This Saturday's art opening hosted by The Octopus Project is the second time that I will be exhibiting with this artist-run organization.
"The OCTOPUS PROJECT provides an outlet for artists to continue making art by offering a challenge to create. The challenge is issued as a spark —an idea or image— sent out every eight weeks for interpretation by the artists." (Quoted from their site www.octopusproject.ca)
When I asked Catherine, one of the founders of The Octopus Project, how she and her co-creator Melanie came up with the name and concept of this organization this is how she replied.
"We were having a dinner party with some good friends and I told Melanie about a dream I had in which she was the main character. I dreamed she was swimming in a black ocean, with a single light on her as she swam to the top. A giant fuscia octopus came from the depths and started pulling her down in a serene way, like she was meant to go under with it. It was such a striking image we starting talking about what it might look like if I created something with it. That turned to the idea of how interesting it would be to have artists of various disciplines or styles create something based on that image, and so the Octopus Project was born! We always also say that the amount of double chocolate cake we ate that evening may have sparked us quite a bit more than usual to follow through on our idea :)"
This cycle's spark was "ladder". My piece that I created for the show is entitled "Nature's Ladders" and can be seen below. I've found that having a "spark" when approaching a project really gets me focused.
The show will be held this Saturday 12-4pm at:
55 Mill St. Bldg. 74
(Case Goods Warehouse)
Studio 410 - 4th Floor
