“Future generations will be called to solve some of the most challenging problems ever created and faced by man. Our children must master systems-thinking to envision multiple methods for addressing complex challenges like renewable energy, world hunger, climate change, and ultimately, the design of a better world. They must also possess the compassion to recognize the rising human population and create a world that is inclusive, rather than exclusive.”  http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663416/teaching-kids-design-thinking-so-they-can-solve-the-worlds-biggest-problems

We are living in a new time, full of ways being ushered in, and old ways becoming redundant and unworkable.  Though we are in a time of flux and transition, it is like a snake shedding it’s skin, or like the eagle, that must go through the painful process of separating itself from others for a time and through a long and painful process, pluck out all of it’s own feathers, and then all of it’s talons in waiting for new ones to come, or it will die.

We are moving into a time where ‘team, collaboration, inclusion, compassion, vision’ all must be a major part of our vocabulary.  You see the way youth operate already, and most of them are much more willing to operate in group settings than us older folk do.  In order to walk successfully in those things, competitiveness and clamouring for top dog places will no longer work.  Lone Ranger philosophies will not allow for the future to come forth successfully.  It will be a time when recognition of the individual and their gifts (reminds me of Avatar – “I see you”) and encouraging those gifts to be used for the greater good will be more important than fighting for your own recognition and placement.  Shift is scary, but it is also exciting.

What does this have to do with art you ask?  It has everything to do with the art of transition, with the art of living differently, the art of seeing things differently, the art of recognizing others, with the art of creative living in collaboration with others.  Spring is here, shake off your old dusty, heavy ways, and put on a brand new, lighter, brighter coat for spring to celebrate the coming shift.

Discovering new mediums and ways to express yourself

Winter seems to have brought with it a dual response from me these days.  There is days where you wake up to the bright shining sun, ready to conquer the day and full of a desire to discover the beauty outside…white crisp snow, flakes flying through the air, deep breaths bringing in a crisp jolt of extreme freshness…

At the same time as you delight in the picturesque view that lays outside, the cold makes you want to hibernate and huddle under blankets in front of the fireplace with a warm cup of tea…and do absolutely nothing!

Nothing does not exist for me right now however, but I would like to linger in that place some days…

Administration is an interesting part of running a business, I have found myself on the desk side of the art business for a number of months now between starting our charity, writing grant proposals, answering emails, connecting with people, learning how to Tweet, blog and be social, working on upcoming events, emailing contacts, meeting with potential partners to share visions and dreams…it is definitely a large part of business, but it is at times for me, excruciating…I get exhilarated by the conversations and connections, but dislike the desk work.  I’d rather be walking in a forest experiencing creation happening around me.

We just found out we did not get our first grant proposal, so we are in process of writing some more…never quit, just keep on going, but learn to do it better each time…I was very disappointed on one hand, but expected it on the other.  So many people have said, “you never get your first few proposals awarded…” so persistence is key…fortunately I have that if nothing else.

Working with the artists from the Art With A Heart Inc. Youth Project has been great.  It is always inspiring to see the youth have no fear to enter in with new mediums and ideas and create without hesitation…They inspire me to be creative at the very least, to fearlessly try new things.  The inspire me to be willing to fail in the process while opening new pathways of expression.  I hope that the youth begin to see their own value and worth, and how worthwhile it is for us to work with them and challenge them on to believe that they can do anything they set their minds, and hearts to.  If they persist and invest themselves, they will see results.  I had an artist tell me that once – Tim Packer…he said: “artists who stick to it will always find success because someone out there will like their work – the only thing that stops most artists from making it is sticking to it.”  Both my husband and I got a lot from that statement…persist, don’t quit, don’t back down, down allow the let downs do more than slow you down for a moment, then shake off the dust and begin again…

Have been painting some dragon fruit…work still in progress, maybe will finish later today.  Life is a balance between discovery and hibernation I think~

I feel like I can hardly catch my breath…but I have energy in abundance right now, so am going with it…

Would really like to get underway with paintings as I need them out of my head so my head can hold other stuff…have planned to set up a daily schedule so that I walk, paint, work consistently…

So excited for the potential already beginning 2011!

Finishing things started, waiting for new things…

2010 was not a year where I did a lot of artwork…I did a lot of administration, sorting, cleaning, purging, managing construction projects…but artistically I did not get to do anything with a paintbrush (other than face/body art) until the late fall. 

It seems strange that every year seems to take on an overall tone when you reflect back on it.  Hindsight is always so much clearer and easier to see what was going on in those days when it seemed clouded and fuzzy…

I am excited for new projects this year, moved in many new directions in 2010 with the type of work I was doing, establishing a charity, putting an addition onto the house, meeting new people in the art world…a year of establishing and foundations…small scale concepts of big ideas yet to come.

Though there is a bit more renovation left over for 2011, I am hoping to see the year ahead be a time of resting, planning, strategizing, releasing of pent up art pieces in my head and heart, finishing up of OLD THINGS in preparation for the NEW THINGS to be embarked on…

I have been blessed to have many people that are like a collection of treasures surround me this year…I feel as though we are being brought together, placed, and positioned to be installed into a crown of something beautiful…each new person that enters onto the scene is precious in his/her own way…

I know I dream big, but I believe in my dreams and believe that big things are on the horizon that many of us can’t even imagine…we see dimly right now as if in a mirror, but when the full is revealed, it will be so much more than we thought…God is good though, those dreams have been planted for a purpose, and the manifestation of those dreams will be glorious.

Looking forward to a year of deep intimacy with the Creative Spirit and a release and flow of things to come!

See you all in 2011!

Your friendly neighbourhood

Coin depicting mythological Roman god Janus

Was inspired recently with the theme of an upcoming exhibition at Station Gallery when I stumbled upon a great bit of information about the Roman God Janus and an art installation done in Boston a number of years ago…

The Roman God Janus was a two faced God that was known for “looking forward and looking back” at the same time…it is where we get January from and it could possibly explain why we have New Years resolutions and a reflection of the year behind and the year to come.  He is known as the god of New Beginnings, of gates, and of doorways, bridges, as well as endings in time.

He symbolized both concreate and abstract thinking about the beginnings of the world, god, human life, the historical ages, and also economical undertakings.  I also found it interesting that he was the god of change and transitions where the past progressed into the future, a condition to another or a vision to another…the transition of youth growing up etc.  We often talk about hindesight being 20/20 and this is the god that represented being able to see the past and the future with his two faces…he was worshipped at harvests and plantings, at weddings and funerals, and even where rural places became cities…

It seems so culturally relevant and fitting to have such an interesting character somewhat represent the times we are in, even in my own personal life, the youth that I work with in trying to encourage them into a productive and creative path, a young friend presently travelling in Italy who is so fascinated by gates and doorways and at that transition point in her life from youth to adult, transitions in our economies from industrialized centres to more creative centres…even for Station Gallery who is reflecting on the past 40 years and looking forward to the next…

In finding the project that had been done in larger scale, I am still excitetd to consider undertaking a temporary art installation that could be done on New Year’s Eve in Whitby and displayed later with a “statue” of sorts of a type of Janus and the opportunity to have it as an interactive art piece for others to sign on New Year’s Eve with their reflections and resolutions…I can’t wait to see if the Town agrees that it is a great idea and could be much fun…

History, art, creativity, and making a mark today…all so much fun and so inspiring…

So if you think of simpler times, agricultural family life and communities, an example in today might be Mennonite communities, everyone is using their hands in the course of their days to be creative.  You have men building things (buildings, toys, tools etc.), you have women making clothes, quilting, making soft dolls, cooking for family, and greater community cooking where they are canning foods…children are taught very young to do these things too.  The work of art then is not a painting or a sculpture that is only to be admired from a distance, but rather things that are kept close and used daily, touched, felt, consumed and purposeful.  Not that artwork is not purposeful, especially in recording history, but these other possible creative expressions are just a part of life, practical, useful, celebrated, and enjoyed by all, but not necessarily every going to be experienced by a greater body of people.

Have you ever watched a skilled bread-maker knead and pound the dough, and then braid it together, wash it with egg or milk and bake it until it comes out perfect and golden brown?  The smell of fresh baked bread rushes into your nostrils, and brings you to the kitchen, salivating for some fresh butter to melt on the warm bread…it is truly an art.  I am a terrible pie maker.  I learned that very young, I might not be a total failure, as with proper instruction, I might be able to learn to do it, but there is a skill that some have to make the most incredible crusts and pies you have ever seen or tasted.  I used to stop on a little country road on my way home from work to get pies from this tiny little stop where the woman made crusts like shortbread, all filled with pure ingredients from the farm garden…they were worth every penny.

So what if that is the kind of creativity that many have, creativeness expressed through love and joy and shared with those around, but temporary.

Have you ever seen someone make hand-made, well-crafted furniture out of wood?  I find watching them very interesting.  There are so many skills involved, and so much problem solving and creativity.  Then there is the finishing, with wood so smooth, it feels like satin to the touch…I remember an old Singer sewing machine lid my grandma had on her machine, and it was all intricately carved with detailed designs of swirls and flowers…it was amazing, and likely all hand done.  As fine a piece of art as a painting in my opinion.

So what if the industrial age and mass production removed the creative expression for many which might have been the outlet they needed to keep them sane?  What happens if that unexpressed creativity becomes an internal frustration that many don’t even recognize is there?  I think for many people, being able to navigate life well would not be so hard with a creative outlet.  Sort of like preventative maintenance. 

I remember going to a camp on a farm as a child for a few weeks in the summer, and I remember that many of the children knew how to carve or whittle things out of wood with their jackknife.  I began to learn, but was not there long enough to learn well how to do it.

All of this creativity is also relational and often shared and experienced in community of some sort – either family, or larger community.

Anyway, just some ponderings…

Had I been born 100-200 years ago, or even before that, I would not be expressing what I express in the way I do, my thought process would not be the same because the cultural context would be so very different, and my focus would likely be very different from today. 

So those expressions captured on canvas, in notebooks, on pages, on walls of caves…wherever there has been historic finds from places all over the world, at one point, you had an artist with a train of thought…with his/her life experience and surroundings…deciding to make a mark courageously,  good or bad, and share his/her voice with the people around, and perhaps unaware, with people of the future.  Just as I do today when I dip a brush into some warm oil colours, or sketch a picture in my journal.  Today, for me it might only be an expression, a passing thought, a fancy on the wind.  But tomorrow, that very same thing might become a mark in time and history that defines a culture…how weighty, how important to realize our voice is…

The birth of the new millennium has ushered in new discoveries and a “new science” that heralds groundbreaking news.  The entire universe is built on relationships.  But is this really groundbreaking news?  Perhaps it is to twenty-first century ears, but if one looks back, one will discover that this truth was known intuitively long before it was understood scientifically.  Poets of old knew this mystery of the universe. (Dempsey 10)

Here is Francis Thompson’s Poem that shows the entire universe is built on relationship:

All things by immortal power

near and far

hiddenly

to each other linked are.

Thou canst not stir a flower

without troubling a star.

Amazing isn’t it?  I love it!  There is so much more in this article about relationships…I thought the poem sounded like the way Yoda would share a thought.  Sounds like deep truth, wisdom, mystical understanding…

Anyway, maybe someone else has more examples!

Talk to you soon.

Sheri

;0)