyanotype or "sun" prints from negatives, and practice making gel medium skins and transfers, blender pen transfers, encaustic and heat transfers. You will produce several pieces during this workshop that you can take away to use in your work

Students Should Bring: Negatives (large format if you have them or know how to make them, but we will teach you); photocopies (not prints) of non-copyrighted or self-created material; soft gel acrylic medium; 1" soft-bristle paint brush, blender pen (a solvent-based art marker like Copic with no pigment, available from your art supplier); an old spoon.

If you would like to sign up for any of these courses, or would like to know more about CREATE, please go to the CREATE website by click this link. If you can't make it to California, but will be in Banff, Alberta, or near here, please contact me for a private workshop. Cheers!

CAAG Small Gems Show - December 2011 - New Encaustic Collages

Pretty Bird

Encaustic Collage

12x12"

$175

I have work in three group exhibitions this holiday season; at Cube Gallery in Ottawa, at The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff, and at the Canmore Artist and Artisan Guild (CAAG) Gallery in Canmore. Running until December 27th, 2011, the CAAG Small Gems show has a wide variety of photography, collage, paintings, pottery, and mixed media pieces. It is at the CAAG Gallery, 950 8th Avenue, in Canmore, the same building as the Canmore Public Library. I have 6 pieces in the show...

 Back When Life Was Simple

Encaustic Collage

9x12"

$175

Spread Your Wings (Fly)

Encaustic Collage

9x12"

 $175

Play

Encaustic Collage

9x12"

$175

He Love Me (He Loves Me Not)

Encaustic Collage

12x12"

$150

Rolling Stone

Encaustic Collage

9x12"

$175

Canmore Artist and Artisans Guild Mini Art Sale

 If you are in the Bow Valley this weekend, come and see me in Canmore. I will be part of the Canmore Artist and Artisans Guild Mini Art Sale. It is at the CAAG Gallery, 950 8th Avenue, in Canmore, the same building as the Canmore Public Library. The show is on Saturday, December 3rd, and Sunday December 4th. I will have a selection of my visual art, bird nest pendants, spoon assemblages, and feather earrings for sale. I hope to see you!

My Work in GREAT Big Smalls VII at Cube Gallery

The Strength of Nature

By Tiffany Teske

Encautic (Wax) Collage

12x12"

My works will be part of Great Big Smalls VII at Cube Gallery in Ottawa, from Tuesday November 29th, 2011 to Saturday December 31st, 2011.

Vernissage: Thu Dec 1st, 2011 — 6:00 pm - 11:30 pm Fine Art, Music, refreshments, fun.

Cube’s seventh annual show of small works with BIG heart. The show features 65 artists, from the established to the emerging. There will be cultural gifts for everyone and at all price levels. Start your collection – or round out your existing one with some great small pieces. All works are original, small and suitable for Christmas, Chanukah or any other holiday tradition you celebrate.

Memories are Beginning to Fade

By Tiffany Teske

Encautic (Wax) Collage

12x12"

Featuring these great artists! Sam Vainola, Gayle Kells, Norman Takeuchi, France-Marie Trépanier, Pina Manoni-Rennick, Monika Seidenbusch, John Felice Ceprano, Sanjeev Sivarulrasa, Jeannine St-Amour, Victoria Wonnacott, Katherine McNenly, Mahshid Farhoudi, Wendy Stevenson, Joejene C. Santos, Kathy M. Haycock, Juliana McDonald, The Latest Artists, Joyce Burkholder, Karen Goetzinger, Gilda Pontbriand, Adrienne Herron, Olaf Krassnitzky, Shannon Whittle, MaryAnn Camps, Barbara Gamble, Ingrid Dabringer, Jessica Sarrazin, Rebecca Mason, Reid McLachlan, Lindsay Watson, Karina Kraenzle, Denis Larouche, Linda Sorensen, Monique Martin, Russell Yuristy, Jennifer Gibbs, Meghan Myres, Barclay Guinn, Chris Johnson, Patti Normand, Peggy Hughes, Richard Purdy, Gerald Trottier, Suzan Mandla, Kristy Gordon, Karole Marois, Megan Hinton, Anne Barkley, Tiffany Teske, Doug Cosbie, Garry Bowes, Katrin Smith, Janet Moore, Pansee Atta, Paul Schibli, Sue Ukkola, Eric Walker, Mary Wong, Jean Jewer, Dan Austin, Gwen Best, Don Monet, Beth Levin, John Shea, Tony Clark, Anita Utas, Aili Kurtis, Keith Bell

Change Your Life

By Tiffany Teske

Encautic (Wax) Collage

12x12"

Leave No Stone Unturned

By Tiffany Teske

Encautic (Wax) Collage

12x12"

I Hear Your Voice (On the Wind)

By Tiffany Teske

Encautic (Wax) Collage

12x12"

Its Time to Make a Change 

 By Tiffany Teske

Encautic (Wax) Collage

12x12"

More Art This Weekend at the Whyte...

Lone Pine (Norquay)

Polaroid transfer original

3x4"

By Tiffany Teske

$150

I just posted about the Kaleidoscope of Crafts sale at the Whyte Museum this weekend, Friday November 18th, and Saturday, November 19th. If that was not reason enough to make a trip to the Whyte, there is also an exhibition opening in the Swiss Guides room of the Museum on Saturday. It is called Small Treasures, and will feature the work of Alberta artists, many of them local, with an emphasis on smaller, affordable pieces for gift giving. The show will run from November 19th to January 17th, 2012 with an opening reception from 1 - 4 PM on Saturday, November 19th. I have four pieces in the show and will be at the Museum during the opening.

Winter Sun

Polaroid transfer original

3x4"

By Tiffany Teske

$150

Frozen Shadows

Polaroid transfer original

3x4"

By Tiffany Teske

$150

Winter Blossoms

Polaroid transfer original

3x4"

By Tiffany Teske

$150