"Moonshells in the Moonlight"

Collage - paper, acryclic & oil paint, and oil pastels on wood.
Available in cards and prints (5"x7" up to 11"x14").
tarahope@shaw.ca
250-703-2960

"Poppies"

Mixed media on upcycled canvas.
Available in cards or prints (5"x7" up to 11"x14").
tarahope@shaw.ca
250-703-2960

I Don´t Want to be Afraid, I Just Am

I Don´t Want to be Afraid, I Just Am

Here is another of the illustrations/collages I did for my children´s book. It is about acceptance, love, and encouragement, particularly for children with intense fears. It is also a resource for parents and educators who do their best to support fearful children.

Marionettes in progress...

This one´s for Heather.

My wearable art piece on display at Comox Valley Art Gallery, May 2010

Tara´s Upcoming Performance in this piece: Campbell River Art Gallery, August 6th, 2010 @ 7 p.m.

Squirrelly, You´re Too Sensitve! (random illustrations)

Unfortunately, I cannot download the newly revised front cover I made today using COREL DRAW. This software program is meant to be excellent for people like me who want to meld original art work with text; however, I generally have very little patience for slogging through the mounds of instructions. Today I slogged! But I am all slogged out and so will not try to figure out how to (or if I can) download images created in Corel onto my blog. Progress, not perfection.

Through the Looking Glass, CVAG 2010

I entered four pieces in this show - a copy of my book Squirrelly, You're TOO Sensitive! (it is missing from the black podium as someone was reading it), the marionnette, the collage (same one on the opening page of this blog), and the piece of writing framed above behind bars called, In a Cage.

It was a very moving show, many different genres and tones. A success.

Repurposed Wool

The row of 3 forks in the background are salvaged items from a thrift shop - silver forks which I hammered down flat and then curled the outer tongs for decorative purposes. The lowest fork I further transformed into a hook to hang my car keys on by curling the tip of the handle up.

Repurposed Materials - Objets d´Art

A shattered window pane found on the ground at my friend´s farm, transformed into a...whatever you want it to be... a sea urchin, a sunflower, junk....

An old ball of unused wool wound and starched over balloons to make a thingamabob.

Right Off - Repurposed Sewing Machine Mask

Masks - Repurposed, Recycled Materials

Socrates - busted soccer ball turned inside out.

Right Off - made from the wreckage of my beloved and now defunct sewing machine that my family had sent to me when I lived in the wilds of BC on the base of a mountain in a mouse infested log cabin. (Thanks to Sears Canada, that marvellous company that keeps Canadians who live in the middle of nowhere well stocked with important items like sewing machines!)

Bubbles - hand sewn, layered bubble wrap and plastic twine.

Mending, 2009

Mending is about the futility of trying to fix things that are better off left alone.

Laurel leaves with naturally formed holes, mended with cotton thread on watercolour paper.

Tara Hope 2009

Marionettes

Unstrung marionette made of repurposed materials. Her head is hand sculpted to give her dimension, depth, and character with luscious lips, bright eyes, and a full face. She is wearing hand made suede leather boots, bohemian hat, fish net stockings, and a short, glittery dress. She has attitude.

Call for Entry

A photo of my book, "Comox Valley: A Colouring Book for Kids" which sells at local art galleries and was featured in Local Colours outdoor art festival in downtown Courtenay.

In early Spring, I entered several pieces of writing and art in a show called, Through the Looking Glass, also at the Comox Valley Art Gallery. I am hoping to download photos and a short video clip of the work soon.

Coming Out

My first post on my first Blog.

Who better to come out with than Socrates, a mask I made for a show at the Muir Gallery called Trash Art Challenge. Socrates is made from an irreparable soccer ball I turned inside out and sliced to create the face, hair, hat, eyes, lips and teeth. The nose is a broken Christmas ornament and the bobble on top of the hat is from a Belgian chocolate wrapper. Recycled, repurposed, resplendent!