Purple Pony Art Blog

It took me a while, but I made up a big box of clean fabric, cones of cotton for weaving and Paterna yarn that can be used for weaving or tapestry. It's amazing how much stuff can be stuffed in a closet and it took some time to untangle skeins of yarn. I was a baaaaad fibre student ;-D

The joke goes that collecting and buying craft supplies is its own hobby, and I agree. You dream about the things you'll make and imbue the supplies with potential. Sometimes that doesn't happen, but I'm happy to pass the potential on to someone else!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christine 🦄 🐦🌈🍁 (calzephyr77)

I can’t believe this happened two weeks ago—I graduated! My art school held convocation on May 26 in person. It was an exciting day with a couple of obstacles at first, but I made it. I did it! To recap, I started my BFA part-time through Cont Ed in 2003 and the Alberta University of the Arts was called ACAD, or Alberta College of Art + Design. I made mplans to graduate in 2009...2013...2016...2019...but life just got in the way and it was hard to give up well-paying jobs with benefits when one has bills and a mortgage today. I even took a five year break because I couldn't keep up with work and school.



Here are all the happy grads before the ceremony. The reason there are so many is that grads from 2020 and 2021 were invited back for their chance to walk the stage and fist bump the university president.







The ceremony opened with a Treaty 7 land acknowledgement, a blessing from a Treaty 7 elder and a Métis Region 3 elder along with some short speeches and introductions. For the non-locals, Calgary is situated on the traditional territories of many Blackfoot Confederacy nations. Two former grads received honourary art MFAs, which was nice to see. Her Worship, our Mayor, was the commencement speaker and she gave a great speech about the importance of creative industries, which was pretty heart-felt. Then there was the student speaker, who I didn’t know. One of the downsides of being a part-time student is that you never have time to be involved with school activities.



Then, it was time for a lot of clapping. A lot of clapping! 2020 and 2021 crossed the stage and when it was time for 2022 grads, Ceramics and Fibre were called first. It’s amazing how a moment you have been waiting for and daydreaming about comes and goes so quickly. It was akin to being married back in 2004–-afterwards it’s like, whew, all that work for one minute? But it was great! I walked across that stage, fist-bumped the president, then paused to get hugs from my teachers. They gave all the grads a little card and inside was-—a needle! Awwww! What a touching little gift.



The whole ceremony was touching for its inclusivity. Indigenous students received an eagle feather from the Treaty 7 elder and Métis students received a traditional, red woven sash from a Region 3 elder. It was so wonderful to see the celebration. Students were encouraged to wear traditional dress if they so chose, but only a few did that I saw. One grad wore a Korean outfit and a Romanian grad wore a traditional dress under her gown, which she doffed when receiving a special award at the end.



The ceremony went on for a total of two hours and we scattered to the wind as we were ushered out. My classmates and I hoped for a group photo, but that didn’t happen. There were just so many people and we scattered to the wind.



I cried and hugged my mom. “I did it!” I said and she was red-faced and crying. Dad felt he was too old to go to the grad and my brother had fears about catching COVID. So it was just Mom that showed up for me. I cried in the washroom afterwards, whether from sadness or relief or hunger or hormones I don’t know. It was just a lot in one day and all jets were running on fumes. Hungry. Thirsty. Tired. So many feels!



I returned my gown, kept my cap and we had some more snacks outside. The day was picture perfect—-just sun, no wind or grey clouds. A perfect day for graduation. We ducked back inside for the grad show and found my picture hanging on the wall. Mom said it was very nice (of course Mom would say that).



It was hard, seeing all those happy families hugging and celebrating their grad. Grads are a bigger deal now in the social media age than 1997. There was an acknowledgement and validation that yes-—your child can go to art school and it’s not an embarrassment anymore. That they can have a successful life and career in the visual arts. It had been so, so long since I had seen so many happy people hugging and loving that it was like I had forgotten what joy meant.



I cried all night. The day was overwhelming and even two weeks later--it doesn't feel real. I did it!

My overall GPA is 3.58 (darn those two drawing classes that netted me Cs!)

This semester my GPA was 3.74.

Tuesday's class--> B+
Wednesday's class--> A
Thursday's class--> A

Additionally, because this was one of the few semesters where I was considered a full-time student, I also made the President's Honour Roll. Woo!

For my final Tuesday class project, I did a small installation with a photograph. I would have liked to print the photography larger than 9x12, but it was the largest size guaranteed by the photo lab for next day printing. Ah, art students! Some things never change no matter how old a student you are ;-D

It is titled Time to Bloom and it inspired by a genre of still life painting called vanitas which was popular in 17th century Netherlands. Usually they feature haphazard composition, signs of wealth and signs of mortality such as skulls. Mine is much more toned down and humble. For example, below is a vanitas (titled "Vanitias" by Pieter Boel and Jacob Jordaens)





My photo wasn't as cluttered. Some things I wanted to include I simply could not find around the house either, doh! I could see making more photos like this though. It took 169 photos to pick the perfect one.

What's Project 3 for Thursday's class going to be? I don't quite know yet, but I know it will involved this tote filled with toilet paper and paper towel rolls. Is TP truly not the symbol of the pandemic and self-isolation?

I can't believe April is around the corner. It felt like there was so much time back in January and now that I'm getting to know my current classmates, it will be time to say goodbye. Such is the life of a mature student!

FIBRE 327

It's studio time and our professional package is due, which includes a resume and such. I thought it was actually due next week, so it's a good thing I checked the calendar.

FIBRE 419

We have studio time and the last round of artist talks, which includes me, will happen. My presentation is done--I just have to ensure it fits within the 20 minute time frame.

FIBRE 451

It's a studio day. Project #2 for this class is taking up a lot of time, but I hope it will be worth it!

FIBRE 327–Project 3

Project 3 for Wednesday’s class is again about memory and place and a moment in time. I have a family photo from Mother’s Day 1981 which will be the centre of the picture. It’s a photo I have seen plenty of times, but looking at it up close reveals how much charm it has. Our faces are in the sun. Mom looks mad. My brother is squinting hard and I’m not quite sure what I’m doing—something off to the side caught my attention. Our ages are written on the back and it notes that Grandpa is 55! I always thought of my grandparents as olllllld most of my life and here I am with 50 creeping up on me!

It’s going to be a large book-shaped piece with some gate folds. My original thought was making it vertical, but Mackenzie suggested to keep it horizontal. Huh! It’s amazing how turning something around makes all the difference :D

I may incorporate maps into the project as well, as the neighbourhood has changed a little.

Titled "At Home With Muffin" this is part of my "homebody" series for Thursday's class. The original idea was the same, but I planned to make Muffin a 3D paper sculpted object. Then I tried for a hybrid object. Neither approach worked and I fell back on what I knew--pet portraits!

My secret here is that I have no carpentry skills, but I do have ingenuity, so I bought a 2 pack of scrapbooking frames from Michaels and some hobby wood from Home Depot to make the case. Then I gathered scraps from around the house such as styrofoam and fabric and threw them together to make an interesting scene.

It was well-received! One classmate commented on the sheer joy that is present in the image. My teacher thought it looked like a comic book panel and he was right--imagine a bunch of these stacked together to form a narrative. Ooooh! So much potential.

Today was another busy Saturday working on homework. If it was possible for a candle to have three ends, I’d be burning them all. It sucks in a way because I value friendship and my friends, online and offline, are not getting as much attention as I would like to give them.

Today I tackled FIBRE 419’s project #2, my asteroid. It’s not coming out like I hoped, but I’ll just finish it and call it done. I challenged myself with papermaking and a sculptural technique, so it does have that going for it. I plan on taking it in on Tuesday and installing it. Pictures soon, although I would like to forget it exists :-D

I also planned out project #3 for FIBRE 327 and made a second model with dimensions. Mackenzie pointed out that hinging will be tricky and I agree.

FIBRE 451’s project #2 is coming along as well. I went grocery shopping and bought another cracker box and granola bar box for the legs and hips. I wish I knew what the top was going to look like. Sometimes it’s fun not to plan too hard! My flat Ultimate Sweater Machine was being a right b*st*rd on Friday night though. A panel that should have taken me an hour to do required five tries. It kept dropping large amounts of stitches. It’s okay to drop two or three, but more than that and it takes too long to rehang the stitches.

Wowww...how did the first week of March pass by so quickly? Here's what's on the menu for next week--and thankfully hubs and I both have Friday off. Our plan is to go to a farmer's market and have some much needed fun!

FIBRE 327

I have to get going on this project--we're having a group discussion and I don't have any sketches yet. In true student fashion, I'll come up with something at the last minute, I'm sure.

FIBRE 419

We're having critique, so I have to mostly assemble my project on Monday. The thing is, I'm not 100% sure what it's going to look like. My teacher encouraged me to make something without too much planning, so mission accomplished! It's going to be a hanging piece and somehow in 20 years I have never hung something from the slide room ceiling, which is going to be interesting.

FIBRE 451

We have mid-term critique today. My second project isn't done, but it's okay. I discussed it beforehand with the teacher and he agreed it might take iterations. More on that project later.