Working with my husband

Hello hello! It has been some time since I posted here and lots has kept me busy in different ways, but now is the time to sit and tell you a bit about it.
You might remember I have been working at Wyndham Art Supplies with my husband
for a period of time to help the store through some big changes. My session of full time
store management lasted into almost 2 years now and we can't believe how far we have
come in that time. It is pretty scary dealing with so many major changes all at the same 
time but almost immediately their was a huge payoff. Things are better than they have
been in many years. We have an amazing team of talented people who we are so happy to work with. Our new website is working well, growing every day, and we are getting close to our 25th anniversary! Working together again has been good for both of us, once we figured out some rules about how much home time can be spent on the store. So much is about balance!

It is easier for me now to shift into my previous behind the scenes work with some new 'off the floor' fun jobs to keep me involved. This allows me to balance more studio time with my work at the store. I am also working on scheduling that encourages Chris to spend more time with his art practice- this has been very exciting.

Please come check out some of our recent work at the RedBrick Café in downtown Guelph. They have coffee, tea, beer, wine, snacks and often live music and other fun stuff. It is just a really nice place to hang out and take in some art in a leisurely fashion. It was also really fun hanging a show together... maybe more of these in the future...

Here are a few photo teasers of work in the show. My in situ phone pics are mostly too fuzzy to post but I will share the best of the lot.

These are just to give you and idea of the show and how our work hangs together. (We think, pretty well : ) Please let us know what you think.

This is Chris's 'four o'clock shadow' acrylic on terra skin on panel. I love this one, it completely puts me in a state of mind of being on holiday somewhere. Wandering around in a new city in the afternoon, taking my time and looking up at the foreign architecture. 

This is my 'love rays' mixed print and washi piece with hand stitching. There are five works like this in the show. I am really enjoying pushing my print work on fine washi in more of a textile direction. Actually I am not sure what direction it is yet but I really like sewing all the printed pieces of washi together better than pasting right now. 

a lovely weekend- Thank you!

In July I participated in the 55th Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. It had been 12 years since I had last shown my work in Nathan Philips Square and though I was nervous, I had a most wonderful time. Many THANK YOUs to everyone who came out to visit and say hello. Some of you I hadn't seen in many years and I loved catching up with all the stories about your artwork. It is always nice to hear where my work ends up and how living with art changes a home. People came up to tell me that they had purchased an art piece from me at one of my first shows, some said it was their first art. So nice. Lots of familiar faces and great meetings. I saw some works head off to far away places and met lots of wonderful people. 

It was busy and hot and I talked non-stop for 3 long days. There is no way I could have done this on my own, many thanks to Pam Lobb, Michelle Purchase, Lydia Nieuwenkamp, Bri Hoy, Augustine Tse and my lovely family for all your help. 

Thank you to the Ontario Arts Council for support through the Exhibition Assistance grant.

And much much love for my super supporter helper, Chris!

Chine Collé Slide Show

I often get asked about the printmaking technique, chine collé, what it is and why to use it. It is printing on a fine grain paper (traditionally a washi- or handmade Japanese tissue) while pasting it to a heavier support (traditionally a cotton rag European paper) all in one pass through the etching press. It is a technique I use every time when printing since I first discovered it over 20 years ago. A very lightweight gampi is one of my favourites, though there are so many different ones I use as well (thank you Japanese Paper Place!) I love the semi-transparency and the way the very fine grain of the paper picks up so much more information and subtle plate tone than a heavier rag paper. Some people are not fond of plate tone and tiny scratches, but I find these sometimes unintended marks part of the surprise and what I enjoy most about printmaking. 

So while I continue to put together my photos from Barbados...

here is another wonderful slide show for you. This one is vintage and is from slide film that Chris shot many years ago now. I like the feel of the photos and seeing how my studio used to be set up (things have moved around a bit since then). 

grey wall or red wall

Chris and I are playing around with a feature wall that we have in our dining room. It is easy to change and a backdrop to one of my favourite paintings of Chris's, 'warm blanket'. The red wall seemed to bring the subtle tones of the painting down, but with the grey, there is so much more strong colour visible.
Sometimes it is just fun to change one wall colour and not such a big deal.

before: red wall

after: grey wall

I think we like the grey wall and it will stay. We might even take some of the grey into the kitchen. Chris is not sold on this idea yet, will see. 

Funny thing I noticed that both these photos were taken at Christmas…hmmm. A few years ago the red wall photo was taken, since then we have painted the chairs and recovered the seats, switched the curtains,purchased a new dining table and put the baseboards up in the dining room. Phew. Still a few small things to do in there, but you can't really see them from here.

Maybe the holidays are a good time to paint one wall.

Win some art!

Do you have a piece of artwork that I have made? Is it hanging somewhere in your home, cottage or office? It doesn't really matter where, though I am curious...
If you send a photo of the artwork in situ to me then I will enter your name in a draw to win a 12" square (unframed) print of your choice. If you have more than one work, enter one photo for each print that you have and your name will be entered that many times. You can choose to use a credit of the value of the print towards a larger work if that is what you would prefer. Please send photos to info(at)tammyratcliff.com. 
My husband, Chris Ahlers is offering the same contest to owners of his paintings and will award one winner a $300. credit towards a painting of their choice. We will both be drawing the winning names on Thursday November 28th, the day before our big studio Open House. 

This is a lovely photo of a somewhat orderly corner of our studio. The reality is we need to make a bit of space and would like for you to come and see what we have to get rid of. 
There will be many of the Trafalgar Building artists opening their studios on
Friday November 29th and Saturday November 30th from noon- 7pm and Sunday by appointment. 

the Brush Off

Today is the last day to get tickets from the Scotia Bank in downtown Guelph for Wellington Hospice's event the Brush Off.  Tickets are $20. and will probably be available at the door but if you can purchase them today at the bank, they are offering to match those sales as support for the cause. 

I am looking forward to this, definitely going to be a lot of fun. The event starts out with 24 artists painting for 30 minutes, which the public then vote on which leads to an elimination. I am not sure about all the details but there are a number of rounds, lots of talented artists, a few surprise themes and one winning artist.  Nibbles and cash bar too.  My husband, Chris is one of the artists participating and I am going as audience to cheer everyone on. Being a printmaker primarily, I can't imagine finishing anything in 30 minutes but of course that is part of the excitement of the event.  
This week Chris hung a collection of his wonderful paintings at the eBar in downtown Guelph. The eBar is part of the Bookshelf on Quebec St. (as well as their wonderful small cinema).  Yesterday, Ben from the Bookshelf interviewed Chris in our studio for their blog. You can see the video by clicking here.
Bit more information on Hospice Wellington's website here.  Hopefully I can take some good snapshots to share with you here later.

Ok. I only took this one photo at the Brush off. Was having too much fun to focus on my camera. Lots of wonderful art was created very quickly and then sold in a silent auction. Yummy food, tasty drinks, good friends, family, art and lots of fun. This is Chris's piece from the first round. He went on to the second (which was also a work I really liked) and then was eliminated. 

winter magic

I hope everyone has had a most lovely holiday season and if you are around these parts or any parts that have snow,  I hope that you are enjoying all of the beauty in the change of scenery.  The snow on the trees and floating through the sky is one of my favourite things.  Have finally pulled out the serious snow boots so I can go crunching along taking lots of photos to maybe work from.  We will see...

Happy New Year!

Fourth Fridays in Guelph, part 2

Please join us at the Trafalgar Building Studios (third floor) 123 Woolwich St. Guelph this Friday November 25th, 7-10pm for Guelph's second monthly Fourth Fridays event. 

Chris Ahlers will have many of his recent paintings on display- the ones that did not fit in the Metal & Paint show presently showing at Renann Isaacs Contemporary Art Gallery.  If you are downtown, you should check Renann's Gallery on Quebec St., the show is great.

Also in the studio, Gillian Wilson and I will be working at a holiday and other card, gift tag, etc. making station.  Please join us. We will have all the tools and bits and pieces to help you make something special or just the experience to answer any of your card making questions. 

Bring an envelope or two and some exciting ideas.

Chris Ahlers at Renann Isaacs Contemporary Art

So excited about an opening at Renann Isaacs Contemporary Art Gallery in Guelph this Saturday (November 12th) 2-6pm. Chris is one of four artists showing and I can't wait to see the work on the walls and celebrate what looks to be a wonderful show.  I am loving Chris's recent work and so happy that it has all come together just in time for his birthday.  Nice present!

one of Chris Ahlers works for Metal & Paint

Fourth Fridays in Guelph

This Friday (October 28th) Guelph is beginning to host a plethora of cultural events and openings in the downtown.   www.fourthfridaysguelph.ca
My studio will be open from 7-10pm, please stop by and say 'hello'.  There will be work on the walls by myself, Chris Ahlers, Lydia Nieuwenkamp, Gillian Wilson and Pam Lobb with printing demonstrations going on for the duration of the evening.  This Friday is the first in a long tradition of 'fourth fridays' in which we are looking forward to hosting many different shows, events and workshops.  
Hope to see you at 123 Woolwich St. 3rd floor!

a visit to the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre

Yesterday, Pam and I went up to the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre to drop off work for the Framed auction.  The gallery was getting ready for the kick off of the Guelph Jazz Festival but had a moment to ooh and ah over the work that has been coming in for the auction.  The work I had submitted is a new piece that I have not yet shown and is titled, 'falling roses'.  I will post more details about the auction as it gets a bit closer, it is in November.

While we were there, we popped into the Art Sales and Rental gallery and checked out the fresh new look and took a few photos.  This is a photo of one of my mixed media works on canvas (mainly etching) and on the red wall, a work by my husband, Chris Ahlers.

Before heading out, director Judith Nasby took us in to a new installation to see an absolutely beautiful new collaborative piece by Jessica Steinhauser and Ryan Price.  Jessica is a local potter who has been making ceramic ovens and stoves for a few years now in addition to her wonderful pots.  Ryan Price is a local artist (printmaker!) who created the image on the furnace, drawing directly on the clay tiles. I think the combination of talents works well in this project.
Such an elegant furnace/ artwork!