Fashion for Freedom: Call to Designers & Artists

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Dress by Alexis Marie Chute, Hair & Make-Up by Erin Clemmer, Copyright Brittany Paige Photography

I am going to be designing wearable art for Fashion for Freedom, an event put on by Poiema Productions to raise funds and awareness for The A21 Campaign.

Poiema is looking for designers and artists to create wearable clothing out of unconventional materials to walk the runway at Fashion for Freedom.

ABOUT FASHION FOR FREEDOM & A21:

Fashion for Freedom is a fundraising event put on by Poiema Productions and promises to be a night of highly creative fashion. It will be an opportunity for you to bring your most artistic, avant-garde, found object collections to the stage for an important cause.

The A21 Campaign stands for abolishing injustice in the 21st century. They help rescue and provide the victims of human trafficking with a safe and comforting environment, access to medical and psychological care, vocational training, secondary education assistance, counseling and access to legal assistance.

This is an effort Poiema Productions are passionately supporting as it is an issue that impacts not only our global neighborhood, but our own province and city.

 

Dress by Alexis Marie Chute, Hair & Make-Up by Erin Clemmer, Copyright Brittany Paige Photography

 

HOW YOU CAN BE A PART OF FASHION FOR FREEDOM:

Designers:

Each designer will need to create one piece in each of the two categories. All pieces must be completely created from found objects, no fabrics will be allowed;

Example materials: newspaper, garbage bags, fishnet, etc.

AVANT-GARDE

We are looking for an open, limitless style. The models will be wearing black garments to accompany the piece on the runway.

RAW COUTURE

This will be a complete head to toe gown or suit.

 

Dress by Alexis Marie Chute, Hair & Make-Up by Erin Clemmer, Copyright Brittany Paige Photography

 

There will only be 20 designers selected for this event so please apply by the end of January, 2013!

Find the online application info here.

 

 

 

Wood Sculptures “A Visual Delight”

/0 Comments/in , /by

 

Bleeding Heart Gallery on Alberta Ave exhibited two of my wood sculptures at their inaugural art show at the end of November. It was great to be present at the opening reception and be a part of launching a new alternative space while connecting with local art lovers.

I met one sweet gal named, Rebekah Sherman, at the gallery that night. She is a children’s pastor and I noticed her enjoying my sculptures. I asked her what she thought and Rebekah has kindly emailed me what she had said that night:

“I saw Alexis Marie’s two sculptures, before they were exhibited, sitting at the entrance of the gallery.  I was drawn to them instantly.  I seem to have a magnetic attraction to art that is wrought from raw, natural materials- especially wood.  The teetering structure of naked wood struck me as both whimsical and calculated.”

“The pieces, carefully balanced and angled, reached up with possibility.  Anchored on a dark, rich base of a tree stump, the pale remnants have permission to be frail and grow. The juxtaposition of this weathered stump, weighty with character and history, with the stark, thinly manufactured fragments of wood, is gripping.”

“It’s as if Alexis Marie has managed to keep a castle of cards suspended gracefully in time. A visual delight.”

 

Wood sculpture by Alexis Marie Chute

It was a pleasure connecting with Rebekah and others that night. I feel encouraged with the direction of my current work at Harcourt House and excited to develop my concept further.

Here are some photos from the opening of “Let’s Begin” group exhibition.

 

Aaron Vanimere, the exhibition curator, and me at the busy opening reception.

 

My wonderful hubby, Aaron Chute, and our friend Geoff Abma listen to the welcoming remarks.

Geoff’s lovely wife and my awesome friend and fellow artist, Alicia Abma.

My friends and I by my two sculptures on exhibit at “Let’s Begin.”

My friends Neil & Aimee Diewert came along with their happy one year old, Anthony.

 

 

Moving into Harcourt House, Artist in Residence Studio

/0 Comments/in , /by

It has been a few weeks since I moved in to my studio at Harcourt House where I will be creating art for the next year.

My hubby carrying in our baby play pen for my very young art collaborator.

Moving day:

My husband’s vehicle was full of log stumps and a love seat given to me by a sweet friend (the couch for sitting, the stumps for art projects). I had bags of random supplies, wood glue, paint brushes, and sketch and inspiration books that I hauled in while wearing my newborn in the baby backpack. My three year old said she was going to help, but only managed to bounce around the room with excited energy.

I inherited some furniture.

“Mommy’s studio!” she screamed and I was thankful someone really understood how exciting this opportunity is for me. I so love my jubilant girl.

My family.

I unlocked the wooden door and walked in, took a deep breath and saw beyond the white washed walls to my vision of the art that rumbles deep within me.

“It is beginning,” I thought to myself and I couldn’t help but smile.

 

The history of previous tenants.

Since November 1st:

Harcourt House’s Artist in Residence position has been the longtime fulfillment of a dream I’ve cherished since a child; the passion for my art growing into something larger than myself in an environment of inspiration.

So far I have a handful of works in progress – all wood based and in keeping with my theme of re-growth and rebirth, the starting over that many of us must begin in the face of life’s sometimes unfortunate circumstances. For me, it was the death of my son. For you – I would like to hear what challenges you have battled to overcome.

Encouragement written on the wall above my door.

I found my voice through creating art after my loss and my work, though not specifically about my story, is a picture of the resilience and determination that is required if we are going to make our lives the brilliant creations that they are capable of becoming.

I will be taking some photos of my works in progress and will share where I am at throughout the year here on my blog. Subscribe to receive my posts via email. Keep in touch! I’d love to hear from you!

This is where I’ll be.

Get Out of the Creative Desert

/0 Comments/in , /by

How do we replenish ourselves as artists? As writers? As creative human beings?

When our reserve of energy and inventiveness are depleted, when our desire for innovation and experimentation runs low and our passion for creative expression is a barren desert and we have nothing left to give: what then?

How do we revive these qualities in our lives so that ideas flow, inspiration rains and our creative selves flourish?

For myself, I have discovered that creativity breeds creativity. Art breeds art. Just as in life, kindness begets kindness and love multiplies itself in an environment of love.

I know all too well the desert of the artistic soul. It is the last place I want to be. Fortunately, by understanding that creativity begets creativity, I have enjoyed staying in the place of creative flow.

I find myself presently in a ramped up artistic season of my life. I am Artist in Residence at Harcourt House, have many exhibitions of my artwork (photography, sculpture, mixed media) upcoming and have recently completed a memoir, novella and am currently in the midst of writing a full length novel.

Arizona Desert Flowers
Photograph copyright Alexis Marie Chute

It is a good time. My mind is ripe with ideas. My writing inspires my artwork, my art incites poetry, my poetry evolves into my photographic practice. The love I feel from my clients (and their joy at receiving their portraits) creates a warm fuzzy feeling that keeps me chipper as I work in the isolation of my art studio or pound the keyboard writing during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).

Creativity begetting even more creativity seems to be a magical state that I find myself within and it brings an artful mindset into every area of my life. It is as if I am not only an artist, period. Or a mother, period. Or a wife, period. I am an artist of all these things and they all play an important role.

I have come to believe that if you want to increase your creativity in an area where you are stuck (a.k.a. writer’s block or the equivalent for other artist types), try shifting gears and let the artist in you come out in some other fashion. I bet you will experience a breakthrough in not only the first area but both.

CREATIVITY BREEDS CREATIVITY

This is my goal and I am finding it wonderfully exciting. In every area of my life I am choosing to include my passions and challenging myself to be creative as an artist / writer / photographer / designer / mother / human being without boundaries.

The result: My life is now richer and riper with meaning.

Arizona Desert Flower
Photograph copyright Alexis Marie Chute

Can Art be Practical and Helpful?

/2 Comments/in , /by

I was wondering, why is art therapeutic for some people? What magic does it possess to help us through difficult times, rebuild our lives and re-learn the act of hope? An epiphany came to me in an idle moment of thought:

Art is a tool for healing because it pulls our attention from the past hurt to the present moment.

When we are creating something in the here and now, we experience its tactile nature, the flow of the paint, the coolness of the clay as we begin to kneed it between our fingers, the click of the shutter as we react to at the perfect moment. These physical qualities of art making draw us into the present moment where we can be mindful of our blessings, that we are here, alive and that life is a beautiful gift worth living in the fullest manner possible.

While art grounds us in the moment, it also teaches us to look forward, to anticipate.

What will the photo look like in the end? Will the sculpture endure the kiln? Will my words resonate on the page tomorrow? Or the week after? Or next year? Once the paint ceases to drip, what will remain? In the same way, art helps us heal by bringing our attention to the future, allowing us to hope for better days and cultivating faith in our purpose and identity.

What a revolutionary epiphany!

Many people think of art as overpriced creations by eccentric individuals, displayed at stuffy galleries for the ‘cultured’ but devoid of practical use in our everyday lives. To some, this may be their only experience with art. It is true that some people make art inaccessible to the average viewer.

Despite negative experiences with art, and I’m sure most of us have had such experiences, art does have an amazing redemptive capacity when applied to an open, willing and searching soul.

The Quiet Rebuild

/0 Comments/in , /by

This post was first seen on my blog Wanted Chosen Planned as it relates to the rebuilding of my life after the loss of my son Zachary. I featured it there to encourage those who have lost a child to experiment with art (of all kinds: painting, photography, journal writing, etc.) as a means to find healing. I re-post it here as my hope for this blog is to bolster the weary creative spirit within us and to turn our frustration, fear, and failure into the artwork and creative writing that we were born to bring forth. 

“The Quiet Rebuild” © Alexis Marie Chute, Wood Sculpture 2012

I have been making sculpture although I am not primarily a sculptural artist. I find the use of my hands in the tactile nature of my recent artwork very soothing. My art has been focusing on the idea that we create our understanding of the world in many ways. When my son Zachary died, my world crashed down. Like a forest burn by fire, I was brought to ash, literally. It is fitting that my artwork uses wood, both natural and manmade. I find this particular piece, “Quiet Rebuild” particularly therapeutic to look at. It reminds me of where I am at, rebuilding my life in a different time, a simpler, basic time where my expectations of the world have been brought into check.

I rebuild my life and my understanding of the world from the burnt forest, atop a humble piece of wood. What I make of my life at this stage is truly of my own invention and each fragment of my understanding of the world comes together in an awkward balance but feels right in the face of everything I have endured.

Art is a personal and unique expression. It may not bring you the answers you search for but it can help you understand the questions you are asking. I encourage you to experiment, play and create like a child. Healing often does not arrive in the way we expect.

“The Quiet Rebuild” – When death comes and takes, it changes us who live. When we see this life as it is, the impermanence of all we hold dear and yet our ability to continue on, to love and value what truly matters, then we rebuild our soul with these lessons, changed yet whole.

Tolstoy on the Role of Art

/0 Comments/in , /by

“Art is a microscope which the artist fixes on the secrets of his soul,

and shows to people these secrets which are common to all.”

– LEO TOLSTOY, Diary

The Power of Creativity

/0 Comments/in , /by

Through art and artful living, I have witnessed first-hand the power of creativity. I experienced a dead zone of creation after my son died, a part of me dying as well or merely lost, I am still not sure. Yet, in the rediscovery of my art in its many forms, if like appendages I would be an octopus, I thereby found myself again. – Alexis Marie Chute, April 16, 2012

 

Some thoughts for inspiration:

Art is not a thing; it is a way. ~ Elbert Hubbard

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. ~ Pablo Picasso

All art requires courage. ~ Anne Tucker

 

Abstracted landscape painting copyright Alexis Marie Chute