Last night we attended the opening reception at Yellow House Gallery for the Annual Art Show titled 'We Are All Precious Snowflakes'. I am so happy to be participating in this group show. The walls were full of amazing art pieces. I met Chistina Kostoff, Owner and Director, and she is such a sweet soul. The artists and the art fans packed the gallery and the live band, The Hit Pickers, was the perfect band to fill the gallery with foot-tapping up-beat music. I was surrounded by raw talent and kind spirits. My husband was bouncing to the beats, my children were eating sweets near the reception table with smiles ear-to-ear and I was taking in all the great art. The art show is running until January 15, 2017. Yellow House Gallery is located at 921 Kingston Road in the heart of Toronto.
On Friday, November 4, 2016 we held the Chickpea Art Resist Workshop at ART SPARK. This particular technique was created by my friend Sandra Spagnuolo, who is an Artist and Art Instructor. Sandra and I have known each other since 2010. It was Sandra's mixed-media art classes that threw me into the world of mixed-media art. I would listen to the instructions but then begin to branch off and do "my thing". Sandra was so patient and understanding with me. She embraced my desire to elevate my skills as an Artist, to stretch myself and push my 'art envelope'. We decided to hold the workshop with a mix of adults and children. All three of my children have art in their lives, naturally, they grew up surrounded by my ideas of art. Both Sandra and I strongly believe that we need to share our ideas and inspirations to the younger generation. It was an amazing night of messy art, engaging conversation and inspiration. The photos here are the chickpea resist sheets created by my two children, E & M, and me. The reveal will happen later once the acrylic paints on the sheets are fully dry. It's good to see the process as well as the results. Enjoy !
I just finished creating 3 new art pieces in my 'Life is Art (Alice Series)'. All 3 were juried in the annual Holiday Art Show at Yellow House Gallery located in Toronto. The exhibition will run from November 11, 2016 to January 15, 2017. A bit of background ~ I believe I painted myself in my last trimester of pregnancy. I recall being asked to stay in bed, for long periods of time, for a couple of my pregnancies due to serious complications. I always dreamt of myself walking in art galleries and museums, surrounding myself with wonderful large-scale art. I had to stay positive and so I consistently filled my thoughts with food and art. One of my favourite series of work I keep painting is my 'Life is Art (Alice Series)'. I draw from the concept of 'life is art' and 'art is life'.
ART SPARK - ART WORKSHOP hosted by Mixed Media Artists ~ Sandra Spagnuolo and Joan Andal Romano9/30/2016 ART SPARK ART WORKSHOP Date: November 4, 2016 from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm. Location: Milton Learna School at 180 Nipissing Road, Unit 4, Milton. Cost: adult $40, parent & child (8-16 yrs old) group $50 ~ all materials are included. Chickpea Paste Resist Workshop with Sandra Spagnuolo In this new twist on the traditional art of batik, you will create beautiful fabric pieces, perfect for framing or stitching. The results are always fascinating and a bit mysterious, as the acrylic washes make their way through cracks in the chickpea paste surface staining the fabric below. With all of your materials included, this is a great opportunity to play, whatever your skill level. REGISRATION: Please contact Sandra Spagnuolo at [email protected] or Joan Andal Romano at [email protected]. Registration will close on November 1, 2016, to help both Sandra and I prepare for the workshop. The following are the finished pieces from Class 7 where I asked 'The Avatars' to push outside of their definition of 'beauty'. They had to cover their creations with black molding paste and keep on painting. I am glad they trusted me and they trusted their individual selves. As artists, our intuition has to be strong. The more we create, take risks and experiment with mixed-media art techniques, the more fearless we become during the creative process. 'The Avatars' are growing exponentially in their artistic abilities. They are producing such amazing artwork.
'In The City' art pieces were completed during Class 6. I cannot find the right words to describe how I feel when I see my Avatars creating such great work. I like to stand back and stop talking and just sit near them and watch. I can observe when one is in the zone. Their creative energy fills the entire room and I have to cover my smiles; it's like I'm smiling all the time during class. I am teaching a very talented and young group of artists; there's this joy within me that I do not even want to label myself as their teacher. They are on the same artistic creative level I am at; age does not matter; experience is but a small variable; to put it simply ~ each of us have 'it'. The 'it' is raw talent and passion.
Class 7 ~ my Avatars and I began our new creations on 12x12 blank canvases. Step 1 was to collage, place all sorts of papers in random order and create something pleasing to the eye, something 'beautiful'. Then step 2 came along. I asked my Avatars to trust me. We poured black molding paste on top of our beautiful compositions and scraped off areas of the composition using drift wood, sticks and cardboard tags. As artists, we are pushing our limits and challenging ourselves; this means we will not always create what is 'beautiful'. But trusting me is key; when we are done steps 3 & 4 in Class 8 next week - we will have master pieces. I am very proud of my Avatars; they continue to keep an open mind and their intuitive skills are growing every week. We take risks, we experiment, we challenge ourselves, this is where originality lives.
I use to have two pocket book calendars with me at all times; one was for important dates in my personal life and the second included all my work deadlines. A president of a company once asked me, "Why do you have two calendars Joan, don't you have just one life". I responded, "I like to keep my career and my personal life separate". Over the years, my two pocket calendars finally merged into one. The fact that I am a structural engineer and the fact that I am an artist is perfectly normal to me now. One of many capital infrastructure projects I am very proud to have worked on was the construction of the Milton Velodrome for the XVII Pan American Games that was held in the summer of 2015. I was the Town of Milton's construction PM. It is an experience I will always cherish; this Velodrome will be my first and last Velodrome. This amazing facility continues to be a success story. I cannot separate my engineering and my art; my strength lies in having both sides of my brain active; like I've said before, 'I am those round pegs in the square holes', and this is 100% OK.
Last Saturday, my Avatars, began the process of creating their own original art pieces of 'In The City'. I began my series of city scenes back in 2010; visions of buildings and night skies come so naturally to me. I am so impressed how each student created their own papers and how they placed them on canvas with such care and thought. We will be working on the finer details today during Class 6. I will post the finished pieces once they're ready.
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November 2018
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