Author: Laura Balducci Art

I am a multidisciplinary artist, combining materials and techniques.Living on the sunny shores of Cortes Island ,The West Coast of B.C. Canada.

The Great Blue Heron Comes to School!

Late November 2018, I was asked to put my curating skills to work on an upcoming art installation for our local museum, to assist Jane Newman and work alongside her. I accepted without hesitation as I was thrilled and eager to contribute since the subjects of the  exhibit are very close to my heart: “Species at Risk – The Great Blue Heron” and art by the kids of Cortes Island.

 

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Jane spent months at our school working with each child one-on-one and in groups, working towards creating an art installation to interpret the Great Blue Heron issue on Cortes Island, in collaboration with Friends of Cortes Island. It was an amazing experience that taught me so much; it was also a thrill to attend the opening of “The Great Blue Heron Comes to School”. The children came and engaged with the installation by showing their families and friends their art on the walls. The Cortes Island Museum is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 12 pm to 4 pm all winter long. I invite my neighbours and friends to visit the exhibition. Please check out the website for more info:

www.cortesmuseum.com

Art by children from kindergarten to Grade 9

Taxidermy Blue Heron by Laurel

 

Hello 2019!!!

I welcome 2019 with open arms, new adventures, and abundant health!!!

What a ride the last 7-8 months have been! You may or may not have noticed but it’s been sometime since I blogged!!! On June 17th, my life changed in the blink of an eye and I had to make some serious decisions on where to put my energy. My partner fell and suffered a serious back injury. I already had many obligations on my plate for the summer and I had no choice but to sideline a few of these things and blogging was one of them. Not only could my partner no longer work but he suddenly needed 24-hour care, so I found myself a one-gal show and the sole provider of our household. After four trips to the emergency – which is not an easy task from Cortes Island as it takes two ferries by ambulance just to get off island – and a month and a half spent in the hospital, he finally had open-back surgery at the end of September and came home on Novembre 1st. With a few setbacks, my man is slowly recovering and is undergoing rehabilitation, learning to walk again, and building strength (this is the short version of the story!) With having to tend the extensive garden we had planted to feed us and make preserves for winter, an art show to curate with 33 local artists, having to work different jobs to pay the bills, continuing my next solo art installation challenge “Wink” and being a full-time caregiver, my time was limited as one still needs to sleep even if just for a few hours!

During this time, I showed my largest painting to date called “Space” at the annual members show which I curated for our local art gallery. I filled the freezer & pantry and I also did my Yoga Teacher training online, which makes me happy to announce my new venture which starts on January 7th with a new blog and website:          http://www.balducciyoga.com

And as the year begins, I’m just getting my feet back on the ground and every day my partner is slowly recovering a bit more, as he is very determined to get his life back which gives me more time to do my thing!!! I missed you all, as I missed blogging and sharing. Stay tuned for more details on my upcoming solo art installation, more spinning wheel adventures, my yoga offerings, gardening news, and whatever else happens. I wish you all much health and happiness in 2019 and thank you for sticking around!!!

xoxo Laura

 

BalducciArt Wool

BalducciArt Wool is a one-of-a-kind, artisan yarn which has been spun by hand – you could call it “art wool”! Each is unique and comes in a variety of colours, some dyed naturally, some with Ciba dye, and others yet from donated fibres. My style of spinning results in my art wool being irregular and highly textured – sometimes chunky, sometimes thin.

I suggest using it to knit with a needle set larger than 8mm. You can also mix and match the wool with any of your the favourite yarns you might have in your stash. BalducciArt wool is priced by the gram so each ball varies in price. I do my best to source as local a base fibre as possible and I then add other fibres when I am drum carding my batts and prepare them to be spun. Instructions for care are simple: hand-wash in cold water and lie flat to dry. You can purchase my yarn via email, my social media, or by commenting below. You can also find my art wool and many other handmade items at The Gorge Harbour Market all summer long on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm. I’ll be there with my spinning group, “Spinners Unite” where we offer our wares and put on wool-spinning demos on our wheels…. you won’t be able to miss us! xoxo Laura

For any questions or if you wish to purchase some BalducciArt Wool yarns, please email laurabalducciart@gmail.com or leave a comment.

Old School House Art Gallery

This week our local art gallery “Old School House Art Gallery” opens for the season. We have a very exciting season plan for our neighbors and visitors on Cortes Island B.C. We start the season off with a solo art installation by Loni Rene Taylor this Friday June 15 and is open for 2 weeks including being featured during the art studio and garden tour on the 16th.

With 2 members show one representing our digital artist called “All Things Digital” which I have a couple pieces in and for the first time sharing the video from “Senses That Sin” show casing 3 art dolls, my live doll that comes alive Namchi Bazaar, and accordin player Del Riviera from Powell River, I am excited to share the walls with many other talented artist for this show.

We also have the membership show which I am the curator for and still accepting submissions for until July 14. It’s been a great experience so far meeting and seeing the submissions that my fellow artist have been preparing for this show, I can’t wait to hang this show on the walls and share it with you. This years theme is “Space” and I also have my biggest painting to date in the show.

Look out for more info on the rest of the season coming up at Old School House Art Gallery and don’t forget ever Friday is Gallery Nite from 6-9pm with either an opening, performance or artist talks. I love art show season on Cortes Island it’s so inspiring to see all the talent I live amongst meet the artists and learn there process.

We also have art shows happening at The Coop Cafe, Hunt & Gather, Hollyhock retreat centre all in Manson’s Landing, The Coop Craft Shop In Squirrel Cove.

Weekly Photo Challenge – Twisted

As a yarn maker we go throw many steps before the wool is ready to be used!!!

I started with raw fibre I source out as local as possible, wash and dry, then I use my drum carder to create batts to begin the spinning process, create a skein and then wash again. Once the skein is dry I use my trusted ball winder to create a ball of wool to knit from or sell. You really get to visualize the Twisted yarn when you do this and check out the work you created. Here is three stages of my new art wool “Tiger Lily” hand dyed, hand spun, during the ball making process and ready to put on my table for the summer markets or create a funky scarf, bag or hat for example.

You we’ll be able to find my wool for sale at The a Gorge Harbour ever Saturday from 10-1pm starting the last Saturday in June and can purchase privately by contacting me via email or leave a comment. BalducciArt wool is irregular inconstance, novelty hand spun wool and is unique one of a kind, created with love.

For more info please email laurabalducciart@gmail.com

Wink!

Here is another installment of my Wink! project. Today I share the next 4 pages of the 365-day art challenge I set myself a the beginning of the year! I am still going strong and enjoying every day but the meaning of the word “challenge” has become crystal for me because there is only so many hours in one day. Sometimes there is more time to dedicate to my new art installation, and on others, not so much! I am happy to report, however, that I make time for a tarot card and a sketch every day!

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Over the last month, as spring has sprung and the gardening season entered its full swing, I must admit that it has taken more effort to keep up with this project than during the winter months when I could devote 3 hours a day to it. At the moment, I’ve had to cut this time in half, but once the garden is all planted I am sure it will be easier to set a little more time aside and continue moving forward with Wink! Mind you, I like to work with many art media on a daily basis, so I am still putting in a good five to eight hours of art a day. To see more of my 365-day art challenge please check out my previous blog posts!

Weekly Photo Challenge – A Place in The World

I love living on Cortes Island B.C. Canada… it’s A (The) Place in The World where I belong!!! With all its natural beauty, forests, lakes, ocean beaches and shores – as well as an amazing community that has always made me feel welcome – I really cannot think of a better place to call home.

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A bird’s-eye view of Hague Lake in the Kw’as Park – also known as my backyard…

Daily Tarot Card

I have been intrigued by the Tarot for as long as I can remember: A series of cards with colour and images representing the many stations of human life, that we read using both our knowledge and our intuition to find the message to a question. I recently retired from my chosen career as a hair, make-up and fashion artist, a job I loved as I have a passion for helping people fulfill their dreams and feel their best. Something that is less known in that line of work is that we also serve a counselor as we use our intuition with every client (does she really want to cut all her hair off or is she just having a hard day?) which is something I found very rewarding. After 33 years, I decided to pursue my other passion of learning and sharing what I know about the Tarot. I got so into it that I have started creating my own Tarot deck of cards, for which I’ll be using the art I am creating during my 365 day challenge (you can read more about my art challenge on some of my other posts), which I will be releasing as part of an art installation called “Wink” in 2019. During this process I read a card of the day from my current deck – the Herbal Tarot – and use it as my inspiration to create my sketch of the day.

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The Herbal Tarot – Photo courtesy of The Magical Cat

So I am happy to announce that for your enjoyment, enlightenment, and a little bit of guidance or insight, I am now taking bookings for authentic 3-card readings.

Please email me for more info or to schedule a reading: laurabalducciart@gmail.com

Code of ethics:  I do not offer medical or financial advice, and I also do not knowingly do reading for anyone under the age of 18. What I share during a reading should only be considered for stimulation of your thought process, to shed some light on your life and to offer a little guidance. Your reading will always stay confidential and your personal information private.

Creative Sessions

Nola McPhail and I have been busy in our new art studio at the Linnea Education Centre preparing for our art installation for the summer show @ The Coop Cafe on Cortes Island, that will run from Aug. 15 – 31.

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We both had an opportunity to visit the tropics this past winter with the idea of doing some homework, of course, using the medium of photography which we both love. So we took pictures and gathered lots of material that we are now using as inspiration to build an art piece for our installation, using textiles and fibres and we are really enjoying this process. It is a very interesting way to approach an art piece by taking a photo and translating it into 3D art!!!

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We have also continued to explore our love for art dolls sculptured out of polymer clay and using recycled materials, found objects to design their outfits. We are having a blast and learning a lot while working hard at our crafts. We also look forward to sharing our art installation with our neighbours and visitors this summer. We will continue to share our progress with you and be inspired by our view from the studio of Gunflint Lake.

Weekly Photo Challenge – Unlikely

One of the things I most appreciated during my visit to Costa Rica is the “farm to table” experience at La Carolina Lodge while on the Six Petals Rainforest Retreat. This resonated with me since I am a farmer on the West Coast of B.C. and base my diet mainly on what I grow in my garden. I found it very intriguing to see the different plants that grow in Costa Rica.

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As much as I knew that the diet was going to revolve around rice and veggies, I had never seen rice grow or what the plant looked like up close. So it would have been very Unlikely for me to walk out in the garden and guessed it was rice growing all around! Eventually, as part of the retreat we were given a garden tour and got the low-down on all the plants they grow, how they preserve them and cook from their garden. It was a very cool experience.

 

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Close-up of a rice plant with a glimpse of the grains sheltered inside the stalk.