Coming into Focus

Nicolas Dory is an aasman web developer by day, and a nature photographer by…well, by any other time he can grab. He currently has an exhibit at Baked Café, running April 9–May 6. I sat down with Nicolas to talk photography, passions and mating calls.

When–and how–did your love of photography begin?  I started with architectural photography, actually, but then began bird watching. It sparked a passion in me.

What is it about nature photography that attracts you?  I love taking the time, whether it’s watching animals or landscapes…I love the process of waiting for those perfect moments to appear in the lens. I love watching animals in their natural surroundings just “doing” life.

What has been your most memorable photography experience?  I am from France and, in Europe, the Shetland Islands is one of the most important seabird colonies. I spent an entire month in this archipelago, between Scotland and Norway, just living in and photographing the nature that surrounded me. It was definitely a memorable experience.

Can you share one of your all-time favourite photos with us?  I took a photo series of deer roaring that I love. Deer in Europe are smaller in size than their Yukon elk counterparts, but come mating season their “roar” blows away the competition. It’s really something to hear.

Website: www.nicolasdory.com

A Natural Incubator on Exhibit

"Whitehorse is an incubator for the arts," a friend told me a few months ago before moving south to pursue the next stage of his career. I've repeated the metaphor a dozen times since and feel it's appropriate to do so here as well.

I (Eleanor Rosenberg, graphic designer in the aasman creative studio) have recently been invited to exhibit my illustration work at a gallery in North Vancouver. The exhibit is a group show of 20 artists who participated in the Artists for Kids program, which is celebrating its 20th year of existence. I spent three weeks over three summers in a place called "Paradise Valley" near Brackendale, BC. Like the Yukon, it's surrounded by natural beauty and an accompanying sense of calm that invites inspiration and creative thought. It's where I first met Ted Harrison and a host of other Canadian artists that encouraged me to follow a career in the arts. Years later, working in a creative studio in an artistic town, I'd like to salute the natural world for its contribution to my artist incubation.

If you're in Vancouver come to the show, April 12 - May 8, at the Artists for Kids Gallery (810 West 21st St at the Leo Marshall Centre) or better yet, come to the opening, Thursday April 15th at 7:30 pm.

The other exhibiting artists include:

Karin Bubas, Tyler Quarles, Biliana Velkova, Bronwen Payerle, Sepideh Saii

Through Val’s Eyes

Aasman's Art Director, Valérie Théorêt, currently has work featured in Through a Feminine Lens, a photography exhibit at L'Association franco-yukonnaise.

The loose theme, of women photographers featuring women, presents a range of related topics and styles.

Théorêt's piece "Nord et Blanc," challenges the stereotype of the rugged northern woman in nine images that collage photographic portraits, illustration and hand-rendered text. Her process involved a personal and affectionate exploration into the lives of nine Francophone women living in Whitehorse.

Upon arriving in the Territory in 2006, Théorêt's own perceptions of the courageous northerner were confronted by a community of creative and sensitive women. Three years later, an invitation to participate in Through a Feminine Lens provided an opportunity to examine her discovery more closely. Each of Théorêt's subjects were interviewed about their relationship with the North, with Yukon being the personified character. The result is an intimate and colourful arrangement of portraits. Théorêt frames the gentle Yukon woman in her work and unveils the layers of their fluctuating love stories with the North.   

The other participating photographers are all based in Quebec. The work of Pilar Marcias photocollages the life story of her models exploring aging, Nadine Boulianne fragments the natural feminine form, and Marie-Espérance Cerda investigates the lives of real women in Mali.

This is the exhibit's second installment. It first showed in Rivière-du-Loup on International Women's Day in March.

Through a Feminine Lens runs at  L'Association franco-yukonnaise (302, Strickland) until November 13th, 2009.

Check out Yukon News' article @ yukon-news.com/arts/14480/
 

Lifedrawing Exhibit

I went into our studio one day, and somehow the topic of lifedrawing came up. Anyone who has been in an arts program in a school setting can relate to sessions in drawing from the nude. It is the perfect form to challenge and train all artistic sensibilities. There was a collective wish to have a series of our own, and that day we had six people from staff committed. Five, two-hour sessions followed here in our office, with Eleanor, Valerie, Douma, Joanne, Margriet, Paul, and the occasional visiting friend.

At the end of a workday when a lifedrawing session was planned, a few of us eagerly went to the ZOO to move aside chairs and tables to make room for easels and squeeze in a spot for a model. Once started, you could feel the energy and hear the drawing tools moving quickly over smooth paper surfaces. You had to be on the ball because the poses were 30 seconds long. By the end of the two hours we were working on 20 minute poses. Although we were exhausted by then, you couldn’t help but feel exhilarated about the pile of drawings that you were able to produce, and eagerly look at them again to see what you had accomplished.

We were all curious to see each other’s work, but never indulged since by the end of a session we were all eager to get home. So we decided to have a small ‘showing’ of our work for each other and the rest of the staff. Heather helped with curating the exhibit, and buying the wine and goodies to do it properly. There were quite the variety of styles and interpretations of the same person, our very own super model, Christine.

Valerie: Using bold, playful, shapes and lines, there is a humourous, exaggerated quality that exemplifies not just what Valerie sees, but what is going on with the figure.

Eleanor: There is a strong, sculptural feel to Eleanor’s work, and the simple, dynamic 3-dimensional shapes beg to become larger, Henry Moore-like drawings and, yes, sculptures.

Douma: Douma’s simple, ephemeral marks appear hesitant, but gently illustrate what the model is doing. Very few lines give reference to the surrounding space. Douma, go for it!

Margriet: Margriet obviously loves lines, anatomy and big volume. Now that is down pat, she needs bigger space, paper, and colour... and an idea.