Occasionally I take on special projects that interest me.
On this page:
Fab Tray: Memories Revisited
oil paint, Pochoir on aluminum, 2023
Fab Tray: Memories Revisited is part of The Fab Tray Project based on trays produced in Barrie, Ontario in the 1970’s. Sixteen artists produced responses to the Fab Trays to be hung in Barrie’s downtown core.
These trays are an icon from my youth. Growing up, one was used to serve 1970’s canapés at cocktail parties. The parties, the food, and the tray were all very much in keeping with the aesthetic of the time. But history gets hazy and softens over the years. For that reason, I chose to use a softened, muted version of an actual fab train in the underpainting of the disc. A large blossom from my grandmother’s violet was repeated on the surface changing the fab tray to an aesthetic that is more contemporary and more personally pleasing. The processes of oil painting and printmaking were intertwined for this piece.
Garden Party
serigraph on panel, 2022
Garden Party was part of a City of Barrie public art project called Brightening Barriers. It was honoured by the International Economic Development Council. Channelling the joy of a garden party, coupled with a pop-art revival, the artists of PRNT Collective placed diners in the centre of a vibrant floral oasis. Tamara, Tim Laurin, and Kim Brett, all members of PRNT Collective, collaborated on this project. Each artist prepared and printed variations on a bloom to hang on the patio of Michael and Marion’s, Bayfield Street, Barrie.
right: Echinacea Roseus, serigraph on board
Harvesting the Hard Water
exterior latex on ice fishing hut, 2022
Harvesting the Hard Water, exterior latex, reflective vinyl on ice fishing hut, 2022
Harvesting the Hard water illustrates the economic benefits that Lake Simcoe provides in the winter; from the historical business of cutting ice to ship and sell for use in iceboxes to present day ice fishing. The finished ice hut was put into active use on Lake Simcoe.
Usquebaugh
woodcut, 2019
Usquebaugh was a relief block project. It was never intended to be printed. The block was encased in resin to be used as a bartop in a small distillery, Heretic Spirits, in Collingwood, Ontario. They presented the heretic as having a “ravenous soul”, one “that yearns for the nourishment of new and exciting sensory experiences.” www.hereticspirits.com
Usquebaugh is a word from Scottish Gaelic meaning water of life. It was used to refer to a distilled spirit from fermented grains.
To capture the feel of the heretic, I referenced early maps. The compass and wind are both staples of these maps. The grains carved along the bar edge, are representative of the spirits the distillery produces. It was important to me that the compass be true, and it is to the original location of the bar. I hope that if it is ever moved, it will be located so the compass will remain true.
