Girard Portfolio: Spirit of the Land

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Spirit of the Land

This summer I entered a juried show at Marianne van Silfhout Gallery at St. Lawrence College, Brockville. This gallery is a state-of-the-art gallery with exquisitely designed moveable gallery panels and even clear lighting. The exhibition's Vernissage showed 42 artists on Friday, August 5 and there was a great buzz in the room. The exhibition takes place until Sept. 8 so drop by if you're in Brockville.

The artists' theme was centred around a chosen quote from one of my mentors, Emily Carr. She said "If spirit does not breathe through - it is lifeless, dead, voiceless - the Spirit must be felt so intensely that it has power to call others in passing..."

I selected Barnes Creek, South Branch River for my submission. That evening I received an Honourable Mention for the work from three possible accolades that the committee had chosen.

You'll also see it in a shared exhibition at ArtScene on Sunday, Sept 4. from 1:00-3:30 p.m. where Arlene Hare and I will have a Vernissage. ArtScene is a great art collective at 11 Spencer Street in Spencerville, On. Hope you can make it if you live around North Grenville.
Here is a sneak preview. . The name of the show is called Sacred Places.

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Biography

My childhood has been delineated by my marauding father who joined the Forces to have us uprooted from place to place: stationed in Picton, Prince Edward County, Petawawa, the Rhone Valley, Germany, and Edmonton. Finally I concluded my high school days in Timmins, Ontario, my birthplace.

I graduated from Queen’s in Kingston in 1974 with a minor in art history and history followed by a teaching degree in secondary visual arts education the following year, 1975. At Queen's, I was instructed by Jennifer Dickson, Trevor Hodgson and Allen Dickinson. In 1975, I began exploring painting with wax using the traditional Javanese tjanting needles on textile and exhibited in a student show.

In the early years in my education career, I travelled to northern Ontario to the James Bay region and worked as an arts & crafts co-ordinator. I learned more from them at that point than they me.

In the late seventies, I saw the work of Joyce Devlin in North Gower and was observant of her exquisite portraits and layers of acrylic paint.

I left teaching and travelled to work as an artist in Montreal. There I handmade folk clothing and accessories using the wax resist techniques on natural fibres I had learned years earlier.

In Ste. Rose north of Montreal island I began my family and in 1980 Emilie was born. Soon in 1982 Camille followed and I returned with my husband to Ottawa and gave birth to Andrea in 1983. In the 1980’s I returned to the teaching profession and was employed with the Ottawa Carleton Catholic School Board for 13 years working solely at St. Mark’s in Manotick.

In the early 1990’s I moved to Kemptville and began working with watercolour being attracted to its fluid line and challenging techniques. I was introduced to an academic method of watercolour by the artist, Jaw Shaw then in Oxford Mills. Her knowledge and careful manipulations still impress me and have influenced my work. I exhibited with her and a group of artists in Oxford Mills at the stackwall building next to the dam. I also exhibited with the North Grenville Art Guild at this time, showing a series of watercolours of historic buildings in the area. I worked behind the scenes in set design with the Kemptville Players and later became part of the leadership team of the Dandelion Festival, North Grenville. In the late 1990’s I taught Visual Arts Education in the Education Faculty of the University of Ottawa as a part-time professor to 2003. I transferred in 2000 to teach at St. Michael’s Catholic High School and retired from formal education in June 2010.

Presently I am exploring the medium of encaustic painting soon becoming a new series. I hope you enjoy these blogs as a new series comes to completion.

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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Spirit of the Land

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