Monday, October 20, 2014
Poetry Salon @ Urban Gallery Oct 25, 3-5pm
Please do come out on Oct 25th, 3-5pm, to Urban Gallery where I am hosting another beautiful Poetry Salon.
Ellen S. Jaffe's second poetry collection, Skinny-Dipping with the Muse, was published in May 2014 by Guernica Editions. Ellen's previous books include poetry, a young-adult novel, and a book about writing, all of which have won awards. Her work has been translated into Finnish and published in journals and anthologies. She grew up in New York, moved to Canada in 1979, and has lived in Hamilton for 15 years. Ellen is Hamilton Contributing Editor for Great Lakes Review, a journal for writers on both sides of the border. Her story "Night Lights of Kansas," published in the review, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2014. Ellen teaches writing with Living for the Arts, and has received grants for writing and arts education from the Ontario Arts Council.
Pat Connors' chapbook, Scarborough Songs, was released by Lyricalmyrical Press last year. He was also recently published in Belgium, India, and Timmins. He was literary juror of Big Art Book 2013, a digital project of Scarborough Arts. He recently performed at the Austin International Poetry Festival, Stellar Literary Festival, Blue Coffee Reading Series, and, for the third time, at The Art Bar Poetry Series. He is a manager for the Toronto chapter of 100,000 Poets for Change.
Niki Koulouris was born in Melbourne, Australia and lives in Toronto. A beer enthusiast, she’s been known to start spontaneous lists, on napkins, of her top India Pale Ales. Shortlisted for the 2014 Wesley Michel Wright Prize, the The sea with no one in it is her first book.
Up to eight Open Mic spots of 5 min each are also offered - sign-up at 3pm.
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Friday, October 17, 2014
Drawings from Dr Sketchy's Anti-Art School Reloaded in Toronto, Halloween theme, Oct 3, 2014. #InkTober
Life-drawing @ Dr Sketchy's Anti-Art School Reloaded in Toronto, Halloween theme, Oct 3, 2014, ©Brenda Clews, 18" x 24" Inktense black and red blocks with a water brush pen on Strathmore 70lb archival drawing paper. You've seen some of these already....
See photos from the evening at the Dr. Sketchy Blog.
#InkTober
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See photos from the evening at the Dr. Sketchy Blog.
#InkTober
(Zoominess and deepened shadows added for extra Halloween effect! I rather like.)
(the actual drawing)
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Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Little sketch of Norman Bethune Allan and Waleed Abdulhamid @ The Art Bar #InkTober
It was so dark at the Art Bar last night that I could not see what I was doing - literally, could not see pencil lines on the paper. The water-soluble ink I was using appeared so black there was hardly any detail. Would have been better, perhaps, if I had enough light to see the paper - so I'll have to take a small book light if I go and draw at The Black Swan Tavern again.
Norman Bethune Allan and Waleed Abdulhamid (where the ink wash drawing went later in the evening and the original sketch) @ArtBar-14Oct2014 ©BrendaClews, 11" x 15", Derwent InkTense black permanent ink blocks, Faber-Castell Pitt India ink pens, Pentalic 130lb archival paper.
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Norman Bethune Allan and Waleed Abdulhamid (where the ink wash drawing went later in the evening and the original sketch) @ArtBar-14Oct2014 ©BrendaClews, 11" x 15", Derwent InkTense black permanent ink blocks, Faber-Castell Pitt India ink pens, Pentalic 130lb archival paper.
#InkTober
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Wild Woman
Tara Clews (my niece) had me flip my hair while she was photographing in front of her green screen and this photograph is the result after I, uh, let's say, manipulated the image myself later at home. :-} Wild Woman.
(Wild Woman of the Antler Tribe.)
(Shhh. Wheeee...... the Original Flying Photo.)
Sunday, October 12, 2014
21 September Life-Drawings at Bampot Bohemian Teahouse #InkTober
These life-drawings were done on September 21st at Bampot Bohemian Teahouse. It was awhile back and I only got around to photographing them today. Overall, coming back to these, I find I like them better than I did after the session.
Still coughing a lot and hopefully that'll go away soon.
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Still coughing a lot and hopefully that'll go away soon.
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Thursday, October 09, 2014
Ink Drawing #9 #InkTober
Ink Drawing #9.
Two Burlesque Goth Vamps -with claws and teeth! Holding boxes of cereal that just don't cut it - they want your blood. :)
A 10 min sketch at the October Dr. Sketchy's life-drawing venue (last Friday in Kensington Market but I did rub out some pencil lines and clipped it to a board on an easel and took it outside to photograph - could work on it more but as is is the way to go).
Black Derwent InkTense permanent ink blocks with a water brush pen and water-soluble graphite on 18" x 24" on 70lb Strathmore archival drawing paper.
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Wednesday, October 08, 2014
Ink Drawing #8, w-i-p. #InkTober
Ink Drawing #8, w-i-p. October 8, 2014. ©Brenda Clews, 11.5" x 16.5", Faber-Castell Pitt India ink pens, Moleskine sketchbook. #inktober
Eh. No idea where it will go. The oh-so short but intense flu's aftermath has settled into my lungs and deep, unbroken sleep and energy are zapped. Yah, well, so what if today's drawing is rawther unfinished. Some notches on a page. It makes me giggle. Which is needed in between coughing bouts, you understand. It's also got a rhythm of an ocean flow, a turbulence. I think it's at a dock where energy flow and land mass meet. Abstract art doesn't take me anywhere - though of course I like it when it's done well by others - whereas, the figurative is about subjectivities, ways of reading ourselves in context. So there will be a figure...
For the last two days, I've been submitting poetry. Ok, I only got two submissions out. But what a lot of work! Oiy ya. And I made an error, too, I know it. I sent out prose/poems that will be in my forthcoming book - it'll be published by Guernica Editions but not until maybe 2016 or later - and I told the editors in the accompanying letters! So those two submissions will be rejections for sure. While unpublished, the prose/poems will be published - and the journals require work unpublished in any format. This predilection for honesty sometimes slips me up. Yeah, I know I'm doing it backwards but I need to generate interest in my work before the book comes out. Who knows for sure if these places will take what I sent... but I am at a point where I would like to publish in print and on-line journals.
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Tuesday, October 07, 2014
Ink Drawing #7 #InkTober
Ink Drawing #7. ©Brenda Clews. 10" x 7.5", FaberCastelli Pitt India ink pens, Moleskine notebook.
Yesterday's drawing with 'two women' added.
While there is a frivolous woman in a checkered hat (with perhaps a chandelier attached to her hat ribbon), the other woman fascinates me. She is the accidental woman who dominates. Her hair is slicked down black with a rhinestone barrette tucked in, there is a dot for an eye, a star earring, some feathers perhaps as the other earring, a shoulder (where my signature is) and her breast is the round circle at the base of the black irregular rectangle. The two black triangles at the bottom indicate she is wearing a slinky black dress.
We are in the world of magic.
#inktober
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Monday, October 06, 2014
Ink Drawing #6 #inktober
Ink Drawing #6, w-i-p. ©Brenda Clews. 10" x 7.5", Faber-Castell Pitt India ink pens, Moleskine notebook.
The scratchy throat has turned into full-scale flu and am mostly resting from coughing and not-sleeping-last-night under a heated throw. This beginnings-of-a-drawing is all I've done. I'm posting it as my #inktober drawing for today. I'll likely add a figure and post that maybe as tomorrow's drawing. Now, more Ibuprofen and back under the heated throw!
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Sunday, October 05, 2014
Little untouched clip from Nuit Blanche last night
http://youtu.be/0nORDGNf1LU
Toronto tonight... a million people wandering the streets in search of art.
(Newspaper-estimated number out on the streets.)
Nuit Blanche, Gap Ecology (Still Lives with Cherry Pickers and Palms), John St and Queen St.
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Ink Drawing #5 #inktober
Ink Drawing #5. October 5, 2014. ©Brenda Clews. 9" x 12", Pentel brush pen, Lamy fountain pen with Noodler's brown ink and Prismacolor Nupastels on Fabriano 100% cotton cold-pressed 140lb watercolour paper.
Ink Drawing #5, pre-colour.
Yesterday afternoon at Portobello, a monthly poetry and music event hosted by Linda Stitt, my throat began to feel scratchy. At the first break, I went home. Rested. Normally I would have gone to bed early but it was Nuit Blanche in Toronto and I had planned to video... and so out I went, dressed warmly for the cold evening, and did get a few minutes of video that I am very pleased with, did not manage to meet up with my niece, Tara, and her boyfriend, and called it a night around 10pm. On arriving home, my son and his girlfriend were outside and they visited until midnight or so. By then, my throat was starting to rage. Because the virus is settling in for a bout, I cancelled my afternoon at Bampot Bohemian Teahouse where there is life-drawing every Sunday. Fiddlesticks. I treated myself to salmon baked on a cedar board (very yummy). Then grumpily did a quick ink self-portrait. I actually don't mind this one - perhaps because it is not laboured over. I grabbed some NuPastels and added colour - one of the reasons I am ok with this self-portrait is that it is looser, more impressionistic. Working this way was a release and I am relieved to offer an #InkTober 5th of October drawing. Whew.
#inktober
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Saturday, October 04, 2014
Ink Drawing #4 #inktober
Two minute gesture poses. Dr Sketchy's Anti-Art School Reloaded in Toronto, Halloween theme, Oct 3, 2014, ©Brenda Clews, InkTense black and red blocks with a water brush pen on 18" x 22" Strathmore 70lb archival drawing paper.
I've never stitched photographs before and there wasn't time to learn how to do it for this image - the first 4 are on one side, the 5th is on the back of that paper, and the 6th is on another page (and I'm thinking, with the pencil lines, it must have been a 5 min) - but they make a nice row.
#inktober
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Friday, October 03, 2014
#3 Ink Drawing #inktober
Not sure what to say. Uhhh. There were moments it almost appeared to be. Might come back to this one later, or perhaps rip it out of the Moleskine, or even get used to it. I was thinking about the ways women are remain constrained in our culture and how unfortunately sometimes they seem to enjoy and even get off on those constraints (I might put the ropes around her body back in). And hey, reality is messy, and so is this drawing. Had... a busy day, rushing out now.
iPhone pic, not so good with flourescent light. I'll discreetly update all these photos when sunlight and time to photograph properly becomes available again.
#inktober
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