Finding your mojo after hiatus

Detail from current work in process, oil & charcoal on canvas

hi·a·tus

hīˈādəs/

noun

noun: hiatus; plural noun: hiatuses

1. a pause or gap in a sequence, series, or process.

   
   

   "the spring hiatus gave us time to rethink our next project"
   

   
   

   I was on what you might call a hiatus since December 2014, with good reason. I became a mother for the first time and my creative energies were shall we say being pulled in a slightly different direction. Others may have found the secret formula of how to balance work and look after a baby... but I opted for a break from my studio practice. I have been so eager to get back to work it has been keeping me up at night. I can only describe the feeling like being a runner at the starter block waiting for the gun to shoot.
   
   After a hiatus however, it can be tricky to pick up exactly where you left off. The interruption in the work flow has both positive and negative.  The negative side you tend to forget some of your little short cuts that make studio time not only fun but productive. I have also found that for myself it has brought up the question of should I continue in the vein where I left off or start something completely different? I have changed during this break in work, should my work not change as well? This last point lays in the pros column as well. One very big pro to my hiatus is re-thinking or really thinking about what kind of artist I want to be including the kind of work I want to do, how I market myself, and the types of projects I want to pursue in addition to studio practice. Having a child for me, has equaled having less time in the studio.

   This means I can't apply for every residency, grant or exhibition I am interested in. Instead I must be more selective thinking is it a good fit, why do I want to be involved, and how much time will this take? This is my new approach. I can't do everything and perhaps this selective way of being will be more fruitful? Time will tell.

I am getting a makeover!

With the turning of the calendar and the year of the Rooster's arrival, with a new year comes a new me! I am getting a makeover, but not the kind you think.


I am in the process of launching a new and improved website with Squarespace. I have been working away on it this project this last month and I am getting close to completion. I was inspired to make some changes after taking an online course about marketing yourself and your artwork. I came to realize the importance of an online presence and I am looking forward to adding some new features to my site including an online shop and commissions page. Yes, I am now accepting commissions for anyone in need of a special piece. I am very excited about this new me and really looking forward to connecting more online this year.


My site is still a work in progress, take a look at what I have so far and let me know what you think!


www.lisatornack.com

Studio is complete!

Over the past few months my husband, Eric has been slaving away to create an art studio in our garage. I just wanted to give him a shout out for all his hard work and also show the stages of the project.

We have an over sized garage in our backyard, originally my plan was to paint in a corner of it. Last winter was very cold and it soon become clear that heating the entire space would be difficult.  Our solution was to create a separate room within the garage, an insulted and dry walled space that would be easier to heat and keep the dust down to a minimum. Here are the results of his hard work from project inception to completion!

Now I am back at it, working on a new series of paintings inspired by a trip to Oaxaca, Mexico, stay tuned for some works in progress. A big thank you to all that helped with the project my Dad, Max, Clint, Wayne, and most of all my most excellent husband ERIC!!!

Art & Coffee

If you are in the Banff area, pop into the Wild Flour Bakery. I have of my most recent artwork on display there from now until July 1, 2014. The work featured in this mini exhibition include a series of paintings on top of photographic print. Have a coffee and enjoy some art in the spectacular setting of of the Canadian Rockies!

http://www.wildflourbakery.ca/

Year of the Horse: Goals for 2014!

As we gallop into the year of the horse I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on the past year and start goal setting for 2014!

Last year was a big year for me! I moved from a condo into a house, completed a number of contract roles; one with Calgary Arts Development, the second with the Arts & Culture division with the City of Calgary, and the biggest news of all I got married in 2013! With all the changes, challenging roles professionally, and excitement in my personal life, last year was a slow one on the art front! I am looking forward to getting back to work and have some new ideas for projects both inside and outside the studio.

One of the first items on my list is converting my garage into a working art studio; stay tuned for images and updates on the progress. I will also plan to continue my studio work, oil painting on photograph prints. I have some great imagery taken from my honeymoon, which I plan to use in a series of paintings and am excited to share in the months to come! Watch for works in progress. The year of the Horse's focus will also include education. I hope to continue my professional development and do some further research into educational opportunities. I am kicking off this year's theme of education by participating in a course presented by the City of Calgary's Public Art program, "Artists Working in the Community".  I hope to share some of my learnings from the program in the weeks to come.

If you have not visited my website in a while, it is new and improved...swing by www.ltornack.com

Lastly, a big thank you to all my family, friends, and supporters in 2013, especially my husband Eric! You inspire me to keep on trucking!

Peace
Lisa Tornack

Wildflower Art & Salon Sale

Join us Sunday December 8th, to see the wonderful artworks and fine craft created by the professionally trained, practicing instructors of Wildflower Arts Centre. From ceramics to glass, drawings and paintings there is something for everyone on your holiday list!

Wildflower art Centre 
3363 Spruce drive SW
10am-4pm

Artists will be onsite all day, pop by say hello and get into the holiday spirit!

Refreshments will be served
cash/visa/ mastercard accepted

New Logo!

Check out my new logo designed by graphic artist Adam Warner of Calgary Alberta. I plan to use this every where... I am thinking a rubber stamp may be in order! Adam also designed a business card for me, I love the way he integrated the infinity symbol within the card design. The infinity symbol is one of my personal symbols which I have use in a number of my paintings. Other personal symbols of mine include falling cherry blossoms and the use of the colour red in virtually every one of my paintings.

Two Views: Art Exhibition of Andrea Lau and Lisa Tornack

Artwork by Andrea Lau

The art exhibition Two Views, features the artwork of Andrea Lau & Lisa Tornack. The exhibition was installed the week of March 25, 2013 at The Main Dish in Bridgeland. Two Views will run through to the June 2013.

The Main Dish is located at
903 General Ave NE
Calgary, Alberta
T2E 9E1
(403) 265-3474

Visit www.tmdish.com/ for hours

Lifecycle Community Bike Project: Grassroots Inspired Grants

Lifecycle Community Bike Project took place at G.W. Skene an elementary school located in Calgary's north east. For two consecutive afternoon's in March 2013, artists Hannah Poon and Lisa Tornack had the opportunity to work with 75 grade 5 to design and paint an interactive mural. This mural project utilizes salvaged bike parts to create a vibrant outdoor mural for the Lifecycle Community Bike Shop and G.W Skene. The three grade five classes brainstormed around themes of walk-able, bike-able cities and Calgary to create the final three paneled triptic. Each of the three panels will find a home in separate parts of the city. The first will find it's home at the Lifecycle Community Bike Shop, the second will be keep as a legacy piece for the school, and the third will be gifted to a public space in north east Calgary.

We would like to thank Lifecycle Community Bike, staff and students of G.W Skene for and a big thank you to Calgary 2012 for their generous support of this project!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all my family, friends, and to all the supporters of me and my artwork!

As I hang a new calendar on the wall it is hard to believe a new year is already upon us. Looking back on the year, I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their support. I had a very busy 2012 and was privileged to serve on the board of UAS working with the fundraising team, as well as undertaking a new role for Calgary Arts Development. Looking ahead to 2013, I am very excited about the upcoming year both personally and professionally!  Early this year, I will be exhibiting with fellow artist Andrea Lau, in the exhibition Two Views.  This show will take a non-traditional look at western landscape. Stay tuned more more details. Also thanks to Calgary 2012 GIG Grant, I will be presenting a solo exhibition Frozen Bow at the Untitled Art Society in March.  This exhibition will explore the small components of landscape, highlighting the natural beauty of the mighty Bow River. Meanwhile back in the studio, I am looking forward to devoting more time to studio practice and to continue my work painting on photograph as well as further the experimentation with photo base collage.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday, I wish you a happy and prosperous 2013!
Peace
Lisa Tornack

For more information about and to preview works by artist Andrea Lau visit her website at
http://www.andrealau.com/

You are invited to 10

This year is a special one, marking the tenth year since I began painting professionally. I would like to extend an invitation you to join me at the AREA for the opening reception for the exhibition on Thursday, December 6, 2012 7-10pm. This exhibition, will feature a single painting from each respective year. Please help me to celebrate the last ten years and welcome the next! Appetizers and refreshments will be served.

http://www.facebook.com/TheAREA 

I am taking a little break from my blog for the next few weeks; I am excited to announce that I am heading to the east coast of Canada at the end of this month! I am looking forward to taking in the sun and the sea, as well as checking out the local art scene in Nova Scotia and PEI. Enjoy these last lazy days of summer and look for new posts of Atelier Natura in September!

Best,
Lisa Tornack

Canadina Icon: Emily Carr

My favorite all time painting title comes from Emily Carr's piece shown above

"Scorn as Timbre Beloved of the Sky"

This summer I was fortunate to instruct a painting class based on the work of Emily Carr. When preparing for the course, I did a little research on the artist's life and work. Emily Carr is the most revered female artist in Canada. Carr led an unconventional lifestyle and created numerous iconic works, which hang in the galleries of Canada today.

Emily Carr was born in Victoria, British Columbia in 1871. She started painting at an early age, but really began taking her paintings seriously after her parent’s death as a teen. Orphaned at sixteen, she petitioned her guardian to allow her to study art at the San Francisco Art Institute. Carr pursued her education in the United States then returned to Victoria painting and teaching art classes to children. Years later she furthered her studies working overseas in both England and France. Although she experienced emotional problems while abroad, it was in France where her signature style blossomed. Influenced by Post-Impressionism and the Fauves, Carr's work took a more painterly, abstracted quality. Once again she returned to Victoria and received little interest in her new style of painting, in the conservative "British “city by the sea. In fact, Carr didn’t experience success as an artist until much later in life, in her late fifties. To make ends meet she taught art classes and she purchased a boarding house and took on the role as landlady. She chronicled her adventures in the book" The House of all Sorts". Carr is most noted for her exploration of the Canadian landscape and her documentation of aboriginal settlements and totems on Canada's west coast. Carr traveled extensively on the coast of Vancouver Island living and painting in her caravan. Lauren Harris once said she was "one of them" referring to Carr's place with the Group of Seven. Carr's life and work can serve as inspiration to all aspiring artist's; through her continued development and dedication to her craft to adventurous lifestyle and financial hardship, Emily Carr's work has become icons for Canada. Emily Carr died in 1945.

Carr pictured above, Carr was an animal lover and had many pets in her lifetime, including a pet monkey named "Woo"

Wildflower Art Centre: Over 30 years in Calgary

Wildflower gets a face lift, check out the new red building!

Wildflower Art Centre ia located at 3363 Spruce Dr.SW, in Calgary, AB

For the past ten years I have been privileged to work as a fine arts instructor at the city run facility the Wildflower Arts Centre. In 2012, the City of Calgary's department of Recreation celebrates 100 years serving Calgarians. As we mark this milestone, I wanted to take a minute to highlight one of our city's hidden gems.

My first summer working at the art centre was teaching "Arts Ventures", art day camps for children. We listened to the golden oldies on the radio and dived into numerous projects, using everything from clay and recyclables to conte and acrylics. Looking back to when I first started I really didn't know how to teach art classes, but through a lot of trail and error I began to find my rhythm. The summer was filled with all sorts of projects, we made kites, musical instruments, painted t-shirts, artist trading cards, filled our sketchbooks, and every week tackled the dreaded paper mache project! In the years to come, I taught a variety of ceramic classes including hand building and wheel throwing to children, teens, and adults. As my own practice evolved into one of painting, I taught ceramics less and less. To this day I continue to teach my favorite programs; oil painting, Teen Art Studio, and Adults Arts Combo.

As Recreation celebrates 100 years in Calgary, I pause to reflect on all the great art, wonderful students, and exceptional colleagues I have been lucky to teach and meet over my ten years at the centre.I raise a glass to the next 100 years of recreation in Calgary and the continued access to fine and performing art programs to Calgarians from all walks of life!


For more information about Wildflower and it's programs please visit
http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Recreation/Pages/Arts-centres/Wildflower.aspx

The artist and rejection

Rejection and the artist are two things that go hand in hand. As an artist, in order to have your work seen and appreciated, requires that you put your self “out there”. This means you submit your artwork to exhibitions, galleries, residencies, grants, prizes, etc. The fact of the matter is that you will be unsuccessful or rejected in these endeavors most of the time. From my own personal experience for every ten applications I send out I usually get one letter of acceptance. There is nothing worse than receiving a letter in the mail, with one thin rejection letter inside. It is disappointing, but try not to let it discourage you and these are the reasons why…

1. It is very competitive out there and you don’t know who you are up against. It could be your old college professor or another very well respected artist that “won” the prize you so desperately wanted.
2. Your work may not have been the right fit, for the program, exhibition, or residency you were applying to. When curating exhibitions or awarding grants, juries are often looking for variety. Your work may have simply not fit the mix.
3. In tough economic times the sheer volume increases, especially in granting. When times are lean, there are more applicants. This boils down to math and statistics, the probability of you “winning” simply decreases.
4. Your work is good. This is the last and the most important point. When I started working as a professional painter I believed my work was good. Ten years later looking back, it is not surprising that I did not get into every show and gallery I approached. This is because although there was “something there”, as one gallery owner once told me, I was still developing my voice as an artist. I needed to work from that place to develop and grow into the artist I am today.

Now I get accepted to more exhibitions then I did back then, but I still get my fair share of thin rejection letters in the mail. You are the one person who needs to believe in the strength of your work, because at certain points in your career you maybe the only one in the world who does. If I had listened to the criticism back then, I would not be painting today. Besides, the best stories are made from those that have tried and failed, this makes for a great story when you finally do succeed. Hang in there, keep working, and know that these talents were given to you to share.

New Work: Foothills Study

Foothills Study: Leighton Centre, this painting is the fourth in a new series. As mentioned in previous blogs, I am currently working on a series of mixed media paintings on photographic print. This photograph taken at the Leighton Centre, incorporates oil paint around the subject and a heavy charcoal application, creating movement in to background of the painting.

West End Mural Project

This winter, I have been fortunate to work with a group of clients on the West End Mural Project. Each Friday our group, in conjunction with the Calgary Housing Corporation has come together to design and paint an indoor mural for the building’s community room. As the project closes I am excited to share this image of our efforts and in my opinion our best mural to date! A special shout out to Hannah Poon for getting this project off the ground and for her mural design!

Earth Works, an old school "photoshop" project

I have headed back to the studio recently, with a new project in hand. I have begun a new series of paintings working with oil paint on photograph. Since September, I have been collecting imagery for the project, taking day trips Fish Creek Provincial Park and Elbow Falls photographing the finer elements of nature. The images capture the smallest components of landscape; detailing river rocks, rose hips, and snow covered grasses. Once the photographs have been taken and the prints have been enlarged, I begin experimenting with thick swashes of paint and oil sticks directly on the photographic print. After layering the paint on the photograph, I have been working back into the surface with charcoal pencils, carving in and around the forms within the photographs. Here are a few of the examples of works in progress. The sizes of the pieces range from 24x18" to 12x8", I hope to continue this experimentation and work towards even larger scale prins. The images shown above detail the photographs "before" and the images below illustrate "after" with the addition of oil paints (click images for a larger view).

I am very pleased to announce that I have posted a few new items in my Esty store! The featured artwork includes miniature watercolor paintings and a mixed media piece. Stayed tuned for even more items!

"So this is Christmas and what have you done?"

Dear Collogues, Family, and Friends,
It is hard to believe another year has passed and we are already approaching 2012. As I look back on the highlights of 2011, my favorite part of this last year was the opportunity to connect with both old and new friends; the fellow artists I work with at Wildflower Art Centre, Prospect, and through my Christmas sales. I am very fortunate to work alongside these dedicated and talented people. It has been truly awesome to watch the talents and professionalism of my fellow artists, expand and grow.

Personally, I want to thank (you!) my family and friends for attending exhibitions and sales in support of my artistic endeavors this year. I am always surprised to see your friendly faces in the early morning at some community hall and am amazed how you continued to keep coming out in support me and of my artwork. Lastly, a big thank you to E for his encouragement and assistance over the past year, whether he is helping me with yet another load of artwork or listening to endless "grant rants", he is always willing to lend a hand and an ear.
I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas....

Sayōnara 2011 and hola 2012!
Peace
Lisa Tornack

Bridgeland Christmas Market

Please join us this weekend at the Bridgeland Christmas Market. The show runs from 10am-6pm presenting a variety of wares from local artists. From ceramics and jewelry to paintings and needle felting there is something for everyone!

Merry Ho Ho!