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Alchemy 2009
Al Green Sculpture Studio School
The Al Green Sculpture Studio School
Designed for adults whose talents range from the
novice to the professional, the Al Green Studio
School is a unique, non-profit centre for creative
expression and artistic development.
The flexibility of the studio allows members to
work and learn at their own pace, skill level and
schedule, as they have unlimited access to the
studio during hours of operation.
Al Green Sculpture Studio School is the brainchild
of Al Green. The founding goals of the studio
include the desire to bring the principles of
sculpture to individuals who want access to work
more than the normal three hours per week that
most other facilities offer.
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Acknowledgements
The Al Green Sculpture Studio School’s spring exhibition is a
delightful elixir of new works. Our members have transmuted
their diverse interests and talents to produce an eclectic array of
sculpture. Our many new members, along with the veterans of
the studio, have been hard at work to make your visit to the
show an exciting and worthwhile experience.
All of us at The Al Green Sculpture Studio School are pleased to
be able to acknowledge how much our founder and benefactor
Al Green means to our work here at the studio. Without the Al
and Malka Green Foundation’s undaunted support and
commitment to the studio school, our lives would be sorely
lacking.
“Alchemy” reflects in great measure, the work of members over
the course of time since our last show. However, our member’s
efforts could not be as professionally or as artistically shared as
they are in this exhibition without the energy, resources, and
devotion of Melanie Chikofsky, Managing Director of the Studio
School and our beloved technicians George Farmer, Dean
Povinsky, and Gerard Godin.
Sincere gratitude for our amazing
We would also like to thank Judi
setup crew of Melanie Chikofsky,
Young and the Sculptors Society of
Brian Meeson, Hershel Okun, Jung
Canada for all their assistance and
Photography by John D. MacBride
Book design: John D. MacBride
Mo Kim and John MacBride for
for facilitating our exhibition in their
with assistance from various
with assistance from Melanie
making the exhibit hang together so
lovely new gallery.
members of the studio.
Chikofsky.
(Inge Johnson photographed her
Editing: Penny Fiksel and Melanie
own work.)
Chikofsky.
well.
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Invitation design: Dean Povinsky.
Thanks to Barry Green for his
support and assistance.
Al Green
Established businessman, developer and
philanthropist Al Green discovered a second
career as a sculptor at the age of 65. Over
the ensuing years he trained extensively with
world-renowned sculptors Sorel Etrog and
Maryon Kantaroff. Now his sculptures can
be seen in many private collections across
North America including those of Bill Clinton
and James Earl Jones.
The Yonge-Eglinton Centre reflects Green's
two careers, first as a partner in the planning
and designing of the Centre, and second in
creating the seven sculptures on its
surrounding plaza.
Green's support for the arts led to his
involvement as an executive member of the
Sculptors Society of Canada, a trustee and
member of the board of directors of the Art
Gallery of Ontario, as well as sitting on the
development committee for the new AGO. In
the year 2000 he opened the City Sculpture
School & Studio and in 2003, established a
gallery and gave a permanent home to the
Sculptors Society of Canada. Green's most
recent accolade was being awarded the
Order of Canada.
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Ellen Blankstein
My artistic endeavors for the past several years have been involved in developing a collection of pieces for a personal show.
The robe/dress themed pieces have become my seminal work.
Recently, I have been working on an homage series to several artists who have influenced my work within the robe/dress motif.
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Thea Carvel
To me, sculpture represents the most immediate
path from the subconscious to three-dimensional
expression. Past faces, creatures, travels and inner
experiences melt together and take on a life of their
own on a level beyond representational reality. They
start to partake of a wider, abstract cosmos,
opening portals to yet unknown, luminous vistas.
Sculpture becomes transcendental aesthetics.
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Dorothy Chan
Motion, transformation, and relationship are three enduring
elements of my work. Representing the physical, spiritual,
and emotional planes, which shape and define us as
individuals and the world in which we live, are the realities
that form the foundation upon which my work grows.
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Garson Conn
A life long interest in art prompted
enrollment in sculpting facilities
beginning with soapstone carving at
Forest Hill Library, followed by
bronze casting at Central Tech and
then several weeks at the Haliburton
School of Fine Art.
At the Al Green Sculpture Studio
School, Winterstone sculpting
became quite challenging. Clay
modelling, mold making and casting
all provide stimulation to pursue my
life-long love.
“Firebird” represents my latest
attempt to reach the stars!!!
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J. Crowder
While lost in sculpting, I feel a profound
connection of heart, mind and spirit. The act,
for me, is one of meditation and pure love.
Through my art practice, I create a form that
conveys my innermost self to the viewer. It is
an intimacy not easily found in other media.
After a life in different areas of sales, I finally
decided to pursue a passion that goes back
as far as I can remember. I have always
wanted to be an artist and preferably a good
one.
Believing that it is never too late, I took night
courses, which led me to enroll in a three-year
adult art programme at Central Technical
School in Toronto. This gave me a
foundation in several disciplines of visual arts.
The one art form that truly fulfills me is
sculpting.
Today, I continue learning, exploring, and
experimenting at Al Green Sculpture Studio
School. The love affair continues.
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Penny Fiksel
The Al Green Sculpture Studio School works a kind of magic. As much for the people, having access to a
creative environment to work on sculpture gave me a new and challenging path in my life.
Because I spend a lot of time in my little garden, nature is a subject of ever increasing interest for me. For its
colour and beauty, for its vulnerability and enduringness, for its timelessness, and because nature is the fount
from which everything human springs, I could not help but steal my work from it.
In my art space, from tiny tiles in Klean Klay, worked through the loving, talented direction of Melanie Chikofsky,
the studio's creative director, my humble attempts represents only the limits of my wonder and love of nature.
Molded into Hydrocal and Winterstone, washed in oils and acids respectively, "Wallflower" is just a beginning.
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Gerard Godin
The driving force in my work is a desire to reflect life in a balance of line and plane.
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Gregory Gue
My art draws from memory to create sculptures that blend classical art with contemporary sensibilities.
I begin by sculpting a figure or an abstract form in clay. After a mold is produced, I then proceed to cast the piece in a variety of materials such as plaster,
Hydrostone, and Winterstone, which is my preferred material. When satisfied with the casting, I then attempt to enhance the sculpture by experimenting with a host of
finishing techniques, from applying acids, waxing, buffing, scaring to photo transferring.
My current series evolves from a single female torso, which I have transformed through myriad unconventional variations in composition, colour, and form.
Under the guidance of the instructors at Al Green studios and the critiques of my fellow members, I have produced a series of unique female torsos:
L'indécise, Belle Malgré Elle, and BELLAVOIR, represent three sculptures from this series.
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Tootsie
Halbert
I draw my inspiration from
people and the diverse forms in
nature. In my work, I strive to
evoke an innocence to engage
the viewer. I love the
challenges that arise from
exploring new media and
venues, allowing me to express
my vision.
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Crystal Hawk
Working in Winterstone is still inspiring
me to pursue my love of art since I
joined the Studio when it first opened.
My diverse hobbies have always been
creative and my sculpture reflects the
many elements of form and movement,
space and line, which I experienced with
weaving and ceramics. With
Winterstone, the work remains
challenging. I am still exploring and
striving in my latest endeavour:
“A PATIO PLANT FOR ALL SEASONS.”
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Janet Hunter
An academic interest in antiquity, myth, archaeology, as well as a life-long habit of figure drawing, inform my sculpture. My interest is the body as subject, and reflects
such fields of reference as the classical partial figure, Michelangelo’s “non-finito” pieces, the “abbatis” of Rodin, and the distressed surfaces of Magdalena
Abakanowicz. Thematically the works speak to the vulnerability and mortality of the art object, the notion of entropy and the role played by the passage of time. The
process is an evolutionary one, manipulating the media to achieve the weathered appearance and accidental imperfections associated with the archaic object.
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Inge Johnson
I was born, raised and studied art in school in Trinidad. Although I have spent the last 20 years in Toronto, it is the lush, tropical vegetation of my native
Caribbean that has fueled my interest in the form and lines found in nature.
I am inspired by the way a leaf unwinds from a spiral at the beginning of its life and curls back into a spiral at the end when it dries. I can often see states of
being from the animal world reflected in the plant forms, like Grace, Curiosity, Slumber and Play, expressed in my leaves on display.
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Jung Mo Kim
Through my work, I attempt to create a sense of lyrical beauty; to evoke the feelings one gets when listening to classical music, or drinking a fine cup of coffee. I
endeavour to produce work that can easily be understood by the viewer; not one of conflict but rather of comfort, creating a union between artist and audience.
In Korea, my emphasis was on hyperrealism. I expressed the inner conservatism of the eastern world creating life-sized, disenfranchised figures in realistic settings.
Since arriving in Canada in 2001, I have had the opportunity to see and be influenced by many new sources, primarily through my discovering the Al Green Studio,
its staff and members, all of which have changed my perspective and my view on the world. I now try to merge both eastern and western sensibilities in my work
and in myself.
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John David MacBride
My recent work in special events has led me to an interest and appreciation of the work currently being done in the art of floral design. My initial sculptural attempts
involved creating structures and armatures to support and enhance the floral motif. These structures gradually evolved into interesting designs in their own right that
do not require flora to be complete.
I am fascinated with natural materials (branches, wax, bark) and seek to arrange them in compositions that enhance their aesthetic qualities, while challenging the viewer
to interact with them in unfamiliar ways.
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Brian Meeson
One of my earliest memories was of hammering rusty nails straight so that they could be reused. On a farm, nothing was thrown away; even after a decade of neglect, it may be
just what was needed to fulfill a different function. The obsession with holding onto and converting what others would chuck away – reinforced during war years in England –
stuck with me. And so, an old apple ladder became a bench, fallen locust fence posts re-emerged as a stool, tin cans were hammered and bent into toys, barn boards
reincarnated as a refectory table. I never thought of this activity as artistic; in fact, I feel a bit off base in writing an artist statement. Improvisation with materials, intuition as to
the way things are put together and work, a good pair of hands, and a sense of shape and movement have all contributed to my work in theatre and more recently, abstract
sculpture. I think of myself as a bricoleur, a do-it-yourselfer with no formal artistic training, someone who invents his own strategies for using existing materials in a creative and
resourceful way.
Two shapes – the leaf and the flame – together with helical movement persist in my current work. I have been inspired by the architecture of Caletrava and Scarpa, the
American furniture craftsman, Wharton Esherick, the art theories of Rudolf Arnheim and William Hogarth, and the sculpture of Bernini and Andy Goldsworthy. Beyond these
influences, the greatest forces in my creative life have been Antoni Gaudi and Anton Chekhov, both of whom had the patience to work through all the details that make
perfection seem attainable. Having seen beauty and perfection that others have achieved in this exhibition, and which I lack the patience and vision to match, is a humbling and
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exciting experience. Perhaps, however, we are all players in the “eternal spirit’s eternal pastime: shaping, reshaping”.
Hershel Okun
The decision to close my practice after working as an architect
for 40 years was daunting, to be sure. I needed to find a new,
creative outlet, but I also needed an artistic forum that would
allow me to utilize skills that were familiar to me as I
experimented with art forms that were completely new.
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For my first project, it was no accident that I would gravitate to
something architectural. On a past trip to Florence, Italy, I had
admired a Liberty style building designed by Giovanni
Michelozzi. I decided to analyse the artistry that was so evident
in that Art Nouveau treasure by creating a scale model of the
building. What started as a simple architectural exercise ended
as hands-on lessons in photographic manipulation, sculpting,
cabinetry, and jewelry making. The building process took 9
months.
CARYATID
For this project, there also was an architectural influence; inspired
by the life-size figures that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for his
entrance at the Midway Gardens in Chicago. I was fascinated by
how Wright deviated from the classical Caryatid form, separating
his life-sized art-deco figures from the façade while still retaining
the illusion of their structural integration. My sculpture, which is a
study for a final version that will be about 200% larger than this
maquette, plays with the interaction between a human figure, and
the structural column in which she is embedded and from which
she is emerging.
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Ruth Love
Paisley
My work is a celebration of the
power and the beauty of the female
form. The process I employ permits
an improvisational approach, which
nurtures these ideas into reality. I
manipulate large volumes of oil base
clay by pounding, kneading, and
rolling until I feel the form emerges.
After that initial process, I finely tune
the sculpture, exploring further
through texture and contour until the
piece comes to fruition. The
sculptures in this series Forms of
Expression convey the qualities and
the complexities of the feminine
being.
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Dean
Povinsky
Dean Povinsky invented photography, met
Prince*, learned Japanese, held his breath
for 17 minutes, and fought a baby
Rhinoceros with a chainsaw hat all before the
age of 8. It was then, he realized, he could
not ride a bike…
From then on he decided, like Loverboy, he
would “start from the start,” that being the
only proper way to get anything of value
done. He would like to tell you that this
revelation allowed all of his actions to flow
with ease. Such utterances would be a lie.
Art is easy. Everything else you ever do will
be hard.
Dean took up guitar, played some punk
rock, drew some pictures, rode a
skateboard, went on some dates, went to
school, broke some bottles, tossed some
paint, quite smoking 7 times, moved away,
moved not away and now he is here with
you.
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Jan Quinlan
It all started on an isolated mountaintop in Algeria, where I lived for
six years. For my sanity, I had to occupy my mind and my hands.
The outcomes were cooking and art. Eventually, I made a career in
the food industry and ran my own cooking school for twelve years.
After closing my school, I rekindled my interest in art to explore that
part of myself that was not being expressed. I found courses in
various locations including Mexico, Italy and Costa Rica, which
helped me move ahead in my quest. I finally arrived at the Al Green
Sculpture Studio School, where I found endless possibilities to
pursue all my interests in three-dimensional media. Winterstone,
paper, wax and clay are all part of my new repertoire.
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Janet Ravin
Sculpting has been my anchor for
the past twenty-five years. Clay,
wood, stone, plaster, Hydrocal,
Winterstone, and bronze are some
of the materials that I have used for
my creations.
I am occasionally influenced by a
news story. Isabella Blow, muse to
hat designer Philip Treacy and a
fixture at fashion shows for many
years, committed suicide in 2007;
her style and flair had always caught
my creative attention. So, these
creations are Un Homage á Isabella
Blow.
Isabella, your individuality and flair
made me look for you each time I
watched a Haute Couture fashion
show. Thank you.
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Gloria Robins
I have, for many years, found my
happiest artistic expression sculpting in
clay and wax – casting in bronze,
Winterstone and Hydrocal. My greatest
joy and challenge is creating human “life”
– modelling all ages of figures and
heads, from babies to the aged; creating
commissioned portraits that are cast in
bronze. The wide and fascinating range
of human life in the world around us is
my endless source of inspiration for
sculpting.
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Dona
Saunders
My work in sculpture started in
2005. Although I am self-taught, I
have learned a great deal from the
other sculptors at the Al Green
Sculpture Studio School, and I am
grateful to them for their assistance
and encouragement.
My influences include Eastern art and
philosophy, as well as deriving
inspiration from myths and fairy tales
told around the world. Favorite
materials are soapstone, alabaster,
oil-based clay, and water-based
clay.
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Donna Zekas
The suggestion of a passage of time is a common
thread that runs through my work. This series of
sculptures allows me to explore textured surfaces,
patinas, and acid washes to convey a worn and
aged presence.The gestured, figurative forms I am
working on illustrate the fundamental relationship
between form and movement. My intent is to
capture spatial energy in an endless flow/dance.
To maintain a sense of vertical rhythm, I express
the forms as accentuated slender silhouettes.
These incomplete forms are in transition, and the
open and exposed crevices provide an inward
passage to the vulnerability of the dancers. To
suggest lightness and fragility, I do away with
layers and expose the armature providing a
contrast between the segmentation and the solidity
of the Winterstone. The work suggests a gateway
for exploration and contemplation.
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Opening Night Reception: May 7, 2009