My Tangled Garden
In my sidewalk garden, the sunflowers - weighed down by their big, fat seed-studded heads - have taken to napping on the hood of my car. The squirrels clamber up every now and then to have a snack. (Amazing that they left them alone all summer long.)
The chili peppers in the vegetable garden are tangled up in the tomatoes and yesterday I dug up a bowlful of red onions where I thought the potatoes would be. Welcome to my tangled garden!!!
In autumn, all my gardening successes and failures come together in a jumble of vines and weeds and flowers. The fennel never made a bulb, instead it sent up flares of tiny yellow flowers and seeds on long, licorice-scented stalks. I forgot to pick the runner beans, but now they have matured into candy-pink pods with marbled seeds tucked inside.
It's exciting and inspiring to see nature have her way despite my best efforts and regardless of my many mistakes.
My latest mosaic, called My Tangled Garden, is a tribute to the unkempt, unbridled glory of the garden in fall. It was the out-of-control chartreuse leaves of the potato vine in a pot on my balcony that first lodged the idea in my head. They cascaded from the table all the way to the floor. And in the other direction, purple coleus and orange lantana climbed higher and farther.
Here's the mosaic, called My Tangled Garden. It's 24 inches by 16 inches. Stained glass, ceramic penny tiles, vintage plates and buttons, glass tile and handmade Japanese porcelain tiles. If you have any questions, or want to buy it, feel free to contact me at ssemenak24@gmail.com .
And below are a few photos from my September -into-October garden.
The chili peppers in the vegetable garden are tangled up in the tomatoes and yesterday I dug up a bowlful of red onions where I thought the potatoes would be. Welcome to my tangled garden!!!
In autumn, all my gardening successes and failures come together in a jumble of vines and weeds and flowers. The fennel never made a bulb, instead it sent up flares of tiny yellow flowers and seeds on long, licorice-scented stalks. I forgot to pick the runner beans, but now they have matured into candy-pink pods with marbled seeds tucked inside.
It's exciting and inspiring to see nature have her way despite my best efforts and regardless of my many mistakes.
My latest mosaic, called My Tangled Garden, is a tribute to the unkempt, unbridled glory of the garden in fall. It was the out-of-control chartreuse leaves of the potato vine in a pot on my balcony that first lodged the idea in my head. They cascaded from the table all the way to the floor. And in the other direction, purple coleus and orange lantana climbed higher and farther.
Here's the mosaic, called My Tangled Garden. It's 24 inches by 16 inches. Stained glass, ceramic penny tiles, vintage plates and buttons, glass tile and handmade Japanese porcelain tiles. If you have any questions, or want to buy it, feel free to contact me at ssemenak24@gmail.com .
And below are a few photos from my September -into-October garden.
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Art By the Lake
It was inspiring and exciting to meet so many art lovers and fellow artists at the Lakeshore Artist Association's hugely popular Art By The Lake fall show, held recently on the rolling grounds of Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire.
Here are a few highlights from the show, and some of the mosaics that I exhibited there. A number are still for sale at the LAA's online art show, which is on through the end of September. You can find them at www.artlakeshore.com
Here are a few highlights from the show, and some of the mosaics that I exhibited there. A number are still for sale at the LAA's online art show, which is on through the end of September. You can find them at www.artlakeshore.com
Lakeshore Artists Association Spring Show 2022
I was thrilled to be invited to join the Lakeshore Artists Association recently. It's a group of artists living and working on Montreal's West Island. These are oil painters, fabric artists, watercolorists and sculptors whose works I have long admired - and now I get to be one of them!
Art Lakeshore's spring show is being held this year from April 10 until April 30.
Because of lingering Covid restrictions, the show is being held virtually this spring. To see all the wonderful works of art go to www.artlakeshore.com A third of the sales goes to support the fabulous works of NOVA West Island.
The eight mosaics I submitted to the show are like a spring tonic. A burst of colour and pattern. There's a series of four circular mosaics called Citrus, which features clementine and lemon trees and bowls filled with oranges and limes. Another duo pays tribute to the chrysanthemum and its moody jewel tones.
The two biggest pieces of mine in the show are from my Houseplants Series. They are bigger works, one featuring a fern and a goldfinch and the other a wild and crazy monstera in a patchwork pink pot.
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Art Lakeshore's spring show is being held this year from April 10 until April 30.
Because of lingering Covid restrictions, the show is being held virtually this spring. To see all the wonderful works of art go to www.artlakeshore.com A third of the sales goes to support the fabulous works of NOVA West Island.
The eight mosaics I submitted to the show are like a spring tonic. A burst of colour and pattern. There's a series of four circular mosaics called Citrus, which features clementine and lemon trees and bowls filled with oranges and limes. Another duo pays tribute to the chrysanthemum and its moody jewel tones.
The two biggest pieces of mine in the show are from my Houseplants Series. They are bigger works, one featuring a fern and a goldfinch and the other a wild and crazy monstera in a patchwork pink pot.
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Ukrainian Sunflowers
When the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine began in late February, we were all so horrified and distraught. I feel such a deep attachment to this country, though I have never stepped foot there. My grandparents on both sides left Ukraine almost a century ago. They brought with them to Canada the bright colours of Ukrainian embroidery, the taste of borsch, walnut cake and cabbage rolls and the whirling sounds of the kolomeika.
To stem my feelings of helplessness at the horrors Ukrainians are facing I retreated to my studio and began a series of sunflower mosaics, dedicated to Ukraine's beauty. The sunflower is Ukraine's national flower and its bright sunny disposition inspired my works. I made nine sunflower mosaics in all and every penny of the money from the sales went to help with the Ukrainian war effort. A big thank you to all those who bought one. They are all gone now!
Here are a few of them. Hope they bring you some sunshine too.
To stem my feelings of helplessness at the horrors Ukrainians are facing I retreated to my studio and began a series of sunflower mosaics, dedicated to Ukraine's beauty. The sunflower is Ukraine's national flower and its bright sunny disposition inspired my works. I made nine sunflower mosaics in all and every penny of the money from the sales went to help with the Ukrainian war effort. A big thank you to all those who bought one. They are all gone now!
Here are a few of them. Hope they bring you some sunshine too.
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Big Studio Clean Up!!!!
My studio, which overlooks the vegetable garden at the side of my house, was in dire need of taming. Teetering piles of plates, bowls filled with stained glass shards, work tables piled high with hillocks of ceramic shards. It felt good to make some order and to clear the space - and my head - for whatever comes next.
Here's a little tour (before it gets all messed up again!)
Here's a little tour (before it gets all messed up again!)
The Come for Dinner show
I'm cleaning up the studio and regrouping after the big show at 2 Barn Owls Gallery in Hudson, which wound up last week. Almost all the artworks sold have now been delivered.
A big thanks to everybody who came to see, and to those who bought collages, mosaics and painting. It was really great to see you all, mingling in the gallery or sitting outside. After months of working, mostly alone, in the studio, it's really fun to talk about the works and the stories and inspirations behind them.
A big thanks to everybody who came to see, and to those who bought collages, mosaics and painting. It was really great to see you all, mingling in the gallery or sitting outside. After months of working, mostly alone, in the studio, it's really fun to talk about the works and the stories and inspirations behind them.
The 100 Day Project
I've been having a really great time with The100DayProject!
It's an online community art project which is meant to stir creativity. Artists from around the world commit to do a project a day for 100 days as a way of jumpstarting their creativity. My pledge was to complete a five-minute pencil drawing every day and post it on Instagram. It's always a continuous-line drawing of something from my everyday, sketched with the kitchen timer set for five minutes. I draw on whatever paper is at hand. Sometimes it's my sketchbook, other times the back of an envelope or a scrap of brown paper. At first it terrified me to work so quickly, without erasing or correcting. But I am finding the speed actually enhances creativity. There's no time to listen to the little voices in my head judging what I was doing. So there's a new kind of excitement in these little sketches. In fact, I've gotten fast enough to finish sketching in three or four minutes, which leaves enough time to add a splash or two of colour.
I never know how or if these little vignettes are going to turn out. But it is always fun.
If you want to see them all, go to my Instagram account by pressing the icon at the bottom right corner of this page.
Here are a few of my favourites. I've grouped them into a little collection called Fast Food. They are for sale. If you are interested, email me for details.
I've been having a really great time with The100DayProject!
It's an online community art project which is meant to stir creativity. Artists from around the world commit to do a project a day for 100 days as a way of jumpstarting their creativity. My pledge was to complete a five-minute pencil drawing every day and post it on Instagram. It's always a continuous-line drawing of something from my everyday, sketched with the kitchen timer set for five minutes. I draw on whatever paper is at hand. Sometimes it's my sketchbook, other times the back of an envelope or a scrap of brown paper. At first it terrified me to work so quickly, without erasing or correcting. But I am finding the speed actually enhances creativity. There's no time to listen to the little voices in my head judging what I was doing. So there's a new kind of excitement in these little sketches. In fact, I've gotten fast enough to finish sketching in three or four minutes, which leaves enough time to add a splash or two of colour.
I never know how or if these little vignettes are going to turn out. But it is always fun.
If you want to see them all, go to my Instagram account by pressing the icon at the bottom right corner of this page.
Here are a few of my favourites. I've grouped them into a little collection called Fast Food. They are for sale. If you are interested, email me for details.
Fast Food
Upcoming show: Come for Dinner, Sept 5 through 14 2019
I am getting ready for my next show!!!!
It happens at the fabulous 2 Barn Owls Gallery in Hudson, Quebec. It's a really extraordinary venue in a rustic old red-tin barn in a picture-pretty village off the western top of Montreal island. I am thrilled that the gallery's owners Mavis Martin and Nancy Farnam, amazing artists themselves, invited me back this season.
The show opens on Sept 5 and continues through Sept. 14. Gallery hours are Thursday 12 to 5 and Friday and Saturday 10 to 5.
The exhibit will feature a collection of collage, mosaics, illustrations and photographs inspired by the dinner table. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at how the work is progressing.
I am getting ready for my next show!!!!
It happens at the fabulous 2 Barn Owls Gallery in Hudson, Quebec. It's a really extraordinary venue in a rustic old red-tin barn in a picture-pretty village off the western top of Montreal island. I am thrilled that the gallery's owners Mavis Martin and Nancy Farnam, amazing artists themselves, invited me back this season.
The show opens on Sept 5 and continues through Sept. 14. Gallery hours are Thursday 12 to 5 and Friday and Saturday 10 to 5.
The exhibit will feature a collection of collage, mosaics, illustrations and photographs inspired by the dinner table. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at how the work is progressing.
