DARCY ELISE JOHNSON

The End of a Residency…

Joel Prevost (of the Vancouver Island Sculpting Studio) and I spent most of March in Calgary at Sparrow Artspace for a collaborative artist residency.

Collaboration is where I get many of of ideas and new directions for artwork. My creativity thrives on what I call ‘response’. I always want a place to begin and something visual to react to.

Joel made a sculpture and a vessel for me to draw on. Here are the results…

I’ll post photos of these when they are glazed and fired.

The beginning of something new…..

Save the Date

Judith Tye, Victoria Drakeford and I have created specific collections of artwork to share. These are series that were developed in our private worlds and have never been shown. Below is a snapshot of this work.

JUDITH TYE: ‘365’

Judith did a year long project in 2021 during which she designed and painted the same subjects everyday. She scanned and published this amazing visual diary into a book and then proceeded to cut up each daily collection and make collages from them. There are figures, abstracts, birds, flowers, faces and more. Each collage has 365 small paintings. They have to be seen to be believed. They embody Judith’s meticulous attention to detail and her commitment to plans and projects.

VICTORIA DRAKEFORD: ‘Wandering’

Victoria ‘wanders’ everyday into the nature filled fringes of Nanaimo with her dog. Regardless of the weather, she sits and draws both the vistas and the details of the natural world she loves. There are times the rain pours down on her sketchbook which may also have muddy paw prints added to the image. All of Victoria’s work is a response to the richness, diversity and resilience of the ecosystem we all share.

DARCY JOHNSON: ‘Visages’

My faces, or visages, are a particular series of drawings/paintings I have done since I was a child. They are a private exploration of the human experience. I try to capture the shifting moods and perceptions we all have as we move through the day. They are a collection of the whimsical, humorous, loving, happy and also the dark. Being human takes great courage and insight because it is complicated. I’m offering these up to the public for the first time.

One more thing….

I am grateful to be able to work, play and create on the traditional territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation.

And to everyone, thank you for whatever you do to make this world a better place everyday.