The Stag - mixed media relief © 2012 Michelle Basic Hendry

I have been working on this very personal piece off and on since first touching Oklahoma’s red soil. Experiencing symbols in a canyon full of the dreams of a people in Albuquerque, I was finally inspired to finish it. I believe the veil between waking and dreaming is thinner than we think. The Otherworld of our Ancestors and Spirit waits patiently for us to call upon it. The Gift of Life is to be able to act upon this World. Shamans and Medicine People have shared their visions on rock all over the world.

Embedded in the clay base is local Oklahoma red sandstone and the charcoal of a burnt tree at the base of the cliff at Red Rock Canyon. I have drawn upon my environment and my ancestral history to create this unusual piece that comes from a side of this artist not often shared. I chose the rock art image of the Stag of Lascaux as the centerpiece of this mixed media work. Each element on the piece has personal meaning and the first steps into visually interpreting personal symbols. I believe that dreams are best not related in realistic style. This one will hang on the wall of my studio.

Dreaming I

Smooth bark and green leaves

Make the arcs of my Cathedral.

Sparkling streams beneath my feet

Create a mosaic of pebbles.

I pause when the stag calls.

I see the steam from his throat

But he makes no sound.

Darkness descends from the clerestory.

I awaken in liquid moonlight and

Fireflies light like lanterns.

I wash the darkness away and

Step out into the Crossing of the Plains.

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Cover of the Spring issue of Apple Valley Review featuring my painting, "Waiting"

The Spring 2012 edition of the on-line literary journal, the Apple Valley Review features my painting, “Waiting” on the cover.

Red Rock Canyon Sunset, acrylic, 30x36 © 2012 Michelle Basic Hendry

The wind outside is howling the same as it was the night I decided to paint this place. The power of the elements here lean to the extremes – fierce winds drive wildfires, water is feast or famine and the earth is blood red… Oklahoma’s red earth has become an obsession for me. I step on it, touch it at every opportunity. Red Rock Canyon is a sanctuary, giving the illusion of protection from the extremes.

This spot lies across from the reservoir, a dark pool at sunset, deep in the shadow of canyon walls. Only the tip of the cliff still catches the sun, before blue shadows dull the red stone and darkness covers the canyon floor.

Larger version available here.

Notebook/Sketchbook Pouches - Beaded Celtic knots on leather (made by me!)

After the flow of word images started to ebb, I looked outside to see a rising waning crescent. Its curve was as red as the earth. I sometimes think I am merely a child of the Moon and she’ll have her way when she calls me.

I am naturally a nighthawk. I rarely go to bed before midnight and now that I live “central” it is technically an hour later than the late I have always done.

Everyone has a part of the day when they are most productive. I have two – one for painting and one for writing. I paint best between 2 and 10 pm. My writing time is in the wee hours – 11 pm to 2 am. I find as lay my head down on a cool pillow my mind starts to flow and the restrictions of a left brain day dissolve into memory and fantasy. Sometimes, I play music and it often molds the landscape my mind wanders. Words and images come.

Occasionally painting ideas arrive mixed in with the words. After reading an article by Keith Bond about writing your painting as a way of understanding what moves you to paint, I see I had this as a useful tool all along. Sometimes the images come first, sometimes the words, but for me, they are inextricably linked.

Red Rock Canyon - Work in Progress - © 2012 MIchelle Basic Hendry

The result of this little writing session was a 500 word creative non-fiction piece called “The Colour of Memory”. I plan to share it on the blog at some point. But not yet. It needs a painting.

In the meantime, I have been obsessed with the colour red. As per one of my New Year’s goals, I wanted to start keeping sketch/notebooks. I decided to make beaded leather pouches for them so that I don’t lose my Sharpie! The two at the top fit my 3.5×5.5″ Moleskine.

The work in progress at right is Red Rock Canyon. Many of you recognized the potential in one of the photos and so I have the underpainting on a 30×36 inch canvas. I am rusty, so it is slow going!

So when does inspiration come to you? Do you have best hours, best places, triggers?

Room with a View, acrylic, 24x36" © 2011 Michelle Basic Hendry

The painting “Room with a View” was awarded the People’s Choice Award for the 2011 exhibition “Time Frame” at the Alton Mill Gallery. The letter was waiting for me when I returned from Haliburton. Thanks to everyone who came to see the exhibition! Click here to see the article in the Caledon Citizen. (Scroll down to page 9)

After a spectacular week in Haliburton doing a creative writing workshop with the very talented Catherine Graham and a room full of some exceptional people – all talented writers – I have returned to my rather unusual ‘everyday’. I am still processing what I have learned and I plan to talk about it a little later and share some of the wonderful experiences from my week away. See everyone in a couple more weeks – hopefully with book news!

Being auctioned between July 4-16. Stained Glass in the Chancel Of St. Stephen's Church, Muskoka, 12x16© 2011 Michelle Basic Hendry

Historic St. Stephen’s Anglican Church in Vankoughnet, Muskoka is celebrating its 120th year in 2011. The 900 square foot, wood frame church has been in continuous operation since 1891 – quite a feat for a rural, relatively remote and tiny church. The celebration of this remarkable milestone begins with the silent auction of the painting at left to raise funds for the maintenance of the historic church building.

HOW TO BID

The silent auction will take place on Saturday July 16, 2011 during the Midsummer Fair at St Thomas’ Anglican Church located at 4 Mary Street in Bracebridge from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Bidding forms will be available on-site.

The painting is available to be previewed in the office at St. Thomas’s Anglican Church in downtown Bracebridge beginning July 4th to July 15th between 9 am and 1 pm. St. Thomas’ Church itself is a designated historic property and well worth the visit and a tour.

Bidders unable to attend the silent auction may view the painting and submit sealed offers from July 4 to July 15, 2011 during normal business hours (Mon-Fri 9a.m.-1p.m.) at the St Thomas church office in Bracebridge.  Bids may be mailed or e-mailed attention Mrs. Francie Rimmington, St Thomas’ Anglican Church, 4 Mary Street, Bracebridge, Ontario P1L-2B6 Phone 705-645-3486 E-mail: saint.thomas@bellnet.ca

Old photo of St. Stephen's

What to include with your bid and some rules:

MINIMUM BID $265.00

Each offer must be accompanied by a letter with the bidder’s name, full address, phone number and/or e-mail address as well as the amount bid.  The sealed bids will be opened by Church officials after the July 17 silent auction. The successful bidder will be required to deliver cash or a certified cheque for the full amount of the successful bid within a time to be specified or the bid is forfeit and the next highest bidder will be contacted. Feel free to use the official bid form.

The successful bidder will be announced on Saturday July 30, 2011 and will be invited to attend the celebration and the dinner to be held for St Stephen’s Anglican Church’s 120th anniversary at the Village Square. The painting will be presented to the successful bidder at the celebration if they are able to attend.

A little about St. Stephen’s and Vankoughnet, Muskoka

Old Photo of St. Stephen's

The village of Vankoughnet, hacked out of the bush by loggers, is now a pleasant community on the edge of the Black River boasting both seasonal and permanent residents. The evidence of its colourful history  still marks the landscape and many Muskoka families can track their ancestors to the cemetery grounds of the tiny church. Visit my post for more interesting stories.

Everything But the Bathroom Sink ©2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

Michelle has a few paintings including the award winning “Everything but the Bathroom Sink” available at the old Post Office in Kleinburg (most recently the Jeremy Jeweler’s).

Michelle and 4 other artists have artwork on display and for sale in the building that was once the subject of an A.J. Casson painting. The building is open to the public June 4-5, 2011.

See the post with the Casson painting and Michelle’s connection to the old Kleinburg Post Office here.

Time Frame (click image for larger view)

Thursday, June 2nd at 6 pm marks the opening reception for the juried show “Time Frame” at the Alton Mill Gallery in Caledon, ON.

The exhibition celebrates Ontario heritage, both natural and cultural. There will be over 90 works of art by 50 artists. The Alton Mill Gallery itself is a wonderful example of heritage reuse and planning and makes the perfect venue for the celebration of art and heritage.

My painting “Room with a View” will be featured in the exhibition (it is on the official invitation card above).

I plan to be in attendance June 2nd from 6-8pm. I hope that those of you within easy reach of the village of Alton will drop by opening night. Click the link to the Alton Mill Gallery for information and directions.

The exhibition runs from May 28 until July 10, 2011.

The opening reception is on June 2, from 6 – 8 pm.

Stained Glass Window from the Chancel of St. Stephen's Church in Muskoka, 12x16, acrylic © 2011 Michelle Basic Hendry

After a couple of false starts, I finally have a painting I can be proud to donate for the church. This painting is of one of the stained glass windows in the St. Stephen’s chancel. St. Stephen’s is a tiny 900 square foot, wood frame Anglican church in Vankoughnet, Muskoka celebrating its 120th birthday this summer.

I did paint the walls darker than the original blue, but I wanted to maximize the light of the glass window as much as possible. See a larger version here.

The painting will be available on July 30th, 2011 for auction to help raise funds to preserve this unique church in the village of Vankoughnet. If you are interested in being a part of the celebration or bidding on the painting, please contact Jennifer Milne.

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On Wednesday June 1st, there is an invitation only opening of an exhibition of paintings at the old Jeremy’s Jeweler in Kleinburg, ON. This Heritage designated building is at 10483 Islington Avenue. The show will be open to the public on Saturday and Sunday June 4-5 ’til 4pm. I will have one of my paintings available there. If you’re in the area drop in! Kleinburg is a beautiful little community on the north side of Toronto and worth a visit. It is also home to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.

“Time Frame” opens the following night at the Alton Mill Gallery in Caledon, June 2nd… I’ll post a reminder next week – for more information now, visit my Exhibitions page and follow the link to see the painting and for directions to the Gallery!

Room with a View, acrylic, 24x36" © 2011 Michelle Basic Hendry

Well, I squeaked in on the deadline… You can see a larger version here.

This house has become a powerful muse. This place has an aura that I can barely explain. Over the last 18 months, as I uncovered the story behind this abandoned and derelict Muskoka house, the presence of the people have faded and the house itself seems to speak with increasing strength.

When I first went out there in the Spring of 2009, it gave me a single painting. When I returned for another it seemed to tell me I could only have more of these ‘gifts’ if I told its story – and only then.

For “Yellow Door”, it whispered with insistence and light. With “Window Seat”, it gave me a room that I could sit in for hours and watch the sun move across the floor. It challenged me to do the architectural “Waiting” and to think about the people who lived in its rooms and looked out its windows. In “Room with a View” it has revealed its own secret nature and my place in its world – to really see it.

This arrangement between us seemed to allow me to not only discover, layer, by layer, its incredibly rich past, but also its current nature and the tremendous beauty in it.

This house sees many visitors, some destructive, many just curious and they would say. “There is nothing here”. The place has been stripped clean of doors, woodwork and hardware; the windows, shattered, the walls are weathered and the greenery, overgrown. To me, it a house of secrets that only I can see.

Last October, I took an excerpt from my book, laminated it and posted it inside the house, so that future visitors might know its pedigree and perhaps see a little of the magic that they might, otherwise, overlook.

Work in Progress - The View - 24x36 © 2011 Michelle Basic Hendry

This is the latest work in progress. It is a big one and it took some planning. Small things become glaring at 24×36 inches and I changed the composition and the canvas twice. I think I am finally happy.  Now the visible progress begins.

Details in a ruined house are a part of the composition, not incidentals to me. Peeling wallpaper, cracking paint, rotting floors – all these elements of slow decay are the painting. This one goes a bit further, incorporating the view of the abandoned farm. It will be a challenge to keep the details at the right concentration. So we will see how it goes…

I admit that it has been slow going. I have been torn away by all of the events and the news surrounding Japan. The shock of the utter devastation is not yet worn off. Events will continue to unfold for the people of Japan for many weeks to come before the rebuilding, emotionally and physically, begins; a reconstruction that will likely take years, even decades. I am overwhelmed and moved by the calm of the people amidst the incomprehensible suffering they are experiencing.

Nature always returns to claim her own. Sometimes it is with a slow absorption and an almost elegant creativity, other times it is abrupt and destructive. The cycles of Nature are reflected in many cultures and in the case of the 2004 tsunami, Kali comes to mind. In Japanese Shinto (The Way of the Gods), Susano-ô, a god of storms and destruction seems to be the deity that has raised his domain, Yomi-tsu Kuni (Land of Darkness), on the north-eastern coast of Japan.

In time, all our tears are absorbed into the ocean, our bones into the rocks and soil. I grieve with the Japanese people and look forward to when the sun smiles and when the flowers grow again.

My love and thoughts are with you all and in particular my friend living in Tokyo, Alexander. You are strong and courageous, my friend…

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Happy 95th birthday to my Grandmother and Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone.