KIM-LEE KHO
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My Solo Show at Red Head Gallery Is Coming Soon!

4/24/2022

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I am burning the midnight oil getting my solo show ready to install next weekend. It will open on Wednesday May 4 and run through Saturday May 21, 2022, at The Red Head Gallery in downtown Toronto.

The title Burnt Offerings alludes to the ancient ritual of burning things whether as offering or sacrifice, as purification or as prayer.
​ 

The concept for the show grew out of experiencing the loss of my father last year, grieving him and contemplating what we feel, and do to mourn, what we lose when we lose a loved one, how loss is the flip side of love, and how it ties into the larger cycles of life and death. Fire and ash are part of that cycle.

This show is both deeply personal and widely relatable, and I hope I am making it more poetic than heavy, so that it will touch you and cause you to reflect and also surprise you in various ways.

For the first time I will be documenting my show in a virtual 3-D format that will allow people unable to visit in person to have a more visit-like experience online. More on that later.

For the second time I am putting out a call for support, for people who love what I do or how I do it and are in a position to provide financial sponsorship, starting at only $10! I will create a separate post about that and link it here when it's ready.

Regardless of that, and in whatever way, I hope you will pay the show a visit, and send me your comments and questions too.

Please wish me luck as I work through the home stretch, when it becomes a matter of stamina really. 

​I can't wait to share this new work with you!

Burnt Offerings is part of the 2022 Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival.
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I'm a Juror in the 'Why Do You Create' Juried Art Exhibition!

11/15/2021

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Here's an opportunity for the artists and art students reading this: an upcoming juried show at Visual Arts Mississauga (in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada).

Some weeks ago Annis Karpenko, the excellent Executive Director there, approached me about co-jurying with her, which sounded like more fun than a jurying gig would normally be (she and I enjoy each other's company!) though I actually really like to jury at least once a year.

It's a stimulating and interesting challenge, to look at a large collection of submitted work, get a sense of them as a whole and then go through and select what seems to be the best representation, within the constraints specified by the organizing group.

It can be hard to get this just right, because the number of pieces permitted don't always coincide with the number I would like to accept, and in a number of other ways the decision making is complex. But that is precisely why it's interesting.

Some broad categories of issues are considered: medium, materials, subject, concept, design/composition, artistic thinking or point of view, technical proficiency, creativity.

It is crucial to remember that in art, our ideas and imagination, our inventiveness, give our technical accomplishments meaning and purpose.

I look forward to seeing the work submitted, maybe I will even see something of yours!

If you would like more information, please visit the "Why Do You Create?" page on the Visual Arts Mississauga website.
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My New Colour Diary

10/12/2020

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Day 05
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Day 10
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Day 07
Back in 2010 I gave my second ever presentation as an artist-speaker, called Daily Practices for Artists, looking at the tremendous value they have for our creativity and our “real” work, the forms they can take, how to figure out one that is both appealing and suits your circumstances.

So recently I decided to take my own advice (haha)... again.

I revived an old, not-quite-daily practice from 2009, my Colour Diary. Over the course of ~100 installments, I mixed and painted maybe 1,000 or more colours, into stripes of various widths. 

The original project evolved over time, and ultimately changed me. I never looked at colour the same way again. I was never as limited in my colour thinking (or colour experience) as I was before the Colour Diary.

Each page was improvised. I would begin with a starting point – one day it was the colour of the peanut butter I’d looked at over breakfast – and then respond. 

They also became composed paintings in that I would not work left to right, I would decide on a position and width (they were always vertical stripes on a horizontal piece of water-colour paper, of identical size each time), and both respond to the colours already mixed and applied and to the relative sizes and positions.

Occasionally I would play specific formal colour games, whether out of curiosity or because I didn’t feel inventive enough that day.​

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Day 21
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Part of the collection
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Day 27
Coming back to the New Colour Diary (or Covid Colour Diary), it was an appealing idea to return to it, to play almost entirely with colour again.

Life has been very demanding, between the pandemic situation, the resulting overhaul of our (my husband’s and my) business(es), family medical crises, personal health issues and on and on.

All of that has made time for studio practice difficult and irregular, but it is essential to my well-being, never mind my professional practice! A bite-sized daily practice is exactly what circumstances demanded.

My first change to the original project was to make it digital, so it would be a manageable time commitment for me. Then as soon as I thought that, I knew I wanted to give it a dedicated Instagram account, to share it with the world, or at least that tiny part of the world that either knows or stumbles across me.

So that is where you will find me, posting these little colour meditations, every day whenever possible. My first goal is 100 days, as in #100daysofcolour, and then we’ll see after that.

You can visit it here (even without an Instagram account): 
​https://www.instagram.com/kims.colour.diary/

​Just click on an image to see it larger.

If you have any trouble viewing it there, I have a Flickr album as well, though I do not update it daily:
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmR7BVqf

I hope you will check it out, and that you’ll enjoy it!
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My Online Studio Visit with Arts Etobicoke in August

9/14/2020

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This summer Arts Etobicoke was kind enough to ask me to hold an online studio visit with them via Instagram Live.

After months of lockdown it felt like another way to connect up with people and community online, much like my Virtual Studio Parties, and Kal Honey's Virtual Collage Jams (which I co-host).

Studio visits are fun, in fact I love seeing the insides of other artists' studios, what kind of space they have, how they work in them, how they organize them and so on. Not to mention what they are working on in there!

So you'll get to see some of all of those things in my video, which is on Arts Etobicoke's Instagram account.

​Here is a direct link: www.instagram.com/p/CDeniKDpkrE/

It's almost exactly an hour long. In it you'll get a peek at some experiments, a longtime hobby of mine, the view out my windows, what my painting table looks like and plenty more. Plus I answer some questions from attendees.

While not yet up on their website or YouTube channel, I'm sure it will be sometime this fall, and I will update the link in this post once that happens.

​I hope you enjoy it! Please let me know in the comments if you would like to see more.

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Cheap & Cheerful Art Supplies: Stencils

9/5/2020

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Stencils among my favourite things to work with, whether for painting or printmaking, working flat, blended or atmospheric, or creating impasto effects.

Anybody who's taken one of my classes knows that I love – and encourage – making custom stencils, because they are personal and show the hand of the artist.

But that doesn't mean I don't love a good commercial stencil, because I do! If only my wallet were fatter, so would my collection of bought stencils be (maybe you can relate!).

Good commercial stencils have wonderful, sometimes intricate, designs, are sturdy, and can last indefinitely if cared for. They will also be translucent so you position the design exactly where you want it onto a prepared surface for example.

This blog post isn't about those high quality and at least somewhat expensive stencils though!

Instead I'd like to introduce you to the world of dollar store stencils.

Pictured above are collections I have purchased at Dollarama and at Dollar Tree. I didn't buy all of the sets available, but both places offered a few.  (Continued below.)
VIDEO: When I get new stencils, I make reference prints using black ink. I like to use my gel plate so I can pull positive and negative prints, but you can also use a sponge, stomp or stencil brush directly onto paper. Finally I like to try a few simple prints just to get acquainted with the stencils.
The Dollar Tree stencils come one per package, are cleanly and fully punched out, their shapes are good and classic, the plastic is smooth, flexible, transparent but thinner than I'd prefer. 

Dollarama's  come with four designs per package, which are nicely illustrated on the packaging so you can preview your selection, or to help put them back in the correct package after use. They are less well made than Dollar Tree's (I had to finish punching out a number of the shapes myself), but  plastic is thicker and somewhat stiffer, a different kind of plastic that feels more durable. They are also opaque, which makes them less easy to position precisely.

Both are roughly 6" x 6" in size, suitable for small gel plates for example, or used as accents in larger work.

Whatever the drawbacks, the price is hard to beat for someone on a very tight budget, or feeding a stencil habit they need to keep the costs down on! You may also just find the designs useful.

Dollar Tree's are $1 for a single stencil (but always with many variations on an image theme!).
Dollarama's are $1.25 for a 4-pack of various patterns.

If you don't find them at your local store, you may have to try another location. What's available at any given location can vary quite a lot in general I find.

Who doesn't love saving a little money on art or craft supplies? Let me know in the comments if you've tried any of these out. Also what's been your favourite cheap & cheerful art or craft supply?

Prices are in Canadian dollars.
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Virtual Studio Parties, Fall Term & the Coming Weeks

8/11/2020

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DATE CHANGE:
Virtual Studio Party will return two weeks later,
on Saturday, October 3 at 2pm.

My co-host Kal Honey and I are taking a break from some of our work responsibilities for several weeks, including the Virtual Studio Parties, free weekly creative events on my YouTube channel, that have seen us through the first few months of the pandemic.

It has become something that we, and numerous regular attendees, have come to treasure, for the creative time, the conversation, and for the community experience.

While we are on hiatus, there is a YouTube playlist of 24 videos available on my channel from past parties. They are there for you to enjoy whenever you feel the need for some creative time with friendly company, in the comfort of your home (or at this time of year, possibly your cottage).

Here is the link: https://bit.ly/31HtbOm

Meanwhile, in the coming weeks, you can expect more posts here in the blog, and updates in the Teaching+ menu above, in my Online Offerings.

I've got my Fall term planned out so I'm busy writing and making web pages for each of the courses I will be offering. Some of them are up already with everything but the materials lists, which I'll post in late August.

UPDATE: All of my Fall courses are up on the website now!
Click here to see what's available.

Finally, if you haven't made it to one of our Virtual Studio Parties yet, I hope you can make some space in your week to attend one live on a Saturday afternoon this Fall, or else by watching or listening to a replay. And if you know anyone else who might enjoy it, please share the link with them.

Creative time, creative community, a friendly artist making things – and it's free! What's not to love? I hope you'll join us!


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My Recent TV Appearance Is Now Online

8/10/2020

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I was delighted to be featured in episode 36 of Stella's Studio on Camoes TV, a show about art and artists, music and musicians. In it I talked about and showed some of my work, I also demonstrated a process I work with a lot.

To prepare for shooting the video, there was the "excitement" of getting my upstairs studio space looking presentable – not to mention my own self, lol – anyone else here find that isolation has made their appearance standards slip a little?

The studio clean-up was necessary because making a TV appearance during the COVID pandemic is a little different than my experiences in the past. The show's crew could not come to my house but neither could I go to their studio, so I had to shoot my own video segments, which the show then added to with still photos, video effects, and most importantly, editing.

My video skills are rudimentary (better than they were a year ago!) and I didn't have much time to shoot my segments, but despite that, and some resulting technical issues Stella and her team made it look much better than I feared, and I am quite pleased with the result.

Here is a link to the episode:
tinyurl.com/yb53th78

My portion of the program starts a at about the 4:45 mark and lasts for 7 or 8 minutes.

I hope you enjoy it!


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Screenshots courtesy Stella's Studio, a production of MDC Media Group, on Camoes TV (Rogers). Host Stella Jurgen is pictured with me (on the cup) in the final photo.
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Spring: The Perfect Season to Contemplate Growth & Not-Knowing

4/12/2020

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The realm of not-knowing is
a great place for an artist to be, because what we already know
​we can no longer discover.

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'Spring Returns' photo-digital artwork by Kim-Lee Kho, 2017.
As I re-build my business, not quite from the ground up, (the foundation remains, but the structures above must be replaced), I find I am spending a lot of time in the realm of not-knowing.

Life under pandemic has changed our rhythms and routines, our customary locations, and how we spend our time. My husband and I (but especially him) used to spend way too much time driving from place to place, because our work was in-person but also in a variety of locations.

Now by building up our tech and online skills, there is so much new and in flux but so much less by way of complications and travel. We just have to adjust to frequently re-arranging our home and studio to accommodate all the new virtual events and courses.

But looking deeper than that, I realize I am accustomed to spending a lot of time in that place of not-knowing, whether I'm developing new work for an exhibition, or at an earlier stage even, when I am excavating in order to discover new ideas in my studio, it is imperative that I enter that psychological space, or I will not get to what matters or what's new. Neither I nor my work would grow.

Other artists may work differently, but I think most have to work like that at some level, (and not just artists either!) or they would not make discoveries. And without locating something new, something fresh, where would art be? It would not move forward, nor would it deepen.

Spring is a season of the new: new growth, new life. And as this weekend is one of sacred spring festivals, Passover and Easter, it may be the perfect time to contemplate this.

​Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
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Life in a Pandemic: Anxious Times

3/26/2020

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This is a time for hearts,
for big hearts, growing hearts,
open hearts.

Hearts too big to fit into this picture.


​Let’s take good care of everyone,
​including ourselves.
Life during a pandemic, even in countries like Canada which is still in the early stages, is full of anxiety. We're thrown off balance so we have trouble finding our footing. It's like the ground keeps moving.

It's not just that we are having to learn new practices to stay healthy, it's also the fact that the situation is constantly changing, close at hand, and around the world.


Some people have reached out to me, each experiencing some degree of distress. Some are experiencing a lot of fear – of the virus, for the future – and the 24/7 news cycle has become a vortex that infects us with fear.

There are others for whom the loss of normalcy, the rhythms and routines of their ordinary life, is the biggest issue. Losing so much so suddenly, they find themselves wading through grief for their life pre-pandemic. The suddenness can hit us hard.

I have been fortunate in finding meaning and purpose in the new things I have taken on, directly in response to the crisis, to help people get through the isolation and disquiet, and doing that has given me a little comfort. 
Before I tell you about that though, I want to share with you some thoughts I wrote to someone who needed help and emotional support through her distress at feeling unable to focus, unable to work, unable to settle. I feel it too. So many of us do, even if not all the time. So here is what I would like to say to you:

Nothing is normal right now. Nothing. So be gentle on yourself for not being able to work, and for feeling scattered. That is a natural response to feeling the anxiety of our crisis situation and even trauma and grief at the loss of normality.

We humans adapt to amazing things but to stay healthy in the full sense it is important to do gentle things that nourish, calm and ground you. That will ease the transition to the new normal, and you will feel better for it. 

Activities that get you focused on your body are especially beneficial: movement of any kind and focusing on your senses instead of your thoughts whenever you can, or for part of each day.

Do something with your hands, go outside for a walk if you are healthy (and keep your distance from others). Above all, have patience with yourself and those around you... even for the times that you – or they – lose patience :-)

.  .  .  .  .

On March 20, I started holding Virtual Studio Parties online, via YouTube livestream so that anyone with high-speed internet, no matter how unconfident with their computer, could take part.

It’s a no-cost creative gathering for anyone who’s missing the experience of community, is feeling isolated or anxious, or wants to have some gentle fun in the real-time, virtual, company of others.

People have said it's really helped them and it's something they look forward to now.

If this sounds like it might help you, or just be fun, visit my Virtual Studio Parties page.

​Do you have a suggestion for self-care during stressful times? Please share in the comments.
​
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New Show: 'Heartspace Hotel' at the Gladstone Hotel Jan 25– Mar 5, 2020

1/26/2020

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'Heartspace Hotel' is my surprise solo show for 2020 (I haven't told anyone about it until the last week couple of weeks, because I didn't know about it myself, lol!).

Occupying the third floor of The Gladstone Hotel in downtown Toronto, an amazing boutique art hotel renowned for its high profile art & design events and exhibitions, this multimedia show features a new combination of my heart-based work seen at my 'Heartspace' and 'A Full Heart' solo exhibitions in 2019, some of which have only ever been shown once, and even a couple of pieces I've never shown before.

Artworks include my longest digital print ever at over eight feet long, shown only once before in March 2019 at Cedar Ridge Creative Centre's Studio Gallery. 

Also: many more prints, three of my large scrolls with giant image transfers, fibre-based work, paintings, abstract photography, and two more digital prints I've only exhibited once before.

The opening reception coincides with the one for the second floor exhibition so it's sure to be a happening evening – hope you can make it!
Opening reception:
Friday Jan 31, 7-10pm
​Artist talk: 7:30pm


Kim-Lee Kho: Heartspace Hotel
at The Gladstone Hotel
1214 Queen Street West
Toronto ON M6J 1J6

Front Desk: 416.531.4635 x 0
Dinner Reservations: 416.531.4635 x 7130
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    Kim-Lee Kho

    As a visual artist I like nothing more than getting up to my elbows in paint or little plastic toys, or wading in at the deep end in pursuit of an idea. When I am not teaching others in a similar vein, you can find me researching, writing and noodling around in my studio, seeing where my latest lines of inquiry lead me.

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  • Home
  • Gallery
    • Burnt Offerings (2022) >
      • Sponsors: Thank you
    • My Father's Things (series)
    • Heartspace
    • A Full Heart
    • Subject to Limitation >
      • Boxed In
      • Expanding Media
      • Fences as Barriers
      • Containment
    • Skin
    • Face[t]s
    • [Un]Settled
    • Digital / Photo / Mixed
    • Painting
    • To See More
  • Shop
    • Interior Life series
    • Trees + Hidden Complexity
    • A Full Heart series
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