Girard Portfolio: Bringing Artists Together in the Pontiac

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Bringing Artists Together in the Pontiac

On August 8,9 I travelled to Valerie Bridgeman's home near Shawville, PQ where eight talented artists gathered to share the medium of encaustic. Val has a lovely studio that offered enough space for all of us to expand our abilities in this ancient medium that has taken on some very contemporary approaches.

As you will see in these illustrations, there was such a wide range of styles these artists brought to the workshop. Val is an experienced printmaker along with her daughter-in-law, Sarah and they explored subtle use of colour with layers of collage and textures. Carol and her daughter, Danuda came along. Carol Noel, a well known photographer and graphic designer explored an integration of her photography with encaustic. Danuda had some fascinating papers to create some Asian influenced collages. Carolyn came to the workshop with her experience in fused glass to create brightly coloured landscapes. Kay enjoyed taking an existed image and transforming it to new textural effects. Cher delved into relief paintings in encaustic using well composed textures layering and building to create amazing works. Sally used natural objects from the landscape to recreate the mood on wood panel.

Here are some of the works completed in the two days we were together making art. I was very pleased to spend the time in Valerie Bridgeman's beautiful studio bringing the medium to a new group of creative artists that I am sure will develop exciting new techniques of their own in the coming fall season.

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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.

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Sunday, August 12, 2012

Bringing Artists Together in the Pontiac

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