Celebrating the earth and our social/neurodiversities.
Exploring who we were, who we are, and who we strive to be.
Caribou Conservation Breeding Foundation
July 27, 2022
A mythic matriarchal reindeer, to indigenous Nordics, sustains the heartbeat of the earth. I looked everywhere for indigenous craftspeople of Turtle Island who create earrings made from caribou antler, and was unsuccessful where I live in SW Ontario. This makes sense because caribou don't live in SW Ontario! In a recent visit to Yukon to see family members, I was able to find and buy several pairs made from caribou antler, from local indigenous artisans of Whitehorse and NWT. I was so moved. This was a very beautiful and spiritual experience to be able to finally find them.
June 24, 2022
Pre-Christianity, St. Hans, or St. John the Baptist Day, was a time to celebrate the summer solstice/Midsummer. The Nordic countries light large bonfires on that night to encourage prosperity, an amazing amount of farm produce, and good luck. Myself in Canada... it's not really a tradition here to do that, so I just sat in my back yard with a brew and lit a candle in appreciation for the sun's radiance and the nice weather finally being here.
June 14, 2022
Every once in a while I update the features in my table-top altar, or 'sieidi' (a term used in the north of Scandinavia in Sapmi, also known as a 'viero-gierkie' in the south-west parts of Sapmi). It's basically a place to go to for meditation, reflection and dialogue with Creator and the living elements of creation, which are just as valid, cherished and alive as we are. Every once in a while I change things up, add things, free other things back into the environment from where they came; a fluid conversation. Right now my 'gierkie' includes a three-point mule deer shed antler from Saskatchewan, Chinese lantern seed pods, a favourite plant from my husband's late Grandma Constantineau, shards of rock from the land of the birth place of my Vig ancestors in Frosta, Norway, and bundled cooking sage I grew in my garden. We can't have an outdoor bonfire in my place of residence so instead I use candles.
May 27, 2022
I took part in a lovely art display that had a pollinator and garden theme, called "Pollinators for Peace", with real growing plants, very timely for the late spring and early summer months. I submitted a small painting and writing about the endangered Nordic Brown Bee. The display coincides with a group show of artwork about world peace. The art space is located in Windsor ,Ontario, at One Ten Park Art Space, curated and organized by University of Windsor professor Susan Gold.
March 22, 2022
I often think of the ancestors looking down at me saying, "Boy do you have it easy compared to us!" But then, wasn't that their goal? to create a better life for their descendants. So I look to them with gratitude for their hard work and struggles that they went through. My grandfather had to shoot a grizzly bear that broke into his homestead cabin and trashed his kitchen and ate up his food. I don't have that fear today. I just get squirrels eating my hibiscuses.
Jan. 7, 2022
Yesterday was National Sami Day, with much celebration in Norway and Sweden and even some commemorations in the U.S. In reflection, I was going through artwork completed several years ago. One of them is my favourite wood carved painted primitive depiction of a reindeer, in red, which can be seen in the gallery section of this website. It is about spiritual connections with the natural world. It was inspired from ancient rock art I came across while hiking in rural Norway. Happy Sami Day! Respect to all Indigenous peoples!
Dec. 18, 2021
Such a joy to make homemade tea! There are some very mature Norway spruce trees growing out in my yard. I made some tea from their needles. To make tea, snip off a number of small short twig stems. Steep either the whole twig or just the needles in pre-boiled hot water for 15-20 minutes depending on how strong you want the tea to be. Strain through cheesecloth or diffusing paper into a cup and enjoy. It tastes like Christmas or like tasting a Spring day. Optional: add honey.
Dec. 16, 2021
Cherishing our life giving environment! I find natural symbiotic, cyclic relationships fascinating. There are six trees in a row outside my home I call the Six Singing Sisters who sound like the ocean when the wind blows through their branches. I love sitting under their shade in the summer. The spruce needles I sometimes pick and put in a candle for incense and meditation. My bear tooth necklace rests on an oak leaf, both symbols of strength. The cat plays happily in the fallen leaves in the autumn. You can make tea from parts of some trees. Trees provide a safe haven for the wild critters. Respectful, ethical connection with nature is important. It's a fascinating scientific exploration, and also a beautiful, spiritual, restful relationship.
Nov. 17, 2021
Food for thought about immigrant relationships with indigenous peoples. One might dislike the settler label and say, "I am not a settler, I was born here." The term 'settler' has a contemporary meaning that doesn't include physical birthplace but a state of mind. The first step in deconstructing our mindset is to shed the former thought pattern that Colonial-European-descended people in a leadership role are entitled to decide what they think is best for the indigenous and the marginalized. That is what is meant by the "settler mindset". By relinquishing and upturning this way of thinking, giving the indigenous people the power to self-heal and fix their situations in the way they deem best, giving them the helm, we are shedding the settler-mindset, developing better two-way communication and empathy, better quality respect for First Nations, and then becoming allies to their causes and determinations. In the past we have claimed to not be settlers, that we too were born here, but despite this, we kept stepping on their toes for every move they tried to take to keep their quality of life.
Sept. 21, 2021
We in Canada have just come out of a federal election, and my support falls with the neurodiverse peoples' struggles in our community, so my thoughts about fighting for the poor and the lower middle class are in focus at the moment. Lack of awareness and accommodation in the work place for neurodiverse people is systemic and speaks to the crisis of the underemployed, the unemployed and the homeless.
Sept. 11, 2021
Are you finding yourself stepping back from potential opportunities? In life we all have goal obstacles. We have two choices: Either say: "I can't do this project because of (reason)." Or say: "Maybe I can do something similar to my original idea, because I thought about all kinds of creative accommodating solutions, and picked the best one, not exactly the original vision, but the result is just as amazing." Overthinking all of the 'I can't do this because' narratives in our brain can restrict us from doing what gives us joy. Don't fall for that voice. Entertain alternative paths, force yourself out there!
July 23, 2021
I stumbled across a page describing the circumstances facing the Sami people in this modern time, not unlike what they had been facing for centuries in the past. There is still conflict today with land usage rights, racism, and even pandemics are not something new at all. https://www.iwgia.org/en/sapmi/4248-iw-2021-sapmi.html
May 31, 2021
Here is a wonderful Sami Creation story with an environmental message. The Sun created the Sami people.
A heart of a two year old reindeer cow was placed in the center of the Earth. With your ear to the ground, you can hear it, and it indicates a future for the world. Treat the Earth well so that the heart can continue beating.
May 8, 2021
There are genealogical testing sites these days advertising the ability to detect such genetic populations as 'vikings' in a person's dna. The term has been made popular lately from the Vikings drama TV series. Using the word viking to interchangeably mean 'Scandinavian' does a disservice when educating people about Scandinavian culture. Being 'viking' was an occupation (colonizing, pillaging, trade) referring only to a specific pre-medieval time period, and included many people from diverse backgrounds, not just the Norse. Most Scandinavians of that time period were actually farmers, fishermen and hunters. Calling modern Scandinavians vikings reduces Scandinavians into nothing more than stylized cartoon caricatures. Advertisers need to be more sensitive to the historical facts of this and all cultures.
December 21, 2020
Today is the winter solstice which is a day to celebrate the return of the longer sun, new growth, a sense of hope and positivity, a promise for prosperity and better things to come. Such a valid sentiment, especially right now. My area will be on a strict lock down during the covid pandemic for the next few weeks. My family is comfortable and prepared to hunker down and enjoy the Jul festivities safely in our own little group. Things will get better. Sami tradition speaks of the Sun Beivvi returning with her Sun daughter in the center of a large crown or wreath of reindeer antlers. Other neighbouring Eastern European traditions talk about the Sun returning cradled in the antlers of a great sky reindeer.
November 17, 2020
During ancient times, in Northern Sapmi and Northern Finland, the local people interpreted the positions of the stars in the sky in order to navigate through the seasons, and this was also the way they interpreted the passage of time. There is the story of the constellation of the Hunter and his companion the constellation of the Great Deer. Through the ages the Hunter would chase the Great Deer across the sky, but he could never capture it. There was always a great gap between their two locations in the sky. To the people this meant that the earth was always in balance. It was believed that the moment the two constellations were to come together, meaning the Hunter finally being able to capture the Great Deer, this would indicate a world out of balance, a warning of the end of times.
November 12, 2020
The Westland Gallery Square Foot Show in London, Ontario is going until Dec. 24th, and I have three pieces submitted. One of the paintings, the standing reindeer, is presented in their 2021 calendar, which is lovely. It's nice that the show is on for a month and a bit. Usually these shows have been planned in the summer, but due to covid, this year's had been postponed until the fall.
August 2, 2020
My background includes a blend of Norwegian, Swedish-Saami, Ulster Irish and Finnish from agricultural settlers who left the homeland to seek a better life. Some of my great and great-great grandparents came to Canada as Albertan settlers in the 1800s and early 1900s from Norway, Finland and Sweden to flee hard times such as poverty and political instability in their home countries. In more ancient times some led a nomadic way of life in a very cold climate where they lived on the land in gotas, lavvu, long houses and log cabins. These people, in a cold climate, relied on hunting wild animals such as reindeer, fishing, and later farming to survive. In nomadic times they exercised an animist spiritual culture that had a very close relationship with the land.
In some Saami communities their creation story included a reindeer shift-changer who gave birth to all of humanity. In other Finnish communities the birth of the world was created by a Sky woman who fell to the ocean, accidentally broke the eggs of a resting duck's nest and the pieces of the eggs became all the elements of the world and the universe.
My artwork celebrates animals, but also speaks of the importance of cultivating a meaningful, reciprocal, respectful relationship 'with' animals, plants, water, and with nature. My paintings encourage this relationship and appreciation, and also depict the different eras of humanity's relationship with the land. In my large painting of the Frosta Logtun Church, at the bottom of the image, you can see a hunter gatherer nomadic relationship represented in the petroglyphs. The center of the painting represents the introduction of agriculture and the introduction of Christianity and settlement, pushing the traditional nomadic peoples out of their territories and moving them further north and into the mountains. In the sky is a Saami sun symbol, often found on traditional drums. It is looking down to the land all encompassing.
Agriculture and settlement has given communities and nations well-being and security, but over several centuries the governments that allowed this process has had a devastating effect on cultural relationships with neighbouring first peoples, on the environment's well being, and the healthy propagation of wild animals, water and plants. Somewhere along the journey balance and respect were lost. We need to try harder with our governments to return back to this sense of balance and respect with nature and with human relationships so that the world can move forward in a more spiritually and physically healthy way.
June 28, 2020
During the pandemic and spending much time at home, I have been able to research a map of the northern Norwegian background of my mother's mother's (mormor) family. They were very coastal so were probably fishermen for the most part in the summer, perhaps hunters, traders and farmers to supplement the family income. Some ancestry also came from Mo i Rana, where there are caves and a history of mining. The cluster of islands that one branch came from are quite a way out into the sea, called Traena. It harbours a very small fishing population. This lead to a lengthy read to learn more about the coastal Saami or Sea Saami of Norway, their culture and how they lived and adapted during the post medieval times up to the industrial revolution. Many South Saami from Mo i Rana settled around the Trondheim location and in and around Trøndelag.
April 27, 2020
I will be sewing an animist-themed image on the back of a sweater. It's a reindeer in the center of a sun image, with a tree to the right and a star in the upper left. I started the image with acrylic paint and brush, then after the initial template dries, I will be sewing coloured thread over the lines.
April 22, 2020
My family is safe and coping well so far during the Covid pandemic. I am focusing on the positive and concentrating on this extended opportunity to work on some art projects, including a 5 foot x 5 foot acrylic painting depicting a medieval stone chapel from the homeland of Frosta, Norway, where my great grandfather was born. My friend and I had planned to put together another two-person show again at a venue in Wortley Village sometime in the summer or fall, however due to the self-isolation circumstances we will probably be postponing our project for the next year once we are safe with a vaccine.
Feb. 12, 2020
An art project flashback from a few years ago. I loved this painting so much and it was hard to let it go. At the time I was going through a bunch of stuff and was in a spiritual quest for strength, healing and assurance from God but using a precolonial process. A friend and I attended local ceremonies, sitting in mud on cedar branches, surrounded by steam and fire. A local London resident bought the painting after seeing it at a local art show and has it now. Today many of my paintings still reflect a paleolithic 'back to basics' spiritual relationship, but there is more joy in them now. Title: "Sorrow, Cedar and Sage".
Jan. 2, 2020
There are similarities within the fabric of the hippie movement that match up with the sentiments of the millennial generation. There is a difference though, and a good one: the hippie generation was very inward exploring... the younger generation today is much more outwardly focused, but with the same moral energy, and I think that is a good thing.
Dec. 1, 2019
I have two pieces in this show. "Deer and Sun", and "Horses and Sun".
Two primitive pieces made after hiking through the woods in ancestral locations in Norway and observing 5000 year old rock art of wild animals etched on ancient cliffs by ancient hunter/gatherer peoples.
See you at the reception!
2019 Members' Show and Sale Fundraiser
Hosted by Forest City Gallery
258 Richmond St., London, Ontario
Show duration: Dec 6-20, 2019
Reception: Friday, December 6, 2019 at 6 PM – 9 PM
Nov. 10, 2019
It doesn't have to be difficult to 'go green' with the use of art supplies.
Nov. 9, 2019
I experienced joy this morning. Stumbled across an unfamiliar painting online, it's a huge Munch painting, called 'The Sun', in a symbolic abstracted treatment. In awe because my recent works in progress and wood carved images have been incorporating abstracted symbolic versions of a sun before I even knew about the Munch painting. I can't describe the connective emotional feelings. The painting on the left is Munch's "The Sun", presently taking up the entire back wall of the auditorium stage at the University of Oslo, to compare with my works in progress on the right and below.
Nov. 7, 2019
I am presently preparing two works for the Forest City Gallery Member's Show which will be taking place in December. Both are paintings on small carved wooden paneling, with a petroglyph theme.
Sept. 21, 2019
Being a product of ancestral families who were transplanted immigrants, my sense of identity was always a hungry void. I felt an absence of language in communicating with the land, and wanted to get that back. Who are my ancestral people? Where is my spiritual origin? How can I express my respectful honouring of nature? Exploring my Scandinavian roots, hiking in the beautiful Norwegian woodlands and experiencing primitive rock art animal carvings made by ancient peoples, I finally found the language and a way to develop this relationship.
Using rudimentary woodworking tools on wood helps me to engage in, and understand better, paleolithic peoples' methodologies and their relationship with the land which they relied upon for physical and spiritual sustenance.
The recent works I'm working on are not just primitive representations of animals, but they also function to give me a way of spiritually processing and channeling respectful thoughts regarding the preciousness of the land and nature.
Sept. 6, 2019
Autumn has arrived, the evenings are cooler and the nights longer. The Forest City Gallery Member's Show will be coming up in a couple months and I have a couple of pieces to choose from that will work nicely for the show. These pieces will be kick-starting a fresh theme for a new two-person show next year with my friend Barbara. I've gotten away from painting on canvas in order to explore a fresh primitive experience. Artists 5000 years ago didn't go to art school and get Masters degrees in fine art. This is sort of like an 'unschooling' process for me and very refreshing. Materials include acrylic paint, drawing utensils and carving tools used on slabs of different thicknesses of wood. I want to experience the thought processes of paleolithic and iron-age artists. Also channeling my inner Paterson Ewen.
July 31, 2019
I have started a new decorative project involving painting a rosemåling-inspired foliage design around the perimeter of the seat on a 100 year old farm chair. As the painting progresses, more colours are added. The chair used to belong to my late Aunt Margaret Ewin Taylor when she was a young girl living on the farm in Gladstone (Dorchester, Ont.). The chair is quite fragile so I reinforced areas under the seat attached to the legs, and will use it as a planter.
July 7, 2019
Barbara Rose and I had such an amazing experience at our reception at the Landon Library in London, Ontario yesterday. All the hard work was worth it and appreciated by friends, family and patrons. We called the show "Connecting with Earth's Spirit". Both Barbara's works and mine revolved around the theme of a quest for a connection to spiritual content in the landscape and in man-made artifacts and earthworks manufactured by people for the purpose of communicating with a higher power or ancestral entity. In addition, some of my paintings and collaged works included metaphors for a polluted earth and a call to action to resolve the apathy and disconnect. We're already planning for our next year's show.
I remember many decades ago going to art school and having difficulty thinking of content for my art projects. When you're in your early twenties, you haven't had that many life experiences yet. Now that we are in our 50s, we have a great amount of life experience to draw upon, and the artwork is therefore much richer in content.
June 29, 2019
Next week is the hanging of the two-person show. We're getting busy with last minute planning. I have my inventory all arranged for wiring and labeling.
May 22, 2019
I'm working on a painting this week, quite large, 30x40". It is inspired by my hike to the Evenhus rock carvings, Frosta, Norway, in 2017. There is an interesting play between ancient and modern sensibilities while I work on this. How many parallels are there between ancient rock art and today's graffiti and wall murals? Is the figure in the painting neolithic or is it a portrait of myself today? Are the focuses and purposes of art-making the same today as they were to prehistoric peoples? Loving the blurred intermixing between the past and the present while working on this one.
May 20, 2019
The painting of the iron age girl climbing rocks will have challenges. The figure climbing the rocks will have linear components matching the lines of the petroglyphs surrounding her, which will add a sense of shamanism or otherworldliness.
May 8, 2019
This trio of works in progress are an exciting creative journey. Each one is going to be acrylic on canvas, 30x40". Getting ready for the Landon Library two person show for July!
April 22, 2019
I'm excited to start planning for the two-person art show that a friend and I will be putting up for the month of July at the Landon Library, in Old South, London (Ont.). My half of the show will feature three large acrylic paintings, figurative, with an environmental theme. I've been emotional lately, saddened by the overwhelming articles in the media about the polluting devastation of the earth's waters and on the earth's lands. I've been mulling ways of combining collage strips of discarded candy wrappers into the landscape of these paintings. While visiting Norway a couple years ago I was amazed at the beauty of the landscapes there, and brought home some Norwegian candy wrappers in my luggage to hopefully include these into some retro-Jack-Shadbolt-like collage art pieces, like this one:
April 8, 2019
I've been working on a small portrait, acrylic and illustration pen (waterproof) on bare ungessoed wood paneling. It's such a wonderful, different dialogue compared to working on stretched canvas. The subject is a late co-worker who was very much loved and terribly missed. I am trying to capture her comical and easy going nature along with her sense of fun. Primary colours and a cartoon-like ambiance, because that's how I roll! It's a work in progress, but almost finished.
March 17, 2019
I have to make a trip to the library soon to take wall measurements. I've figured out what I'm going to do as an art project for the July show. I'll be creating approximately four very large colourful, textural paintings with the silhouette of a human figure on each, but technical treatments of one will be different to the next. I'll be incorporating graphic elements of the 5000 year old petroglyph art that I saw in Norway and combine those elements with embedded contemporary environmental images and objects. Mixing the past with the present. Hunter-gatherers drew images on cave walls about their food sources, and means of sustenance. Today urban artists paint noisy graffiti on urban walls that reflect an environment that is out of balance. I haven't seen any art like that yet so it'll be a fresh unblemished approach for me. Now, step one is to get to the library to take those wall measurements!
Feb 7, 2019
I spent the day designing a celebration of life poster for a friend who is planning her late mother's funeral event. It was an opportunity to practice some basic digital art skills but gave me a feeling of service and meaningful community to help her in this way.
Jan 18, 2019
When I was in my 20s one of my career wishes was to work in an art gallery. Lately I've realized that working in a gallery space promoting other peoples' work, running the counter, helping with housekeeping and doing outreach is not what I want to do, too many similarities to the corporate life I lived for so many decades. 2019 will be a year to minimize focuses and just make art and find spaces to show my art. Plans are in the works to have a local two-person show with a friend. I will be taking part in the two-person art show to be held at the Landon Library located near the corner of Wortley and Bruce, in Wortley Village, for the entire month of July, 2019. There will be a reception with food and non-alcoholic drink available, scheduled for the afternoon of July 6th. More details will be available closer to the event.
November 8/18
I started a preliminary sketch of an island which will eventually be transformed into an acylic painting. The subject came from a small island I saw during a cruise which started in Bergen and traveled on through Romerheimsfjorden and further up to Mofjorden In Southwestern Norway.
October 31/18
I have submitted a painting into the Forest City Gallery member's show "Lost and Found" which takes place next month. Working on a big project, more details to be revealed soon.
April 25/18
Tonight I had a wonderful visit at the Ting Fest celebration taking place at the London Arts Project, which runs until May 5th. It was amazing seeing the rich local comic art and self-published visual art in book format. I met local illustrator Doug Rogers and bought one of his cartoon style cat illustration books. Artist talks were informative and stressed the importance of training oneself to be content with imperfection, improvisation and experimentation with comic and book creating in the same way as it is encouraged in contemporary experimental fine art making. I'm looking forward to more artists' talks later this week as the Fest continues!
April 9/18
Last night was the Graduation art show for the Fine Arts class of Fanshawe College, which took place at the Arts Project, downtown London, Ontario. I was so excited to volunteer as an event helper during the opening, and met familiar faces from the past: Tony McCaulay and Patrick Thibert to name two. I had a lovely chat with the coordinators who were in charge of giving out grants to worthy grad students, and one lady was so kind as to give me an alumni pin! I mentioned to them that I had been a grant recipient (Cryderman award) back in 1984, and this began a lovely conversation of what I had been up to in the arts community over the years, as well as a discussion about the grad students' endeavors and exciting opportunities that they will be driven to tackle throughout their careers as artists.
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February 5/18
Presently I am working on an ambitious project for a solo art show that will juxtapose petroglyphic images from the Norwegian landscape with the visual 'noise' of modern, cartoonish, graffiti-esque urban life. Stay tuned for more details!
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November 24/17
I am learning that an abstracted image becomes more interesting when narrative elements are introduced. It must be human nature to look for a story in things visual.
October 23/17
Today I tackled a new project in the works. Teens tend to love anime, so I practiced some anime sketches. I haven't drawn anime since I was a teen myself, about 40 years ago, but it feels great that I still seem to have the knack. It will be fun to hold some workshops at the Art Centre for kids who are anime enthusiasts!
October 17/17
I had the most amazing students in my first drawing class tonight. Small class of two teens. Step by step we discussed and examined the anatomy in drawing a horse, and we all had so much fun in the process!
October 04/17
My new drawing class:
Drawing a Horse's Head for Beginners (Adult 15 & up)
Instructor is Kim E.-G.
A choice of two available classes:
Tues Oct 17, 6:00 ~ 8:00 p.m.
Sat Oct 21, 3:00 ~ 5:00 p.m.
Supplies included
$30.00
Learn step by step approach of drawing a horse's head with the use of various artist's pencils.
Limited seats available.
Pre-register with payment to hold your spot. We keep our classes small. This provides you with personal attention.
For more info on any of these classes or to register drop into the Arts Centre
785 Wonderland Rd, London, Ontario, in Westmount Shopping Centre (beside Stokes)
Email: westart785@gmail.com or call 519-670-0740.
September 15/17
A commission is coming along nicely, and I will find a way to incorporate the rusts and natural hues of the autumn season. A gentle sunbeam highlighting the figures might be a nice touch as well, something to work on.
August 25/17
After a spring break and a summer break including a vacation in Norway (see my Norway Trip 2017 heading on the main blog page) as well as my recent retirement from my 'day job', I am back again full-time to all things creative, as well as looking to offer my volunteer services at local Art Centers.
February 23/17
I'm currently working on an exciting acrylic painting for the Framing the Phoenix Art Show at the Strand Gallery on Florence St. in London... It has aboriginal and spiritual references with another appearance of my favourite motif: Ghost rabbits from Watership Down. A work in progress.
November 4/16
I will be planning a display of cat themed items to be shown at the Art Centre, Westmount Shopping Centre, London Ont., for the month of December. It includes cat themed tree ornaments. Stay tuned!
October 2/16
One of my paintings is presently hanging at The Art Centre, Westmount Shopping Centre, London, Ont. It has intimate detail regarding what life is like for a young child on the autism spectrum, their need for comfort and routine and some may have a special interest with order and patterns. Often eye contact is difficult, this is why her eyes are downplayed and with little detail.
August 30/16
Next year 2017 will be a pivotal year of transition for me. Hubby and I will be traveling to Norway and visiting the locations inhabited by one ancestral line on my mother's side. I will be bringing a sketch book and taking lots of photos with plans to return home and make a large series of paintings and artwork themed from these ancestral explorations. What will be even more awesome is that upon my retirement in the late summer of next year, I will have the full-time means of accomplishing this task. Looking forward to a solo or two-person show in the near future to communicate this beautiful European experience to the public.
April 10/16
I was excited to submit my newest finished painting, "Panic: WhentheDanceStops (#NårDansenStopper)" today at Strand Fine Art Services, London, Ont. The Framing the Phoenix Art Show is from May 3rd to May 14th, opening reception May 5th, 7-9 pm. The show revolves around the theme of Mental Health Awareness. The piece is now presently hanging at the Art Centre, Westmount Shopping Centre, London, Ont., up to at least July 31st, 2016.
April 10/16
Last night was the opening reception for the 44th Fanshawe College Fine Art Graduation class at the Arts Project, downtown London, Ontario. My two younger daughters (both planning on attending art schools next fall) and I went to see the show, and I was pleased to see my former sculpture teacher Patrick Thibert give a speech about 'life after art school', very motivating and inspiring. His basic message was to never stop dreaming, because nobody 'out there' is going to make your goals come true, it comes from self-motivation and consistent hard work.
February 23/16
My 19 year old daughter has inspired me for a new painting idea. She showed me the full moon this morning in its beauty and told me of Japanese folklore where they believe rabbits' images can be seen on the moon. I'm going to do a 12x12" on canvas of a flaming red moon with Watership Down style rabbit forms floating in the moon. The moon, in North American native culture is the Grandmother who is responsible for the life breathing of the earth (the ocean tides). The musical theme to the movie Watership Down is about a communion with someone dying and passing into the spirit world. A video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGyTGP5q_q4
February 3/16
The annual Mental Health Awareness Art Show, "Framing the Phoenix" will be taking place again this coming May. I am excited about a painting that I plan on submitting to the show. In researching the elements of the painting, I wanted to portray a sense of fear, something like a hybrid combination of Norwegian Edvard Munch's 'Skrik', or: 'The Scream', and N.B. painter Alex Colville's unsettling 'Horse and Train' painting. So far, the darks and lights have been plotted in. It was amazing fun sketching in the figure's form as a gesture drawing at first, and then afterwards working in the darker permanent linear elements. I found what worked best was to give the wall a fish-bowl shape and make the ceiling look menacing as if it wants to cave in. The floor area is also made to be a bottomless black abyss with lack of perspective and lack of grounding to support the figure.
January 31/16
I took a day off work in order to finish a smaller piece in preparation for a show at the Westmount Art Centre. The painting also represents a celebration of hair, for me, after going through chemotherapy a year and a half ago.
January 13/16
There is a new commission I'm working on... a sketch for a painting of a friend's two children sitting on the front step of their home. I'll be straying away from the acrylics for this one, instead it will be a mix of watercolour, waterproof inks, and pencil crayon.
January 10/16
I have two pieces hanging at The Art Centre right now. The first one is Girl With Scales, a metaphor for my temperature fluctuation issues, some underlying comedic content. The second piece, The Call 3, is the third in a series of three tree paintings that I did last year, and this one is a metaphor for nature/providence relaying important messages to humankind. Sometimes we listen, sometimes we don't.
December 28/15
I'm really pleased with the directions a painting is going. It's a portrait of a young girl with long curly hair, a celebration of my hair growing back nicely from chemotherapy treatments over a year ago.
November 28/15
'Cenozoic' is a piece I'm just finishing up for the Forest City Gallery Member's Show. It is prehistoric/fossil themed, and is a layered process of acrylic paint with drawing materials and includes fibers and paper mache for texture and 3D effect. Letting the texture dictate the treatment of drawing materials is a refreshing return to primitivism for me and felt just like I was sketching on the textured surface of a rock. This piece can be seen at the Forest City Gallery Member's Show, running from Dec. 4th to Dec. 15th, 2015.
November 16/15
My display plans are coming closer and closer into focus. I have ordered some new mugs to be made with my cat imagery, and am continuing with my cat tree ornaments! The display will be installed and hung Nov. 24th at the Art Centre, Westmount.
October 26/15
In late November I will be setting up a display of all my 'cat' artwork at the Art Centre, Westmount Shopping Centre, just in time for the Christmas season. Added to my space will be a decorative table with cat mugs, cat greeting cards, and cat Christmas tree.
September 30/15
Such a busy summer this year. I was able to find time to complete a larger acrylic painting depicting Maleficent the cat with her cone of shame, along with a couple of fictitious cats sharing a cat tower together. Maleficent's main focus lately had been watching a chipmunk through the window, so I incorporated the chipmunk into the painting.
May 7/15
I spent the day setting up my cat painting display at the Art Centre. This week has been a good week, in that my Sorrow, Cedar and Sage painting sold at the Strand Gallery.
April 8/15
We adopted a beautiful black female kitty from the local animal control. They had given her the name Hollie, but we renamed her after Angelina Jolie's amazing performance in the movie, "Maleficent". She is a black short-haired female around 2 or 3 years old, full of energy. Despite her uninteresting and unknown breeding, Maleficent has the intelligence, vestibular abilities, and personality to rival any siamese or bengal. In the late spring I plan to have a display of artwork inspired by her antics, to be shown at the Art Centre at Westmount. I also plan to get her a cat harness, numerous scratching posts and a very large cat condo for the front window.
March 12/15
I've been working on a small drawing stemming from the reptilian-like experience of the body temperature moderating difficulties shared by millions of 50-plus women all over the planet. Using illustration pen, watercolour paint and acrylics on rag paper, I created a woman/reptile creature or water spirit, posed on a rock. A work in progress.
February 9/15
Framing the Phoenix Mental Health Awareness Show will be coming up later this year. Each year I enter a piece into the show, and the painting I'm working on right now is almost done. It will be titled, "Sorrow, Cedar and Sage." These references are derived from my experiences visiting a local sweat lodge ceremony a few times in the recent past. Cedar is a sacred medicine used for cleansing and protection. Sage is also a sacred medicine used in ceremonies to ward off negative energy. The fox and rabbit imagery at the top refer to the disfunctional and antagonistic relationship the two animals have in much of native folklore.
January 31/15
I'm working on three pieces (works in progress) at the moment that are derived from three different 'stories' or illustrative settings. The first work is another visit to the biblical burning bush story using emotional movement in the brush strokes and vibrant colour choices. The second project is my attempt in colour and line to portray intense fear and despair. The third painting has an opposing theme of light-hearted humour and will require a different approach in technique to communicate that emotion.
January 23/15
It had been an amazing opportunity to take part in the December show and sale at the Art Centre at Westmount Mall. I've sold a few pieces. The time has come to prepare for upcoming show submissions.
Right now I am working on another shrub piece. I took a few pictures of detail close-ups and playfully manipulated them digitally. Next steps will be to figure out how to present the resulting images in hard copy form, either reproduced on canvas through a CGI process or reproduced as a glossy photograph in poster form, I haven't decided yet. I enjoy the textural visual ambiance of a painting, and reproductions seem to lose that textural quality.
January 9/15
2014 had proven to be a year of many challenges but many blessings as well. I'm looking forward to a change of routine within the next couple of months that will be stressful in some ways and stress-relief in other ways.
Several art exhibit opportunities are coming up. There is a brand new burning bush themed painting in the works, which I am very excited about. The biblical story of Moses being called to a special purpose speaks to me of incredible life decisions that we all face in our lives. How many times are we called to a special purpose, but anxieties and 'what if's' get in our way of action for the better good of ourselves, our families, and the community around us?
So far I have worked on three burning bush themed paintings: The Call 1 (pictured at left), The Call 2 (sold) and The Call 3 (a new work just started, to the right). The Call 3 is going to be painted on a stretched gallery sized 1" canvas; the stretcher has a wonderful freshly cut pine scent, so attractive to a nature-lover like myself.
November 21/14
The mugs have arrived! I already have some orders to fill! Now to get some packed up for mailing, and design some gift boxes as well. These will be on sale at the Art Centre at Westmount Mall, London, from Dec 9-31st, 2014.
November 20/14
Happy to receive my custom christmas cards in the mail.
November 5/14
My husband and I visited the new Parkwood Institute, located behind the Parkwood Hospital, London, Ont. Today was the grand opening to the public with a tour. Very modern, very spacious, with wonderful facilities, including a gym, auditorium, relaxation rooms with waterfall displays, a beautiful chapel, and spacious dining rooms in each ward. The entire place felt very warm and friendly. Walls were in neutral tones of soft greens. In the foyer was an art display of works communicating the theme of mental health awareness. My painting "Blue" was included in the show, which was such an honour. "Blue" is owned by a St. Joseph's Hospital employee who is involved every year with organizing the annual "Framing the Phoenix" Mental Awareness show held at the Arts Project on Dundas Street. It was a one day public tour, and the private Parkwood employee tour is on the 7th.
There is an article about it in the Vigour magazine, Winter 2014, page 34.
November 2/14
I have had the joy this weekend to volunteer at the Art Centre in Westmount Mall. Much of it involved cleaning, setting up inventory sheets, learning the sales aspects of the organization, as well as greeting an amazing public consisting of art enthusiasts, art collectors, students of art looking to join classes, and other artists. Today will be a different focus. While having a space set up at the front of the gallery area, working on my most recent 'burning bush' piece, I will be demonstrating acrylic painting techniques for the viewing public.
October 17/14
Reflecting on my most recent painting Catiosyncrasies, I can see how my start in cutting and pasting collaged items on paper has translated nicely into my paintings. In this one, the subjects are a placed in almost seemingly random order on a flat plain with little or no perspective. Really, the only perspective reconciled and used in the piece is evident in the corner of the brick garden border. The challenge with this piece was to find ways using colour and line to tie all elements together harmoniously, as well as to draw the eye evenly throughout the piece. It was also a lot of fun painting the cool bengal spots! A friend bought this piece for a relative in B.C.
October 10/14
A friend invited me to a first nations sweat lodge ceremony one evening on a full moon. After she prepped me on what to bring and what to expect, as well as coaching me on the rituals, I felt very relaxed when we finally made the trip.
The ceremony took place in a small wooded area on the grounds of an archeological museum, in the city, but away from any streets or traffic noises. We approached the fellow participants and exchanged greetings and warm hugs. During the ceremony I was deeply moved by the transparency of feelings and genuine heart-felt love and empathy.
There were no expectations of payment nor fancy dress. The seating was on cedar branches arranged on a mud floor. In these humble surroundings, respecting the glowing fire-rocks representing the ancestors, I felt a strong sacredness surpassing the ambience of any large cathedral.
One visual memory of the event struck me so intensely I had to sketch the memory the next day. Thick, pure white steam filled the lodge as the water contacted the firey rocks representing the grandfathers. I could see nothing around me for a time except the enveloping white steam from ceiling to floor, and the obscured silhouetted forms of the two door guards on either side of me manipulating the rocks with sticks.
In contrast to the obscure mistiness, out of the corner of my eye beyond the guard to my left, I could see the very sharp, brightly coloured sacred fire burned brightly beyond the small open lodge door.
October 2/14
Due to a temporary leave of absence from my work for medical reasons, I have the opportunity to work on my creative pursuits on a daily, full-time basis. It took me about a month to naturally purge myself of work-place stress-related angst and generate a creative train of thought that had been stifled for several decades post-university. I can understand this phenomenon when reading home-schooling blogs where parents describe the 'un-schooling' process with their children.
The first month of my leave, I produced nothing, and then all of a sudden came an delicious energy of curiosity, nurtured by the opportunity to be able to get into my 'zone' for hours without interruptions from the 'outside' world. This is such a different environment from the business-world work-place, where every minute or two a problem needs to be solved, or a task has to be completed accurately, with 110% cognitive attention, and in record time.
September 11/14
I have had a religious-themed vision in my mind for the past while now, and finally pulled out a canvas to give it a starting point. As I took a small bottle of black paint and shook its remaining contents onto the surface of the canvas, I mistakenly touched the canvas with the bottle's circular opening, making an interesting imprint. I was delighted with the treatment so continued the imprints over the entire canvas, covering it in bubbly shapes. After letting the black imprints dry, I started filling in areas with blues, greens, oranges and yellows. I took a black illustration pen outlining certain shapes and clarifying the edges of other shapes. Soon this lovely shrub/tree form began to appear. I played up the texture of the yellow shapes to give them more vibrancy and presence. The orange and yellow treatments seem to enflame the green shrub, giving reference to the biblical story of Moses and the Burning Bush. I'm very pleased with this beginning backdrop and am excited about next steps.
August 23/14
My back yard, veggie garden, pond, and flowerbeds are like a David Suzuki documentary, so much wild-life action happenin' in my backyard 'hood. As I walk through it all watching the bees, spiders, birds, mice, toadies, grasshoppers, butterflies, crickets and plants all do their thing, all that's missing is the narrative voice-over.
June 21/14
Within the next two weeks, I plan on starting and completing a commissioned small acrylic painting of the front of my neighbour's house, which will be the first architectural theme that I've attempted in a very long time. It's an attractive, frontal view with trees and floral displays.
May 24/14
I am so excited with the news that the Westmount Art Centre, located at Westmount Mall, London, will be continuing its project mainly for the time being as a center for conducting art classes, all kinds and for all ages, starting in the month of June. I plan to take part in some way.
May 19/14
A friend of mine loved the painting I made that sold at the Framing the Phoenix Art Show this past couple of weeks, and was sad that it went to someone else. I made a small reproduction of it on photo paper and plan to take a trip to Michael's and find an inexpensive frame for it and give it to her.
April 29/14
Looking forward to my new business cards!
April 22/14
I have been enjoying my middle daughter's recent artistic efforts. She completed a series of block print works on paper called 'Dress'. Two of the pieces she incorporated some watercolour wash techniques. I got them framed for her.
March 29/14
Today I stumbled across another lovely gem of a piano piece I hadn't explored in quite a while, minimalist, pensive, and reflective. "Yellow Flutterby Dreams" by Hans Copeland.
March 26/14
While surfing for music videos on youtube I came across a beautiful version of one of my favourite minimalist compositions, "Mother's Journey", by Yann Tiersen. I've always played it as an homage to my mother journey, however recently I've used it as a consoling metaphorical piece about my life. In the past, I learned a slightly different composition of this piece on the piano, however this version is very pretty, and I love the relaxing ambience created by the slower tempo.
March 21/14
I am looking forward to the Art Gallery of Lambeth (Ontario) Miniature Art Show, reception to be held Sunday March 23rd at 1-4 pm! A great opportunity to meet fellow local artists and also a great exposure opportunity.
It takes a lot of imagination and creativity to produce a moving, beautiful piece, given the size restriction of 4" x 4". I found what helped with accuracy in detail for my entry was the use of a dollar-store magnifying glass! I also had a framer do an excellent job to help bring it to 'wall display' life. Hope to see many friends there!
March 20/14
I've been entertaining a rabbit theme in some of my pieces lately. Not so much a warm fuzzy Easter theme, but more an image of struggle, anxiety, empowerment, teamwork, triumph, and eventual peace, inspired by the Spirit Rabbit character from the novel "Watership Down".