Education Stamps Poster by Tiana Kaczor for Mail Art Olympix

If you are on Vancouver Island between now and December 31 drop in to the Comox Valley Art Gallery for the Mail Art Olympix show. Self-portraits, Artist Stamps, and Artist Manifestos from over 350 artists, from 46 countries are on display. I submitted the Education Stamps poster pictured here. Like stamps collected during WWII to raise funds for the war effort my poster refers to the current funding needs of our education system. Could we solve it with education stamps? Let’s hope we don’t have to resort to that! The text was directly inspired from a WWII stamps booklet.

If you can’t make it to Comox the show will also be traveling to The Penticton Art Gallery, opening January 22, and will be in Vancouver at The Havana Gallery opening February 21. Thanks to Ed Varney for organizing and curating this egalitarian event.

Analog Wench cover art by Tiana from a photo of Mushroom Studios

Well it’s not such a new song, but it’s the latest I completed and uploaded to my sites a few weeks ago. At that time I didn’t have time to promote it fully because I was busy writing the film clip score for the Nightingale contest and doing some home renovations. So if you haven’t had a listen yet, please do, and let me know what you think. It’s long, but I like my keyboard slide at the end so I hope it keeps your interest for the full 7 minutes. Comments I’ve had so far have been great. Thanks!

I recently found out that I am #6 out of 313 on Reverbnation’s band charts for the category of “Other” for the area including southwestern BC and it seems at least northwestern Washington State. Sign up as a fan, if you’re not already, and hopefully I’ll reach #1!

Click on the link to watch a short video from Telus TV about Artist Trading Cards at the Richmond Art Gallery. I didn’t get interviewed but you can see me in the background and there are several shots of my hands looking through the cards.
The final trading session at the end of the show was very energetic and I got a wide variety of international and local cards.
http://www.mztvfiles.com/files/TELUSCOD/OCTOBER09/ARTISTCARDS/index.html

One wall of ATCs at the Richmond Art Gallery

Awhile ago I responded to an email call out for volunteers to help Sarah MacDougall with a video for her song “Cry Wolf”. I met my friend Chris for brunch in Gastown, and then we headed into an alley to do our silent acting in the mini crowd scenes. Great song, and fun video. At the time it seemed hard to dance without music, but as seen here, it worked!

Artist Trading Cards at the Richmond Art Gallery

Tiana Kaczor invites you to the 4th annual Artist Trading Cards Exhibition at the Richmond Art Gallery.  ATC’s are miniature works of art created on a 2 ½” x 3 ½” (64 x 89 mm) surface. (Like hockey cards) This show has original artworks or small editions self-produced by artists from all over the world.  There were no restrictions on art materials, meaning the possibilities for creativity are endless, from collage to manga to fabric art. Tiana has 9 cards of animal head patterns done in watercolour and pen.

18 September to 30 October 2009
Richmond Art Gallery  –   7700 Minoru Gate
Closing Celebration & Trading Session:  Friday, 30 October, 7–8:30pm

Recent events in British Columbia’s political landscape confirm my belief that we should be increasing education, not cutting it. Numerous organizations will be receiving less, or no money this year.  Parent advisory councils are getting $8.5 million less. BC sports will be without $14 million. At first glance it looked like arts and culture groups were getting more, but of the $23 million given for grants $10.9 is marked for the BC Arts Council which last year received it’s money from a different source. So my calculations say that the arts are actually getting about $5 million less. The craziest cut seems to be the $130,000 to fund BC school sports. This miniscule amount could surely be taken from elsewhere.  Those in power just do not seem to understand that arts and sports offer so much more to individual lives and society than just a pretty picture or a fun game. It is ironic that a government that strongly supports the big business of the Olympics does not support the encouragement and training of future atheletes and sports fans. Or that they are willing to give approximately $12,000 to any school that wants to organize an event around the Olympic Torch Relay, but if a school wants to produce a play, or fix a leaky roof, or hold a music performance that does not connect to the Torch relay there will have to be numerous bake sales, raffles, and door to door chocolate almond sales.

Perhaps the government is hoping for more volunteers and donations to fill the gaps left by this decrease in funding. Lately I have had no trouble finding places to donate my time and expertise.  But volunteering does not pay for my living expenses. And anyone who knows me knows my needs and wants are small. It just doesn’t seem fair that I gave up a full time teaching job so I could move back to the Lower Mainland to help by parents get through some major health problems, and now I cannot find similar work here. But these recent cuts are more than just a personal gripe I have with the government because my chance of finding a job has just been made harder. I believe our society as a whole is being hurt. The test for a good government is how it manages the sick, the young, and the poor. They do not have the energy, the voting power or knowledge, or the money to help themselves through all the trials of life and thus those in power must help them.

It can’t be easy balancing the government’s budget, but I know from balancing my personal budget that I can’t spend money on a party if my rent isn’t paid, and paying for a college course today is an investment for my future. My decisions are based on knowledge I’ve gained through the people in my life and the well rounded education I have received, and continue to pursue. Perhaps if our elected officials were more knowledgable in the area they are governing, and those at the top had a more well rounded education, then budgets would be better administered.

Below is a letter by Julie McIntyre, Artist, President, CARFAC BC. People are encouraged to use it as an example for what they can write to their MLA. Raise your voice, because a province without art, and sports, and schools, and the environment, will be a province with a dismal future.

To the Honorable Kevin Kruegar, Premier Gordon Campbell and Honorable Dr. Margaret MacDiarmid,

How do we get the Liberal government to recognize that with arts funding we are not talking subsidy, but deep and enduring investment? We’re speaking about protecting jobs and raising tax revenue in an unlimited growth potential market currently estimated at 80 billion dollars a year. The true investors of the arts are the artists themselves who have always subsidize their work, but that passion and commitment should raise the value of art, not diminish it. Our major municipal governments, all other provincial governments in Canada and even the Federal Conservative government are maintaining or increasing their arts budget funding during this recessionary year, because they understand the measurable and incalculable benefits of the cultural sector. What will it take to get this Liberal government to build on past funding and let the creative sector build a new, sustainable economy? One word: Vision.

Invitation to Artisans Galleria Summer Show

Tiana will be in attendance at the Artisans’ Galleria, Saturday August 22 from 1 – 3 pm during the opening reception of the Indian Summer Art Show. Come by and say hello, and enjoy the creations of local artists. Tiana has 2 drawings for sale. One called “Yearling” in charcoal and conte of a young mare’s head, and a diptych in graphite called “Guggenheim Museum 1961″ and “Swimsuit in a Gallery”.

After 3 months of writing, mixing, and mastering, my newest song is finally posted. “Ten Lane Traffic” was inspired by the documentary film “Transit Dubai” which I saw at Vancouver’s DOXA film festival.

Album art by Tiana Kaczor for "Ten Lane Traffic"

Scenes of multi laned highways cutting through the desert, head and tail lights creating lines of glowing colour, inspired me to play notes in repetition on the piano. The pattern of sound mirroring the endless stream of traffic.  Extra mixing with panning and automated volume on a B4 II organ adds some low rumblings of engines zooming by.

Go to Tiana Kaczor’s ‘Song’ page to listen to “Ten Lane Traffic”. You can also listen to it on her MySpace page, or Reverbnation, where for a limited time you can download the song for free. While you’re there don’t forget to join up and become a fan, which would be greatly appreciated as fans generate points which eventually leads to payments $!

Thanks for taking the time to listen to my new song.  Comments you have on this piece, or any other music or art, are always welcome.

This is a great documentary film about the current state of the music industry. I ended up watching the whole thing this morning, and was very inspired. So, I’m sharing it with you here, and then I’m off to make my own music!

Before Music Dies documentary Sep 5, 2008 – 1:17:25 Narrated by Academy Award® Winner Forest Whitaker, BEFORE THE MUSIC DIES is an unsettling and inspiring look at today’s popular music industry featuring interviews and performances by Eryka…

Tiana Kaczor has 9 mini artworks, made using watercolours and drawing with ink and gel pens, on display now until July 12 at the Richmond Art Gallery. Known as ATCs if they are traded with other artist cards, or ACEOs it they are sold for money, you may be able to own one of these after the show! Contact Tiana for details.

Tiana Kaczor's Animal ATCs for the Richmond Art Gallery's Lounge