Today: I share with you my favourite new tool in the studio plus some thoughts about what to do when your body says no, inspired by Dr. Gabor Maté. Plus a little view into my visit to the Yayoi Kusama exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario!
Mentioned in Today’s Show
I was lucky enough to get 2 ticket to the hottest show in town – Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrors at the Art Gallery of Ontario. It wasn’t easy. I tried to get a second set with no luck at all. Every time they’d release a new block of tickets, I’d be right there at the computer, poised and waiting. The gates would open and I’d immediately be 18,725th in line!
Something in this artist’s work creates that kind of a response. Toronto is clearly embracing Kusama’s world of repetition, dots and infinity rooms.
This exhibit features 8 infinity rooms, most of which are white boxes with a single door, giving you no sign of what lies within. You wait in line, sometimes for 20 minutes, for a 20-second experience in the room. Here’s Justin and I experiencing Phalli’s Field (1965/2016). All of those polka dots can’t help but make you smile. This field of soft sculptures is reminiscent of some friendly muppet-like world, which becomes rather odd when you learn that Kusama called this “a sublime, miraculous field of phalluses.”
I first learned of Yayoi Kusama’s work through the In the In Studio Series from the Museum of Modern Art (which, by the way, I can’t recommend highly enough). In How to Paint like Yayoi Kusama, instructor Corey D’Augustine teaches how to create an infinity net. The process piqued my curiousity and I immediately followed along. It was immersive and engaging. I loved it.
It made it all the more exciting to see several of Kusama’s Infinity Net paintings at the exhibit. This is a closeup of one. It gives you a sense of the effect of the work.
Everything that Yayoi Kusama does seems to be just about to break out of the frame, overgrow the room, defy limitation. It feels like if you close your eyes, even for an instant, everything will have multiplied by the time you open them again!
During the exhibit, this short film was showing but there were also notes that you could access it online through your phone while waiting – smart strategy! This, combined with the freedom to take pictures, even within the rooms, gave a great sense of freedom and expansion, like the show itself was able to reach far beyond the bounds of the gallery.
When they told us we’d only get 20 seconds in each Infinity Room, it was a bit of a shock. How could we wait all that time for just a few seconds of experience? Would it be worth it? As we stepped into the glow of Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity, I knew immediately the answer was yes. Though the beauty of this room made me want to stay forever, the truth is it takes only an instant for the work to give you all it has. With a gasp, you are immersed. The experience is immediate and visceral. This brief moment may well be my favourite art experience of all time. I will carry it with me always.
Oh, the whimsy of a room filled with pink, balls, and polka dots! Once again, you just can’t help but smile.
There was virtually no lineup as we walked into Dots Obsession: Love Transformed into Dots, and that gave a wonderful sense of peace and ease, a welcome breath as we moved forward in the exhibit.
What totally different energy exuded from Love Forever (1966/1994). Justin and I stood on opposite sides of a white box and peered in to discover this amazing view! What fun! (Though I was afraid I was going to drop my phone in!)
Justin and I had rather different views of The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away (2013). He felt it was so similar to Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity that he couldn’t help but compare and preferred the former. For me, it was the difference between sparkle and glow, the energy of a quick intake of breath and standing up straighter versus a deep exhale and letting go.
There was only one Infinity Room in which photos were not allowed: All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins (2016). Doesn’t the title itself take you someplace? I asked why no photography and was told it was at the request of the artist. You can sneak a peek into the room at the AGO’s website.
The sculpture Life (Repetitive Vision) (1998) can at least give you a taste of the golden pumpkin colour that Yayoi Kusama clearly delights in.
In addition to the Infinity Rooms, there were paintings, collage pieces and sculptures by the artist as well as some wonderful photographs of her and her work throughout her career. I was particularly fond of Self-Obliteration by Dots.
And speaking of obliteration, the show concludes with The Obliteration Room (2002-present, installed 2018), which was fascinating. As you enter, your group is given a sheet of round stickers and the instructions to place each of the dots wherever you like. We were to use them entirely, not a dot was to leave the room. It was hard not to save one for my journal!! But if I had taken it it, then there would be a way that the work would not be complete and I couldn’t do that.
When the exhibit began, this room was entirely white but you can see how much colour has already been added. Only as you witness pieces that have been strongly covered do you start to understand the title of The Obliteration Room. As each item is covered with dots, it literally begins to disappear from view. It was fascinating to see – or not see.
The Infinity Room exhibit delighted and inspired me. I only wish that I had been able to get more tickets so I could share the experience with more of my loved ones. I couldn’t be happier that I am able to share the journey with you.
Today: I am back – and the studio is already teeming with life. The Academy is open. The Summer Yearbook is almost here. I’ve launched the How to Host a Journal Jam eBook. Plus, I’m dancing and collaging my way into spring!
Mentioned in Today’s Show
Collage is one of my favourite mediums and I love expanding the way that I think about it, exploring new techniques and approaches. That’s why I signed up for The Collage Techniques of Anne Marie Grgich from Carla Sonheim Presents. (Oh, you know how I love Carla!)
Over the past week I have had a fabulous time engaging in this class. It even inspired a creative outing with my sisters.
The class suggests books as collage materials and so we took an outing to Book Ends, the Toronto Public Library’s used book store at the Reference Library. (There is another location in North York.) I have so many fond memories of this library! When I was in high school, I would sometimes (often) skip a day in favour of working on assignments here. I would pick a spot and set up shop, taking my boots off and surrounding myself with books. I would occasionally slip out for a coffee but I was soon back and working.
Shannon, Suzie and I had a wonderful time going through the books. Not surprisingly, Suzie came home with a few food books and Shannon spent precisely her budget on quite a range of choices! I found some beautiful books in the art, travel and garden sections. (Again, no surprise, lol. We are who we are!)
After acquiring the books, it was time to harvest images. I know, we book lovers find it hard for to cut, tear, break apart a book. It just feels wrong somehow! Over the years I have become more comfortable with it, especially when using secondhand materials. It sometimes feels like giving work a new life and I feel such love for each of the pieces I use and gratitude towards the book itself. I have made peace with it.
Next it was time to start putting a layer of collage on our canvas. I chose to work with a wood support because I find it so much easier for applying some pressure to smooth out the images. I use a linen cloth to do that, rubbing it down in the hopes of avoiding air bubbles. I’m only ever partially successful. I think every collage artist works to find the secret of smooth, well-adhered images.
Some lessons I’ve learned:
Usually with a piece this big I work at the kitchen table but I really wanted to be in my studio space. I did move downstairs for applying gel medium overtop.
It wasn’t tremendously successful. One strategy for removing bubbles is to use an Xacto knife to cut them open and then get some medium underneath and smooth it down. Our process uses such thick medium, that I didn’t find it successful. I did feel motivated to keep working on getting things smoother so I did a second collage using Yes paste as the adhesive. It was a bit more successful and now I have two collage pieces to work with for class.
You just can’t say no to a face like that.
The only trouble is, you don’t know what you’re saying yes to!
Clearly Shibumi is hatching a plot and Escher will be her henchman.
I don’t know what they got up to.
She’s spent and he’s not telling.
I’m planning my week; she’s planning her next caper.
Clearly Scout wants nothing to do with any of it!
This is from their first day with us after being rescued. We called them Big Brother, Little Sister and Grey and kept them sequestered in the kitchen for as long as we could. They were able to relax pretty quickly but they sure weren’t letting us get close to them! (Yep, I zoomed in for this shot)
A couple of years ago, I started a series on my blog called Studio Diaries. It was a way of capturing and sharing the experiences, moments and insights of my creative life. (As I say that, it strikes me that it was also the beginning of the Studio Yearbook!!) Also, I missed blogging as a creative outlet, as a free and open space to follow my muse, a welcoming home for the wild stream of ‘stuff’ that consistently wants to pour out of my creative heart. I thought it would be a way of sharing possibilities, resources and learnings – plus a little bit more of me and my creative life.
I let it go for a variety of reasons, from someone telling me they didn’t love the series to feeling conflicted about whether to share my own unfiltered process at the studio blog. A Studio Principle helped me decide to give it another go.
A Studio Principle convinced me to give it another go.
That phrase dropped into my heart and took hold during a Nia class several years ago. The class was full and we were moving! Our teacher noticed that many of us were pulling back, reining ourselves in because of the crowd. She called out, “There’s room for you!”
I could’ve cried. I had never heard those words before: “There’s room for you.” I decided to believe her and danced.
So, here and now, I am deciding that there is room for me. I’m envisioning ‘Studio Diaries’ as my personal studio space within the Jamie Ridler Studios complex. It reminds me of the open studios at Harbourfront, here in Toronto. Artists go about their work and the public can walk by and gaze in. They might catch someone firing some glass, assembling jewellery or eating their lunch It is at one time both demystifying and inspiring. I hope that will be the case here.
