2010 Annual Members Exhibit
Presented by the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador. Celebrating the excellence and innovation in contemporary craft, this annual exhibit will display works from over 40 emerging and established craftspeople.
Opening Reception - Saturday, June 26, 2-4pm.
Exhibit - June 26 - August 15, 2010
Taking place at:
Devon House Craft Centre
59 Duckworth Street
St. John's, NL A1C 1E6
709.753.2749
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Be Our Guest, AAW Gallery of Wood Art
This upcoming exhibit will be held at the AAW Gallery of Wood Art in St. Paul Minnesota during June 1 - August 22, 2010. This exhibit is a showcase of woodturned forms by both established and emerging artists. The core invitational list consisted of fifteen established artists who were then asked to invite two emerging artists.
Formally titled "Be our Guest: A Progressive Invitational" this exhibit was originally held at the Ohio Craft Museum in Columbus.
A very special thanks to Marilyn Campbell.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Going color into 2010
Since September of 2009, John has been studying and experimenting with color, taking his work to a whole new level as an art form. This direction toward the use of color will add an element of realism and the increased sense of enigma, tying in nicely with John's current body of work. Going into 2010, John's new work will continue to explore the erosion theme but with color. With the intent to exhibit elegance and mystery within each piece, John will be mainly using a palate of organic colors consisting of deep rich tones.
Current work (Sculpture and Color)
During the creative process, John's main focus has always been on the sculptural design elements used to assist in projecting a 3D form derived from his imagination. In his current work, the use of color has become a supporting component in assisting in the element of realism.
John has chosen Acrylics by Golden Artist Colors because of its extreme quality, versatility and color range. Golden is committed to producing materials that encourage exploration of form and concept, while assuring archival integrity. Golden colors retain excellent flexibility when dry, greatly diminishing the likelihood of the cracking that occurs in other natural and synthetic polymer systems. Golden colors are produced with a high pigment load of lightfast pigments resulting in highly intense, permanent acrylic colors.
John has selected Black Cherry as the main hardwood species of choice for all current and upcoming works. Black Cherry has excellent sculptural characteristics such as ease of use and its smooth and uniform texture. This eliminates the possibility of any natural characteristics of the wood from distracting the intended textured and painted surface. As a sculptural support for painting, Black Cherry is also very dimensionally stable, meaning that it has very little movement with regards to expansion and contraction with changes in temperature and humidity. This is key for the longevity of the artwork.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Sculpture and the beauty of wood
In John's previous work, the primary focus was on the sculptural design elements along with showcasing the natural beauty of the wood. Typically darker hardwoods where used such as Walnut, Cherry and Mahogany along with the limited use of other hardwood species such as Osage Orange and Hickory.
Considerations for selecting a wood species where mainly determined by the look or feel that John was trying to achieve in each sculptural form. Some forms required a wood species that displayed a rich and elegant feel while other pieces required more of an organic or rustic appearance. Other elements such as the texturability of a wood species where considered especially when sandblasting was favored to achieve a desired look.
To truly capture the natural beauty of the wood, John finished each piece using a clear finish only, primarily a tung oil based varnish or Danish oil. The level of sheen was usually satin but may have been buffed to achieve a flat or high polished look depending on the esthetics required to capture either an elegant, mysterious or a natural organic appearance.
Newfoundland, Canada
John lives and operates his Studio in the small scenic town of Torbay that is located on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland Island, the island portion of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. This quaint little town of Torbay neighbors the historic capital city of St. John's, which is the oldest city in North America.
Newfoundland and Labrador is located in Canada on the far north-eastern fringe of North America and is steeped with a rich history and culture and is probably one of the most majestic places on earth. Throughout the 29,000 kilometers of coastline you will find landscapes ranging from charming sandy coves to jagged rock walls that soar 5,000 feet out of the North Atlantic. This majestic coastline is home to 22 species of whales, porpoises and dolphins and 35 million seabirds including our provincial bird, which is one of the most famous birds in the world, the Atlantic Puffin. The north-eastern part of our coastline backyards the famous iceberg alley, which displays the largest and most beautiful icebergs in the world. These stunning icebergs that glide along our coastline are from the Greenland icecap and were created over 10,000 years ago.
_____________________________________________________________________________________