This is just a reminder that this weekend is our Artist Alley event! The alleyway between the Button Factory and the Uptown Parkade will become an outdoor art market, with artists selling original artworks and jewellery. Open 11am to 7pm.

You are cordially invited to the opening reception of IMAGE 2009- a group show of 7 local photographers at the Button Factory, this Friday July 10 from 5pm to 7pm.

Our featured photographers are:

Robin Andrade, Sara Dawkins, Geoff Lewis, Jack MacAulay, Eliseo Martell, Janet Mullin, and Deb Whissell.

Each has a unique style and uses a variety of techniques that set them apart.
From pet portraits to botanicals, you won't be disappointed with what you see in our first floor gallery this Friday evening!
See you there!

Catherine Paleczny, Sculptor and Gem of the Arts Community, contributes to KWAG and WCAC

Waterloo (Ontario), June 8, 2009 – Catherine Paleczny only recently returned to Waterloo this winter to share her talents with the community where her first interests in sculpture were nurtured. She is a living gem in the arts community that is contributing much in the way of visual arts.

At the moment Catherine has an exhibit on at the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery (KWAG), “Sumus Quod Sumus” (May 15 – July 5), featuring 700 works in ceramics.

“Though her practice is rooted firmly in ceramics, Paleczny's work often suggests the archeological remnants of past civilizations… She creates a volume of forms using traditional hand-building techniques. Each object, though crafted as an ambiguous, individual form, is integrated into a collective and perceived as part of a larger shape. Paleczny's "swarms" speak of movement, repetition, spatial tension, and our constant search for order and belonging in the world around us.” (http://www.kwag.ca/en/exhibitions/OnView.asp)

Catherine Paleczny lives and works in Waterloo. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Fine Art degree from the University of Calgary. She has studied at the University of Michigan and the University of Western Sydney Australia and most recently earned a Master of Science in Education degree from Niagara University. She has been a resident artist at The Banff Centre, the International Ceramic Centre in Denmark and the Ceramic Sculpture Symposium in Poland and the Experimental Ceramic Work Centre in Jingdezghen China... To learn more about Catherine Paleczny, visit www.paleczny.net.

The Waterloo Community Arts Centre (WCAC) is pleased to begin working with Catherine, and her colleague Becky Webster, to develop a large piece of public art to be installed at the front of the Old Button Factory, home of the arts centre at 25 Regina Street South. Catherine’s sketches show her intention to honor the history and heritage of the building, formerly a factory that produced buttons made from shells and nuts until 1944. Her work is a testament to Waterloo’s arts community and demonstrates a standard of excellence that is expected of the public art produced in our creative city.

The community’s ownership in the development of this piece is important to WCAC. The organization invited community members to participate in a fully funded press-molding workshop as part of the recent SpOtlight Festival (June 5-7), where they created the ceramic buttons that will be fixed to the final piece. WCAC hopes the finished piece will become a landmark for Waterloo’s arts and culture, and that all community members will relate to it.

WCAC is waiting for approval from the City of Waterloo for the installation before Catherine and Becky can begin assembling the sculpture on the Button Factory property. The land and building are owned by the City of Waterloo, and therefore all public art must be approved by the City before installation can occur.

These are the paintings for auction at the Button Factory. You may view the paintings at the Button Factory (25 Regina Street South, Waterloo) or email your bid to generalmanager@buttonfactoryarts.ca. Don't forget to include your name, phone number, which painting you want to bid on, and the bid $ amount.


#7 Elora Creek
Current Bid: $150







#3 Trilliums
Current Bid: $175







#4 Snowscape
Current Bid: $200







#5 Birch Study
Current Bid: $150







#9 Forest Sunlight
Current Bid: $250







#8 Autumn Shadows
Current Bid: $250







#6 Birches, Laurel Creek
Current Bid: $200







#10 Grand River, Elora
Current Bid: $200







The paintings at the WPL branches are :
#2 Ontario Heritage
Current Bid: $220








#1 Conestoga Heritage
Current Bid: $150

The winners of this year's People Choice Award for the Colours of Art Show are Baria Fleifel for her "Mediterranean" painting, and Kathleen Poste for her "Tree Stumps" painting. Yes, it was a tie!

WCAC is pleased to announce a recent donation of 10 paintings from local artist David Allan Crow. These paintings were donated to WCAC for a silent auction fundraiser happening at the Button Factory and the Waterloo Public Library from May 1st to June 30th.

David Allan Crow grew up and studied art in England, then migrated to Canada in 1955. He studied under a number of artists, and exhibited in a number of galleries and companies. David is past president of the KW Society of Artists. Until 1991, he was a pilot with Air Canada. Now he is retired and lives in Waterloo.

David's watercolour paintings are a testament to the talen and genius in the KW arts community. He is a master with colour, and his style is unique to any watercolourist. David frequently paints scenes in and around the Grand River landscape. Two of the paintings being donated, "Conestoga Heritage" and "Ontario Heritage", were recently exhibited in WCAC's annual Colours of Art Show.

The Waterloo Public Library has generously allowed WCAC to exhibit some of these paintings at their Main and McCormick branches, to allow more community members to enjoy David's beautiful landscapes and place their bids.

WCAC's Silent Auction runs to the end of June. Each of the 10 paintings is assigned a reserve bid. To see these paintings, visit the Button Factory or WPL branches. You can monitor the bids on this blog over the next 8 weeks. All the proceeds will go towards WCAC programs and initiatives to boost our exposure within the community.

I spent my Saturday at Cambridge City Hall, as a participant in the Arts, Business and Creativity conference. This is an annual event coordinated by the Region's Small Business Centres and municipal culture developers. It is geared towards artists and community members employed by arts organizations.

The day was jam-packed, but very pleasant. Opening ceremonies and breakfast in City Hall, and the workshops were held in the Cambridge Centre for the Arts. I am ashamed to admit, this was my first time in the Centre for the Arts. It's a great facility, with so much instructional space and natural light.

The workshops were informative. In the last session we had a keynote speaker, Councillor Gord Hume from London, Ontario. He delivered a passionate speech on the Creative City report, released a couple years ago, and how municipalities can become creative communities. He inspired some dialogue on how we can affect change in our municipality by exerting some pressure on Council members at election time, and place emphasis on the aesthetics of the city and "place-making".

I kept my ears wide open during all the question and answer periods throughout the day. This is what I'm hearing:

• Artists want affordable, safe work space
• Artists are finding it difficult to bring awareness to the arts and culture, especially at the muicipal level.
  
• It is difficult to get past the city staff, or through to Council; There needs to be a way to bring arts and culture to the forefront and at the top of the Councils' agendas

All in all, there is an obvious need for this conference, and more knowledge-sharing in our community. The people attending the workshops were thirsty for it. And it was so nice not to see the usual faces from the arts community (no offence!). It made me realize just how diverse our arts community is and who is working in the realm outside of our local arts organizations.

What the day taught me: Artists will continue to create despite the state of the economy, and our creativity will outlive even the worst of times.