The Chaos of the Artist Studio

Posted on July 27, 2022 by Mama Cormier

….some artists thrive in chaos

My husband doesn’t like it when I try to clean-up his work space. I’ve learned to leave his art studio as is. He knows where everything is (most of the time) and what many people would consider an unorganized space, it’s a space that sparks his creative juices.

I can’t say I’m much better. My art studio is smaller and is currently cluttered with papers, bills and unused art supplies. I can only take the mess for so long before I have the need to clean and reorganize the space. I’ll share my space down the road.

Welcome to Studio K. Cormier:

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A Busy Weekend Starting With Canada Day

Posted on July 4, 2022 by Mama Cormier

…Friday, July 1st was Canada Day

Friday morning I started the day at the lawn bowling club where we had a fun time with a 4,3,2,1, game of lawn bowling. After a couple of hours we were treated to a BBQ of burgers, hotdogs and salads and of course cake. Everyone was instructed to wear red and white.

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After lawn bowling I attended a garden bridge party with another BBQ after the game. Great company and great food. Thanks Mary.

On Saturday I went back down to the art gallery where my show is being held and I welcomed 15 more friends and family members to my exhibit. Another successful day with four more paintings being sold and lots of cards. I have one more week at the gallery starting tomorrow. Here are some of the paintings that have sold.

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On Sunday I went to visit a friend to pick up a book and we ended up having lunch together in her lovely backyard. I picked up some yarn from her to pursue a new hobby. I’m going to attempt to do some weaving to add to some of my new art projects. The rest of the weekend is pretty much a blur.

Plans for this week? Not sure but I am going to go back to the gallery on Wednesday with a friend who didn’t have a chance to get there earlier. I don’t need to be there for people to see the show but I’m happy to make the trip for anyone who’d like me to be there. Thanks to all who have already made the trek downtown to see my show. I loved seeing all of you.

Carol

Ready for the Big Reveal

Posted on June 29, 2022 by Mama Cormier

…the doors open today for “Before and After Paris”

After months of preparation with ordering supplies, painting, framing and advertising, my show is ready for the public to see. I spent hours yesterday, with the help of two good friends hanging the paintings. Barb did a lot of the ladder work and Arlene eyed the levels and curated the placements. We were all very pleased with the final result. For those of you who live close by, I hope to see you at the opening but the show will be up till July 9th.

Here’s a peak of the gallery where every piece you see is mine.

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Macro Monday – February 8, 2021

Posted on February 8, 2021 by Mama Cormier

….more macro shots from inside the house

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The last two are close-ups of two different paintings that I made many years ago.

The Small Gems Show

Posted on November 19, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…now on at the Women’s Art Association of Canada on Prince Arthur St. in Toronto

This is one of my favourite art shows at WAAC. All the pieces are small and nothing is more than $400.00. This year I submitted three of my abstract flower/poppy paintings and one has already sold.

Yesterday I did some gallery sitting to greet visitors. I was there in the morning so it was very quiet. No more than 10 people are allowed in the gallery at once and of course everyone must wear a mask.

It’s not a huge show. There are about 100 entries. I walked around several times and really took in the individual pieces.

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This last grouping was one of my favourites and I purchased the two paintings on the left.

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The show runs till Jan. 2, 2021.

August Photo a Day Challenge – Abstract

Posted on August 14, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to City Sonnet for hosting the https://citysonnet.wordpress.com/2020/08/01/august-photo-a-day-challenge-3/

I adore abstract painting. Yesterday I paid a visit to the AGO. I spent most of my time viewing the Diane Arbus Photography show but I did walk through the modern art section and took this photo of a Joyce Wieland abstract painting.

In a past post I told you about my husband’s renewed love of painting. There are days that he makes up to three paintings. Now that he’s starting to work on larger canvases he can only manage on painting before exhaustion takes over. Here are some more of his recent abstract pieces.

What Happened in 1917?

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….in Canada

1917 is often referred to as the worst year in Canadian history. In that year we saw the highest casualty figures for Canada during WWI. The death toll at Vimy Ridge alone was 3598 with another 7000 injured.

The city of Halifax was destroyed when two ships collided in Halifax Harbour, killing 1900 civilians and injuring 9000 in a town of 50 000. It was the worst man-made destruction of a city until 1945.

The conscription policy divided the country in one of the most bitter elections ever in 1917 but on the upside some women were granted the right to vote if they had a husband, father or brother who served in the war.

It was also the year that the Nation Hockey League (NHL) was established but not until an American team won the Stanley Cup for the first time earlier in the year. Tom Thomson, a famous Canadian artist, also died that year under mysterious circumstances.

Today I went to Montgomery’s Inn to sign up as a volunteer. While I was there I happened upon a wonderful art display of paintings depicting what happened in Canada in 1917.

The Mighty Charles

Posted on November 2, 2017 by Mama Cormier

….Charles is a wild born western lowland gorilla who resides at the Toronto Zoo

Charles turned 45 this fall and has sired 15 offspring while living at the Toronto Zoo. He came to Toronto in 1974 when he was only 2 years old. In the 90s he created quite an uproar because he wouldn’t interact with offspring that weren’t his own and wouldn’t allow the prodigy from other gorilla groups to socialize.

In order to allow the others to interact Charles was sent away for a brief period of time each day in solitude. In an effort to keep Charles contented during these intervals away from his harem, he was given access to large sheets of paper and non-toxic coloured paints. His painting were sold for $400 to $1000 a piece and the money raised ($37 000.00) was used for a new gorilla exhibit. Check the link below to see some of his work.

Charles the Painter

On our visit Charles rested comfortably at the base of the enclosure looking over his harem and the other families. He is clearly the dominant male there. The other large silver back males have to be kept away from him. When his own male offspring reach maturity they have to be sent away so that father and son don’t fight each other for control of the harem.

As Charles watches the females guard their offspring and the young ones climb and play with each other. P1050110 P1050109 P1050106 P1050105

Florence, Italy -An Art Lovers Paradise

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Mama Cormier

…..Florence is well known for famous sculptures, paintings and architecture

Everyone told me I’d love the art in Florence. There certainly was a lot of it. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art, architecture and monuments. The city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti.

Florence was home to one of European history’s most important noble families, the Medici. In 1469, Lorenzo de Medici, grandson to Cosimo, took over control of the city from behind the scenes. He was a great patron of the arts, commissioning works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli. To his peers he was known as Lorenzo il Magnifico which ironically was also the name of the street our apartment was on.

If you are going to Florence in the near future I would recommend that you prebook your tickets to the Uffizi Gallery. We booked on line the night before and went right to the front of the line when we arrived at our designated time. In fact we were ushered to an even faster line because we had the baby with us. Even though the baby was free of charge they wanted to see her passport before they gave us our tickets. We didn’t have the passport so we pleaded ignorance. Who knew? Did they think we were going to smuggle in an adult on an infant’s ticket? Other than that, getting into the popular Uffizi was quick and relatively easy and well worth the few extra euros to book ahead of time.

We never did get to see the real Michelangelo’s David. The two in the gallery above were replicas. I thought I would be disappointed if I didn’t get to the real one but there was so much to see and do and it was so hot in Florence that it wasn’t worth the ultimate exhaustion we would have suffered trying to get to the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze, which is now the home of Michelangelo’s sculpture of David. Maybe I’ll go there the next time I’m in Florence.

Ciao!

Share Your World 2016 – Week 3

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….to share your world check out Cee’s blog

What is your favorite piece of art? (it doesn’t have to be famous)

That’s a hard question for me because I love so many different pieces. I’m a huge fan of Ray Cattell’s art and would love any one of his pieces. Here’s one that I’m fond of:

A Ray Cattell painting.

What made you smile today?

A photo of my new granddaughter always make me smile.

Which place do you recommend as a Must-See? Please state which country, state or providence.

Again I struggled with this question but after a discussion with my daughter I decided that Niagara Falls should be a must-see destination if you’re visiting this end of Canada or New York state in the USA. You can see the falls from either side of the border but I think the view from the Canadian side is spectacular.

Complete this sentence: When I was younger I used to….

…..sing in a German choir. I started at the age of 18 and sang with them for 27 years. I was always one of the youngest in the choir. Even when I left at the age of 45 most of the members were considerably older than me. I did enjoy it and I do miss singing in a choir and hearing German.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful that my son has had his staples removed from his arm and that his arm is healing nicely. He’s back in England now and has found himself a doctor and is part of the National Health Service. Things are going well at school and boys’ basketball is well underway with early morning practices are happening three times a week. I’m especially grateful to one of our dads who is coming out each morning to help us coach the boys’ team.

This week I’m looking forward to a day off on Friday. It’s a report card writing day. I’m not thrilled about writing report cards but I am grateful for the time to work on them. I’m also looking forward to seeing Miss Winnie on the weekend. We didn’t get to see her last weekend and by all accounts from her mother she’s growing by leaps and bounds.

Here are a few photos from our walks through the park and the snow storm we had on Monday. Notice how tired Frances is. She had just stared down a coyote during that storm.