CBC Covid Residencies

On a B.C. island, repetition helps this sculptor deal with her COVID-19 anxiety

Lise Hosein · CBC News · April 1, 2020

(CBC Arts)

In our self-shot video series COVID Residencies, we're checking out how artists are adapting their practices in isolation, whether it's diving into different processes or getting lost in their sketchbooks.

A while back, we brought you the story of ceramic sculptor Susannah Montague. On Bowen Island, B.C., Montague usually makes ornate (and sometimes dark) works, letting barnacles fasten to them when she submerges them in the sea.

Now, though, working in her usual way feels a bit overwhelming as she thinks about the resources available on her island and what to do if her family requires medical assistance. It's an anxiety-inducing series of ruminations, so Montague has shifted her art practice to help her cope with the realities of life during social isolation.

CBC ARTS DOCUMENTARY on MY NEW body of work

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Letting barnacles grow on her work is the key to this sculptor's ethereal creations

For her latest project, Susannah Montague is stepping out of her studio and collaborating with the ocean

Milena Salazar · CBC News · August 22

(CBC Arts)

When Bowen Island, B.C.-based artist Susannah Montague was growing up, her family would travel to Scotland to visit relatives who owned an antique shop. She would spend those summers studying vintage objects like Dresden dolls and blue and white porcelain in the shop — an experience that now deeply informs her intricate ceramic work.

Using these traditional methods but with a contemporary twist, her pieces combine natural and fantastical elements to conjure a whimsical world of cherubs, dolls, butterflies, skulls and animals. "I think my style is influenced by my childhood and watching my children grow up," she says. "It's full of the daydreams that we have as children, and the nightmares of a childhood, captured in the scary and the beauty of these pieces."

Watch The Video:

On Bowen Island, artist Susannah Montague explains why she's been giving her sculptures to the ocean.

For her latest project, Montague is stepping out of her studio and collaborating with the ocean. She's submerging new ceramic pieces in crab traps in the intertidal zone, allowing barnacles to grow on them. Barnacles are small crustaceans that build a "house" around them made of calcium carbonate — which happens to be the most common source of calcium in ceramic glazes. "I was sculpting barnacles in porcelain and I thought, 'Why not let nature do its thing?' I love the thrill of working so hard of making a piece and just surrendering it and leaving it in the ocean for months. It's sort of like opening the kiln. You hold your breath and open it up."

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(CBC Arts)

In this video, Susannah Montague talks about the process of letting outside forces step in to her work, and how it's allowed her to let go of her perfectionism and let nature use its own creative power.

You can follow Susannah Montague and her adventures with the ocean here.

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(CBC Arts)

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(CBC Arts)

"Enjoy the Now" Podcast Interview Off with Danielle Krysa AKA the Jealous Curator

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Earlier this month I got to participate in an "Interview Off" with Danielle Krysa AKA The Jealous Curator. Danielle interviewed me and then I got the opportunity to interview her and learn more about her new book "A Big Important Art Book (Now With Women!)". This event was hosted at Victoria's Club Kwench  and it was a real honour to have been a part of this event. You can listen to the Danielle's Pod Cast entitled of the event entitled "Enjoy The Now" at her Art For Your Ear podcast page. I hope you enjoy it!

 

Elevenses / Susannah Montague in discussion with The Jealous Curator March 25th in Victoria, BC.

"Join us for a conversational interview with Danielle Krysa (The Jealous Curator) and artist Susannah Montague. Both of these talented and sassy women will discuss their art, the business of art, and their respective challenges and inspirations.

Coffee, tea and light snacks provided - it is elevenses after all.

Danielle Krysa has a BFA in Visual Arts, and a post-grad in graphic design. She is the writer/curator behind the contemporary art site, The Jealous Curator (est.2009). Danielle has curated shows from Washington DC to Los Angeles, San Francisco to Toronto. In 2014 she published two books, titled “Creative Block” and “Collage”. Her third book, “Your Inner Critic Is A Big Jerk” was released in October 2016, and she is currently working a new book due out Fall 2018. Danielle has also had the great pleasure of speaking at TEDx, PIXAR, Creative Mornings, CreativeLive, and was interviewed for several video segments on oprah.com.

Susannah Montague received her BFA from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in the sculpture department. She also attended the Ontario University of Art and Design, the Vancouver Film School, and completed an Artist In Residence program with Bowen Island School. She has exhibited and sold her work in Vancouver and Los Angeles and is a long time member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (I.A.T.S.E.)


e·lev·ens·es
noun British informal
a short break for light refreshments, usually tea or coffee, and sometimes biscuits, taken about eleven o'clock in the morning."

- Club Kwench event