Events at Bluerock Gallery

Show runs from Friday, December 2, 2011 through January 2012

Artist’s Reception ALL DAY 11 am – 9 pm Saturday, December 3, 2011

(Black Diamond celebrates “Light UP”  starting at 5 pm on Saturday, December 3, 2011, with many fun street events – so come to town for Small Works and stay for a party!)

As usual, our fabulous local artists have been inspired and excited by the challenge, and their new works are beginning to pour into the gallery’s backstock room!  We’ve invited some guest artists to join the fun – so we’ll have not only NEW ART, but some NEW ARTISTS in the show as well!  We’re very excited to see the beautiful and interesting works coming in. And, the show is “under wraps” until December 2!

pal·imp·sest 

n.

1. A manuscript, typically of papyrus or parchment, that has been written on more than once, with the earlier writing incompletely erased and often legible.

2. An object, place, or area that reflects its history.

11 am – 5 pm, Saturday, December 9, 2011

We’re thrilled to welcome back Evonne Smulder’s clay art – the art that launched Terra Cotta Gallery!  Evonne and Rob have been very busy!  All new works, in functional and art clay are now filling a corner of the main gallery.  They’ll be in the gallery all day Saturday to visit with friends and anyone who stops in!

Stop in to say hello, add another chili pepper piece to your collection, and check out the fun and fanciful birdhouses that have emerged from the kiln recently!

 

 

 

 

Show will run from November 4 – 28, 2011

Artist’s Reception 2 – 5 pm Saturday November 5, 2011

We are very excited to present all new works in oil by Steve Coffey. These paintings continue in the prairie vein – exploring long trains of boxcars, laundry blowing on the lines, and always the big, big prairie skies above familiar harvest and pastoral scenes.

In Steve’s other career as a musician he’s been working on a new CD this past year.  The new recording entitled “Bovine World Rail” will be available at this art opening, prior to it being released to the general public at concerts in 2012.

This recording features all new songs & great performances from this band of 10 years: Lance Loree, Dave Bauer, Russ Baker, Ray McAndrew, Steve Coffey and Toby Malloy are The Lokels.

Produced by Russ Baker ‘Bovine World Rail’ delves into the world of organic grooves and poetic meanderings richly grown and harvested from the prairies of rural Alberta. 

presented by Jaki Daniels,  Author of Heeding the Call
7 – 9 pm, Friday, November 18, 2011

There is an art, and spirit, in the acts of giving and receiving.  There is a time for the gathering of what you need, not just to survive, but to be happy and productive.  And there is a time to set aside the material world and simply experience BE-ing.

Join us for an evening of simple ceremony, teachings, and heartfelt discussion with Spiritual Elder and Minister, Jaki Daniels, as she shares some of her thoughts and wisdom on gifts, giving, and the role of beauty in our lives.

This is a free, after-hours event in the gallery.  No pre-registration required.

You can learn more about Jaki Daniels by visiting her website www.earthandskyhealing.com

Thursday, November 10,  from 6:30 to 8:00 pm

Join us for a community celebration of the newly published book – compiled by Marika D’Ailly and a collaboration of the Monday Morning Writer’s Group.

There will be readings from the book, book-signing, general festivities, sharing of stories and refreshments!  Most of the members of the Monday Morning Writers Group will be present.

All are welcome – families, friends, neighbors, and anybody who is interested in the book, or if you just want to come and start your Christmas shopping on a Thursday evening!

It is a great opportunity to shop, as we’ll be open extended hours from 11:00 to 8:00 pm on this day.

 

Group Show September 30 – October 24, 2011
Kim Bruce, Kathryn Manry, Mady Thiel-Kopstein, Claire Uhlick

Artist reception 5 – 7 pm, Saturday, October 1, 2011
with brief presentation at 6 pm

Join us as we welcome these Alberta artists whose paintings include feature beloved birds!  Bluerock Gallery artists Mady Thiel-Kopstein and Kim Bruce are joined by Kathryn Manry and Claire Uhlick who are making their Bluerock Gallery debut.  Hope you can make it to see this show fly!

 

Solo Show September 2 – 26, 2011
Artist reception 5 – 7 pm, Saturday, September 3, 2011

Join us for a journey through wonder and awe, as seen through the eyes of an artist responding to beloved poetry. Poets include W.B. Yeats, Walt Whitman, Pablo Neruda, Mary Oliver, T.S. Eliot, Anna Swir, and more.

Blanca is mostly self-taught and always boldly experimenting.  This body of work is rich with abstract and symbolic imagery.  Colours, forms, movement all weave together in response to powerful word images.  We invite you to come and share in her enjoyment of this process of heart awakening.  We know you’ll be moved, too!

Visit Blanca’s page in our online store to see more of her new works.  Presales online or by phone are welcome.

“Poetry is a goldmine of imagery and themes close to the heart of every human being, and it is in this spirit that I approach this series.  These paintings take advantage of the realm between realism and abstraction,which allow the painter greater freedom of expression, and the viewer more opportunity for participation.” – Blanca Botero-Fuentes

A printed catalog is available for ordering online here.

A Conversation With Jaki Daniels, Author of Heeding the Call
7-9pm, Friday, September 2, 2011

You are invited to join us for an evening of immersion into the subtle and influential forces that are within us, and all around us.

Through Jaki’s reading of her personal story, group discussion, and a gentle introduction to ‘ceremony’ we will be guided on ‘how’ to open ourselves to the deeper, spiritual nature of life.

This is a free, after-hours event in the gallery.  No pre-registration required.

You can learn more about Jaki Daniels by visiting her website www.earthandskyhealing.com

July 29 through August 31, 2011

 

Artist’s Reception SATURDAY, July 30th, 5 – 7 pm
Artist will be present in the gallery all day July 30th, 11 – 7 pm

(News coverage about the show here  and to see Mya’s work in our online store click here)

Mya DeRyan is an Alberta artist who is also an avid angler.   When she was introduced to the craft of fish rubbing (or gyotaku – an inked impression of an actual fish in all its detail, size and girth) it quickly became her passion as well as a personal journey.

Fish Rubbing (or gyotaku) is a contemporary adaptation of an ancient Japanese folk art.  Earliest samples date back to the 17th century.  They represented a crude yet accurate record of caught fish while still out at sea.  It later evoelved into a means of preserving bragging rights of a trophy sized fish.  Gyotaku has slipped into obscurity with the advent of photography.

 

 

 

 

 

Mya’s approach to this folk art has actually raised it into the realm of fine art.  She has developed and honed a technique that extracts even the finest detail from her fish subject.  This detail inspires one to truly rediscover and appreciate the peerless textural qualities and stunning beauty of the fish.  It is a great challenge to extract such detail from any fish, and many rubbings are attempted before a fine mono-print can be extracted.  When she creates a monoprint with multiple fish rubbings, the challenge is exponential!

 

Once the ink impression of the fish has cured, Mya then adds the colour using a mixed media of graphite, ink, chalk charcoal, water colour, pastel, and a variety of dry pigments.  Mya’s philosophy of Fish Rubbing is that the detail should tell the greatest part of the story and there is always harmony between technical accuracy and artistic expression.

 

Mya can ofen be found travelling to find her next exotic or trophy fish subject.  Through her travels and private commissions, Mya has compiled a substantial collection of Fish Rubbings from around the world  They are becoming a new trend in Trophy Fish Art as well as offering a Fine Art alternative to Taxidermy.

 

“I am captivated by the iridescent quality of the fish colorations.  There is nothing in nature to equal the silvery pearl essence pallet of colour of these amazing aquatic creatures.”  - Mya DeRyan

 

 

 

Solo Show runs June 24 – July 24, 2011

Artist’s Reception
5 – 7 pm Saturday, June 25, 2011 . Artist will be present in the Gallery from 11 am to 7 pm

 

Solo Show runs June 2 – July 4, 2011

Artist’s Reception
5 – 7 pm Saturday, June 4, 2011 (Presentation at 6 pm)

Artist’s Talk in the Gallery
2 – 4 pm Saturday, June 11, 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Solo Show runs May 14 – June 15, 2011

Artist’s Reception
5 – 7 pm Saturday, May 14, 2011 (Presentation at 6 pm)

Artist’s Talk & Demo
2 – 4 pm Saturday May 21, 2011

Thanks to everyone who came to both of these events!  The Artist’s reception was a fabulous evening, and we were glad to see so many of you!  And for those of you who came to the Demo – you did some fantastic “color and light” studies!  Thanks to Diane Williams, as well, who gave of her teaching gifts!

 

 

We had a great time with Susan.  If you weren’t able to make it, here is the VIDEO of the demonstration.  And, if you want to see the resulting paper from the demo, come to Bluerock Gallery!

If you are able to come to the gallery tomorrow (if the snow doesn’t fall too thick and fast!), do plan to see Susan’s Artist’s Demo.  She will be showing us how she dyes paper in the Itajime fashion, an ancient Japanese “fold and clamp” technique that resembles tie-dye.  Usually used to dye fabric, there are only a handful of people in the world who are using this technique on papers.  Fascinating!

Saturday, April 16, from 2 – 4 pm in the gallery.  No need to register.  And it’s FREE!

Susan will also be bringing her specialty papers in large sheet format to add to her artwork that we have available in the gallery.  After this Saturday, you’ll be able to buy her many specialty papers (paste-painting, Shibori, Itajime) in the gallery.  We already have her “Paper Snippets” in stock – collections of small bits of hand-painted papers perfect for the collage or multi-media artist!

In our new Feature Gallery April 9 – May 10, 2011

Susan Kristoferson “Northern Perceptions”

Susan Kristoferson ‘paints’ with papers and fibres – often using handmade, exquisitely dyed papers, sometimes stitching them into art that resembles a quilt, other times using “thread drawing” and paste papers combined with photographs to create “altered content” images.  Always intensively handmade, often exquisitely abstract, occasionally whimsical, Susan’s art is the expression of decades of dedicated study, practice – and a long relationship with wonder and awe.  If you have a love of paper, this show promises to bring you fascination!

Join us for the Artist’s Reception on Saturday, April 9, from  5- 7 pm.  Susan will give a brief presentation at 6 pm, and we will serve refreshments to celebrate the opening.

You might also want to see Susan’s Artist’s Demo, which we will host on Saturday, April 16, from 2 – 4 pm in the gallery.  She will be showing us how she makes some of her specialty papers.

We look forward to seeing you at either or both of these events!

Bluerock artists have been invited to bring in all new works that fit into 12 inches – squared or cubed.  We’re excited about the results because we believe that creativity is enhanced when artists accept an voluntary limitation!  Some of the feedback we’ve heard so far from participating artists has been that this exercise has enlivened all of their work!

So far we have new works by Jana Milne, Steve Coffey, Joan Bailey, Eleanor Lowden Pidgeon, Ann Haessel, Susan Kristoferson, Mady Thiel-Kopstein, and new works coming every day!  Who are YOU hoping to see bring in new work for this show?  (Add your wishlist as a comment to this post.  We’ll pass along your comments/requests to our artists, and who knows, maybe they’ll respond!)

Also, the small works will be a bit more affordable for gift-giving to your art-loving friends (or yourself!).

“Small Works” will stay up through January 2011.

Small Video of \”Small Works Show\”

Come to the opening event on Saturday, November 20th, from 5 – 7 pm, meet the artists in attendance, and share in a feast of fun “small” food items!

Ravens
One for bad news,
Two for mirth.
Three is a wedding,
Four is a birth.
Five is for riches,
Six is a thief.
Seven, a journey,
Eight is for grief.
Nine is a secret,
Ten is for sorrow.
Eleven is for love,
Twelve – joy for tomorrow.
- Old English Rhyme

Join us in a visual exploration of the crows, ravens and other dark things that have captured the imaginations of local artists. Come to our opening event before the Sam Baker concert in Turner Valley (starts at 7:30 – details here)!

Featuring works by Beverly Farley, Judy Perrin, Karen Gimbel, Linda Cote, Mady Thiel-Kopstein – and some surprise new artists as well!  This show will run through November 19, 2010.

SAVE THE DATE:  November 20th “Small Works Show” opens – Artist’s Reception 5 – 7 pm.  This show will run through December 31, 2010.

Thanks to all who came to the opening night event – it was absolutely fabulous!  And now we have the poetry alongside the photographs in the gallery – come by and read it!

Kim Taylor is a local fine art photographer whose passion is the artful documentation of western cowboys and ranchers. For the last ten years this accomplished horse-woman has been shooting photos from the back of her horse and publishing them in the form of a popular day-planner, On the Trail.  (The 2011 edition is already selling like hotcakes in the gallery!)

We are very excited to be hosting a premier showing of Kim’s fine art prints. We’re quite certain you’ll enjoy the way her photographs capture real-life cowboys, ranchers, working in all seasons with their dogs and horses. She has an eye for beauty and the human element, and a compassionate view of the hard working but rewarding way of life still practiced in the prairies and foothills of Alberta.

www.kimtaylor.com

Opening Reception
Saturday,
August 21, 5 – 9 pm

Light refreshments will be served.

And on opening night, August 21, we’ll revel in the spoken word as we welcome a travelling band of regional poets who have been invited to write a few new poems in response to Kim’s fine art images.  We’ll then hear Kim talk about her experiences and what was actually happening at the time the photograph was taken. We’ll weave back and forth between imagination and experience… and delight in both!

We’re also delighted to include in this exhibit Jean Jackets sumptuously embellished by Calgary designer Sonja McDowell – one-of-a-kind wearable art to enjoy year-round.  We’ll also be showcasing, for a limited time, the fun and fabulous repurposed Cowboy-boot-Purses made by Heather Kyle, also of Calgary.

Belt Buckle Bonanza!—Just in Time for Stampede Week
Thursday, July 1st-3rd, 2010 11am-7pm at the Bluerock Gallery in Black Diamond

Bluerock Gallery presents Amy Ragsdale and Lisa Heinricks—Buckle Up!

“If Coco Chanel and Alexander Calder had a daughter, Amy Ragsdale would be her name”.–Elizabeth Spindletree

Amy Ragsdale and her “audacious” jewellery will be at the Bluerock Gallery on July 1st. Don’t miss checking out her one of a kind, haute-couture belt buckles—just in time for Stampede week. Amy has been practicing her craft for over twenty years, and is a dynamic and skilled artisan who is as committed to the creation of “ethical” jewellery as she is to her personal, creative vision.

www.amyragsdale.com

“Heinricks will be to the 21st Century what Pollock was to the 20th.”

Lisa Heinricks prides herself on her avant-garde approach to fine art. Her work includes Urban Buckles, Custom Painted Jewellery, Hand Painted Guitars and Functional Art including Custom Painted Tables.

www.creamydreamy.com
www.lisaheinricks.com

Drop in, meet the artists and check out the wide selection of belt buckles we’ve put together for Belt Buckle Bonanza. Also, don’t miss a set of great music by songwriter Shelley Lennox who will be playing in the gallery from 5-7pm.