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NEW INSTALLATION:

Judith Tye and I at MELANGE

Last Tuesday, Judith and I installed some of our work at Melange Restaurant in Nanaimo. The owners, Gaetan and Linda have had many successful “eateries” over the years, some of which have displayed art Judith’s and my artwork.

This is always so much fun….

Darcy and Judith

Thanks to Paul, Linda and Gaetan for the help.

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Here is the story behind my drawings above….

In 2016, I went to Caylus, France to the DRAWInternational Art Residency. Caylus is an exquisite village with a deep history seemingly carved from the surrounding limestone. It is rural and quiet…. only a 45-minute drive from the Pech Merle prehistoric caves.

I have never documented this residency mainly because there was so much to say and I was never satisfied that I had captured this rich experience. Finally, I’ve let go of some perfectionism and will be adding this to my website soon.

I want to introduce the story here…. more to come next time!

My goal in this residency was to use a process of repeated projections to see how my abstract drawings evolve and are influenced by simply being in a new place.

I began this technique while I was doing my Master’s degree at the University of Victoria and here is a video link that describes this idea in detail.

I did many drawings of different sizes experimenting with different materials over the month I was there. Below are three that are still available and on display at Melange.

In my email next Month I will share the creative process and thoughts on this residency and the value of artists residencies in general.

One last thing… I subscribe to Mario Brito’s blog, The Groove which I find has a great take on originality by spotlighting the creative process of important artists.

In one of the recent issues, Mario provided a link to a BBC documentary on Louise Bourgeois. Something Bourgeois said to a young artist, stuck in my mind: “It is not a torment to be an artist, it is a privilege”. This is a wonderful view of art-making and absolutely captures the gratitude I feel for my creative life.

Louise Bourgeois

DARCY ELISE JOHNSON