Girard Portfolio: Faded Poets, Forests and the Frontenac

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Faded Poets, Forests and the Frontenac

Recently in my winter reading, a friend passed along to me a biography of Gwendolyn MacEwen: The Shadow Maker and I became struck by the intensity of this young Canadian poet whose contemporaries were Margaret Atwood and Sylvia Tyson to name a few. John Reeves also a contemporary Toronto photographer had photographed her as a young woman of thirty-two with her haunting Egyptian like kohl eyes and tiny pursed lips in a frankly intelligent gaze.

This encaustic piece is a mixed media photo transfer taken from the John Reeves photograph of Gwendolyn in Toronto. She is surrounded by symbols connected to events in her life, her lovers and her poetry. She died tragically at 48 years old from chronic alcoholism.

Sure to follow will be another portrait this time inspired by The Life of Margaret Laurence. I found it very intrigueing to explore the artist through portraiture.

Just last week I sent off to the Frontenac Arch Biosphere: Call to Artists, a four part encaustic work inspired by Frontenac Park in the heart of this unique region. This is the 10th anniversary of the Frontenac Arch Biosphere and a juried show will take place June 8-21 at the Marianne Van Silfhout Gallery of St. Lawrence College, Brockville. The Opening reception on June 8 will launch numerous 2012 anniversary festivities. Hope you can attend.

The third work you see here is a personal narrative about an exciting canoe trip my husband Bob and I took down the Rideau Canal to Kingston in 2005. We brought our camping gear and enjoyed staying overnight at campsites at the locks. It was a humble but challenging way to see the Canal on the 200th anniversay of its construction by Colonel By. I make reference through photo transfer of Kayaking for Cancer; celebrating my birthday at Opinegon; and of course, the trusty cargo canoe.

Tribute to Gwendolyn MacEwen 12" x 16" encaustic, mixed media $400. & HST

Historical Journey through the Frontenac 24" x 36" encaustic, mixed media $800. &HST

Frontenac I, II, IV, IV 24" x 48" encaustic $1800. &HST

No comments:

Post a Comment

Biography

My childhood has been delineated by my marauding father who joined the Forces to have us uprooted from place to place: stationed in Picton, Prince Edward County, Petawawa, the Rhone Valley, Germany, and Edmonton. Finally I concluded my high school days in Timmins, Ontario, my birthplace.

I graduated from Queen’s in Kingston in 1974 with a minor in art history and history followed by a teaching degree in secondary visual arts education the following year, 1975. At Queen's, I was instructed by Jennifer Dickson, Trevor Hodgson and Allen Dickinson. In 1975, I began exploring painting with wax using the traditional Javanese tjanting needles on textile and exhibited in a student show.

In the early years in my education career, I travelled to northern Ontario to the James Bay region and worked as an arts & crafts co-ordinator. I learned more from them at that point than they me.

In the late seventies, I saw the work of Joyce Devlin in North Gower and was observant of her exquisite portraits and layers of acrylic paint.

I left teaching and travelled to work as an artist in Montreal. There I handmade folk clothing and accessories using the wax resist techniques on natural fibres I had learned years earlier.

In Ste. Rose north of Montreal island I began my family and in 1980 Emilie was born. Soon in 1982 Camille followed and I returned with my husband to Ottawa and gave birth to Andrea in 1983. In the 1980’s I returned to the teaching profession and was employed with the Ottawa Carleton Catholic School Board for 13 years working solely at St. Mark’s in Manotick.

In the early 1990’s I moved to Kemptville and began working with watercolour being attracted to its fluid line and challenging techniques. I was introduced to an academic method of watercolour by the artist, Jaw Shaw then in Oxford Mills. Her knowledge and careful manipulations still impress me and have influenced my work. I exhibited with her and a group of artists in Oxford Mills at the stackwall building next to the dam. I also exhibited with the North Grenville Art Guild at this time, showing a series of watercolours of historic buildings in the area. I worked behind the scenes in set design with the Kemptville Players and later became part of the leadership team of the Dandelion Festival, North Grenville. In the late 1990’s I taught Visual Arts Education in the Education Faculty of the University of Ottawa as a part-time professor to 2003. I transferred in 2000 to teach at St. Michael’s Catholic High School and retired from formal education in June 2010.

Presently I am exploring the medium of encaustic painting soon becoming a new series. I hope you enjoy these blogs as a new series comes to completion.

Pages

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Faded Poets, Forests and the Frontenac

No comments:

Post a Comment