 Stayin' Alive What do you do when you have to "stay home" and "stay safe" in a pandemic? You get creative! I am astonished by all the visual art, music, literature, dance and comedy being posted on social media during this time of social distancing. My own predicament, breaking my ankle on a dog walk a few weeks ago, has been a double whammy of sorts. Though, if you had to have a broken foot, it's probably a good time to do it! I miss my studio 'the artarage' a lot. I miss the smell of it, the sight of its chaos and all my art materials or what I call my art candy. So my partner gathered up some candy from my artarage and brought it to my perch on the couch. Working with paper, liquid acrylics, a couple gel pens and pigment liners I started to create "art blobs" and these blobs showed me what they wanted to be. These little artworks are a far stretch from my usual practice but they have allowed me to have some creative fun and puts my mind into zen, a state of no-mindedness. I also created a "how to" video so that kids of all ages can try! You can see it on my Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/andrea_artarage/ and FB page www.facebook.com/AndreaPottyondyArt . Stay safe and healthy and share your own creativity with the world. Somehow planet earth has become a little smaller and a lot kinder. Love and light, AXO
 Separation 1 6x6 I find comfort in my art studio space. It’s the only place where my worry washes off. Emotions can encourage artworks to emerge. Two small mixed media artworks that I call Separation 1 & 2 are my first response to social distancing and isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic. We are just at the beginning. At the moment I am concentrating on a series of funny little coocoolovebirds, feeling the need to try to do something lighthearted during isolation. My partner is working on puzzles, reading and making sourdough bread. Now that’s an artform! Now is the time to stay home for a few weeks, socially distance ourselves and isolate for the greater good. Social media is a wonderful way not to feel alone during this very stressful time. What are you doing to cope? Share your creativity and please stay healthy and safe. Love and light, AXO  Wacko (coocoolovebird) 6x6  Fractured But Not Broken 40-1/2 x 28-1/2 mixedmedia/terraskin on wood panel Wikipedia says that: "Art is a diverse range of human activities in creating visual, auditory or performing artifacts (artworks), expressing the author's imaginative, conceptual ideas, or technical skill, intended to be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power." I think art is indefinable. It's just too complicated.
I go to my studio when I need to heal physically or emotionally from life's weariness. Recently, the death of a sweet friend and long time member of Artspa art group, reminded me how fragile life is. A real punch to the gut. Her absence, a chasm of sadness, felt by our group of artists. Jean was the best hugger and a beautiful watercolourist. I make my way to my place of solace, where creating art allows me to zone out, get physical with tools and mediums and somehow put the spirit of life and loss on a surface. Art is a healer. AXO  It's a new year and with it comes a fresh start. We've probably made resolutions, have a list of goals and dreams, or bucket list items that we want to accomplish in 2020. Easier said than done right! In my yoga class we are reminded to set an intention as we begin our practice. It's about bringing your awareness to a quality or virtue that you want to cultivate more of in your life. It could be any number of virtues, such as kindness, gratitude, love or forgiveness, etc. Setting an intention activates a part of your receptivity. I think it's better than sticking to a firm resolution, which just brings guilt when we fail to keep it.
In 2019 one of my intentions was to order a sketchbook from The Sketchbook Project and become part of this art movement. I had a year to complete it and believe me I did struggle with procrastination. I'm happy to say my completed sketchbook will join the permanent collection at Brooklyn Art Library in New York. It is home to over 41,000 sketchbooks from around the world and growing. I hope to visit it one day! I made a little video of my sketchbook on Instagram before I mailed it out and it's a pleasure to share it with you at: https://www.instagram.com/p/B7GVQzCHPGW/ So don't be too hard on yourself and use your gifts and talents to accomplish your own good intentions for 2020! Love & Light, AXO  Breaking Blues in Winter How do you feel about the shortest day and the longest night of the year?
Waking up in darkness and sunsets by 4:30pm, if we get any sun at all, pushes my energy inward. It’s a time of deep reflection and personal introspection. A good time to learn more about our fundamental nature and essence. It’s also a time of family, social gatherings and celebration. I try to be Danish and create a little “hygge” in my home with candlelight, logs in the fireplace, a cozy nook with lots of books and warm blankets to wrap up in. If I could hibernate I would. Which also means I don’t get a lot of art making time in. And that’s ok. Absence makes the heart grow fonder right? When I finally get back to my studio in January I hope to bring a refreshed creativity and sense of wonder to my art practice. I hope you find your light too! “The winter solstice has been seen as a significant time of year in many cultures, and has been marked by festivals and rituals. It marked the symbolic death and rebirth of the Sun. The seasonal significance of the winter solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days.” Wikipedia Merry Christmas, Hanukkah Sameach!, Kwanzaa blessings to you and yours, lo, Saturnalia!, and Happy Holidays, Axo Winter Solstice arrives in the Northern Hemisphere at 12:19 am on Sunday, December 22.  We are all searching for meaningful connections, whether it be human, animal, in nature, with our surroundings or through the arts. I’ve always been intrigued by ephemera (transitory written or printed matter not meant to be retained or preserved) and found objects. Vintage newsprint, old show posters, ticket stubs, etc. bring back nostalgic feelings and memories. Small objects discarded become fodder for my artworks. Like a puzzle, I find connections and bring the pieces together. They become a new narrative in a work of art. “Connection is the magic that is born out of souls feeling at home when they are with each other.” I hope the viewers and passersby will enjoy discovering these artworks and find their own connections and stories. Enjoy the voyage!  Shorebird Blues: Got Your Back “I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.” ~ Henry David Thoreau Beautiful words to live by. I am thankful that I have some ability to create art, have supportive family and friends, great space to practice in, and represented by galleries that appreciate and reinforce what I do. I have also realized that I enjoy sharing art with others. Whether it is an art workshop with adults or volunteering with a group of pre-schoolers, I must admit, I probably get more out of it than they do. Little ones teach me to look at things in wonder. Sharing is caring said one of the preschoolers while making art. Isn’t it though! Adults teach me that every artwork is worthy when heart and soul are poured into it. Everyone has an interesting story to tell and being able to put it into a creative activity is a beautiful thing. I am thankful for my Artspa group of friends. Established in 2006, we have been creating art together for a very long time and I love them all. Some members are lifers and some come and go like the tides. They are my art sisters and occasionally brothers! I am thankful for all the art organizations I belong to and all those that selflessly volunteer to keep them going. And I am thankful for all the art enthusiasts and collectors of my art. Your enthusiasm makes hours of solitude worthwhile. So maybe all I’m saying is don’t be afraid to share your creative gifts. There are hundreds of opportunities just waiting for you! Art has the power to change the world. https://petapixel.com/2018/11/26/apple-made-an-animated-short-about-sharing-your-gifts-with-the-world/ Art is my Truth, Art is a Healer and Art Makes us Human AXO My summer studio is being christened ‘the Hildegard’ after my mother❤️. She was an amazing woman. An immigrant that lost her German citizenship when she married my Hungarian father and came to Canada as DPs in 1953 (disembarked in Quebec City), with little more than a suitcase and a few dollars. She made everything by hand, was a fabulous cook and worked in a clothing manufacturer on rue St. Laurent for over 25 years. She even went on strike and marched for better wages for that sweat shop. She was a marvellous storyteller, voracious reader and told me that she would have loved to be a writer. Nature was her church. Kindness was her religion. I think she would have loved my creative space and I hope her 😏 spirit feels free to visit often. You are also welcome to join me in, Creativity and light, AXO   Columns and Rows: "The Way Forward" 6x36 mixed media Evolution comes from the Latin evolutio, meaning to unroll. As an artist I accept the fact that my artwork will continuously open up and unfold in mysterious ways. I try to supress the doubt that arises and encourage myself to try new things. An old commercial runs in my head at those transitional times. View it here:* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1OqqelrGys
I am a collector of found objects. I have a collection of rusted metal rings found close to home and across borders and seas. When a particular object keeps showing itself to me I know it's time to incorporate it into artworks. So, I have started a series called "Columns and Rows". A deconstructed abstract series that has been perculating for some time. Here's one work called "The Way Forward" 6x36, mixed media on terraskin mounted on cradled wood panel. It can be hung as a column or a row. Every artwork I create tells a story; maybe mine, maybe yours or a universal one. As an art viewer you get to decide. The best result is that the artwork engages the viewer or an art enthusiast feels the need to bring it home. The worst result is mediocrity, a waste of time, paint and canvas but even so it's not a failure because I have learned something valuable in the process. So try the *seaweed pie! Carpe Diem my friends, Axo Feel free to like my art page: https://www.facebook.com/AndreaPottyondyArt/  This is where I try to create magic, in my Artarage on a circa 1980s Ikea table. Dragonflies seem to be on my agenda today. I have seen so many flitting around my garden. They are symbols of change and self-realization, a reminder to seize the day. Using some donated antique doilies (thanks Jean) and one special doily my mama made many years ago, I print wings on lovely washi paper. I enjoy experimentation...failures are learning tools, happy surprises bring me joy. I am in my happy place. I hope you have one too! Axo  |
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