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Art Adopted to a Happy Home

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The Harcourt House Art Market was a huge success! Plus, my wonderful assistant Kaila sold her first painting for me. I will miss “New Land 3” but it has found a good home with John & Anne. They emailed to tell me that they hung the painting on the west wall of their sitting/family room which opens to their kitchen so they are able to look at it and enjoy it often.

“New Land 3” comes from a series of three mixed media paintings which I created while living and working as a fashion and wedding photographer in New Zealand. The artwork contains acrylic paint, plastic, photographic imagery, sand and sea shells. The collection is vivid and bold.

John Elliot & Anne Macdonald, proud owners of "New Land 3" Artwork by Alexis Marie Chute

John Elliot & Anne Macdonald, proud owners of “New Land 3” Artwork by Alexis Marie Chute

If you are looking for art, “New Land 1” and “New Land 2” are still available. Contact me if you are interested. They too are looking for happy homes. (They work splendidly as a diptych…)

Save the date: Kinetic Exhibition at Harcourt House

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The 25th anniversary of Harcourt House Gallery and Artist Run Centre in Edmonton will be celebrated with another stellar event, the annual Member’s Exhibition. As a part of the Works Art and Design Festival, the theme and title of the show is Kinetic.

 

This event doubles as a fundraiser for the gallery and I encourage all to come out and lend support to an amazing local organization. I will be selling my new (never before seen) work to support Harcourt and their impressive list of programs.

 

As the Artist in Residence at Harcourt House, I will be opening my studio, giving a poetry reading and demonstrating the woodworking techniques I have developed in my current body of work entitled, “The Quiet Rebuild.” It is going to be an exciting opening and exhibition!

 

Save the date! Here are the details:

 

Kinetic Exhibition, June 13 – July 5, 2013

Opening reception: Thursday, June 20th from 6-10pm

Harcourt House Gallery

10215-112 Street

 

My open studio, poetry reading and demo:

Harcourt House Annex

(Yellow metal building on the corner)

10211-112 Street

Save the Date for an Art Market Extravaganza

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One week from now a select number of Edmonton’s fine artists will gather to exhibit their work at Harcourt House Gallery and Artist Run Centre. As the gallery’s Artist in Residence, I’m proud to be taking part in this creative endeavor, which serves as a fundraiser for this awesome local gallery and creative hub in our city.

 

Speaking of the important role Harcourt plays, and this impact extends well beyond only our art community, this Market and festivities mark the 25th anniversary of Harcourt in Edmonton.  Be there to be part of this special event. Save the date!

Invite to Harcourt House Gallery and Artist Run Centre Art Market show and sale May 25 2013

Art Market – An art and design show and sale

Saturday, May 25th, 2013

1:00 – 7:00pm

Harcourt House Gallery

10215-112 Street

Entry by donation

Evening event – $5 at the door

8:00 – 10:00pm

Annex Building

10211-112 Street

– A multimedia retrospective with Absolutely No Respect, Plan 9 From Outer Space

– Music by Wind Rose AKA Gary James Joynes, Bong Sample AKA Peter Thiessen, Reinhard Von Berg, Allison Balcetis & F13m

 

Northlands Award for Emerging Artist, Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts

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On Monday, April 29, 2013 the Mayor’s Celebration of Arts kicks off its 26th year recognizing stars of the Edmonton arts community and its partnerships with local businesses. It is an exciting event – one of which I am honoured to be a part. I have been nominated for the Northlands Award for an Emerging Artist. My category is by far the largest with fourteen artists in the running, including myself.

No matter who wins, I am thrilled that our city has an event that celebrates artists and artist-friendly businesses. I believe the wonderful talent in our city needs recognition and encouragement. We are a creative group without doubt!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my nominator: Harcourt House and specifically the amazing Derek Brooks. The support of Harcourt House is an artist’s dream and every day of my residency I am immensely thankful for the organization’s belief and support of me and my work. There is no hesitation when I say that Harcourt House has played a pivotal role in my artistic development. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Please attend this exciting event with me!

Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts

Winspear Centre, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

7:00pm, Monday, April 29, 2013

Purchase tickets at the Winspear.

 

I’d like to celebrate everyone nominated in my category!

Northlands Award for an Emerging Artist

100 mile house nominated by Al Chapman

Patrick Arès-Pilon nominated by Mile Zero Dance

Giselle Boehm nominated by March Music Inc & The School of Song

Justin Brunelle nominated by Parkland Films

Alexis Marie Chute nominated by Harcourt House

Giselle Denis nominated by Lisa Evangelos

Dave Luxton nominated by Kids Up Front Foundation Edmonton

Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail nominated by Natasha Deen

Jessy Mossop nominated by Rob Tanner

Omar Mouallem nominated by Lisa Baroldi, Director/Vision Holder, Progress Unlimited

Jason Lee Norman nominated by Lamya Asiff

Mary Pinkoski nominated by Leila Sidi

Erin Elizabeth Ross nominated by Michael Dub

Sean Sonego nominated by Witold L. Gutter

 

Good luck and see you at the Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts!

March in the Studio, Artist in Residence Update

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Artwork and photograph copyright Alexis Marie Chute

Artwork and photograph copyright Alexis Marie Chute

Being the Artist in Residence at Harcourt House has allowed me to find my footing within my current body of art and take off running. The time and space they have provided me to develop my creative work is one of the greatest gifts an artist can receive. The people who work at Harcourt House are pretty amazing too!

Truly the time has flown by and with the close of March I tick off my fifth month at the gallery. Five months! On one hand I feel like, ‘Where has the time gone?’ but on the other I am amazed at the gift of time itself.

Art and photography copyright Alexis Marie Chute

Art and photography copyright Alexis Marie Chute

What exactly do I spend my time on you ask? Answer: lots of hard work and creative play.

I approach my artwork through experimentation with my chosen materials (wood, glue, yarn, acrylic paint…) while holding my concept loosely in my head (and my heart) to see where it all takes me.

For those of you new to my blog, the greater meaning behind my work is the idea of rebuilding ones life after hardship. My method is very akin to my materials and process themselves; I am experimenting using art to heal.

Art and photograph copyright Alexis Marie Chute

Art and photograph copyright Alexis Marie Chute

The images in this post are some of my very recent work. I began using Jenga pieces in some of my compositions and found this consumerist approach a fun twist while drawing on the concept of the game itself; build as high as you can until your structure falls over. When it does, which is always the case, you laugh and build again learning from your mistakes and constructing your tower even higher the next time.

I love a comment from Brand on my last Harcourt House Residency update. He said my work reminded him of photographic pixels. That notion blows me a way – I LOVE IT! It totally jives with the photographer in me. I am percolating ideas of how to incorporate that concept into my work and am excited about it.

As always, I LOVE company at my studio so please come for a visit! I purposefully have lots of seating so come talk art, life or whatever is on your mind. Contact me to find a time that works.

Art Donation for YESS Edmonton

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It was my pleasure to donate a piece of my artwork for Rock ‘n’ Robes, a fundraiser for YESS Edmonton. YESS, Youth Empowerment and Support Services, is a quintessential not-for-profit in Edmonton which is “unconditionally devoted to helping youth facing difficult realities.”

I had the pleasure of interacting with Katie Clackson who is one of the fundraiser organizers. She sold me on the event describing it as: Rock ‘n’ Robes is a battle of the bands event in which a number of musically talented lawyers and judges will be performing for their colleagues and other members of the Edmonton community.

How fun is that! What a creative idea to bring people together to raise funds for a great cause!

YESS is a great cause, but over the years they have experienced significant difficulty reaching their funding goals. I have tweeted often in support for YESS, circulating a request for help letter they put out to the media and community not long ago.

Please visit the YESS website to learn about donating, or if you are able please get involved.

Our community can be strong and healthy when we commit ourselves to do good.

New Work, Residency and the Groove

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As February stretches onwards, I marvel that I am over a quarter of the way into my residency at Harcourt House Gallery and Artist Run Centre. To say time flies is an understatement; time tornados by! Yet, I make sure to slow myself to appreciate every precious moment of it.

I wanted to share some of my new work that has been my labor of love since November 2012. Really, I have too much to share here and will soon create a new category on my website in the portfolio section. Stay tuned.

 

Copyright Alexis Marie Chute

Copyright Alexis Marie Chute

I have been working with wood, both sculpturally and on flat surfaces. Currently I am holding my breath waiting on a big order of cut wooden pieces to arrive – then I will be feverishly creating even more unique “city-like” designs (so I’ve been told they resemble by visitors to my studio). The long wait would be negated if anyone reading this is skilled with a _________ (insert word here that names a wood cutting tool with the precision to cut very small squares) – if you or someone you know is able to give me a hand, please get in touch!

 

At first I wasn’t quite sure how my paintings relate to my wood creations but when the Harcourt House Executive Director, Derek Brooks, popped in one day and explained to me the correlation – I finally got it. It’s true, apparently, that artists can be too close to their own work to notice connections sometimes.

 

Wood sculpture 01 art copyright Alexis Marie Chute

I am in the groove working in my studio. It’s a romance with my materials and I am constantly exploring new ways of creating with them – truly a fun time.

The Artist Lens Exhibition

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The Alberta Society of Artists is mounting their first photographic exhibition and I am proud to be a part of it! I will be showing three fine art photographs at the show in Calgary, Alberta.

Here are the details:

The Artist Lens

February 1 – March 2, 2013

Artpoint Galleries and Studios

1139-11 Street SE, Calgary

Opening Reception: February 8, 2013 at 5-9pm

Artists in the show include: Barbara Amos, Carole Bondaroff, Ross Bradley, Alexis Marie Chute, Linda Craddock, Sean Esopenko, David Harrison, Royce Howland, Carol Huggler, Marianne Hunt, Kevin Jordan, Michele King, Malissa Lea, Dawn LeBlanc, Deborah Lougheed Sinclair, Roberta Murray, E. Boyd Nave, Karin Richter, and Aynsley Stelfox.

I hope to see you at the opening!

Photoshop Workshop at Harcourt House

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Want to crack open the creative possibilities of Photoshop? Have you ever wondered how Photoshop can make your photographs and artwork even better but don’t know where to begin?

Look no further! I will be teaching a Beginners Photoshop Workshop at Harcourt House!

Details:

Saturday, February 16 & Sunday, February 17, 2013   

10am – 3pm (Bring your own lunch and snacks)

Cost: $110 ($80 Harcourt House members – if you are not a member, please consider joining!)

Individual students must bring their own laptop with the newest version of Photoshop installed. Please also have at least 5 images of people and 5 non-people images to edit.

Learn how to make your good photos great through many awesome Photoshop techniques. Want to remove a zit? Brighten a dark photo? Make your image look vintage? We will be covering spot removal, how to adjust exposure, create interesting black & white images, and how to harness the power of Photoshop filters.

Saturday: Editing images of people

Sunday: Editing images without people

There is limited space in the class so register early by calling (780) 426-4180! It is going to be a great weekend of creative play and guided experimentation with results you will be excited about.

The class will be taking place in the Annex, the one story metal building beside the Harcourt House gallery.

Register today!

Photograph copyright Alexis Marie Chute

Photograph copyright Alexis Marie Chute

Harcourt House

10215 112 Street Northwest

Edmonton, AB T5K 1M7

Find a map here.

‎(780) 426-4180

 

Upcoming Fine Art Photo Exhibits

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CURRENT

Winter Salon

Group Exhibition

Photohaus Gallery

14 West 7th

Vancouver, British Columbia

Opening Reception: December 14, 2012

Exhibtion runs the month of December, 2012

View the online gallery for the exhibition to see the works exhibited.

 

 

 

2013

Artist Lens

Group Exhibition

By The Alberta Society of Artists

Artpoint Gallery

1139-11th St SE (Adelaide St.)

Calgary, Alberta

Opening Reception: Friday, February 8, 2012 from 5-9pm

Exhibition runs the month of February

 

 

2014

Unfulfilled Precognition

Solo Exhibition

Kiwanis Gallery

In the Red Deer Public Library

4818-49 Street

Red Deer, Alberta

Opening Reception: Friday, November 7, 2014

Exhibition runs: October 21 to November 23, 2014