Donning the mask, performing, reading and, later, chatting. Saturdays at the Portobello on Aug 2nd hosted by the wonderful Linda Stitt: http://lindastitt.com/Portobello_August_2_2014.html Go to the link to see many other fine Toronto poets reading or in the audience. It was a wonderful afternoon and many thanks to Linda and everyone who came out! And special thanks to Paula, who took the photos and videos of everyone.



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Plein Air at Leslie Spit in Tommy Thompson Park on Sun Aug 10, 2014. View of the Toronto skyline through some leafless trees covered in birds. ©Brenda Clews, 2014, 9" x 12". Permanent inks on Fabriano 100% cotton cold-pressed 140lb watercolour paper.

We were to meet at a subway station at noon but it was more like 12:45pm before we left in 3 vehicles. There was a street festival, which took some manoeuvring to get by, and then the base of Lesley St was under construction which meant another detour and different route in. By the time we met at the foot of the Lesley St Spit it was nearly 2pm. Then we walked for about an hour in to find a spot to draw from.

I had planned on doing a smaller sketch - the one above - and then a larger one. It was very hot under direct sun and windless where we were, so everyone was ready to leave after an hour or so. I couldn't stay since they were my ride back.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the jaunt in (my art supplies, camping chair and beach blanket were in a bag with wheels), the company of a great group of young artists, and am not unhappy with my drawing, there were a few problems. I had taken a ton of supplies - but forgot a tin of Inktense blocks and had no white, so used a bit of white conté crayon and added some white from the ink block at home. But there was a bigger issue for me too. Normally, we get 3 hours to draw at these sketching-around-the-city events. After set-up, chatting, and so on, I had maybe 40 minutes in total to draw. Not long enough. There were, for instance, long grasses in front of the rock I was sitting on and some golden ragweed flowers (I'm not allergic - and can therefore admire their beauty) which I was going to add last (and which would have been in the larger drawing I didn't do due to time constraints) but didn't have time.

Writing this post, I realize I must add my expectation to the group post - that I need to be assured we will have 3 hours to draw on one of these trips. Otherwise, I don't think it's worth going.
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Valerie Animus Leo organizes a Sunday afternoon sketching-around-the-city MeetUp and Facebook Group. This trip was to the Leslie Spit at Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto. Photo credit: Valerie, except the one of her painting a beautiful scene with gouache in a black floppy hat on the bridge, which I took. Lovely group and stunning surroundings, as you can see! The rest of the photos are here: http://www.meetup.com/Arts-Recreation-Toronto/photos/23800942/?a=pu3.2_l

As you can see in the 2nd and 3rd photos top row from the left, yeah, well. I took everything but a studio easel to the Plein Air trip to the Leslie Spit! Haha. That's a little camping chair I've had 20 years and swear by if you are going to be sitting for any length of time, a beach blanket, two plywood boards for water jars and supplies, two watercolour paper blocks, one smaller and the other I've had like 30 years and is larger, tins of pencils, pens, inks, sizing medium, paper towels, sun screen, and half a dozen yummy vegetable samosas which I shared.

After, we went to the Bampot Bohemian House, where we learned that they are starting a new life drawing series in the back every other Sunday from 2:30-5:30pm. I am rather ecstatic to have a life drawing venue close to where I live.
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When East Indian, Chinese and Roman art converged; when Hinduism and Buddhism were One, ©Brenda Clews, 2014, 9" x 12". Permanent inks on Fabriano 100% cotton cold-pressed 140lb watercolour paper.



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Little sketches from June and August - looks like I didn't do any in July. To draw a self-portrait: 1) I don't have to go anywhere; 2) I will sit still for myself; and, 3) I don't have to pay anything. Maybe half an hour or an hour of time and they are good little practice pieces (if boring and somewhat irritating since they are selfies).


Self-Portrait, 6 August 2014, ©Brenda Clews, 15" x 11", mixed media on Pentalic 130lb archival paper.

I have been quite blocked, I guess. Last Friday night I went to Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School Burlesque life-drawing and none of my sketches worked; in fact, I left early. One was almost ready to share but when I got home I continued working on it and quite ruined whatever was there originally. The self-portrait sketch above was done because there is no way around a block - you have to go through it.




Self-Portraits, June and August 2014, ©Brenda Clews, 15" x 11", or 8.5" x 11", mixed media on Pentalic 130lb archival paper.


Me and my cat, Aria, in a grungy mirror I bought at a local store for too much but that has a frame and a decent hook and the mirror itself is good quality. This photo taken before I cleaned it. It is for the self-portraits and did kick-start the drawing I did above.
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The final 'Beautiful and the Damned' was a warm, funny, poignant, talent-heavy evening and somehow a fitting way to say goodbye to a great poetry series. I was honoured to host it. May it find its way among the stars it created during its run.

With thanks to Philip Cairns, who has been part of The Beautiful and the Damned since its beginning 3 1/2 years ago and who organized the evening, and John Oughton for his great Edgar Allen Poe trivia questions and especially the squeaky black rat prize who continued to squeak with Jeff Cottrill's beckoning. My cat is currently dragging it around her lair.

Many thanks to everyone who came out! xoxoxoxo

(it was too dark to take photos without making the subject stay still and using a tripod, but I did my best and really, considering the low light, they're not too bad)



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direct link: Split Mask Dress Rehearsal #2

I am looking for suggestions! Working towards a final version of this performance piece, any input is valuable.

This video is the result of a too-quick transformation of my small apartment for a rehearsal of Split Mask yesterday morning. The only lighting was through the windows. The black fabric did not stretch nearly far enough for the camera and I cropped and so on. My dress - I kept pulling it down (note to self: stop it). While the reading was a tad emotional, I found if I did a quieter reading that I couldn't remember the lines. When I allowed myself to perform with emotion, the lines came easily.

I think visually this take almost works, but...

Slit Mask, the performance piece, began with 'an inner image' of a split mask. I carried it for months in the Spring of 2013 and finally went to the art store to see what might work for a base. Was I delighted to find a paper mâché mask that was perfect as it was! I did the shredding and tearing at home and secured it with masking tape and cotton wading and later paper mâchéd it with a fairly heavy-weight wrapping tissue and white glue mixed with water- so it is very strong. I began working on the poem in the Summer of 2013 and finished it in the Summer of 2014. When I was preparing my POEMPAINTINGS show at Urban Gallery late in 2013, another 'inner image' that I had for a large canvas, the shock of gold on a diagonal, became realized in paint, graphite, ink and metal leaf. The mask became the central part of the painting. The whole composition, mask, poem and painting, were always meant to components of a performance piece.

An odd thing about this poem is that men, on the whole, do not like the political references, and I have noticed this reaction beginning with the first version in the Summer of 2013 through to this final draft, which I performed on open mic yesterday evening at Banoo Zan's 'Shab-e She’r (Poetry Night) XX.' It seems they would prefer to keep the woman in the mask performing a poem that fits their ideas of the mask (that I created) rather than the fissure it is for me. I don't find women mind the political aspect at all, and in fact, like the force of it. We don't always have 'to be beautiful' surely. Sometimes we can yell over terror and torture. The world is a difficult place and our hearts are so often torn for those who are living through nightmares of violence and war.

direct link: Security Camera Capture

Caught on security cameras performing my Split Mask poem.

©2014 by Brenda Clews, all rights reserved.
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The thing is, when I begin to memorize a longer poem for a performance piece, I keep fiddling with it and doing small bits of re-writes - little things, a changed word here or there, deleting lines, modifiers, prepositions, tightening things up. Which makes it harder to remember! It might take a whole week because every day I make changes and then have to start memorizing all over. Yes, eventually the poem does get to the point where I'm satisfied and then I rarely change a word again.

I'm a guest poet at Portobello Saturdays this coming Saturday and I will perform the poem I am working on memorizing (promise). 995 Bay St (at Wellesley), 1:30-4:30p.

Keesha, born August 25, 1999, on July 20, 2014. A Springer Spaniel (yes, with papers). She's not doing too well and I wished for some sketches of her as memories along with photos and videos. (Taken RAW -I did rub out the grub marks but am not photographing again. lol.) Keesha at nearly 15, ©Brenda Clews, 15" x 11", Noodler's and permanent transparent acyrlic inks and Inktense blocks, 130lb Pentalic archival paper.


Keesha and Aria (b. 1May2012) with the drawing on 20 July 2014. On the left, photo taken with EOS 60D w/a used 28-135USM zoom; on the right, a zazzy iPhone 5s photo. The one on the left would have been better if I had used the correct lighting settings but even so, noise and all, I prefer it.

Not sure what transparent permanent acrylic ink was in the water brush I used for her 'liver' fur areas- the ink was a bit too red and the next one hopefully will have the right 'chocolatey brown with red tones' colour.
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Poster illustration by Jeremy Cardarelli. Two Toronto trouble makers go out of the comic pages and into the dungeon at the upcoming Dr.Sketchy's Toronto session. Naughty tattooed hottie Kensie Vicioüs and beefcake batboy Toronto Batman will be posing together in their skimpiest costumes.

Watch out - Kensie heard Toronto Batman has been a very bad bat. She just may have to punish him.

Special Emcee: Gracie Klutz!!

Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School is the little New York art event that became a movement. Started in 2005 by artist Molly Crabapple, the concept is simple. Artist’s draw glamorous burlesque dancers, compete in contests, and win wacky prizes. From it’s humble Brooklyn beginnings, Dr. Sketchy’s now has over 100 branches around the globe, including Los Angeles, London, Rome, Tokyo, and Melbourne. Learn more about Dr. Sketchy's here: http://www.drsketchy.com/
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Here are mine. They're all done on 18" x 24" 80lb Strathmore archival drawing paper with graphite, the regular kind and the water-soluble kind. I am a little uncomfortable posting these, they are so risqué, but I do keep a record of my drawings and paintings on this blog, so chalk it up and on with the show.









The two below are the full drawing that was cropped in #4, and #6 with a solarizing filter (I like this effect on that drawing).


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