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f e a t u r e I by Peggy Sortz F A N S Peter Kiss is Just Having Fun The Secret to Success? You Gotta Love It! Peter Kiss c o n s i d e r s h i m s e l f a l u c k y m a n . W h y ? B e c a u s e he is d o i n g e x a c t l y w h a t he w a n t s t o d o - b e i n g a n a r t i s t , a n d a very successful artist at that. In t h e t w e l v e years since h i s first e x h i b i t i o n at t h e Queen W h e n Kiss gets an idea f o r o n e of his sculptures, he d o e s a r o u g h d r a w i n g in a sketchbook. So far he has filled eight started wouldn't working in w o o d a n d t h e ideas were s t o p . " A t t h e time, there almost no artists w o r k i n g in w o o d and so Kiss w a s a b l e t o carve h i m s e l f o u t a c o m f o r t a b l e niche. (Pun intended!) b o o k s w i t h t h e s e ideas, m a n y o f w h i c h he w i l l n e v e r g e t t o . A s it is, h e w o r k s a l m o s t everyday to keep up w i t h his many c o m m i s s i o n s as w e l l as s t o c k i n g his g a l l e r y o n Granville Island. "Last year I h a d eight d a y s o f f in t o t a l , i n c l u d i n g w e e k e n d s . " B e h i n d his A m b l e s i d e h o m e , Kiss built a studio where he does the cutting and carving. U s i n g a variety o f p o w e r tools, he w o r k s m o s t l y i n s p r u c e t h e s e d a y s . He E l i z a b e t h Theatre, he h a s c r e a t e d h u n d r e d s , if n o t t h o u s a n d s of w o n d e r f u l l y w h i m s i c a l sculptures. His w o r k c a n be f o u n d in h o m e s and businesses around the world. A n d Kiss g r e w up o n t h e North Shore in a creative e n v i r o n m e n t . His father, Z o l t a n Kiss, ran his o w n a r c h i t e c t u r a l f i r m . He a l s o p a i n t e d a n d w o r k e d in ceramics. His m o t h e r d e l i g h t e d in a v a r i e t y of crafts i n c l u d i n g s t a i n e d glass, Kiss a t t r i b u t e s h i s s u c c e s s t o t h e f a c t t h a t his w o r k a p p e a l s t o a g r e a t d i v e r s i t y o f p e o p l e . A l t h o u g h s o m e o f his s c u l p t u r e s are laced with social c o m m e n t , for the most part his work is e n t e r t a i n i n g . "There's w e a v i n g a n d batik. A s a child, Kiss e x p l o r e d several artistic m e d i a but since, in his family, art w a s only a hobby, he never considered it as a career. In f a c t h e s p e n t m a n y years at u n i v e r s i t y s t u d y i n g first b i o l o g y a n d t h e n a r c h i t e c t u r e . A f t e r n e i t h e r of t h e s e p a n n e d out for h i m , he decided t o take a year off a n d travel. That only lasted three months. used cedar until a forester friend advised him of the toxic nature is a l s o much of the w o o d . accessible, Spruce more t h r o u g h o u t it a l l , he's h a v i n g f u n . a f f o r d a b l e a n d u n i f o r m in colour. Kiss d o e s t h e p a i n t i n g in his G r a n v i l l e Island s t u d i o . A l t h o u g h most of his subjects are h u m a n or a n i m a l f i g u r e s , t h e y a r e a n y t h i n g b u t representational. In o r d e r t o give the s h a p e s a t w i s t , Kiss a s k s himself, " H o w c a n I m a k e it i n t e r e s t i n g ? H o w c a n I p u s h this imagery? H o w f a r c a n I p u s h it a n d still e n o u g h heavy angst stuff out there," he s a y s . " M y life's b e e n g o o d . I d o n ' t t h i n k I c a n d o t h e h e a v y a n g s t trip. It's n o t in m e . " He b e l i e v e s t h a t p e o p l e a r e m o r e likely t o w a n t cheerful art in their h o m e s rather h a v e it r e c o g n i z a b l e ? " H e l o o k s f o r t h e e s s e n c e of t h e f i g u r e a n d t h e n p r o c e e d s to "I'm just happier when I'm creating h a v e f u n w i t h it. t h a n s o m e t h i n g dark a n d b r o o d i n g . Besides that, he has a strong desire to spread his happiness around. s o m e t h i n g o r h a v e a project o n t h e g o . " Since he still h a d nine m o n t h s left for his h o l iday, he b e g a n to e x p l o r e a f e w o p t i o n s . "I Kiss is h o n o u r e d t o be r e c e i v i n g t h e FANS A w a r d this year. His plan for the future is to September | October