Tuesday, August 7, 2012

The Art Gallery

In 2009, I attended Camp Mini Ha Ha in Nova Scotia. The project that year was this roombox designed by Samm Brockhurst. My intention was to make an art gallery.

Samm's Store front

And here mine sits - still in the box...

But the artwork still remains:

A floral by Victoria Meacham (wife of John Meacham who taught our silver class - on an easel by Shelley Acker); An Ancestor in Your Attic Hermelene LaFlamme by Marijke Hurkens; Rancho Palos Verdes print from Cher; miniature print from a Dartmouth gallery and gift from Dale (Petite Images); the piece of glass on the black base by Shelley Acker
These were pieces from my 2010visit to Cape Breton in Nova Scotia:
Print from Louisburg by Jin rong Chen, two kitchen magnet prints from a gallery  at Darthmouth
These first two pieces were from a glass gallery on the Cabot Trail. (I hate to admit that I don't remember where the vase came from.) Actually I remembered later where these pieces came from. The first two are beads that I bought from Linda and Bev of Another World Miniatures (Saskatoon) and the vase is by Janice Crawley, IGMA Fellow from Winnipeg.

The pieces of glass below (each about 3" long) are from that glass gallery. When the glass blowers get to the end of a piece of glass they make ornaments from the remains and sell them for about $1 each. They're wonderful glass sculptures for the "gallery". 

I'm debating whether or not to paint them with gallery glass...and wondering how to display them...and whether to display them all - or just one and make it the "highlight" of the show. A couple in RL are wonderful nude pieces.


These are two cards with pictures by "Willie" of the Northern Lights that I bought at the St. Albert Farmers' Market. Just have to cut them out and frame them.


I'm so thrilled and honoured to have these three native art work pieces that were gifted to me by Irma Woolf Paterson who lives in Alberta. Need to be framed.


The "Bluenose" is simply a photographic print that I made. The framed scene was a gift to me from the Baha'i when they met at the school when I was Community School Host.

The (unsigned) watercolour of the man fishing was from the garage sale of Joyce Buchanan's miniatures; the framed print of the Northern Lights is an oil painting by a woman who lived in Yellowknife at the time I purchased it about 30 years ago; the scene done in wood was purchased from Lynn's Miniatures and is signed 7/04 signature looks like Hunter.
I bought the picture of the Northern Lights with Vern in mind as he had spent so much time working in the NWT.  It's  2 5/8" x 2" frame included and it's absolutely beautiful. It was probably the most expensive piece I ever bought at that point (I think it was $25.00). The scene in wood is about half an inch deep and a true work of art.
My collection of possible display pieces. The first two are by John Parker of Swallowhill; the third is one of several plaster wedding cake pillars; the remaining pieces are plastic cake pillars.



I have already purchased one sales counter:


Don't know where this little piece of porcelain came from and don't know if I'll use it here but it's such a pretty little piece:

Just used it to display the display chain that was part of a set from Petite Images that I think I'll use to set apart a 'special' display.

I've decided that this roombox will be perfect for the Art Gallery. With the plexiglass front and top, everything will be totally visible.

The floor is already great. I will re-do all the innerwalls with an overlay of white matboard. 

Leanne returned my sander to me this afternoon so I plan on sanding all the outer walls and repainting them burgandy.


So I think that the Art Gallery is pretty much set to go from UFO to fait accomplai!

Let's give me about a week?!


8 comments:

  1. Hi

    I look forward to all your updates but this one....Im not sure.....SMILING!!!!
    To think you can have ALL those wonderful pictures/paintings statched away and suddenly after I dont kow how many years can take it all out of the drawer/box or whatever and be able to make an artgallery!!!! Just like that!!!
    Im most envying you!!
    Not to worry the feeling will go away (which is for the best)and I`ll keep on following you

    Greetings from Denmark

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    1. Thanks Susanne for following me.

      That's mostly how I work. Get an idea, collect for a couple years then try to put it all together.

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  2. Hi Maureen!
    That project looks like a lot of fun, and it will be a way to remember those great memories you had at Camp Mini Ha Ha. I sent you an email asking you if I could include those sunscreen label printies you sent me in a picassa album of beach printies I am putting together. I would like to provide a link to this album on the blog post which will be about the miniature beach scene I have been working on. I also sent you some information on getting together to work on the New Members Manual. That situation might have changed since I managed to get more sleep last night, but we'll see. Feel free to email me or sent me a facebook message regarding these matters.
    Warm Regards,
    Ruth

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    Replies
    1. Hi Ruth,
      Yes to the printies - although they're just images I found on the internet and re-sized.
      I'll be in touch regarding the manual but right now I'm in the zone with the Art Gallery and will probably be doing nothing but work on it for the next week.
      Maureen

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  3. Ciao ..sono una tua nuova amica!!! Faccio un giro per il tuo blog ...!!! Non ho tradotto bene il post ...ma posso lasciare un commento per le foto ..sono miniature bellissime!!! Se non ho capito male stai progettando una galleria d' arte!!! Bravissima!!!
    Baci
    Elvira
    Vieni a trovarmi se ti va!!!

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  4. Grazie Elvira per me. Sì, sarà una galleria d'arte e mi sono molto entusiasta. Vado a cercare di ottenere Babylon.com a tradurre questo per me.

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  5. Wow, Maureen. I did not know you spoke Italian (hope that is right). You never cease to amaze me! Love your art collection. Wish you would come back to camp! I miss you.:-(

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    1. VBG Liz. I don't speak Italian - used Babylon.com to reply to Elvira - hope it came out right.
      It's wonderful what has come together over the years.
      Hope to see you at Bowmanville this year. I'll be in Peterborough for Hallowe'en so plan on seeing at least some of the Ontario crowd then.
      Hugs, Maureen

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