THE LEGEND OF KYRYLO

One of the most beloved pieces of art Ivaan ever made was a tryzub, or trident, which we've always called the Kyrylo.  It's named after a young man named Kyrylo Rewa, for whom Ivaan made one many years ago.  It's very distinctive, because it has the most graceful lines, it's neither tiny nor huge, and it's not flat.  In fact, it looks rather like bread dough beginning to rise.   It works well for both men and women, and the people who choose it for themselves are invariably confident, artistic and very particular about their choice of adornment.

What's also a source of wonder (at least, to me) is the route people take to acquiring a Kyrylo pendant of their own.   Apart from the Kyrylo for whom it is named, there is the "Slawko Sekunda" connection, the "Lesia Chyczij" connection and the "Adriana Buyniak" connection.  Every time these three people wear their tryzubs in public (and they seem to go out  a LOT), our telephone rings and the person on the other end says, "I want a tryzub just like Slawko/Lesia/Ada has".  Who needs to advertise when you have social butterflies wearing your art?

This week I made a couple of Kyrylo pendants in sterling silver, and as I'd recently discovered that coral comes in blue, I decided to have a Kyrylo tryzub strung on a blue coral necklace, and fastened with a toggle clasp.  I liked it so much, I then made a bracelet to match.  I'm pretty thrilled with the result. Ivaan would love it. Now I'll sit back and wonder underneath whose Christmas tree it will wind up.

Kyrylo Tryzub on Blue Coral © Estate of Ivaan Kotulsky

INKMAID ART

Our friend Emily Crown-Robinson is a wonderful artist who specializes in quill-and-ink drawings of the natural world.  They're whimsical without being cute, very detailed without being like a photograph, unique and interesting. Emily does a million things well, but she's always kind of kept her art for herself and her family.

Recently, she's been opening up a bit more to the outside world, and I asked her if we could have an exhibition of her work, Inkmaid Art, (www.inkmaidart.com) here at Atelier Ivaan.  So that's what we're doing on Friday, November 28th, from 7 till 10 p.m. - having the opening reception for her first exhibition.

Here's the poster for the exhibition:

If you're out and about in Toronto, stop by and enjoy the reception.  You can browse, shop, snack, chat, enjoy the event, and meet Emily, too.  If you're in a gift-buying mood, either for yourself or someone else,  her prices are very reasonable.  She'll have her drawings on stationery, throw pillows and suitable for wall mounting.

We're excited to be hosting our first exhibition by an artist whose work we love (apart from Ivaan's, I mean.)  And the snacks will be pretty good, too. Because Ivaan will be watching us.

THE THINGS WE LOSE: We Live In Hope

Here's the little film of my story of loss that appeared on the TTC video monitors in subway stations during the month of October, part of a video installation by LabSpace Studio, entitled The Things We Lose.  Due to the brevity of the film clip, the accompanying text makes it seem as though Ivaan had died just three days after reconnecting with the young woman in the photo.  In fact, he lived for six more years, during which time he suffered three additional strokes.  Yet he still managed to remind me regularly of the importance of finding the young woman playing the flute.
We live in hope.