More pictures from Ayr

 Nicki Ault took this shot of me with 

my paintings Water Image #2 (left)

and Water Image #1, which I brought to Ayr to 

 show her because she'd wanted to come to 

my studio, but didn't have enough time.

A  week ago I was a guest of Joyce Fournier, Studio Vogue
Gallery's Director at the The Artist Project Opening night
party and saw 200 artists in their booths displaying a fantastic
variety of art.  Joyce is predominantly known as a figurative artist.
She featured both superb portraits and exuberant floral still life
work in her booth. Then the next day we drove to Ayr for the
International Women Celebrate show to meet the wonderful
women in the show. I felt such a connection with the other artists
and was thrilled to meet them. I'm  sorry I didn't get to meet more
of the 107 people in the show, but I did meet and enjoyed talking
to quite a few.

 The blogger friends meet one another in Ayr -- so much fun.

Left to right: Marcia Labelle, Tammy Hext,Kim Rempel, Nicki Ault, and Me

One of the bloggers who I have become friends with over more
than a year of commenting on one another's blogs, is Nicki
Ault from Saskatoon.  Nicki got a lot of well deserved media
attention for her beautiful piece in the show, and was on TV,
in the paper, and featured in another online International Show.

 Nicki Ault, with her self-portrait called

In My Aura Ayrspace, in Ayr Ontario

Acrylic and oil and collage on board

24 x 24 inches

Nicki Ault © 2011

Nicki sent me these photos of the event taken from her camera
(I'm sorry I don't know who took the shots), and said I could
share them with you. 

Nicki took this shot of my painting

Ready for Joy as it was

displayed at Ayrspace with my fellow artists

So all in all it was a major art weekend, as I saw the work of
more than 300 artists.  A big shout out to the women
who took part in the International Women Celebrate
show, and to Nicki Ault for sharing these wonderful
photos with me, and now with you.

Have a loving-your-friends-and-being-glad-you-do day.

Quite the incredible day!

 Me with Nicki Ault who came all the way from Saskatoon.

With a day to think about all that took place in the
artists' celebration party for the International Women
Celebrate show, I feel so moved by the experience.
Jill Yuzwa, the Ayrspace gallery director is an incredibly
generous and gracious host.  Not long after we arrived
the went around the large gallery space introducing each
attending artist and her art.  Each woman stood next to her
painting and described her motivation.  There were so many
wonderful stories stemming from each woman's interpretation
of the event.  Some were sad, honouring mothers and friends
who were now gone, many were joyful expressions of women's
desire to be free, some were political about the oppression
women still face in parts of the world, and some were intensely
personal about lost relationships, or about wanting to inspire
a daughter to be strong and happy.

These stories also captured in the book designed by Jeanette
Vermeyden-Obbink set the stage for an evening of discussion.
I was extremely happy to meet women from all different
parts of the country, and to sign each other's books.  But the
sweetest part of the evening, in an event packed with notable
memories, was sitting with my blog friends and just revelling
in the excitement, happiness, humour we shared at meeting one
another.  It was so delightful to realize that everything I'd always
thought would happen if blogging friends got together -- did.
We hugged and laughed and talked.  Our comments on each
other's blogs, our knowledge of each other's work made the
connections in person, instant and meaningful.

At the end of the night Marcia Labelle, Jill Yuzwa and me 

getting ready to say goodbye after a great day.

Three cheers for the blog world, for Jill Yuzwa again. And to
all the women in the show thank you.  I could sit and stare at
your work for hours and hours.   Absolutely inspiring!

Have a meeting-the-people-you-admire day.

P.S.  There will be more pictures tomorrow.  My camera
work was not too great, I think I was too excited.
So I'll get some shots from Steven's camera, and show
you more of the people.

Super concert and wonderful gallery

 Steven carries my painting into Ayrspace, and 

we are given a warm welcome by Jill Yuzwa, 

the gallery director. 

I told you I'd tell you.  Beautiful downtown Ayr
is where the biggest show of women's art is going to
take place.  It's about an hour and 20 minutes out
of Toronto, not bad for a drive.  The Gallery itself
is beautiful -- a heritage building and former hardware
store -- the building has been sensitively renovated into
a large gallery space.  Wooden floors and a tin ceiling give
the gallery warmth and a classic, tasteful feeling.

Steven checks out the gallery which

is getting ready to host a spectacular

concert.  The painting which is part

of the current show is a huge painting of

The Four Seasons, and as you can see the

space is large.

In other words this will be the perfect place for a party,
and a glorious space for a very large show of women's
art from all over the world.  Last night I visited the gallery
to drop off my painting for the show.  Jill Yuzwa the
gallery owner is a complete sweetheart and she invited
me and Steven to catch a bite next door at the local pizza
restaurant, then come back to hear the marvellous
concert put on by Anne Lindsay.  I'm so glad we stayed.
Before the concert began Jill made an announcement to
the crowd about the International Women Celebrate
show and introduced me and Jeanette Vermeyden -Obbink to the
audience.  That was a nice touch.

 What a treat listening to Anne Lindsay 

practice before the concert.

So that is my report from Ayr.  Of course we went on the

net after our drive home through a snowstorm and

looked up Ayr real estate, but that doesn't mean we're

moving there.  Yet.  Still, we are really looking forward

to meeting you all next weekend.

Have a thinking-about-how-nice-it-would-be-to-live-in-Ayr day.

Heading out to Ayr

Ready for Joy

(final version)

24 x 24 inches

Acrylic on canvas

Barbara Muir © 2011

(I worked on the painting a bit

more I admit since I sent in the

pro shot for the book.  It isn't

safe to leave some artists with

a painting.  They will always see

something else that could change.  I'm

very happy with it now, so that's

what matters.  What did I change?

I added blue to the background, added 

more shadow to the neck, changed

the shirt a bit.  Small changes,

oh a bit more highlight in places.

Every change I made makes me

happier with the work.)

It's only a week until I get to meet some of the great
artists on the blog.  The International Women Celebrate
show opens to the artists next weekend, and to the
 public on March 8th, the 100th anniversary of International
Women's Day.  At a time when the focus on citizen rights
has never been at a higher level, women's freedom, and
freedom of expression has to be at the top of the world's
attention.  But there are still so many places, where we
are not equal, and my work has taught me that some of
those places are right in the homes of women in our city,
Toronto.

That said the women in this show entered for purely
artistic, and social reasons.  They joined up because
friends whose work they liked in the blog world, and
who had become friends out of a mutual respect for each
other's creativity invited them to join.  Plain and simple.
There is no heavy political agenda, just an artistic one.
Women from all over the planet are part of a community
of artists.  Men are in that community too of course, but
this show is in celebration of International Women's Day.
So what's over the top exciting, but extremely hard to
communicate is that women from other parts of the world
including Holland, India and South Africa, convinced
(through blog writing and emails) friends they
had never met to submit work to this show.  I was finally
persuaded to join it by Nicki Ault from Saskatoon, and I'll get
to meet Nicki and other art bloggers I enjoy next Saturday.
And the show's in Ayr.  Where?  Ayr.  I've never been to
Ayr before, but I'm going there tonight with this beauty, so
I'll let all of you know what it's like.

Meanwhile, if you're out there reading this, and you know
someone who might write this terrific artistic happening
up, or get a TV camera out to the artists' opening on March 5th.
You are going to see a  fabulous show, and the biggest show of
women's art in Canada right now.  105,  24 x 24 inch paintings
plus 2 sculptures is a big, big show by any standard.  So I say
congratulations to all of us for getting it together.  The bonus?
Part of the proceeds from the sale of the works will go to helping
women and children in Haiti.  Now that's a worthwhile cause.

Have a planning-to-see-the-wonderful-show-in-Ayr day.