it's always a happy escape to step off city streets and into a gallery. The AGO didn't have a large exhibit that consumed me, but I enjoyed the chance to see and learn for a couple hours.
No matter how much I can feel like a fish-out-of-water in a city, an Art Gallery always feels like home.
ORANGE SHIRT DAY will be recognized in schools on Friday. Have a couple hundred sorted and boxed for morning delivery.
Design was meant to be respectful, not trite. I like the feather as a symbol. Mikmaq translation was approved by an elder through the Office of First Nations Education. Hope I haven't messed up the spelling.
Started to paint a while ago really to just start working directly with materials and to step away from the computer and sketchbooks. I just needed to do something different. Thought that while I painted I would be able to do some thinking.
It feels great to paint.
Had the chance to visit the Cofederation Centre Gallery for the first time in a few years. For such a small city, the arts seem alive. Nice to see some large paintings.
Spent the day on PEI attending the Flotilla conference (whose focus was on artist-run Centres). Attended two talks, and visited two installations, and saw one performance piece. Most impressive was the floating pavilion installed for the conference. It was a dynamic structure, changing to suit the winds and the light. It was also used as a venue for discussion and radio broadcasts through the weekend.
Had we been able to attend for more than one day, we may have ended up making more connections and finding more meaning in the presentations. Having missed the first couple days, it was difficult to put it all into context.
What was exciting though, was the rallying for the arts and the way the people in Charlottetown were immersed in Art without even being aware. The events, performances and installations were scattered throughout the downtown in a way that was tough to navigate, but would have led for inadvertent participation by many.
Potential ideas for Every Child Matters, orange shirt day campaign next week.
I keep coming back to the theme of excess- information overload, the burden of incomplete tasks, etc. Easy access to information is draining.
Almost always, printing shirts for a cause are most satisfying. These shirts were a limited run, but had an incredible response. Nice to be a small part of a celebration for a young woman making a remarkable impression on the community.
