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Dorothy Field

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  1. Innovative printmaker and writer Dorothy Fields explains herself, her process and her upcoming exhibit at Xchanges Artists Gallery. IN 1971, AFTER COMPLETING AN MA in Design at UC Berkeley, specializing in textiles, I moved to Canada. In the 1980s I began making Nepalese and Japanese style paper as a way to escape the loom’s constraints. In the ’90’s, I began printmaking with Susy Raxlen, a Montreal-trained printer. I made the plates; she did the actual printing. In 2008, I started printing myself working and learning at Ground Zero Printmakers Society. “Hands Triad” by Dorothy Field I now have a press in my basement, printing unglued pieces of paper and adhering them to a base sheet of handmade paper in ways that interrupt the natural continuity of the image. Just as I left the rigidity of the loom, I have not followed the discipline of traditional printmaking. I have total respect for those who do, but that will never be me. I am the author of three books of poetry, an extended essay illustrated with my photos of the ways paper is used in Asia to connect with the gods, a book of garden letters, and a children’s book about a family in India who blockprint cloths for the worship of the Mother Goddess. After 30 years on a farm in Cobble Hill, I now “farm” my Victoria backyard, sharing my space with vegetables, fruit, and a native plant corner. About this exhibit For several year I have been playing with the idea of creating imagery and then interrupting it. I print the same etching plates over and over, incorporating different, sometimes unconventional ways of shifting the theme. Inspired by Betty Goodwin’s vest series and the way she liberated the press, I placed my ancient garden gloves on a copper plate prepared with soft ground and ran them through the press to create an etching plate. Later, I did the same with my Tai Chi shoes. “Overlapped” by Dorothy Field I’ve also been working with the human face using the very direct lift print technique. Of particular interest are the faces of people we might consider Other. I collage these lift prints with scraps of etchings and the odds and ends of papers that float around my studio. I incorporate text as a visual element for its rhythm and sense of message, even when I don’t know the language or it is obscured in some way. The substrate is integral to the work. I made most of the sheets of paper from imported and local fibres using Japanese and Nepalese techniques. Some papers are fairly refined, some are quite rough. The pieces represent a marriage of paper and image with the paper more than just a vehicle to carry them. My interest is non-narrative, exploring the many ways an image can be stretched, obscured, and overlapped while still retaining the image or its shards. The resulting work is additive and layered. I rarely know exactly where I’m going, feeling my way to unknown destinations. This body of work engages the accidental, the imperfect, and happenstance. I am willing to live with a few disasters in order to arrive at the unexpected. Iterations: Hands, Feet, Faces opens Friday 12 March, 7-9pm at Xchanges Gallery. Artist Talk Sunday 21 March @ 2pm (via Zoom). Exhibition continues Saturdays/Sundays 11am-4pm through March 28. Xchanges Artists Gallery and Studios is at 2333 Government Street, Suite 6E. 250-382-0442; https://xchangesgallery.org
  2. OVER THE LAST MONTHS, mayor and council, in an effort to speed up re-zoning regulations, have entered on a path that bypasses neighbourhood Land Use Committees. This is, as they see it, more efficient, and saves months of haggling with neighbours over up-zoning. It focuses on densifying “corridors,” arterial roads, rather than the health of neighbourhoods as a whole. Emphasis on these corridors sees "small urban villages" in terms of business rather than community connection and aspiration. As a community association board member, I've sat at the table while City bureaucrats tell us what they've decided rather than opening up back and forth conversations. There is much talk about “vibrant” processes and community engagement from local government. In the end, it is top down and the engagement appears to be merely window dressing.The thing is, it isn't just land use committees that are being side-lined, it is we, Victoria's citizens and residents. All of us understand the pressures to create innovative ways to increase density, but in the process, we feel our interests, our vision, and our ideas bypassed as the City's processes unfold. Victoria is a lovely and livable city, a tourist destination, a place where many people aspire to live. However, the current push from the City seems bent on destroying what makes Victoria special. The City itself has become our official and prime development corporation. Empty Downtown towers are not a draw. Upscale condos on the former Truth Centre property are the waste of an uncommon opportunity to create a shared green space which might have been used to create "amenities" for people—a cultural centre, a nature park, or a combination of such ideas. Might the City have listened to the many people who grieved the loss of the wonderful old trees and the park-like space? Might we have talked about how to buy the property and turn it into a people place? Unfortunately, under the present process, visionary ideas will be shut down before they have a chance to be heard. In this pandemic time, when we are all preoccupied with staying home and staying safe, I fear what City council might allow to slip through, all in the guise of progressive development. Victoria residents are full of vital ideas for how we want our city to adapt. We need to slow down and hear each other out. We do not need to decimate Land Use Committees which may indeed prolong our processes but may also give rise to ideas that are intrinsic to the spirit of our communities. They also keep citizens in the loop and allow us to have a crucial and integral part in Victoria's future. In recent times, we've seen major developments approved, developments that are in opposition to Official Community Plans, through the use of amendments to community plans. Thus we whittle away citizens' interest and commitment to taking ownership of our neighbourhoods. I am quite sure that Mayor Helps and council want what is best for the city. If many of us are distressed by some of what’s coming down the pike, we need opportunities to talk about it, not a swift by-pass. Without that, we foster a disengaged citizenry which may play out in apathy or real anger. Neither is to be desired. Mayor and council need to remember that it is we, the people, not the developers, who have to live with their decisions.
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