Studio Events Archives - Joanne Probyn Art

Your Crawling Guide – The Essentials

Below is my unofficial Eastside Culture Crawl guide. I hope it will offer some insights on how to get the most out of your art experience! Really, a guide? Yes! Even the seasoned Crawler can feel overwhelmed or finish unaware of the many wonderful ways to engage with the art community that are available. I’ve participated as an artist and attended several times. Embark on your art journey feeling confident and leaving inspired, enriched and connected to Vancouver’s thriving art scene!

Eastside Culture Crawl is BC’s second largest art festival known to attract as many as 45,000 visitors over four days.

Crawling is like traveling to a new city. It’s all about managing priorities and preferences. Personally, I like a focused plan that allows some time for the unexpected. I think this holds true for having a great Crawl as well.

You do you! It’s your Crawl. Whatever you decide you’ll have a great time. You really can’t lose. Here’s some ideas to help you set your course!

Crawling Tips

Make a Plan
You can’t see every artist or every building. Don’t even try. Some kind of game plan is a must! Here are ideas to consider, from strategic to casual.
a) The Seriously Fun Plan
This plan is for the most ambitious Crawler, someone who does the research, starts early, finishes late. Get started by reviewing the Eastside Culture Crawl Catalogue or online artist profiles. Select your top six artists. Map out the corresponding buildings. Know your top three must-see artists. It’s so easy to run out of time with so many talented artists to see and that can easily sidetrack you. Start early on Thursday night to kick-start your tour allowing time to come back later, if desired. Another idea is to get artist intel and socialize at one of several opening receptions. Preview exhibits are typically curated by important Vancouver curators. These shows give you an sampling of who they thought best represents this year’s artists out of hundreds of submissions! Attending will give you a taste of our vibrant, art scene while giving you a sense of which creators you might like to learn more about or visit later. Not to mention, attending will give you opportunities to speak with some of the artists. Finally, some art collectives and artists have their own preview events before the Crawl, including the art collective I am in, Eastside Atelier. We are hosting an exclusive friends and family Pre-Crawl Preview weekend. You’re invited! Attending a preview will give you more time with the artists to learn about their work and make decisions. You’ll also see the best selection of art to simply enjoy or buy.
b) The Building Strategy
Bad weather expected? No time to research? Visit one of the large buildings. Eastside Atelier is the second largest, Vancouver art collective with over 40 artists, many who are in the Eastside Culture Crawl. Other large buildings include Parker, Mergatroid, Arts Factory, Portside and Arc. Some buildings have food trucks nearby! Pick a building. Go have fun. Easy peasy! 🙂
c) The Explorer
If you like to be outside, have already conquered the large buildings, or are an adventurer, The Explorer might be the plan for you! There are so many wonderful artists who work from a home studio or one of the many smaller buildings who would love to share their work with you. Pick one of your favourite artists or a choose random place on the map then meander out from there. I’m a history and architecture buff. So, one of my favorite, walkable Crawl areas is the historical Strathcona region. Consider starting at Paneficio Gallery and Studios. Did you know the Crawl started in this building 26 years ago!? You’ll be sure to discover some wonderful artists in surprising places! Pick an Eastside Culture Crawl Building.
Get a Map
Typically, the Crawl produces a pamphlet with a map. In past years, I downloaded PDF map or used their App. At this time, it seems the online map is what’s available and possibly printed maps. Not sure. This may change as we get closer to November 17th. In the meantime, check out the buildings/map here. Printed pamphlets are often distributed to libraries, coffee shops and community centres. Of course, you can go right to the source and pick up a map directly Culture Crawl Office Tue/Thurs 10am – 3pm. Where are pamphlets are in your neighbourhood? Drop a line below in the comments!
Discover Supporting Events
The Crawl is so much more than the art studios tours! There are several, multi-venue, preview shows, opening receptions, artist demos, talks, performances and film screenings that may be of interest. Too many to mention! Explore Crawl Events now!
Be a Supporter
Supporting the arts has never been more important. If you’re able to contribute financially, there are several ways you can help Eastside Culture Crawl remain a valuable source of art and connection for the creative community. Check out the wildly successful Art Roulette or Silent Auction or Collector’s Cocktail Party! Have fun and take home a beautiful work of art for a good cause.
Stay in the Know – Get Reminders!
– Join My Mailing List or the Eastside Atelier Artists Mailing List –or both–for invites and updates
– Follow the Eastside Culture Crawl and Eastside Atelier Artists on Instagram
Look for Crawl Signage
Some buildings will have black, cast iron crows fixed on the side or snazzy A-Frame signs on sidewalks. I love these cute kiddos and can’t wait to see them again soon! 🙂 Annnnnnnd, Eastside Atelier is super proud to soon show off our very own A-Frame sign. As a collective, we pooled our limited resources and volunteers made it happen. Go team! Special thanks to Christina Peressini for her beautiful, minimalist design.

That’s all for now, folks! Come back later as I update with more tips later. What’s your favourite way to Crawl? Leave your tips in the comments!

Squeegee Paint Nite Recap!

97.5% satisfying and useful! 🙂

I volunteered at this event and it was such fun. Everyone had a unique painting. Plus Joanne took time to share techniques and do quite a bit of on the spot teaching. I highly recommend you take one of her art classes. Everyone was so highly engaged and came away with some beautiful and mindful masterpieces. Well done !

Natalie Wai

Vancouver School Board Special Education, English Language Arts and Ell; Summer School Administrator, Secondary Completion and Skills Development; Community Schools Teacher; and Ell Department Head – International Student Advisor – Vsta Representative

On Sunday, April 30, 2023, I launched Create with Joanne!, a series of art workshops. The first class was Amazing Squeegee Paint Nite held at my studio in Eastside Atelier in East Vancouver.

I love teaching. With over eight years guiding therapeutic art classes, private consulting and many more years of professional experience, I’m once again ready and excited to share my knowledge. It will be wonderful to see how these lessons will enhance people’s creative skills, well-being and, of course, their walls, graced with their own unique, beautiful art!

It was such a delightful day! The workshop ran from 2:00pm – 4:00pm. I was so grateful Natalie Wai was there to help me with all the last minute details. There were a lot of preparations, both on the same day and weeks before.

I bought new three new tables, table cloths, paints, squeegees and spray bottles. Students were introduced to the historical context of squeegee art and guided in the painting process. I developed a nine page document with step-by-step instructions. Finished paintings were created and referenced for examples.

Great workshop! It was fun and I’m very excited to hang my piece ☺️

Anonymous Student

Amazing Squeegee Paint Nite

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Table-Setting-1024x1024.jpg

The event was sold out! There were eight students and each person was provided their own table setting of art supplies including an 11 x 14 inch canvas, an additional sized, cold-press, acid-free, watercolor board and all the tools they needed to create abstract art, including a variety of squeegees, brushes, scrapers and over 50 paints to choose from.

We began with a brief mindfulness exercise to soothe and ready ourselves. I completed an 8 week mindfulness program based off of Jon Kabat Zinn’s world-renowned University of Massachusetts program. It was meaningful to weave awareness into the programming. Abstract art feels most rewarding and produces the best results when deeply connected to ourselves while creating.

Each student chose their color palette. I provided painting demonstrations and one-on-one instruction at various points throughout the day, including advice on paint types, composition, layering, focal points, movement, texture, depth and line and contrast.

Thanks so much. A great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. You did a great job of creating a safe and comfortable space for a novice.

Anonymous attendee

Amazing Squeegee Paint Nite

There was one snag. We blew the fuse. Going forward we’ll dry paintings in hallway and kitchen area. After all, it was a happy accident, as Bob Ross would say. The sink hallway area is the best location as it will keep the working area quieter.

Natalie Wai was an all-star, volunteer assistant providing student guidance and cleaning support. I’m very grateful. Students were able to focus on creating and I was able to guide students as much a possible. The success was in large part to Natalie’s graceful help.

Many of the students were new to art entirely; all were new to squeegee painting. I was delighted with how unique and beautiful their masterpieces were. Congrats to all attendees for their great work!

Save the date! My next workshop is on Sunday, June 11th, 1:00 – 3:00 pm.

If you would like to volunteer for an art workshop, please contact me for more information.

This workshop was a great introduction for non-artists. Joanne was informative and patient throughout the workshop, giving helpful tips and encouragement. Highly recommend this small-size class!

Anonymous “Happy Participant”

Amazing Squeegee Paint Nite

Music Concerts Take Flight with Tamami Maitland

The launch of my concert series began on Saturday, January 7th. This series is an ongoing part of First Saturday, held in my art studio at Eastside Atelier located at 10B – 1310 William Street. Tamami Maitland played at Eastside Atelier’s Pre-Crawl Preview event in November 2022. The feedback was outstanding! So, I invited her back to be my first performer. First Saturday is an open-studio, art crawl that takes place at over 100 art studios across the Lower Mainland on the first Saturday of every month. I’m on the steering committee helping connect the Lower Mainland’s art aficionados and artists. Tamami and I both reference love, nature and positivity in our work while seeing creativity as a vessel for connection and healing. I curated my artwork to compliment Tamami’s music. She sat in front of Between the Light and A Delicate Balance; I speak to regrowth and pay homage to Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama, through polka dots. Polka dots signify joy and love to Kusama. I designed and printed posters and handouts. Tamami came by one day to pick up posters and stayed to help me hang my A Delicate Balance. I really enjoyed collaborating with Tamami. We both did our best to get the word out in all the ways people do these days.

Tamami Maitland and Ian Wijesinghe perform as a duo at Joanne Probyn Art, Eastside Atelier during First Saturday

My art studio is located among dozens of others in a warehouse that’s about 100 years old. The unremarkable, grey building is shaped like a U; it was once a sewing factory. For the last 30 years it has been an incubator for creativity, filled with painters, ceramicists and photographers to name a few. For a long time, there was a couple who used to sublet from the owners. They rented some of the space to artists. After many years, the couple left in 2020 and the owners built out a new artist’s wing on the east side. If you follow the yellow line, it leads you to my studio. This transition point was during the pandemic; it was awkward to say the least (there’s a long story). By some good luck and hard work the studios are still here. The original wood floors hold stories in their miscellany between the cracks and in their splashes and dents. And now I’ve left my mark. One of my favorite relics is the old clawfoot tub. I’ve brought an old carpet that has more history than I know. It was a given to me secondhand from my sister years ago and lugged it around since; it’s a perfect floor covering for a painter. I’ve grown to love the vintage, industrial, 4-drawer, filing cabinet. Most of my furniture has some kind of history, which makes the room eclectic and comfortable. I spend a lot of time there and enjoy hosting; so, cozy and welcoming is a must.

Tamami Maitland, singer/songwriter/pianist and Ian Wijesinghe, bass guitar, arrived 45 minutes before the show to set up. I hurried to light fake candles and angle spot lights as I had planned out days before. I was delighted the two were so happy with how I was setting the stage, including the disco light. I set the red dots to move at slowly like sunlit leaves floating on gentle stream. These spots traveled across black light that breathed new life into my neon paintings.

Soon guests arrived, taking in their surroundings and finding their way to a spot where they could settle. John Gojevic, a friend through Glen Brauer and Meaningful Discussions, kindly stepped in to emcee the event; he gave a wonderful introduction. The duo kicked off their first 45 minute set promptly at 2:30pm and their show was wonderful! It was a full house with little room left to sit. Tamami’s songs illuminated the east wing of Eastside Atelier. She took us on a gentle flight on the wings of love and positivity, lifted by the textures and colors of nature. I kept running to other art studios to borrow more chairs! Following the duo’s first set, there was a 15 minute break planned. The musicians talked warmly amongst the guests. Light refreshments were served. Some attendees lingered and stayed for a second set as room allowed. The second show started at 3:38pm. At the end, everyone clapped for an encore and they played one more song. The event ended at 4:40pm. Some people lingered to chat and help while others left to explore the open art studios at Eastside Atelier.

My hope is that this series holds space for soothing the soul and deeply appreciating music and art while celebrating community, culture and collaboration. I also hope to introduce new people to Eastside Atelier and First Saturday.

The concerts are inspired by my life in New York. I attended a jazz concert during my two years living in Harlem. One Sunday, I journeyed to the private residence of Marjorie Eliot. I was welcomed into her apartment and invited to sit and enjoy an intimate concert for free. We were served juice boxes and a granola bar. No alcohol. No filming. I sat by a sheer curtain that blue away from window in the summer wind. That moment locked in. I wish I could remember everyone who performed that day; for certain, Marjorie played the piano. She and her son, Rudel Drears have been hosting intimate jazz concerts there over over 20 years. They now attract an audience from around the world. I encourage you to watch this YouTube video about Parlor Entertainment in Harlem. Thanks Ms. Eliot and Mr. Rudel for the experience, for that was the slow-growing seed that would eventually become this project miles away in Vancouver. I would probably not have undertaken this series without the encouragement and guidance of Mike Ferraro, my guitar teacher. Not to mention, all the special friends who have supported this in so many ways from arranging furniture and art, emcee’ing, musician coordination, video production, dishwashing and so much more. Thanks to the artists at Eastside Atelier who supported this event. I’m grateful the help of John Gojevic, Lily Eskandari, Victoria Mitchell, Andres Salaz, Leah Hoeve and Danny for offering volunteer support. Shout out to Glen Brauer for his new friend-connecting platform, buddytree. Last but not least, thanks to the wonderful, attentive audience of about 50 people who attended over two 45 minute shows, including a handful of listeners from the hallway. Guests represented two distinct groups of friends and a handful of entirely new people. The room was bright with well-wishers! Many people said they had never had an experience like this. I found it uplifting, heart-warming and unforgettable! Exactly what I hoped for.

Tamami Maitland hails from Osaka, Japan and has lived in Vancouver for over ten years. She trained at Berklee and Capilano University. Tamami was invited to play for five festival concerts in 2022 and was recently featured in Burnaby Now. Tamami will be travelling to Japan this year, embarking on first-ever Japanese concert tour.

I’m so grateful for all who donated or have collected my art! Your generosity helps me continue bringing inspiring art and music to you. For those of you who hoped to attend her concert but couldn’t… you’re in luck! Thanks to Danny for putting this great video together showcasing Tamami’s concert and First Saturday. Enjoy!

“It was an AMAZING experience! Joanne is so wonderful. I was inspired by all of her amazing hand picked curated art for this show to align with my music!! She even prepared the lighting and some refreshment for the guests!! Thanks to Joanne and her friends’ thoughtful arrangement and preparation, it became one of the most memorable experiences for me. I’m so grateful that so many people came to my show. Thank you so much for everyone who came!! It means a world to me and I am so happy to have been able to experience this event together with all of you. So many people told me that it was a brilliant idea to have art and music together like this event and that they loved it. It was one of my strong wishes to collaborate with visual artists for many years and I can’t believe it actually came true! I absolutely loved everything she did to put this show together. I appreciate it so much! I look forward to collaborating together many times more in the future.”
Tamami Maitland

Photos below are captured on January 14, 2019. Images are by and shared with permission from Alessandro Fasce who is based in Genova, Italy. He hopes to come to Vancouver to see one of my concerts one day.

Join us on Saturday, February 4th for the next concert. I’m so thrilled announce Zach Kleisinger will be performing! We are so lucky! I hope to see you there. Learn more.

Marjorie Eliot’s Parlor Entertainment Harlem
555 Edgecombe Avenue Suite 3F (Buzzer, #107, New York, NY 10032, United States
3:00pm – 5:30pm Sundays

Reimagining Balance Event Recap

Reimagining Balance was held on September 18-19, 2021 at Eastside Atelier, studio 10B in Vancouver, Canada. The event was a success and milestone in many ways!

Needless to say, this was my first-ever pandemic art show and it presented some unique challenges requiring extra time and effort. For example, I decided early on that proof of full vaccination would be required for Saturday’s reception. Following, public health extended to include this protocol. This resulted in the use of new technologies, additional training and volunteers. As someone who is fully vaccinated, the opportunity to have a safe event came with joy, excitement and a sense of great relief. Many were so happy to see smiling faces they had not seen in almost two years, such as my women’s art group members, FLOURISH. Many said this was the first event they had attended in over 20 months. Simultaneously, I was sad to exclude others. To increase access, I developed my first virtual art studio tour for anyone who could not attend for any reason. Sharing an artist talk was one of my goals for the year and this nudged me to meet that goal!

The exhibition showcased work created over two years from 2019–2021. Another first, the event was held at my new Eastside Atelier studio. I moved into this space in spring of 2021. This show was my largest ever featuring 41 works of art from a tiny assemblage to hand embroideries to large paintings up to 40 in x 92 in. A selection of artworks from my previous body of work, Sewn Open Series, were included to contextualize the new body of work. In addition, I featured a small number of other artworks to support the theme. Over 33 people attended Saturday’s opening reception and nine visitors attended Sunday. Masks were optional Saturday yet mostly worn. Masks were always worn on Sunday. Considering there was thunder, rain and a fourth pandemic wave, it was very well attended! Thank you for trusting me with your health and time. Three works sold including Tracing Time, Oasis and Rapture.

Six volunteers assisted or offered to help including Glen Brauer, Lindsay Macmillan, Shelley MacEachern, Natalie Wai and Miranda Maslany. Karen Johanson went above and beyond, planing to travel from Oregon to attend and help! Sadly, due to COVID test result delays misaligning with impossible border test result requirements, Karen was unable to make the trip, but her gesture was was greatly appreciated! Many people helped make the event a success including my Mom who helped me hang work and shop for essentials, Jeanne Ainslie with communications editing, Sarah Murray with photography, Madh and Opus Framing with canvas stretching, and Wet Ink Fine Art with archival inkjet printing to name a few! Huge thanks to all who helped in many big and small ways, including good wishes and encouragement from near and far. It all means so much. I truly couldn’t have done this without all of you!

We raised $35 to donate to United Way’s BC Wildfire Recovery Fund. I catered the event with light snacks. Congratulations to Michael Granger who won my artwork, Zen Garden, through my draw!

I screened my first virtual art studio tour on Tuesday, September 21, 2021 at noon PST via Zoom. Following, an edited version was uploaded to YouTube. Watch my art studio tour here and let me know what you think!

Up next! Probyn Art Film Nights are baaaaack! Next film is Saturday, October 16th. Eastside Culture Crawl is less than a month away. Wow! How did that happen so fast?! I also have work in two curated group shows, Artfully Anonymous by South Delta Artist Guild and Water Stories by Jen Tough Gallery. For more information, visit www.probynart.com/events/upcoming

All photos are screen captures of short clips by Miranda Maslany unless otherwise noted. Thank you, Miranda!

Eastside Culture Crawl 2021 Recap

A big thank you to everyone who helped make Eastside Culture Crawl, 25th anniversary edition, a wonderful success! Thanks to kind friends and family behind the scenes, to wonderful volunteers who generously gave their time and support, and to Culture Crawl Society for their vision and execution. Most importantly, thanks to those who fought to protect our artists from a 2020 eviction! Thanks to all who supported from near and far. Your encouraging likes, comments, visits and purchases mean so much. I am crazy grateful to be doing what I love. I work tirelessly to make and share my art. Simultaneously, I do everything I can to make help other artists. I’m deeply grateful to be part of the Eastside Atelier family. Everyone is so generous, passionate and creative. It is an truly epoch experience.

I love how art exhibitions bring people together. From those who I see frequently on social media but rarely, if ever, see in person, to dear friends and family who I wish I saw more often. I was thrilled to meet my music teacher, Mike Ferraro, who I have studied with online for over 15 months. A few other special visits include artists and muralists Jean Paul Langois and Christina Boots. Pandora Yeung, who was a huge help to me in 2020 when I launched Make Safe Brigade, a mask-making coalition, came by as well. So many guests said this was the first large event they had attended in almost two years due to the pandemic. It was so wonderful to see people safely exploring enjoying art and culture again! Finally, there were some great connections made for potential future collaborations. More on those later! It’s moments like all of these that make a show great and important to many. Studies have shown how seeing art heals. It’s can be a healer for maker and viewer alike!

Eastside Atelier Culture Crawl 2021 was held over seven days across two weekends, from Thursday, November 12^th to Sunday, November 21^st. I was lucky to be given the feature photo in “30 Things to Do This Weekend“, a high profile post by award-winning, rock writer Steve Newton. The event was tiring and exhilarating. The first weekend was by appointment and the second was an open house. Many artists and attendees said they liked the new format driven by Public Health. I advised the Crawl Society and they agreed many felt the same way. Maybe they will keep the extra weekend going forward? On the last Sunday, our building counter registered 1,110 attendees! There was a solid turnout on most days with the slowest day Thursday night. My guess is we had a total of 3,500 building attendees and I had 1,100 studio attendees. By far my largest Crawl yet! I was able to take a few short breaks thanks to some kind souls who volunteered.

Ten people helped during the event. These include, in no particular order, Annie Kuan, Lynne Probyn, Laura E., Leah Probyn, Anna Villaruz, Adrian Wong, Tammy-Jo Regier, Louise Souk, Linda Poon and Lily Eskandari. A special shout out to Tammy-Jo who travelled over four hours to my studio! She stayed overnight helping with anything she could do to keep me fed, laughing and on time. She also helped the following day. How lucky am I to have dear friend like that?! Thank you, Tam!!! Thank you everyone for the much-needed meal breaks, photos and laughs. Your company was fuel for my spirit and made all the difference!

Several works were sold including New Directions, a work that was curated into the Eastside Culture Crawl’s prestigious Preview Exhibit, Surfacing, at The Cultch. In addition, I was paid $360.00 in artist fees to be featured. The exhibit closes December 1^st. Here is a PDF of the page. While the pdf does not represent it well, if does give you a rough idea. I expanded my inventory to include greeting cards as well as museum quality, limited edition prints. Some of these also sold. I also began embellishing these, which as a great way to pass the time during the event while engaging people. Thanks to past Eastside Atelier artist, AF Wauthy, for guiding me in this direction. I love where this has taken my edition work.

I included over 40 artworks in the Crawl of many various sizes and mediums. I included a few of my few Sewn Open Series works to build context. My Reimagining Balance series included my Ageless and Evergreen contemporary embroidery work, acrylic paintings and a small assemblage. Thanks to Jen Tough Gallery’s Artist Alliance for inspiring this playful work. Reimagining Balance was made over a two year time period. If you missed any of my recent shows, you can view my 2021 artist talk on YouTube.

Thanks to all the artists who helped make Eastside Atelier’s Crawl a success. Namely, Jessica Craig, who is gave endlessly to lead us. Big thanks for Janine Breck who did an outstanding job marketing including a one-day Eastside Culture Crawl Instagram account takeover. To Bryan R. Marshall who shot videos of many of our artists and provided his beautiful studio map for updating. I believe Lee James Abbott connected us with documentary filmmaker, Ezra Wood, who recorded during the event. Correct me if I am wrong! Global News filmed as well. We had cleaning organizers, lobby gallery installers and vaccine checkers. It takes a village! Many attendees who know the venue well said it had never looked better! Yet other, regular Crawlers said they didn’t know we existed. That’s good news as it means our hard work attracted new visitors! Many artists had some sales. After a quiet couple years, this means so much! Thank you all for supporting local artists!

Finally, community building has always been important to me. It’s a great privilege to make art and to serve the art community. My latest initiative aimed at nurturing pride and solidarity while connecting artists and supporters. This has been achieved through our new logo and Instagram account. The account is managed by myself and a few guest posters. Discover the creativity of our talented artists. Follow us at @eastsideatelierartists! I also had the pleasure of updating the wayfinding signage focused on the new east wing of the building. In person, by appointment visits are always welcome! If you’re unable to visit in person for any reason, I’m also thrilled to announce that I’ve recently launched new 3D art studio tours. Learn more about the tours here!

Next up? I’m participating in First Saturday on Saturday, December 4^th from 12pm noon to 5pm at Eastside Atelier, 1310 William Street, Vancouver. Come by and see seventeen artists! Stop by! Say hi! Explore our First Saturday participating Eastside Atelier artists!