Emma Bound
Exhibition Dates: July 15 – August 20, 2016
Reception: Tuesday, July 26, 7 – 9 pm
Location: Saskatchewan Craft Council Gallery, 813 Broadway Avenue, Saskatoon, SK
This exhibition showcases the eclectic, imaginative and energetic work of the 2016 EMMA International Collaboration participants and invited guest artists. Featuring work in many media, including wood, fibre, ceramics, mixed media and visual art, it is a vibrant show that the whole family can enjoy.
Terri Fidelak
www.emmacollaboration.com/artists/terri-fidelak
In one sentence describe the piece you are submitting to Emma Bound.
“Bibelots” is an expression of my curiosity about nature, interconnectivity and the passage of time.
Tell us about your creative process – in general and/or specifically for your Emma Bound piece.
My creative process can be summed up in the words of Mary Oliver: “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” I am interested in detail, beauty and small wonders, and the ways that tiny aspects can open our awareness of the vastness to which we belong.
What currently inspires you and which other artists do you admire and why?
I am currently inspired by the physicality of materials, by small objects, big ideas, science and the natural world. I admire James Turrell for his vision, Yayoi Kusama for her absurdity, Liz Magor for her discerning eye, Rebecca Solnit for her brilliance, Wes Anderson for his imagination, Andy Shauf for his poetry… The list is endless.
Where are you from and what do you love and/or hate about that place?
I’m from Saskatchewan. I love the landscape and the arts community and I hate the overwhelming racism, bigotry and narrow mindedness of our mainstream population.
Tell us if this is your first time or 10th time attending Emma International Collaboration. What are you looking forward to?
This is my first time attending Emma International Collaboration. I’m looking forward to the forest, to new friends, to ideas, conversation and campfires.
What does “making collaborative art work” mean to you? Is it a struggle to “let go” at times?
Collaboration is an essential aspect of my creative practice. Whether an artist works with another person, another species, or a material, s/he must always be listening and responding thoughtfully.
Eveline Kolijn
www.emmacollaboration.com/artists/eveline-kolijn
In one sentence describe the piece you are submitting to Emma Bound.
Corkhoppers reside in Saskatchewan, and prefer to prey upon last Emma’s Vintage.
Tell us about your creative process – in general and/or specifically for your Emma Bound piece.
I made my first corkhopper as a fun prop for an educational video on gears. I was inspired after learning there actually exist insects with gear-like elements on their back legs, which help them jump. At the 2014 Emma International I made an etching depicting spruce beetles, which were everywhere! For this piece, I decided to put two and two together and create a bottle for the corkhoppers with an “Emma Bound” vintage label. The accompanying QR code shows a section from the video.
What currently inspires you and which other artists do you admire and why?
Currently, I am working as lead-artist on a Public Art project in Calgary, to create oversized relief and screen prints with 12 artist-mentees for 12 utility Boxes along two downtown Calgary Avenue corridors. My inspiration for this project is the printmaking-street artist Swoon, who makes the most amazing giant linocuts of multicultural people, which she pastes on the walls together with intricate cut-out patterns, the ensuing deterioration on the walls of this art is beautiful. Swoon would love Emma; she and her crowd constructed a fleet of funky boats from found objects, on which she sailed into the Venice lagoon during the biennale in 2008.
Where are you from and what do you love and/or hate about that place?
I am from Dutch heritage, born in France. The place I most identify with is Curacao, a Dutch Caribbean island, where I spent my teens and which I still regularly visit because my parents live there. I love the sea, marine life and corals reefs. They are a very important theme in my art. It bleeds me that many reefs are sick and dying as a result of pollution and climate change. Another topic.
Tell us if this is your first time or 10th time attending Emma International Collaboration. What are you looking forward to?
This is my THIRD Emma. I am looking forward to meeting new and known artists. After a few times, Emma becomes “family”.
What does “making collaborative art work” mean to you? Is it a struggle to “let go” at times?
I love the collaboration, to get new ideas and to “let go” of a piece you have made and see what becomes of it.
Doug Taylor
www.emmacollaboration.com/artists/doug-taylor
In one sentence describe the piece you are submitting to Emma Bound.
It’s a thirteen part installation featuring two distinct elements… a set (grid) of nine heavy monochrome stainless steel panels hung on the wall and (in front) a sculptural item featuring a bundle of waste Ness Creek Music Festival flyers… to be placed in front of the panels on a plinth on top of a lead-clad box made exactly to the 12 by 12 by 12 inch size limit for shipped works.
Tell us about your creative process – in general and/or specifically for your Emma Bound piece.
The creative process is self-evident in this case. All of the materials in the work are re-purposed.
What currently inspires you and which other artists do you admire and why?
Inspiration is constant. I usually try to remove skill, quality and excellence from the equation in order to get at the raw turbulent beauty. I like to question when beauty enters or leaves an object.
I admire many artists, but Twombly, Tuttle, Rauschenberg, Heilmann, Stockholder are on my mind right now. I think my friend Mark Dicey may be the best painter I’ve actually worked with.
Where are you from and what do you love and/or hate about that place?
I live in the middle of Saskatchewan away from any town or city. I like the isolation most of the time, but it’s always fun to go to the city for the offerings there.
Tell us if this is your first time or 10th time attending Emma International Collaboration. What are you looking forward to?
I’ve been to nearly all of the Emma/Ness collaborative events and then some. Mostly I avoid actual collaboration in the normal sense. I’ve seen good work destroyed in the usual collaborative model. Mike H’s cabinets where each artist contributes a solo element works well most of the time though. When too many hands work on a single thing is where it gets messy.
What does “making collaborative art work” mean to you? Is it a struggle to “let go” at times?
Collaboration is always over-rated, but few will admit this truth. I collaborate/get inspired by merely being with other makers. If a viewer provide a critical suggestion I may or not make changes to a thing after weighing options.
BONUS – Give us a quote or sentiment to live by.
Be brave, stir the pot… give form to your ideas based on what you know you like. Imitation is good. Try the colors/shapes and have fun. If you are in a club that claims to inhabit the domains of excellence and quality, quit that club.