A Dream Come True - My Article in Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine

I have been enamoured with one magazine for several years now. This love affair with Cloth Paper Scissors started slowly, smoldering as my collection of issues grew, and finally engulfed me after I gave birth to my eldest daughter, Quinlyn. I nursed her on demand, and she demanded so much that she was 26 pounds by 6 months old, and I felt literally trapped under a baby most of the time. I longed so much to work on my art, but never really had the energy, something that most people who know me will never hear me admit. I normally have oodles of energy! The time was bittersweet, since I loved my baby and most parts of being a new mother, but I missed my freedom. Making art is up there with the things that I need to do to live, like breathe and eat. I am not me when I am not being creative. I had some commitments, to a gallery show here and there, and I made what I could, but it was not nearly as much as I was used to. So, I decided if I couldn't physically make as much art as I wanted to, I would be creative in other ways, such as by cooking, photographing my baby, and by reading, reading, reading about techniques I wanted to try. The cooking and photographing came easy, as did the devouring of new techniques, but it was sheer agony not to be able to actually make much. The magazines that I spent the most time reading and rereading, next to Mothering and Vegetarian Times, were Cloth Paper Scissors and Somerset Studios. It was at that time that I made myself the goal of bring published in a magazine. As a photographer I had been featured in several newspapers. And since then, I have had work in Filament, Highline, and PhotoEd Magazines, as well as in the book, 1,000 Ideas for Creative Reuse. All awesome but my heart skipped a beat the day I received my advanced copies of the 37th Issue of CLOTH PAPER SCISSORS, the one that I wrote the Workshop article on Fuji film transfer processes for. I am so happy, proud, amazed (I am still pinching myself that I have been working with the amazing people at Interweave!!) and excited. I own every single issue of this magazine, I even has my mixed media quilt, I Need Your Kindness, appeared in the Muse Flash section several issues ago, but now I am one of only a small number of artists who have shared their knowledge in a Workshop article. CPS even challenged me to make a video of the technique to go with the article. I am on cloud nine. Thanks so much, CPS, Jenn Mason, & Barbara Delaney!

I have worked with Fuji and Polaroid film processes for over 10 years. I have always wanted to write about it...

I love this image of Editor, Jenn Mason, with her vintage Polaroid Land Camera from Ebay...

 

My bio, fun stuff!

Page one of the article, with two assemblages I made to accompany it.

Mountain Art & Craft Sale at The Banff Centre

Memories #1 

Encaustic Collage by Tiffany Teske

I have been gearing up all week for the 2011 Mountain Art & Craft Sale, this weekend, Saturday, October 29th, & Sunday, October 30th. This will be the second year I sell my work at this sale, which is in conjunction with the Banff Mountain Film & Book Festival. A great place to find unique Christmas items made by mountain artists from Alberta & British Columbia, the sale takes place in the RBC Lobby of the Eric Harvey Theatre. With close to 30 artists, you can find blown glass, paintings, fibre art, photography, clothing items and more, all made by hand. Come see me this weekend, if you can, and meet all the wonderful people who make this show a place that locals look forward to shopping year after year. Hours on Saturday are 11 AM - 7:30 PM and on Sunday from 11 AM - 5:30 PM. I will have encaustic collage, Polaroid transfers, silver spoon assemblages, bird nest & glass tile pendants, and magnets, available.

Glass Tile Ring by Tiffany Teske 

Ferns

Polaroid Transfer by Tiffany Teske

Bird Nest Pendant 
by Tiffany Teske 

Abundance

Spoon Assemblage by Tiffany Teske 

My YouTube Video - Fuji Emulsion Lifts & Transfers

I have stared in a YouTube video. I guess it was time for that experience... I recently wrote an article on Fuji emulsion lifts and transfer, which will appear in the Workshop section of Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine's November/December issue. The editor, Jenn Mason, asked me if I would be willing to make a YouTube video of the process, to link to the article. I enlisted a friend, Jason MacQueen, who filmed it for me. The subject matter is pretty specific, but if you feel like watching it, please let me know what you think...

Featured in the Light Leaks Gallery, the LAST Issue, Sniff, Sniff....

Light Leaks Magazine, Issue 19, Secrets

Light Leaks, Issue #19, arrived in my mailbox yesterday. It was a bittersweet moment, because I knew one of my images was being featured in the gallery, but I also knew it was the last issue ever. Yet another one of my favourite magazines is no longer being printed. Here is what Mike Barnes and his wife, Rachel, had to say about their decision, in an email sent out about 2.5 months ago:

"As you know, we have struggled to keep Light Leaks in print over the past year. We had an excellent plan—with the addition of the Light Leaks Shop and Holgapalooza we felt the financial difficulties could be resolved. Unfortunately those additions required more of our own time. With a growing young family, free time has quickly become our most precious commodity.

While we enjoyed working on Light Leaks over the years, we have come to a point where we must focus on our own careers to support our family. My own interest in toy camera photography has always been a hobby, not a profession. Unfortunately as much as I loved putting together Light Leaks I spent most of my time putting together a magazine about toy cameras, but not actually being able to use those toy cameras myself!

Contributing to each issue of Light Leaks magazine was (I think) an excellent use of my time, and I think all those who contributed will feel the same way. It was always a labour of love for an end product that never lacked in quality. For all of you that have been scoffed at for wielding your beloved low-fi cameras, Light Leaks represented you and why you love what you do.

For current subscribers, you believed in us, and we thank you for that. We would be honoured to have you consider your unfulfilled subscription a donation into helping us pay our final printing payments. We can offer you some of the remaining back issues that we have left, or some of the digital versions we have created (which also includes The Toycam Handbook), however supplies are limited. In addition to creating some revenue from the digital issues, we have had to sell off our entire store inventory to help get this last issue to you.

We will be closing the Light Leaks shop, but keeping www.lightleaks.org open along with links to the digital versions.

We want to thank you all for supporting our humble magazine, and especially to those who contributed over the years, particularly Gary Moyer, Steph Parke, and of course my wife, Rachel who did a lot of the work behind the scenes. Best to you all in your future low-fi photographic adventures!

Mike Barnes (toycamera@rogers.com)"

My little one...

...hamming it up

My image, Talking Walls, is a Holgaroid double exposure, made using a Holga CNF 120 with a Polaroid back. The original image is on chocolate Type 80 film from impossible project, which has shades of brown and pink, but it was printed in black and white for the magazine.

 My photography also appeared in Issue 13, Road Trip and Issue 14, Childhood.

Goodbye, Light Leaks. You were a stellar Canadian publication that toy camera lovers around the world will always remember fondly. Thanks so much!

Hotel to Offer Polaroid Cameras and Instant Film in Guest Room Mini-bars

What a GREAT idea... Check this out on PetaPixel...
Hotel to Offer Polaroid Cameras and Instant Film in Guest Room Mini-bars

Preview of My Work in the Florescence Show, Currently On at Cube Gallery in Ottawa

Dance Passionately Through Life (or I also like to call it Ghost of the Dance)

Encaustic Collage on Wood

12x12"

I love living in Banff, but my old art stomping grounds are Ottawa, Ontario & Chelsea/Wakefield, Quebec, and sometimes, I miss it and the lovely people I know from there. I still show my work in these locations, most frequently at Cube Gallery in Ottawa, for at least two group shows a year, when I am on top of things. The current show, Florescence, is a show about flowers. I have 10 Polaroid transfers, 4 encaustic collages, and 2 collages on canvas in this show. I WISH I could attend the opening on Sunday afternoon, because one of my oldest Ottawa art friends (I mean how long we have known each other, not her age) Mahshid Farhoudi, is the show, too. Mahshid and I used to share a studio on Preston Street in Ottawa. Those were the days... Barbara Gamble, an artist I admire, is also in this show. And the people on the guest list are a whose who of Cube and Ottawa artists I know including Ruth Secunda, Sandra Hawkins, Vivian Tytor, Pam Connolly, Violeta Borisonik, Patrick John Mills, and of course, the owner of Cube, Don Monet. I wish, yet again, that I could somehow teleport myself to this opening to see all the beautiful work. If you are interested in what I have in the show, scroll down to see my offerings...

Bloom

Collage on Canvas

16x20"

Arms of the Angels

Encaustic Collage on Wood

12x16"

Blossom

Polaroid transfer original

3x4"

Once Upon A Time

Polaroid Transfer Original

3x4"

Bloom

Polaroid Transfer Original

3x4"

Storehouse & Nursery of Bastardy

Encaustic Collage on Wood

12x16"

Nostalgia

Polaroid Transfer Original

3x4"

Days Gone By

Polaroid Transfer Original

3x4"

Time Passes Quickly

Polaroid Transfer Original

3x4"

Geisha Girls

Encaustic Collage on Wood

12x16"

It Came To Me In A Dream

Polaroid Transfer Original

3x4"

Please Come See Me

Polaroid Transfer Original

3x4"

Give Up Every Preconceived Notion

Collage on Canvas

12x12"

Today I Thought Of You

Polaroid Transfer Original

3x4"

Growth
Polaroid Transfer Original
3x4"

Florescence - Cube Gallery, Ottawa - September 6th to October 2nd, 2011

Give Up Every Preconceived Notion by Tiffany Teske
Collage on canvas
12x16"

16 pieces of my work are in the following show. 10 are Polaroid transfers, 4 are encaustic collage, and 2 are collage on canvas. I will be uploading images of them all here in the next couple days. For now you can see them in this Facebook album...

September 6 – Oct. 2, 2011
Florescence
At Cube Gallery
( n. the process of blooming and flowering )

Vernissage: Sunday, Sep 11th, 2011 — 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

They can be an expression of adoration or remorse; happiness or sadness; re-birth or bereavement . The language of flowers is vast, ancient and mysterious, yet somehow always fresh.
Join the dialogue at Cube Gallery from Sept. 6 – Oct. 2 as we present Florescence, a show that celebrates, explores and delivers flowers.
This group will feature some of Canada’s most distinguished still life artists including:
Barbara Gamble, Tiffany Teske, Gary Bowes, Janet Moore, Paul Schibli, Julia McDonald, Mashid Farhoudi, Beth Levin, Nicholas Abusow, Pina Manoni-Rennick.

====================================

Floraison
6 septembre - 2 octobre 2011

Vernissage:Dimanche le 11 septembre 2011 – 14h à 17h

Elles peuvent être une expression d’adoration ou de remords; de joie ou de tristesse; de renaissance ou de deuil. Le langage des fleurs est vaste, ancien et mystérieux, mais toujours frais.
Venez participer au dialogue à la galerie Cube, du 6 septembre au 2 octobre, alors que nous vous présentons Floraison, une exposition qui célèbre, explore et vous livre des fleurs.
Ce groupe présentera des artistes parmi lesquels sont les plus distingués dans l’art de la nature morte.
Barbara Gamble, Tiffany Teske, Gary Bowes, Janet Moore, Paul Schibli, Julia McDonald, Mashid Farhoudi, Beth Levin, Nicholas Abusow, Pina Manoni-Rennick

Submissions to the Self Portait Challenge From Cloth, Paper, Scissors (Using Polaroid Transfers & Emulsion Lifts)

Ever since I left University, I have looked for opportunities to make art to a theme and on a deadline. That was one of the things I loved about being in school. I am good with deadlines, and while I don't really plan out my work before I get started, aside from the medium I plan to use, I do like to have a direction to go in.

Authentically Me by Tiffany Teske
Encaustic collage on wood
6x6"

I created this for the Cloth Paper Scissors "A Little Me" challenge. It is called "Authentically Me". It is a 6x6" encaustic collage. I first used a colour copy of a gelatin monoprint I made using a self portrait image I took of my own feet and hands. I combine a black and white copy of the image with printmaking inks and a flower which left a negative print. I combine the colour copy of the monoprint with beeswax, then using a stylus I hand wrote adjectives I would use to describe myself. I then rubbed a Shiva paintstik in iridescent copper over the words and removed the excess. This piece is "authentically me" because it is how I see myself and because it contains flaws in my spelling and hand writing. I don't generally plan out all aspects of my pieces so I accept "mistakes" as something that happens when a real person makes art. Perfection is impossible and can get in the way of making good art. This piece also includes a wire bird nest with gemstone bead eggs that I made. Much of my work contains birds, feathers, eggs, and nests, so it just seemed right to include it as one of those things people identify with me and as something that is close to my heart.

Detail of Authentically Me

I am Unique (Like Everyone Else) by Tiffany Teske
Encaustic collage
6x6"

This is another submission for the Cloth Paper Scissors challenge. It is entitled, "I Am Unique (Like Everyone Else)" because it is true and because I have always liked that saying. It is a 6x6" encaustic collage. It has many layers and meanings. I started with a colour copy of a Polaroid transfer of a self portrait I made on handmade paper. I layered beeswax on top of the copy, and then, using a stylus, I hand wrote information about me across the piece. I then rubbed a black Shiva paintstik over the words, then layered it with more wax and fused. I added a feather and ribbon, two eggs (one that is broken and contains another egg), a wire and gemstone bead nest I made, and a twig I painted, distressed, and added vintage paper flowers to and dipped in wax. I made a little pouch from a wire edged ribbon, sewn together with wire, that contains the word "remember" and some turquoise beads. Turquoise is said to take on the characteristics of its owner. I selected the word "remember" because much of my work has to do with memory. The eggs represent my children and the nest the home I have created. Much of my work contains birds, feathers, eggs, and nests. This feather represents my travels through life and the ribbon my childhood. The flowers represent growth. I made them on a twig because I derive a lot of inspiration from nature and I live in a National Park.The phrases are personal things about me. The whole piece is a bit complicated, and eclectic, like me.

I am Unique (Like Everyone Else) Detail

I am Unique (Like Everyone Else) Detail

I am Unique (Like Everyone Else) Detail

I am Unique (Like Everyone Else) Detail

My Skin by Tiffany Teske
Encaustic collage
6x6"

And for my last submission to the CPS challenge... It is entitled, "My Skin". It is a 6x6" encaustic collage. I started by writing my thoughts onto carbon paper with tissue beneath. I then added the tissue to my substrate using wax. Next, I transferred a colour copy of a Polaroid emulsion lift self portrait I made onto my encaustic surface. I added the words, "I feel comfortable in my own skin" to the wax surface by writing with a stylus onto carbon paper. I added a wire and gemstone bead nest I made, a feather I found while out exploring with my daughter, and a distressed ribbon in my favourite colour, dipped in wax. The nest represents the home I have created, the feather my need to travel and discover, and the cheerfully coloured ribbon ties these things together, bound by the wax, as they are entwined in me.

My Skin Detail

Thanks for taking a look at my work... I am always happy to share it!

So Long Summer...

Summer (and Childhood) Fades Away...
By Tiffany Teske
Polaroid 600 Silver Shade

It has been ages since I posted here. I apologize to any of you who have been disappointed. Summer took over, as it does. I live in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, where yesterday, there was new snow on the mountain tops. We only have about a month of beautiful summer weather in these parts, and I tried to make the most of it. Soon, the snow will fly, and I will be inside, toiling away at my art and photography. And blogging more, I promise...

New Work - Maternity Shoot for Polaroid Transfer Originals

Commissioned Polaroid Transfer 2011

This may be one of my final Polaroid transfers. After stocking up on 669 film after Polaroid announced they would cease to produce it, people would ask me what I was going to do when it all ran out. Well, I have had a good long run with Polaroid processes, and I like change. If you do something for too long you run the risk of falling into a rut. I decided that when my 669 was gone, I would either stop and do something else or I would find a new way to make transfers and emulsion lifts. I will write more on what I have decided to do, soon. But for now, I wanted to share that I am down to one box of 669 (!!). And in the past month I have had a very exciting time using up my expired film. It has not been without incident, though, since the chemistry has been acting up. Everything I have made in the past year or so has had sepia toned streaks that no matter how many times I cleaned my rollers, I could not stop. While part of the ArtsPeak Studio Tour this year, I gave demos on transfers and emulsion lifts. I had 6 hours straight two days in a row to work. At this point, I had already shot a maternity session, that I was hired to do because the mom-to-be was enamoured with a transfer (you can see it below) I had given to my midwife, who is also her midwife. She commissioned me to make two transfers. But that weekend I began to wonder if I was going to be able to fulfill her request. But with the time to work I turned panic into a solution with some trial and error. I let the transfers that I had made dry, then I put them back in water and rubbed off the brown staining with the tips of my fingers. It worked remarkably well. And it made me feel really good that after 10 years of working with this process I was able to learn something new, something that would also save the day on this commission. Phew! I am so glad I could make this image...

The inspiration for the above transfer was an image I made if my dear friend, Cristina, when she was pregnant with her son, Francis. I think this was taken in 2004, but my memory is not as good as it used to be...

Off to a Good Home in Hawaii - "Becoming Whole" Polaroid Emulsion Lift Original

For me, a lot of creating art is about the process. I am always thrilled with the final result, but am addicted to the rush I get while I am creating, or dreaming of when I will have the next block of time to create. That being said, there are some pieces that I am attached to. After all, creating each piece is actually birthing them, and how can you part with your children? One piece that is about to leave the nest is "Becoming Whole", a Polaroid Emulsion Lift Original that I created a few years ago. The image was originally shot on slide film, and one of my best friends, Jeanne, who lives in my old stomping grounds in Maine, is the model. The lift is on watercolour paper and is approximately 5x7". On an interesting side note, it caught the eye of artist, Darlene Olivia McElroy, who asked to features the piece on her website for her book, Image Transfer Workshop. She doesn't cover the process in her book but she wants to inspire others with examples of what can be done with transfers. Anyway, I am happy to share that this piece is going to a previous buyer whom I consider a friend. Arlene Solomon lives in Hawaii, and is a talented photographer and massage and movement therapist who purchased three of my Polaroid transfer originals for her studio. I am so excited that she also wants to give a home to "Becoming Whole". Maybe I will make it to Hawaii someday to see my work and Arlene at her studio...

Now that the original is sold I will be offering a limited edition of 15 5x7" prints of this piece for $30 each. If you are interested in a print, please leave a comment here.

ArtsPeak Studio Tour 2011

What an amazing weekend! I am still on cloud nine. I was asked awhile back by the Edge Gallery in Canmore, to be part of the Canmore ArtsPeak Art Festival, by being part of their leg of the studio tour. David and Kathy Foxcroft, who run Edge Gallery, have some of my Polaroid transfers in their gallery, and I was part of a group show there last summer. David creates amazing collages and I have had some good conversations with him about art. He and Kathy were introduced to me by my talented (and amazing) friend, Barb Fyvie, whom I met when I took part in an exquisite corpse art collaboration in 2009. You know those people who just make you smile when you think about them? Anyway, I jumped at the chance to be part of the studio tour, both because of the fun I was sure to have, and because my hubby was available for the weekend, and it would mean 6 solid hours, TWO DAYS IN A ROW, of child free art making. Now you all know how much I LOVE my kiddos, and making art with them, but sometimes, Mama needs her time alone...

Our studios were in Silver Creek in Canmore. They are units that are for sale, and they have both a living space, and a studio/retail space. Very cool, and if Andre and I were empty-nesters, I would jump at the chance to live in a home where I could also have a studio and gallery. The Edge Gallery is one of these units, as is the Virginia Ann Hemingson Art Gallery. The ones we were in were bare bones, large, light filled spaces with plenty of wall space for exhibiting our work. I must say that I am not the best display person, so I just hung all my work salon style and set up my table to work on. But, fellow artists, Larissa McLean, and Annie M. Froese, effortlessly TRANSFORMED their space into a garden of colour. I have no idea how they did it. They travelled all the way from High River to be there, and they opened the doors to their van and a garden came pouring out! I wish I would have taken pictures... hopefully they took some!

On Saturday, I had my space all to myself, which was heavenly. Not that I didn't want a neighbour, but I am just as happy to be alone as I am to social. Barb, who was participating in the weekend, as one of the en plein air painters at the gallery, greeted me and helped me to set up. I was super excited for the demos I would be giving. On 10:30 AM each day, I "formally" demonstrated Polaroid transfer, and at 2:30 PM, Polaroid emulsion lifts. That is what I was scheduled to do in the newspaper advertisement, but I worked all day in both processes, as people gathered around to watch. Many were very interested, maybe because of my enthusiasm. I am so passionate about making art, any kind of art, but Polaroid processes are my old friends. You know the ones who you don't have to see for a long time, but when you finally do you just fall back into step like no time has passed? I could make a Polaroid transfer in my sleep. And after years of teaching the process, it was fun to demonstrate it for an audience that was just there to listen and watch. I have never actually done that. And I printed several images that I have never tried before.

One Sunday, my studio mate joined me. I was excited all morning to meet her. Shannon Williamson, from Calgary, works in encaustic. I couldn't wait to pick her brain. She was so so lovely from the moment I met her, and her husband, Doug. Doug, went off to oil paint, en plein air, and Shannon gave an encaustic demonstration for most of the day. And patiently answered my questions. I learned a great deal, both about encaustic, and about pricing my work, since Shannon works at Wallace Galleries in Calgary. I have been an artist my whole life, but pricing is still such a sticky issue... I am grateful to Shannon for her generosity, both in teaching me, and in purchasing some of my work. I look forward to seeing her again.

I was really surprised by the turn out on Sunday as opposed to Saturday. And it was busiest at the end of the say on Sunday, which is not common in weekend shows I have done. I had more sales than I anticipated and I gave 20% of that to Mountain Arts for next year's festival. I was not look at this as a selling opportunity, mostly as time to work, to meet other artists, and to learn a thing or two.

And speaking of meeting other artists, I also briefly met Lucie Bause, of Canmore, whose Portal XII, just became Canmore's newest public art piece. And Karin Millson, of Calgary, whose demonstration, entitled "Sewing Machine Abuse" caught my eye the minute I saw it advertised in the newspaper. Unfortunately, I was so busy all weekend that I never did get to go and learn from her, but I plan to pay her a visit. And I also plan to visit Larissa and Annie in High River. I would like to photograph the beautiful Larissa in the wonderful Victorian hats and clothing that she owns, among her colourful gardens, and to see Annie's gallery. Maybe I will make the trip with the one person I met this weekend whom I have been waiting to meet. Sometimes, there is a person that EVERYONE I know seems to ask me if I know. And I don't know them. And it shocks everyone... well, that person walked right in to my studio at the end of the day. Her husband had seen my demos the day before, but since she was giving a workshop in bookmaking(the legal kind) she had not been with him. I recognized him from the day before. And the minute this woman started talking I KNEW who she was. I had been waiting to meet her. AND not 10 minutes before, I had been talking about her with my new friend, Adrienne Lawlor, whom I had exchanged emails with but whom I accidently met in person that day... the woman whom I am quite sure I will be making a lot of art with is Dea Fischer. Things happen when they do for a reason... and I always approach each art experience with an open mind, because I just never know what is going to happen... and that is my favourite part about every day.