2014 was a great year for Papergirl Vancouver. Here are a few of our favourite blog posts from 2014:
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Submissions for Papergirl Vancouver are open and you are itching to submit some of your awesome artwork but you're not sure where to start or even what to submit. Fear not! Papergirl Vancouver accepts all kinds of art forms and here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing! Fibre Arts: Are you a knitter extraordinaire? Do you love to crochet? Maybe needlework is your thing. Which ever suites your fancy consider submitting your beautiful fibre creation to Papergirl! Last year we received amazing yarn bombed bike pieces that ended up being used as our giveaway for exhibition night. Don't think you need to yarn bomb a piece of a bicycle to get in on the awesomeness of Papergirl. Pull out those knitting needles and create a mosaic square or embroider a beautiful image onto some sepia toned linen. If you are a fibre arts pro, Papergirl would love to see your work! The Written Word: Do you spend most of your day scribbling poetry into a notebook? Or maybe you have an epic short story hidden away in a folder. The written word is absolutely art and would make anyone's day as a gift given to them on the street. Last year we had some beautiful poetry submitted and we would love to see some more this year. If you're a budding writer wanting to spread your literary gold throughout our city Papergirl Vancouver might be perfect for you. Collage: Collage work is amazing and takes a certain type of artist to pull it off in a way that looks flawless. Collage is also coming back onto the art scene in full swing. So grab that canvas and your creativity and see what beautiful collage work you can come up with! Paintings: Oil, watercolour, acrylic or mixed media. Painting is a timeless type of art. We received jaw-dropping work last year and would love to see more this year. Painting, like most art, is a very therapeutic process plus you'll look like a budding Picasso in that paint-stained smock with a smear of blue paint on your cheek. Digital Art: Are you an amazing graphic designer? Digital art is a newcomer to the art scene but it has already made a name for itself as a type of art worth noticing. Papergirl is always open to new and exciting art forms so show us your digital art wonders! Inspired yet? Pull out your supplies and get to creating! Papergirl Vancouver 2015's submissions are now open and we would love to see your talent! One of the wonderful things about Papergirl Vancouver is the exhibition week. We place every piece of wonderful art on display for the world to see. It's also a great opportunity to see all the talent that comes from all around the world and here at home.
The exhibition design is simple: lines of twine weaving through the room confidently showing off all of the stunning work we have received through the summer months. The peak of exhibition week is opening night. A glamorous night of artists, musicians and good food exhibition night brings the artists of Papergirl Vancouver to the forefront. Last year we had two Papergirl artists present about their artistic process adding to the hum of inspiration that floated through the room. Want to be part of this inspiring night? Papergirl Vancouver is accepting submissions right now! Add your talent to the Papergirl experience and see your work shine at this year's exhibition and in the hands of unsuspecting Vancouverite. It’s the 5th anniversary of Papergirl Vancouver and we’re celebrating each week with Throwback Thursday blog posts!
Last year was my first year with Papergirl Vancouver. In addition to my occasional blog posts I was also a part of our valuable Treasure Trove team. Treasure Trove is Papergirl’s team of behind-the-scenes Ninjas who have the pleasure of being the first people to open up our myriad of submissions from all over the world. I was floored by the shear amount of submissions we received and how the excitement of opening up packages of pure talent grew as the weeks went by. We had submissions come in from here in Vancouver and from around the Lower Mainland but I was also thrilled to see submission from places like London, France and even Brazil. The fact that an art movement like Papergirl was able to bring together artists from all over the world was a wonderful revelation. I believe that is the power of Papergirl Vancouver, the fact that through the partnership of altruism and art we are able to make great connection both around the world through submissions and then in our own city when the artwork is gifted out into the city. And thus it was because of my role in Treasure Trove that I was able to fully see the wheels of Papergirl turning as talent came streaming in through the mailbox for the sole purpose of altruism and the gift of art. Speaking of the power of submissions, did you know that Papergirl Vancouver is already accepting submissions? Submit your artwork and show off your talent through Papergirl Vancouver 2015 and help spread the wonders of altruism through art. - Nav Papergirl Vancouver is turning 5! Check out our blog every Thursday for our Throwback Thursday blast from Papergirl Vancouver’s past!
It was an unusually cold Saturday in July, as the team of Papergirl Vancouver 2014 got ready for our annual ride out. The threat of rain has us wondering if we should move the ride out to another day. Do we have a transit day? Meet up tomorrow and see how it goes? But no, we decide to face the threat head on and ride out bikes out into the city ready to bear the gift of art onto unsuspecting Vancouverites. And so we do. We bike from the Roundhouse over to False Creek, a feat that you can see here and hand out all of our nearly 300 lovingly submitted art pieces to strangers. Approaching anyone we see who seems like they would love a piece of original artwork, our day is filled with great conversation about art, our city and of course laughter. We decided to brave the rain and we’re glad for it though not a lot of people were out venturing the city we do leave False Creek a little lighter of our over 300 pieces neatly placed into the hands of their new owners and head back to the Roundhouse to reflect on our wonderfully cold ride out. Papergirl 2015 has begun! We are still looking for Papergirls and Paperboys to join our team. If you love the idea of altruism mixed with fabulous art from all around the world you should definitely consider becoming a part of our fabulous team. Are you an artist? Artwork submissions are open! Submit your artwork and become part of a worldwide art movement. We are so inspired by all the amazing artists worldwide who participate in Papergirl Vancouver and thought it would be fun to open up our blog to their voices. We've asked them to share their journey and talk about their experiences as an artist, particularly focusing on the ways they engage community with their art. These artists will also be sharing what moved them to participate in Papergirl Vancouver and any interesting experiences they may have had as a result of being part of the Papergirl movement. We are very proud of our Artist Interview Studio Visit Seriesand love that this is another opportunity for us to highlight Papergirl Artists. We will be sharing these posts over the next few months, so be sure to check back regularly or watch for updates on ourFacebook and Twitter accounts! We would like you to meet artist Bob Craig from Western Canada. See more of Rob's work at his website. I consider myself to be an explorer in the realms of color and texture. For the past 20 years I have experimented with collage and mixed media. I enjoy employing recycled materials. My style of collage has evolved from techniques used to resore antiques at the Royal Ontario Museum. My definition of creativity is when I lose track of time as I am immersed in a project. Papergirl is an excellent avenue for getting art out into the public. It affords me the opportunity to share my enjoyment of the creative process. I am having fun and that is my reason for continuing my art career.
-Bob Craig We are so inspired by all the amazing artists worldwide who participate in Papergirl Vancouver and thought it would be fun to open up our blog to their voices. We've asked them to share their journey and talk about their experiences as an artist, particularly focusing on the ways they engage community with their art. These artists will also be sharing what moved them to participate in Papergirl Vancouver and any interesting experiences they may have had as a result of being part of the Papergirl movement. We are very proud of our Artist Interview Studio Visit Series and love that this is another opportunity for us to highlight Papergirl Artists. We will be sharing these posts over the next few months, so be sure to check back regularly or watch for updates on our Facebook and Twitter accounts! We would like you to meet Samantha Darling who currently lives in the United States! You can read her story about rediscovering her creativity through Papergirl Vancouver below. See more of Sam's work on her Supa'flous Etsy Page, her jewellery website and also follow along with her instagram and pinterest if you'd like. It was the beginning of last year - I was sitting in Jitters Caffe sipping tea with a dear friend, contemplating the many wonders of the creative world and the lifestyle of an emerging artist. She mentioned her recent involvement with Papergirl Vancouver, and I knew immediately it was a project I wanted to be a part of. As a volunteer with Papergirl Vancouver’s printmaking workshops last year, I had the opportunity to engage with people as they discovered and explored the endless opportunities of creating art. People of all ages came out to learn how to make their own prints, and even those who were hesitant at first, soon felt confident and excited by the prospect of their own creative abilities. That was my first taste of Papergirl, and I have been an avid supporter of it ever since.
I have always felt more comfortable thinking of myself as a creator rather than as an artist. I admire all things unique and peculiar, and love to collect all that is delightfully odd. As a creator, I love to dabble in anything and everything creative. I have been designing jewellery for over ten years, and in 2011 I started my own line of one-of-a-kind pieces for those who love to wear jewellery as an extension of artistic expression. My passion is deeply rooted in the beauty of transforming found objects into striking designs utilizing sterling silver, copper, brass and resin. The 2014 Papergirl submission came at a time shortly after I moved from Canada to the United States. My creativity felt a bit stagnant, so I decided to let jewellery take a back seat, and set off in a new direction with a fresh perspective. While sifting through some old books, I found a tiny notepad that had a collection of sketches I had doodled in university during some intense bouts of procrastination. The inspiration for the drawings came from the exquisitely descriptive writings of one of my favourite books, Titus Groan, by Mervyn Peake. Each sketch was of a person’s face and followed the same theme: a large, protruding nose, tiny lips and an oddly shaped head with tufts of hair sporadically sprouting out of it. I decided to revive the peculiar characters, and thought it would be both fun and humorous to have them sketched and painted on cards as if it were their own personal portraits. Compelled by my Papergirl Vancouver submission, I was inspired to open my Etsy.com store, Supa’flous, which features stationary decorated with the superfluous characters of my imagination. Connecting with new artists through Etsy has been truly inspiring. Thanks to Papergirl, I have discovered an exciting new creative outlet and a whole new online community to share my work with! -Samantha Darling We are so inspired by all the amazing artists worldwide who participate in Papergirl Vancouver and thought it would be fun to open up our blog to their voices. We've asked them to share their journey and talk about their experiences as an artist, particularly focusing on the ways they engage community with their art. These artists will also be sharing what moved them to participate in Papergirl Vancouver and any interesting experiences they may have had as a result of being part of the Papergirl movement. We are very proud of our Artist Interview Studio Visit Series and love that this is another opportunity for us to highlight Papergirl Artists. We will be sharing these posts over the next few months, so be sure to check back regularly or watch for updates on our Facebook and Twitter accounts! Our first artist we would like you to meet is illustrator Mandy Lau from Vancouver, Canada and you can read her story below. See more of Mandy's work on her website and also follow along with her twitter and instagram if you'd like. The story of how I got into illustration is, I think, quite typical - basically, the moment I figured out how to navigate a pencil, I wanted to make pictures and draw characters. As a child, I wanted to draw like Mr. Dressup could, and I wanted to draw Garfield cartoons. It wasn't until I took the Fashion Arts program at VCC that I started thinking more about freelance illustration. Doing life drawing classes at VCC led me to further take on other drop-in life drawing classes at local studios like Blim and Basic Inquiry. I've always enjoyed taking workshops and registering for Meetups in order to connect with people who have common interests. What inspires me to connect my art with the community is usually the combination of meeting new, interesting people and feeling the positive energy surrounding them. I'm also always very fond of individuals who take the time to share with others in the community and provide spaces and events where people can come together. In the past couple years, I have participated in a couple themed group shows at Hot Art Wet City. I try to submit work and participate on my free time. It's great to attend the shows and workshops, meet people, be entertained by humorous subject matter, and get inspired by what artists in the community are doing. There was also a charitable project I participated in a while back through an organization called Love and Water International based out in New York. The project was called '1000 Prayers for Japan' and the purpose of the project was to provide relief aid after the devastating earthquake and tsunami disaster that took place in 2011. I created illustrations for t-shirt designs where 100% of the proceeds collected went to two charities: one that provided gloves and boots to recovery workers in the area, and another that provided care for animals affected by the disaster. I always feel it's a good idea to participate in charity projects – both within the local community, and international community. As for Papergirl Vancouver, I discovered the project upon browsing the listings on the Alliance for Arts and Culture website. I was immediately interested in participating when I read the description. I thought it was a really fun and very different idea of getting people together. Just picturing happy cyclists handing out scrolls of art to people in the city sold me on the idea. I also had a chance to invite some new creative friends I met just before the project launch to attend the exhibition opening. Everyone I talked to about it thought it was such a neat idea. I had a really great time listening to the speakers and taking a look at everybody else's artwork at the show opening. I already can't wait for Papergirl Vancouver 2015! -Mandy Lau Image credits 1. lovewaterjapan_combo.jpg (Project: 1000 Prayers for Japan t-shirt illustrations; Credit: Love + Water Designs) 2. HAWCbikesinside.jpg (Project: Hot Art Wet City's Bikes Inside group show; Credit: Hot Art Wet City event poster; Mandy Lau's framed illustration print at group show) 3. HAWCFCKeventcollage.jpg (Project: Hot Art Wet City's F*CK group show; Credit: Hot Art Wet City event poster) 4. hawc_lust_650.jpg (Project: Hot Art Wet City's F*CK group show; Credit: Mandy Lau's framed illustration print at group show) 5. PGVeventcollage.jpg (Project: Papergirl Vancouver exhibition opening; Credit: Papergirl Vancouver event poster) Welcome back to our Artist Interview Series! Ove the past several weeks, we have met with some of the talented artists who contribute to our project to find out more about their art practice and the role that artists can play to help encourage, support, and build community. Today we are bringing you our final interview of the year, and we hope that you have enjoyed learning more about artists in our community! We met with printmaker Linda Suffidy at her shared studio space at Malaspina Printmakers on Granville Island. After graduating from Emily Carr, where she focused on painting, Linda moved into graphic design working in both the private and public sectors. She found that working in digital media felt cold to her and decided to take a screen printing course, something she had tried briefly during school but never pursued. She discovered a passion for print making and has been working more seriously with the medium since joining Malaspina in 2011. Initially she planned to continue with screen printing but upon seeing what the other members were working on she became interested in other techniques, primarily embossing and working in relief. Linda is currently experimenting with a variety of mixed media applications and is putting together a body of work with the intent to exhibit. You can see more of Linda’s work on her website here. Our Q&A with Linda:Do you remember the first time you created something?
I drew an awful lot of horses growing up! I remember that I had a set of oil pastels and those books where you filled in different areas of a drawing with a different color to bring out the final image. What are you working on right now? I am working a series of abstracted landscapes – I was inspired by zooming out on Google Maps. I’m playing with the idea of relief and the surface being quite sculptural, so I am building up layers of very viscous paint using an intaglio technique and layering it with abstracted imagery. What do you like the most about working in print media? And what are some of the challenges of working in printmaking? I enjoy the fact that it is so immediate and it's also very exciting to me because I am able to combine so many techniques from painting and printmaking together. It is like a new frontier for me! I also like the democratic nature of printmaking – it can be more accessible for the viewer, in terms of a price point, because you can make multiples so easily. A challenge is definitely time! Printmaking can be fast once you have gone through the initial preparation but at the moment I am not quite sure where I want my artwork to go so I am doing a lot of open experimentation. The pieces I am working on have a lot of detail in them so it just takes a lot of time to create each one. It is still faster than painting for me though! It’s funny - I went to visit my mom recently and went through all my old work I had stashed away from art school. I realized that printmaking was always where I excelled and made my best work! What moves you as an artist? I really respond to the decorative – light, color, texture, pattern. I’m hesitant to use the term decorative because it can be interpreted as something trite, but I mean it in the best way. Do you think about the relationship between artist and viewer when creating? I do, yes. I want people to really enjoy looking at my work and have an aesthetic experience. What are your thoughts on exhibiting art in non-traditional platforms, outside the formal spaces of art museums and galleries? I find that the gallery experience can be intimidating to people who don't normally go to them. It's not a space where people feel they can easily step into and just look around. I think that museums help people to feel more at ease, but commercial galleries can be seen as elitist in a way. I really love the idea of getting art into people’s lives, and I enjoy finding art in unexpected places, such as street art and exhibiting in different ways. For example, the Lululemon store at Broadway and Cambie always has creative displays in their window and it's a great way to bring art to people walking by or standing at the bus stop. In your view, what are some ways that artists can impact their communities? By participating - Papergirl is a great example of how you can do participate in something unexpected through sharing your art and enter into a dialogue with other people. The first year I donated work I heard back from a few people who received my pieces and it was so good to hear that people appreciated it and had it in their living space. How do you participate as an artist in your community? At the moment, I participate in the community primarily through Malaspina. It is really great, everyone is so curious and eager to expand their knowledge. I really enjoy being surrounded by likeminded people who are very supportive, and having the possibility to discuss my ideas and concerns with people who are having, or who had, similar experiences. At Papergirl, we are all about the art of giving art. What is the greatest gift you have ever received? I would say opportunities, and in particular the opportunity to pursue art and do what I've always wanted to do. Tell us about the piece you have donated to Papergirl Vancouver. I donated a variety of pieces, including several embossed prints that I created manually. I wet the paper a little bit and then put a template under it, so there is a hard edge, and then trace around it with my embossing tool to build up the patterns. I can then flip it over and de-boss parts to add or subtract depth and create this 3D quality. The fact that I can build a surface up and bring it down again is interesting to me because you are allowing natural light and shadow to become part of the design. To wrap up the interview, if you could be a bike what kind of bike would you be? I would definitely be a completely chrome plated cruiser! Vancouver get excited! Tomorrow is the BIG RIDE OUT!
Keep your eyes peeled for Papergirls and Boys along the Seawall tomorrow. You may just be gifted some art by one of our cyclists! The Rideout will begin and end at the Roundhouse and we will head out on the Seawall toward Science World and beyond! We leave at 11 am. If you spot us be sure to share your gift and Papergirl spotting on social media! (Tag @PapergirlVan #PapergirlVan) Feel free to contact your artist as well. They would love to hear from you and their contact information should be on the back of your artwork. We hope to see you out there! - Danielle |
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