My life as of late: Art + Wedding = Success :)

Hello all.

I've decided to write a post about what has been going on with me lately.

First of all.  I just had my very first large scale light installation on display for 

NUIT BLANCHE in Ottawa.

Nuit Blanche is french for white night.  It is called white night because it is an all night art festival.  It begins when the sun goes down and ends when the sun comes up!

It originated in Paris in 1989 but has been taken up by many major cities all over the world since.

This year was the first that Ottawa participated.  Although it was not on as big of scale as a lot of the other bigger cities, it was a great success non-the-less.  

The theme of the festival was 'Life is Beautiful' and my piece was called 'Nostalgica Infectica'

My artist statement reads:

'Nostalgica Infectica'

MELISSA GARNETT 

Byward Zone - 100 Laurier Avenue East

Site specific exterior light installation made of wire, fabric & lights. 2012

Nostalgica Infectica is the involuntary feeling evoked by experiencing something that reminds us so much of our childhood. Spattered randomly, Nostalgica Infectica is the unexpected warm and fuzzy feeling that can be summoned by as little as a pattern, a colour, a smell. It spreads like mould, like a pleasant infection.

There were soo many great pieces to see that night.  My husband and friends and I all stayed out until 3am and still didn't see everything!

The other event that has just taken place was my friends Lydia and Eric's wedding.

Lyd needed some help narrowing in on what she wanted their wedding to look light and was going to hire someone to put up their decor at the reception venue.

Since I enjoy that kind of stuff and I am good at it, I offered to do the job for a small fee.

It turned out to be a great experience.

It was super stressful at times because I wanted everything to be perfect, and just like life, there were a few obstacles.  BUT in the end the obstacles were overcome and it turned out fantastically! (if I do say so myself ;)

I am quite proud of myself! 

It also helped that I had some help and support from my friends Jen and Pete who were in from out of town as well my lovely partner Mike.

So I've decided to give it a real go, this wedding decorator calling.

Only on the side for now.  But maybe one day I can decorate or coordinate and hell, maybe even plan weddings for a living.

I am currently still on the job hunt after being laid off from my teaching job so any extra skills that can be put to use are worth looking into right!?

Here's hoping that life throws some great opportunity my way soon.

I sure could use it.

~~*BRUCE MUNRO*~~ Field of Light.

I was recently browsing the internet for some 

Art Installation Inspiration

(say that 10 times fast)

...and I stumbled onto the works of

BRUCE MUNRO

and his FIELD OF LIGHT series...

Soooooo I am totally in awe of him and his incredibly whimsical body of work!

Please click on his name to view his website because it is worth checking out his whole portfolio.

This what he has to say on the concept of the field of lights...

"It was originally conceived fifteen years ago during a trip through central Australia. The red desert had an incredible feeling of energy; ideas seemed to radiate from it along with the heat. The field of light installation was one idea that landed in my sketch book and kept on nagging at me... it just had to be done.  By placing an alien installation in the midst of nature, the enormous contrast created allows one to literally see the wood from the trees.  Under the shadow of an ancient hill in southwest England, in a field of clover bisected by a public footpath, the field of light shimmered through seasons and presented a myriad of opportunities for passersby to catch glimpses of natures guises."

Here are some more pics from his different field of light installations:

EDEN PROJECT

HOLBURNE MUSEUM

LONG KNOLL

 HARVEY NICOLS

If I had the means to do something like this, on this big of a scale, I totally would.

Large scale light installations are just so incredibly fascinating to me!

Unfortunately they require a great deal of 

money 

and 

know-how...

both of which I don't currently have.

Yellena James... Organic Surrealism

So, I stumbled across 

Yellena James'

art a little while ago and I've decided that I'd like to share it with the world.

Her drawings are absolutely stunning.

I think I had searched for botanical drawings on etsy in search for some inspiration for a potential tattoo idea and somehow came across her prints!

They are certainly not botanical drawings in the traditional sense... but there is definitely something oddly organic about them.

Though they are quite surreal, they have a cellular feel that is quite appealing.

They somehow manage to be bright and vibrant...

yet light and transparent at the time...

Simply heavenly :)

She also has a number of gorgeous paintings...

Here is her bio from her Etsy store:

I'm an artist/illustrator residing in beautiful Portland, OR. 

My work has been described as "colorful arrangements of organic shapes and tangled lines (which) are at once floral and alien, organic and sci-fi, crafty and fantastic." Within each piece I try to create an intimate world that posesses its own ethos and its own emotional range. Besides showing my artwork in galleries around the globe, I have done illustration work for Anthropologie, K2 Snowboards, Nike and many others. My work has also appeared in Vogue Australia, Giant Robot, Domino Online, Design Sponge, Apartment Therapy and many other art and design resources and publications. 

You can also read a quick interview with her here.

I'm crazy about her style and I'd love to purchase some of her prints for our new home....

Maybe for a nursery some day...

In the future of course ;)

Pictures that make me smile. Part 9 (Halloween Edition)

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.
-Edgar Allan Poe

(all from Pinterest)

!!!Happy Halloween!!!

The Magic of Museums (Ottawa Edition)

I have been thinking a lot lately about whether or not moving away from Ottawa would be a good thing.

It is not because I don't like Ottawa.

It is just because of the lack of opportunity within the Arts here.

In the process of this inner debate I have come to realize that, since I have lived here my whole life, there are many things about Ottawa that I take for granted.

One of those things is the abundance of amazing museums we have here.

One of my earliest favourite museums is actually not in Ottawa, but Gatineau.

But one of the privileges of living here is that it is only a hop, skip and a bridge crossing away!

CANADIAN MUSEUM OF CIVILIZATION

I remember thoroughly enjoying my trips to the Museum of Civilization as a child and I still do as an adult.  I remember driving up in the school bus and being captured by the swirls and waves of the architecture. 

I remember loving the mock villages and the crazy school bus that you could go into...

(via christopherslens)

I remember being in awe of the massive Totem Poles and canoes...

I remember seeing amazingly visual movies at the imax...

(via wikipedia)

The museum was designed by Douglas Cardinal, a famous North American Native architect educated at the University of British Columbia, and the University of Texas at Austin.

CANADIAN MUSEUM OF NATURE

(via wikipedia)

As a child I was totally enamoured by the Museum of Nature...
I mean it looks like a Castle!
Come on! :)  What kid could resist?

I remember on one field trip (I was maybe eight) either our teacher or one of the museum staff had told our class that there was a ghost that haunted the musem and that if we left a pen and paper in our backpacks (which were left in storage while we had our tour) we might find a note from the ghost in there.

 (via nomeancity)

I thought to myself....."that is soooo awesome! I hope the ghost leaves me a message!" when a more natural response for a kid would be...haunted?  Thats scary...I hope I don't get a note...
When I think back now, sometimes its painfully obvious that even as a child I liked weird and sometimes darker things.... (ghosts, graveyards, etc...)

I realize that makes me sound weird....

NATIONAL GALLERY OF CANADA

(via panoramio)

The National Gallery feels like home to me.
Being that I am an Artist, I visit very frequently...

Snapshot I took Canada Day 2010

I loooove the spider sculpture "Mamam" by Louise Bourgeois that guards her babies in the front.

view of Parliament from inside 2nd floor on a rainy day

The architecture, the views, the art.....all amazing.  

I recently got married and if I wasn't going a more rustic theme, I would have loved to have my reception at the Gallery.

If you live in Ottawa and you have yet to visit any of these magical places, 

PLEASE DO SO!!!

Since my Hubby and I are going to be slightly house poor this summer, I think we'll try something different.

This year I am going to sight see in my own city, because there are so may great sights that we never make an effort to see when we're here all the time.

I will be a visitor in my own city.

YAY :)