Some artists are using this social distancing time to replenish their stock, catch up on commissions or simply keep working as usual. For others it’s created a disturbance in the creative process, particularly a kink in their medium of choice. These three artists have stepped away from sculpture, at least temporarily while they regroup and re-energize their creative spirits.
Glass Artist – Miriam Silburt
“Although uninspired to do glass these days I just finished this three foot by two foot punch needle rug for the cottage. It is a technique called punch needle Hooking which uses a ball of wool rather than small pieces of material that traditional rug hookers use.”
Clay Artist – Sandra Marshall
“I have been doing a new sketch every day in pastels – a virtual African safari, along with a daily letter to my mother who is isolated in a retirement home here in Ottawa. I have attached several examples of the sketches. (I was intending to go on a trip to South Africa before the shut down.) I have also been visiting the Arboretum on the run and watching the seasonal changes.”
Polymer Artist – Maria Saracino
“With the galleries being closed I’m not particularly motivated to create new works. I’m trying to work on some online workshops and tutorials but needed a little boost. In my trade show days as a graphic designer, 25+ years ago, I used to do stage design and some contract work with an interior decorator. I would do colour coordinated oversized paintings for large walls – very loose abstracts or florals. We recently moved so I decided to do a colour schemed texturized acrylic painting for my new bedroom to coordinate with my bedspread. It works . . . and the creative juices are starting to stir again.”
studios I model for as a Life-Drawing model.
Laughter is Sheree Bradford-Lea’s antidote for what ails us as she tries to engage us through her humorous cartoons, sculptures, mixed media/fibre art and puppetry. Her background in behavioural psychology, theatre and family travel set the scene for her explorations of these media.
It was in Kingston that Sheree married and the couple decamped to Berkeley California, a career opportunity for her husband. Sheree continued to create—writing plays and short stories, having some produced and published. The couple returned to Canada with a one year old in tow, and made Ottawa their home, in time for the arrival of their second baby. Sheree began cartooning when the children were toddlers as she couldn’t devote full-time to writing, but she found that creating single and multi-panel cartoon strips fit her needs. At the suggestion of a teacher Sheree sent her artworks to a publisher, where they were well received. That encouraged her to keep her creative juice flowing, and she 
found ways to improve at her art form. She also began teaching cartooning and other art, when not creating and selling her own work to publications.
The National Capital Network of Sculptors was a natural fit for Sheree. Her passion for the curiosities of human and animal behaviour and visual perception was applied to her three dimensional art. In 2010, at the behest of stone carvers Danny Barber and Phil Smith, and to benefit a charitable cause, Sheree joined in the first annual Canadian Stone Carving Festival. For the first time, she sculpted a limestone block using only 
hand tools. Although she had only carved wood and clay before, she bravely attacked the stone over the festival weekend. She has been carving stone since then – mainly animals with added mixed media elements. Sheree is particularly fond of creating stone sheep with wooden legs, each one a unique personality. Carving stone sheep started at the Stone Carving Festival too!
Sheree once attended a puppet workshop with one of her daughters and became hooked on puppetry. As a result, she received a grant to build large scale puppets and perform at The Happening in Ottawa. Fabricating and performing with these ‘characters’ brings her special delight. Sheree is considering stop motion film for her puppetry as another way to tell engaging stories. But she promises that she will never give up cartooning and mixed media art. She always weaves in new ideas and themes to keep her work fresh.
The interactive artwork ‘Keep an Eye on Your Mother’ asked people to recall the maiden names of their great-grandmothers. The question puzzled many and they were determined to find out the answer, even to call distant relatives. Like herself, they didn’t realize that they didn’t know their own history. This cartoon-enlivened work sported a felted bird in a playing card bird house and is still
one of her favourites.
Janet K. MacKay – Sculptor/Painter
soul level. This time of isolation has thrown artists into the digital era – the internet is now our primary platform for connecting our art with others. Although grateful for the internet, this time of isolation instills in me how much I treasure the human connection my art provides.”
helping to support local artists through this very difficult time. Even if you are not buying, we would love to hear from you – it can be the motivation to continue creating.
“Work in a sculpture studio is often solitary. For my part, I practically live in my studio, so the confinement caused by the covid-19 pandemic has not changed much for me. However, I must admit that uncertainty and anxiety have slowed down my creative impulse a little. Economic uncertainty is also weighing a lot, when contracts are absent and symposiums and exhibitions are canceled or postponed. I do not know what tomorrow will look like, or whether there will be bread on the table. So, for days, I was unable to focus on my work. But I cut down watching the news and I am back to what matters to me: creating pieces that reflects myself, my passion, my beliefs, my struggles… I am happy to share with you my latest pieces because, especially in stressful times such as these, we need art in our daily lives. I began these aluminum pieces before the start of the pandemic. Some people asked me if I was a diviner. It is up to you to decide!”
“Le travail en studio de sculpture est souvent solitaire. Pour ma part, je vis pratiquement dans mon studio, donc le confinement entraîné par la pandémie de covid-19 n’a pas changé grand chose pour moi en ce sens. Néanmoins, je dois admettre que l’angoisse et l’anxiété ont freiné un peu mon élan créatif. L’incertitude économique est aussi très grande, alors que les contrats sont absents et que symposiums et expositions sont annulés ou reportés. Je ne sais pas de quoi demain sera fait, ni s’il y aura du pain sur la table. Donc, pendant des jours, j’ai été incapable de me concentrer sur mon travail. J’ai alors décidé de passer moins de temps à suivre l’actualité et je suis revenu à ce qui m’importe: créer des pièces qui me reflètent moi, ma passion, mes convictions, mes luttes… 
memorial I have a very large carving project to do for the Halifax Armouries. I will be replacing the bottom half of the Coat of Arms for Canada circa 1895. This will require clay modelling, plaster casts and many carved elements. The project is moving quite slowly though and I’m not sure that the timing will be in my favour. Fingers crossed.
