Gillian’s Exhibition. As Above, So Below.
Sharing Gillian’s current Art Exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ottawa. As Gillian states on her instagram, she is a painter, gardener and art therapist in training. Gillian and I met in 2020 through the Toronto Art Therapy Institute. We share a passion in supporting elders in their creative journeys and an ongoing interest in developing therapeutic arts programming within the long-term care framework. Gillian provides a few images below from her current exhibition at the Ottawa Gallery, with an introduction to her amazing process and the beautiful canvases that emerge from her techniques. Thanks for sharing Gillian!
Exhibition: ‘As Above, So Below’. Gillian King
Ottawa Art Gallery Annexe
50 Mackenzie King Bridge, Ottawa
March 4 - April 18, 2021
*Exhibition dates subject to change based on pandemic restrictions
Visit the OAG instagram to view a recent week-long Instagram takeover in conjunction with her solo exhibition.
Gillian’s Process.
My paintings begin outdoors. I grow and gather raw materials from my garden and neighbourhood. The paintings in the exhibition contain black walnuts, marigolds, and onion skins from plants that were grown and gathered up to three years ago. I am continuously learning more about the world around me, how to work sustainably and respectfully, while exercising patience and intention through my work (an ongoing endeavour!).
When I get to my studio the alchemy begins. I use the gathered materials to eco-print on my raw canvases. This natural dyeing process involves bundling the materials into each canvas and steaming them in a big dye pot. This part of the process is always very exciting because while every fold of the canvas matters, the materials will always surprise me, reacting to each other within the dye pot.
After the canvases are stretched, I observe the natural prints and patterns in each canvas and begin to make painterly decisions on how to interact with them. I create areas of tension while drawing attention to and highlighting other areas.
As with many painters, deciding when a work is finished is always a journey. Some paintings tell you very quickly whereas others may take weeks or months to settle into their final form. There is a lot of staring that happens in these last steps.
To see more of my painting process, visit the ‘Process’ section of my website.