Recently shortlisted for the 2014 Sobey Award, Canadian artist Graeme Patterson is a really wonderfully fun, and amazingly dedicated artist to his art, and creative imagination.
What I really appreciate and love the most about Graeme, besides his humble, yet very engaging personality and dry wit, is his sense of play. He hasn't forgotten his childhood, not only remembers, but pays attention to what it was like to be a kid, and the lessons it can teach.
Graeme Patterson's love of creating miniatures is embodied in creative, three dimensional stories, and is the real stuff of imagination, that you see in children. It is refreshingly creative, charming, thoughtful and insightful. His playful pieces simultaneously reflect a serious commitment and dedication, that is very admirable, and I think somewhat enviable to me, because he and builds puppets and miniature art and then brings it all to life through animations and installations, that really appeal to my inner child or mini-me!
Often paying homage to a Canadian life, his art work and creations are so much fun to see in person, and nostalgically deeply touching.
If you ever have the opportunity to visit one of his exhibits, I strongly recommend that you do so. I assure you, you will feel joy, a little sadness perhaps, and definitely amazement.
I have provided a link below to one of my favourite of Graeme's installions, entitled Woodrow, the place where he is from. It is a beautiful and touching homage to his grandfather Herb.
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| Woodrow |
I think it is essential for artists to be very connected to this sense of play in their work, because if you are having fun creating your work, chances are very good, that others will enjoy it, and pickup on this kind of energy. Play and humour can connect us to memory and identity, and what it means to be human, through the power of imagination.
Graeme has had an interesting life, and is a real story teller. This past Winter I had the great pleasure to be apart of a story telling event with Graeme in Sackville, New Brunswick. I was transfixed by his story telling, and it is always fun to talk with him, because he is such a salt of the earth type of character, and always ready to laugh.
