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KIM WARNE - CARVER

Community Press Sept. 1997

Local carver Kim Warne has practised his art for the past five years, having been introduced to the exciting medium of stone by a sculptor friend. A wildlife photo-grapher taught him to appreciate the intricate details of nature and the Haliburton School of Fine Arts taught him the rudiments of soapstone carving. With the support and encouragement of another sculptor, Kim has developed his own expressive style. He says, "I am constantly amazed and excited about the discoveries that can be found in the heart of stone." This was recently proven true when he demonstrated the underwater sanding process of a partially completed bluejay to reveal the markings on the stone which magically became the details of wings and face.

Kim, the minister at St. Andrew's United Church in Marmora, seeks to discover the essence of the creatures of this world from within the context of his ministry and his own life experiences. He points out, "I use simplistic lines and try to reduce it to its basic element." This statement is evident in the graceful lines of his bittern, commanding pose of a bear and the stark simplicity of his loons. He notes, "I never do two things exactly the same way simply because the stone may speak to me to do some hing else."

With his work in private coIlec- tions in such far-flung places as Pakistan, Australia and Japan as well as a number of States and Provinces across North America, Kim, who views his carving as a hobby, has several commissioned works ahead of him, the most ambitious of which is an I8-inch standing bear gripping a salmon in its jaws. He has displayed his work at a number of local shows and this year will participate
in the Apsley and District Autumn Studio Tour on the weekend of September 20 as well as the First Annual Marmora and Area Studio Tour being held October 18 and 19. Twenty- five of his pieces are currently being featured during the month of September at the Belleville Art Gallery located above the library on Pinnacle St.

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Mike Staples

EMC - July 2010          The walls of Mike Staples' newly opened studio and gallery, located in Unit 102 at 2 Forsyth Street, are filled with examples of his colourful work. An abstract artist, Staples has been painting part time for the past eight
years, although for a span of eight months, when laid off from a job at General Motors, he made his art a full time
occupation. The results are on the wall for all to admire in the form of a 64-inch by BB-inch oil painting on canvas. The
vibrant piece, aptly named, Patchwork, is made up of 430 different squares and resembles a handpicked quilt. On several occa- sions, Staples says, "people have actually
taken it for a quilt." On the opposite wall is an equally large painting in progress entitled "Silver Screen," in that it con- tains 130 quotes from well known movies spanning the decades from the 1940s to now. Among them are: "What we've got here is failure to communicate," "Houston, we have a problem," "May the force be with you," and "Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates." Those two pieces are large enough, that a U-Haul is required to move them. Another picture, accomplished in half an hour, done in black and white without using brushes, prompted Staples to say, "You can do abstract art very quickly or you can spend an incredible
amount of time on it." Pointing to a strikingly detailed acrylic painting entitled Lightning and Molecules, Staples allowed it had taken him three weeks to complete. Over the years, Staples has taken several art courses and has also learned much from his mom, Lorraine, a full-time artist specializing in land- scapes and flowers. Inspiration for his work comes 'from many sources including the late Jackson Pollock,an abstract impressionist, whose work Staples admires. Of the new gallery he says, "I'm just happy to have a place to hang my paintings and maybe somebody
can peek through the window and have a look at them.

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