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