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

"UFOs on display at library" Rocky Mountain Outlook Article About My Current Show "Decidedly Undecided"

UFOs on display at library
Feb 03, 2011 12:33 pm | MICHELLE MACULLO

submitted
BUCKET STUDY #2 by Tiffany Teske

January was a busy month for Banff photographer and artist Tiffany Teske.

Rarely one to say no, even with little notice, she jumped at the opportunity to host the February art show at the Banff Public Library Art Gallery. With little more than a month to pull off an exhibit, operating on a-few-minutes-here and an-hour-there schedule, she did what she does best – making visual magic out of what she calls UFOs – unfinished objects.

“A lot of people in crafts and arts would know what that is,” she said.

The past four weeks were a blur, and now that she’s playing catch-up, she’s wondering how it is she is no longer considered a scorpio, given the recent astrological decision detailing the misalignment of the stars to their signs.

“I’m flabbergasted,” she says in disbelief. “There’s no way I’m not a scorpio.”

But perhaps there is some truth up in the sky.

Unlike a scorpio, Teske was ambivalent about a name for her exhibit. And then it dawned on her.

During February, Teske presents Decidedly Undecided, a rich blend of new and revamped photography, mixed media and mosaic pieces on display at the Banff Public Library Art Gallery. An opening reception with the artist in attendance takes place on Saturday (Feb. 5) from 7-9 p.m.

Most impressive pieces in the show include Cold Heart of the Sun, Balance and Bucket Study #2.

Teske says her career choice was deliberate and made for a number of reasons, the least being money. And while she’s had the opportunity to follow more traditional artistic paths with a meatier paycheque, she’s comfortable with who she is and what she does. And she has a good support network to boot.

“I make it work,” she said. “There’s a statistic out there that says most artists quit by the time they’re 40. My husband won’t let me quit.

“It’s who I am. It’s my sanity. When I don’t do it I get stressed out.” Teske uses her house as an informal gallery, displaying many of her efforts, those of her friends and pieces acquired through art trades. While her skills and interests have evolved since she first picked up a 110 camera at the age of seven, she’s a firm believer that her past has provided her with the foundation for continual inspiration, and a constant supply of artwork for her walls.

“I’m not old enough for a retrospective,” she says. “But I’m proud of all of it.”

The majority of the show’s pieces are for sale. For more information on Teske or her artwork, email tiffany@oldesage.com or visit her blog at www.tiffanyteske.com.

Decidedly Undecided is on display until Feb. 28.

Fish Collage for Kids and a Book Series Recommendation

As many of you know, I occasionally teach art and craft classes for kids at the Banff Public Library. My most recent class taught kids aged 6 - 10 about collage. While I normally create my own projects I decided to use an idea from a wonderful series of books from Kids Can Press. 123 I Can Collage by Irene Luxbacher, is just one in a series of art making books which also included 123 I Can Draw and 123 I Can Make Prints. These books are wonderful for teaching groups of children or your own children about making art. The projects are well explained in step by step photographs. They are colorful, fun, and adaptable. The fish collage I chose to make with the kids was by far my favorite in the collage book. I am drawn to circles and here the circles mimic fish scales.

Quin & her collage

Collage Fish by Tiffany Teske

My four year old daughter and I each made our own fish so I could bring a demo to the class. I was impressed by our results. I keep all of my paper scraps and I was able to use all recycled materials for this craft. It is a nice project for using up scrapbooking paper, old greeting cards, magazine pages, and more. I brought the punched circles to the class, but had the kids glue their paper onto matboard (you can just use poster board), draw and cut the head, tails, and fins, arrange all their circles, and rip paper for the water.

Isn't amazing how you can give a group of kids the same materials and they can all create very different works of art? Check your local library for these books and create some art with a child close to you.

Article in the Rocky Mountain Outlook About the Altered Book Show

Earlier this month I blogged about the Altered Book Show currently at the Banff Public Library. Myself and artists, Jane Newman, Cindy Gibson, Mojo Anderson, Pat Allin and Zoe Nelson, have 12 books on display for the month of April. Michelle Macullo wrote an article about the exhibit in last week's Rocky Mountain Outlook. Thanks, Michelle! We will be having a closing party for the event on Sunday, April 25th, from 7-9 PM. It is open to the public, bring a friend, come eat, drink, be merry, and enjoy some amazing art!

Book Recommendation - Bazaar Bizarre: Not Your Granny's Craft Book by Greg Der Ananian

I ALWAYS have my eye out for craft and art how-to books, both new and vintage. I was surprised to find I had overlooked this book from 2005, in our local library. Bazaar Bizarre: Not Your Granny's Craft Book by Greg Der Ananian is worth a read. In fact I was more impressed by the writing in the book than in the actual crafts. This book is unique in its format. I like that it was written by a guy, that there are fun photos of the contributing crafters, that he gave the same interview to each of them, that he takes a historical look at crafting between each how-to craft, and that he suggests good music and movies to watch while making each craft and that there are even some recipes. What I don't like are that the steps of the projects are drawings and that the middle section that features color photos of some of the finished crafts only features SOME of them. I am a photographer by trade and I prefer photographs of the step by step and finished crafts. But at $16.95 US, the price is right.

As for the crafts, they are pretty mediocre, but maybe that is because this book is 5 years old so a lot of these crafts are old news (sock monkeys, vinyl cuffs, dirty cross stitch, and marble magnets). Or too involved for me (why would I take the time to MAKE my own set of playing cards that look JUST LIKE an old deck I got at the thrift store?!). I adored Der Ananian from the moment I read the dedication page, which had a big "I Love You Mom" graphic faded behind a hand written like font that reads, "This book is for my mother, Priscilla Der Ananian, who once told me I was the closest thing to a daughter she'd ever have. I love you, Mom." His two pages of acknowledgments are sweet, sincere, and funny. He reveals that he found out he had a golf-ball sized tumor in his brain during the late stages of this book. I am grateful he is ok now, because aside from boring (sorry) crafts, this book is one that I would add to my collection. It is extremely funny, at times laugh out loud funny, both thanks to Der Ananian's humor and that of his contributing crafters.

Altered Book Show at the Banff Public Library

Books by Cindy Gibson

I am excited to be part of a month long altered book show at the Banff Public Library. During April, 12 altered books will be on display art and book lovers to peruse. The books are the result of a class, taught by Jane Newman, at the library last fall. Newman, has four books on display, and the other eight are from the students. I have one book in the show. It is a tribute to my grandfather who passed away last September, entitled "Goodbye My Loving Grandfather (fly away home). It contains a Polaroid passport photo from the 1970s, amongst other personal belonging. In my next post I will show you my book in more detail...

Here are a few images of the exhibit. The Banff Public Library is at 101 Bear Street. There will be a closing party for the show on Thursday, April 29th, from 7 -9 PM. The artists participating in the show are Mojo Anderson, Cindy Gibson, Zoe Nelson, Pat Allin, and Tiffany Teske, and Jane Newman.


Book by Cindy Gibson


Book by Tiffany Teske


Book by Tiffany Teske

Nice Article About the Women's Art Show

Max Elliot and eight-year-old Darmody O'Donnell show off their piece, Lady Luck, at the Women's Art Show opening reception at the Banff Public Library. The art show, put on by the library in conjunction with the YWCA, is on display until the end of March.

Women celebrated in art
Shawn Slaght/Banff Crag & Canyon

To celebrate International Women's Day, the Banff Public Library in conjunction with the Banff YWCA held an opening reception Saturday night for their fifth annual Women's Art Show.

The show brought 13 local female artists together to display everything from mixed media artwork, to paintings, to poetry.

This year's theme was equality and this show was loosely based on that theme.

Artist Jane Newman is a regular at the Women's Art Show but had never put in a piece that followed the theme until this year.

"Usually I don't overly consider the theme when I am creating work," Newman said. "I just create work, but this year I had something very specific that I thought fit in that theme of equality."

Newman's piece, Rumi, is a poem that reads "Out beyond ideas of right and wrong doing there is a meadow, I'll meet you there."

She felt that idea of a meadow was a great place for equality, where there is no right and wrongdoing. This is Newman's fourth time showing work at this event out of the five years.

"I love the Banff Public Library," she said. "It is such a generous space for emerging artists and artists that have been well established in the community."

Tiffany Teske said she didn't necessarily work towards the theme of equality, but it still came across in her collage when it comes to human rights.

Teske went to Haiti twice as a photographer for a sponsorship program. She changed them into black and white and sewed them together in a quilt by hand.

"There are some words on how people are the same and are human," she said.

After the earthquake that rocked Haiti in January leaving hundreds of thousands dead, the quilt took on a special meaning to Teske.

"Last year I had three black and white photographs of women from Haiti," Teske said. "So this year I decided to do Haiti again. It was after those events but I had thought about it prior to that. It was just serendipity that it ended up getting more relevant."

Teske said overall that the show is a lot of fun. As an artist it is something that she looks forward to every year and enjoys being a part of a group show.

One of the more powerful pieces at the art show was entitled Freedom Denied, No Voice. It was a collage of photographs by Pam Knott.

Knott had visited Afghanistan in 1977 and all of the photographs were of Afghan women.

"It is something that I had been thinking about for a long, long time," Knott said. "I think these women's lives are supposed to be getting better and they aren't."

The concept of her piece was to give the Afghan women a voice to how they are suffering. She remembered taking a bus and thinking she was the only woman on the bus. She didn't realize there were two women because they were shrouded and never got off the bus.

She said with the current war in Afghanistan Knott figures a lot of the landmarks in the photographs are destroyed and she can only imagine the fate of the women in the photographs.

The Women's Art Show will be on display at the Banff Public Library until March 31.

Shawn@thecrag.ca

An Art Filled Weekend...

...gotta love those! Back to back art openings, yippee!

BANFF TOWN HALL


Friday night was the annual Homegrown Show at the Banff Town Hall. This show is always well attended with lots of great food and fun conversation. This year there was also live music. I can't believe that this Quin's third time at both of the show this weekend!





"See" 12.2 x 12.25"
$200
Mixed Media by Tiffany Teske (Record album jacket, embroidery thread, original Polaroid transfer, vintage photograph copy, map, game piece, acrylic paint, stones, not shown in this photograph)
Collage from the series "Wanderlust"

BANFF PUBLIC LIBRARY/YWCA WOMEN'S ART SHOW


The Women's Art Show at the Banff Public Library was the best ever! It has always been well attended by the participating artists but this year the public turned out in droves. It may have had something to do with this article, although the pre-press is always good. I was thrilled that my friend, Kim, who usually hosted the show for the library, participated this year with a beautiful poem about her daughter (our pieces are behind us). Last year we both had big bellies but now look at our lovely babes!


Here is a candid group shot of all the talented artists. Thanks to the YWCA & The Banff Public Library for hosting this important event centered around International Women's Day.


I Need Your Kindness 17x19"
$250
Mixed Media by Tiffany Teske (black & white photographs, embroidery thread, vintage dictionary text, fabric, handmade paper, rick rack trim, vintage ribbon)
Proceeds to go to help build a home for orphaned and abandoned children in Haiti

February 26th - Finished Piece, Using Portraits from Haiti, for the Women's Art Show

Well, I have always been able to work best with a deadline. I tend to wander off to other projects if I have all the time in the world. So, just in the nick of time, I finished my piece for the Women's Art Show at the Banff Public Library. I worked on it for about a week. I am really happy with how it turned out. I start with a basic plan but am not really one to lay out a project before beginning. I tend to have the best results when I just jump in. I know that seems strange but the minute I get hung up on something being perfectly straight or perfectly anything, it goes awry. This all went so well I am thrilled. You can see yesterday's post for the progression of this piece. Here are the photos of the finally step and the finished piece. It will be on display at the Banff Public Library for the month of March. All proceeds in the sale of this piece will go to His Hands for Haiti to build a home for orphaned and abandoned children.

February 7th - FINALLY Starting My Online Writing Course...‏

I wish that amongst the hundreds of Polaroid transfers that I have created there was one of an old fashioned typewriter. I just wrote to a good friend of mine who runs a thrift store, hoping she will alert me if she gets one in so I can add that to the collection. Anyway, I started an online writing course. My course is taught by a woman, Monica Meneghetti, whom I took a memoir writing course from last year. This is an online course for mom's with young kiddos. It is a free course sponsored by the Banff Public Library. I am already online enough, I might as well channel my writing energies...

All Over The Map - Solo Exhibition at the Banff Public Library

Wow! The month of October was spent getting ready for my show. And the past week has been spent shooting and posting for Polaroid week. And my in laws were here, and now my dad is here. Add play dates and preschool, crafting with friends, hunting treasures, baking and cooking, etc etc etc, man oh man I am tired.

Tomorrow night, Saturday, November 7th, I am having an opening for my latest show at the Banff Public Library from 7-9 PM. If you are local, please come! I am thrilled to have already sold two pieces in the show. And friend and writer Michelle Macullo wrote an awesome article about the show in this week's Rocky Mountain Outlook. She writes about all of the art shows for the library. It was so fun to chat with her and then to see what she would write. She is so sweet, I can't believe she said I give people the same feeling hot chocolate does! Below you will find the article and my artist statement for the show.


Image by Craig Douce of the Rocky Mountain Outlook

Artist all over the map with new exhibition
Published: November 04, 2009 10:00 PM
Updated: November 04, 2009 11:05 PM

MICHELLE MACULLO, BANFF

There’s something remarkable about Banff photographer Tiffany Teske.

Within minutes of sitting down with her, she puts you at ease. She’s that friend who loves you unconditionally, flaws and all – the kind of person who makes you feel the way hot chocolate does.

And while her Twitter page claims she’s “trying to get a handle on all the projects running around in her head,” it’s clear she’s got a gift for getting things done. With more than one blog, various projects on the go and two young daughters, she still manages to pursue her love of photography.

During the month of November, Teske presents All Over the Map – a solo exhibition of previously displayed and new photo-based works at the Banff Library Public Art Gallery. An opening reception with the artist and family in attendance takes place at the library, Saturday (Nov. 7) from 7-9 p.m.

Whether Polaroid transfers, collages or photos embellished with hand-sewn details, the end result is curiously pleasing, inspiring and peaceful. Noteworthy pieces include Wedding Cake from Kiki’s Wedding Series (Polaroid emulsion lift), Tremendous Journey from the Series Wanderlust (mixed media collage on a recycled album jacket) and Amazing Grace (Polaroid Transfer).

Since becoming a mother, Teske’s managed to weave visual arts into her regular routine. With 22 group shows and three solo efforts, there’s little doubt she’s adjusted. While the amount of time she spends on her craft has changed, her love of art hasn’t.

“I have no illusion that I’ve got it all together,” she laughs. “I’m not happy if I’m not creating. I have to feed the need to be creative. So even though I’m not getting into the studio as much as I’d like, I cook more and I bake more.”

And while she’s good at many things, she has no interest in being the best.

“It’s hard to be a perfectionist in art because you stand in your own way,” Teske says.

The transition from straight photography to mixed media has been a natural progression for Teske. Her inspiration is found in family, spirit, recycled objects and creative genius – something old, something new, something borrowed and hand-made glue.

All pieces in the show are for sale either framed or unframed. For additional details, or to contact the artist directly, please e-mail tiffany@oldesage.com.

All Over the Map runs until Nov. 30 at the Banff Public Library Art Gallery.


Metamorphosis
Mixed Media Collage
By Tiffany Teske
SOLD

All Over the Map ~ Mixed Media Works by Tiffany Teske

I have to admit that this exhibition has turned out differently than I originally planned. It makes total sense, in fact, it is truly perfect. Not the work perhaps, but the way it all came together. It is a bit like the way my husband and I travel. We have a map, we have a guidebook, but in the end we hop on some mode of transport and just let the experience take over and dictate where we will go. In the end, we have the most amazing adventures because we are open to not only all good experiences, but also to the occasional mishaps and misadventures. The ups come with some downs and in the end it is absolutely sublime. Like life. Like making art while at the same time mothering my two children.

Maybe someday I will present the body of work I had originally intended to create, a cohesive group of art like I was trained to create while in University. The kind of work I used to be able to create, before I became a mother. However, I am a much different person now and since I just keep changing, as does my life, whatever I plan to make in the future can not be what I had envisioned in would have been in the past. So, I am realising as I write this that what I have created in this retrospective body of work, that is sprinkled with some new pieces, is exactly what I meant to create. All Over the Map is real, it is true, it is me, and how I am creating art right now.

I used to be really good at my life. I looked as if I had it “all together” and truthfully I did. I could juggle dozens of balls in the air without dropping one. I could work on several projects at once and finish what I started in good time. I was not ruthlessly structured, I had a map and would use it, but I would also meander in appropriate ways. I had 24 hours 7 days a week to be me; a wife, a daughter, a friend, an artist, an activist, a traveler, an adventurer. Now, I am also a mother.

Lately, I have taken to calling myself the Artist Currently and Forever Known as Mama. I had no idea what I was in for. I thought for some reason babies would just be extra balls to juggle in the beautiful circus of my life. But, I am pleased to say, that in fact, they are the main attractions upon which my spotlight is permanently fixed. Their beauty transfixes me in a way that I can scarcely take my eyes off of them in order to catch the balls that now fall from time to time, some occasionally rolling away. Now, instead of seamless working on several things at once, I can barely start what I finish artistically because I am too busy relearning the wonder of being a child. It is sublime in a way that I could not have imagined. Yet, I must admit that there is a darker side, that my muse does become cranky, frustrated, and sometimes down right angry when I don’t create but she is appeased by snippets of time that I can spin into art; the art that you see here. In the three and a half years I have been a mother, I have been able to create and to participate in 22 group and three solo shows. All while watching my children grow and while joining them in play. All by learning that perfection is not my goal. I freed myself by truly not caring if others think I have it all together. I can honestly and happily say I don’t. All Over the Map is showcases my current adventure. Thanks for coming along.

Happy Earth Day! A Kid's Craft Project and a Couple Children's Book Recommendations....

Today, it was FREEZING here... especially since yesterday was extremely springlike. Our Earth Day saw flurries. Oh well, I keep saying it is not really spring here until June...


I taught an Earth Day craft to an enthusiastic group of kids, ages 6-12, at the Banff Public Library this afternoon. The book that originally inspired our craft today is called "Seeds, Seeds, Seeds" by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace. This wonderful books tells the story of a young bear, whose grandfather sends him 5 seed projects in the mail. Each project is dedicated to several pages of the book. I would love to teach a whole afternoon that is just centered around this book. The projects include making seed identification cards, watching how a seed germinates over time using illustrations on cards, planting a seed, making a bird feeder, and making a frame covered with beans and seeds. The book is recommended for ages 4-8 but could be adapted to all ages.


Our project involved decorating mat board with seeds. I photographed each child at the beginning of the hour, and Tonya, one of the librarians who was also my lovely assistant (thanks, Tonya!) for the class, ran them to Banff Camera where they were printed while she waited.

Project Materials
- Mat board with window
- Decorative paper
- White glue
- Raffia
- Poppy Seeds, Sunflower Seeds in the shell, and Pumpkin Seeds
- Photo corners
- Photo

1) Select a piece of decorative paper and a mat. Using the mat as a template, draw around it, then cut out a piece of paper the same size as the mat board.

2) Put glue on three sides of the back of the mat board, flip over the paper so that the colored side is glued to the back of the mat (so that you could see the color through the window).

3) Take a couple of strands of raffia, twist the ends, cover them in glue, and stick them between the paper and mat board, on the side that is not glued together. Now glue the edge together.


4) Now, it is time to work on the design. Using glue in a squeeze bottle it is very easy to create your design. The large seeds can be glued right on. The poppy seeds are sprinkled onto the glue, then the excess is tapped of the back. I work over a shoe box lid when sprinkling the seeds and then tapping. I use a small dish to hold the seeds and to sprinkle from. It is easy to repeatedly pick up the box top and return the seeds to the dish during the process.



5) Put the photo corners on the edges of the photo, and lick, or if self adhesive, remove the backing.

6) Center photo and stick down. Voila!


The kids did a great job. I am always struck by the variety of designs that come from kids in the same group using the same materials. It is amazing!


The book that we read while our glue was drying is called "June 29th, 1999" by David Weisner. It is about a girl who sends her seeds up to outer space to see what will happen. She reports to her class what she is hoping and soon GIANT vegetables start landing in the area. It is only once vegetables she had not planted start to arrive that she realizes these must not be her experiments... I will leave the surprise ending for you to discover. The illustrations are lovely and the language is wonderful!

Happy Earth Day!!