Greetings!

“The Art of Philately:….is…

A project using original artworks to create a stamp collection
portraying our “Basin Culture” through its geography…

Recently I received word that a grant application I had written had been approved for a Major Project grant through the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance, here in the West Kootenay where I live, in south eastern British Columbia.
(After I stopped jumping up and down with glee), I rolled up my sleeves and began to prepare for the next 18 months in which the project will take place.

The “ Art of Philately” is a project with several purposes; it will allow me time to focus on my own artistic progress and process, and it is also meant to inspire others towards their own creative endeavours. As I create the pieces of artwork, some of them will be posted here on the blog (or on my website, which will soon make an appearance….)

I will be creating a collection of pastel landscapes over the next 10 months which relate in various ways to the culture of the Columbia Basin. Following their completion they will be turned into a stamp collection.
Culture: According to one dictionary I checked, “Culture” is: “the customs of a particular people or group”.
In this case, “Basin Culture” will be explored as it relates to our beautiful extraordinary geography and how we relate to it, through the arts, outdoor pastimes, cultural backgrounds of its residents, etc. The Kootenays (both East and West) which make up a large portion of the Columbia Basin are a planet unto themselves and offer a plethora of possibilities for this exhibit. as much as possible I hope to work outdoors, and as part of this project I will also be doing a brief artist in residency at the Kokanee Glacier hut sometime this summer (stay tuned for dates).

By April of 2009 the artworks (along with their stamps) will be completed and will be exhibited around the Columbia Basin in a variety of places, (most of them non-traditional galleries, such as municipal halls, libraries, etc) as well as on the blog and my website.

As I work my way through this project, you are invited and encouraged to post comments, lend suggestions of places I might include as locations to paint “en plein air” within the Basin, and share your own experiences related to pastel work, the arts, and arts in community or just being creative.

I will be posting comments and pictures about the project from now until October of 2009 on as regular a basis as time will allow. Once I figure out how to squeeze 36 hours into each day, it will make it much easier!. Happy creative trails. DB