Challenge Seven

Karen Wynne Mackay - abstract artist and calligrapher

Challenge number seven was from Abstract artist and Calligrapher Karen Wynne Mackay.

"Vessels" 5'h x 9'w, acrylic, charcoal, oil, pencil $4500

I used this image as my inspiration because I felt it brought us all back to the starting point. The Collective group started because of our residency on Toronto Island being cancelled during the COVID time.

This piece was created on my previous residency and to me contains vessels of many things such as: memories, parenthood, friendship, love, sadness, frustration, endings, new beginnings and Joy! This is the largest piece I have ever done.

I was hoping this would inspire the group to create a piece that depicted feelings of creating during COVID and/or life as we know it now. Full circle.

www.karenwynnemackay.com

7 WORKS COLLECTIVE PROJECT

Residency Replaced

Kathryn Bossy

"Charis lives here"
15.5”h x 5.5”w, mixed media mosaic using smalti, glass and sea glass on Toronto Island driftwood
NFS - not for sale (study)

I escaped for countless hours on the Toronto islands in my 20s. I dream of living there on an endless loop. The description of Charis’ house in Margaret Atwood’s novel The Robber Bride has stuck with me for years - tangible and alluring. Searching for elements for my mosaics on the beaches and then creating at the Gibraltar residency closed my circle.

Mario Cerroni

"Yesterday's vessels"
13"h x 19"w (approximately), archival inkjet print
$200, ready to frame

when seasons paint
the days gone past

Lynn Dubinsky

"Vessels"
30"h x 24"w, acrylic on canvas
$500, unframed, ready to hang

The challenge “Vessels” got me thinking about individuals and how we are all vessels of our own experiences. Each of us has light and darkness, small and expansive thoughts, feelings of joy and sadness.

Catherine Gutsche

"Contain My Story"
24"h x 24"w, mixed media on canvas
$875, unframed, ready to hang

I selected my favourite portion of Karen's painting and incorporated a few mixed media paper techniques to emulate Karen's addition of calligraphic line work and additional levels of transparency. Vessels contain, hold and protect. My vessel holds words on paper that have no particular language. Make these words your own!

Judi Miller

"Focus"
6"h x 5"w, free motion embroidery
$200, unframed, ready to hang

Whilst we were at our residency in the spring of 2019, Karen and I had studios side by side. I could hear Karen moving about her studio, listening to her music and heard the strokes of her paint as she created ‘VESSELS’. It was intriguing to hear her work unfold, and exciting to see the finished product. With inspiration from Karen’s unseen process I focused on a small section of VESSELS and thought about my own process as I created a little piece. I took a small video of the work in progress, with the sound of my sewing motion, opera in the background and my own humming as I worked.

jo-ann Zorzi

"feeding the soul"
16"h x 16"w, silk fiber drawing/fusion
$225, unframed, ready to hang

Using our residency and Karen's piece as inspiration, I portrayed how the time and place seeped into my soul and allowed creativity to flow out of my hands.