I thought I would have time on my hands when I closed my business but a surprising thing happened....I got busier! With the pressure of "producing" and "marketing" and the rest of the business responsibilities removed, I rediscovered my enjoyment in creating. I am excited about the new work I have been making in the last year and a half and am enjoying sharing it. I was fortunate to be invited to stage a show of my work at the Lakeview Arts Barn (LAB) earlier this year and was overwhelmed with the reception it received. I am thankful to Sarah Quick and James Barrett, owners of the LAB for making their beautiful barn available to me. The lovely historic barn was the perfect venue to showcase my cattle themed work. This could never have happened in the city, so yay for being a country artist!
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A bit about the project: The beauty and individuality of cattle has been the focus of my work for over twenty years. Initially I showed the animals in their environment; by the barn, at the feeder or at pasture. Over the years my interest in the personalities of the animals grew and I started drawing and painting head only portraits, often eliminating some or all reference to environment.
The drawing below is called Mug Shots and it is my first collection of bovine head portraits done in charcoal and conte. Each individual portrait is 10" x 10", done on Stonehenge paper. The drawings are in a shadowbox type frame, each portrait is raised in front of the black back mat board to give a floating appearance. The outside white mat is raised further to add depth and presence to the piece. The thin, deep black wood frame was chosen to give an elegant, contemporary look to the ensemble. This post has been sitting in my draft file for over a year....I am an awful blogger. An update on the project: The Cattle Mug Shot shown in this post sold at its debut showing in 2017 at the Lakeview Arts Barn. I am so happy that it has found a home, it is one of my very favourite pieces. The first change is I now type in any colour I please, so here is red. Red like a Hereford cow.
The other change is that I am no longer in business. For almost twenty years I have run Bearly Thayer Studio where I taught art lessons and created and sold my work. It was fun. I met wonderful people; students, farmers and art collectors. Many of these people have become my friends. I am grateful to them all for the support of my work and for their friendships. The relationships I made during the years of business are the most valuable result of my art. With the closing of Bearly Thayer Studio, I am looking forward to the future where there will be lots of creativity and less administrative, businessy stuff. Yay for that. My wonderful Weebly site will change to keep current with my new approach to my art. I have no idea what it will look like or if anyone will be interested in seeing it....time will tell. So what prompted this big change? It was simply that I was tired of playing the sales game. I found that I was spending more time and money promoting my work than I wanted to. The life that inspired my work was being neglected in the process. There were days I didn't even have time to visit my cows, now that is just not right. There are other reasons for the big change and they may come out in later blogs but for now, I think that is enough to share. I dont' think I am alone in the feelings I am having. I know there are other artists working in the world today that are dealing with these same issues. I would love to hear from you if you have something to share from your experience. My hope for you is that you feed your creative self with your own unique, wonderful life.....moo. I am happy to have my work represented in this project. Mine is the dress and crayon image in the centre of the photograph.
Here is a copy of a LinkedIn posting by program organizer, Lisa Clarke: "I was very excited to work with five local women artists and Gallery in the Attic to produce the You Are More 2016 Calendar for Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre. These calendars are 100% local and only $20. Artists include Anne Cavanagh, Jennifer Jackson, Julie Douglas, Barb Hawthorn, and Lorraine Thayer. Proceeds support survivors of sexual violence, our arts community through GITA and the United Way of Peterborough. You can purchase these amazing Peterborough Calendars at KSAC, Gallery in the Attic, Hi Ho Silver, the Community Butcher Shop and Chapters Peterborough!" Are you looking for that unique gift to give this Christmas? How about an authentic Bobcaygeon mosquito sculpture? There is a glittering swarm of these beauties on display at The Grilled Cheese Hideaway Restaurant and Gallery, 33 King Street East, Bobcaygeon, Ontario, from now to the end of December. I lovingly craft each mosquito with light gauges of aluminum, copper and brass wires. The natural colours of the wire are contrasted with black paint and red nail polish. They range in price from $25.00 to $50.00 CAN.
TMy solo show at The Grilled Cheese Hideaway restaurant and gallery opened last Saturday. A fun time was had by all as they nibbled lunch and viewed the art. Good conversation too. "My Nervous Troubles are Over" is the image used in the show poster, it is available as a digital print in an edition of two. Price? An attractive $50.00 CAN, unframed The big bull works pictured below are my new cow cut outs painted on recycled plastic wood. They are part of a herd of five but can be purchased individually. The show continues right through to the end of the year. If you would like to join me for lunch and a personal tour of the show, call me, I am always up for a grilled cheese and a chat.
ps The Grilled Cheese Hideaway is located in Bobcaygeon, Ontario, 33 King Street East. They serve the BEST grilled cheeses! My drawing, "Young Bull", received an award last night at The Lindsay Gallery reception for their Juried Art Show. The juror was Olexander Wlasenko, Curator of the Station Gallery in Whitby, ON.
Thank you to Mr. Wlasenko and The Lindsay Gallery. Also, thank you to Blue Oak Antiques and Art Gallery for sponsoring my award and The Days Inn in Lindsay for providing the venue for the reception. There is lots happening at Bearly Thayer Studio during the Victoria County Studio Tour. The dates are Sept 26-27 and October 3-4. Here are some highlights of a visit to my studio: As you arrive at Bearly Thayer Studio you will see Lorraine’s newly completed herd of Garden Cattle “grazing” on the lawn. These decorative two dimensional works of garden art are whimsical interpretations of real cattle. In the barn gallery you will see Lorraine’s original cow paintings and drawings, work for which she is best known. Enjoy a cup of cider and a nibble while you browse. Lorraine will welcome you to her working studio, which is located in her home. This is where you will see her latest work, some still in progress. The floor of the studio is Lorraine’s largest work to date, a painting of the constellations of Bobcaygeon. While you can’t buy the floor, you can choose from a variety of wall sized constellation collages. Last year visitors met Crumpet the blind heifer calf that Lorraine raised. This year Crumpet has chosen not to attend the studio tour as she is happily living with the big cows in the back pasture. Since Crumpet won’t be there to greet you, Lorraine has created a display in Crumpet’s stall which is located in the barn gallery. You will see Crumpet memorabilia and a power point presentation of her early life. A limited number of Crumpet’s 2016 calendars titled “I am a Heifer” will be for sale. This is Blue, one of my Garden Cows that are debuting at the tour.
My painting titled "The Powersuit" has been chosen to be part of the "You Are More" project which is a collaborative fundraising calendar project to benefit Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre (KSAC) and Gallery in the Attic/The Peterborough Darkroom Project.
"You Are More" will be a series of 5 collectible fine art calendars for 2016 honouring the strength, hope, and resilience of sexual trauma survivors in our community who are all ‘more than what has happened to them.’ Our vintage-inspired limited-edition run of calendars will feature 5 different fine art reproductions, with small calendar pads attached at the bottom. Once the tear-away calendar has been used up, calendar owners are left with a lovely fine-art print to save and enjoy. The calendars will be available for purchase starting in mid-September. The cost is $20.00 each and I will let you know where you can get one or more if you contact me. |
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