Quiet Places
A collaboration between three artists who developed links between ceramics, encaustic painting, printmaking and bookbinding. They seek to discover a unified contemporary use of conventional materials in both an unconventional and traditional practice.
A Quiet Place (2022) by Debra Frances & Sue GordonCraft Council of British Columbia
Quiet Places
All three artists use materials sourced from places meaningful to them. Land, trees, seas and skies become books which contain their combined efforts to remind the viewers of their own experiences with the Canadian landscape.
Bev Ellis, Debra Frances & Sue Gordon
Each are exploring ideas of containment, wholeness and hope. Rather than despair over the loss of or destruction of the environment, while realizing that much more can be discussed, they choose instead to celebrate the physical properties and mythical histories to remind viewers of the constant beauty and strength inherent in the world of trees. Their cultural and personal narrative is concerned with the substance of things, the nature of each medium, it’s structure and feel.
Check Out their Artist Talk & More by clicking HERE
Bev Ellis
Bev has been working with clay for over 25 years. Her skills in drawing, painting and printmaking inform the detailed surfaces of her sculptures. For Bev, spending time in nature is where she finds inspiration, and sculpting an opportunity to explore life’s complexities.
Future Hopes (2020) by Bev EllisCraft Council of British Columbia
"My ceramic sculpture has a hyper realistic quality. Often people think I have used real tree bark. I notice their care in handling the sculpture and I see the spark of wonder as they touch the surface and examine whether their eyes are deceiving them. Some of my sculptures are bolder in their departure from nature." - Bev Ellis
Summer’s End (2022) by Bev Ellis and Debra FrancesCraft Council of British Columbia
Summer’s End (2022) by Bev Ellis and Debra FrancesCraft Council of British Columbia
Debra Frances
Debra explains she came to appreciate the slowness of making books. She states "It is often a laborious process, but one that is mindful. It has a quiet rhythm, and requires patience. You simply cannot rush. It is an antidote to my busy, frequently over-digitalized life."
"I was first drawn to becoming a book artist when I made an artists' book with my daughter. Sue Gordon, my collaborator in this exhibition, was also my daughter's first art teacher. One day she asked if I could help her student's bind their artwork into a book format. I thought she meant take it to Staples and have it coil bound or something like that. She laughed and gave me a book on basic bookbinding! Together my daughter and I found a structure that we thought might work. Creating that book opened up a whole new world for me. I began to see the 'book' differently - I saw that every part of the book could add a layer of meaning and nuance. I still have that book and even though it is not that well made, it reminds me of what started me down this crazy path of being a book artist." - Debra Frances
Sue Gordon
Sue states "My encaustic paintings and monoprints are in many ways an attempt to describe the varied relationships we have with weather, how we regard it as mirroring our own inner weather, or how we see it as affronting us, assuaging us."
Ellis, Frances and Gordon are three Western Canadian artists with many years of experience between them: Ellis, a notable BC ceramic artist; Frances, an experienced Manitoba bookbinding artist; and Gordon, a painter/printmaker using encaustic medium. The three artists have recently begun combining their talents and expertise to build unique book sculptures. While creating a symbiotic understanding of how each element is crucial to the final result, the artists discuss form, content and meaning. They separately form ceramic covers, wood inserts and encaustic paintings and prints. These are then bound into functional books. All three artists use materials sourced from places meaningful to them. Land, trees, seas and skies become books which contain their combined efforts to remind the viewers of their own experiences with the Canadian landscape.
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