@moonlight.collab
Moonlight Collab
Moonlight Collab consists of local artists Jessie St Clair and Emma McCaul.
Emma is a self taught mixed media artist and curator, who enjoys jumping from medium to medium. From traditional and digital illustration, to installation and staging/ event design, Emma is a well rounded artist who is constantly exploring and evolving her creative abilities. Emma has been working professionally in the arts industry since 2008.
Jessie St. Clair is known for her whimsically expressive painting style, often depicting playful, dream-like images of her memories and experiences. Although painting is Jessie’s primary creative outlet, it doesn’t stop there. She believes that to grow as an artist, one must taking chances, make mistakes, learn new skills and tools, and most importantly, collaborate with other people. Jessie has been working as a professional artist in Calgary since earning her BFA in 2010, from the University of Calgary.
Jessie and Emma began working creatively together in 2012 when they co-founded Studio Cartel. Their time at Studio Cartel fostered their growth in new artistic territories including sculpture, installation and interactive design. After leaving the company some years later, the learning curve continued as both artists explored new concepts individually. They have always stayed close friends and enjoy nothing more than collaborating on art projects, which led them to create the Moonlight Collab.
The name Moonlight is a quite literal description of “the creative hour,” in which (most) artists find their inspiration. In the case of Emma and Jessie, this also speaks to their only free work time, when their babies and young children are sleeping!
Through this avenue, the artists hope to support one another as they push the boundaries of creation through outside the box ideas. Moonlight Collab is available for a wide range of custom works from murals, to installation, to event design.
Check out our newest installation, ESCAPE
“ESCAPE” is an art piece inspired by the historical Fire Hall Number 1. The artists were inspired by this particular site amongst an ever changing downtown landscape. Ladders and ropes were used to play homage to a fire escape. The artists used paper, posters, and layers of paint on each ladder to represent sites seen downtown; urban decay and old poster boards.
The ladders are hung horizontally to represent time. As time passes, buildings erode, artists leave their marks, and the urban landscape evolves. While some things change, others stay the same. The relationship between this temporary art piece and the Fire Hall is intended to represent exactly this.
The artists invite the viewer to escape their everyday ordinary surroundings and journey into a playful realm of art and wonder, while exploring the juxtaposition of the new/ changing and the old.