Curating!
or, The Show has Opened

I've been working with the Art Gallery of Alberta for the past few months putting together a show entitled Ancestral Bonds: Portraits.

It opened last night!

It was a big event, but not because of my show. Also opening last night was the Main Exhibit, "The Baroque Masters". For those of you in Europe, this is no big deal, but for us, it's a rare opportunity to see Rembrandt and Rubens, et al.

There was yet another exhibit opening at the same time, "Images of the West" featuring the art of renowned American artists, Charles Russell and Frederic Remington.

So my little show was able to tag along with some really great company. I'm glad of it, because our artists put their love and energy into really fantastic pieces.

I gave a short speech, hoping to convey and share some of the passion I felt for the works, and spent the rest of the night actually enjoying myself.

I have never seen a Rembrandt in person. "Woman at her Toilet". One lady beside me thought it meant she was going to the bathroom and turned to me disgustedly, "Isn't anything sacred anymore? No respect for women!" and she stormed off.

Myself, I stayed and stared at that painting, trying to memorize every brushstroke, paying attention to every last tiny detail. The fingers!! So delicate and beautiful!

And then I saw the Rubens...

Well, I'll be going back to the gallery to see this show again.

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Ancestral Bonds: Portraits
September 23–November 26

Ancestral Bonds explores how contemporary First Nations’ artists address their history within the visual arts. In particular, the exhibition looks at different approaches to portraiture. What is a portrait? Why do people create them? What constitutes a portrait?

The exhibition features work by senior artists Jane Ash Poitras, Joane Cardinal-Schubert, Kimowan McLain and Linus Woods, who have helped pave the way for a new generation of emerging First Nations’ artists also featured in this exhibition, who include: Sherman Bull, LauraLee K. Harris, Brenda Jones, Duane Linklater, April Mecredi, Maxine Paul-Morin, Heather Shillinglaw, Paul Smith and Sarah Wostenberg.

The works in the exhibition represent both the verbal and remembered experiences of the artists and help to further our understanding of their artistic journeys and contribute to a depth of understanding about how the people who came before them continue to affect them today. These ancient ties are “ancestral bonds,” which bring a freshness of approach to the ancient tradition of portraiture.

Ancestral Bonds is co-curated by Aaron Paquette and Fiona Connell, and produced with the generous support of Syncrude Canada for the AFA Travelling Exhibition Program. The exhibition begins travelling in January 2007.

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If you are in the area, I hope you make it out!

The Talking Box and Me

I got a call an a hour and a half ago inviting me to be on an Alberta radio show, "Aboriginal Forum". I was crazy enough to say yes, but overall I think it went okay. The host, Tanis Fiss was charming and made the process a pleasure, so if she ever stops by:

"Thanks, Tanis!"

I felt a great deal of pressure to sound intelligent, or at least competent, so I'm not certain how it ended up. I know I did lose my train of thought once, and there was no way to salvage it but to say, " I have to admit, I've lost my train of thought."

Anyway, that's that. I offered a little advice for young people who want to make it in their field, indulged in a bit of shameless self-promotion, and had an interesting experience overall.

What Do You Hear?

36" x 48"
Mixed Media
on Canvas
2006

Summer days are gently falling asleep, lulled by the long, cool nights. The harvest moon shimmers in pregnant glory and the earth pours forth her bounty; fruits, seeds, vegetables and grain. The seasonal birds wing their way down to warmer skies and the winter birds, those that remain, are crowing their temporary victory once again. The night sky is ablaze with stars! Outside of city lights, I see a multitude of suns burning away, many already passed on into blackness, their message of wamth, love and isolation still reaching me, entering my heart from such vast distances, I cannot even begin to dream.

And yet there is still the ripened field, the full gourds promising pies and stews, and the little bees keep working, waiting until that last moment when wings will no longer beat in frigid mornings.

I have taken my black birds for walks in fields of green and gold. I have skimmed over lakes and travelled far, trying to entice them from off my shoulders and into the world so that I might have my own kind of rest, my own oblivious sleep. But still they sit, here and here, whispering to me of secrets and loss, and the beautiful earth.

I stare out into the sunshine and a slow smile spreads across my face. I suddenly recognize those birds on everyone's shoulders, wisdom creasing the edges of eyes, digging permanent lines of worry and laughter into the faces of everyone I meet.

I am suddenly excited.

I want to reach out to everyone! I want to ask!

What do you hear?

A bit of Early Autumn Splendour here in the river city...

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These were taken down in Rundle Park on Saturday. The light was absolutely incredible and gave everything a warm, golden glow. Gorgeous.

In Wind and Shadow We Will Sing
36" x 48"
Mixed Media
on Canvas
2006

What song does Mother Earth sing? Is it a celebration of diversity, or a lament for the destruction we work upon her soil; for the poisoning of her water, and many plants and creatures? If we could see the spirit of our planet personified, what a mystery she would be! Creator and Destroyer, she nurtures and abandons with equal passion, gentleness and ferocity. She is the Wilderness, and she is our home. We have no other.

Come out into the wilderness, into danger and life, and let us sing together the eternal and ancient lay, the epic music of death, birth, love and betrayal. As we spin among the stars, dancing in this great universe like a mote of dust in a sunbeam, we will breathe in cool air, drink of crystal streams, wander under the sky's fire and eat of the production of nutrients and rich loam.

The beautiful earth will cry us to sleep with dreams of promise carried on the sighing wind.

Horse Spirit Dream
24" x 24"
Oil, Acrylic, Gold Leaf
on Canvas
2006

It's been quite a summer. Right now I'm working with Fiona Connell at the Art Gallery of Alberta to put together a Travelling Exhibition entitled: Ancestral Bonds: Portraits.

It showcases the work of some established, and some up and coming, First Nations artists and explores their ties to their culture and roots through a series of portraits. Of course, that raises the question, what IS a portrait?

I'll post more on the show in a few weeks, and I hope those of you who can make it to the opening will come out and share in the experience.

THE ART ISSUE

At SPIRIT Magazine, Canada’s only national First Nations arts & culture magazine we examine and celebrate the recent history, the present and future of Native arts in North America with a Special Arts Issue.

SPIRIT educates a new generation of readers on Native art through the mass-produced and circulated national magazine available at all major magazine stands across the country as well as universities, schools, libraries, museums and galleries.

SPIRIT produced a comprehensive Native Arts Issue dedicated to emerging and established First Nations visual artists. With the assistance of contributing arts editors, Clint Buehler and Lisa Charleyboy as well as world renown curators, artists and historians from across North America, SPIRIT created a remarkable issue that captures the essence of First Nations contemporary and traditional art.

Jane Ash Poitras created the magnificent original cover specifically for this issue of SPIRIT Magazine.

There are many facets of the visual arts that are included in the issue. Contemporary Aboriginal art is highlighted of course, but SPIRIT also researched, documented and feature traditional artists from across Canada and the US who work in quillwork, moose tufting, cradleboard making, beadwork and many other traditional arts.

It is also imperative to (re)introduce Native arts masters that made up the ‘group of seven’ to a new generation. Artists like Daphne Odjig, Arthur Shilling, Norval Morrisseau, Carl Beam, Roy Thomas and Alex Janvier. Other artists featured include Robert Houle, Jane Ash Poitras, Shelley Niro, George Littlechild, Rebecca Belmore, Joane Cardinal-Schubert and many more. Emerging and exploding artists such as Nadia Myre, Maria Hupfield, Terrance Houle, Aaron Paquette and Brian Jungen are also included in the issue as well as many others.

For more information on the Arts Issue on national stands please call 705-746-2781 or email editor@spiritmag.ca

Subscribe now and get the new issue!

For more information on the new issue please call 705-746-2781 or email us at info@spiritmag.ca

The current issue of SPIRIT Magazine can be found in all Chapters/Indigo stores as well as independent book and magazine stores ACROSS CANADA and parts of the U.S.

MEDIA: call 705-746-2781 or email editor@spiritmag.ca for more information and access to photos, covers and interviews.

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Pick one up, or order one today for the little blurb on yours truly, only don't blink or you'll miss it!

Or, pick it up to read articles on some of today's greatest Canadian artists and see some really interesting & beautiful work. I'm not sure of the shipping schedule but I imagine they'll start hitting shelves sometime next week or so.

At First I Saw The Flowers
12" x 9"
Acrylic, Gold Leaf
on Canvas
2006

I've finished moving and I'm settling in, meaning I can start updating with some new paintings soon.

If you've managed to find this journal, please let me know by posting something in the comments section. I'm just wondering if anyone was able to tag along my sudden departure from TELUS Webhosting.

Apparently, the archiving of images to blogger didn't go as smoothly as hoped. It'll take a long while to get them all re-sorted...but a day at a time!

To make things easier, I've stopped archiving on TELUS and am using up Blogger's copious storage space. In fact, I'm not going to be using TELUS at all anymore.

The new address is:

aaronpaquette.blogspot.com

I was going to say it was because of the poor customer service, but now I can't thanks to a great guy from Montreal named Bruno. Apparently, he saved all my files from the abyss of deletion on what was his very last day working in TELUS' tech service department.

Thanks, Bruno!

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Even though it is his last day, I'll be sending kudos to Bruno through helpdesk@telus.net

His employee no. is 823 895

The Sun, The Moon and All the World
24" x 30"
Acrylic, Oil &
Gold Leaf on Canvas
2003

Happy Summer Solstice! In the Northern Hemisphere the night starts it's slow ascendancy as the sun begins falling further south on our horizon. Today also marks National Aboriginal Day and the celebration of the Sun Dance.

www.spiritmag.ca

So, I was fortunate enough to have been interviewed by writer Clint Buehler for SPIRIT Magazine. If all goes well, I might just have a little space in the next issue. It's a National Publication and I feel very honoured to be counted among so many excellent contemporary artists. Here's the pertinent info from their website:


THE ART ISSUE

SPIRIT is in the middle of producing a comprehensive Arts Issue dedicated to emerging and established First Nations visual artists. With the assistance of contributing arts editors, world renowned curators, artists and historians from across North America, SPIRIT is creating a remarkable issue that will capture the essence of First Nations contemporary and traditional art.

Thanks to all artists, curators and galleries for your contribution. For more information please email info@spiritmag.ca or call 705-746-2781

--------------------------------
STORES WITH SPIRIT:

SPIRIT MAGAZINE is available in ALL Chapters-Indigo Bookstores across Canada.

ALSO available at select NORTHERN STORES and your local REZ Stores across Canada and the US.

You want it at your REZ STORE? Email us the address at subscribe@spiritmag.ca

ALSO available at:

ALBERTA
Calgary:
Billys News
Daily Globe News
McNally Robinosn Booksellers
With the Times
With the Times #2
Pop’lar Books - Camrose
The Front Page - Edmonton
Chow’s Varieties - Fort McMurray

BC
Simon Fraser University - Burnaby
Book Bonanza - Campbell River
University College of the Cariboo - Kamloops
McNews - North Vancouver
Books and Company Prince George
Salt Spring Books - Salt Spring Island
Tanners Bookstore - Sidney
Misty River Books - Terrace

VANCOUVER
Does Your Mother Know?
Duthie Books 4th Avenue
Granville Book Company
Little Sisters Books
Magpie Magazine Gallery Inc.
Mayfare News
Peoples Co-op Bookstore
Peoples News and Magazines
SFU Bookstore @ Harbour Centre
Spartacus Books
University of British Columbia

VICTORIA
Bolen Books ?Victoria
Munro’s Booksore Ltd. - Victoria

MANITOBA
Dominion News and Gifts - Winnipeg
McNally Robinson Booksellers (WG) - Winnipeg
McNally Robinson Booksellers (WP) - Winnipeg

NEW BRUNSWICK
Loto 7 Book Corner - Bathurst
Reids Newsstand United Bookstore - Fredriction
Reids Newsstand - Moncton
Bennington Gate - St. Johns

NOVA SCOTIA
The Inside Story - Greenwood
Daily Grind News - Stand Halifax
The Inside Story - Windsor

ONTARIO
The Bookshelf - Guelph
Novel Idea - Kingston
University of Western Ontario - London
Book Store ?York University - North York
Carleton University Book store - Ottawa
Glebe Smoke Shop - Ottawa
Globe Mags and Cigars - Ottawa
Mags and Fags - Ottawa
Presse Internationale #6 - Ottawa
Wellington Street News - Ottawa
Parry Sound Books - Parry Sound
Speak Volumes Book and Stationary - Peterborough
Christophers Smoke Shop - St. Catherines
Smokers Plus - St. Catherines
Black Cat Too! - Sudbury
Lakehead University Alumni Bookstore - Thunder Bay

TORONTO
BookCity - Annex - Toronto
BookCity - Danforth - Toronto
BookCity - Queen - Toronto
BookCity -Yonge - Toronto
BookCity in the Village - Toronto
Pages Books and Magazines - Toronto
Presse Internationale - Bloor - Toronto
Presse Internationale - College - Toronto
Presse Internationale - Danforth - Toronto
Presse Internationale - Queen - Toronto
This Aint The Rosedale Library - Toronto
Toronto Womens Bookstore - Toronto
University of Toronto Bookstore - Toronto

Wordsworth Books - Waterloo
University of Windsor Bookstore - Windsor

QUEBEC
Double Hook Bookshop - Montreal
Le Point Vert Inc. - Montreal
Librarie Olivier! - Montreal

SASKATCHEWAN
Buzzword Books -Regina
McNally Robinson Booksellers - Saskatoon

YUKON
Mac’s Fireweed Books - Whitehorse

SAN FRANCISCO
CityLights Books

Ask your local book or magazine store to order copies of SPIRIT. Contact publisher@spiritmag.ca or 705-746-2781 for more information.

Gaia-Water
24" x 36"
Acrylic, Oil and
Gold Leaf on Canvas
2003

From sketch to final painting. I thought it might be interesting to share a few of these in the coming weeks. I'll dig through my sketchbook to find images that ended up inpsiring a finished piece. The model in this drawing is a very good friend of mine and this was drawn mid-October 2003, the finished work following shortly thereafter.

Gaia
Acrylic, Oil and
Gold Leaf on Canvas
2004

I had completely forgotten about this painting. It was finished in the Summer of 2004 during the Whyte Avenue Artwalk here in Edmonton, and as soon as the Artwalk (and the painting) was complete, I packed it up and drove down to Southern Alberta to visit my father. During the visit, I swung in to the Willock and Sax Gallery in Waterton Lakes National Park to deliver it. After that, it just faded out of memory.

Thanks to Tom Willock for the photo and keeping this painting alive for me.

Jesay
2005

Updates are coming. The thing about art is, it takes time. I've been working bit by bit to get new work finished but it'll still be a few days more before I've got anything to show. In the meantime, let me ask:

When you feel that you've had your nose to the grindstone, creatively speaking, and you feel like you're starting to run on fumes....the ideas are still there, you're still putting paint to canvas...but the ease in doing begins to fade, what do you do to recharge?

How do you fill back up?

After Rousseau
40" x 20"
Acrylic, Oil,
Gold Leaf on Canvas

I painted this for a friend of mine. He really wanted me to recreate a Rousseau in my own style, and instead of a jungle landscape, to create a more Albertan type of lushness. Besides some compositional differences, I also painted the male form as the figure instead of Rousseau's more familiar female. It was a wonderful experience, and really helped me to stretch and push myself in some subtly different directions.

I don't know why, but I have an amazing capacity to give myself an artificial mullet in almost every picture I am in. Be it my hood blowing in the wind, or a tree behind my head, the universe conspires to make me stylish. For 1982.

Which Star is Our Own?
20" x 24"
Mixed Media on Canvas

My home is the Alberta prairies where everything is wide and open. The fields, the plains, the huge sky above. Living near the Rocky Mountains, I remember looking up at the night sky, endless and overwhelming. Romance unfolds under such skies, and holding a loved one in warm arms, it can feel like floating. It was easy to imagine our planet as a little orb hurtling through the cosmos, and I used to pretend I was in the middle of that crowded emptiness, looking back toward us and wondering: which star is our own?

Loss and What Might Have Been

Buddhist say that desire is the cause of all suffering. Of course, that is correct. When we are hungry, we desire food. When we are sad, we desire joy. If we could separate ourselves from our desires, then the absence of food would be an experience upon which to meditate. Instead of concerning ourselves with sorrow or happiness, we could immerse ourselves in the Middle Way of life as an existence to experience, and to rise above.

In many many ways, this philosophy is beautiful and serene and would solve many of the problems of the world- as would many philosophies in their simplest form.

The interesting thing about wisdom, is that it's pretty tough to share. I've read countless books on different ideas about spirit, soul, life, god, you name it. It seems that the only time any of it sinks in, is when I can relate to it through my own pain, or loss, or suffering.

I like Buddhism, but the problem is, I'm kind of hooked on joy. The downside is that it's impossible to recognize joy without having been immersed in pain. So, we rock back and forth. And really, do we want equilibrium? Sometimes, yes. During a particularly trying time in my life, I took anti-depressants and I'll tell you, no matter what Tom Cruise says, they were fantastic. I was reminded of what it felt like to be normal after months of despair. I was able to function.

There was a drawback, however. People would ask me how I was feeling and my response was, “Great! How are you?”

The truth is, I didn't feel great. I didn't feel bad, either. I just felt perfectly neutral. All. The. Time.

I have always been a lover of nature. I have been stopped dead in my tracks by the simplest sights: a branch blooming in springtime, a snowflake floating in the breeze, the way stars will waver -as though seen through water- when the wind is strong and the sky is black. I remember driving as the day fell to evening, and the sunset was exploding across the horizon like flames. Everything was on fire, and the as the darkness descended in it's purples and violets, I came to a realization that struck me hard and to the quick.

I didn't care.

I wasn't moved, or affected in any way. My brain registered what I was seeing and intellectually I knew it was beautiful, but my response was merely, “Huh. Pretty.”

I talked to my doctor about it, and I think that's when I understood why my work wasn't up to the level I wanted it to be. I wasn't having those gut reactions I needed for my craft. I was working as a Goldsmith at the time and I had lost the spark. I just wasn't interested anymore. My doctor slowly took me off the medication, measuring my response, and I was doing fine. The anti-depressant gave me what I needed, and what I can use for the rest of my life: a memory of what normal is like. Anytime I find myself slipping into darkness (which is one of the hazards most artists face), I can remember what it is like to be balanced on that seesaw, and I am able to return to that place.

The other blessing of memory is that I can go back to that sunset that I should have been shedding tears for, and as I reconstruct it in my mind, I am struck anew at the beauty of this world. It is another part of the puzzle that keeps me open and aware. Have you ever seen something or been with someone and said to yourself, “I will never forget this moment.”?
I have. Probably scores of times. There are very few I have managed to keep alive. I never thought to remember that sunset, but it will stay with my whole life.

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So much good gets lost in our world every day, but it is important to remember that more is being created as well. Native culture is being revived, but it is very different than the roots from which it is being carefully rebirthed. There is too much that has passed away, and there are too few of us who have escaped the trap of alcohol and defeat. Something new is being created. A sort of...Pan-AmerIndian sensibility, but it is alive and thriving!

New music is being sung, new artistic visions are being created. The inspiration is not just the teachings of the past (the precious records and half forgotten stories from our elders) but the imagination of the past as well. And much more importantly, our inspiration is coming from a reflection of who we are today and what the future has in store.

We are telling new stories, contemporary stories, weaving the fabric of our destiny - a blanket that will surround and protect our coming generations.

For good or ill (and I think for good), the remaining Native American Indian populations are integrating - in fits and starts - with the dominant society. Our stories are strong and will help us to keep our identities. Life will never be what it was in the past, but I pray it will never be the way it is for most people on the reservations ever, ever again.

If there was a higher calling, or a more noble purpose to be made of the sad history we share, it would be to learn from the deep scars and tears shed, in order to experience and give away a more complete joy. We are all in it together in this world, and barring an unprecedented cataclysm, we will never part ways again.

Any good we have, let us give it away. Love and energy are like a stream that needs to flow. If we block it inside, we stop being nourished, and cease to nourish others. If we open it up, unafraid, then love will flow from us, creative power will flow from us, and the flavour of our culture, our thoughts, the way we are hardwired into thinking about this beautiful planet, will flow from us, carving deeper and deeper channels until it is a mighty river of light that illuminates the world.

And how does it start?

Forget our losses. Forget what might have been. These are no longer relevant. Holding onto these things is like anchoring ourselves to the muck of a deep lake, wondering why we cannot breathe. We have to let go and float up to the sun and the air, and the wide open world. The past should be acknowledged, and should never be forgotten. But it should be used like the soil of the lake. Plants spring from that soil, building ladders to the surface. We can build from defeat and humiliation and genocide to share our knowledge of pain, and empathy and most importantly: our celebration.

We are still here! And we are alive.

Floating In water
I thought I was drowning
I have found new life


Mixed Media on Canvas
24" x 36"
2006