by Sally Hansen

There is a very simple explanation for Kate Ryckman’s happiness — this young woman is well on her way to achieving her two most important goals. “All my life I wanted to be a mom and an artist,” she tells me, when I pursue the answer to the “Why?” question on her Artist Trading Card.

Ryckman is already an accomplished artist, with her imaginative, light-hearted artwork currently featured at the 3 Yellow Tulips Art Shoppe in Pakenham. She will be participating in the Burnstown “Affair of the Arts” the last weekend of May, and in the West Carleton Art Society Show on Thanksgiving Weekend. The collection of lively and whimsical images on her website at www.kateryckmanart.blogspot.com reflects her love of colour and her passion for creativity. Her fresh treatment of standard subjects — chefs and flowers are among her favourites — captures your attention and curls the corners of your mouth upwards. This is a good thing.

Continue reading "Kate Ryckman — Creating Her Own Little Masterpieces" »

Posted on April 15, 2008 2:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

by Sally Hansen

The paint was barely dry on their studio walls when theHumm showed up to welcome and interview the newest participants in the annual Pakenham Maple Run Studio Tour. Pastel artists Guy Cranston and Sharon Fox-Cranston recently relocated from White Rock, just south of Vancouver, to return to the area where Guy’s family has multi-generational roots.

These two accomplished artists are an exciting addition to the wealth of artistic talent living in the Pakenham environs. Both are active members of the Federation of Canadian Artists, and both have had paintings shown in the Federation’s gallery on Granville Island in Vancouver. Sharon’s Lane way near Gordes received an Award of Excellence at the Federation’s “Works on Paper” show last spring, and the same painting was featured on the July/August 2007 cover of “Art Avenue” magazine. Also last August, her Poppies at Les Ferriers received an Honorable Mention at the Pastel Artists of Canada’s 16th Annual Open Juried Exhibition titled “Purely Pastel” on Salt Spring Island. Shortly before leaving White Rock last fall, they held an Open Studio and sold 32 pastel paintings in one weekend.

Continue reading "Guy Cranston and Sharon Fox-Cranston — A Pastel Duet" »

Posted on April 15, 2008 2:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

by Sally Hansen

Amateur photographers discover very quickly that lighting conditions are the determining factor in our ability to capture worthwhile images. Michael Bowie has spent a lifetime learning how to control and/or work with those conditions to achieve superb results. Today he applies his thirty years of experience as a film photographer and printer to his ongoing mastery of the continuously and rapidly evolving field of digital photography.

Michael and his partner, Janice Bowie, are the owners and staff of LUX Photographic Services Inc. at 11 Lake Ave. W. in Carleton Place. theHumm decided to feature Michael’s photographic expertise after viewing his photography at several exhibits, and after several other featured artists told us that they rely on Michael to reproduce their artwork to their demanding archival standards. Bowie has been providing high quality photographic services since incorporating as LUX in 1983. His trademark is excellence. His slogan is “It’s All About the Light”, and LUX is the Latin word for light.

Continue reading "Michael Bowie — It’s All About the Light" »

Posted on February 13, 2008 1:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

by Sally Hansen

How can a group or organization committed to a worthy cause attract and retain volunteers? This chronic challenge is becoming a burning issue for many of the organizations that make our communities kinder and gentler and more sustainable. According to agencies that track trends in volunteering, things are probably going to get worse as more worthy causes compete for a shrinking population of volunteers.Seventy-five percent of the Boomers, the “Me Generation”, are telling pollsters they’re not particularly interested in volunteering, and the demographic landscape is changing. According to national surveys in 2004, 55% of people aged 15-24 volunteered time to various causes, while only 32% of seniors did. Admittedly, seniors volunteered for longer periods of time, but by 2031, 25% of us will be over 65, as opposed to 13% in 2001. We’ve tapped into a number of resources to compile a short list of Do’s and Don’ts designed to help you find and keep the kind of volunteers you need to achieve your goals. Our Google search on “attract volunteers” yielded about 1,100,000 results. At the end of our list, we’ve provided two very worthwhile Internet resources you can pursue for a much more detailed discussion of the care and feeding of volunteers.

Continue reading "In Pursuit of Volunteer Recruits" »

Posted on February 13, 2008 1:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Interview by Chandler Swain

In response to discovering that prospecting for uranium is being carried out across thousands of acres of land in a giant swath that extends from the Sharbot Lake area up through West Quebec, groups like the Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium are forming to try and stop it. Recently the Ottawa Citizen’s Coalition Against Mining Uranium brought Dr. Jim Harding to the area as part of his book tour. He has studied the nuclear issue for 30 years and is a renowned expert on the dangers of all aspects of uranium, from mining to its use as fuel. His book Canada’s Deadly Secret: Saskatchewan Uranium and the Global Nuclear System is shocking and important. To find out more about Jim’s work and what’s at stake go to the excellent Straight Goods website.

As the mainstream media has clearly decided not to follow this story, public awareness and advocacy has to be done by committed “regular people”. Dr. Harding says that there is proactive dismissal of the real facts about the dangers of mining uranium and the use of nuclear power by the industry, so it is vital that we find out the other side of the story. If the government is going to get the message that we are serious about a moratorium on the mining and prospecting of uranium, many of us are going to have to get busy. Please think of joining CCAMU and supporting the work that has been started. Check out the kNOw Uranium website for details.

I had the chance to interview Donna Dillman about her recent hunger strike. Her work is inspiring and has really kickstarted a strong citizen’s movement. Here is her story so far.

Chandler Swain: Why did you stop eating on Thanksgiving last year? What did you hope to accomplish?

Donna Dillman: The local Algonquin populations, with the help of many hundreds of non-Natives, had been successful in holding off the exploratory drills for 101 days at the point when I started my campaign against drilling for uranium. During the summer, I’d overheard one of the Chiefs comment that, “One can live a long time without food, but clean water is essential to all life,” and I realized the truth in that. Food and eating are symbolic of wellbeing and I hoped to help increase awareness around the risks inherent in uranium exploration. Supporting the call for a moratorium was also a goal.

Continue reading "Worth Fighting For — A Conversation With Donna Dillman" »

Posted on February 13, 2008 1:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

by Sally Hansen

theHumm congratulates Perth artist Suzette MacSkimming on the permanent installation of fifteen of her vibrant works at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University. The stunning collection of large mixed-media/monotypes is believed to be one of the largest recent acquisitions of original work of an area artist.

Suzette characterizes Sprott’s purchase as “a courageous act”, fostering hope that Ottawa’s public institutions are becoming more receptive to investing in contemporary regional art. For the artist, the biggest thrill of the public vernissage was the enthusiasm of the faculty members and guests viewing her artworks. “It gave me such a good feeling that my large works had found an appreciative home — I received the most wonderful feedback!”

Continue reading "Suzette MacSkimming — Art That Works On All Levels" »

Posted on January 14, 2008 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

by Sally Hansen

Science reinvents itself, and so did Brian Mantrop. Studying geophysics at Queen’s University in the late 60s, Mantrop abandoned his view of a predictable Newtonian universe and set out on a life journey that continues today. He embraced the counterculture of the era and took a year off to travel in search of the freedoms celebrated by the music of the Beatles and Bob Dylan. His attempt to return to structured studies only convinced him that he had found his true calling… “an endless search for exotic lands where true Utopia might exist.”

Somewhere along the way his youthful dream became a reality, and for over 30 years Mantrop has used his camera to focus his emotions as he expresses his fascination with life. In 1995 he published a successful book “about love, consciousness and exploring life”. The title is Talking to the Other World — A Journey of the Spirit. In it, his text and his fine art photographs portray his lifelong pursuit for connection to the universal energy of light and love. This pursuit has yielded fascinating images of people and places from his travels around the world — China, India, Sri Lanka, Morocco, England, Ireland, Wales, Tibet, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Canada, and USA. Brian Mantrop has no intention of slowing down. The world is his palette. The universe is his inspiration.

Continue reading "Brian Mantrop — Sliding into Creative Chaos" »

Posted on December 6, 2007 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

by Joanne Mitchell

Avid reader Joanne Mitchell has recently been tracking down bookclub members throughout the Valley. Her goal was to investigate how various clubs differ in terms of picking their books, running their meetings, and finding the delicate balance between talking and eating dessert… Here are her profiles of two groups from the Arnprior area.

Continue reading "A Tale of Two Book Clubs" »

Posted on December 6, 2007 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

by Sally Hansen

The “fabric of our lives” is a literary metaphor alluding to all the complex layers that comprise a human existence — our bodies, our emotions, our spirituality, the genetic code we inherited, the experiences that shape us, the options we are given and the choices we make. Using subtle tones and a lush palette of textures, Pattie Dolan creates fabric art metaphors. By deconstructing and reconstructing common and found objects on her loom, sometimes incorporating felting and papermaking, Dolan weaves fabric canvases that urge us to step close and reconstruct from our own perspective.

Weft, Warp and Woof

Many of Dolan’s pieces are sculptural. Her main focus is on textures. Works range from small framed papers to large hemp kimonos on steel frames, and a gorgeous white felted coat adorning a 10-foot mannequin. Her pieces merit careful scrutiny. In one piece I discovered long steel nails woven into the hemp body of the fabric. Some pieces have many layers and she often includes other fabrics and lace and handmade paper. Sometimes Dolan incorporates objects found at the race track or in the Pakenham fields surrounding her spectacularly designed and decorated home. Walking the family’s two dogs twice a day provides lots of opportunity to search for unusual and exciting additions to her pieces. Friends donate unusual fabrics, and she has collected exotic fabrics from all over the world.

Continue reading "Pattie Dolan — Weaving a Rich Life Tapestry" »

Posted on November 14, 2007 9:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

by Sally Hansen

Nature is the sustaining inspiration for countless artists — Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”, Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”, Georgia O’Keeffe’s calla lilies, Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Carnival of Animals”, and Kaija Savinainen Mountain’s bold figurative paintings of sandhill cranes, horses and deer.

Mountain readily acknowledges the strong influence that the pioneering German Expressionist painter, Franz Marc, has had on her work, describing him as “a kindred spirit”. Like Marc, most of Mountain’s art portrays animals in natural settings, and is characterized by bright primary colors. Her paintings, again like Marc’s, are redolent with a profound sense of emotion, rejoicing in the purity of the animal form.

Continue reading "Kaija Savinainen Mountain — The Uplifting Power of Cranes" »

Posted on October 12, 2007 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)