VIDEO: In Plain View - Allan Geske

Allan Geske has been making prints for about thirty years. His studio is located in the Artspace Building in the Exchange District.

His prints are represented in collections throughout the USA, Japan, Korea, Britain & the Netherlands. Allan is best known for his copperplate engravings...intricate, complex & provocative images that at times evoke the landscape, but also stand as breathtaking abstractions. His etched work often incorporates prairie images paired with replications of charts, maps and iconic symbols.

Allan Geske has been a printmaker since the mid-1970s and he employs various techniques in his art such as etching, engraving, relief and mixed media. His images often include the prairie landscape: maps, charts and blueprints that locate our place in the world and language that integrates the letters, words, symbols and markings of the draughtsman, poet and educator.

Geske has traveled extensively and his prints are metaphors that create disparate associations relating to his sense of home and place of origin.

From the catalogue of a recent show at the University of Winnipeg:

"Master printmaker Allan Geske uses techniques such as etching and engraving to call up the sepia-toned maps and charts of 19th century travel and exploration. These rational ways of representing the world -- carefully laid-out and geometric -- combined with poetic approaches, to unexpected effect. Works such as Atlas Vignette and Prairie Orbs seem to picture a world both familiar and far away." -- Alison Gillmor, 2007

William Pura, professor of printmaking and painting at the School of Art, University of Manitoba, has said:

"Allan Geske is a master printmaker, co-founder and current coordinator of North Nassau Printmakers located in Winnipeg's Artspace building. Geske has explored many aspects of printmaking but is best known for his engravings on copper -- intricate, complex and provocative images that at times evoke the landscape, but also stand as breathtaking abstractions formed by the unique line that only the engraving technique can make. His work often incorporates prairie images paired with replications of global charts or maps as well as letters, words and iconic symbols."

In Plain View - Bev Morton and the Wayne Arthur Gallery

Strongly committed to the arts, Wayne Arthur and his wife Bev Morton were determined to display and sell the work of other Manitoba artists. On December 1, 1995, they opened the Wayne Arthur Sculpture & Craft Gallery at their home in St. Andrews, near Oak Hammock Marsh.

After Wayne passed away, Bev moved the gallery to Winnipeg. Together with her new husband, Robert MacLellan, Bev has run the Wayne Arthur Gallery at 186 Provencher Boulevard since November 30, 2002.

Some of Wayne's drawings are available for purchase at the gallery as well as the creations of over 130 Manitoba artists, working in the fields of painting, print-making, mixed media, sculpture, pottery, jewellery, glass and photography.

In Plain View - Helen Lyons

Helen Lyons is an artist and art historian, she is a graduate of the BFA program at the University of Manitoba, she has also has achieved a BA in Art and Art History from the University of Toronto.

In Plain View - Steve Jorgenson

Steve Jorgenson was born on Bainbridge Island, Washington, in 1947 and grew up in Seattle. After graduating in 1969 with a B.A. degree in Art from Bethel University, Saint Paul, Minnesota, he received an Art Education Teaching Certificate from Seattle Pacific University in 1971.

A variety of jobs in teaching and construction followed before he emigrated to Canada in 1975 where he works as a potter and sculptor. He has been a partner in The Stoneware Gallery since 1985.

His wheel-thrown pots are made of stoneware clay and are designed to be functional and have visually complex surfaces. Motifs from nature are carved into the pots which are first covered with brushed on multi-coloured slips. Transparent matte and gloss glazes are applied and then the pottery is fired in a gas kiln to approximately 2350° F., utilizing a heavy reduction atmosphere which produces richly coloured glazes and clay bodies.

In Plain View - Kathleen Noelle Black

Kathleen creates one of a kind glass sculptures, original paintings and small unique glass jewellery pieces.

Emotional strengths and weaknesses of living give life to Kathleen's work. Small glass pieces to larger organic, cast glass sculptures, windows; paintings in oils, water colour, acrylic and mixed media all reflect an exploration of light, dark, transparency and growth. This is all about time - time of day, time of life, how little or great the time.

Kathleen was encouraged as a child to paint on walls. She has continued her education in glass at Alberta College of Art and Design, Red Deer College and visual art at the University of Manitoba. She was the only Manitoban accepted into the juried Glass Art Association of Canada Juried Show "Lucent". A glass piece was accepted by the Manitoba Craft Council for the Annual Juried Show 2009. She has been recognized locally for her glass sculptures. Her work is represented in B.C., Alberta and most importantly here at home in Manitoba.

In Plain View - Ray Chistopherson

Ray Christopherson's pottery combines traditional forms with clean lines. Combined with his multiple-glaze techniques, he produces a unique and original look. His work is inspired by the thought that simple is beautiful. His glazes and glazing methods are inspired by nature or interpretation of nature. The marble glaze was inspired by wheat fields, mosses, grasses and rocks of the prairies. Other glazes are used for the power of the colours.

Ray believes pottery is a tactile art form meant to be held, touched and used. Beautiful pottery should also beautify a meal or a cup of tea or coffee.

His work has been displayed in various stores in Winnipeg, Winnipeg Beach, Clear Lake, Brandon, Kitchener and Waterloo.

Ray Christopherson is a Winnipeg potter who studied art at Tec Voc High School and the Universities of Winnipeg and Manitoba. Before concentrating on pottery, he studied pottery under local artists: Valerie Metcalfe, Kathy Koop and Steve Repa who inspired him to continue pottery.

VIDEO: In Plain View - Jane Wood

Having spent the first half of her life in England, Jane now calls Winnipeg, Canada her home. After working in the beauty industry on both sides of the Atlantic for many years she was looking for a new challenge. Jane has always had an interest in arts and crafts, including paper arts and polymer clay, but little did she realize that the skill of knitting, taught to her by her grandmother, would lead her to the fascinating world of felting.

After reading the 'how to' of felting in a magazine Jane knitted and felted her first bag and, even though it was less than perfect she was hooked. Felting is an art, not an exact science, when a bag is felted minor variations will show up in the size or shape, resulting in a unique piece every time. With every bag Jane felts she learns something new. Some of her most successful pieces have been the result of a near disaster and for Jane that is what makes the whole process so exciting.

Jane's bags are knitted by hand using 100% wool. She uses different wools, including, Merino, Icelandic, Mohair and Aran. Each kind of wool produces a different finish to the felt. After felting in a washing machine the handbags are rinsed, blocked and air dried. Embellishing each one with either felted flowers, ribbon or beads completes a truly unique piece of wearable art.

VIDEO: In Plain View - Ann Tyre

Ann Tyre is a Scottish born ceramic artist who has called Winnipeg, Manitoba home for some time. After a career as Director of Finance for a charitable non-profit organization, Ann obtained a BFA majoring in Ceramics. Since then she has attended workshops and residencies both in Canada and overseas.

In 1993 she opened her own studio. Her influences are varied, from her teachers to the everyday world around her, the changing conditions of light, texture and form. She strives for simple, strong forms and a quiet meditative aesthetic. Most of her work is fired in an electric kiln, but she relishes any opportunity to wood fire with fellow artists.

Ann has held the treasurer’s position on the Board of the Manitoba Crafts Council, and is currently serving in that capacity on the Board of the Canadian Crafts Federation.

She was also honoured to serve on the Selection Committee for the Canadian Crafts Federation in creating the Prairie Region content of Canadian National Exhibition “Unity and Diversity” which was the guest exhibit at the 2009 Cheongju Biennale.

VIDEO: In Plain View - Jo'Anne Kelly

Jo'Anne Kelly's work often refers to mythological themes. Whether a painting, a work in porcelain or a neckpiece, the whimsical and mythic often find play. She has never been able to restrict herself to working in one medium.

Enthralled by the vibrant colours of dyed silk, she produces a wide range of hand dyed silk pieces ranging from scarves to large wall pieces. At the same time she loves the challenge of working with the translucency of porcelain and creates thin-walled vessels, as well as functional bowls, vases, platters and ceramic wall pieces. She is also frequently engaged in producing jewellery from silver, precious stones and other materials.

Visit Jo'Anne's studio on the Assiniboine riverbank in Wolseley.

VIDEO: A look inside the world of Al Beardsell

Al Beardsell has been playing, repairing, and generally thinking about guitars for most of the past 25-30 years. The last 15 years have seen him building them professionally for genius musicians luminous and obscure alike, from Lou Reed of the Velvet Underground, to avant-garde musician and filmmaker Henry Kaiser, from local dudes the Weakerthans, to Quebecois noise/folk fusionist Rene Lussier.

His work has recently been featured in "The Fretboard Journal" (http://www.fretboardjournal.com/features/magazine/alternate-universe) and Acoustic Guitar Magazine (link). He lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with his family, and likes to cook.

He works amid a swirling miasma of wood, dust, shavings, smells and tools, in a small, chaotic, converted garage...called the Shed.

and the filming starts this week...

The first video will be for artist Jo'Anne Kelly.  I'm looking forward to meeting her and seeing her work.  She works in a bunch of mediums; ceramic, jewelery, fiber and painting.  Here's her site and her bio. Watch for the video some time next week.
http://www.kellyartobjects.com/

A native of Manitoba, Jo'Anne Kelly received a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Education from the University of Manitoba, and took further studies in Ceramics and Printmaking at the Ontario College of Art.

She began her professional life as a teacher of art in the Winnipeg high school system. In the late-seventies, she retired from teaching to devote her full time to her art.

Jo'Anne has worked professionally in a number of different media. Nowadays she works in both clay and surface design, (primarily painting on silk), but also has had considerable experience in metal-smithing. She has also illustrated children's books for Hyperion Press of New York, and for many years has dyed and hand-painted costumes for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

Jo'Anne has been involved in numerous one-woman and group exhibitions and has been represented in galleries across Canada and in England. Her work is found in private and public collections in Canada, the U.S., England and Europe.

In 1985 she was nominated by the Crafts Guild of Manitoba for the Saidye Bronfman Award for Excellence in the Craft, and in 1986, she was nominated by the Manitoba Crafts Council for Woman of the Year Award in Art. She received the Lieutenant-Governor's Medallion for art in 1990.

She has served as juror for the Manitoba Arts Council, for the Province of Manitoba Regional Art Exhibitions and for the Red River Exhibition Art competition.

Jo'Anne has served several terms on the Board of the Manitoba Crafts Council, including the position of president.

A look inside the world of Jordan Van Sewell

Jordan Van Sewell has been working as an artiste for over 30 years. Although he went to a real art school at university, his early influences were Charles Schultz, R. Crumb and Big Daddy Ed Roth.

Growing up on the Canadian Prairies during the sixties, these influences began to include aspects of the British Invasion; specifically the interpretation the British rockers put on American Blues. These images evoked by the music and lyrics of Frank Zappa played large for Jordan as a young teenager.

Meeting some of the amazing artists of Winnipeg

The next few months should be quite interesting as I am about to commence work with the artists of IN PLAIN VIEW, a collective of Winnipeg artists that have contracted me to shoot a series of artist profile videos.

Watch for stories about all the personalities, talents and filming hi-lights over the next few months.

I'm also working on completing two documentaries, SOUL OF THE SEA and SEARCH FOR ADVENTURE.  These will probably find new titles and will be packaged a part of a 5-part series called THE EXPLORERS CLUB.  The German version of the series has already aired on ZDF/arte in Germany and France.


I'm also shooting for a documentary here in Winnipeg that takes a look at ARTBEAT studio.

More updates soon!