Banff Centre for the Arts, Summer Residency, 2025

I arrived to the Visual Arts residency to resume painting after a five year hiatus (see Visitors, 2020). Prior to the residency my practice had been mainly focused on textiles and sculpture.

When I begin work at a new site, I first become acquainted with the area’s prehistoric art and the visual cues that are inherently cultural icons. At Banff, formal research was undertaken at the Paul D, Fleck library and Archives, The Whyte Museum, mountain hikes, petroglyph and pictograph sites.

In the studio I established parameters with materials I had brought to Banff. One painting tool was chosen for each paint colour. The initial marks for each colour made on either test pieces of canvas or paper became a guide for the studies created during the residency. In addition to painting, I attended a two day Raku workshop provided at the Banff Centre. The result was a studio installation with both the “upside down” small raku figures and the large North by South paintings in dialogue. Four gestural abstract figurative sculptural works on paper were studies for a commission.

The studies developed during my residency include paintings, sculptures, raku figures, Size Range: Works on paper, 71 x 71 cm, 100 x 270 cm, 180 x 150 cm. Raku, 3 x 10cm.

The opportunity to attend the Banff Centre was made possible through the generous support of the Audrey E, Klinck scholarship and the Banff Centre.