Girard Portfolio: Lake Mulvihill 1

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Spirit of the Land

This summer I entered a juried show at Marianne van Silfhout Gallery at St. Lawrence College, Brockville. This gallery is a state-of-the-art gallery with exquisitely designed moveable gallery panels and even clear lighting. The exhibition's Vernissage showed 42 artists on Friday, August 5 and there was a great buzz in the room. The exhibition takes place until Sept. 8 so drop by if you're in Brockville.

The artists' theme was centred around a chosen quote from one of my mentors, Emily Carr. She said "If spirit does not breathe through - it is lifeless, dead, voiceless - the Spirit must be felt so intensely that it has power to call others in passing..."

I selected Barnes Creek, South Branch River for my submission. That evening I received an Honourable Mention for the work from three possible accolades that the committee had chosen.

You'll also see it in a shared exhibition at ArtScene on Sunday, Sept 4. from 1:00-3:30 p.m. where Arlene Hare and I will have a Vernissage. ArtScene is a great art collective at 11 Spencer Street in Spencerville, On. Hope you can make it if you live around North Grenville.
Here is a sneak preview. . The name of the show is called Sacred Places.

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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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Spirit of the Land