new season, new site

i will now be posting to tumblr,

http://juliecoss.tumblr.com/

if you want to follow what i'm up to...

thanks for checking out my blog!

-Julie

FLUX in FLUX

Spring is here and though it would be nice if it were warmer the cold reminds me that there are a few school related things left on the good ol "to-do list" which need to be checked off. The most exciting of which is setting up for FLUX in FLUX the thesis group show which will be happening all day today and tomorrow (featuring painting, drawing and sculpture students work). I must say the organization and cooperation of everyone is great to see and there is a large variety of work. It should make for a great opening tomorrow night (7-10pm) at Aceartinc 290 McDermot Ave in the exchange. Here is a handy map if you are not exchange district familiar.

There will be beer and snacks at the opening tomorrow night as well as all of the artists if you want to chat about the work. If you can't make it out tomorrow night the gallery is open to the public from 12-5 Tuesday to Saturday and the show will be up until April 30th (admission is free). I hope your spring is wonderful!

-Julie

april art shows

This week has been a little rushed so far, but I am enjoying my last week of classes. On Friday I had a lovely time hanging photos up at Stellas for Gen & I's show 'Transitions'.

I always find it funny how much art work I make about time, spaces and change when in life change has always been a tough thing for me. I am a creature of habit, and anyone who knows me knows this to be true, I like to have a plan. I think it has my close-circle prepping for a post-university melt down of some kind. But I am avoiding that at all costs, it doesn't feel productive [hah]. I'm a lot better than I used to be with the "i need to know what comes next" thing; I've even been putting my ipod on shuffle [you may think this is a joke, but I like to see it as progress] hah.

Anyways, yesterday was a fantastic time painting shoes and going barefoot to raise awareness about TOMS shoes One for One movement. Needless to say I love being barefoot, painting, and charitable companies. So it was a good day!

rainy day collaboration with Gillian King

April brings a lot of art shows -- Open House* for U of M fine arts students is this Sunday (April 10th) from 12-5. Come out and walk around campus, check out the best of the entire Fine Arts faculty's work from 2010-2011.

*note that there will be a lot of nudity, other work that my be offensive to some so exercise caution when bringing children (or if you are like me in the past walking around with your grandma hah)

happy april everyone,

-Julie

one week

one week to have this cleaned up, set up, and ready for open house/ final crits.

tonight though i will be heading to Stellas on osborne to hang photos, which will be up for all of april! all of the photos will be from my ongoing series of collaged winnipeg images.

next week i will be only speaking spanish in preparation for my spanish finals, i have a feeling this could get increasingly annoying for my friends and family. apologies.

one week left of classes left for my degree, i never thought this would happen, i feel so old.

as far as arty stuff goes in the next little bit my schedule is;

april 2nd - "Trantions" Photography at Gallery Ingenue (Stellas on Osborne)

april 5th - style your sole event at U of M; i will be painting shoes (from 11:30-1:30) in university centre; in support of TOMS and 1 day without shoes [more info here]

april 10th - fine arts open house (U of M campus), noon-five

- painting featured in gallery 111

- studio space in the artbarn (upstairs #227)

april 16th - "Flux in Flux" (Thesis Students Group Exhibit at Aceart), opening saturday seven-ten

so if you are out & about in wpg in april checkout some art, it makes you cooler :)

-Julie

march; blink and you'll miss it

The opening for Temporary Spaces went soooo well, thank you to everyone who checked it out throughout the week. The comments in the book were overwhelmingly positive and very encouraging so thank you. It was fun to go check on my paintings everyday and try and eavesdrop on what people were saying, catch up on the new comments and go on with my day wondering campus.

[the above two photos courtesy of miss brittany mahood visit her photogblog here]

So post-show it was back to real life with a pile of not-so-fun papers to write, which I am happy to say are FINISHED! Its sinking in that I have less than 3 weeks of classes left. Last minute paintings to finish and running around to do, all very exciting. I'm happy to say that I am back in the studio, working on that final push before final crits. This was my morning :)

And as schedules lining up have it, I happen to have an art gallery date with my mom this evening, looking at art will always remain one of my favourite things. So the moral of the story is; breath in, breath out, life is good.

happy march everyone; heres hoping it warms up soon.

-Julie

temporary spaces

Well in true March form I have spent the past week buried in assignments and fighting off a nasty cold. But nevertheless it has been a busy great week. Despite the sickness and snowstorm, my sister and I went out to Stellas on Osborne for the opening of Canadiana - a group show full of wonderful pieces that especially speak to the sensibilities of us northerners. Two of my photo collages are among the bunch. For more about the work in this show [click here].

And tonight at 7pm is the opening of my show Temporary Spaces at GoSA (Gallery of Student Art) at the U of M, featuring paintings from this past year of thesis work. Very exciting stuff, there will be snacks and you are more than welcome to stop by. If you can't make it out tonight the show will be up for the rest of the week gallery hours are 9am-4pm

Monday to Friday.

My thesis this year has been in a way a reflection of my time spent in Haiti. For the past couple of years I have been making paintings about time, memory and dreams. Kind of dreamy landscapes varying in degrees of abstraction. My time being away impacted how I make work in that I had all of these new places in my head, new memories. I feel really good about my work at this point in the year, and I think I have stumbled upon some really interesting pieces.

In other news am getting very close to the end of the school year and I am very excited to finish, just over a month and I will have my degree. This is both great and scary as I'm not really sure what I am going to do afterwards. But I'm sure I'll figure it out as I go along.

-Julie

back in the swing

Well after a year or so of an unplanned hiatus from the art world (between academic classes and not being in the country not much art was made) I'm somewhat back. It was a great time setting up the TOMS group show at GoSA on Sunday night.

Yes that would be me with a level, feeling semi-official, I think everything was fairly straight. Group shows are a fun dynamic, and I must say everyone had a great attitude and excitement about the show. Which makes for a great hanging. The food from degrees didn't hurt either (my favourite place on campus to eat).

Some of the beautiful shoes being featured in exhibit, which runs until this Friday March 4th at GoSA (Gallery of Student Art in University Centre at U of Manitoba).

Oh and the new issue of Chesterfield Magazine came out this week and a photo of mine from Nicaragua was inside, nothing like black and white film photography to brighten my day.

Here is to a productive week!

-Julie