Friday, July 23rd - mark your calendars for the grand opening of THE LEAH PIPE ART SHOP in Smithers, BC 11am. The PopUp Shop will be open fridays + saturdays 11am to 7pm for a few months – a special temporary, part-time shop – to showcase all the wonderful artful treasures that have been developed over the past year.
What a (crazy)year it's been, riiiight?!?!
Amid the chaos and uncertainty, in spite of restrictions and income changes and all the covid craziness, the year brought to fruition two (personal + professional) dreams of mine. An online shop and a bricks+mortar offline shop!
As any artist will know, it’s an ongoing challenge to produce enough art to make it their sole source of income and luckily a couple of like-minded business women & friends stepped up and proposed combining time, skills, energy & creativity to help me realise these dreams.
Entrepreneur sisters Michel & Moe Kafer have joined me in my online & PopUp venture. Over the past year we teamed up to create my new website www.leahpipe.com and source & create all the wonderful products I now have to offer. It’s been a year of learning curves, tech challenges and hard work! And of course, immense excitement!
It's been a long-held dream of mine to create artful products and treasures. Being a special mix of designer + artist, product development was a natural direction for me. I love to fill my home with items that are both functional and beautiful; treasures that have a story and an artist behind that story.
Household decor items like pillows, mugs, shower curtains – we all need them, share them, give them as gifts... why not make them unique, creative and celebratory of the natural beauty around us?
Many may remember my retail shop in Old Hazelton, which closed it’s doors in 2015. Ever since then I have longed to open another shop and dreamt of all it’s possibilities.
We held our first 'Leah Pipe' PopUp at Michel & Moe's restaurant Roadhouse in Smithers last year and it was a resounding success. So when Michel offered up a longer term PopUp location at the restaurant, I jumped at the opportunity.
I'm so excited and so proud to be working with a like-minded team to help showcase my work in such beautiful and creative ways: tote bags, zip pouches, notebooks, shower curtains, shirts, hoodies(!) mugs (new!) and canvas prints.
Come see me in my quaint PopUp Shop each friday + saturday 11am to 7pm at Roadhouse Restaurant in Smithers 3711 Alfred Ave
Look for the door on the left side of the building – the PopUp has it's own access from the front parking lot (now the patio dining area).
]]>
“The Return” celebrates the annual return of salmon as they make their way from the ocean, back to their spawning grounds. Salmon are the lifeblood for all the communities situated along the mighty rivers of this region (northwest British Columbia – the Skeena River, the Bulkley River, the Nass, the Stikine). This public work of art was painted in 2019 but it was twenty years in the making! It showcases our pioneer history, our rich Gitxsan culture and our lives as river people.
I could never have predicted the level of collaborations with First Nations artists, community volunteerism and support ... and the sheer number of local people who came out to help with this project! Around seventy individuals came out to lend a hand, pick up a brush and help in some way. We definitely needed the help too – this mural took 33 days to paint!
The wood siding was old, weathered, rough and dry – our painting efforts took up to 4 times longer than had we painted these images on a canvas (in comparison). There were areas created within this mural for those that didn't have any painting experience whatsoever, giving everyone a chance to make their mark on this project – families, children, elders – everyone came out! For that reason, this project received extra support and emotional connection to our community and I feel truly blessed – at the end of it all, we had a huge community street party and celebrated together.
Article by Opus Art Supplies on Leah's Mural
Our town is quiet again, the chaotic, creative hustle and bustle of mural mayhem behind us, but we'll never forget the team members who participated in this dream and how it brought our community together.
]]>The Complex Process of Art Titles
I'm often asked how I determine the titles of my paintings and drawings. I never quite know how to answer because it's different with each piece – sometimes it's a direct idea linked with an image, an immediate knowing and other times, it takes quiet repose and time to articulate a visual concept into a stream of words, searching for the meaning behind the canvas. Other times, still, I reach out to gifted friends who seemingly bounce effortlessly with words and their craft helps to develop a title – I love these particular collaborations – working with poets, writers, visionaries, loving individuals who share their visceral responses to my work and thereby, add greatly to the art experience.
Many times, paintings are inspired by an emotion or a personal experience and the way for me to process it is through the creation of art. These art pieces hold extra meaning for me because they embody that particular time in my life. Art-making is very therapeutic and personal – a private exchange between myself and my fears, longings, joys, questions, secrets. I'm made stronger and more free having created the art piece and the titles have a hint of that personal moment in time.
A few examples to share:
“My Call To You Is In The Wind” – This drawing of a raven was sketched shortly after my father passed away and within my grief there was a deep and natural longing to speak to him one last time. On one particular day, the local ravens were highly vocal, calling to each other and I asked them if they would consider taking a message to my dad on my behalf. This art piece captures that day. Anyone can ask a raven or crow to send a message to a loved one. Carefully craft your message and kindly ask a raven for this personal favour.
“Every Time She Sleeps” – Every time she sleeps, she slips into a misty forest / trees embrace her like a long lost friend / Crow prepares her perfect pillow – For some reason, I've started adding a bit of prose as an extension of the title. This recent painting helped me through a time of deep transition and reflection. The old me was slipping away (“every time she sleeps”) a part of me was going into a deep sleep with the trust that I would awaken as a better person, a better artist (with Crow's help and nurturing – preparing my favourite pillow – this notion gives me a sense of family, even if only through an imagined art image).
“The Changing Winds” – the onset of the pandemic – uuuugh! I found myself changing my art techniques, messing things up (my version of messy) and painting the swirling changes to my world, our world! The raven looks skyward, it's body twisting in pose, wanting to take flight and at the same time, wanting refuge. The dualities inherent in this shared global experience – at times, both hopeful and dreadful, scared and strong, connected and isolated, vulnerable and yet, safe. Art helps us to makes sense of the world and our particular connections and experiences as little humans, awash in a crazy time.
]]>