Fall has Sprung

Hello, and welcome to my first newsletter / blog post! I am hoping this can become a place to share not only processes and experiments, but also how I arrive there and the thoughts they bring up.

In the past few weeks, three ambitious projects have popped up, giving me an exciting albeit imposing workload to tackle. I was invited to Concordia University, my Alma Mater, to develop an intaglio print as a visiting artist in Mitch Mitchell's class. The project is made possible by the Hewitt Foundation. Not only will I be developing a print with some of the best resources and colleagues the province has to offer, but these will be recommended for inclusion in (what to me are) prestigious institutions. In addition to the prints, I will be giving an artist talk and visiting some grad students in their studios for, well, studio visits: we chat about their work, process and all manner of things in a loose yet professional context. I was expecting to dedicate my entire Fall to this single endeavour.

On Friday, I learnt that my friend Luke Anderson-Trocme and I received a joint research grant from the RFQ and the CalQ for a year-long exploratory research between the arts and sciences. We will be delving into the connections and disparities between image development and generation for printmakers and population geneticists with an eye on broader implications. While there is wiggle room what with the crowded Fall, steady progress will help the process go smoothly and allow Luke to advance on his end, also. I am excited to try my hand at classing and defining as many image-making processes as possible as a data point to work from.

Finally, I got word yesterday that I will be assisting my friends Bryan Beyung and James Lee Chiahan on a giant 25 (or so) story mural produced by MU. Not only are they two of my favourite Montréal painters but also people I enjoy spending time and exchanging with. I love working at a giant scale and am thrilled to get to learn from them - and add my touch to the wall. Bryan was actually the first artist I assisted for MU back in 2020 while James was the one who recommended that I start this blog.

I am excited to get into more detail about each of these. I feel honoured by - and grateful for - these projects and the recognition I ascribe to them. I did not dedicate my career to any single craft but rather the interconnection of various ones. It has often felt like a gamble (not that one necessarily chooses where artistic whims and whimsy leads us). While external validation is a tempestuous distraction I am trying to distance myself from (with guidance from the Blindboy Podcast), I'd be lying if I said it didn't positively impact my mood, this time at least. In a material sense I am relieved, down to my nervous system, to know that my partner and I have a winter that will allow hygge play and exploration after a stressful, packed work season. I believe mural art ought to be treated as seasonal, as it is with farming, and aim to spend my winter in the print studio to develop ideas and visuals that will feed next year's mural season.

Oh! I nearly forgot to mention that I will also be painting a mural of my own this October! This was the first maquette - I've been enjoying hatching and cross-hatching over colour flats a fair deal - though it has since gone in an entirely different direction.

Have a great day!