basma kavanagh: artwork

Almost-forgotten music

2011-06-01T01:53:00.000+03:00

Winter stayed and stayed, and its quiet way of being has stretched into these daylight months. Now, the almost-forgotten music of leaf on leaf fills the air, and the sun's touch delights my skin, and colour and song are everywhere. I think I've met a new bird every day this week. I've also printed like a demon, for no good reason, just needing to finish a project that's been with me a while.

I am wondering what will happen next. I mean, I know what will happen next... sort of: summer will come, the long days will make me drunk, I'll dig in my garden and make some art. But will it all mean something else when I wake up tomorrow?

Yesno.

Maybeso.

Past and Future

2011-04-25T23:19:00.000+03:00

I don't know why the end of the winter always makes me feel nostalgic. Maybe it is about waking up from all the deep dreaming I do in the dark months, waking up and remembering the life I lived before winter, and the life still to be lived (can one be nostalgic for the future? how about nostalgia for alternate realities?). Maybe we all emerge from winter tender as new leaves.

Anyway, for several months, I've been busy sifting through photographs and trying to remember dimensions, and generally being forced to reflect on what I've been up to the last several years, while my friend, graphic designer Kristy Read developed a website for me. Dear blog, don't take this the wrong way, but this is finally the elegant, grown-up (yet-Basmian) website I've always wanted. Dear friends and friendly strangers, I hope you will visit: http://www.basmakavanagh.ca/

And, as usual, I have several other things cooking. Some have simmered almost long enough (they're thick and sticky and smell just right). I'll serve them up any minute now. The others, well...they might mature overnight like mushrooms, or they might be 14 year cicada larvae. It's hard to say... but at least one of them will be:

Oh Bacon, Bacon

2011-03-29T01:49:00.019+03:00

I've been playing around with eel imagery for months now, knowing I would soon be collaborating with my sister on an eel poster series, incorporating my images and quotes about eels from Mi'kmaq Elders who have helped her in her thesis research on eels. We finally got down to work last weekend. These posters will be used as gifts, and as educational resources.

Here's Sana getting ready to pull the first print of our eel motif (actually, several eels) from a photopolymer plate.

Voila! The first eels.

Here I am wiping some extra ink off the boxcar base. That's a school of bacon swimming on the plate, one of several elements on our second poster.

I'm sure you can imagine that we worked up quite an appetite.

Good thing we had all those tasty prints around.

Delicious.

It's funny how the really crazy stuff never makes it into photos. Setting the Mi'kmaq texts in the type we had at hand was pretty challenging. There simply weren't enough q's or k's...but we managed. Not to mention the weird spacing... this typeface was not designed with words that start with "Wj" in mind.

However, by Sunday evening, although we had tired feet and sore hands, we also had a rack full of finished posters. Yeah, there was some giggling in there too, not to mention a totally new version of a well-known pop song. It went something like this:

"Oh bacon, bacon, how was I supposed to know..."

Sap and Sprouts

2011-02-18T20:08:00.010+03:00

I have a lot of little projects growing at the moment, all at different stages of development... some are merely subtle subconscious stirrings, others actually underway but seemingly perpetually-in-progress. Yet -- it all feels right for this time of year. It still looks like winter out there, but underneath the snow and the river ice, all sorts of things are happening.

One of the things brewing is a new website, which will allow this blog to be more "bloggy"... a place for ideas and process, rather than finished products. In that spirit, I am posting a video of my most inspiring spring moment so far, recorded at the mouth of the Fraser River in Vancouver at the end of February.

Perhaps the season I'm looking forward to isn't Spring, but Sing....
(and yup, it's sideways...but it's all about the audio).

My Own Devices

2011-01-07T21:59:00.011+03:00

So. It's winter. The nights are long, and suddenly, I've got loads of time for making stuff. I splurged on some vellum a couple of years ago, and I've finally given myself permission to use some. Boy, is it an amazing material.

This little (4" x 3 1/4" x 1") improvised limp vellum binding has silk ribbon ties and is sewn into the vellum with gray silk cord. When I say improvised, I mean I have no idea what I'm doing, just trying to make something that I like based on photos of old books that I liked too. Hopefully, this little book will also function well, and endure.

Now, I'm sure I'm not the first person to think of this, but playing with some curly
scraps of vellum, I couldn't resist constructing this little book ring.

I've decided that I'm on sabbatical this year. I haven't decided what that means, precisely, since of course, I will have to keep working. Perhaps this means more room to experiment, permission to say no to certain things, fewer self-imposed or external deadlines. Sigh.

I'm starting my mental holiday off right: with a small show of new, sculptural paintings in my new home town of Kentville, at the Designer Cafe, 373 Main St. If you're in town, I hope you'll stop in for a look. They make a mean coffee too.

Autumn

2010-09-28T02:13:00.008+03:00

Texture is a big deal for me these days. I built these pebbles from various kinds of acrylic goo.

It has been a time of experiments -- but of squeezing art-making into the early morning hours, the evenings and the weekends. Part of me can't wait until winter, to spend cosy nights making lichen quilts like the little sample above, or printing with and without ink as below --

I've had access to a printing press again for the last little while, and although my first few attempts have been more about acquainting myself with the quirks of another Vandercook than about really printing anything much, I am proofing with intent, and pleased with some of the results. I am planning to print a large series with this pebble pattern (from a large linoleum block) in various shades of rose and gray.

And... in the spirit of "waste not want not" I made these little notebooks with my first proofs from the pebble block.

Summer

2010-07-15T20:52:00.011+03:00

Well, it has been a busy summer(not that it is over, but it is passing quickly). In May, I had several abstract pieces in this year's 'Pierscape', part of the Whitney Pier Festival of the Arts. At the end of May, I moved from Sydney to Kentville, Nova Scotia to be closer to our future farm. This meant that June was very busy with digging and planting a new garden. But, I was also busy making several new textured (and in some cases, tex-tiled) pieces for a show coming up at the Cape Breton University Art Gallery, opening next Friday (Aug. 13th) and running 'til October 3rd.

After a couple of winter months of total exhaustion, and feeling convinced that I would never paint again (I'm so melodramatic...) I decided that I would try working with my obsessions, instead of against them. If all I want to do is paint, sew and emboss lichens and pebbles, then why not? Isn't that my prerogative as an artist? This decision has been incredibly fruitful, yielding all kinds of weird and unexpected work.

This 18" x 36" "painting" of apothecia (lichen 'fruiting cups') includes forms sewn & built from linen fibres, collapsed half-silk cocoons, and some embroidery.

The black piece has sewn cup forms made of carbonized bamboo fibre, which are filled with

glossy black acrylic medium. I love the matte and glossy blacks together. The white piece is also sculptural, with forms that I built up with modelling paste and other media... it was a bit like icing a cake (especially when I was squeezing medium out of a bag). I am really enjoying making forms that cast shadows.

This 12" x 12" lichen composition involved a lot of layering, and some scraping down through media. The oil pastels combined with the acrylics give things a satisfying glow.

This is one of two Glace Bay rock paintings included in the CBU show. They've got layers and layers of a honey-tinted medium that give wonderful depth to the image. If only I could capture that in the photo...

And finally, yesterday I was at the Chester Art Fair. Hundreds of people came by to see all kinds of artworks, including my letterpress work, paintings, cards, and handmade journals like these. I think a good time was had by all.

Books and Broadsides

2010-02-08T05:05:00.019+03:00

This is my book 'Song of Salmon'; a hand bound, illustrated accordian book, printed at the Penland School of Crafts in a (very) limited edition. It was set in Bembo type, and printed on damp St. Armand paper with a #4 Vandercook proofing press (named Buddy) and a whole lotta love. I am completing the binding at home in Cape Breton. A limited number of copies will be available for sale soon.

Open the embossed cover and peek inside....

Each stanza faces a two-colour reduction linoleum cut.

All I can say is that this kind of photography is not my strength!
Better pictures coming soon.

With the accordian fold extended, you get an idea of how all the images work together to show

the salmon on their journey.

Here are the blocks, carved for the first colour (posed for style!).

Below are five broadsides I made from the poem and images - each stanza

with its corresponding illustration. Printed in editions of 12, copies are

available for sale.

2010

2010-01-08T21:51:00.006+03:00

A detail from the first 2 panels of a 6 panel work-in-progress - the first piece from a new collection. Stay tuned for rhythmic treescapes and the contemplative "pauses" of ocean horizons.

Give Art

2009-12-06T23:17:00.033+03:00

Tangerine
7.12" x 10.25"
egg tempera and acrylic on Cartiera Magnani paper
$150

Art makes a great gift! Have a look: notecards, reproductions, prints, paintings of all sizes. If a piece disappears from this page, it has probably been sold (but not necessarily - email me).

Seeds
13" x 5"
egg tempera and graphite on paper
$150

Ghost flower bookmarks
wood engraving printed on luscious Fabriano Rosaspina paper
8" x 2.4"
$5 ea.

Date study
10.25" x 7.12"
graphite and egg tempera on Cartiera Magnani paper
$100

Cortinarius
8" x 6"
egg tempera on Fabriano Rosaspina paper
$150

Coltricia
9.5" x 6.5"
egg tempera on Rives paper
$150

Calypso
11" x 15"
egg tempera on paper
$250

Rhododendron branch
13" x 9.5"
ink and wash on Rives paper
$100

Black chanterelle II
3" x 3.5" (mushroom)
11" x 7.25" (paper)
egg tempera on St. Armand paper
$75

Black chanterelle I
3.5" x 3.5" (mushroom)
11" x 7.25" (paper)
egg tempera on St. Armand paper
$75

Sand/sky no.4
10" x 10"
acrylic on natural linen
$275

Alders
10" x 10"
acrylic on canvas
$275

Graceful Helvella
digital print edition of 200
8" x 10"
$25 ea

'Bolete' hand-tinted reduction linocut
edition of 25
4" x 6"
$25 ea.

Three mushroom notecard designs:
Helvella, Phlogiotis, and Cortinarius (L-R)
5" x 7" cards with envelopes
$5 each

solomon's seal
36" x 24"
acrylic on hardboard
$300

these leaves
36" x 24"
acrylic on canvas
$450

Seaweed surface II
24" x 20"
acrylic on canvas
2007
$350

Ochrolechia variations (diptych)
30" x 60" acrylic on canvas
2007, 2008
$1500

Kaff mariam (twilight)
21 1/2" x 18"
acrylic on canvas
2007
$450

Kaff mariam
egg tempera and coffee on paper
2008
$325

Helvella
30" x 30"
mixed media on canvas
2007
$850

Helvella crispa I
12" x 9"
coloured pencil on paper
2005
$175

Frangipani leaves
32" x 25 1/2"
acrylic on canvas
2007
$850 (framed) $750 (unframed)

desert hyacinth with blood or fire
acrylic on linen
22" x 22"
2008
$600

Aloescape III
28 3/4" x 24"
acrylic on canvas
2007
$850(framed) $750 (unframed)

Calypso
24" x 20"
acrylic on canvas
2006
$450

New for Fall

2009-10-26T21:05:00.008+03:00

A night-time Sand/Sky (no.5)

Sand/sky no.4

the plural of Alder is Alder....

Autumn is mushroom-time! To celebrate my "toadstool friends": three mushroom notecard designs, a limited edition reproduction of my 'Graceful Helvella', and a hand-tinted, limited edition 'Bolete' lino cut.

Helvella, Phlogiotis, and Cortinarius (L-R)

5" x 7" cards with envelopes

$5 each

'Bolete' hand-tinted reduction linocut

4" x 6"

$25 ea.

Graceful Helvella

8" x 10"

$25 ea.

(better view of this image coming soon)

Meh, March

2009-03-26T09:04:00.006+03:00

Well, I really meant to post more in 2009, but I have little to post right now. Last year really took it out of me, and I've been busy with a lot of things that aren't painting (more on that soon). However, here are two new things. I think April will bring some new work, and some good news.

Untitled (illuminated leaves)
finished painting and underpainting (just because I never show that part)
59" x 29.5"
acrylic on canvas
SOLD
Sadly, these photos don't do this giant, luscious, swoon-inducing green thing any justice.
Take my word for it though, it's pretty impressive in real life.

Montropa uniflora (Ghost flowers)

12.5" 17.5"

egg tempera on cedar paper

SOLD

Monotropa detail

Otherworld

2009-01-23T18:11:00.033+03:00

Well, it is a sad time and a glad time. Otherworld comes down, and many pieces head off to begin their lives with new families. Sigh. But it was a great show! My friend, photographer Murdock Smith (http://www.murdocksmith.com/) has taken some great pictures of the work for me, which I will post below, so that we can all continue to enjoy them. I have arranged them in the order that they appeared in the gallery... so even though some are older pieces (posted elsewhere on the blog) you can see how all they all flowed together. Later, I will fit the various pieces into the appropriate posts for when they were created (2006, 2007, 2008). In the meantime....

Swan fern (Leda)

36" x 36"

acrylic on canvas

2008

SOLD

Seaweed surface II

24" x 20"

acrylic on canvas

2007

Available $350CAD (+S&H)

Calypso

24" x 20"

acrylic on canvas

2006

Available

An aloe contemplating itself

34" x 32"

acrylic on canvas

2008

SOLD

Dust to Dust (Aizoon) II

36" x 34"

acrylic on canvas

2008

Not For Sale

Pilophorus (diptych)

24" x 48"

acrylic on canvas

2006

SOLD

The Eldest

48" x 38"

acrylic on canvas

2008

Not for sale

Alder grove, winter

48" x 36"

acrylic on canvas

2008

SOLD

Kaff mariam study

21 1/2" x 18"

acrylic on canvas

2007

Available: $450CAD (+S&H)

Sand/Sky I

15 3/4" x 15 3/4"

acrylic on natural linen

SOLD

Cracked Earth II (diptych)

36" x 64"

acrylic on natural linen

2008

Not For Sale

Sand/Sky II

15 3/4" x 15 3/4"

acrylic on natural linen

2008

SOLD

Cystanche II

48" x 36"

acrylic on canvas

2008

Not For Sale

Apparition

34" x 48"

acrylic on natural linen

2008

Not For Sale

Frangipani leaves

32" x 25 1/2"

acrylic on canvas

2007

Available: $850CAD (+S&H)

Aloescape III

28 3/4" x 24"

acrylic on canvas

2007

Available: $750CAD (+S&H)

Dark Ochrolechia

24" x 24"

acrylic on canvas

2006

SOLD

Migration

36" x 48"

acrylic on natural linen

2008

SOLD

Helvella

30" x 30"

mixed media on canvas

2007

Available: $850CAD (+S&H)

Self-tree (diptych)
60" x 30"

acrylic on canvas

2008

SOLD

Sand/Sky III

18" x 48"

acrylic on natural linen

2008

SOLD

Ochrolechia variations (diptych)

30" x 60"
acrylic on canvas

2007, 2008

Available: $1500CAD (+S&H)

Dream tree

48" x 36"

acrylic on canvas

2008

SOLD

Trailing moss

48" x 36"

acrylic on natural linen

2008

Available: $1500CAD (+S&H)

Rattlesnake ferns (Spring dance)

48" x 36"

ink and acrylic on natural linen

2008

Not For Sale

New Year; New Work

2009-01-07T13:13:00.004+03:00

Well, perhaps this will be the year that I post more than twice. Here are some of the pieces from Otherworld; I will post the rest later this month. The show will be on at the Cape Breton University Art Gallery until January 23.

Migration
36" x 48"
acrylic on linen
2008

Ochrolechia Variations
30" x 60"
acrylic on canvas
2007, 2008

Rattlesnake Ferns (Spring Dance)
48" x 36"
acrylic on linen
2008

An aloe contemplating itself
34"x 32"
acrylic on canvas
2008
SOLD

Swan Fern (Leda)
36" x 36"
acrylic on canvas
2008
SOLD

Cape Breton Late 2008

2008-10-12T14:44:00.008+03:00

Whew. How can 2008 be nearly over? It is hard to believe. I am busy getting ready for a show at the Cape Breton University Art Gallery in December. I think it will be a good show. The opening is Friday, December 5th, 7-9pm, and the show will run until January 9th, 2009. I think you should get all dressed up and come out. I will post some new work once the show is hung.

Alder Grove, Winter
36" x 48"
acrylic on canvas
2008
SOLD

Doha 2008

2008-04-07T19:19:00.006+03:00

I've been a bad blogger. But here is some new stuff. It was worth the wait!

sand/sky
acrylic on linen
40cm x 40cm
SOLD

cracked earth
acrylic on linen
(diptych) 40cm x 80cm
NFS

Dust to dust (Aizoon)
acrylic and wax on linen
40cm x 40cm
NFS...but: Limited edition prints coming soon!

desert hyacinth with blood or fire
acrylic on linen
60cm x 60cm
For Sale: $600 CAD

Doha 2008

2008-01-08T13:17:00.002+03:00

kaff mariam at dusk (study)
acrylic on canvas
21 1/2" x 18"
For Sale: $450 CAD (+S&H)

kaff mariam (afternoon light)
acrylic on canvas
18" x 14"
For Sale: $400 CAD (+S&H)

aloe study
mixed media on a paper bag
18" x 10"

a not-too-detailed detail ...

More New Work (Doha)

2007-11-20T12:11:00.001+03:00

I'm embarrassed to admit that in the last month? Two months? I've produced, um, two paintings. Not up to my usual standard. Then again, I can't actually interact with the land here. It sure upsets my routine.

kaff mariam (detail)
egg tempera and coffee on paper

We saw this plant out in Zekreet, in the desert. It curls up into this fisted shape after it flowers, guarding its seeds until the next rain softens its branches, allowing the seeds to be released. As the shape might suggest, it is often blown across the desert like a tumbleweed.

sodom's apple no.3
acrylic on canvas

These seedpods were the only interesting thing I could find in our neighbourhood, aside from the aloes. Also, I could carry them home. I planted some seeds in the garden. The next batch of paintings of this plant will hopefully be of the beautiful chalky leaves amd waxy purple flowers.
Enough seedpods already.

Doha

2007-04-10T22:11:00.001+04:00

aloescape no.3
acrylic on canvas
73cm x 60cm
For Sale: $750 CAD (+S&H)
Some new paintings from my new environs. Our compound has a lot of Aloe plants. My favourite ones have scars. Like people, this gives them character.

sodom's apple no.2
This is the empty seedpod of Calotropis procera, a large local plant related to milkweed. It is interesting that this plant, like its Canadian cousin, is also a monarch butterfly host plant.

aloescape no.2
acrylic on canvas
The colours here are so different from the rainforest!
All these soothing pastels. When the aloes are short of water they get these peachy-purple hues.

Cassia seeds
acrylic on canvas
A study, perhaps, for a larger painting showcasing the great brainy-pattern on the seeds.

aloescape no. 1
acrylic on canvas
My first aloe painting, which looks a bit too much like an octopus, but nonetheless has a soothing quality.

sodom's apple no. 1
acrylic on canvas

2007: works on canvas

2006-11-21T07:16:00.002+03:00

skunk cabbage V
10" x 10"
acrylic on canvas
Private Collection

Pezizas
24" x 24"
acrylic on canvas
For Sale

lined chiton 2
10" x 10"
acrylic on canvas
For Sale @ WCCCS http://www.communitycraftshop.com/

2007: works on paper

2006-09-26T23:29:00.001+04:00

anemone
8" x 10"
egg tempera on paper on board
For Sale @ WCCCS http://www.communitycraftshop.com

anemones and chiton
8" x 10"
egg tempera on paper on board
For Sale @ WCCCS http://www.communitycraftshop.com

Monotropa uniflora (unfinished)
12" x 16"
egg tempera on bark paper
try: Graphics West, Port Hardy, BC

2006: works on canvas

2006-09-26T23:21:00.002+04:00

pomegranate pieces
10" x 30"
acrylic on canvas
Private Collection

pomegranate
16" x 16"
acrylic on canvas
Private Collection

hazelnut husk no. 1
16" x 20"
acrylic on canvas
For Sale @ http://www.communitycraftshop.com/

ripe fig
16" x 20"
acrylic on canvas
For Sale @ http://www.communitycraftshop.com/

alley leaves
30" x 10"
acrylic on canvas
Private Collection

peace lily
acrylic on canvas
SOLD

thyme
24" x 20"
acrylic on canvas
Private Collection

Calypso bulbosa
24" x 20"
acrylic on canvas
For Sale $450 CAD (+S&H)

2005: works on paper

2006-09-26T23:00:00.001+04:00

witchy Helvella
6.5" x 4"
watercolour and ink on paper
NFS

Helvella crispa III
12" x 9 "
coloured pencil on paper
NFS

Helvella crispa II
12" x 9"
coloured pencil on paper
NFS

Helvella crispa I
12" x 9"
coloured pencil on paper
NFS

graceful Helvella
6.5" x 4"
watercolour and ink on paper
NFS

Cortinarius pseudosalor
12" x 9"
coloured pencil on paper
available

2005: works on canvas

2006-09-26T22:47:00.001+04:00

sword fern fronds
30" x 15"
acrylic on canvas
Private Collection

sword fern
24" x 20"
acrylic on canvas
Private Collection

skunk cabbage II
24" x 20"
acrylic on canvas
Private Collection

skunk cabbage I
24" x 20"
acrylic on canvas
Private Collection

2004: works on paper

2006-09-22T20:29:00.001+04:00

amaryllis bud
16" x 12"
watercolour and pencil on paper
Private Collection

amaryllis flower
16" x 12"
watercolour and pencil on paper
Private Collection

2004: works on canvas

2006-09-22T20:17:00.001+04:00

these leaves
36" x 24"
acrylic on canvas
For Sale: $450 CAD (+ S&H)

colocasia
36" x 24"
acrylic on canvas
For Sale: $450 CAD (+ S&H)

cow parsnip
36" x 36"
acrylic on canvas
Private Collection

palmetto leaf
24" x 20"
acrylic on canvas
Private Collection

afternoon/autumn
24" x 36"
acrylic on canvas
Private Collection

2003: works on paper

2006-09-22T19:34:00.001+04:00

seedpod IV
14"x 11"
watercolour and ink on paper
Private Collection

seedpod II
14" x 11"
watercolour and ink on paper
Private Collection

root scars
14" x 11"
watercolour and ink on paper
For Sale: $250 (+S&H)

parrot tulip
14" x 11"
watercolour and ink on paper
Private Collection (others available)

amaryllis
watercolour and ink on paper
Private Collection

2003: works on hardboard

2006-09-22T00:42:00.003+04:00

solomon's seal
36" x 24"
acrylic on hardboard
For Sale: $300 CAD (+ S&H)

poppy II
24" x 36"
acrylic on hardboard
SOLD

poppy I
24" x 36"
acrylic on hardboard
SOLD

lupin
36" x 24"
acrylic on hardboard
SOLD

lily II
acrylic on hardboard
For Sale

lily I
acrylic on hardboard
For Sale

ice
48" x 48"
acrylic on hardboard
SOLD

frosted stocks
48" x 24"
acrylic on hardboard
SOLD

bulrushes
48" x 24"
acrylic on hardboard
SOLD

broken spruce
36" x 24"
acrylic on hardboard
SOLD

tiny apples
24" x 36"
acrylic on hardboard
SOLD