 | |
 |
 |
The Creative SpaceBehind the scenes with Canada’s art makers and shakers.
Tobias Wong Location: Brooklyn, New York Thirty-three-year-old former Vancouverite Tobias Wong is known for his tongue-in-cheek fine art designs (including a rubber-dipped crystal chandelier). Where is the studio? It was in Bushwick when I first moved in; then one day I woke up and it was in East Williamsburg. Describe the space for us. Everything in the room is within arm’s reach. It’s like a mini-cave built of metal shelves stacked on top of filing cabinets with a bed resting in the centre. Most days, I’d wake up and reach over to my desk to check e-mail without getting out of bed, before even having my morning coffee. What do you find inspiring about this space? There are a lot of little artworks mixed in with daily life objects. The things in my room don’t look as precious as they would in a big white box. The bunnies on top were leftover Easter chocolate. A couple years ago, I sculpted them into Funkin’ Easter Bunnies in a small edition for fun. The wooden sculpture is actually a Frank Lloyd Wright lamp. There’s even an original Joseph Beuys art box that, well, looks like just another wooden box next to a bunch of stuff. Do you have any rituals before you start working? [Laughing] Where does work begin and end for me? For more information about this artist, visit brokenoff.com/tobias
Annie Pootoogook Location: Studio PM, Montréal, Québec Annie Pootoogook, from Cape Dorset, Nunavut, blends traditional Inuit drawing and printmaking techniques with the stuff of contemporary northern life. Her medium of choice is Prismacolor pencils. What drew you to this space? I won the Sobey Art Award last November, and I came to Montreal with my sister, who’s also an artist. This studio is like our print shop in Cape Dorset, but bigger. Where would your ideal studio be? In my bedroom, on the floor, in Cape Dorset. I can see the whole town and the water from my apartment there, and it’s a short walk to the studio where my two cousins, my nephew’s girlfriend and the elders work. Do you have any rituals before you start working? I wake up at about 6:30 and make tea with bannock. Then I’ll work all day. What was your first workspace like? My mother and grandmother were both artists. My mother would draw in her bed, with a thick block of paper on her legs, and I would do my work on the floor. I told myself that the artwork I do keeps their work alive. For more information about this artist, visit feheleyfinearts.com |
