MiXeR

As I travel in different countries, including my own, I find I need to create art to continue my experience and memories of those places. My mixed media pieces consist of found objects combined with my photographs and treasures collected during my travels. The found objects I collect can vary from a souvenir Statue of Liberty from New York to a complete set of sun dried animal vertebrae found on the beach in Mexico. Rusted items of all shapes and sizes and the odd religious item complete my set of living heritage objects gathered on a trip. I am attracted to the kitsch as well as the organic. My photos also reflect that flavor as well with images of fences, altars, clouds, architecture and textures of all kinds.

My studio is a visual feast piled high with labeled, clear plastic boxes and drawers stuffed chock o block on shelves holding my collections of junk and treasures and my files of photographs are categorized under themes such as fences, rust, texture, chairs, etc. I rescue old wood boxes, metal boxes and containers of all sorts. Because of my assemblage work my photography is not usually just a photo in a frame, I find I need to embellish it in some way to compete its story.

I like to work in series mostly due to the fact that I collect in multiples but I also find my thought process needs more than one piece to be complete.


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Denna was born in Edmonton, Alberta. She studied at Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and has also attained a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Victoria in 1997. She has been teaching and working as an artist in the city of Vancouver for the past 10 years.
Denna specialized in using oil on wood & plaster. She often combines encaustic and transfer techniques with her work. Her paintings consist of personal symbols and organic shapes layered in glazes of luminscent colour. Shapes and forms are transcended through transparent layers of paint.


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Using photography as a creative base my work has evolved into a layering process of media which includes graphite, metal leafing and wax. I’m particularly drawn to encaustic as it adds a dreamlike, painterly dimension. By blurring the lines between photography and painting my aim is to evoke a visceral response to vignettes from my personal experiences.

The inspiration for ‘Down The Garden Path and Up the Dingley Dell’ came out of a spontaneous purchase of a Holga camera while spending some time in the States and England this past winter. A cheap plastic toy camera that takes medium format film, the Holga has no autodrive, nor a means of focusing; it leaks light and distorts images. Shooting with it takes patience and luck way more than skill or planning, which I found quite refreshing!


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Through my youth and into adulthood, I have always turned to visual art for my soul's "comfort food." I spent time in Vancouver apprenticing in Fashion Photography and eventually worked as a professional photographer doing primarily lifestyles B&W photography. Always looking for an alternative to the norm, I have enjoyed experimenting in the darkroom and with various Polaroid film processes and incorporating photography into mixed media works. I've always found a strong connection to exploring the natural beauty of art found in our everyday lives. Working in various media, from watercolours, oils and acrylics to charcoal, conte, encaustic and collage, I delight in the many different processes available to express this connection. Finding human qualities and a mutual connection to all the things that surround us is what I strive to portray.


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Sharon is intrigued by the use of photography to tell a story or create a mood. She continually photographs her world; documenting the environment she lives in or travels through. Her photos for this exhibit are explorations of alleys and industrial areas that focus on world that is often passed by unobserved and unrecognized for its unique beauty.


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Carlyn Yandle's work as an emerging artist draws on 17 years as an award-winning reporter, editor and columnist for various daily and weekly Canadian newspapers, a career that began while living and working as a magazine feature writer in Kyoto, Japan. Her interest in news reporting shifted to newspaper design as the print media industry moved to an ever-increasing focus on graphics. She eventually turned all her attention to earning her Bachelors of Fine Arts degree, with an emphasis on painting and sculpture, at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Vancouver is her home town.