In the Spotlight: Jaki Durocher



Back Shift - a portrait of Jaki's father

I first met Jaki Durocher a few years ago through the Hants County Arts Council; I quickly recognized that Jaki was an active member of the local arts community and knew she would be a great ally and advisor when it came to starting my own arts based business.

As one of the founding members of the Hants County Arts Council and Director of the Utata Arts Centre, Jaki has played an important part in nurturing the local arts community here in Hants County.

Known mostly for her portraiture and landscape paintings, Jaki is a bit of a Jack of all trades.

Her work, which has been sold nationally and internationally, reflects her love of the things important to her: nature, the Nova Scotian landscape and as a proud grandmother of 10, her family.

In this day and age when life is getting faster, busier and more complex, it is the simpler things in life that keep us grounded and lend perspective on what really matters. My work is about connections. These associations impel a spiritual effigy.         Jaki Durocher

This past year saw Jaki opening Windsor’s first Art School, Inspire! Here Jaki and her husband Philippe teach a variety of workshops ranging from painting and drawing to cement and clay sculpture.

Jaki is always experimenting and growing as an artist, never afraid to accept a challenge! Here at Flying Cloud we are proud to showcase a selection of her art prints as well as her beautiful nature inspired ceramic bowls.

Currently we are showcasing Jaki’s Wave and Whales ceramic bowl series in our online shop; perhaps the perfect complement to a hearty Nova Scotian fish chowder!

For more information on Jaki and the workshops available at Inspire Art School please visit www.jakidurocheer.com or if you'd like to experience Jaki's work first hand come and visit us here at the shop!

A Look Back to the Festival of Art

On October 1st & 2nd Flying Cloud Boutique hit the road to attend the 5th Annual Festival of Art, hosted by the Hants County Arts Council at the Vaughan Shand Centre in Windsor, Nova Scotia.

Revealing for the first time our folky "mini cloud" kiosk, we were able to show off a small selection of items from the shop while also providing free artist demonstration for visitors who came out to view the showcase of 20 Hants County Arts Council members.

Instructor at Inspire Art School, Jaki Durocher created a sculpture from clay while Tacha Reed demonstrated needle felting techniques.

For more information and pictures from the event please visit the Hants County Art Council's Member's Gallery Blog: http://hcacmembersgallery.blogspot.com/

5th Annual Festival of Art

The Hants County Arts Council is currently planning it's 5th Annual Festival of Art in Windsor, and here at Flying Cloud we are thrilled to be one of the event sponsors.


This year's festival will occur between September 30th - October 2nd as a part of Culture Days and is open to all Nova Scotian artists. 




This year sees the event moving to the Vaughn Shand center (former Hawboldt's building), a gorgeous open space that allows for even more artists to be represented. 


For more information please visit www.hantscountyartscouncil.ca or visit their blog at http://hcacmembersgallery.blogspot.com/

Sometimes you just need to ask for help...

You know, owning and running your own business may seem like a fairy tale dream come true, but I have to admit I'm absolutely exhausted! Not only do I run Flying Cloud, but I'm also a maker, selling my wares at a few local shops and online, I  work part-time on an animated television series and I volunteer as President of the Hants County Arts Council. So when I woke up with a cold the other other day, I finally took a much needed break (only my 3rd day off since March!) and started to think "maybe I should ask for some help?"


Going into the Self Employment Benefits program I was confident that thanks to my extensive background in various forms of production, I had a good handle on everything that needed to be done to open and run my business. Perhaps I was a little cocky, but for the most part I was able to identify everything that I needed and wanted to do and was pretty sure I was capable of doing it all myself... but the reality is I only have two hands and there are only 24hrs in a day... and my to-do lists could keep 3 of me busy!


The key to the success of every business I've worked for in the past has been the strength of their teams. Here at Flying Cloud our team is pretty small, other than the help from a few of my loyal friends (I'm not sure I can actually count the cats - although their companionship and undying love does help float me along), overall I do most of the work myself. 


That being said, I have a pretty long list of things I'd like to accomplish each day. I'm quickly finding out that what ever is currently a priority will always bump the best of my intentions to the bottom of the list - one of those being blogging on a regular basis and keeping you all up to date with the on-goings here. I just have to say that lately I've felt like an old friend that meant to write you that letter but just kept putting it off... so I apologize for not keeping in touch and I promise I will remedy that!


My ideal would be to update you daily about each and every one of the fabulous artists currently represented in the shop and the creative products they have come up with... and I'm sure that soon enough I'll get into a routine where I can find the time to sit down daily and share a bit of the Flying Cloud world with you all... but in the meanwhile I'll ask that you all bear with me while we work through our growing pains and I finally ask for some much needed help!


The top item on my to-do list as of late has been the planning of our grand opening and  our first summer party. One longstanding task on my wish list has been to convert our garage doors into a fantabulous mural of Blomidon with Sylvia flying through the sky. Seeing as I'm not much of a painter myself I have asked a few of the talented members of the Hants County Arts Council to join me and show off some of their mad skills. 

Jaki Durocher from Inspire Art School will be on hand providing some tips for working on larger scale images and bringing out the subtle details in nature. Accompanying Jaki will be the fiery Kelly Mitchelmore, who I'm hoping will bring out her knives and work a little of her magic. Also on hand will be Carlos Da Rosa, who is known for his vivid landscapes, as well as water colourists June Brown and Dora Davis - who I'm sure will bring their own sense of tranquility to the project.


Throughout the afternoon Patricia Dillon will be holding workshops for children demonstrating her beaded mosaics and at 2pm we are lucky enough to have Christina Martin providing some musical entertainment.


So far the 23rd is shaping up to be a fantastic afternoon - and all I had to do to make it happen was ask for a little help from my friends :)


So next time I find my aspirations seem a bit larger than me, I'm just going to remind myself it's okay to ask for help.