This one is difficult to write...
Colette bequeathed me her Russell Spanner dining set: vintage, mid-century modern, iconic Canadian design.
I, and so many others, shared many fabulous meals with Colette and many others at that table.
I am happy she will have a presence in my house.
I also bought, and was gifted, a few other things from Colette's estate.
Colette had impeccable taste.
She had a great eye for good design and colour.
It must be genetic because her sister Julie does, too.
Julie made sure everything was labeled properly, according to Colette's wishes, so that there was no confusion.
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| Soon the chairs will be occupied by friends at a dinner party. |
The house is still a work in progress.
I am looking forward to getting the floors refinished soon.
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| Label verso on chairs. |
The hutch, that goes with the dining set (table and six chairs), still contained Colette's things: Full Tilt Green candles and linens.
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| The candles look radioactive in this picture: like Kryptonite. They glow. |
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| A Warholian, Campbell's Soup plastic table cloth and a Full Tilt Green table runner I gave her a few years ago. |
These are some of Colette's books that I now own.
They create a portrait of who she was.
Animals were a motif in her work.
She often assumed the guise of an animal in her performances: an owl, a bear, a moth.
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| From the performance Hoot (2010). Image from: www.coletteurban.com |
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| From the performance Bare (2008). Image from: www.coletteurban.com |
She was interested in ritual and formalized it in her work.
For example, in the piece Thirst (2010).
Participants were given a drink of water in a paper cup in exchange for a story.
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| Colette Urban and Gerri Lynn Mackey in "Nellie" (the Trillium trailer) performing/participating in Thirst (2010) at Full Tilt Creative Centre, McIvers, Newfoundland and Labrador. Image from: www.coletteurban.com |
She was an organic farmer and built Full Tilt Creative Centre.
Cut paper, collage.
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| Matisse, a master of colour and two dimensional space. |
She was a teacher. I'm reading this book now.
It argues that "teaching is a performance that incorporates the personal in acts of im-personation."
So many great art books: can't wait to read them all.
The creative disruption of everyday life?
Perfect description of Colette's performance below, Consumer Cyclone (1993/2008) originally performed by Colette in shopping malls in Montreal, Windsor and Québec City. Colette wears a costume that is fabricated to make it look like the performer is covered in trash. She uses a toy megaphone to announce, "Look at you. Look at me."
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| This is a page from a brochure, the REEL ARTISTS FILM FESTIVAL (2010) Toronto. It was the premier of Katherine Knight, David Craig and Marcia Connolly's feature film on Colette, Pretend Not To See Me (2009). http://sitemedia.ca |
Meanwhile, in the garden of Humber House, the cherries have ripened.
They are bright red and quite transparent. They are on the sour side and have a high water content.
I pick my first cherries at the house.
I wash them in my colander, coincidently, it is one that Colette gave me -- Full Tilt Green, of course.
I made a delicious pie with the cherries. I added peaches, pears, and apples.
I have decided to plant a tree for Colette in my yard.
I bought this one. It is a 5 in 1 Pear Tree. Just quirky enough for Colette, my friend Marie commented. And she was right. Five varieties, each grafted onto the main trunk, six varieties in total.
It is already bearing fruit.
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