Finally!

I've been quiet. In the post-graduation haze i've traveled across Canada, worked a bunch of Nursing shifts and scrambled to look for that mythical art-related job. In the midst of exploring "what's next" i almost forgot why i did this all in the first place: TO MAKE ART. So, I set up a space in my house that, while not ideal (i live in a studio apartment and as i type this i'm wearing a respirator because the wax pot is heating up), seems like the perfect little spot to get creating. So here's what i'm working on currently.


I'm exploring themes of resilience, continuity and chance. In this piece i'm working with guitar strings (man, sometimes they just do what they want!), dirt and clear encaustic medium. You can't see it in this photo, but some of the strings give up a little halo of colour when heated up in the wax, so i haven't added any colour to this piece, i'm going to see what transpires.

Oh, and it feels good to be making art again.

From the archives...

Materiality, 2009, oil on canvasMilk, 2009, oil on canvas

I decided to post these paintings even though they are about a year old. I have been thinking a lot about the past year, and my struggle with painting after these were completed. I became frustrated with and pretty much gave up oil painting, and started working in encaustic in the fall. I am not sure what the future holds, but that's the best part, not knowing what's going to happen and just going for it :)

Transformation.

Well, after 4 years of hard work and extreme life changes, I received my BFA on the weekend. And i can honestly say that after over 20 years of painting and all this education, i am only just beginning to understand where my work is going and what it is about. Something i've begun to think about a lot lately is the word "transformation". It can mean so many things, from the transformation of myself over the past four years, to the transformation of trash into art, to the transformation of shiny things into a murder of crows. We are constantly in flux, we never stop changing, and those of us who can truly give in to that will be able to begin to see the true beauty in life. I used to think that permanence was where it was at. I learned that from my parents, and i suppose that it's just the way they were brought up, it doesn't mean it's wrong, it's just different now i guess. Now i am beginning to understand that permanence is not all it's cracked up to be, we need to shift and change and move with the wind. And that's what life is about, as is my piece "Migraton" which i am here with on opening night of the ECU Grad Show.

The Emily Carr University Grad Show opens this weekend, and as a graduate, I have a piece in the show. Migration (2010, encaustic, dirt, found objects) is the synthesis of four years of painting, and collecting small metallic objects, and speaks a bit to my fascination with crows and ravens. I am excited and proud to have this piece represent me in the Grad Show.

A work in progress

This blog, like all of us is in the process of becoming. I like to think of myself as a "creative problem solver", I am a painter, a sculptor, an educator and health care provider. This space will serve as a forum for me to post my work and my thoughts and to connect with other creative minds.