Category Archives: Art

Writing to remember

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Brain fog is seeing without my glasses. No lenses, everything is a blur.

Henry Miller 1946

I want to remember as much as possible
the events of my life be it pleasant or
unpleasant as long as I can.  There are
times that I want to remember less.

Someone told me instead of remembering,
remember to forget. And I ponder about this
and what came to mind, sooner or latter
a time will come, it will happen without even
having to remember.

When it comes to FOG, it’s an acronym I made up such as “Focus on Gratitude” or “Focus on God.” pinned on my door to read before I walk out of the house.

Tradition

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Happy Three Kings!

Worship by Emma Bonazzi painter and illustrator (1881-1959)

The grandkids were all excited that the Three Kings are coming following Christmas. It means they will get extra gifts. Gifts not under the Christmas tree but in your shoes.

Bring out the shoes and line them up by the doorway, stairs or window.

We follow this tradition and hand it down the generations celebrating the last day of Christmas.

“We three kings of Orient are;
bearing gifts we traverse afar,
field and fountain, moor and mountain,
following yonder star.”

Falling at The Wrong Hands

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As a reader, it’s interesting to see how people interact behind the keyboards. There is one particular posts that I enjoyed thoroughly in a group “The Other Side of Art.“ John Atkinson’s artwork was shared without citations. Part of the rule is to provide proper citation. In the comment section, the author was requested to correct it and “admin” was notified.

Next thing I knew, the original post no longer appears and a similar post showed up shared by “admin” V Sco Jabbah.

Wow! This post garnered about 1.3K reactions. Interestingly enough, another comment showed that this post is incomplete and was asked to correct it. Do you think an admin would accept the challenge?

Well! It was challenged by the member who made such comments. The member shared the whole art of John Atkinson. This post went viral and exceeded more reactions, shared all over FB and more comments. Fabulous.

Christmas is not over yet and I was about to share the member’s post since it’s authentic and not the admin.

Lo and behold, the member’s authentic share is no longer in the group but the admin’s post still there.

Well, Mr. Atkinson, sorry that your art fell into the wrong hands of The Other Side of Art.

You can stay at my house

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Kelly Latimore (American, 1986–), Tent City Nativity, 2022. Acrylic, Flashe, and golf leaf on birch board, 27 × 32 in.

Image Source: Tent City Nati

Story Source: You can stay at my house

It was Christmas Eve at the famed Riverside Church in New York City, and with William Sloan Coffin, Jr. scheduled to preach, the pews were packed. The Christmas Pageant was on and had come to the point where the innkeeper was to say that there was no room at the inn for Joseph and Mary pregnant with Jesus.

The part seemed perfect for Tim, an earnest youth of the congregation who has Down Syndrome.  Only one line to memorize and he had practiced it again and again with his parents and with the pageant director. He seemed to have mastered it. 

So there Tim stood at the altar, a bathrobe over his clothes, as Mary and Joseph made their way down the center aisle.  They approached him, said their lines, and waited for his reply. “There’s no room at the inn,” he boomed out, just as rehearsed. 

But then, as Mary and Joseph turned to travel further, Tim suddenly yelled, “Wait!”  They turned back startled.  “You can stay at my house,” he called.

Tenting is only a stop gap way of living.

Surprised by Joy

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What would your reactions be when you found out that the painting you were commissioned to do was gifted to Pope Francis recent visit to Canada?

Surprise by Joy!

Icon of St. Kateri

The painting of the Icon of St. Kateri, below, was gifted to Pope Francis on the occasion of His visit to Our Lady of Seven Sorrows (OLSS) Church, in Maskwacis, Ab. on July 25, 2022. Gratitude for the gift of this painting is extended to Fr. Mario Fernandes, OCD, Susan Hauck, and the Artist, Dan S. Siglos.

The artist, Dan S. Siglos, explained the following: Yellow represents God the Father, Orange represents God the Son, and Red represents God the Holy Spirit. Regarding the Clothes, the Seven ‘Points’ in the design of St. Kateri’s green dress symbolizes protection, the perfection of God and the seven days of Creation; Triangles represent the Trinity, There are Triangles on St. Kateri’s head band, collar, cuffs and orange shawl. The Turtle on her necklace symbolizes St. Kateri’s Tribal Clan, the Turtle Clan. St. Kateri’s love for the celestial realm is represented by the Moon. The Twelve Lilies represent the Twelve Apostles. The White Lily is the symbol of Purity and Virginity. St. Kateri is known as the ‘Lily of the Mohawk’.

Source: http://www.skt4.ca/

Brief background:
Dan S. Siglos was commissioned to paint St Kateri by his sister, Susan Papas Hauck. Dan researched about her and felt a connection. He took his time painting/meditating.

Susan Papas Hauck presented the painting of St. Kateri on her feast day to Fr. Mario in April 15, and was placed in the church in Alberta. She also made prayer cards 3×4 inches, a photo of St. Kateri on front and inside is her prayer, and Infant Jesus with the relic fabric touched by the miraculous Infant Jesus of Prague at His Shrine. At the back is a powerful 9 days or 9 hour prayer. Susan’s intentions was “May St. Kateri intercede for us and Infant Jesus, prayers to stop this pandemic, heal the sick, stop abortions, guide, protect and bless us all abundantly.”

Modesty aside, Dan, Susan and I are siblings. I am so honoured to be affiliated with them. i’m just a story teller.

Six Women at the VAG

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As the old saying goes, a good teacher shows you where to look but doesn’t tell you what to see.

Six women by Bharti Kher at VAG

An artist paints. The viewer looks and searches to find meaning in what they see. Texture. Color. Emotion. Intellect. Don’t let the artist’s thoughts change your views.

In black and white, seeing the world without colors helps me see the raw emotion in front of me. Colors emit mixed emotions. Red for anger. Blue for serenity. Yellow for mellow.

Having six women looking at a panel of painting will result to different emotions.

Six women by Bharti Kher at VAG

Obscuring their faces to concentrate on their body postures and contours will also ignite our feelings. Neck. Shoulders. Breast. Abdomen. Hands. Legs. Feet. Nakedness. Age.

And I thought they must have been very good looking when they were younger and elegant with clothes on — my, my, how our body changed. Many women are so proud of their bodies. Taking the utmost care to appear sexy. I was once like them. Full of vanity. In my aging body, mine is no different than theirs.

Six women by Bharti Kher at VAG

These are life-size plasters of women that appear to be meditating. This is my interpretation. No meaning. Sometimes, I prefer it that way. I don’t want to know. I am afraid to know. Fear seems to be the strongest emotion.

It’s better to play a game in my head.

Who are these six women. What if I call them female. Is being a female the same thing as a woman. What if one is not really female. Is the man trapped in a female body? Did the man have a sex change?

How about six generations. Which one is the great grandmother, grandmother, mother, daughter, granddaughter, niece? Do they all live together? What kind of relationship do they have? Healthy? Loving? Caring? Obedient?

Ah, that sounds much better. My emotion is starting to feel positive.

Six women by Bharti Kher at VAG

I am so glad that these figures are colorless.  Devoid of race.  

How close was my imagination, I wonder. 

In every artwork, there is a brief description that I read last so that it will not influence my thoughts.  And it reads:

Six Women, 2013-15
plaster, wood, resin
Courtesy of the Artist and Hauser & Wirth

In her most recent work, Six Women, Bharti Kher cast the bodies of female sex workers living in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), the capital of India’s West Bengal state and home to one of the country’s largest brothel-based sex industries.  The women were paid by the artist to sit and be cast in plaster by her.  These six individuals provide not only an arresting and unapologetic representation of the aging female body as a counterpoint to social pressures to stay forever young, but they also serve as witnesses to the disregard for women who have obliged the patriarchy.

Cultivating Creativity

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Most of my topic is about gardening. Gardening involves a lot of cultivation that includes my whole being. It’s my way of being creative. Planting a seed and let it bloom is the best part.

Manobo boy and his Kudyapi

Don’t even think that this is Picasso. No siree. My brother painted this originally on a canvass. I challenged him to paint it on my leather jacket. And he did and not doing it again for anybody. I proudly wear this jacket and advertise his work.

Hills Where the Lord Hides

My brother and I seems to get along well when it comes to being creative in our own ways. He paints and sends me photos of his work-in-progress. I take a good look at his work, critique and provide my observation. I enjoyed writing about this piece “Hills Where the Lord Hides.”

Me: Beautiful landscape with blended colours that makes us follow the solid ground towards the Hill. Magnifique.

Him: Thanks for noticing, good eye!

Me: One has to really think and feel what the painting is for me, not just the eye. I could easily say something simple which is boring … tee hee

Him: It’s the eye that senses the painting. Then you feel and think.

Me: Not to mention the horizon is stunning that complements the rest of the painting. A cloudless sky and the sun has just set.

Him: Now you have pointed it, yes, a cloudless sky and the sun setting. Thanks.

I wrote a Haiku on this:

My reason for going
Chuck Mangione played to death
Hill Where the Lord Hides

The following day, he told me this piece is SOLD to the highest bidder in Thailand!

Dan S. Siglos, Painter

Currently, my brother is creating a comic style painting of our family. We are enjoying this activity as he paints from the oldest to the youngest in a huge canvass and I create a blurb. The blurb stays between me and him. Or maybe I will share it later.

This is Dan S. Siglos self-portrait (not Picasso), stepping on a snake. The snake is the symbol of evil. My brother is fearless. The meaning behind this is “Fear No Evil.” I understand what he means knowing what he has gone through.

I shall update and post more of the comic painting next time.

Hello Dali

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A bigger than life bronze sculpture is exhibited at Downtown Vancouver sponsored by Chali-Rosso Art Gallery. A faceless woman to symbolize all women. The height is 360 centimetres equivalent to more than 11 feet. It weighs 500 kg equivalent to 1100 … Continue reading →

As Painter Paints the Language of Sphere, Color, Line and Form

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Mother and Child painting by Dan Siglos (Illuminance Series)

This gallery contains 11 photos.

To see what a painter paints, one has to look at the unexpected form that jumps out of the canvas and not to look into his mind. Art is not escape, but a way of finding order in chaos, a … Continue reading →

What do you see? Spellbinding masterpiece door that led me to Caravaggio.

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A glimpse of blue sky, a wisp of clouds, birds, cathedral and concrete buildings is what I see in painting along the hallway wall of Malta’s airport.  Looking at the mural makes me want to run outside and feel that … Continue reading →

In it for life.

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These figures spring from their history, shedding an old skin and metamorphosing into their dream self. This aspect of ourselves is much less tangible than our genealogy; it is the identity we fashion through this ancient dust, the core we meet in the mirror. The self that is much deeper than the colour of our skin. The one we dare not speak, our heart’s desire, our secret hopes, our sacred place. This is the one to be honoured now, back to the source where all tribes meet.

family-mosaicFamily Mosaic is a sculptural portrait of a seven-month pregnant woman alongside her husband, who is laying his head on her stomach, anxious to hear the heartbeat of their new-born child.

This piece is from a series of figurative sculptures entitled Tribes that deal with the motion of mixed ethnic backgrounds. All of the decorative detailing and colours in the work are representative of some aspect of their lives such as their cultural heritage and personal history.

The mother, whose work involves aiding people with communication, has always had a passion for language and art. The yoke of her dress depicts a typical embroidery sampler from the turn of the century representing her German and Italian ancestry. Her face is partly covered by a Venetian carnival mask and in her hand she holds her favorite instrument, the violin

The father who was born at Vancouver General Hospital, was raised in Hong Kong until age 10. His subsequent return to Canada is shown through the map on his back. The chopsticks in his hand and the rice embedded in his arm portray his family’s enthusiasm for the culinary arts. Other details refer to his first career as a geologist where he was the sole survivor of a helicopter crash. He is now a school teacher and is an avid storyteller.

The drum on the father’s back symbolizes the child, who by age two was enthralled with percussion and music. He is representative of a generation of young Canadians of mixed heritage who will hopefully be free to celebrate their diversity and value of the richness of their cultural identity.

Family Mosaic by Nicole Dextras donated by the artist in 2003 to VGH & 
UBC Foundation. The art work and transcript are on display at
Vancouver General Hospital.

The many muses of Picasso and how long they were together.

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This gallery contains 4 photos.

Picasso: The artist and his muses exhibit is in town at the Vancouver Art Gallery. It is a journey about his art, personal life, and overlapping affairs to remember with six different women that fueled his artistic abilities and made … Continue reading →

One Step Behind – This is my story

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How nice the view from up there must have been. It’s difficult to imagine when you’re always looking down. Don’t regret it when you finally see the upside of REALITY because there’s this crazy notion that regrets pile up to … Continue reading →

Self-Portrait: Mended

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  Self-Portrait, Mended by Eleanor Hannan This piece is based on drawings done the day after 7-hour surgery to remove skin cancer from my nose. I chose to have only local anesthetic so as to be awake during the surgery. … Continue reading →

Roman Numeral XIII

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Tattooed on his left hip is roman numeral XIII. At age seventeen, he had this number permanently inked on his birthday suit. It is meaningful to him because it was at that age the bullying at school stopped. Growing up, … Continue reading →

Talking Sticks: There are no bad color, only bad color combination

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There are many shades of orange and different meanings. It all depends who is talking. These sticks talk about visual story of Metis in Canadian history. Notice that color orange is widely use in Metis art as well as crafts. “Elders remind … Continue reading →

I am happy and I always will be.

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   Totem Pole Mother is the Beaver because she is hardworking, looking after the children, cooking, cleaning and everything else. Little sister is the loon because she goes up to her room and reads all by herself. Sometimes she goes … Continue reading →

Good Morning, Sunshine

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sunshine

Aboriginal Paper Mache

Cree Proverb

Realize that we as human beings have been put on this earth for only a short time and that we must use this time to gain wisdom, knowledge, respect and the understanding for all human beings since we are all relatives.

“ka-kí-kiskéyihtétan óma, namoya kinwés maka aciyowés pohko óma óta ka-hayayak wasétam askihk, ékwa ka-kakwéy miskétan kiskéyihtamowin, iyinísiwin, kistéyitowin, mina nánisitotatowin kakiya ayisiniwak, ékosi óma kakiya ka-wahkotowak.”

Class of 4/5 at Bayview Elementary School.  The students are learning about First Nation culture.  This project helps stimulate the children’s interest in other culture by integrating Social Studies, Language and Arts.

This one of many masks that are on display at the lobby of the Education Centre.