Archives for category: featured artist

 

Small Enigma

Small Enigma – oil on panel by Natasha Henderson

UPDATE: Come by to see the show Sundays through August, 9:30-2pm

Curator and artist Natasha Henderson has this to say about the work in 40 Days et 40 Soirs:

In Trees - Oil on wood - Natasha Henderson

In Trees – Oil on wood – Natasha Henderson

“I paint robins, trees, the sky. Layers and glazes of oil create a sometimes foggy effect; and time is captured within the weeks it takes to create these works. Patterns emerge and help form sense out of the chaos. My creative process is represented within these works. Fluttering time and space together, the robins are really something more than birds… though I really do love birds for just being birds!”

Hope to see you!

Fleurbain is located at 460 St Catherine West, Montreal. Our unit # is 917. We are directly across the street from St James United Church. Showtimes Sundays 9:30-2, or by appointment.

 

In the gallery space Fleurbain through January and February is a changing selection of painting, feltworks, and craft by artist and curator Natasha Henderson.

large and small painting by Natasha Henderson

large and small painting by Natasha Henderson

Works will be available to view through the end of February, when an exciting new interactive project will be unveiled for Nuit Blanche in Montreal!

Natasha will host gallery hours Tuesday-Thursday 3pm-6pm, as well as other days by appointment.

making merino scarves

making merino scarves

Besides visiting to see the artworks in Fleurbain and chatting with our resident artist-curator, you can opt to participate in workshops in painting and feltmaking. On Wednesday January 30 join us from 7-9pm to make your own merino felt wool scarf. You will learn the process of wet-felt making, and create your own colourful and soft, beautiful scarf to take home at the end of the night. Register by email: Fleurbain@gmail.com Cost is only $50, everything included.

student relaxing over some tisane and painting

student relaxing over some tisane and painting

Another upcoming workshop (or, rather, a series of them) is Second Sunday. Drop in to paint the Second Sunday of each month. Our first session is February 10, from 1pm-3pm. $40 for everything, all materials, encouragement, and a nice cuppa tea. Brush up on your existing skills, problem-solve, relax, and get creative. All levels of experience are welcome. Email Fleurbain@gmail.com for more details or to reserve a spot (drop-ins are always welcome, but class size is limited to eight students.) Note in May, the class is bumped to the third Sunday, to accommodate Mother’s Day.

Hope to see you soon in Fleurbain.

Natasha Henderson, Montreal

Fleurbain is located at 460 St Catherine West, Unit 917. We have a stunning view of St James United Church, and the city of Montreal.

This last weekend was a busy and exciting one. Cross Pollination opened on Saturday, an exhibition featuring Jenny McMaster, myself (Natasha Henderson,) Heather Boyd, Keivan Khademi Shamami, and Lauren Trimble. Earth Day was on Sunday. Sunday also was when Jenny McMaster presented a talk about her work at Fleurbain. Hear what Jenny has to say about her work, corsets, and encaustic.

part two:

And here are some of Jenny’s favorite Corset Quotes:

Come and see Jenny’s work and much more at Fleurbain during Cross Pollination. The show runs until June 3, with gallery hours 3-6pm on Saturday and Sunday, or by appointment. 460 st Catherine West, unit 917.

This month was something of a “Poetry” month at Fleurbain. We hosted our first ever literary event, Open Mike Poetry Night (with no Mike) last weekend. We enjoyed original poetry, read by their authors. We sipped some fine herbal tea. We munched on ginger cookies. We all met new creative people, and new ideas and thoughts about collaborations were hatched, just in time for pre-Spring.

Jeffrey Mackie, a Montreal poet and literary radio host on CKUT, read some of his work. I managed to record some of it with the help of my trusty little smart phone. You can enjoy Jeffrey’s work for yourself:

The idea to host a poetry reading was inspired by the current art exhibition, Poetry, which is a collection of paintings whose structures were based on poetic formats. This is all my own work. I am going to be there this weekend from 3pm-6pm Saturday and Sunday for Gallery Hours, if you would like to drop in and say “Hello!” at some point.

Stay tuned for more stuff happening at Fleurbain… next weekend will be a new group show vernissage, Art and Architecture. Featuring works by Denise Buisman Pilger, Marc Chabot, Naomi Frangos, Jennifer Hamilton, Keivan Khademi, and Kimberley Mok… this is sure to be an amazing and life-altering exhibition!

Natasha Henderson, Montreal

Right, Natasha?

October has been a great month of getting Fleurbain ready for the world!  Moving art and herbs into one beautiful space.  Hanging picture rails, installing shelves and countertops.  Cleaning things up.  It’s been a busy month!

And finally, (drumroll…), November 5th, starting at 5pm, we are having our Grand Opening!

Yes, you are invited see what we have come up with.  Natasha Henderson is showing paintings from her Bach series.  Tammy Schmidt will be there to introduce you to the concept of an herbalist’s office.  And of course, we would like to offer you some delight from our favourite café, De Farine et D’Eau Fraîche, and other refreshments.

come on over!

Saturday, November 5th, anytime after 5pm.

We can’t wait to introduce you to Fleurbain, the space!

917 – 460 Ste. Catherine St. W

Montreal, Quebec

 Mary Blaze is a Vancouver area artist, whose works traverse from painting, to mixed media, to performance. You can see more of her works at http://artforcecollections.com/.

Artist In Her Studio With Ceramic Vase 18" x 12" copyright Mary Blaze 2010

 What to Do with an Old Water-Stained Piece of Building Paper?

             Creation begins coincident with my husband’s attempt to discard an old, water-stained roll of building paper.  In a spontaneous act, I retrieve it, lop off an eleven foot length onto my studio floor, and go to work.

            My stack of newspapers, used to protect studio surfaces from over-brushings and roll-outs, is at hand.  Therein are my first images for collage.  As I place them randomly on the substrate with acrylic medium, I begin to see window frame forms, across the horizontal length.

Artist In Her Studio With Candle and Candlestick 18"x12" copyright Mary Blaze 2010

            Onto the suggested squares and rectangles, I collage scanned and printed drawings from my sketch books, along with some recently completed drawings and prints.  From this point on, the work is directing me, as different from me imposing conscious determinations onto it.

Artist In Her Studio With Ink Bottle 18"x12" copyright Mary Blaze 2010

            I am in my studio, driven to using things at hand.  I look around me and my ink bottle comes into focus, so, with Aquarelle water soluble crayons, I draw it.  A friend had left a luscious looking, red skinned pear, and I draw it, too.  This work is becoming a very personal statement, but now a shift takes place.  As I add my Dad’s lantern and my Mom’s lamp into the spaces at each end of the paper, these two, coupled with my own central candle and candlestick, bring the work into the realm of heritage, and here it is: the cross-over of my two abiding passions, art and genealogy, having come unbidden into visual coexistence.

Artist In Her Studio With Wild Flower Bouquet and Lantern 18"x18.5" copyright Mary Blaze 2010

            I wonder if, during the elapsed year of this work, the undemanding nature of the remnant from our house building project, gives me the freedom to work at a sub-conscious level, to create “Artist in Her Studio with . . . ,” but whatever, it is something to do with an old piece of building paper.  

Artist In Her Studio With Teacup and Lamp 18"x18.5" copyright Mary Blaze 2010

 If you would like to be next month’s featured artist, check out this link! Thank you, Mary, for sharing your art and artistic process with us.

"Dolce". Oil on canvas. 14"x18". 2010. copyright Natasha Henderson.

Natasha Henderson is a painter who has resided in Montreal for almost four years. Originally from Comox, British Columbia, she graduated with her BFA from the Emily Carr University in Vancouver in 1998. Her work has been exhibited and collected across North America.

"Ghazal Four". Oil on canvas. 18"x24". 2009.

Her paintings delve into questions about artistic representations of landscape. She uses the language and codes of other artistic forms, such as poetry and music, to examine representations of thought and meaningful patterns within her painting.

"Gathering". Oil on canvas. 20"x30". 2010. copyright Natasha Henderson.

Environmental concerns are touched on in her work, however, those concerns are not forefront. She combines an aching beauty, a seeking of light and meaning, along with the recognition that there is a cycle of life that sometimes just stops.

"Fracture". Oil on canvas. 30"x36". 2010. copyright Natasha Henderson.

In the future she plans to paint using home-made (free range) egg tempera paints and to eliminate toxic chemicals completely from her practice. See much more of her work at NatashaHenderson.com.

"Fermata". Oil on canvas. 48"x36". 2010. copyright Natasha Henderson.

Fleurbain is proud to announce that we will feature a different artist in our online space every month. Our first artist is one of the women behind Fleurbain, Natasha Henderson. Artists who are interested in being featured are welcome to email:

– three to five jpegs of their work (no larger than 1200 pixels on their longest side, at least 300 pixels on their shortest side)

short descriptions of each piece (Title, Medium, Size, Date)

a link to their personal website

 and an artistic statement/short biography (about 200-500 words) to: fleurbain@gmail.com.

We can’t guarantee that everyone will be featured, but why not give it a shot!

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