JUNE HILLS
CAAF Residency st[art]@Art Central, April – May 2011
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
On the First Thursday of each May, Calgary celebrates Arbour Day. It’s a time to reflect on the vision of creating greener communities. Our ideas about Arbour Day are not only informed by the simple act of planting a tree, but also by the visual world… and the way we represent these ideas. Arbour Day resonates with me. As a visual artist, I have been immersed in the Forest. I draw trees, I paint trees, I preserve trees, and I share my love of trees and artmaking with others every chance I get.
My st[art] residency will begin with the location of the CAAF studio as an exhibition space for howtodrawatree, a correspondence mailart project I started in 2007. Over the next four weeks of the residency, the space will transform into an installation of my collected and created ephemera from the forest. During Open Studio hours, you are invited to join me in drawing your idea about the tree, using various artmaking materials and techniques.
On Sunday, I will embark on an urban hike through downtown Calgary, with the goal of filling a sketchbook of the “forest” of the downtown core. You are invited to meet me at the studio at noon, and join me on this sketching hike. Wear comfortable shoes, bring a favorite sketchbook and pen, and join me in a cup of tea at the end of the hike. (Hikes will last 2-4 hours, depending on weather and the group’s wishes.)
The residency will culminate on May 5th with First Thursday at Art Central, with the celebration of a t(r)ea party… the sharing of a cup of tea, followed by the planting of trees in rescued, found and donated tea cups.