'Roid Week November 2010 - Friday

Last but not least... bye bye 'Roid week, see you in the spring of 2011...

Chirp
By Tiffany Teske
PX 600 Silver Shade Film

'Roid Week November 2010 - Thursday

I love how the sunlight is glowing on her hair...

Tribute to Bjork
BY Tiffany Teske
PX 600 Silver Shade Film

'Roid Week November 2010 - Wednesday

Man, time is flying by, how can it be 'Roid Week already?! I have to admit, I only realized it on today, so I will only participate for three days. Maybe I will be better prepared for in the spring...

Bowl
By Tiffany Teske
PX 600 Silver Shade Film

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands - #20

Outside, Inside
Double Exposure
Dorothy, Alberta
By Tiffany Teske

LAST IMAGE TO POST IN THIS SERIES

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands - #19

Through the Window
Dorothy, Alberta
By Tiffany Teske

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands - #18

Ceiling
Dorothy, Alberta
By Tiffany Teske

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands - #17

Dorothy, Alberta
By Tiffany Teske

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands - #16

Window
Dorothy, Alberta
By Tiffany Teske

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands - #15

Church
Dorothy, Alberta
By Tiffany teske

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands - #14

Birdhouse
Dorothy, Alberta
By Tiffany Teske

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands - #13

Grain Elevator
Dorothy
By Tiffany Teske

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands - #12

Double Windmill
Middle of Nowhere
By Tiffany Teske

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands - #11

Drumheller
By Tiffany Teske

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands - #10

Main Street, Rowley
By Tiffany Teske

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands - #9

Train Schedule, Rowley
By Tiffany Teske

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands - #8

Quin in Tree
Rowley
By Tiffany Teske

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands - #7

Rowley School
By Tiffany Teske

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands - #6

Rowley Train Station Self Portrait
By Tiffany Teske

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands - #5

Rowley General Store (taken through the window)
by Tiffany Teske

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands - #4

Time for School by Tiffany Teske

My daughter, Quin, makes her way to the door of the former Rowley Schoolhouse.... it is now the Prairie School Museum.

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands - #3

Rowley Community Center by Tiffany Teske

Even though the town only has 6 residents, the Rowley Community Center is still in use today. The first Saturday of each month this ghost town hosts a pizza dinner which draws people from everywhere who want to check out the inside of the buildings.

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands - #2

By Tiffany Teske

This image was shot through a 2 inch hole in a door to the Rowley School building.

Holgaroid - Ghost Town Series - Alberta Badlands

Dead Fox by Tiffany Teske

It has been awhile since I posted any Holgaroid images. In June, my family and I borrowed a friend's RV and went on a little road trip to the Badlands of Alberta. We went on the same trip about three years ago, when our first daughter was the same age that our second daughter now is. I am very interested in ghost towns. A lot of my photography work deals with decay, abandoned places, memory, stories of ghosts... ghost towns appeal to me. This area has many of them. My favorite is Rowley. Going back to Rowley is something I have been waiting to do since we got home from the last trip. I will write some thoughts on what it was like to return in coming posts. We also went to Dorothy for the first time. Come road trippin' in Ghostville with me...

Miss Match Diptych - Week 13 - Covet

Covet
Left: Serinissima
Right: Tiffany Teske

This is my third time participating in the Miss Match/fPOE diptych project. This time my lovely partner was Galia, whose blog is called Through the Looking Glass... Lightly. My image is of the cupcakes, taken at my oldest daughter's birthday. The word we were trying to portray was "covet" which is a tricky one. I think our images tell the story.

Miss Match Diptych - Week 11

Left: Tiffany Teske
Right: g(ART)en / Gordana

My second foray into the Miss Match/fPOE diptych project. My wonderful partner was Gordana, of g(ART)en. My image is of the hands. I love how Gordana made a story with our images. A "dark fairytale" as one person commented...

Miss Match Diptych - Week 10

Sunday Morning by Tiffany Teske and Kristi Jackson

As part of the Female Photographers of Etsy (fPOE), I have known about the Miss Match/fPOE diptych project for some time now. Talented photographers who sign up for a week, are given a partner and a theme, and the women make their photographs, then pair them together. This is the first time I participated and my partner was Kristi Jackson of Life Through the Lens. Our theme was Sunday Morning. My image is at the top. I shot it through a two inch hole in the door of a building in the ghost town of Rowley, Alberta, while camping on the same weekend this image was due. Kristi shot her family's pairs of shoes, one for each member, lined up and ready to head out to church.

More posts... SOON!

I have not given up on this blog, I have just been doing a lot more shooting than scanning... please check back soon...

"Oh Baby" A Book of Poems & Photographs for Mother's by Katherine Sandford & Tiffany Teske

It's here! My amazing friend, Katherine Sandford & I made a baby! A bouncing baby Book. We named it "Oh, Baby", a 21 page book that features poetry and photographs for mothers or anyone who has a mother. Warning: If you are a mother, do not read this without plenty of tissues nearby. It truly is the PERFECT Mother's Day Gift.

"Oh, Baby" is available for purchase via the self publishing site Lulu. You can preview the first 10 pages of our book here. It is $20 plus shipping. To avoid shipping costs you can pick up a copy of the book at the following locations; In Chelsea, Quebec at Doozy Candle, La Boulangerie, & Chelsea Books; in Wakefield at Solstice Books; in Ottawa at Mother Tongue Books & Cube Gallery; in Banff at Cozy Cave Bake Shoppe. More locations coming soon. You can also contact me if you would like to buy the book locally through me. Just leave a comment on this post.

10% of the profit of Oh,Baby! will be donated to Roger's House which provides a "home away from home" for children with life-limiting illness and their families, in memory of Maya Stewart.

We have some special events related to the book coming up, including one in Quebec, on Mother's Day, May 9th. Please stay tuned...

Altered Book Show at the Banff Public Library

Books by Cindy Gibson

I am excited to be part of a month long altered book show at the Banff Public Library. During April, 12 altered books will be on display art and book lovers to peruse. The books are the result of a class, taught by Jane Newman, at the library last fall. Newman, has four books on display, and the other eight are from the students. I have one book in the show. It is a tribute to my grandfather who passed away last September, entitled "Goodbye My Loving Grandfather (fly away home). It contains a Polaroid passport photo from the 1970s, amongst other personal belonging. In my next post I will show you my book in more detail...

Here are a few images of the exhibit. The Banff Public Library is at 101 Bear Street. There will be a closing party for the show on Thursday, April 29th, from 7 -9 PM. The artists participating in the show are Mojo Anderson, Cindy Gibson, Zoe Nelson, Pat Allin, and Tiffany Teske, and Jane Newman.


Book by Cindy Gibson


Book by Tiffany Teske


Book by Tiffany Teske

Here is a great article, written by Michelle Macullo, about the exhibit.

Edwin Land Quote

I was looking for a quote about creativity ans stumbled across this one by Edwin Land, the creator of Polaroid (to whom I am eternally grateful.

"Creativity is the sudden cessation of stupidity." Edwin Land

Original Polaroids Available at The Last Temptation Thrift Store

Are you looking for affordable original art? I am currently selling some of my Polaroid 669 prints at The Last Temptation Thrift Store at 229 Bear Street in Banff. They are $10 each or two for $15, straight off the wall. If you can't make it to the shop you can view my work on Etsy or contact me via a comment below.

Female Photographers of Etsy Release Their First Book, "She's a Rainbow"

Photo Mosaic by Amy Longberry

I have a shop on the popular handmade site, Etsy. I started selling on Etsy in 2007 and I am a member of several teams there. Teams do many things together like have group sales, hold member chats, write group blogs, and promote team members. Teams are usually formed around a theme or shared interest. One of my teams is Female Photographers of Etsy or fPOE, formed by fellow photographer, Elle Moss. The team was formed in 2009 and has over 200 members. As an admin on fPOE I have been working with team members Myan, Meganzii, Ligeia, Lililly,Shannonblue, Ena and the Swan, and Elle Moss, on our first group book, She's a Rainbow. We started the process back at the end of October. The book features four photographs from each of 58 talented members who chose to participate. The cover was designed by Myan, the cover photo is by ravencolours, and the intro was written by Futurowoman. The book is available through Blurb and can be viewed and purchased here. It has been wonderful to work on this colorful project with so many incredible female photographers.

Here are my images from the book:


Stairway to Heaven (Iceland) by Tiffany Teske


Kamibayashi by Tiffany Teske (Polaroid Transfer)


Carrotss by Tiffany Teske (Polaroid Transfer)


Deflowered by Tiffany Teske (Polaroid Transfer)

My Piece for the Banff Homegrown Art Show

"See"
Mixed Media by Tiffany Teske (Record album jacket, embroidery thread, original Polaroid transfer, vintage photograph copy, map, game piece, acrylic paint, stones, not shown in this photograph)
Collage from the series "Wanderlust"

"The Homegrown Art Opening Reception is March 5th from 7-9 PM at Banff Town Hall at 110 Bear Street. Join us for the evening as we celebrate our local art talents. Exhibition runs from March 5 - 26, 2010. This art show offers viewers a glimpse into the work of a wide variety of artists living in the Bow Valley."

February 17th - A Little Collage

I have not been posting here, I have been busy over on Thing-A-Day. I have been working on this collage for a few days. I was inspired to start it because I had lots of book page and sheet music hearts left over from Valentine making. I usually start a collage with a vague idea of what I want but I never plan things out, aside from which materials to use. Once I gather the materials, which probably takes the most time, I lay things out, move things around, then just look at it for awhile before gluing things down. Sometimes, I use 3-D elements, which I did here. It can be difficult to make out everything in my collages, since little bits of text, 3-D elements, and fine details can get lost in photos. My favorite parts about this collage are the Polaroid (of course!), the 3-D hearts, and the two little glittered elements. This called Chorus and it is 8x8".

Flutter Series Number 1

Number One in my Flutter Series
image by Tiffany Teske

Available for purchase here...

Flutter Series Number 2

Number Two in my Flutter Series
image by Tiffany Teske

Available for purchase here...

Global Girl - SX-70

I took this image of my daughter while testing a "new" old camera and some expired
SX-70. I have traveled the globe much more than my parents have and I can only imagine my daughter will be more "global" than I...

Image by Tiffany Teske

Flutter Series - Number 3

Polaroid transfer original
Image by Tiffany Teske
Available for purchase here

The Imagined Illusion of Balance - Collage Including Polaroid For Exquisite Corpse Project

This summer, I was invited to be part of an exquisite corpse. It is really not as creepy as it sounds. It began as the parlor game "Consequences" and was later used by the Surrealists on the 1920s. The written version involves passing around a sheet of paper upon which each person makes an contribution then folds the paper to conceal part of what is written before passing it to the next person. Later this game was used with both drawing and collage, with the paper being folded in thirds and each person contributing based on seeing very little of what is above or below. Our project was quite different from these examples...


Believe or Wolfwig Dreams of Venice by Alice Helwig

I was asked by Calgary painter, Alice Helwig, to be part of her exquisite corpse. She created the first piece, the collage above, and then sent a color photograph of it to the next artist, who had two weeks to create a work based on what they received. We were also given a theme to work within. The other artists who participated were Simon Wroot, a metalsmith, Barb Fyvie, a painter, Susan Thorpe, a potter, and Susannah Windrum, a metal worker, mixed media painter, and arts administrator. I work mostly with photography and mixed media. A diverse group, to be sure.

I will not post all of the contributing artists' work here, since Alice did an amazing job of explaining our project and showing each piece along with an artist's quote on her blog. I chose to create a collage. Below you can see images of it and read my statement about my process as well as the materials I used.


Title: The Imagined Illusion of Balance
This is the 5th piece in the series.

Process: I thought about the theme, “the joys and difficulties of being an artist”, before I received Simon’s piece, so I must say I was more influenced by it, than by Simon’s amazing work. For me, as the mother of a three year old and four month old daughters, finding the time to make art is always a challenge. A natural night owl, I generally toil in the latest hours of the night or wee hours of the morning, with my youngest child strapped to me, sleeping. I spend my days thinking about when I will be able to make art, while I am cooking, cleaning, caring for my kids, and trying to do a bit of crafting. As any artist, making art is like breathing so I need to do it. I am infinitely happier, as well as more patient, when I have had time to create.


The Imagined Illusion of Balance by Tiffany Teske

I wanted to make something light hearted to convey my thoughts on trying to find balance amongst the important things in my life and my challenge to find the time to make art. I decided to work on a collage, which is usually something I can create in one sitting, however, this one took me several days of thinking, arranging, viewing, rearranging… I usually start with a vague idea of what I want to accomplish and a pile of materials with which to make it all happen. In this case, I started with a small canvas, 6x6”, and a paper napkin that I brought home from a BBQ (I am a bit of a magpie). The paper has a repeating pattern which reminded me of clocks. The color palette of brown, pink, gold, beige, and white is lovely. The ribbon was added to remove some of the business of the background. The Polaroid had to be added because in most of my photography and art I work with Polaroid. It is blank to act as a backdrop to the woman, but also to put her in “the box”. But, as you can see, both her feet and head are not actually in the box, and the way her head is tilted in thought helps to illustrate that she is in fact thinking “outside of the box”. The “balance” text over her eyes makes her more universal, less individual, but also illustrates she is blinded by her constant thoughts of trying to be balanced. The definition of balance is hovering in an unbalanced state over her. The camera is over her heart both because of her love for creating with it but also because her need to use it is like her need to have blood pumping through her heart. The buttons are like bullets in front of items on a list, but are also fasteners, and the list is of things most important to her. The stitching binds her to these things. “Art Making” is hand written to distinguish its special place of importance on the list. I chose the title because this woman seems to have it all together when people look at her, but in reality, it is all an illusion. Like everyone else, she does the best she can, but makes no secret about her inability to find true balance between all that she loves and needs.

Materials:
6x6” Pre stretched canvas, tissue paper, vintage ribbon, buttons, embroidery thread, text and images from a vintage sewing book and dictionary, under exposed Polaroid 669 pack film image

Four of the artists, including myself, met in early October to show our work to one another and to bind the images and text about each piece into a book. I had not met any of these artists in person, so it was great to have known Alice via the web, and then through her to meet these other amazing artists. One of them lives in the next town and she and I plan to work on more projects in the future, hopefully with new artists and artists from this group. The works from our exquisite corpse were on display for the month of November at the Calgary Jewish Academy.

art, Canadian Photography, Collaborative Art Project, collage, Exquisite Corpse Project, polaroid, Polaroid collage, Tiffany Teske