|
Mural: Warm Up
Sponsorship: ONE18 Empire Address: 820 Centre St. SE Artist: Nicole Wolf Website: nicolewolfdesign.com Animator: Kyle Simmers Website: kylesimmers.com Q: Tell us a bit about your art practice. NW: I'm a visual storyteller with a passion for sharing underreported stories, and a focus on themes of spirituality, wholeness, and human interaction. I hold an associate’s degree in Fine Art at Grant MacEwan University and a Visual Communications degree from ACAD, majoring in illustration. I create comics, editorial illustration and murals in downtown Calgary, where I work out of the Artist-In-Residence studio at the New Central Library. KS: I am a freelance artist and illustrator born and raised in a special kind of nowhere called Bashaw, Alberta. Now based in Calgary, I work on a variety of freelance projects as well as commercial murals and graphic novel of which I am co-author. Q: What has been a favorite project of yours? NW: The "Draw My Story" project that I'm doing in partnership with the Calgary Public Library. People are mailing me short stories, confessions and secrets. I'm illustrating some of them and putting them into a book that people can check out of the library! KS: My favourite project is a graphic novel I am currently working on titled Pass Me By: Gone Fishin’, The first in a series co-written with visual artist Ryan Danny Owen and illustrated by myself. Q: What was your inspiration for this painting/animation? NW: Kyle and I both liked the concept of escaping cabin fever in the winter time. This figure is doing exactly that! KS: This mural was inspired by the weight of winter in this city and how you have to be creative in order to stay warm, in both a literal and emotional sense Q: How did the AR aspect of this exhibition influence you when creating the mural/animation? NW & KS: The concept was centred around the way a viewer could engage with AR to access an alternate reality. Q: What is something you want the viewer to take away after experiencing your window? NW & KS: We are both obsessed with craft and composition for an emotional end. This piece is meant to create an elated feeling from the contrasting images of endurance in a harsh environment to a scene of joy and energy Q: When touring the exhibition what is the ideal beverage to bring along? NW: A juniper latte ;) KS: Coffee. Black & Strong. Q: What did you find surprising/unexpected about participating in the exhibition? NW: How cold it was... so weird considering it was very warm before AND after. I think we had to take our own advice in the message of the mural - and show up anyways. KS: Coming back to our mural after 20 hours and finding that the underpainting hadn’t dried overnight thanks to the cold which severely affects latex acrylic paint. Q: What do you enjoy about being an artist/animator in Calgary? NW: It's small enough that I can know people in the scene, but big enough that there's always more to learn. Also, a unifying feature of artists in Calgary is how they are invested in making this city amazing! KS: Participation in the artistic community. The community here is very small, passionate and supportive. It's incredible to see such great work being put out and to know most of the artists as friends. Buds Collective would like to thank ONE18 Empire for participating in Northern Reflections 2018. Photographer: Katy Whitt Article: Victoria Hedin |