AAP again

(Here we go with blog post 1001!!!!!)
A few more of the works that the AAP Collective has on display at the Town Offices until the end of May. The group started mainly to discuss art and exchange ideas, but it's morphed into an interesting blend of both amateur and professional artists who are experimenting with different creative projects and learning from each other. Among our numbers we have a potter, specialists in watercolour and acrylic, an indigenous artist, and a sumi-e artist.
I blogged some photos of last year's Town Offices exhibition here.

AAP at the Town Hall (and a Milestone)

One of the art groups that I paint with, the AAP Collective (remember Art Ain't Pretty?), is exhibiting work at our local Town Offices. We hung the work yesterday and it will be there for the public to enjoy until the end of May. Enough room on the walls for 4 pieces each.
Just recently we have been making masks out of recycled cardboard and also clay. One of our artists is a potter and he fires our clay creations in his basement kiln.
Here are a few of our works.... more to come in future posts.

Can you guess which ones are mine?

OOOOOOH! Just noticed that this is blog post number 1000!!!!!!! A definite milestone. My first tentative blog post was November 2006. Such a lot has happened since then. I've retired from my work, my children left home, I lost my partner and lived alone for the first time, become Nana to four sweetie grandies, moved house.... I wonder what's next?

Who was that Masked Man?

We have been having some fun making African Masks from cardboard.... but I'm pretty sure no genuine African would ever want to be associated with this face!
First layer upon layer of cardboard, with walnut halves for eyes.

 Then cover it all in white and black gesso.

 And the finished product, painted in red, white and black, with some glittery sparkling "diamonds" from the dollar store. The bird perched on his forehead signifies wisdom, according to Ashanti legend.

He's going to be part of our AAP Collective Art Show in April, along with masks made by some of the others in the group. We're also making some clay masks. They are currently drying and will be fired next week. Definitely creating this is way out of my normal comfort zone. But it's fun!

AAP at Newmarket Theatre

The AAP Collective art group has been busy in the entrance lobby of the local Newmarket Theatre..... that's the town of Newmarket in Ontario, Canada, not the well known horse racing centre of Newmarket in England, although I think there are other Newmarket's all over the world. Is there a Newmarket near you?
And what or who is the AAP Collective? It's a group of ten artists, some are experienced professionals, and others, like me, are complete amateurs, who meet once a week to experiment and create art using all sorts of techniques and learning from each other.
AAP? It can stand for many things..... Another Art Project; Artists Are People; but most of all... Art Ain't Pretty.
The art will be displayed in the theatre lobby until January, which gives us lots of public exposure, but I'm not sure that people go to an evening at the theatre expecting to buy a piece of original art.

Here we are hanging the pictures in the lobby. Everyone has an opinion regarding the arrangement and what should hang next to what, but eventually we left it for just two people to make the decisions and stood around to observe. And of course, to make the odd encouraging comment.....
That one's not straight!
The one on the left is too high!
The one on the right is too low!

And no art exhibition can be complete without a group picture of the artists!

I'm the one with the pink shoelaces.

Chair Time

As promised in my previous blog post..... the chairs in the AAP Collective art exhibition on display at our local Municipal Offices until the end of April.
AAP? What does that stand for? It could stand for many phrases.... Another Artist Paints, Amazing Art Projects, but in this case it's.....

ART AIN'T PRETTY!

BLUE VINCENT by Colin W

NAMASTE by Ed K

CHANNELING PIET MONDRIAN by Margaret G

ENDO by Diana B

FISH by Susan W

THE THREE HARES by Fenella R S

(Oooops I forgot the title, I'll have to look it up) by Sabrina S

More paintings and prints are on the right wall.... I'll post some more pics soon.