My trip to Argentina

I just came back from my native city, Buenos Aires. It has lots to offer in terms of culture. It distills visual arts, music, dance and theatre. Although in this trip I had to dedicate much of my time to personal matters, I was able to enjoy the city life. Wherever you go you see restaurants crowded with people open past midnight, teenagers lining up to enter dancing clubs, shops of any kind you want, little coffee houses in revamped neighborhoods.
It took me several days to get used to the crazy rhythm of the cosmopolitan city. After all I lived there for 28 years and slowly everything came back to me. How to get in a packed subway, how to protect your purse from strangers, how to doubt anyone that gives you directions to a place.
One of the highlights of my trip was the visit to the studio of architect, sculptor and jeweller Juan Vellavsky. He specializes in silver casting. He went over the whole process from design to production. Juan has a couple of employees to help him finish up the pieces in order to keep up with the demand.
Coming from having done sculpture for many years, he shows in his designs a taste for volume and movement. His pieces have a whimsical quality that likens his work to that of Miro.
The generosity of this artist allowed me to take a peak at his world.
Juan's studio is a magical concoction of resin, metal,wax, coffee,cigarettes, a computer and why not a dog and a cat. Mix it all vigorously and you end up with beautiful and unique wearable works of art.
You can check his site at:
http://www.juanvellavsky.com.ar/

Awards at OMMA Show

From January 14 to February 16 took place the OMMA juried show “The Same but Different “at the Shenkman Arts Centre. I won the Jurors Choice Award and Award of Excellence for my piece “Remains”. All OMMA members were given the same black and white photograph on which we had to base our work. To create this piece, I used pen and ink, papers and acrylics.

Glass

There is nothing more beautiful than working with different materials. Each one posing a challenge in the way they behave when they are manipulated.

I was always curious as to how to work with glass and since there is no better time than today I decided to take classes to find out more about this medium.

I started a couple of months ago going to Northern Art Glass and the doors open to a whole new Universe.

This material required learning new techniques and posed new challenges, at the same time I could see the endless possibilities unfolding before my eyes.

I already produced a couple of great pieces and there are many more on the way.

Jewelry classes

Last year, I decided to resume jewelry classes. This is a passion of mine that started many years ago in Argentina when I attended the workshop of Master silversmith David Vallmitjana.

David was in his eighties when I joined his classes but he was still very active and eager to pass his knowledge to his students. His dedication and love for this craft were contagious.

I went with joy year after year to this little place where I knew creativity would not know of limits and my ideas would be shaped into little metal objects.

Today, while I work on my designs in my studio, I think how important is in life to have a good teacher that instils passion for what you do. It is as precious as life itself.

International Women’s Day

March 8^th is International Women’s Day. Here in Kanata, Councillor for Ottawa South, Peggy Feltmate celebrates it inviting women from this community to a breakfast at the Kanata Baptist Church.

This is the 4^th year women from the Kanata Artists Studio Tour take part in this happy event sharing what they do best.

This is an excellent opportunity to do networking and to stress the importance of the arts as part of this community.

Artists retreat

From September 19th to the 21st, 2008 I had the pleasure to spend a couple of wonderful days with my friend artists from OMMA.

Le Petit Rouge is a summer/winter resort close to Montebello surrounded by forest and rivers. From any of the cabins you see this incredible view of a waterfront and a multicolour backdrop of trees that covers the whole spectrum from bright yellows to dark burgundy reds.

The fresh and clean air inspires you to create as soon as you arrive. Nature is whispering in your ear a sweet song that you have to amplify through your art.

We were a cool bunch of women working in different projects. The interesting part is the learning experience of seeing how differently each one of us works. And that is when you start thinking of the infinite possibilities of creation.

Relaxation and Art. Is there a better combination?

My first blog!