Home, Where the North Is

Home, Where the North Is
Curated by Xanthe Isbister, Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre
AFA Travelling Exhibition Program Region 4
Interpretive Catalogue and Educator’s Guide
Cover Image: Detail: Jim Logan, Away With His Dogs, 1992.
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Table of Contents
4 About the Esplanade
5 About the AFA Travelling Exhibition Program
7 Curatorial Statement
9 Biographies
15 In the Beginning…
17 List of Works
18 List of Works
20 List of Works
23 Introduction to Educator’s Guide and Lesson Plans
25 Critiquing Student Work
26 Lesson 1: Create a Contour Drawing About Your Home
28 Lesson 2: Salt Painting of the Northern Lights
30 Lesson 3: Create a Contemporary Relief Print
35 Acknowledgments
37 Bibliography
Image left: Detail: J. Thomas Hinton, Old Town/Yellowknife, 1993.
About the Esplanade
The Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre is where the stories of our great
collective culture are told in music and dance, painting and sculpture,
plays and concerts, exhibitions and installations, artifacts and objets d’art,
education programs and private events. Featuring a 700-seat main stage
balcony theatre which boasts superior technology and striking design,
the Esplanade is where Medicine Hat celebrates arts and heritage.
A marvel of contemporary Canadian architecture on traditional Blackfoot
territory just steps from the South Saskatchewan River, the Esplanade
occupies an eminent position on downtown’s historic First Street
Southeast. From its rooftop terrace, you can see Saamis, the dramatic
shoreline escarpment which is the setting for the story of how Medicine
Hat got its name.
Inside, visitors discover the vibrant Esplanade Art Gallery, the prized
Esplanade Museum, the Esplanade Studio Theatre across the lobby from
the Esplanade Main Stage Theatre, the expansive Esplanade Archives and
Reading Room, an art education space called the Discovery Centre, the
catering-friendly Cutbanks Room, the McMan Bravo! Coffee House and
lots of volunteers and staff who are eager to guide you to the right place—
and tell you their versions of our city’s namesake tale on the way.
In the northeast corner of the Esplanade grounds stands the oldest
remaining brick home in Alberta, the Ewart-Duggan House. With its
gingerbread trim and quaint heritage gardens, it now serves as a
charming venue for select cultural events and a home away from home
for artists in residence.
The Esplanade opened in celebration of Alberta’s centennial in 2005 and
ever since, Medicine Hat has welcomed a steady procession of artists
and audiences, storytellers and story-lovers from around the region and
around the globe. The celebration continues today.
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About the AFA Travelling
Exhibition Program
The Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) has supported a provincial
travelling exhibition program since 1981. The mandate of the AFA’s
Travelling Exhibition Program (TREX) is to provide all Albertans the
opportunity to enjoy visual art exhibitions in their community.
Three regional galleries and one arts organization coordinate the program
for the AFA:
Northwest Region: The Art Gallery of Grande Prairie, Grande Prairie
Northeast and North Central Region: The Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton
Southwest Region: The Alberta Society of Artists, Calgary
Southeast Region: The Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre, Medicine Hat
Each year, more than 300,000 Albertans enjoy many exhibitions in
communities ranging from High Level in the north to Milk River in the south
and virtually everywhere in between. The Alberta Foundation for the Arts
TREX Program also offers educational support material to help educators
integrate the visual arts in the school curriculum.
Exhibitions for the TREX program are curated from a variety of sources
including private and public collections. A major part of the program
consists of making the AFA’s extensive art collection available to Albertans.
This growing collection is comprised of more than 8,000 artworks which
showcase the talents of more than 2,000 artists. As the only provincial art
collection in Alberta, it chronicles the development of the province’s
vibrant visual arts community and serves as an important cultural legacy
for all Albertans.
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Curatorial Statement
The quiet of the forest in the winter is one of the most beautiful things
I have ever experienced. No one is around for miles, and you can’t see
any animals, but you know they are there from the tracks they have left.
These experiences of the forest changed my life forever. The North has
a magical spirit that seeps into everyone who lives there, and that spirit
stays forever. The fifteen artists in this exhibition have created pieces
that describe the enchanting northern landscape and how it captivates
the people who live there.
I come from the deep freeze of the Prairies, where your car never
warms up during a January winter and the land is blanketed with quiet;
we hibernate and try to stay warm. In the spring we emerge from this
reclusiveness to enjoy a short summer and fall. But I experienced a
very different lifestyle when I lived and worked in both the Northwest
Territories and northern Saskatchewan, near the Athabasca River. The
communities in these regions are active in their natural environment year
round. Even in temperatures of minus thirty degrees Celsius, people still
check their rabbit snares and walk their dogs.
This lifestyle inspired the idea of an exhibition to convey this spirit.
From the iceberg painting by Isabel Hamilton to the endearing oil
painting Eskimo Scene by Kablona and Northern Lights by Irene
Pearcy, the pieces in this exhibition describe the diversity and strength
of the connection the people of the North have with their environment.
The works are unpretentious, as if the artists wished to capture private
moments in time. And although personal, they convey a universal
message—we are all influenced and inspired by the concept of
home and our sense of belonging, our “sense of place.”
The nineteen pieces in this exhibition are from the Alberta Foundation
for the Arts permanent collection in Edmonton, Alberta.
Xanthe Isbister, TREX Program Manager/Curator
Image left: Detail: Jim Vest, Musher #1, 1987.
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Biographies
Keith Dalgleish
Keith Dalgleish is an accomplished artist in multiple disciplines best known
for his work as a painter.
Dalgleish first studied the visual arts while enrolled in a sign-painting
course at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in the early 1980s.
He participated in a professional program at the School of Alberta Ballet
and earned a diploma in performance from MacEwan University, formerly
Grant MacEwan College, in the late ’80s before returning to the visual arts
and graduating with a diploma in painting from the Alberta College of Art
and Design in 1993. He uses art to investigate the relationship between
form and meaning and his images often express a symbolic and dreamy
narrative. He has exhibited in western Canada and his works reside in the
collections of First Energy Capital and Alberta Ballet, among others.
Terry Gregoraschuk
Terry Gregoraschuk was born in Edmonton in 1958. He majored in
advertising art at the Alberta College of Art and Design, formerly Alberta
College of Art, in the late 1970s then worked as an illuminated-sign
designer and as a magazine art director before leaving advertising to
build a full-time art practice.
Gregoraschuk is known for his exquisite watercolours in the genre of
hyperrealism as well as for his abstract works in acrylics, steel sculptures
and multi-media pieces. He uses art to make social statements about
wildlife management and other environmental issues. His works have
been commissioned by Canada Post, Environment Canada and the Royal
Tyrrell Museum and reside in the collections of the City of Calgary, Canada
Olympic Park and the City of Medicine Hat Esplanade Arts and Heritage
Centre, among others.
Isabel Hamilton
Isabel Hamilton was born in Nakusp, British Columbia, in 1928. She
studied art at the University of Lethbridge and University of Saskatchewan
in the 1960s and ’70s and at Lethbridge Community College in the 1980s.
Hamilton paints in watercolours and her lifelong interest in discovering
and advancing new techniques is rooted in her passion for exploring
and sharing the beauty of the landscape. Her works have been exhibited
in Canada and the United States and she is a founding member of the
Southern Alberta Art Gallery (1975.)
Image left: Detail: Irene Pearcy, Northern Lights, 1995.
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Ted Harrison
Ted Harrison was born in Wingate, County Durham, England, in 1926.
He studied at the Hartlepole College of Art in the early 1940s until the
activities of the Second World War halted his education. He resumed
studies after the war and received a teaching certificate from the
University of Durham in 1951.
Harrison came to Canada as a teacher in 1967 and settled in Carcross,
Yukon, where he began to paint his surroundings in luminescent colours
that seem to rejoice in the natural and cultural richness of the North.
He is renowned internationally for his contribution to contemporary
art and in 1987, was made a member of the Order of Canada for his
contribution to Canadian culture. He holds honorary doctorates from
the University of Victoria, University of Alberta and Athabasca University.
Harrison now lives in Victoria.
J. Thomas Hinton
J. Thomas Hinton was born in Campbellton, New Brunswick, and studied
art at Durham College in Oshawa and Conestoga College in Kitchener.
He also studied engineering for a time before becoming a full-time artist
in 1988 and teaching himself the art of serigraphy, otherwise known as
silkscreen printing.
Hinton hiked and canoed all over Canada in order to experience the
exhilaration of the wilderness and capture it in his works. He paints in
gouache and other mediums but is primarily known as a printmaker.
He studies his subjects via photography and experiments with layers
of colour in the studio. Over the years, he has produced fifty-five sold-out
print editions. His works reside in the collections of Parks Canada, Alberta
Wheat Pool and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, among others.
Mary Jowsey
Mary Jowsey was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, in 1923. In the 1990s,
she lived in Canmore and exhibited linocut prints at the Corner Gallery in
the mountain community. No other biographical information is available.
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Kablona
Kablona was active in the 1950s and used various mediums to draw
and paint scenes of life on the tundra. No other biographical information
is available.
Helen Kalvak
Helen Kalvak was born in 1901 on Victoria Island, Northwest Territories,
and died there in the community of Ulukhaktok, (formerly Holman,) in 1984.
Kalvak was an artist and printmaker who began drawing late in life—in the
1960s—but was prolific and produced more than three thousand images
during her career. Her works portray the stories and activities of the
people and animals of the North. While some are rendered in black and
white and others feature brilliant or muted colours, they all centre on the
theme of the unity of life and are distinguished by their lively expressions
of spirited festivity. In 1975, Kalvak was elected a member of the Royal
Canadian Academy of Arts and in 1978, she was made a member of the
Order of Canada for her contributions to Canadian art.
Jim Logan
Jim Logan was born in New Westminster, British Columbia, in 1955
and started painting while working as a lay minister in the First Nations
community of Kwanlin Dun, Yukon. He painted to make statements about
social justice and specifically, about society’s apathy toward the adversity
faced by aboriginal people.
Over time, Logan’s practice expanded to incorporate various mediums and
genres including computer-generated art but thematically, he continues to
explore issues related to the status of First Nations people in Canada.
He examines how society values traditional masterpieces and compares
that to its view of aboriginal art. Since 2002, Logan has been a visual arts
officer for the Canada Council for the Arts.
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Lynn Malin
Lynn Malin was born in 1943 and studied art at the University of Alberta
and University of Toronto. She works in watercolours, acrylics and oils
on paper, board and canvas and collaborates on public sculptures
and installations.
Malin’s works are a tribute to the beauty of nature. Her subjects range
from landscapes to close-ups of wildflowers but each one overflows
with soft colour and features details executed in elemental textures
and shapes. She has exhibited in numerous venues including galleries in
Singapore, Korea, New York and Tokyo and her works appear in public,
corporate and private collections in Canada and around the world.
Niyicaluk
Niyicaluk painted in oils and recorded the people and landscapes of the
North. No other biographical information is available.
Mary Parris
Mary Delmege Parris was born in Edmonton in 1914 and lived there until
her death in 1988. She started painting in the 1920s and studied art at the
Banff School of Fine Arts in the 1960s and at the University of Alberta
in the 1970s.
Parris worked primarily in watercolours and often selected landscapes
and agricultural scenes as her subjects. She was a founding member of
the first artist collective in Canada, Focus Gallery in Edmonton (1962,)
and was a member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour.
Her paintings have been exhibited in Ontario and western Canada and
reside in the collections of the Canada Council Art Bank and the Edmonton
Public School Board, among others.
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Irene Pearcy
Irene Muriel Pearcy was a celebrated watercolour painter. She was born
in Banff in 1930 and in 1951, moved to Grande Prairie where she lived until
her death in 2011.
Pearcy went to Grande Prairie to begin what would become a twenty-fiveyear career as a registered nurse. She studied art at the Grande Prairie
Regional College in 1968, attended the Banff School of Fine Arts in 1971
and pursued further art education in various formal settings throughout
the 1980s and ’90s. Her subjects are the four seasons, floral studies and
landscapes, all the scenes in nature which allow the artist to explore
light and colour. Pearcy had a passion for art and community and was
a founding member of Artists North, a non-profit society which promotes
art and artists in Peace Country, (1982.)
Derek Rodgers
Derek Rodgers was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England,
in 1939. He served six years in the British Army before coming to
Canada in 1965 with a dream of becoming a full-time artist.
He graduated from the Alberta College of Art and Design, formerly
Alberta College of Art, in 1973 having financed his education as a
dishwasher, dog-trainer and seismic crew labourer.
Through drawing, collage and printmaking, Rodgers explores his unique
perspective on the world and his realistic representations of people,
animals and plants are vivid with personality.
Jim Vest
Jim Vest was born in Durham, England, in 1939 and studied art at the
Sunderland College of Art and the Manchester College of Art and Design
in the 1960s. He came to Canada in 1969 to teach art in the Edmonton
public school system and in 1980, he established a full-time art practice.
Vest works mainly in oils and acrylics on canvas and is famous for his
broad brush strokes and use of angular blocks of colour. Many of his
works are over-sized and his glittering mountain scenes are powerful
impressions of the beauty of the natural environment. He has held solo
exhibitions in British Columbia, the Yukon and Alberta and his works
reside in public and private collections in Canada and abroad.
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In the Beginning…
Home, Where the North Is is an exhibition of prints, paintings and
drawings that celebrate the daily triumphs of life in Canada’s northern
communities. The works highlight the contrast between the warmth of
the ordinary activities that bind people together and the cold beauty of
the isolated environment that both threatens and supports their existence.
The first images selected as the foundation for the exhibition were three
camp scenes, two by Kablona and another by Helen Kalvak, (1901-1984,) all
from 1973 when Inuit art was just entering its second decade of being organized
and promoted. The first edition of prints ever produced in the Northwest
Territories was issued in Cape Dorset in 1959 and the first prints originating
from Kalvak’s birthplace, Holman, now known as Ulukhaktok, were issued in 1965.
The camp scenes depict people standing or sitting outside distinctly northern
homes—an iglu, a tupiq or caribou-skin tepee, a prospector tent and timberframe cabins. The characters are occupied with eating, drinking tea or loading
a freight sled or qamutik and dogs are milling about in the background.
Even when people are not visible, as in one of the Kablona images, the tools
and trappings of their daily routines including handmade vehicles like the
umiaq, an animal-skin boat, are on display. The images convey reverence for
the simple things in life like working, cooking, taking care of the home and
animals, preparing hunting supplies and travel gear and helping others.
They show a stark and almost vacant landscape inhabited by content and
busy people who are focused on negotiating survival with that very landscape.
Little is known about the artist, Kablona, but many records exist of Kalvak’s
involvement with art in her community. Ulukhaktok was one of the first five sites
in the North to institute a printmaking shop which would prove to last the test
of time. The artist and government administrator, James A. Houston, traveled the
North in the 1950s with an eye to establishing carving and printmaking cooperatives
as viable means of building financial stability and independence for the northern
people. Cape Dorset was the first to build a printmaking workshop in 1957 and
invite art advisors from the south to train local artists. It was followed soon after by
Ulukhaktok, Povungnituk, Pangnirtung and Baker Lake, now known as Qamani’tuaq.
The task of printmaking is exacting and requires specialized operators and
equipment. Many of the prints produced in the North are actually made by three
skilled artists: one who draws the image, one who transfers the image to the
matrix and one who operates the press. Kalvak herself was born in an age when
bone, antler, hard stone, animal-skin clothing and faces (for tattoos) were the
only surfaces available for carving or inking images into. Materials like paper and
pencils were virtually unknown to her until her adult years and she only began to
draw when she was in her sixties. Incidentally, this remarkable woman was one
of the last of the Copper Inuit women to sport customary decorative facial tattoos.
The three early works by Kablona and Kalvak document the traditional lifestyle and
artifacts of the Inuit and provide a record of cultural values like interdependence,
cooperation and togetherness. The works selected to accompany them in
Home, Where the North Is sustain the theme of celebrating the rewarding
but challenging relationship northerners have with their unique environment.
Image left: Detail: Helen Kalvak, Untitled, n.d.
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List of Works
Collection of The Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
1.Detail: Irene Pearcy, Northern Lights,
1995. Acrylic on canvas,
1211⁄16 x 145⁄8 inches.
2.Detail: Kablona, Untitled, n.d.
Ink on paper, 14 1⁄16 x 18 inches.
3.Detail: Kablona, Eskimo Scene, 1950.
Oil on masonite, 16 1⁄4 x 18 15⁄16 inches.
4. Detail: Mary Jowsey, Along the
Boardwalk (Cedar Bark Drying),
1991. French dyes on silk,
2115⁄16 x 27 7⁄8 inches.
Image left: Detail: Ted Harrison, Watson’s Store, 1982.
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List of Works
Collection of The Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
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5.Detail: Keith Dalgleish, Rock Face #2,
2000. Oil on canvas,
25 13⁄16 x 2515⁄16 inches.
6. Detail: J. Thomas Hinton, Old Town/
Yellowknife, 1993. Silkscreen on paper, 2115⁄16 x 18 1⁄16 inches.
7.Detail: Helen Kalvak, Untitled,
n.d., Lithograph on paper,
19 7⁄8 x 15 15⁄16 inches.
8.Detail: Niyicaluk, Untitled (Eskimo
Man and Woman in Landscape), n.d.
Oil on card, 18 1⁄8 x 16 inches.
9.Detail: Jim Vest, Musher #1, 1987.
Oil on canvas, 27 3⁄8 x 28 7⁄16 inches.
10. Detail: Terry Gregoraschuk,
Emerging Wolf, 1983. Watercolour
on paper, 27 13⁄16 x 35 11⁄16 inches.
11. Detail: Isabel Hamilton, Iceberg #3 Cumberland Sound NWT, 1994.
Watercolour on paper,
27 7⁄8 x 35 13⁄16 inches.
12. Detail: Ted Harrison, Caribou Hotel,
1982. Silkscreen on paper,
35 3⁄4 x 27 7⁄8 inches.
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List of Works
Collection of The Alberta Foundation for the Arts
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13. Detail: Ted Harrison, Carcross
Church, 1982. Silkscreen on paper,
27 7⁄8 x 35 3⁄4 inches.
14. Detail: Jim Logan, Away With His
Dogs, 1992. Acrylic on canvas,
30 5⁄8 x 36 5⁄8 inches.
15. Detail: Lynn Malin, Broken Bank,
1984. Watercolour on paper,
32 5⁄16 x 32 1⁄4 inches.
16. Detail: Derek Rodgers, Walrus
Gumbo, 1982. Coloured pencil on
paper, 32 5⁄16 x 32 5⁄16 inches.
17. Detail: Mary Parris, Fighting Form,
1973. Acrylic on paper,
27 13⁄16 x 35 11⁄16 inches.
18. Detail: Ted Harrison, Watson’s Store,
1982. Silkscreen on paper,
35 3⁄4 x 27 7⁄8 inches.
19. Detail: Ted Harrison, The Tutshi,
1982. Silkscreen on paper,
35 3⁄4 x 27 7⁄8 inches.
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Introduction to Educator’s
Guide and Lesson Plans
The AFA Travelling Exhibition Program Southeast created this educator’s guide
based on the exhibition’s themes and concepts. It is composed of lesson plans
and informative material. We strive to create projects that will inspire individuals
to experience our exhibitions beyond their decorative aspects and to explore their
own creativity. Educators, writers, curators and artists have all contributed content;
we hope you create something amazing from it.
Detail: Kablona, Untitled, n.d.
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“
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Critiquing Student Work
There are several ways to approach discussing art with students in an objective, constructive
manner. The exercise of talking with students about their completed pieces is similar to grading
assignments in other areas of study. “Because so many view art class, at least at the elementary
level, simply as a therapy, or as play period without significant content or standards, they feel it is
a good place to praise virtually anything a student produces without regard to true merit”(Prince,
16). We need to approach art/visual expression projects the same way we would approach, for
example, math or music projects. By doing so, we place just as much value on visual expression
as we do on traditional classes. This helps prove to students that their efforts, work ethic and
creativity in art class are just as important as the skills necessary in other classes. Students who
have a difficult time in other areas of study may excel in art, and this needs to be recognized and
valued to help promote self-esteem.
“ The Four Cs” of objective critique:
Craftsmanship
Comprehension
Creativity
Composition
Craftsmanship can be determined by how well the student has controlled the material. Some
students work in an expressive manner and at first glance, it might appear they have not taken
the time or made the effort. “Thinking outside the box is not the same as colouring outside the
lines” (Prince 13). This can be a delicate issue. While the students are working on their pieces,
you will be able to monitor those who are “rushing” through and those who are focused and
trying their best. It is important to speak with the students about craftsmanship before they begin.
Encourage students to take time to think about their pieces and work carefully with the material
to help them produce a final product of which they can be proud.
Composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements in a work of art. Some individuals
have an instinctual sense of composition while others struggle with this. This concept is the most
difficult of the four to master, and the pieces that stand out usually have the most successful
composition. Composition involves object placement and how the viewer’s eye moves around
the piece.
Comprehension refers to how well the student understands the objectives of the project. This can
be determined upon reviewing the project criteria with the group/class before the critique begins.
Remind the class of the objectives. Compare the final pieces with the project descriptions to
determine whether the students followed the criteria.
Creativity refers to “the quality of an artwork that sets it apart from the others in the class”
(Prince 14). Each project will have an objective, a materials list, step-by-step instructions and visual
examples. Some students may copy the demonstration piece or pieces made by classmates, or they
may be creative and design a unique piece following the project criteria. Any of these results are
acceptable. Copying is not acceptable in other areas of study but is very common in visual art. Most
artists have copied or been inspired by a piece at one time or another, sometimes subconsciously.
Usually when individuals are struggling creatively, they look to pieces or people they admire.
Those who create a unique piece while following the criteria of the project, however, are
exhibiting creativity.
Imgage left: Detail: Terry Gregoraschuk,Emerging Wolf, 1983.
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Lesson 1: Create a Contour Drawing
About Your Home
Inspired by Ted Harrison’s Silk Screen Print
Objectives
1.
Create a large-scale ink drawing based on the
above image titled The Tutshi, by Ted Harrison.
2.
Describe daily life through two different images
placed side by side or on top of each other,
on one piece of paper.
3.
Learn the techniques used to create a contour
line drawing.
Introduction
Throughout history artists have always created
sketches, which are quick, impromptu drawings.
Though sketches are easily dismissed by some,
even considered throwaway drawings by others,
“from the fifteenth century onward artists
sketched in order to understand, and represented
the commitment to direct observation” (Bird 78).
Detail: Ted Harrison, The Tutshi, 1982.
Sketching gives an artist freedom to visually
record ideas, differing from a formal approach with decided concepts and intentions. In this
lesson, the participant will brainstorm and sketch ideas, then use one of the sketches as the
foundation for his or her final composition.
About the Artist
Ted Harrison was born in Wingate, County Durham, United Kingdom, in 1926. Harrison came to
Canada as a teacher in 1967 and settled in Carcross, Yukon, where he lived until 1993. He paints
in brilliant colours that seem to virtually rejoice in the natural and cultural richness of the North.
He is renowned internationally for his contribution to contemporary art and in 1987, was made
a member of the Order of Canada for his contribution to Canadian culture. He holds honorary
doctorates from the University of Victoria, University of Alberta and Athabasca University.
Harrison now lives in Victoria.
Materials
· 11 x 17” sheet of white paper
· Sketching paper
· Pencil with an eraser on the end
· Black marker with a thin and thick point
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· Box of coloured markers
Getting Started
Before drawing, consider the following questions and brainstorm as a group.
What are the three main elements of the Harrison silkscreen print? For example: repetitive
use of colour ties the top and bottom images together, creating a unified composition.
A boat is the main form in the top image. What will be the main form in your drawing?
For example, if you choose a skate park, the bottom image could feature figures skateboarding.
Blue, purple and orange are the three prominent colours in the Harrison print.
What three colours will you choose?
Instructions
1. Sketch out ideas for the final image using a pencil and sketching paper.
2. Once a composition has been determined from your practice sketches,
draw a line dividing the 11 x 17 piece of paper in half.
3. Draw the two images on the paper with pencil.
4. Using a black marker, go over the pencil lines.
5. Choose three feature colours and colour in the largest areas of the drawing.
Refer to Harrison’s image above.
6. Once all of the large areas have been coloured, add complementary colours
to fill in the rest of the image. Remember to leave some areas white; for
example, the birds in Harrison’s piece.
7. Sign your work of art at the bottom right corner of the image.
Discussion
Do you feel you successfully created a drawing inspired by Ted Harrison’s piece?
Is the composition of your piece similar to Harrison’s?
Do you feel the composition of the image is successful? Explain why/why not.
Do you feel you successfully created a narrative within the piece? Explain the narrative.
Does the image express a sense of place?
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Lesson 2: Salt Painting of the Northern Lights
Inspired by Irene Pearcy’s Painting
Objectives
Irene Pearcy, Northern Lights, 1995.
1.
Create a nighttime landscape
painting using watercolour paints
and salt.
2.
Learn watercolour and acrylic
painting techniques.
3.
Gain an understanding of
composition and the concepts
of foreground, middle ground
and background.
Introduction
The Northern Lights, also known as Aurora Borealis, can be seen above the magnetic poles of the
northern hemisphere. The best places to experience the Northern Lights in the western hemisphere
are the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. The glowing streams and curtains of light, most
commonly in shades of pale green and pink, occur as a “result of collisions between gaseous
particles in the Earth’s atmosphere with charged particles released from the sun’s atmosphere”
(northernlightscentre.ca). “Aurora Borealis” means “dawn of the north” in latin, and the Inuit
peoples believed the lights were the spirits of the animals they hunted.
About the Artist
Irene Muriel Pearcy was a celebrated watercolour painter. She was born in Banff in 1930 and in
1951 moved to Grande Prairie, where she lived until her death in 2011. In Grande Prairie Pearcy
began what would become a twenty-five-year career as a registered nurse. She studied art at the
Grande Prairie Regional College in 1968, attended the Banff School of Fine Arts in 1971 and pursued
further art education in various formal settings throughout the 1980s and ’90s. Her subjects are the
four seasons, flowers and all scenes in nature which allow the artist to explore light and colour.
Pearcy had a passion for art and community and was a founding member of Artists North,
a non-profit society which promotes art and artists in Peace Country (1982).
About the Medium
Watercolour-based paints are made by mixing pigment with water and a binding agent such
as gum arabic. The binding agent helps the colour adhere to surfaces. The paint is somewhat
translucent (as it is thinned by the water) and dries quickly on absorbent paper. Different strengths
and dilutions allow for a range of colour densities, and artists can use multiple washes of different
watercolours to create depth. Watercolour paints are versatile and easily spread and stain based
on the amount of water used, allowing for both control and chance during the creative process.
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Materials
· Pencil and eraser
· Watercolour paper
· A set of pan watercolours
· Soft-haired watercolour brushes
· Small sponges
· Newspaper and paper towels
· Plastic containers to hold water
· Salt
Instructions
1. Sketch a landscape inspired by Canada’s northern landscape (leave space to add the Northern Lights later).
2. Lightly wet the paper you completed your sketch on with a sponge or brush.
3. Paint your sketch (leave the sky to be painted last).
4. Lightly wash colour over the area you’ve left for the sky (Remember, this is a nighttime painting,
also known a nocturne. Refer to the Pearcy painting above).
5. Once the sky area has been fully covered, add additional colours to create the Northern Lights. Make sure your paintbrush is wet before dipping it into the paint palette.
6. While the paint used to colour the sky is still wet, pinch salt in areas where you would like the Northern Lights to appear, preferably on the second and third colour choices.
7. Do not over salt the area; the effect will not work if salt has been added all over the painting.
8. Set aside to dry.
9. When your painting has dried, lightly dust off the salt from the surface of the paper.
Discussion
Have you ever seen the Northern Lights? Were you inspired by the experience?
If so, did you use the memory as inspiration in your painting?
Do you feel watercolour paints were an easy medium to work with in comparison
to acrylic paints?
Have you ever painted a nocturne?
If so, was it more difficult than one with a sun and light blue sky?
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Lesson 3: Create a Contemporary Relief Print
Inspired by Helen Kalvak’s Lithograph Print
Objectives
1.
Create a black-and-white relief print
based on Helen Kalvak’s exhibition piece.
2.
Learn the techniques used to transform
a line drawing into a relief print through
traditional printmaking techniques.
3.
Ensure the image’s theme centres on the
concept of unity of life—all living things
are alike but different.
4.
Create five editions of your image with
the carved plate.
Introduction
The tradition of carving dates back thousands
of years within the Inuit culture. In the
1950s, stones that had traditionally been
carved to create three-dimensional
Helen Kalvak, Untitled, n.d.
sculptures were being experimented with
on a two-dimensional plane. James Houston
introduced this technique. He spent time studying printmaking in Japan under Unici Hiratsuka,
a master printmaker. Houston then travelled to Cape Dorset to teach the hand-transfer process
technique to local artists. He wanted to teach the community to manufacture printed products
such hand block prints using traditional Inuit designs on fabric.
About the Artist
Helen Kalvak was an artist and printmaker who began drawing late in her life—in the 1960s—but
still produced more than three thousand images during her career. Her works portray the stories
and activities of the people and animals of the North. While some are rendered in black and white
and others feature brilliant or muted colours, they all centre on the theme of unity of life and are
distinguished by lively expressions of spirited festivity.
About the Medium
In relief printing, you carve away what you do not want to print. In the Kalvak image above,
the white lines depict what the artist carved away on the plate following the line drawing of
the original image. Printing with a polystyrene plate is similar to creating a relief print with
traditional materials such as wood or linoleum. After the material is carved, the areas that
remain raised will create the inked area.
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Materials
· Pencil with an eraser on the end
· Paper
· Styrofoam (polystyrene) dinner-sized plate or 12-inch-wide tray
· A black water-based block printing ink (found at craft stores)
· Two soft brayers (printmaking rollers, found at craft stores): one to roll in the ink and the other to
roll over the plate when it is placed on the paper
· A variety of soft papers (rice paper, handmade paper, or construction paper)
· Newspaper or plastic to cover tables
· Paper towels or rags
· Paint smocks
Getting Started
Before drawing, consider the following questions and brainstorm as a group.
What are the three main elements of the Kalvak print?
In the image, the three figures are distinctly different from one another. Each figure wears different
items on their heads—a hood, a hat, and feathers. How can you make the three figures in your
drawing unique?
Behind the figures is a “tent like” structure. What kind of structure could you include in your image?
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Innukshuk Builder, Pitseolak Ashoona (Blodgett 56). Ashoona uses a triangular composition similiar to Kalvak’s.
Instructions
1. Draw an image inspired by Kalvak’s print.
2. Cut the edges off the polystyrene plate.
3. Cut out the piece of paper that the drawing is on to the same size as the plate polystyrene plate.
4. Tape the drawing to the plate.
5. Using the graphite side of your pencil, trace the drawing by pressing down firmly. This will create a carved line under the drawing on the plate.
6. Lift the paper off the plate and make sure the carved lines are deep enough. Go over any shallow areas until the depth of the line is consistent.
7. Prepare the printmaking paper by numbering each piece in the corner with edition numbers, e.g., 1/5, 2/5, 3/5.
8. Roll the brayer evenly through the black ink on the Plexiglass.
9. Roll one even coating onto the plate with the brayer. Do not over ink—too much ink on the plate will travel into the carved areas.
10. Place the plate ink side down onto one of the numbered printmaking papers.
11. Lightly roll a clean brayer over the plate to transfer the inked image onto the paper.
12. Peel off the plate to reveal the print.
13. Repeat steps six to eleven until you have completed the number of desired editions.
Discussion
Do you feel you successfully created a print inspired by Kalvak’s piece?
Is your image’s composition similar to Kalvak’s?
Do you feel the composition of your image is successful?
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Image right: Detail: Niyicaluk, Untitled (Eskimo Man and Woman in Landscape), n.d.
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Acknowledgments
Special thanks to those who have contributed to the success of this TREX publication:
Joanne Marion, Director/Curator, Art Gallery, Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre
Joanne Ellis, Gallery Assistant, Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre
Andrea Webb, Promotions and Production Assistant, Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre
Elizabeth Capak, Art Collection Consultant, Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Gail Lint, Art Collection Consultant, Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Neil Lazaruk, Art Preparator, Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Lee Anne Charbonneau, Contributing Editor
Image left: Detail: Lynn Malin, Broken Bank, 1984.
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Bibliography
Bird, Michael. 100 Ideas that Changed Art. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2012.
Blodgett, Jean. In Cape Dorset We Do It This Way. Kleinburg, Ontario: McMichael
Canadian Art Collection, 1991.
Driscoll, Bernadette. “Helen Kalvak.” Historica Canada. July 8, 2008. Retrieved July 20,
2014. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/helen-kalvak/
“ Inuit.” Wikipedia. July 14, 2014. Accessed July 20, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Inuit#Transport.2C_navigation.2C_and_dogs
“ Northern Lights.” Northern Lights Centre. Accessed June 23, 2014.
http://www.northernlightscentre.ca/northernlights.html
Prince, Eileen S. Art is Fundamental. Chicago, IL: Zephyr Press, 2008.
Roed, Bente, and Sandra Buhai Barz. “Inuit Printmaking.” Historica Canada. July 8,
2008. Accessed July 20, 2014. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/inuitprintmaking/
Image left: Detail: Derek Rodgers, Walrus Gumbo, 1982.
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© 2014 by the Esplanade Arts and Heritage
Centre, Medicine Hat, Alberta. The Esplanade
Arts and Heritage Centre retains sole copyright
to its contributions to this book.