Front panel of Princess Ave. Map

This map (in progress) for children and their families is intended to be a multilayered, informative guide to places in the neighbourhoods that have significance in an historical, cultural and recreational context. It will even include children’s favourite places and children’s photographs. This is one of many projects that Anne Marie Slater, lead artist, has conceived as part of her community engagement committment.

My part is the graphic design. Due to some funding issues, especially for printing, and delays with photo permissions and other supporting information, the project is temporarily stalled.

In addition to the cultural and historical aspects of this project, there is also an intent to raise awareness of the diversity of these areas including the fact that many children live here, in an area that is often neglected and marginalized.

Princess Ave. Map: Outside

Princess Ave. Map: Inside

Dan Goorevitch, another student of Ron’s, that I first met at a laundromat, who, bursting with an exuberance that is still part of his nature, enthusiastically recommended Ron. With both of these students that I admired, singing his praise it was a slam dunk.

At the time VSA Painting was located in 2 places; a site at the PNE and a Gastown location. However, if you were in 4th year, you had the option of working in your studio (in my case, a rickety apartment overlooking False Creek), and your teacher and/or grad supervisors would come by periodically to check out the progress. I was fortunate enough to have Ron Stonier, Gary Bowden and Geof Rees as my grad supervisors. As students we tended to also network out and visit each other so see what was going on.

The thing about Ron was that he didn’t teach in a very conventional way for those days. He was an amazing communicator and would talk in expanding ellipses about anything and everything and somehow how it would all relate back to art or painting. It wasn’t unusual for him to look at a student-struggle painting and start seeing some metaphoric magic in it and then the next thing you knew he was talking about quarks and charms (recent physics developments at the time), Joseph Campbell’s theories or Ernst Cassirer’s phenomenology, the latest local news or some kind of paint brush that might help you get the fluid movement that you were trying to get. He was very generous with his time to his students, a true inspiration and was very likely to leave you feeling empowered to forge ahead.

I don’t know how many, many art students were inspired or influenced by him but some of his students that did very exciting work back then, that that were in my immediate millieu, included Amie Mukai, Dan Goorevitch, Doug Rowed, Susan Lowden, Rosemary Sleigh, Lawrie Makeseff, Laurie De Camillis and Shiela Cano. There is a posthumous survey of the paintings of Ron Stonier (1933-2001) at Trench Gallery, #102 – 148 Alexander Street, Vancouver. I think only a few of these have ever been exhibited. About 30 works that demonstrate his brilliance and enormous colour facility throughout his career. Go see it if you like engaging, sensuous and visceral art.

Opening Reception is Nov. 10, 6 pm to 9 pm.

Craig Sibley at Trench Gallery, arranging Ron’s paintings…

Some items designed for the Arts Umbrella Dance Company as part of parent volunteer contribution. Some were used and ones that were not may still be used. Excluding the Emily Molnar graphic, all of the figures are dancers from the Arts Umbrella Dance Company. The Emily Molnar graphic was used to honour her when she left AU to direct Ballet BC. The shirt designs were the beginning of developing sellable swag to raise funds for the dance company. The cards were developed to thank donors and volunteers as well as to sell as greeting cards to help recover costs.

“—learn
to forget that passionate music. It will end.
True singing is a different breath, about
nothing. A gust inside the god. A wind.”
-The Sonnets to Orpheus; Rilke; Tran. S. Mitchell

It struck me the other day that my days were filled with doing the dutiful or waiting to do those things that need to get done. So, constantly left with a longing to dig deep into something meaningful, I realized I had resorted to using my point’n’shoot camera to find momentary portals.

Fire Baptism; watercolour on paper; 11x15 in?; 199?

I found a photo of this painting on paper that I had forgotten. I couldn’t remember where the original disappeared. I was very pleased to see it again and thought it was a successful piece.

Gothic Break Out; acrylic on canvas; 24x48 in; 2009

Returning somewhat to the style of a painting from 1989, I painted this canvas at the request of my son. He wanted a black and white painting that had dance figures. I wanted to do an abstracted figure shape in a horizontal multilimbed pose. Kali as a gothic break dancer. We were both satisfied.

Ice Field Shapenings; acrylic on canvas; 54x72 in; 1989

Care and Advocacy; poster; digital print; 8.5 x 11 in; 2008

For this poster, I used fragments of photos that were shot on a rainy, early morning walk to work along Hastings Street. It was well received and the next year I was asked to do 2 more posters. I made 2 different posters incorporating assorted photo images and was quite pleased with how they worked with the themes. Unfortunately, the client was not happy with them so they were never used.

Moral Courage; unused poster; 8.5 x 11 in; 2009

Integrating Ethical Reflection; unused poster; 2009

Shifting to Wellness; DVD cover; digital print

These educational materials were part of a project designed to support shift workers to live healthy lifestyles. The booklet was litho printed in 2 colours. The photo images are screen captures from the video and were altered to duotones.

Shifting to Wellness Handbook