• The Hibernation Project- SUUV Act 1 (March 2019)

    The Hibernation Project- SUUV Act 1 (March 2019)

    I was invited by Caitlind Brown and Wayne Garrett to participate in the Hibernation Project, a winter-long residency they are curating in their domestic space. I used this opportunity to stage the first act of "SUUV" where a group of 3 witches "conjure" the spirit of UltraViolet into Caitlind and Wayne's basement through the March supermoon.

  • Save Us Ultra Violet (January 2019)

    Good news! I received grant funding from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts to complete my film project "Save Us UltraViolet", which is about a cult of "witches" who worship the color Ultraviolet. SUUV will be a crossover between animation, live video, installation and performance. Production will take lace through spring 2019 with the intention to wrap things up before fall film festival season. SUUV LIVES!!!!

  • FREE PLAY (September 2018)

    FREE PLAY (September 2018)

    I've started a new studio research project this fall, based around free play methodology. My goal for this body of work is to take the aesthetics for play -early childhood education and hobby art- and reach a form of original research through dedicated studio experimentation. My intention is to both authentically engage in "free play" as well critique the privilege of play.

  • SEEKING REPRESENTION

    I am currently seeking new commercial gallery representation in either Calgary or any other major city across Canada or the US. Please contact me if you are interested. Although almost all of my large canvases are sold, I do have a number of small to mid-size paintings available for sale immediately and I am currently working on my next exhibition of "Simulation" paintings.

  • ARTISTS WORKING IN THE COMMUNITY (June 2018)

    I participated in a month long course with Dawn Van De Shoot called "Artists Working in the Community", sponsored by the City of Calgary Public Art Program. Through this program I gained some valuable insight for both my teaching and art practice. My goal is to pursue more opportunities for community-engaged projects in the future.

  • THE QUICKDRAW ANIMATION LOCKDOWN (May 2018)

    I signed up for this year's Quickdraw Animation and used that crazy experience to start a new project "Save Us Ultra Violet". This film will be a satire on the Pantone Color of The Year and the statement the company put out about the power of "Ultra Violet". I tried new techniques for this, including cell animation and some basic rotoscoping.

  • TOUVA WORKSHOP (October 2017)

    I was honoured to participate in a workshop with the TOUVA performance collective that was sponsored by City of Calgary Public Art. This short workshop was a participatory experience in relational aesthetics. I learned so much about performance through this, met some great people and found myself brainstorming new ideas. We put together a public performance at the end of the workshop, which was a first for me (I'm the one hiding under the blanket.)

  • 61st AVENUE CORRIDOR PROJECT

    61st AVENUE CORRIDOR PROJECT

    I was contracted by the City of Calgary to produce fabric banners and vinyl wraps to be installed in public near Chinook Mall. I used this opportunity as an excuse to produce a new paper collage project, learn the in-and-outs of producing large-scale digital images, as well as dive into Fiber Art. I've been secretly working on my quilting skills for a number of years now, and I would like to use this approach to expand my abstract visual aesthetic.

    I'm proud of this project and the way it moved my practice forward creatively. I hope to exhibit the original artworks in a gallery setting.

  • THE FRAME IS THE KEYFRAME

    THE FRAME IS THE KEYFRAME

    I'm honoured to be included in "The Frame is the Keyframe", curated by Madi Pillar and produced by Toronto Animated Image Society. This group show brought together 8 artists to present original commissioned work along the theme of the keyframe.

    I completed and contributed "Feel the Beat" a paint-on-glass stop-motion video loop (8 minutes) . I tried to build on my paint animation techniques with this project and I added an original soundtrack composed of field recordings.

    I have recently taken a hiatus from producing films and I am truly thankful that Madi and TAIS offered me this chance to make a new film I can be proud of.

  • INGLEWOOD PUBLIC MURAL (June 2016)

    INGLEWOOD PUBLIC MURAL (June 2016)

    Calgary artist Daniel J Kirk was commissioned to create a mural for the boards around the demolition site that once was Pith Gallery and Studios. Daniel wanted to reflect the history of the site in this work and he met with Pith organizers and artist to discuss the project. As a result I donated images of my collage, which was made at Pith, to be integrated into the mural. If you go down to Inglewood and look, you can see wheat pasted prints of the collage layered into the mural, informing the overall composition.

    Thank You Daniel for inviting me to collaborate on your public project and acknowledging the story of Pith.

  • ART OF THE PEACE CONFERENCE (May 2016)

    ART OF THE PEACE CONFERENCE (May 2016)

    I was honoured to be invited as a lecturer and workshop facilitator to Art Fest 2016 in Grand Prairie Alberta, May 13-15. The conference was organized by Art of the Peace Visual Arts Group and took place at the fabulous Camp Tamarack. The workshop I organized was a "String Party" in which yarn was used for a collaborative site-specific installation. Many lessons were learned and great fun was had by the participants. However, the most positive outcome of this event is that the Camp will be keeping the installation up for the summer and all the young campers will be invited to add to it over the summer. They have also promised to send images so we can see how this piece organically evolves.

  • INCLUSION ON PAINTED CITY ARTIST ROSTER (May 2016)

    I was recently contacted by a representative of the City of Calgary inviting me to apply to the Painted City Artist Roster, which is a program that pre-approves artists to be included on a short-list for potential 2D public art commissions in Calgary. Artists will who are accepted for one of these projects will be expected to work with the public in designing artworks specific to their community and the site. Being motivated by possibility, I am looking forward to seeing how delving into public art could potentially shift my practice in new directions.

  • NEW ANIMATION COMMISSION (April 2016)

    It's official, I have been commissioned to create a new animation for the exhibition "The Frame is the Keyframe:Frame Anomalies". This group exhibition is presented by the Toronto Animated Image Society and will take place this November in Toronto, Canada.

  • ARTIST LECTURE (March 2016)

    I was invited to Red Deer College to give an artist talk for a 200 level course. I chose to talk about my progress as an artist starting from my years as an undergraduate student; as I hoped this topic would be relatable to the young audience. I received some very positive feedback, some of the students were inspired to see an artist discussing how to transition from a self-conscious student to practicing artist. I benefited from this experience as well. Of late, I have been hyper sensitive of my low-production in my studio due to new baby and this lecture was a chance to remind myself about how much work I have achieved over the past decade.

  • HOW I MADE A MUSIC VIDEO WITHOUT DOING MUCH WORK (March 2016)

    A couple years ago I was contacted by Gaverick de Vris of Piono, a band from London, England. He saw my work online and was hoping I would be willing to collaborate on a video for their song "Terpsichordia". I put if off for a long time for a number of reasons, mostly I was too busy or too pregnant to commit any time to it. However, after some email contact we agreed I would send them a video file of a complete timeline of my raw, unedited animations and they would compose it into the music video. In the past, I have had reservations about anyone taking creative control of my work but recently I have come to see the benefits of collaboration. The resulting video shows fidelity to the original stop-motion work while transforming it in ways I would not have on my own.

  • CHROMAFILM TO SCREEN IN VIENNA (March 2016)

    CHROMAFILM TO SCREEN IN VIENNA (March 2016)

    "Chromafilm" has been included in a package of Canadian independent animations which will play the Tricky Women Film Festivial in Vienna Austria, March 2-6, 2016. As of now, my animations have made it to 5 continents!

    Thank You curator Madi Pillar for this opportunity.

  • BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT (July 2015)

    BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT (July 2015)

    Our son, Peter Sebastian Bell was born July 5, 2016 at Calgary's Rockyview General Hospital. I am looking forward to spending the next little bit as a full-time caregiver to this little person as well as challenging myself to get in the studio as much as I can.

  • INTERVIEW BY OTHERPEOPLESPIXELS (March 2015)

    I was contacted by otherpeoplespixels.com
    otherpeoplespixels| in December because they wanted to interview me as a feature artist. It was a great experience. First of all, I postponed the interview so I could update me website, which was painful but necessary (It took two weeks of solid work I was so behind but, in the end, it was worth it to see quantifiable evidence of four years of interdisciplinary practice). After taking my medicine, Stacia Yeapanis sent me a number of interview questions that were extremely relevant to my practice. It was obvious that she had looked at my work closely and has an acute sense of contemporary art approaches. Answering these questions ultimately benifited me because I had to reflect on my current work to the point where I gained some new perspective and revised my artist statement.

    The Final Edited Interivew was posted March 26, 2015 and it gives good insight into my process, interests and challenges.

    Thank you Stacia for this wonderful opportunity!

  • MATERNITY LEAVE (JAN 2015)

    My husband and I have decided to add to our family and we are expecting our first child sometime in July. Although this is a happy time for us it means I will be stepping back from my studio practice for a while.

  • AURORATONE STILL LIVES (Oct 2014)

    It has been announced that the Auroratone film package will be screened at the Rendevous With Madness Film Festival as part of their shorts package, Friday November 2014 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.

  • SIMULATION SERIES TO BE INCLUDED IN THE AFA COLLECTION (June 2014)

    "Glenbow 3" and "Glenbow 2" have been acquired be the Alberta Foundation for the Arts for their Permanent Collection.

    Thank you to the AFA for their ongoing support!

  • SIMULATION SERIES TO GRAZE THE WALLS OF THE BOW BUILDING (Jan 2014)

    The Cenovus Corporation has purchased 4 large canvases from the "Simulation Series" including 2 brand new paintings made just for them, "Glenbow 8" and "Skew 4" which will, unfortunately, never be exhibited in public. These paintings are destined for Cenovus's brand new office in the Bow building, Calgary's newest tallest skyscraper.

  • AURORATONE LIVES! (Oct 2013)

    The Auroratone film package is continuing to show around the world.

    The latest screening will be at The Animatter Film Festival in Victoria, BC

    In addition is has played at Brooklyn's Spectacle Theatre (March 14, 2013) and the Townhouse Gallery in Cairo, Egypt (November 2012)

  • ANOTHER PRE-DEMOLITION PROJECT! (Sept 2013)

    The curators that brought together |http://wreckcityproject.wordpress.com|WreckCity are at it again with Phantom Wing which turns the soon-to-be torn down wing of the Kind Edward School into a site-specific themed art installation site.

    By sheer chance, my husband Chris had collected over 50 fireballs which he had de-installed from a building site as part of his day job as a commercial electrician. Since he acquired them, these bells have been stacked on the floor of our dining room and I saw this call for installations in a former school as the perfect opportunity to repurpose them into "Seen Not Heard" an interactive sound sculpture. We suspended the bells from a pulley system hidden in the roof, drilled some directly into the floor for resonance and even hid one in the wall against an I-beam to surprise anyone who pulled the handle nearby.

    We received many positive reviews for the piece, as it was interactive in an engaging way and people felt it fit with the history of the space (being the former library). Many were also very curious as to how we acquired all the bells and, much to my consternation, could not stop commenting on how we, the Bells, made a bell installation.

    Aside from word-of-mouth exposure, "Seen Not Heard" was also described rather glowingly in the blog House of Muses.

    However "Phantom Wing" was an interesting lesson in dealing with the public as it seemed as though many viewers felt the need to test the engineering limits of a number of the pieces and "Seen Not Heard" received some serious abuse and wear and tear. We even needed to come in early Saturday morning to replace the metal rings buried in the ceiling as they were bent and almost completely sawed through by friction.

  • click here for photo and video documentation of past exhibitions

  • PRESS COVERAGE FOR SUMMER SPIRIT (Aug 2013)

    The opening for "Summer Spirit went exceptionally well, with hundreds of people in attendance. I was really happy with this particular exhibition and I received tons of positive feedback and valuable exposure leading to future opportunities.

    Avenue Magazine wrote a review of the show and I was also interviewed by ShawTV for a short video spot. Oh the horror of seeing myself talking!

  • SUMMER SPIRIT (July 2013)

    I was contacted by the Art Gallery of Calgary's curator, Kayleigh Hall, to participate in a sweeping retrospective of the Albert 2000's art scene but unfortunately I could not participate due to scheduling conflicts, as my work would be on display concurrently at SQ Commons. Instead Kayleigh invited me to show a larger selection of my work in the AGC's main space as part of their July show, "Summer Spirit". Included will be a bigger and better "Cosmic Collage" as well as 5 paintings, including the brand-spanking new "Skew 3" and "Glenbow 6".

    "Summer Spirit" was originally supposed to open in late June, however the show was delayed due to the Calgary's epic flood which knocked out the AGC's power for over a week and prevented the art movers from reaching my studio in Inglewood. (on the plus side...I had more time to paint ;) ).

    Thank you Kayleigh Hall for this great opportunity.

  • FLOOD OF THE CENTURY HITS CALGARY (July 2013)

    Southern Alberta was hit this June by a massive flood that caused billions in property damage, left over 100 000 people temporarily of permanently homeless and cost 5 people their lives.

    My house, located in the aptly named Mount Pleasant neighbourhood was unaffected. But the night the flood hit, I feared I had lost my studio and all the artworks stored therein, including the "Cosmic Collage" that I had been building for over four years.

    On June 20th, I was in full-on 24hour painting mode preparing for my upcoming exhibition at the Art Gallery of Calgary. I biked down in the heavy rain to my studio which is located in Inglewood, blocks away from the confluence of the Elbow and Bow Rivers. With painting-mode blinders on I worked all day in my studio, completely oblivious to the weather warnings and my studio mate, Melanie Aikenhead, who was stacking everything from her studio into a truck to move it to higher ground.

    Later that night I went the the Palomino, still oblivious, to catch what would turn out to be one of only two night's of Calgary's Sled Island Festival, which was completely cancelled the next day. My husband and I left around midnight, wanting to call it early so i could get back to work bright and early the next day. On the way home the cab driver told us all the bridges were about to be shut down and we would be among the last people to make it north from downtown. It wasn't until about 2am that it occurred to me that my studio might flood.

    On June 21, I didn't know what to do with myself. I had been completely absorbed by my work for weeks and it was a shock to be unable to continue as well as to have no news on whether my studio was a goner or not. That day I went to a house party in Bridgeland. Although Sled Island was officially cancelled, the city was already full of bands who travelled to Calgary for the festival, and locals across the city opened there doors to basement shows for what was soon to be named "Flood Island" which lasted the full week. It would turn out to be one of the most memorable Sled Islands, with a debauched party spirit born out of desperation of loss and Albertan tenacity. My band, the Pine Tarts, would play a show in Capital Hill on Saturday night.

    Since the flood began, Inglewood had been evacuated and closed down to traffic and, according to the news, the Army had been called in to help save the bird sanctuary east of my studio. On Saturday morning June 21, some business owners were allowed in through from the south east and I received a phone call from Mel telling me that Peter, the owner of Inglewood Art Supplies had driven by the studio and did not see any overland flooding. Luckily, Inglewood had recently invested in rebuilding its berms along the bow river and, unlike many other the berms, Inglewood's held fast despite being in the flood's epicentre. THANK YOU INGLEWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD ASSOCIATION!

    The next day, the Centre Street and 9th Avenue Bridges were reopened to foot traffic allowing me to travel an unbelievably circuitous route by bike through the abandoned downtown core. I made it to my studio to find most of my work safe and dry, with the sad exception of some elements of the "Cosmic Collage" which were water-damaged from leaks that sprung in the roof.

    I got back to work that day, days and weeks before residents were allowed to return to their homes. Riding my bike home late at night I witnessed some surreal sights thanks to the Calgary Stampede, which went, on as they say "Come Hell or High Water", like horses grazing in the fields around Fort Calgary for the first time in decades and Parade Floats left parked without supervision on the side of the road in east village. (I guess they forgot about resilient cyclists who would be weaving there way through the disaster zone)

  • CHROMAFILM GOES TO AUSTRALIA (June 2013)

    The Melboure International Film Festival will be featuring a number of short films produced by members of Quickdraw Animation Society including "Chromafilm". yay!

  • NO WORDS ATTACHED (May 2013)

    The newest instalment of the "Cosmic Collage" (now officially graduated to installation from wall-collage status) as well as my latest "Simulation" paintings, which were made with the support of the Alberta Foundation of Arts, will be on display as part of a solo show in Skew Gallery's new space, SQ Commons in 8th Avenue Place, from May 9 to June 21, 2013.

    Thank you Emily Barnett, Bart Habermiller Chris Bell and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts for their support.

  • WRECK THE CITY! (May 2013)

    When it comes to exhibition opportunities, the old adage is true: when it rains it pours. I am currently preparing for a solo exhibition but I could not turn down this unique chance to participate in a massive pre-demolision project Wreck City curated by my friends, Matthew Mark Bourree, Caitlind r.c. Brown, Jennifer Crighton, Brandon A. Dalmer, Andrew Frosst, John Frosst, Shawn Mankowske, and Ryan Scott.

    Wreck City took a block of houses on 5th Avenue NW slated for demolition, (including the former home of 809, an independent gallery run by Shawn Mankowske) and turned them into a massive art installation site open to the public between April 19 and 27, 2013.

    Along with my collaborators, my bandmates from the Pine Tarts, (particularly including my husband Chris, Jesse Powell and honorary Pine Tart Sean Chamberlain), I produced the site-specific "Infinity Forest" inspired by Yayoi Kusama's "Infinity Room". The "Infinity Forest" is a room covered in found mirrors, filled with vegetation and lit by a laser light machine. To enter the forest, one must crawl through a small door or through a hole in the wall hidden inside a pantry cupboard.

    The Pine Tarts were invited to play Wreck City and Sean Chamberlain recorded the event and edited it into a video featuring the song "Modern Loving".

    Documentation of the entire event, photographed by Mike Tan can be viewed here. And there is currently a documentary of the event currently in production.

    Special Thanks to John Frosst, Chris Bell, Jesse Powell, Sean Chamberlain and Mathieu Blancard for bringing pizza.

  • MUTOPIA ARCHIVE ON EXHIBITION (Oct 2012)

    "Mutopia 7" was an interesting experience, to say the least. I left with new friends, tons of stories, a database full of audio samples and videos, as well as new teaching techniques to introduce in my classes this year.

    Installed by Dana Buzzee and myself, "Process Archive", the collective results of our collaborative efforts, will be on display at Pith Gallery as part of M:ST 6.

    Thank you Tomas Jonsson, John Grzinich, the Banff Centre and Dana Buzzee.

  • POPMONTREAL FILM COMMISSION (Sept 2012)

    I was contacted in April by Kier-La Janisse, PopMontreal's FilmPop curator, to do a special commission for their Auroratone Film Package, a collection of experimental videos based on Cecil Stoke's Auroratones from the 1940's. As part of the commission, PopMontreal would arrange to get permission to use a song from any of the bands that are set to play in PopMontreal this year. I was super excited to have the chance-in-a-lifetime opportunity to use the song, Colorado, from one of my all-time favourite bands, Grizzly Bear.

    Both this song and the video I made are very close to my heart as their cathartic reflective tone are deeply influenced by an experience I went through while in production, the passing of my father. For one example, the video ends with fireworks seen from a distance shot at Calgary's World Festival, these refer to the night before my dad died, when I was watching the Canada Day fireworks in Edmonton, AB.

    The Auroratone films are set to |http://popmontreal.com/events-tickets/le-projet-auroratone-nouvelles-frontieres-du-cinema-psychiatrique-the-auroratone-project-new-frontiers-in-psychiatric-cinema-2/
    premiere| Sept 21 at FilmBox and I will be in attendee.

    I'd like to thank Kier-la Janisse and Walter Forsberg for this opportunity.

  • MUTOPIA 7 WORKSHOP (June 2012)

    I am exited to be participating in a one week workshop "Mutopia 7" at The Banff Centre for the Arts. Sponsored by The Mountain Standard Performance Arts Festival and facilitated by John Grzinich(Estonia), this workshop is focused on collaborative activity, interdisciplinary practices and, of course, performance art. This will be a whole new experience for me and my goal is to both rethink my art practice and to learn approaches to teaching collaboration when I return to work next semester at ACAD.

  • NEW SKEW AND GLENBOW PAINTINGS (MARCH 2012)

    In January I received an Alberta Foundation for the Arts project grant to continue my new set of paintings, the "Simulation Series", which are representational abstract paintings created from the image documentation garnered from my "Cosmic Wall" installations. Both my Skew show and the installation I assembled for the Glenbow Museum garnered dozens of priceless images to work from for years to come and I'm excited to get to work!

  • GETTING SCHMANCY (FEB 2012)

    The Glenbow Museum is organizing a fabulous fundraiser called "Schmancy" which includes "ArtPark", a group show of local calgary art talent. They are inviting me to install my "Cosmic Wall" as part of this show and I'm looking forward to this opportunity to create a new site-specific configuration, particularly since i will have the help of professional installers which will make it possible to put together a more ambitious installation that I've been able to in the past.

    I'd like to thank the Glenbow and there chief curator Liz Edels for this amazing opportunity.

  • FILMS FILMS FILMS (Oct 2011)

    For over two years now I have been working on an animation at Quickdraw Animation Society with the support of a |http://www.affta.ab.ca/HomeAlberta Foundation of the Arts| Video Project Grant. What was originally one short film spawned in the process a plethora of video loops, short clips and short films, including "IO", "Ganymede Pulse", "Europa", "Chromafilm", "Apollo" and "Aquarius".

    The first three animations are video loops that were first installed in the Marquee Room during the 2010 ArtCity Festival, and the latter's visuals were completed just in time to be installed as loops for "Light Fantastic" at the 2011 Sled Island Festival.

    My involvement with Sled Island also led to a collaboration with Josh McNorton, who is a musician working as the festival's talent coordinator. Josh has an interest in sound art and offered to record together in Sled Island's basement offices over the month of June. These recording sessions led to a number of soundscapes that I will use for my animation work, including a full soundtrack for "Apollo" as well as a base layer for "Aquarius".

    The rest of my summer was spent in video editing, sound recording and post production and I finished finished everything except for "Aquarius" by the time my project report was due in the fall.

    "Chromafilm" will premier as a short film with an original soundtrack at this years Giraf Film Festival.

    "Apollo" and "Aquarius" will also be projected large as part of "AniCity", a series of outdoor projections running in conjunction with Giraf.

  • ANIMATED DELIGHT (Sept 2011)

    I have been invited, along with 3 other Quickdraw animators, Brian Batista, Stephanie Wong, and the late Chris Melychuk, to exhibit my work in a travelling exhibition "Animated Delight". Included in the group exhibition will be 2 on my paper cut-outs as well as the short film "Painted Moon". Curated by Les Pinter for the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Trex Program, "Animated Delight" is a tribute to Chris's contribution to animation and will travel to elementary schools across Alberta.

    "Animated Delight" is supported by educational programming where students are encouraged to make artworks inspired by are animations. Apparently the kids will be making kaleidoscopes after seeing my film "Painted Moon"!.

    Before embarking on its two-year cross province journey, "Animated Delight" will debut at my gallery, Skew, on Tuesday September 27.

    Thank you Les Pinter, Skew Gallery and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

  • C'EST LA VIE (Aug 2011)

    Quickdraw lost a member of its family when Chris Melnychuk passed away from cancer. As a tribute to Chris, Quickdraw has asked its animators to help complete his final film, "C'est La Vie: The Chris J. Melnychuk Story" which recounts his experiences with terminal illness. I was honoured to participate and took the chance to try some new animation techniques, including rotoscoping and using TVP. You can see my contribution between 0:30 and 0:57 (I did everything except the text.)

    "C'est La Vie" will premiere at this year's Giraf Festival and I'm sure the screening will illicit both feelings of cathartic joy and sadness.

    Thank you Karilynn Thompson for coordinating the whole project.

  • SOLO EXHIBITION (Sept 2011)

    Skew Gallery will be presenting my site-specific installation "Cosmic Wall" as well as three brand new paintings in an exhibition entitled "Simulacra" in their newly renovated space. There will also be two other solo exhibitions by Kris Karklin and Pat Lundin in the Skew space opening that night, so it should be a great opening!

  • NEW JOB!! (Aug 2011)

    Starting this Fall, I will be employed by the Alberta College of Art & Design as a sessional instructor in the Painting Faculty. Looking forward to it!

  • SLED ISLAND DOCUMENTATION (July 2011)

    The visual art programming for Sled Island was produced in partnership with the Alberta College of Art and Design. As part of this grand endeavor, ACAD documented the production and installation of the art for all the various Sled venues. In June, I was visited by a videographer and a photographer who captured me at work at my animation stand. The resulting short film, that can be viewed on ACAD's official youtube page. My brief appearance provides some insight into my ultra-mysterious animation process.

    Thank you ACAD, especially Wayne Baerwaldt, photographer Erin Low, and videographer Brendon Rathbone,

  • SLED ISLAND 2011 (June 25, 2011)

    As if I wasn't busy enough preparing for a solo exhibition at Skew Gallery, I agreed to curate a video installation in the Emmedia Screening Room as a venue for live music for the Sled Island Music Festival. This installation, "Light Fantastic", was a collaboration between myself and new media artist, Theresa Tam. For my artistic contribution, I included my latest animations being produced as part of my AFA video grant, "Aquarius", "Apollo" and "Chromafilm". Seeing my visual work come to life with live music has honestly been one of the highlights of my life, especially Saturday night's performance by Moon Duo. This experience has left me excited about collaborating with musicians in the future.

    I'd like to thank Sled Island, especially Josh McNorton and Paisley Simm, as well as Theresa Tam, Amy Horne, Quickdraw Animation Society, Emmedia, Alberta College of Art and Design and Chris Bell.

  • NOW REPRESENTED BY SKEW GALERY (June 30th, 2011)

    It's official, Skew Gallery will be representing me and carrying my paintings, drawings and collage work in their inventory for sale. I am also pleased to announce that I will be mounting a solo exhibition, entitled "Simulca" at Skew Gallery between September 8th and October 7th, 2011. The opening will be on September 25th, 2011, coinciding with the ArtCity Festival.

  • INCLUSION IN ARTBANK COLLECTION (June 2nd, 2011)

    I'm pleased to announce that my abstract painting, "Entropic 2" has been purchased by the Canada Council's ArtBank Collection. To date, my work has also been acquired by the ColArt Collection as well as numerous private collections across Canada, Germany and the United States.

  • UNTITLED EXHIBITION WENT OFF WITHOUT A HITCH (January 21st, 2011)

    The exhibition "Light Matter Research" is a collection of recent multi-medium works. It includes such things as oil pantings, works on paper, framed collage, digital prints, video loops, original cel drawings and a site-specific wall collage. I enjoyed producing artwork specifically for the unique space in Untitled Art Society and it was satisfying to see such a diverse collection of works coming together in a cohesive manner. The opening took place on a very cold January night (it was well below -30C) so I would like to thank everyone who braved the weather to come out.

    Jane McQuitty, a local artist and curator, interviewed me and wrote an article to accompany the exhibition, it can be found, along with some wonderful photo documentation by Aran Wilkinson-Blanc in on the UAS website.

  • UPCOMING EXHIBITION AT UNTITLED ART SOCIETY (December 10th, 2010)

    Good News! I've been offered a solo exhibition at Untitled Arts Society as part of The Triangle Gallery's "Québec Connection / Centennial Celebrations of Abstract Art - 7th Annual Winter Art Stroll" which invites Calgarians to spend Saturday, January 14th, 2011 visiting a number of participating art galleries in the downtown area who are mounting exhibitions around the theme of abstract painting. My exhibition, "Light matter Research" will run from January 14th to February 4th, and the opening will be during the Winter Stroll, Saturday, Jan 15th, between 1pm and 4pm.

  • AVENUE MAGAZINE (November 1st, 2010)

    I was recently interviewed by Avenue Magazine about my animation practice and the current film I'm working on. The resulting article, "Behind The Art" appears on page 30 of the November issue.

  • RADIANT ARRAY OPENS AT SQ ART PROJECTS (October 14, 2010)

    My art practice has branched out in many directions over the past couple of years, but in some ways it doubled over itself and burrowed in. I'm pleased to announce that Calgary gallery SQ Art Projects is showing a selection of my recent paintings in both acrylic and oil as well as a number of works on paper. "Radiant Array" presents the continued exploration of an abstract organic universe, oscillating between myopic peeps of accidental beauty and solid visions of expansive complexity and light. This world of ambiguous, but seemingly familiar form comes with its own set of personal icons, objects of focus that evoke the inner creative fire as well as connective synapsis lighting up in color.

  • PAINTED MOON ENTERS THE FILM FEST CIRCUIT (May 14th, 2010)

    I finished my first short film (complete with a soundtrack), "Painted Moon" in the fall of 2009. Since then it's been exhibited as part of an installation for ArtCity 2009 and had its theatrical debut on April 18th, at the Calgary Underground Film Festival. The event was really well attended and I'd like to thank all my friends and family who came out.

    However, "Painted Moon" is not done with us yet. It has been invited to the Worldwide Short Film Festival, which runs from June 1st to 6th, 2010 in Toronto, ON.

  • A LOVE LETTER TO LES TERRITOIRES (March 20th, 2010)

    I really enjoyed my trip in Montreal this summer and appreciate the opportunity I had to install the "Cosmic Wall" at Galerie Les Territoires. Everyone I met was so nice, supportive, and awesome and I hope for their continued success. (My friends Courtney, Nicole and Clement, my husband Chris, and my MFA thesis advisor Eliza Griffiths were also a giant help putting together the exhibition and I'm really grateful for that :). Thank yous go out to all parties involved.

    This February, Les Territoires included my short video "Painted Moon" in their Sang Neuf performance night and screening. I wish I could have visited Montreal this time but alas, my jet-setter days are temporarily on hold. However, I hear the event went really well. Cheers!

  • PRESS COVERAGE FOR "LIGHT MATTER" Aug 2009 at Les Territoires, Montreal

    "Leslie Bell's favourite book title is "The Unbearable Lightness of Being". And in the Calgary-based abstract painter's world, light is most definitely a physical and heavy thing, manifesting in brilliant swaths of colour."
    Mike Landry, thingsofdesire.ca

    "...without a doubt, worth catching"
    Jasia Stewart, midnight poutine.ca

  • MY FIRST INTERVIEW (August 13th 2009)

    So I was contacted by Mike Landry, the editor of the "Things of Desire" art blogzine, it seems the press for my upcoming exhibition had caught his eye and he wanted to do an interview. I was flattered and excited so I readily agreed. The article came out today and I must admit it's a bit eery and permanent to see yourself quoted by a writer in an article, especially from an interview situation where you're saying things off the top of your head. It left me wondering: how often do I really say really? The article is great though you can read it at thingsofdesire.ca

  • IT'S NOT FANCY BUT IT WORKS FOR ME (May 31st, 2009)

    I'm very excited about launching my new website at lesliebell.ca . It doesn't have very many bells and whistles, but using a pre-made website template from otherpeoplespixels.com allows me to manage and update it all by myself, which is important considering the MILLIONS OF BILLIONS of artworks I'm planning on adding to my page in the future. I'm doubly excited that the domain name lesliebell.ca was available and that I didn't have to settle for a more convoluted name.