Now I've Gone and Done It!

Fueled by recent successes -- a new contract with a new gallery, acceptance into a SAQA International Exhibition -- this morning (after a few weeks' thought and several days' work) I threw caution to the wind and put in a proposal for my very first solo show: Under the Wide Sky: Views from a Central Alberta Hamlet.

The call I answered was placed by the Leighton Art Centre, a beautiful venue that used to be the home of A.C. and Barbara Leighton.  A.C. was an artist and art instructor; he was the founder and first president of the Alberta Society of Artists (of which I am in my second year as an Associate Member).  He was also instrumental in founding the Banff School of Fine Art.  They built their home near Millarville, AB in 1952, and this is where the current Art Centre, Museum and Education Centre are located.

The galleries focus on Alberta artists -- in particular those whose work reflects and expresses the Alberta landscape.

I am grateful that the site has a very useful set of guidelines for solo exhibition, to which I paid close attention.

In my Project Proposal, I wrote:

Under the Wide Sky – Project Proposal

When I moved to Alberta in 1976 – yet another transplant from the East – I was fascinated by the Rockies.  My children would groan when, on a regular drive west along John Laurie Boulevard to our northwest Calgary home, I would exclaim breathlessly,  “Look at the mountains!!”

In 2008 my view changed: I moved to a tiny hamlet in Central Alberta, a good four hour’s east of those mountains, now hard to see –even on a clear day.

My artistic journey, which came into full flower in this place, is now dominated by my love of the wide Alberta sky and rolling prairie, the grasslands and the stands of aspen that surround my home.

My purpose with this exhibit is to share this glorious landscape with those whose experience may be more urban or mountainous – to evoke the sense of space and gentle calm found in a place where the gravel streets end in grasses and trees with that ever-present, fulsome sky.

The exhibit would consist of a combination of “soft” pieces – hangings mounted on dowels via attached sleeves; canvases – pieces wrapped around or mounted on stretched canvas, framed or not, and wired for hanging; and “minis” – small pieces matted for framing but displayed on small stands.

To this end, I would propose that my work be exhibited in the smaller gallery where there is a plate rail that would accommodate standing pieces, as well as wall space for hanging pieces.

Please note that the photos accompanying this proposal include some pieces I hope to exhibit in this project, and some that aren’t available but which are examples of my past work most relevant to this proposal.  (These pieces are marked “not available” in the Image List.)

Techniques would include mono-printing, water colour, fabric paint and dilute acrylics on canvas, combined with quilting, needle-felting, embroidery and beading.

I hope and trust I covered all the bases, dotted all the i's, crossed all the t's and accomplished every cliche relevant to this situation!  😉

Wide Alberta Sky (C) 2015

I attached ten photos -- with Image List, as required -- that reflect my work in that genre, with a focus on the sky, hit the "Submit" button, and received a prompt, "Thank You! Your submission has been received!"

So now I wait.  The deadline for the call for 2019 exhibits is July 6.  And as the site advises, "All applicants will be contacted by Friday, September 7."

Back to work!

Editted to add: Linking this to The Needle and Thread Network.  Enjoy!