June 5th, 2011 by Stacy
Barry Ostash, singer, songwriter and guitarist for STAVOC, has created a music video featuring my Antennae painting! The music video is for the song “A Bond Has Been Broken,” by STAVOC in collaboration with Steven Kitchen of Hologram, who is located in Liverpool, UK.
Barry Ostash of STAVOC
You can view the music video here on YouTube. Watch for more in this series of music/art videos by STAVOC!
In their words…
“With a mutual love for MUSIC in all its beautiful forms, a band of unique individuals connected & joined forces to become: STAVOC.”
For more information on this band and their music, please see the following sites:
stavoc.com
facebook.com/stavocmusic
STAVOC
STAVOC logo
April 20th, 2011 by Stacy
Below is my painting of the breathtaking image selected to mark the 21st anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Stacy Sakai's painting of the Hubble image, Rose of Galaxies
January 16th, 2011 by Stacy
On Friday, January 14th, 2011, I had dinner with Ray Villard, the News Director for Hubble. It was great having a one-on-one conversation with him, and hearing the latest news. It was also fascinating to hear about how it feels to be the first ones to see the amazing, mind-blowing views Hubble brings us.
After dinner, Ray came to my studio to see my paintings of Hubble images. It was in 2008 that I was first inspired to create paintings based on Hubble images, and I showed him a selection of paintings from then until now. He also got to see my latest work in progress!
It was truly an honour to have Ray visit my studio. It was wonderful to hear his comments, and get his feedback on my work. Of course while he was there, he was also able to check out the 18′ telescope designed and built by Craig Breckenridge. It was certainly an inspiring evening…
Stacy Sakai and Ray Villard in front of the Magellanic Cloud painting.
In front of the telescope with Craig Breckenridge and Ray Villard
December 31st, 2010 by Stacy
It’s been an exciting and amazing year of art for me!
To top it off, this morning, the last day of the year, I was thrilled to run into internationally renowned artist, Gordon Smith at Opus! We had a lovely conversation. I told him I was an oil painter, and he asked if I was an Emily Carr graduate. I said “no, I’m a self-taught artist.” He replied, “even better!!!” That was wonderful to hear.
He gave me a signed card with one of his paintings on it. I’ll put it up in my studio as a reminder, and for ongoing inspiration…
October 18th, 2010 by Stacy
Last week, I had a special event to celebrate my new art studio, located within a telescope workshop. What an amazing night!!! The guests all had fun and enjoyed seeing the art, and of course seeing the huge 18 foot telescope under construction!
So many people told me what great energy and warmth they felt in the space. I am truly grateful to those people who so generously offered me their time and talent to make it such a great time for everyone – Jerry the DJ, Dan the photographer, Mik for bartending, Cindi for helping me hostess, and of course Craig and Jill for their endless kindness and support.
All photos credit to photographer Dan Poh.
Stacy Sakai at her open studio event.
Art displayed with the 18' telescope under construction.
Perched on the telescope with Andy Chu, Creator and Producer, Arc 2 Intertainment.
Andy is too much fun!
Craig Breckenridge with the telescope he is designing and building.
Stacy Sakai with Andy Chu and Pamela Masik.
Talking with artist Raymond Chow.
Paintings displayed on a ladder.
On top of the ladder beneath the Veil paintings.
September 24th, 2010 by Stacy
As part of the Culture Days national celebration of arts and culture across Canada, the Craftivism show will be on display at Raw Canvas in Yaletown, Vancouver BC on September 25, 2010.
For this show, artists were asked to paint on three 8″ x 8″ canvasses with the theme of community and sustainability. The Craftivism show will also be part of the Main Art Drift on October 2-3, 2010.
Shown below is my triptych “One Sky” along with a haiku I wrote on the theme of the show.
One Sky
One sky above us,
One community, one world…
Clouds lined in silver.
September 22nd, 2010 by Stacy
For any artist, an auction is both exciting and stressful! There is nothing quite like it. I wasn’t sure if I’d have the guts to watch the whole thing, but I did. It was very exciting, and it was very rewarding!
September 20th, 2010 by Stacy
My Antennae painting was selected for The Contemporary Woman event!
The reception and auction will be held on Wednesday, September 22, 2010. Maynards Fine Art and Antiques describes the event as follows:
“The inspiration for this unique auction event was taken from the exhibition themed ‘The Modern Woman’ to which Maynards was the presenting sponsor at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Unprecedented amongst leading Canadian auction houses, Maynards has asked emerging artists to submit a work of art that reflects their perspective of what it means to be a woman in contemporary society.
Maynards has a long-standing tradition of supporting Arts in the community, and is proud to host this event to promote and showcase local and upcoming artists. We hope to continue this support in the future with similar annual emerging art auction events, and to contribute an associated donation from a portion of the proceeds to fund a Visual Art students’ grant at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design.“
Each artist was asked to write a brief statement about how their work relates to the theme of the show.
My painting and artist statement…
Antennae painting
“The Antennae painting is based on an image taken by the Hubble Space
Telescope. It is a close-up of two colliding galaxies (NGC 4038/4039)
within the constellation Corvus. It serves as a great metaphor for
capturing the essence of being a woman in contemporary society.
In our society today, women have the world of family and friends
colliding with the world of career and personal expression.
In the midst of this turbulence, with focus and perseverance a woman
can still radiate light and positive energy from the core of her
being. More than ever, a woman today can illuminate her own path to
follow, making the most of both colliding worlds.”
September 5th, 2010 by Stacy
On Saturday, September 4, 2010, I was part of the Taiwan Festival, displaying my paintings in a booth with renowned artist Raymond Chow! We were outside at the Vancouver Art Gallery plaza, and it was packed with people before it even opened at noon. It was wonderful talking with Raymond all day, and I met so many people!
The festival had music and food, and booths set up for people to wander through…it was a beautiful day, and sooo much fun. Later in the evening, there was a fashion show on the main stage in the plaza, with three Taiwanese fashion designers showing their amazing work.
Below is a small selection of pictures of me and Raymond, and our exhibit of paintings.
Stacy Sakai with Raymond Chow at our painting exhibition for the Taiwan Festival.
Stacy at the Vancouver Art Gallery. The Modern Woman is the current exhibition at the VAG.
One of the lions in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Stacy Sakai and Raymond Chow in front of our painting exhibition at the Taiwan Festival, Vancouver Art Gallery plaza.
August 28th, 2010 by Stacy
I was invited to Lady Gaga’s Monsterball afterparty on Monday, August 23rd at Canvas Lounge. Wow, what a great party!!! The guests were a great mix of people, and there were so many amazing costumes! Semi Precious Weapons was there after the concert, and Lady Starlight was the DJ. Lady Gaga did not attend, as she had another concert the following night.
Here is a small selection of photos of me with some friends at the event…
Professional photos are courtesy of Norm Lee Photography.
Stacy with Andy Chu, Creator and Producer, Arc2 Intertainment
DJ Lady Starlight spinning great music at the afterparty!
Stacy with Tristan Risk aka Little Miss Risk
Stacy and Elizabeth with artist and Vancouver icon, Jimmy Cummins!
Stacy in front of the wall of sketches by Jimmy Cummins!