The space in-between

‘Who are you?’ asks Richard Pochinko, the pioneer of Canadian clowning. ‘A pause. A look out the window. A stutter. A laugh… that's your clown,’ he says, ‘… that little place between the thought and the feeling… what do you do? You laughed… that is what allows you to be human.’ (as cited in Hefferman, 1998)

The place between a thought and a feeling is where the “ringmaster”, the observer, or the consciousness resides. Rita Irwin (2003), in her article “Towards an Aesthetic of Unfolding Insights Through Curriculum”, states that “it is in this in-between space that…complexity [is appreciated] alongside simplicity, and uncertainty alongside certainty,” and that “these spaces are attuned to invention and the possibility of poetic wisdom” (p. 64).  In other words, learning happens in the tension of the space between certainty and uncertainty, and that individuals can create this space through play, and the experience and possibilities that go along with it.

Eastside Culture Crawl

come on out and check out the Culture Crawl at the Old Foundry Building at 1790 Vernon Drive, Vancouver, B.C.
It's this Fri 18, Sat 19 and Sun 20 of November 2011
check out the  site http://www.eastsideculturecrawl.com/
This year there are amazing artists at the Old Foundy Building with lots of art on display.
Join us

Creativity

Emptyness leads itself to creativity. The circle is whole and complete, but empty. It's blanketed by layers of complexity. Some might never expereince the emptyness and others my encase it by filling the gaps of time.

When I encountered the emptyness, I was conditioned to be scared and feel depressed but now I am making peace with the emptyness as something positive that leads itself to creation. It's whole and perfect in its infinite imperfection. That's something to be taught in an expereintail way. The question is how? Something that is empty needs to be full to understand its emptyness, so the complexity is unavoidable if not nessecary to creativity and life.

Culture Days: Artistrun Collective QR Code Art Show Reception

Saturday, October 1 · 3:00pm - 9:00pm

Old Foundry Building

1790 Vernon Drive

Vancouver, BC

The Artistrun Collective QR Code Art Show takes place during the second annual Culture Days to raise community awareness, accessibility and public engagement through the use of QR codes at the Old Foundry Building for the free reception on Saturday, October 1, 2011 (3 pm to 9 pm) at 1790 Vernon Drive, Vancouver across from Unitow.

In addition to the sign-in book on October 1, guests are encouraged to scan the Artistrun Collectiv...e QR Code on location for a chance to win free art and prizes!

At the historic Old Foundry Building, the public will also meet the diverse Artistrun Collective: Liza J. Lee, Carolyn Kramer, Stacy Sakai, Rojia Dadashzadeh and James Landecker. The group will unveil four newly commissioned collaborative art works on wood panels to demonstrate the “mashup” of individual art styles and mixed media, along with over 40 original art pieces. Auret Esselen will provide a live singing performance during the reception. Sponsors include Fuzion, Vancouver Foundation, Prosyna Communication, Pacific Coast Information Systems (PCIS) and Sound Therapy Radio.

For more information, visit http://artistruncollective.org/.

From Start to Finish: Abstract Painting in Acrylics and Mixed Media

Aug 2011 (TORONTO) THREE DAYSDates: Friday, Saturday & Sunday, Aug 5th, 6th, 7th. 10 - 5 PM.
From Start to Finish: Abstract Painting in Acrylics and Mixed Mediacourse taught by Rojia DadashzadehLocation: 224 Wallace Avenue studios, Toronto
Registration: info@rojia.com
www.rojia.com
(647) 800 6750
Cost: $495.

Workshop Description:

Each participant will experience working on three wood panels as we take you on a creative journey sharing our art making process with you from start to finish.  

Students will be encouraged to explore language, colour, composition, nurture emotional richness, spontaneity and experimentation and to develop conceptual ideas.
A slide show presentation of modern art will be given with discussion and emphasis on composition, balance, colour, form, symbolism,the representation of motion ,and the superimposition of images in the organization of space in abstract paintings.
Both one-on-one and group critiques are aimed at enhancing individual growth.
Media will include heavy body acrylics, mixing and pouring mediums, moulding pastes and gels, and professional grade MSA or Polymer Varnish. Various materials and mediums, for example, coloured pencil, crayon, and inks will be introduced and used to experiment with different techniques during the process.

The workshop will include plenty of demonstrations and time for students to work.
Students will get to:

• Experience  taking an idea from Start to Finish with our support and guidance
• Experiment with new paint colours and mediums provided in the workshop by our sponsors
• Learn how to prepare wood panels for painting
• Learn how to apply paint to panel
• Learn the fundamental of colour mixing and create their own colour  mixing tables 
• Create depth and texture by via scratching and electrical sanding techniques
• Experience group discussion on creative process and the journey of making abstract art
• Varnish the result painting with professional quality archival products
• Learn tricks & tips on wiring the back of their paintings for hanging

Beginners and experienced students are welcomed

switch to drawing summer solution

I am in Toronto for most of the summer and I packed my bag full of art supplies for the 3 day abstract painting with acrylic and mixed media workshop that I will be teaching in Toronto in August. My dilemma is not being able to paint on large scale panels for the summer, but I just recently came across an artist whose abstract drawing I really admire. Her name is Rebecca Horn. I do a lot of drawing on my paintings but I haven’t completely devoted my time to drawing on paper. So my plan for the summer is to devote my time experimenting and drawing with water colour, ink, graphite, mixed media, fabric and papers. The good news is that I can draw as large as I want and It will be easy to transport the drawings back to Vancouver for the November Eastside Culture Crawl.

Where to find inspiration for your art

One of the best ways to reignite the creative flame is to look up some of your favourite artists that the artist in you resonates with. One way I look for new artists that I might add to my library of inspirational artists is to look up galleries and go through the artists that they represent and discover some new talents that inspire me. Another way is to look at some of the modern art magazines. Here are a few of them to look up:

Border Crossings
Modern Painters
Canadian Art Magazine

Another way to get inspired is to dedicate a day to go to the portion of the city where you can find a concentrated number of galleries and explore them. Here are a few areas of Vancouver with concentrated number of galleries:

Granville street
Granville Island
Main Street
Culture Crawl (a three day festival in November with 400 artists and 50 studios open to public)

How to grow as an artist

For while now, I have been thinking about making some intentional changes and exploring new techniques, tools and materials in my creative process. Back in the days, my professor at university would talk to us about intentionally sabotaging our paintings in order to create a puzzle in the creative process. I understand where he comes from; when we let go of the fear we face in the process of our work and are being open to making mistakes along the way, the magic happens. As artists we can get caught up with the same habitual techniques, methods, materials, and concepts and forget to push ourselves. In order to grow, we need to sabotage our repetitive habits and surprise ourselves.

Opus art supplies in Vancouver v. Blick art supplies in Los Angeles

I am on a one week art exploration in California. I decided that I wanted to find out the main art supplies stores in L.A. and so I ended up at Blick at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Colby. The store was a bit bigger than the Opus store in Granville Island. I explored every single isle in the store and these are some of the a few things that I found intriguing:

I've been looking to find this amazing triangle shaped palette knife that I have from Bob Ross collection from  Michael's (a craft store in Canada) and Opus just doesn’t' carry it. I found another brand name of the same palette knife at Blick.

I found these giant size oil sticks/oil pastels at Blick. They are about 3/4 inch thick which are great for large scale paintings.

I've been using disposable colour palette at Opus for over a year now. the biggest size they have at opus is 12x 16. Guess what size I found at the Blick? 24x30! I was tempted to buy one, but it wouldn't fit into my luggage; so, I didn't.

And I have been going to so many galleries on this trip and I noticed that the works generally here are extremely large scale. It puts my large scale paintings to shame. And as a result I found that at Blick they have more collections of larger scale canvases, but not a bigcollection on wood panel, which is what I love to paint on. The paintings are mostly done on canvas here.

Creativity

I had a great workshop this weekend with a few amazing individuals and would like to share with you what I shared with them, which I beleive is the core to our creativity

I‘d like to bring your attention to what I like to call a “Creative Play”.

Creative play is a play which brings us closer to the innocent-childlike, and spontaneous exploration of ourselves and the world, before our mind steps in to judge, justify and restrain our flow.
I learned a little bit more about this when I attended a workshop on clownology back in September.

The goal of creative play is to get out of the constraining and  controlling mind and into the impulse of the moment. It is to experience the freedom to create, explore, express, learn, grow and experience the creative flow without constraint, condition and judgment.

We are going to focus this weekend on the creative play and help you get in touch with your innocence.

By paying attention to your impulses, inner child, the innocence you were all born with, trusting your intuition and simply allowing yourself to play, you are entering the infinite realm of creativity. This creation is not just about the physical manifestation of paint on canvas, it’s about life. Each one of us at any given moment is creating our reality and our life as a whole. So I invite you to grand yourself a freedom to play along, create and flow.

Creative process is about the relationship between mind and matter; physical manifestation of our perception at any given moment. Our reality and self changes every moment. Example: you might look at a painting you did a while ago and have a hard time believing you did it. That’s because your reality and presence back then was different than now. It always changes and you flow with the change and therefore you create in the process.

Three-Day Abstract Painting Workshop ON SALE %40 off for the LAST 2 SPOTS

From Start To Finish: Abstract Painting Workshop On Panel In Acrylics And Mixed Media
May 27th, 28th, and 29th
Three-Days
With Rojia Dadashzadeh NEW!!
Location: 1790 Vernon Drive, Old Foundry Studios
Registration: info@rojia.comwww.rojia.com
$495 for for only $299

Each participant will experience working on three wood panels as we take you on a creative journey sharing our art making process with you from start to finish.

Students will be encouraged to explore language, colour, composition, nurture emotional richness, spontaneity and experimentation and to develop conceptual ideas.

A slide show presentation of modern art will be given with discussion and emphasis on composition, balance, colour, form, symbolism, the representation of motion, and the superimposition of images in the organization of space in abstract paintings.

Both one-on-one and group critiques are aimed at enhancing individual growth.

Media will include heavy body acrylics, mixing and pouring mediums, moulding pastes and gels, and professional grade MSA or Polymer Varnish. Various materials and mediums, for example, coloured pencil, crayon, and inks will be introduced and used to experiment with different techniques during the process.

The workshop will include plenty of demonstrations and time for students to work.

Students will get to:
• Experience taking an idea from concept to completion with our support and guidance
• Experiment with new paint colours and mediums provided in the workshop by our sponsors
• Learn how to prepare wood panels for painting
• Learn how to apply paint to panel
• Learn the fundamental of colour mixing and create their own colour mixing tables
• Create depth and texture by via scratching and electrical sanding techniques
• Experience group discussion on creative process and the journey of making abstract art
• Varnish the result painting with professional quality archival products
• Learn tricks & tips on wiring the back of their paintings for hanging

Rojia Dadashzadeh
Artist and Art Instructor
Founder of www.rojia.com
Play! Create! Flow!
info@rojia.com
604 916 5677
For more information, visit www.rojia.com

Joy Of Painting with Rojia Dadashzadeh at Beaumont

JOY OF PAINTING

With Rojia Dadashzadeh

@ The Beaumont Studios
SCHOOL OF THOUGHT
FRIDAY The 13th, 2011
Doors at 8:30pm – Classes 9pm SHARP
316 West 5th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5Y 3P1

Come on out and play with colours and tools and make your own abstract painting to hang on your wall.

No experience needed! Just a will to play! create! and flow!

In this workshop you will learn how to:

1. Apply paint on panel with palette knife.
2. Paint with 2-3 colours that are in harmony with one another.
3. Scrape and draw in to wet paint with a few tools such as nail, wood skewer and fork.
   

www.rojia.com
info@rojia.com
604 916 5677

Goergia Straight 2011 Interview: Portrait of an Artist: Rojia Dadashzadeh,

Portrait of an Artist: Rojia Dadashzadeh

By Stephen Thomson, April 25, 2011

Rojia Dadashzadeh

"Rebirth I" by Vancouver abstract painter Rojia Dadashzadeh.

Rojia Dadashzadeh is a Vancouver artist who teaches workshops on abstract painting with her friend and fellow artist Deb Chaney.
Little Gems, an exhibition of acrylic and mixed-media paintings by both Dadashzadeh and Chaney, runs at the Beaumont Studios [316 West 5th Avenue, Vancouver] until May 3.
The Straight spoke with Dadashzadeh by phone about her art.
What do you like about abstract painting?
“I like the idea of being able to access that inner child by just playing and giving in to your intuition and allowing some of the impulses to come through.”
What is the key to doing it well?
“The key is allowing a lot of mistakes to happen….If you have fear then you cannot be successful.”
How does your creative process work?
“I notice that I get inspired a lot by the seasonal colours….I start with colour and from then on I work with the composition and different shapes and then at the very end I really play with the idea of letting go and then getting into that childlike mindset where you just grab a pencil and then you just doodle.”
Portrait of An Artist is a new feature on Straight.com that profiles local visual artists. Suggest an artist to profile in the comments section below or by sending a message via Twitter to twitter.com/thomsonstraight.

http://www.straight.com/article-389084/vancouver/profile-artist-rojia-dadashzadehhttp://www.straight.com/article-389084/vancouver/profile-artist-rojia-dadashzadeh

Free Demo at Opus Art Supplies, Granvile Island, May 14th

Multimedia Canvas with Deb Chaney and Rojia Dadashzadeh

Location:

Granville Island

Sat, May 14th, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Come join abstract painters Rojia Dadashzadeh and Deb Chaney for a joint dynamic abstract painting demonstration, transforming a series of paintings using mixed media and acrylics on wood panel. Watch as they demonstrate exciting techniques such as tinting, layering, texture, toning, incorporating polymer medium, retarder and heavy molding paste, glazing, etching, and wet removal.
You will learn:
1. Colour mixing techniques such as tinting, shading, and toning.
2. How to incorporate polymer medium, retarder, and heavy moulding paste
3. Various techniques such as glazing, etching, and wet removal.
Deb has been teaching workshops in California and Vancouver since 2008. Her contemporary abstract art is held in collections throughout the world. Learn more at www.debchaney.com
Rojia is an award winning artist and has been painting and gallery represented since 2000. Her Work is in many collections including various TV shows and publications. Learn more at www.rojia.com

http://www.opusframing.com/how/demos/multimedia-canvas-0

Georgia Straight Artist Interview

With the Little Gems exhibition on at the Beaumont Studios, Georgia Straight's writer, Stephen Thomson, is doing an interview on my art, the exhibition and the teaching of the abstract painting workshops. I am so stocked!!!

Rojia Dadashzadeh Artist and Art Instructor
Founder of www.rojia.com Play! Create! Flow!info@rojia.com604 916 5677 

Little Gems Exhibtion April 21, 2011

At The Beaumont Gallery
With Rojia Dadashzadeh and Deb Chaney
Please come join us at the opening reception on thursday April 21 at 8 -11 pm and see the artists in action. Drinks and snack are available.

The beaumont Studios

316 West 5th Avenue

Vancouver, BC V5Y 3P1

www.thebeaumontstudios.com

info@thebeaumontstudios.com

Abstract Painting Party! April 14th

Come join abstract painters Rojia Dadashzadeh and Deb Chaney for a joint dynamic abstract painting demonstration on a series of

 panels. You wil seel three paintings transform as they use mixed media and acrylics to create layering, texture, and depth into these art works.  

You will learn; 

 

1. Colour mixing techniques such as tinting, shading, and toning.

2. How do incorporate  polymer medium, retarder, and heavy molding paste 

3. Various techniques such as glazing, etching, and wet removal.

THURSDAY: Abstract Painting Party! April 14th.

“ We have invited Abstract/multi-media artists Rojia Dadashzadeh and Deb Chaney (www.rojia.com) to guest host the first 30 minutes of the class. Then it will be us, a bunch of canvas’s, a bunch of brushes, a plethora of paints and our imaginations… Oh and there will be wine and beer.

address:

The Beaumont Studios
316 West 5th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5Y 1J5
604-733-3783
info@thebeaumontstudios.com

Canadian Ink

Human beings have always been caught up in the sense that their identity is the ground to their existence. One's sense of identity is related to one’s cultural, historical, geographical, experiential, physical and psychological self. To be Canadian might have a general meaning from an outsider's point of view, but from that of an insider, who experiences the great diversity of ethnicities, languages, cultures and traditions of his/her country, Canadian is a theme of vast complexity. Cynthia Foo illustrates this complexity when, in her article “Portrait of a Globalized Canadian: Ken Lum's There Is No Place Like Home”, she poses the question: “when one is asked to imagine a “Canadian,” does an image of a non-white Canadian automatically come to mind?” (p. 44). The English language has played the devil’s advocate in Canadian colonial history in the forms of capitalism, politics and colonisation by the colonial powers. It has long been used as a strategy to separate people from their identity, tradition and culture. It has also been strategically utilised, both subtly and aggressively, by the intellectual, artistic and literate minds of ethnic minorities for use as educational and social commentaries, to bring attention to the underlying colonial exploitation of the society, and to build public awareness of oppressed cultures in Canada. How has the colonial English language been employed as an effective strategy to change the fabricated view of multicultural Canada and Canadian identity?

Testimonials from March Workshop

Amazing array of new techniques and skills over a short period of time. You will gain rich and enlightened knowledge of methods you can easily apply at home. Incredible instruction! Very intense 15 min. modules/increments.

Lisa Penz
Artist and Designer
Vancouver

Deb and Rojia complement one another beautifully with their technical and intuitive expertise. There is an abundance of information balanced with enough time to create three unique paintings. The course is fast paced yet very productive. Loved it!

Patty Ripley
Artist
Surrey

[Others] should attend [the course] themselves!
I loved everything about it. Best teacher duo ever! Yay girls!!!

Gabriele Maurus
Florist designer and collagist
North Vancouver

This is what one of my lovely students had to say about the workshop we just had in March

I was in a cave last weekend. I spent 3 full days at the Old Foundry building in an intense abstract painting on panel workshop. We didn’t come up for air but that was probably a good thing considering the air was full of pouring mediums, alcohols and varnishes. Fun!
The workshop was taught by two very talented abstract artists: Deb Chaney and Rojia Dadashzadeh. Their skill sets complimented one another so perfectly. Deb’s painting techniques encompass layers and glazes of mixed mediums while Rojia coats her panels in thick and rich acrylics to create a “butter” effect.

Taking this workshop was of interest to me because I wanted to experience something I’ve never done… painting on panel and building up many thick layers of paint. As I’ve said before – I love trying new things and I’m a creature of variety. I wanted to dive deeper into abstract painting and come out of it with some interesting effects that I may want to incorporate into my female pop portraits.
There were numerous techniques taught and it would be impossible for me to share all of them in this post but I would like to give you an idea of some highlights…

• Mixing and tinting colours. Learning how to desaturate a colour and working with complimentary colours effectively through layering. We created beautiful turquoise shades made with Phthalo blue and greens.

• Mark making. Using different tools to make your personal mark. I loved scratching through layers of paint with wooden sticks to reveal older layers below.

• The final coat. Varnishing finished work with a pouring medium to create a thick, resin-like effect.
 By Lisa Penz

Traditional egg painting

Today is Persian New year; the first day of spring; a new beginning.

I find it so exciting when cultural traditions overlap. It makes me curious about how it all begins and why?

Above all, why eggs?

Egg painting is done for Easter, which is coming up really soon.

Persians also paint eggs as part of their table set up, “Haft Seen” for their new year “Eyd Norouz”.

I gathered my family yesterday to do this tradition and we actually decided to overlap cultural techniques to paint the eggs. Why not? We used old Ukrainian egg painting techniques which involves melting wax, drawing with the wax on the eggs, submerging the eggs in diluted ink with water and vinegar mixes, and wiping the wax by melting.
Here's what we came up with.

A ton of fun I might add.

Professional Fine Art Photography

I realized that the bigger your painting is the harder it is to document and photograph the work in vivid details. If you are trying to apply for a show or a gallery, or simply wanting people to look at your work on line, it is important to have good images of your work that justify the actual work. I highly recommend that you spend some money and have them professinaly photographed. There are a few fine art photographers in town that are skilled and equipped to do the job. Andrea Collins is one of the professional photographers in town (Vancouver). Her fee is incredibly reasonable. Here’s her contact information: andreacollins@shaw.ca

Rojia Art: Free Demonstration at OPUS

Rojia Art: Free Demonstration at OPUS: "Free Demonstration at OPUS Framing & Art Supply Granville Island. Saturday, May 14th, 12 noon – 1 pm. Deb Chaney and Rojia Dadashzadeh w..."

Free Demonstration at OPUS

Free Demonstration at OPUS Framing & Art Supply Granville Island. Saturday, May 14^th, 12 noon – 1 pm. Deb Chaney and Rojia Dadashzadeh will be working on wood panel, and demonstrating some useful and exciting layering, removal, sanding, etching, and glazing techniques, using both opaque paint, glazes and mixed media to create dynamic effects, depth, and intriguing transparent surfaces. Location map.

Finished project

Here is the picture of my paintings set up on site. It looks great!

Art Workshops 2011

Interior Design Model Home Project

I just recently had a great opportunity to work with a great interior design company to work on a series of paintings called Lines and I was thrilled to take them on site today and see the set up in progress. It turns out the model home was right beside this building that I went to religiously last semester to study clownology. What are the odds? 

Line 1

Line 2

Line 3

Line 4

Line 5

Line 6

"Line" series in progress

Set-up on site

I will post the final set up pictures once I have them.

Language

Are forms really extension of language. Is there a difference between forms and words ,which are essentially forms in a physical and visual sense, but the meaning and context they carry is of another essence? How did it all get so complicated and how inevitable it is to be caught in the mist of the complexity and contribute to its infinity. Is the intention of the creator to simplfy or to complicate?