Saturday, December 29, 2012

Last Painting of 2012 and Happy New Year!

On SOLSTICE, the rain stopped just in time to light our lanterns and walk the labyrinth at Bethelem Centre.  A labyrinth is a path made of geometrical forms that define a sacred space, walking the labyrinth is the art of paying attention, clearing the mind and centering.  The evening provided a perfect welcome to the return of the light.  From now on every day is longer than the last, yeah!



DECEMBER has been a very social month with Artwalk, Drift, my book club potluck, and many volunteering events with the Nanaimo Art Gallery.  One of these events was the opening of the Artists for an Oil Free Coast Show and Auction.  It is a must see show and runs till January 5th.  Make sure you take the time to watch the 22 min. movie showing the phenomenal beauty of the coast.                   http://www.raincoast.org/oil-free-coast/artists-for-an-oil-free-coast

I am off to Vancouver to welcome the new year and celebrate with family and friends, see you next week. Have a very happy New Year!

My dearest and craziest dream for us all:  Peace on Earth Easily, Effortlessly, Now!

Thursday, December 20, 2012

DRIFT + new projects = life goes on


DRIFT party on Friday night was a great event with live music, people every where, laughter, smiles ole! There was a festive ambiance all week end. Thanks to Mariko and her team for organizing a successful art event and bringing tons of new people to the gallery.  A really energizing time!


In the fall, I wrote proposals for three interesting projects and they all came through, yeah!
The first one is 'Journey to Inclusion' with the multicultural society.  This project explores the steps and the vision toward accepting and embracing diversity to create an inclusive society.

Five local artists are paired with five community members who are experiencing discrimination in their daily lives.  My teammate is a beautiful young Muslim mother, her presence is clear and grounded, her voice is soft, yet strong.  She wears a scarf and gets stared at, growled at and disrecpected in many ways daily.

I record her story and together we create a picture of her experience on one side of a 2' x 4' panel, the other side will be our vision of an inclusive society.

The five teams will present our work at the Port Theatre on March 21st.  The paintings will be exhibited in the lobby windows for an extended period of time.  I'll keep you posted on this project as it unfolds.  Here are some pictures of our sketchbook so far.



The other two projects will take place in February and March 2013, you will find out more in the next few weeks.  I am very happy and excited to have such creative months carved out for me in the new year.  Life is good!

Tomorrow is Solstice, my friends and I are taking our lanterns to walk the labyrinth at the Bethlehem  Center in Nanaimo for a magical evening.  All are invited to join us from 7:00 to 8:30 at the Sheppard Hall on Arbot Road.

Wishing you all simple joys and magical gatherings during the holidays.
Great Company, Good Food, Light and Love!

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Week End in the Studio


Yeah! Artwalk Winter 2012 was a vibrant week end even with the wet, windy and cold weather! 50 local artists were showcasing their work in their homes and studios, in theaters and at various public places in town.  I was in my super clean studio all week end, met many amazing people, drank lots of chai tea, sold paintings and was glad to see there is passion for art in our local community.


Thank you to everyone who organized the event and everyone who dropped by to visit, chat and see my new paintings. A special thank you to the ones who bought my work.  I cherish week ends like this one because they bridge the gap from working in isolation and they bring artistic and financial success home.  It makes it all more meaningful to keep on painting.  So, thank you.

Here are a few pics of the studio as a gallery and some of the pieces that sold.




Tangerine Implosion
 
                                                          Finding Love in Paris                       Lotus 3

                                                  Walking on the Moon          Tango                   White Noise

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Caravan Palace - Artwalk - Drift

Sunday morning, I am slowly getting back on track after days of nursing a cold and resting leisurely. Today is time to go to the studio with Artwalk approaching, there's a lot to do. Cleaning and grooming the studio is always at the top of the list.  I am also finishing the last two paintings and finding titles for them.  Here they are, almost done with tentative titles.
                                                                      Moon Glow


 Tangerine Implosion

Today, the music in the studio is Caravan Palace, here's a little teaser for you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BoaOsvZmpw&feature=relmfu - creative clip and fun music!

Remember to come to Artwalk next week end Dec. 1 & 2 and bring all your friends.
I can't wait to show you my new work, 
please stop at the Fig Tree Studio # 13
for Art and Chat with a cup of Chai and a piece of Fig cake.
Soon brushes and paint will be put away for a while, after Artwalk is Drift at the Nanaimo Art Gallery on Dec 14, 15 & 16. I love this time of the year with inspiring visits with other artists, friends and art afficionados!  See you around, keep well.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Jane Siberry


A full house greeted Jane Siberry on Gabriola Island last night and everyone enjoyed her
delightful and moving performance.  Her fascinating voice, mesmerizing lyrics and wry
humour kept us entranced the whole evening.  She weaves a story between each song, like
a metaphor of her adventures and encounters while on tour with her dog Magic. Through 
her lips painted blue came this beautiful song, one of her all time favorites ‘Calling all Angels'  written in 1992, sang here with k.d. Lang, a real gem. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRUErh47sao

Santa Maria, Santa Teresa, Santa Anna, Santa Susannah
Santa Cecilia, Santa Copelia, Santa Domenica, Mary Angelica
Frater Achad, Frater Pietro, Julianus, Petronilla
Santa, Santos, Miroslaw, Vladimir
and all the rest

a man is placed upon the steps, a baby cries
and high above the church bells start to ring
and as the heaviness the body oh the heaviness settles in
somewhere you can hear a mother sing

then it's one foot then the other as you step out onto the road
how much weight? how much weight?
then it's how long? and how far?
and how many times before it's too late?

calling all angels
calling all angels
walk me through this one
don't leave me alone
calling all angels
calling all angels
we're cryin' and we're hurtin'
and we're not sure why...

and every day you gaze upon the sunset
with such love and intensity
it's almost...it's almost as if
if you could only crack the code
then you'd finally understand what this all means

but if you could...do you think you would
trade in all the pain and suffering?
ah, but then you'd miss
the beauty of the light upon this earth
and the sweetness of the leaving

calling all angels
calling all angels
walk me through this one
don't leave me alone
callin' all angels
callin' all angels
we're tryin'
we're hopin'
we're hurtin'
we're lovin'
we're cryin'
we're callin'
'cause we're not sure how this goes.
 
 ‘Mama Hereby’ brought tears to my eyes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9HVTaTMs8M  and there was this song ‘the White Tent the Raft’ which I received in colours & shapes and will to try to capture on canvas tomorrow.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nknj3uH5UO8

Thank you Jane Siberry for sharing your talent, your humour and your brilliance with us,
it was such a treat!  

Now, if you click on the blog gallery above, you can see a dozen of new paintings done specially for Artwalk on Dec.1st and 2nd. Please, plan to come to Artwalk, there are  nearly 50 local artists exhibiting their work on that week end, there will be some really good art, and of course, make sure you stop by my studio. 

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Fallen Leaves and Andy Goldsworthy

Had a lovely Sunday morning walk with my friend Victoria today,  in a light west coast drizzle. 


Westwood lake was still today



 The colourful carpet of leaves in the woods made me think of Andy Goldsworthy’s work.  In the autumn, fallen leaves are one of his sources of inspiration. Here are a few examples of his work made from leaves.
 


 I was tempted to stay in the woods for a while and make a little piece with leaves of different colours 'à la Goldsworthy', but there was no time for art in the woods today, on my porch was a big basket of apples waiting to get transformed into yummy apple sauce.



for more info on Andy Goldsworthy's work:

Monday, October 29, 2012

Lantern Making Lantern Magic

I have learned to make lanterns with Public Dreams Society in Vancouver 20 years ago.  I have since been lucky enough to share the art of lantern making and the magical experience of lantern processions with the communities where I have lived.

It's pure joy to join neighbours and friends on Winter Solstice and celebrate the return of the light. There's magic and poetry in holding a paper lantern against the big darkness!




Recently, friends from the community came over to the studio and made some beautiful lanterns.
With bamboo slates and masking tape, we build the frame of the lantern.  After securing a wire candle holder at the base, the fun part begins, dressing it up in colour with tissue paper.





Thanks to Public Dreams Society 
for reviving the art of lantern making and the magic of lantern processions.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Citrons confits

 
I was given a jar of preserved lemons in Spring, special delivery from my younger brother in Quebec.  What a yummy culinary discovery! I fell in love! Everything tastes better with a touch of lemon and lemon flavoured oil. My favorite recipe is pasta with diced preserved lemons, a few drops of the oil and grated parmesan cheese. Delish! and so simple. I quickly ran out of those delicacies and started a search on the island where I live,  the ones I found were preserved in brine and lemon juice, nice but, I missed the flavoured lemon oil that adds a 'je ne sais quoi' to most recipes.  When that jar was empty, I decided to make my own 'citrons confits dans l'huile'.  Here they are:

Looking good hey? In two weeks, I'll be able to try them out, and shall report back on their success. 

Now for the art section of this blog, we'll travel back in time! Some thirty years ago  I did a whole show of pastel drawings on the theme of lemons.This one is titled: Backgammon in the Okanagan.
        
Have a good week, see you next Sunday!


Monday, October 15, 2012

Suburbs of Goa




It was a rainy week end, perfect time to be in the studio. I began a few new paintings for the blog Gallery, worked on others initiated earlier in the week, looked at them, made some decisions, took action and looked at them again and again.  Glad I’ve finished some, had to marvel once more at the creative process, each piece has its own story, own struggle and resolve, and its own timing. 


  The role intuition plays in painting is huge and, so is the willingness to trust the process.  It’s always a worthwhile exercise to work on many pieces at a time, the possibilities are endless, it becomes a form of play, like a dance.

  And the music was delicious, I was listening to Suburbs of Goa – an internet radio from San Francisco with cool sounds and beats from India and South East Asia like the melodic/gypsy sounds of Bombay Dub Orchestra. Yum!     suburbsofgoa.rad.io

Monday, October 8, 2012

My studio




Over the years, I’ve had studios in various settings, often on the kitchen table, in a back bedroom, outside under a tent.  I’ve rented a space on Richards Street in Vancouver, shared my friend Odile’s studio, most times I turned the living room into a work space.  For the last two years, I have a dream studio attached to my apartment in the back under the fig trees. It’s 12’ x 24’ with high ceilings and windows  for watching the figs grow and ripen under the sun.  Pure bliss!