lorraine roy

LORRAINE ROY ANSWERS OUR QUESTIONS:

what medium(s) do you work in?
I am a Textile Artist. I work strictly in textiles, in a technique of my own that is much like painting with fabric.

what question do you wish would be asked in an interview and how would you answer it?
I'll answer this the wrong way and tell you what I DON'T wish to be asked: HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?
There seems to be a false perception that working time is a factor in the value of artwork. My answer is that the TIME spent physically creating an art piece is only the tip of the iceberg. Sure, my pieces take a lot of time to make, but if I hadn't been making art for 23 years, my work would have none of the artistic and monetary value it has now. My years in artmaking, my life experiences, and my expertise in technique are all equally if not more important for success. Plus, I have been collecting fabrics for at least 40 years. If anyone else were to try and make one of my pieces without this solid foundation, the end result would take a great deal of time indeed - one might even consider eternity. I understand that people are curious about the time factor but this is a question that I find completely irrelevant. I should get a T-shirt that says: Don't ask that question !! :)

why art?
My art harnesses and encompasses all my passions: nature, science, spirituality, textiles, and love of beauty and design. I don't really need any other excuse.
Why art in Hamilton? It's important for an artist to make herself known in her own community, and that's my main reason for exhibiting here. Hamilton is a great place to show art but steps need to be taken to make sure the community supports the artists, so they can make a living. If I didn't show in many other places, I wouldn't be able to support myself here on art alone.

who or what inspires you?
I have a BSc in Horticulture. Much of my inspiration comes from plant life and nature. Since graduating, I have continued to research plant and tree symbolism, mythology, literature, native and medicinal uses, cultural and historic uses, and anything else I can get my hands on. The more I learn, the more fascinating and inspiring it becomes. On the visual side, I am strongly influenced by abstract painters from all time periods - I am always looking at art of all kinds.

any wisdom you'd like to share about living as an artist?
'Living as an artist' is easy, but 'making a living as an artist' is another story. There is plenty of stuff I just don't like to do, but I do it because it's the only way to get my work in the hands of the right clients. I spend nearly half of my art time on business, which includes plenty of networking. A successful artist must keep an ear to the ground for good opportunities, and be open to trying new things. Having a broad base of income helps to smooth out the ups and downs - like creating prints or notecards, freelance teaching, public speaking, direct sales and/or gallery representation - the right mix is different for each artist. This means being alert, pro-active and professional at all times, while trying not to waste a minute. Working hard is worthless unless you are also working smart.

Is there anything in your art that you are afraid people might discover?
People 'see' things in my work all the time - boats, cats, fruits, angels, faces, the list goes on. I make each piece to the best of my ability. Once a piece is finished, what people see is no longer my responsibility, but I'll admit some remarks do give me pause. ;)

For just over 20 years, I have worked with textiles in a non-traditional way. Using a unique mixture of techniques like sewing, collage, embroidery and quilting, I integrate thousands of bits of fabric and threads with fine transparent tulle and machine stitching. The results combine my passion for science and spirituality with the surprising versatility of fabrics and threads.
Born and raised in rural Southwestern Ontario, I developed an early appreciation for the land and its natural beauty. My formal education in Horticulture and subsequent research are ongoing inspirations. From the start I enjoyed combining high representation mixed with symbols from dreams, memories, and mythology. Lately I have been incorporating abstraction, in a style that I am finding more and more fascinating.
I now live and work in the beautiful Niagara Escarpment area near Dundas, Ontario. I enjoy commissions, and studio appointments are welcome!

lorraine roy
published with permission from artist.

amber delaney

AMBER DELANEY ANSWERS OUR QUESTIONS:

what medium(s) do you work in?
I have experimented with many different mediums but have recently taken to using pencil crayon as my medium of choice. I do also love to use oil and acrylics for my portraits.


what question do you wish would be asked in an interview and how would you answer it?
I think a good question to be asked is whether or not I need to suffer in order to create a great piece of art. My answer would be that in my case yes, most of the time. When I am hurt or angry it usually makes me a lot more focused and seems to fuel my creativity for the most part. More so than if I am feeling happy. I sometimes use my art as a distraction from having to deal with particular feelings, but when I have looked back on some certain pieces I can see that the thing I was trying to avoid still managed to present itself in my work.



why art? and why art in hamilton?
I make art because it's just something I am compelled to do, it's unconscious, everything I look at is in one way or another a piece of art. It's a way of life. Why Hamilton? Well I live here, so that is the main reason. But I've come to realize that there are so many great artists living here and there is a very strong art community.



who or what inspires you?
Many things inspire me...the people I see everyday, my own thoughts...music. There are many artists that I truly love. A few of my favorites are Lucien Freud, Frida Kahlo, Jean Michel Basquiat, Jenny Saville, Caravaggio....the list could go on.



what do you think separates good art from great art?
I think that sincerely loving the art you create is what makes it great. Everyone's opinions are different on what makes art great and it's been an issue that has been argued about since art has been in the public eye.


any wisdom you'd like to share about living as an artist?
The only thing I can say is to keep creating what you love no matter what. You may not always make money from it or get recognition, but if you give up because of those reasons then you've lost the essence of what art really is.


Is there anything in your art that you are afraid people might discover?
I don't think so. My art is the only way for me to express who I really am, so anything that is in my art is because I want people to discover who I am and how I think.

Amber Delaney is a self taught artist born in Rustington, England. She moved to Canada when she was eight years old and has been creating art from a very young age.
Amber works in many different mediums such as oils, acrylic, ink, pencil and pencil crayon. She specializes in realistic portraiture and still life, and also does commissions.
Amber has participated in group shows in Hamilton and Brighton, England. In addition she has also had solo and duo shows in the Hamilton area. She is looking forward to having another solo show in 2011.

art by amber delaney
art by amber delaney on facebook



published with permission of the artist.

tor lukasik-foss

images:
protoscenia 1 (2009) beached plywood, metal
viking soliloquy chair (2008) reclaimed lumber, metal
this next song is very special (2008) reclaimed lumber, metal
the monotheatrum (2008) reclaimed lumber, reclaimed felt
metaphorical explanation of the zon crow repellant blaster (2006) zon crow blaster, MDF, sign enamel.

TOR ANSWERS OUR QUESTIONS:

what is your name and what medium(s) do you work in?
my name is tor lukasik-foss, i work in a fairly wide array of media, including reclaimed wood sculpture, aluminum sign fabrication, performance (under the stage name tiny bill cody), and other things. basically i am interested by the public sphere, how both our behaviour and language changes in open and communal environments. to this end, i've played a lot with public signage, and more recently been drawn to the creation of modified performance stages, spaces and structures which blur the boundaries between private and public.

what question do you wish would be asked in an interview and how would you answer it?
the question that i want asked of me is the one where the interviewer interprets something really intelligent or poetic about my work that i had never considered, and then asks me to elaborate upon it.
i answer these questions by completely taking credit for the interviewer's insight. it's wrong of me, but i can't help it.

why art? and why art in hamilton?
i'm married to an awesome woman who's a feminist activist director of a sexual assault centre, so there are lots of times where the question 'why art' comes up for me, particularly when she's out saving the world and i'm holed up somewhere trying make neat pictures. but thinking it through i've ended up believing that art is this absolutely holy part of culture, a reservoir in which we store and cultivate our humanity. for me, it is very much a faith, one which i struggle to maintain, but one which has also frequently made me feel like there are light beams coming from my head.

as for hamilton, i love this city's collaborative environment, love how it's out of the spotlight enough that it takes the pressure off working. you can make art in a way that doesn't have to be trendy, or precious or ego-manical. it's a delectably lo-fi town. and i love it. plus the bird-watching is great.


any wisdom you'd like to share about living as an artist?
get a flexible job that creates both money and time to allow you to work.
when you get that job, call me and tell me what it is so i can get it too.
also don't be bitter. it'll kill you and your work. unless your work is about bitterness.


Is there anything in your art that you are afraid people might discover?
tetnis.


more info on tor lukasik-foss at www.torlukasikfoss.com

roger wood

What is your name and what medium(s) do you work in?
My name is Roger Wood and I work with mixed (very) media. I make handmade whimsical timepieces from my huge collection of antique bric a brac.

What question do you wish would be asked in an interview and how would you answer it?
1. I want to buy everything you have? Just kidding.
2. Why do you do it? It’s in my blood – the urge to create things. And I don’t like working for others. Also I’m ADHD in the extreme and bouncing around from one project to another suits me. There are many skills in this business, e.g. marketing, record keeping, bookkeeping, photography, Photoshoping, purchasing, crating and shipping, customs documents, doing trade shows, looking after accounts payable and receivable – sometimes I just call myself a small manufacturer.
3. I don’t know but I’m often asked where I get all my stuff. I’m a flea market junkie; I’ve been to flea markets in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine. I buy a lot of stuff on Ebay as well. I love to root around in boxes of junk under tables and in dark dusty corners. I think this satisfies my primeval urge to hunt and gather; there are no woolly mammoths left but there is good junk.

Why clock making? and why in hamilton?
I used to make assemblages but discovered that people are more likely to buy functional art – art that that ‘does’ something. I’m happy to make a living, sort of, from doing what I love to do. I moved to The Hammer because it’s more affordable than Toronto and Hamilton is close to Toronto and to the border, it has interesting architecture, a growing arts community and the people here are really friendly.

Who or what inspires you?
My original inspirations were assemblage artists Louise Nevelson and Joseph Cornell. I also have a love of industrial age machinery and tools, especially if they’re made from wood and/or brass.

Any wisdom you'd like to share about living as an artisan?
Gotta follow your gut, I guess. I grew up as a typical male, thinking mostly with my mind; it took me a long time to learn to listen to and trust my intuition. Every decision I’ve made based on my gut feeling has been good.


and if you want to own one of these as badly as i do check out:
klockwerks by roger wood

claudette losier

immersed in the stillness within - claudette losier

soul mate - claudette losier

popping red poppies - claudette losier

glowing red poppies bending towards perfection - claudette losier

court gesture no. 2 - claudette losier

bounty & grace - claudette losier

my gypsy - claudette losier

PLEASE VIEW the details for this ARTISTS UPCOMING SHOW @ THE PEARL COMPANY: click here

claudette losier answers our questions:

what question do you wish would be asked in an interview and how would you answer it?
Why the Flower? And my response is because it is so beautiful and gives so much delight and because I see the Creator of the Universe in them. Like Georgia O’Keeffe I too want people to stop and look at the flowers so that per Keats they feel a thing of beauty is a joy forever.

why art? and why art in hamilton?

I do art because it’s a primal need inside to create that gives so much joy and again because I feel connected to the Creator of the Universe. I did not choose Hamilton rather a Hamiltonion chose me and we moved back to his childhood home on the “mountain” near upper paradise!


who or what inspires you?
The Creator of the Universe inspires me as he does the works in me. Plus right now I would say my guru Yogananda’s yoga wisdom inspired by divine love said with such soul poetry inspires me deeply since I keep thinking of new art to create from his words! Nature of course inspires me too since I paint flowers and water, and now working on tree paintings. I also get inspired by portraiture which I am just returning to and have completed 3 paintings of family members. When I am out with my digital camera I take pictures of nature close up and blurred, plus reflections in water and glass. I’m interested in yoga and physic science and seeing the world in a new way that we are the energy behind the matter that we think is so real. I want to create works in this direction of breaking down matter which may mean going more abstract and also playing with the picture plane a lot more than I currently do or developing those doodles I am doing where little creatures just appear that were not intended on a conscious level that is. .

any wisdom you'd like to share about living as an artist?
Accept a lot of rejection, follow your path not others even if that goes against the contemporary art scene, and go for lots of exposure.


Is there anything in your art that you are afraid people might discover?
Yes positive cosmic vibrations! I now chant them in my studio to give my paintings some cosmic positive vibrations.


BIO:

I graduated from Brock University with a Honours BFA in Fine Arts in 1989 and left in their collection a chalk pastel drawing entitled “On Your Mark” and an acrylic painting on their walls entitled “Unfinished Runner”. Since graduating my creativity focuses on my paintings in oils using the glazing method of painting, and realism with various themes. I work on several bodies of work such as: flowers and gardens, swimmer as a metaphor for identity and life’s journey, portraiture, and using various transfer art techniques. I have had 16 solo shows since 1989 and numerous groups and juried shows. I have won several awards in Juried Shows in Ontario that includes an award of merit for my swimmer drawing “Drifting”, and two best in show awards for my portraiture work, one in chalk pastel and the other using the transfer technique. In 2009 I received awards for my transfer art: an Honorable Mention for “Phantom Riders” at the Burlington Art Center’s Kaleidoscope April 2009 event, and in October 2009 the Gerald Gunther Humanity Award for “Noodling My Doodling With Thy Neighbour”. I have my art work selling at both the Burlington Art Centre Art Ectera shop and the Art Gallery of Hamilton’s Art Rental and Shop.

In 2010 I have been invited to show at the Elaine Fleck Gallery in Toronto in her “Contemporary Artists You Should Know About” April Show and her spring catalogue on line at www.elainefleckgallery.co. I just received another Honorable Mention award for “Noodling My Doodling With Thy Neighbour” in NeoPopRealism online International art competition at links:
http://neopoprealismjournal.wetpaint.com and http://wonderpedia.wetpaint.com. In February I had another solo show at the Blue Angel called “The Harvest” showing my drawings, paintings, transfer art and photos. This show will be moved to The Pearl Company Small Gallery for the month of June with opening on June 5th. My Swimmers show entitled “Body Voyage – Return to the Sacred” will be on display from May 26th to June 29th at the fireside lounge in the Burlington Art Center.

I teach art at the Burlington Art Center, and the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington plus private lessons. My art is on the following web sites: claudettelosier.artshamilton.ca, www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/l/Losier/, and www.flickr.com/photos/30736118@N03/. Three of my transfer art is included in book-catalog NeoPopRealism Starz: 21st Century Art by Nadia Russ, compendium of new millennium contemporary art in stores September 2009, including in www.barnesandnoble.com and www.amazon.com for details visit: http://neopoprealismstarz.com/id80.html.

claudettelosier.artshamilton.ca
www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/l/Losier/
www.flickr.com/photos/30736118@N03/

mike long

Mike Long started his 366 day straight dance video project on May 5th '07, ended the same day in '08!!!

I first saw Mike Long at McMaster University. I was having a bad day and sitting in the student centre feeling sorry for myself when a scruffy looking guy just started up some music and began dancing, by himself, in the middle of the student centre.....he seemed to be recording it....everyone sitting around him had no idea how to react and it was interesting that the overwhelming response of onlookers was to pretend that they couldn't see him at all.....the entire thing struck me as tremendously funny but seemed to say a lot at the same time....why do people pretend not to see him??? why do they react by not reacting....as a psychology student at the time it was very interesting....but mostly his spontaneous performance made me feel good, i felt inspired by this guy......i wonder why?

MIKE LONG talks about life and his art from his point of view:

I am a quantum particle accelerator/decelerator, which means I change things, but these changes do not always come into play in the 3rd dimension, so a few of my actions may seem strange on the street for example. What I'm doing is not necessarily safe, but I'm playing the hand that I was dealt. Working hard at playing the right cards at the proper time.

I honestly think I'm entertaining myself only and documenting it just in case something magical happens, like when birds fly by at precise points in motions/lyrics that would relate to that type of thing. Symbiomysticism at play, no doubt!

A lady who looks and moves exactly like a friend of mine once handed me two dollars.

Hamilton is a safe place to hide!

I only do what I have to do, so motion keeps me going. I'm not lazy, despite a strange cnnbs addctn that sees me go through 2-3 10 units pieces/day. Kombucha, coffee, and kale keep me going. I spend the rest of the time stretching and doing taijichuan.

mike long vimeo
mike long design
mike long etsy

Paul Richard James

PLEASE VIEW the details for this ARTISTS UPCOMING SHOW @ THE PEARL COMPANY: click here

Paul Richard James answers our top 5:

what medium(s) do you work in?
I am primarily an oil painter, with a great interest in the classical tradition.
However, over the past five years I have begun a series of mixed media pieces, which are photo based and are heavily worked up afterwards with encaustic. At the same time, I am interested in Environmental Art and installation art. Over the years, I have tried to push oil painting outside of the gallery environment and into the streets. I have installed a series of painted billboards inspired by Anarchist propaganda in various locations in Toronto. I have attempted to push painting into the realm of sculpture through my painted cutouts (full size plywood cut-outs of Hazmat figures). I often make art with whatever I can find.


what question do you wish would be asked in an interview and how would you answer it?
What’s wrong with the art world?
Don’t get me started!

why art? and why art in hamilton?
I can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t making art. I grew up watching my father paint, and I always romanticized the life of artists. I can’t imagine living a life without art. It is simply what I was meant to do.
Hamilton! Well on the most basic level, it has affordable houses, and everything else you need, and it has a kind of Brooklyn feel. Artists will always be attracted to cheap rents, large studios, historic architecture, and working class culture. I have lived in the country and in Toronto, and Hamilton suits my lifestyle right now. It is nice to know that you can get out of the city and go to a really nice beach in less than an hour; without sitting in traffic. And my parents and sister live in Grimsby.

who or what inspires you?
Just about everything inspires me. I mean that!
I am an image junkie; media images and unmediated images, It could be way that light might fall against someone’s face, or the colour of something or the brutal image of war as it is presented as a fractured pixilated picture on CNN. I find some beauty in the banal as well. Some great art has been a celebration of the banal. I think what interests me is how bizarre this world is, how fractured this reality is. How beautiful existence can be at one moment, and how horrific it can be at the next. The pain humans have to live with, mixed with some pleasure, but mostly a kind of alienation. I have too many ideas; it is more a matter of being able to focus this inspiration into something that other people would want to look at.
Some things (and artists) which inspire me:
Francis Bacon, Keifer, Henry Darger, Rembrandt, Odd Nerdrum, Valesquez, Andrew Wyeth, John Singer Sargent, Caravaggio, Richard Long, Andy Goldsworthy, Pink and Blue period Picasso, Rodin, any Street artist, fascist imagery, medical images, distortion, storms, entropy, rot, pot, anarchism, revolution, weapons, objectification, the sound of one hand clapping.

any wisdom you'd like to share about living as an artist?
Don’t stop making art. Artists are artists because they make art, good art, bad art, the important thing is to keep making these things we call art. Too many people claim to be artists and simply don’t produce. Art is not a hobby.
Work is the thing you do in order for your body to survive, art is what you do for your soul to survive.

Is there anything in your art that you are afraid people might discover?
Yes, a badly painted hand, or perhaps a badly painted ear, or a badly painted passage between two tones.

Paul Richard James A.O.C.A, B.F.A., B.Ed, is a Welsh born artist who now lives in Hamilton in the Locke Street village.
After moving to Hamilton, Paul opened the Bold Gallery on Bold Street at Locke (across from the Starbucks). Two years later, he transformed the Gallery into an Atelier and now teaches the Classical Painting method to 30 students. www.oldmasters.ca
As an artist, Paul works on several bodies of work at one time. His work is both traditional and radical in approach and content. His “Seduction” series uses imagery from fashion periodicals as a starting point. His “Lilly” series are large-scale abstract paintings based on experiments with digital imagery. His “Torso” series are mixed media encaustic works using the torso as a means of exploration. Paul has also completed a series of painting based on Anarchist Propaganda and is most recently focused on images representing the Mensur, or Academic Fencing Tradition, with its emphasis on the glorious wound.
www.paulrichardjames.com

http://www.paulrichardjames.com
http://artastes.blogspot.com/