Me, Never too serious.………………………. The beautiful island I call home.
Maple Bay
I am a collage, mixed media artist from Vancouver Island in Canada. I have been playing with this medium for about 15 years. Originally from Chemainus, I live, and work out of my home studio, in Maple Bay. Open by appointment and during tours, a visit to my seaside studio is like stepping into a cabinet of curiosities.
I create, one of a kind collage and assemblage artwork using paper ephemera from the 19th and 20th centuries and vintage and antique found objects from my personal collection and other sources in the public domain. I often add wax, paint and ink to add tone and depth to my work. I strive to combine them in unexpected ways to create a narrative that gives them new life and relevance. I like to think that the artisans who created them, long ago, would be pleased.
I have studied Art history at University and dabbled in many art forms such as drawing, textiles, watercolour and acrylics before discovering my love of collage. I have taken a few workshops but am mostly self-taught and continue to learn through experimentation. I taught art and curated children’s art shows for many years. I continue to teach adults beginner’s collage workshops several times a year from my studio.
I show and sell my work at various venues on Vancouver Island and out of my home studio in the Cowichan Valley. I am part of the Cowichan Valley Artisans group. We show our work together and host studio tours each April and November. Some of my pieces have won awards locally. I am not currently selling online.
I am fluent in both French and English and I am adequate in Spanish. Although my posts are predominately English I do sometimes post in French.
I love your blog so much that I’ve nominated you for a Beautiful Blogger Award. Whether you go in for awards or not, I just wanted to let you know how much I’m inspired by your beautiful art.
The other nominees and the guidelines for accepting are here: http://annacull.com/2012/11/03/beautiful-blogger-award.
Anna,
Thank you very much. I am happy that you enjoy my art. It started as a way to cope with my son’s illness and has become a great pleasure in my life. Happily my son made a full recovery and the art work has remained as a positive reminder that we can work through things.
Your art is lovely. I too started my painting and craft to cope with an illness, but it was my cancer, luckily not my child’s. I’m so pleased to hear about the pleasure your art still gives you and that your son, like me, is well now. .
Thank you I appreciate that.
What a lovely blog, your art is inspiring!
Big love
AJ 🙂
Thank you AJ I really enjoy your work too. 🙂
It is indeed great work and inspiring. Can’t stop reading and looking at your work. Its nice to see what happens when you add new energy to old things… Love it! Greetings from the Netherlands.
Thank you for your kind words…from Canada. I have fun creating with treasures from the past. I am glad you enjoy my work.
Your Collages are wonderful! I love the first image of the angel in the trio of them. Is that image one that I may use in my own artwork? My grandson was just baptized and I would love to make him something using it! Thanks!
Hi Jan thanks for dropping by my blog. Yes you can use the image. 🙂 Congratulations for your grandson.
A fellow Canuck! Hello. I’ve dabbled in mixed media and enjoyed the process. We’ve never done much antique shopping while on the island but would love to next time we’re there. I’ll have to snoop around for some of your favourite haunts.
When two Canadians meet up in a sea of other nationalities I always feel like we are somehow in a beer commercial. Next time you come to the island message me and I’ll point you in the right direction. The best finds are at Vintage outdoor fairs that happen in the summer rather than antique shops. There was a big one a couple of weekends ago in an arena because we had torrential rains…that is very West Coast and arenas are soooo Canadian!
LOL, A beer commercial, geez you’re right on! I always thought it’d be fun to dance in one of those but I’m a lot to old for the demographic. So nice of you to offer to get us (the hubby comes reluctantly…hehe) to all the right treasure haunts, shall do, Thanks tons.
Bonjour Frenchapple
It is really refreshing to find a truly original artist especially in a medium l know little about. Your work is delightful and if you had a “like everything” button l would press it – twice!
Bravo
Regards
Dan
Thank you Dan. I really think that you also are doing very original work . Vraiment magnifique, surtout avec les touches de rouge..j’adore! It is so agreable to meet artists from all over the world through wordpress and see what others are doing. I appreciate also the feedback on my work from other creative people like yourself.
Gorgeous!!
thank you and thanks for the link on your blog I am just checking out your other links. this is kind of you. 🙂
There are so many more than I expected. Your collages and poetry and narratives and ? are especially enjoyable. Thank you.
Really interesting place here 🙂
thank you, interesting is good. 🙂
A visual treat and adventure. So much artistic talent expressed in the most wonderful way. Thanks.
You are most welcome. Thank you for the positive feedback. 🙂
Love your art. It´s so unique. This is a place where one can relax and be inspired.
Thank you. I have been spring cleaning the site over the last few days so I am glad you can relax as you wander through it and I like to hear “inspired” that is always a good sign. 🙂 Thanks for the visit.
Thank you for stopping by. I’ve doing social commentary myself these days,yours are great. Thank you again hope to see you soon
I love your stuff. Your creative eye that you have, deciding what goes with what is great. I will be back soon
Thank you…that is the part that takes the longest…assembling once the decisions have been made is much quicker. I usually pull three times the amount of junk from my stash that I think might go with what I want to convey and most of it gets rejected in the end. The Handle with Care one turned out to be very tricky until I found the oven timer at a church rummage sale and voila! Hahahaha.
Hello , I’m not sure what led me to your site but I am grateful for synchronicity …your art is very intriguing and I will be sure to follow on Sunday’s …xx
Thank you…i like intriguing!
Looks like you are creating fascinating work. I look forward to seeing what you do. All best from here!
Oh I’m so, so pleased to have met you – we have loads in common.
Will follow on other social media if you are on it. I’m on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest 🙂
I am pleased too. I am on Instagram and pinterest I look forward to seeing more of your work and it is great to meet other like minded artists…or even those who are not like minded for that matter!
I can’t find you on instagram or pinterest??
I will look for you 🙂
Thank you
I found you on Pinterest and followed you. Wilma A. Millette for me…instagram wilma_millette I have to go to my “real” job …it is morning here. 😦
Will look for you. Have a good day 🙂
I do like your quirky, playful approach to your mixed media art work.
why thankyou! 😉
How absolutely wonderful to follow your outstanding work and then discover you are just across the water from me. I live just in the country just outside the sweet little village of Ladner. Catching the ferry to visit friends on the Island is always a delight. I wish you continuing success in your spectacular altered art work and your delightful writings. Virginia
Well we are practically neighbours…especially as the blogging world goes. I have just returned home from a weekend in Vancouver and nabbed some great vintage finds on Maine St. I LOVE the shops on Maine…so funky.
hi! it’s great to find you here. i know you from deviant art, i think you’ll probably remember me.
🙂
Of course I do remember you Crazyruthie. I enjoy seeing your work on Deviant Art. I follow you there. This is my main portfolio site, the one on my business cards and has my complete portfolio. I really do enjoy Deviant Art as there are many like-minded collage and assemblage artists over there and everyone is so supportive of each others work. It is very inspirational. Thanks for the likes and the follow. 🙂
My pleasure! I can see why you’d use this as your main site, there are a lot of impressive artists and all sorts of nice people. I like to be able to share a bit of each thing i do in one place.
I haven’t done much writing in ages, so that’s really cool. Stimulating some different brain cells!
I’ll be back to check out more of your work! 🙂
🙂 🙂
Love it!!
Hello French Apple! I’ve decided to read and follow 10 interesting and new blogs a day every day of May 2015, and yours is today’s #5! Feel free to come visit me when you can at http://www.thatssojacob.wordpress.com, and follow if you like what you read. Happy blogging!
Hello thank you for choosing to follow my blog 🙂
Hello and thank you for visiting my blog. I love vintage ephemera too, especially children’s books. Now I am off to check out your blog posts and art.
Came across your website over at First Night History, and enjoyed both. Off to check out more of your posts.
Welcome. Enjoy. Thanks for dropping by. 😃
What an inspiration you are. Thank you!
Thank you for your kind words.
Hi! I love your work! I do some collage as well, and I find yours very inspiring. Pleased to meet you, Marina
Hello. Thank you for all the likes and kind comment. I am glad that you enjoy my work. 😀😀😀
Hello – I don’t often have the time to look through WP “Discover” but your site was a nice find. When I was in high school, wandering around the art museum in Rochester, NY, a mixed media piece by Joseph Cornell caught my eye, and he’s been a particular favorite since then. And I am enjoying your work, too. I’m always intrigued by what people incorporate into their “mystery-in-a-shadow-box”
Thank you, I am happy that you popped by for a visit and took the time to comment. I only learned about Joseph Cornell after I had made several of my assemblage boxes, he is absolutely wonderful. I am honoured to be mentioned in the same paragraph!
Cheers! W.
I just discovered your blog after searching for examples using Golden crackle paste. I absolutely love what you’ve done with it. Your work is beautiful and evocative. I wanted to ask about your technique if I may. With the photo transfers you did in combination with the crackle paste, can you describe how you layered these to achieve the affect you did? Thank you.
Hi Cody thanks for the compliments. I simply did a reversed transfer using the gel method, over top of the crackle paste. The Gel transfer method is when you apply a good layer of Golden Gel semigloss medium to the right side of your printed image and apply it face down to the surface and burnish it carefully so as not to move the image, thus smudging it. You let it try completely (several hours or overnight) and then dampen the back paper of your image and gently rub the paper off. Your image is transferred to the glue, which is transparent and shows the crackling below. Reversed transfer is imperfect but that is part of the charm. Best of luck.
W.
Your work is beautifully and cleverly done – delighted i have found your website! 🙂 Many greets,
Luiza
Thank you, it is kind of you to take the time to comment. Greetings back to you.
Wilma
Hello: I have a question re a work that you have, the one with the 2 quail. I am interested in using just the quail with a different background, can you advise on licensing the image? Did you create the quail, or are they public domain, or available elsewhere for licensing? I can send you a copy of our idea, it is for a CD cover for a music project, if they are your image.
Hello. This image is in the public domain. You can find it in The Commons on Flickr. Best of luck.
Thank you so much, we figured it out. Love your work, btw. Cheers!
Great. Thank you. 🙂
love your art work. Is so inspiring, thank you for sharing
Thank you very much. That is kind of you to take the time to say so. 🙂