Arrival and departure

It is early in the morning and I am done sleeping for now anyways.
Yesterday was a big day - which started out with an email notice that our crate is ..... Where it is supposed to be for now, in storage with the shipping company in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Phew, deep breath, now it is time to start thinking seriously about how to and what to pack.

Except there was one more important point before commencing to pack to take care of yesterday. A couple of months ago we had contacted the local CBC Radio Station to let them know that we were up to something exciting, interesting, something worth while informing their listeners about. Yesterday on the programme Close to Home, CBC Radio I had a few minutes in a telephone interview to talk about our adventure and our plans.
I prepared lists, I called around to the SEVEN ladies and asked questions about which words specifically they wanted me to use when/if describing their works,I made lists, plural, mostly because I was doing it on the confounded confuser and so ... In the heat of the moment I deleted the first very exciting and full list. Once I discovered that and I had my breathing under control again I made a new very satisfying list with our general goals and other important stuff.
Then it was time for the interview and ... Time flies when you are having fun they say, even nervous fun I now know is covered by this, for ... In two blinks of an eye Yvonne Colbert was wrapping it up again and I was hanging up the phone.
On the table in front of me was the initial hand drafted list and on the screen was the confuser list and in looking them over I realised that I hadn't really covered one tenth of what I really wanted to express, and talk about. So many points of importance (to us I might ad)so little time, and in real life I suppose that what would suit my needs as an incessant talker would be more like a three hour show featuring a monologue or perhaps a panel discussion with SEVEN.
In hind sight it probably is very good that I only got a few minutes, they took enough planning as it was and overall I think we are ready to start the trip and not interested in anymore time consuming planning sessions in order to make another another large impact statement.
As we are just arriving in Denmark the second of two articles written about us in a Danish arts/craft magazine, Husfliden will be sent out to their membership - we had to make sure we were covered in the Danish Press as well. We have been in contact with the local newspaper covering the area where we are exhibiting at the gallery in København, Østerbroavisen and I know that they are working on making room for our press release as well as the ad we have ordered. It is beyond exciting to be doing this, beyond description to feel the wave of support we have met where ever we have turned, and this is only the beginning, we aren't even there yet. Wow is all I can say!

Group Goals which help us keep focused:
1. Create opportunities/shows together
2. Artistic companionship
3. Professinal Development: artistic and the business of being an artist
4. Yipppeee Factor ... Getting Juiced Up!

We are on our way,

Yeeeehaaaaaww, this is me galloping across the kitchen floor swinging a skein of yarn with glee!
Pia

Our Danish Press Release

We have a press release for our Canadian press contacts, but the Danish one has a fun title and lists the exact dates and addresses of our exhibition tour.  Enjoy!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – SEVEN CANADIAN ARTIST TO EXHIBIT IN DENMARK – OPENING RECEPTION (ARTISTS IN ATTENDANCE) THURSDAY, AUGUST 5th, 6pm to 8 pm

Dreams, threads and colours from Canada (Fiber, fantasier og farver fra Canada)

Seven Canadian artists will be showing in Sjælland and Fyn in August and September.

Seven Canadian female artists, whose choice of materials range from wool and words to copper and colours, and who have joined forces in a group called SEVEN, will be exhibiting in Denmark in August. Their first stop is Basal Elin Galleri in Copenhagen on 5-8 August followed by a one day show at the Basal Elin Studio in Hørsholm on 14 August. The group will then move on to show at Værkstedsgalleriet in Kerteminde 12 September to 12 October.

The group is based in Nova Scotia on the east coast of Canada. The rugged maritime, forest and rural settings of this province exert a strong influence on their work, as do thoughts and ideas about sustainability, womanliness, human relations and life in general. Their art is sensual, funny and reflective; touchable, colourful and caring.

The members of the group are Pam Frail, Marilyn Rand, Marie Jardine, Pia Skaarer-Nielsen, Kelly Marie Redcliffe, Deborah Nicholson and Angela Melanson and their ages range from 36 to 56. While all independent and experienced artists in their own right, with numerous shows and commissions under their belts, they have come together as a group for mutual support and inspiration. Respect for the quality and scope of each others work and the potential for exploring new avenues bind them together.

August 5-8, 2010
Basal Elin Galleri
Opening/Fernisering: Thursday, August 5^th 18:00 to 20:00

(Artists in Attendance)
Trepkasgade 5,
2100 Copenhagen Ø
Denmark

August 14, 2010
Basal Elin Studio
Hours: 11:00 to 16:00

(Artists in Attendance)
Hørsholm, Denmark
September 12 - October 12, 2010
VærkstedsGalleriet (Dansk Husflid)
Opening/Fernisering: September 12^th, 13:00 to 14:00

(Artist in Attendance)
Gedskovvej 3,
5300 Kerteminde, Denmark

This is SEVEN's first European tour.

Read more about the group, their work and their tour in Denmark at http://www.sevenartisans.blogspot.com/.

Simple Jewellery Repair with the Lakeville Woman's Institute

I have lived in Lakeville, N.S. for 27 years. It has been a wonderful place to raise a family, and grow our souls by living rurally and enjoying all the benefits that come with this life style. To meet the community  I joined the Lakeville Woman's Institute. I was a 'younger' member and was welcomed whole heartedly by an incredibly diverse and busy group. While a member I attended outings, catered dinners, ran community projects, and raised funds for our community and other women with needs around the world. It was a supportive community to learn how to do many things. Many of these things I have been able to use in our Art Collective 'Seven".
I look forward to tomorrow when I will go back to the Lakeville Community Hall and an afternoon meeting of the Lakeville Woman's Institute to share some simple jewellery repair techniques.

EXCHANGE  (noun)  giving of one thing and receiving of another in its place.

Seems to me this is how community is built and 'exchange' is happening around the world. I am optimistic!