After much studio "shopping", I have finally and very reluctantly decided to work in a temporary studio for a while. I was close to signing leases on studios a few times, but the conditions (of the lease and the situation) weren't exactly ideal. With 2Picas keeping me very busy, and lots of activity in my personal life, I've decided that sculpting will be on the back-burner this year. I'm hoping to do some sculpting again in the fall, but I'll otherwise be focused mainly on research and administration activities.

I've been on a sculpting break for almost three months now, after my trip to Japan, moving out of Globe Studios, and a trip to Paris. I've been formally out of Globe Studios for a month, but not sculpting for three, aside from my participating in this year's spOtlight festival.

Moving out of Globe Studios was a difficult decision, but at this time the right one for me. I'm currently looking for studio space, and am close to finalizing papers. It feels like I have to go through this every few years, and I've already gone through most of the very few artist-friendly buildings in Kitchener-Waterloo. I'm hoping to find something more permanent this time.

Today, I received my formal letter from the Ontario Arts Council confirming that I am a receipient of one of their micro grants to hold a sculpting demonstration at the spOtlight festival. I gratefully acknowledge the support of the Ontario Arts Council for making this possible for myself, artists and arts supporters in the Waterloo Region.

spOtlight is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Culture and produced by the Ontario Arts Council

It's been nearly a month since I've been sculpting regularly. Back in October, I launched 2Picas with my friend Adriana, and business really started to pick up in February. This month, I'm determined to be at the studio at least five days a week, including some long hauls during the weekend. The latest sculpture is developing very nicely, and should be done before I go to Tokyo at the end of the month. Whether that happens depends on how many times I return to the studio to realize that I can add even more definition to the grooves in the sculpture.

My latest sculpture is coming along, and it's hit the point where the majority of the shape is defined and the sculpture needs to be refined and honed. I have much non-sculpting work to do, and will be making time to get this sculpture done. It's close enough to completion that I can't stand it being "unperfect"... but I know from experience that I have at least another 20 hours of sculpting ahead of me.

I'm loving Italian alabaster more as I continue to file and grind away at it. The glow I get from light pushing through the stone is almost effortless. I'm hoping to find other varieties of stone like this so I don't need to make the stone wafer-thin before the light shines through it.

I've made much progress on my latest sculpture in the past few days. The beauty of the stone is astounding, and I can only hope that I'm doing it justice with what I have in mind.

Photos of my latest work-in-progress are now available. This is my first one in Italian white alabaster, which I'm loving. It's much more translucent than the Colorado white and the Mexican orange I've been sculpting for the past little while, so I won't need to make it as thin to get the light effects I want.

Here are a few of the photos:

This weekend was a very busy and exhausting one. Because I was coordinating the show & sale/open house for all of Globe Studios, I spent most of Friday and part of Saturday ensuring that everything was running smoothly. And, thanks to Valerie Hill's article in The Record, we had many visitors on the weekend -- some of whom came to find me, specifically! I sold Alabaster #19, some notecards, and met some great people. It's probably not great for sales for me to be more excited about networking, but I've never been a believer of the "hard sale" anyway. I've always liked that my sculptures find their way to people who really want them.

I have been forging ahead this year, with many new experiences and projects...some of which are still developing and waiting to be unveiled. Since moving to Globe Studios, I noticed that I finally have the space I needed to truly unleash my creativity. You can see in my newest sculptures that some of the restraint from my earlier work has been shed.

My energy has also received an infusion of freshness after being exposed to artwork which is entirely different from my own.

Photos of Alabaster #22, including work in progress photos, are now available: