How this artist stays connected to her grandfather's surrealist legacy...using lighters

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Media | File this under ways to stay connected to your past: this artist is keeping close to her grandfather... with lighters

Caption: Vancouver-based Christina Kenton explains what her surreal lighter-based art has to do with her grandfather's legacy

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There's no very easy way to categorize Christina (external link)Kenton(external link)'s sculptures — they're fantastical and range from dreamlike creatures to intricate bedroom sets, covered in tiny, hand-painted patterns. The common thread is just as unusual: the self-taught artist's sculptures are all built around lighters.
They're also informed by an important part of Kenton's past: her grandfather was a well-known Surrealist painter (one of the founders of Slovak surrealism) named Ladislav Guderna(external link). He was originally from Czechoslovakia and, when he left, made his way through Toronto to Vancouver, where Kenton is now based. His legacy, from books to paintings to writings about his work, is vast.
Growing up in a family full of artists, particularly her grandfather, lit a fire (yes, that's a pun) in Kenton to become a prolific sculptor.
"We both created our own little world when it came to art...I want to leave behind tons of stuff too," she says in this video by Milena Salazar(external link). "We're both always constantly creating and that's what inspires me — and that's also what I feel I inherited: his passion to always create."
See more of Christina Kenton's work at her Tumblr(external link).
Watch Exhibitionists(external link) on Friday nights at 12:30am (1am NT) and Sundays at 3:30pm (4pm NT) on CBC Television.