Arts Fest: Somewhere Between Here and There
For the past four years, Sophie Hansen has been spending weekends in the Creemore area, and trying to figure out how she can move here full-time.
“This is where I get to work on my art,” she said. “My pieces are typically 4 to 7 feet and I just don’t have the space in the city.”
Until she figures out how to make a living from her art, it remains a weekend pursuit.
Hansen’s installation at the Creemore Arts Fest is called Somewhere Between Here and There.
“I find myself, in my age bracket, not knowing as a woman where I fit in,” she said. “The inner beauty of older women is so often overlooked and we are put aside in a society that worships youth. Older women have layers of knowledge that tends not to get noticed. My sculptures celebrate their inner beauty.”
Hansen only began to really focus on her art four or five years ago. Prior to that, she was a seamstress making handbags and custom wedding gowns.
“It was a very weird journey,” she said. “My daughter works in film and gets lots of things given to her. She dropped off a bunch of dried flowers. I added feathers and it grew into this ethereal floating object.”
Hansen says her sculptures typically begin with a large branch.
“I kind of go out and see what’s around,” she said. “I take the shape of the stick and envision what it might become. Then I hang the stick and start to think about how to transform it.”
A favourite place to gather interesting sticks is on the Mingay Loop in the Creemore Nature Preserve.
“My process is quite free form, flowing from the shape of the branch,” said Hansen. I never know quite what it will turn out to be.”
Once the stick is positioned to her satisfaction, Hansen starts to layer on the accoutrements.
“I glue a pool noodle to the branch and pick out a colour palette. Then I start poking in feathers until the pool noodle disappears.”
Each feather must be plucked to the desired length and individually glued to the foam. A finished piece might contain upwards of 15,000 feathers plus dried flowers, mushrooms and other assorted bits, and involve 40-60 hours of work. She notes, “When you are doing something you love, time flies.”
“I’ve attended the arts festival each year since we started coming to Creemore and I’m so impressed by how well respected and supported local artists are,” Hansen says. “This is a whole community coming together. It’s such a small town with so many talented artists.”
To date, Hansen has focused on creating art for her own pleasure, saying, “It gives me a lot of joy to make these pieces.”
Sophie Hansen’s installation at The Keep Refillery, 168 Mill St., includes three large pieces.
Art walks
Yasmeen Kazak, curatorial assistant at the MacLaren Art Centre in Barrie, will be leading “art walks” during the festival.
Kazak is an artist who explores intimate feminist issues and her identity as an Arab-Canadian woman through painting, collage, and installation.
She has helped organize public art projects and Culture Days for the City of Barrie, and has volunteered on committees for Art@RVH and the Ottawa Art Gallery.
Meet at the info booth at Creemore Village Green for a guided tour of curator Kazak’s festival picks at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4 and 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 5.
Full schedule at phahs.ca.
