New Endeavors

So. If you would have asked me years ago, between my husband and I, which one of us would be the first to be shown in an art gallery (not counting the stuff I had shown before I got married)… I would have said that it would most definitely be me. My husband was a part-time improvisor, while I spent my free-time making stuff – it was a no-brainer. Well. I would most definitely have been wrong. 😉

Over the years, my husband’s love of Lego has lead him to some interesting places. The most recent of which being Endeavor Arts Gallery in Calgary. (If you’d like to read more about his journey, I encourage you to visit his website Brickwares.)

After meeting the gallery owners at this spring’s Comic Expo, he replied to their call to artists about a “robot” art show and was accepted.

One of the aspects that I love about his art is that it is recyclable – if he gets tired of a piece, or he has a “better” idea for another piece, he can take it all apart and start anew. How awesome is that?! Anyhow. This was his first “art show” and I am so happy for him, and proud of him. =)

Some of the other cool stuff at this show include:

Roboticized chairs, by Discover Scoperta. (Those of you from Loose Moose may recognize one of our former volunteers, Mike – hey, Mike!)

Steampunk-inspired up-cycled jewelry, by the delightful ladies at Changing Gears.

And these absolutely stunning (!!!) chairs by Manuka Forge.

Now, to be completely and brutally honest… I couldn’t help but feeling some serious pangs of jealousy – in addition to the joy and pride – about this whole turn of events. Not that Dave doesn’t deserve this, he totally does! He works-plays hard at what he does, and (in light of our conversations about Lego as an art form) I think he provides a new and very worthwhile contribution to the arts community. I guess I was just feeling a bit… disappointed in myself, somehow. That I had let “life” get too much in the way of “art”. Although, looking back I see no way that it could have been different – short of abandoning my family or hiring a full-time super-nanny, neither of which were options.

But instead of dwelling on this negativity, I chose to let it light a fire instead. I got off my butt and started researching art classes that I might like to take (uh, metal-smithing, hello!) I started signing up for upcoming craft fairs and getting more “organized” about my little business. And I started trying to find a place to hold monthly artsy-craftsy meetings, so that they would become more of a reliable thing, and a place to build a community. It was in doing that – researching studio spaces and such – that I ran across some, uh… interesting “stuff” and was reminded of the not-so-nice side of the arts community. The nasty critiques. The jargon and pretentiousness. The general lack of appreciation.

Yeah. Maybe being shown in a gallery is not the direction I want to take after all. I mean, if making the things that I love – for no other reason than because I love to make them – leads me to a gallery, then great! (I will just have to remember not to take those “critiques” so personally.) But as a be-all, end-all goal? I think it falls short of what would make me truly happy. I’m still trying to figure out the exact details of that, by the way, but I’m fairly sure that I’m on the right track now. Anyhow. Aside from fighting off a nasty chest-cold, that’s what’s been going on around here lately. Hope y’all are settling into fall well, and are on a path that will lead you to the places you want to go. =)

Cheers!