Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal Ceremony

 Yesterday was the medal presentation ceremony, which was held at the local golf club. The medals came in these boxes with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee insignia for Canada on them.

Here's what the medal looks like.

I was also given a Diamond Jubilee pin. 

The medal came with a presentation certificate signed by David Johnson, the Governor General of Canada. (The Queen's representative in Canada.)

The Governor General also sent a letter of congratulations and gratitude for my service to Canada. There was also a booklet included laying out the protocol for wearing my medal. Medals may be worn on Canada Day and Remembrance Day and any formal occasions where the invite reads "with decorations". (Which is amusing-I can't imagine when I'd ever receive an invitation like that!)

They had these Diamond Jubilee flags for souvenirs.

The ceremony was really lovely. There were about 40 recipients receiving medals. They read out a brief bio on each person, so you would know why they had been chosen. It was really interesting to hear the work that others are doing to contribute to our community and our country. Several of the recipients were veterans and the youngest was a 13 year old girl who is championing the environment. 

Medals were presented by our Member of Parliament, Fin Donnelly and our local Members of the Legislature, Diane Thorne, Joe Transolini and Mike Farnworth. The Tri-Cities Mayors and City Council Members also attended. 

I know there is a distinct lack of photos of the actual event. The MP and MLAs arranged to have a professional photographer who will be sending each medal recipient a CD with photos from the ceremony, so you'll have to wait till then. 

I think I was in a bit of a daze as the whole thing was unfolding. It was alot to take in. I have volunteered my whole life because I learned when I was very young that I am my best self when I am helping others and I've always believed that volunteering is the rent we pay as citizens of this planet. It's never been about the recognition, but to have your community, your province and your country acknowledge your service is a very big deal. I feel very humbled and enormously grateful for that honour. 

Good {Artsy} Things

Project 365 (January 10th, 2013)

I have so many good things to share with you!

The wonderful and quirky Mary Ann Moss is offering her Remains of the Day class at a winter sale price of $40! (Reg. $60) I took this online class a few years ago and the things I learned I still use on a regular basis today. It's hands down THE BEST journal/mixed media class I have ever taken and worth every penny. Click the Youtube link on the sidebar and you can see some of the journals I've made after taking this class. Mary Ann is also offering Full Tilt Boogie, another journal making class for $48. (Reg. $70)

My friend Tina and a couple of her friends, Celeste and Gwen have launched a new creative community, Tending the Fire. They are working on a new art zine, which will be available soon. Yay! If you want to stay in the loop, visit their website and sign up to subscribe to their blog posts. (It's free.)

My pal Seth is about to launch the latest edition of The Pulse. If you're an artist, this is your chance to weigh in on all sorts of art-related things. The questions are always interesting and revealing. Seth has also booked a ton of workshops around the US, so check the list-he may be coming to a city near you!

Photography genius, Vivienne McMaster has a new self-portrait e-course, Be Your Own Beloved which begins on Feb. 1st. In a recent post, she talked about her own evolution as a self-portrait photographer. One of her strengths as a teacher is that she is so encouraging and supportive about allowing you to begin where you are. You can be a rank beginner and still over the course of her classes turn out beautiful work. This is perfect gentle introduction into the world of self-portraits.

Meanwhile, back in my little corner of the world, my husband and I spent part of yesterday at the Gastown Old Spaghetti Factory being official taste testers for some new menu items they are working on. The food was crazy good and it was fun giving our feedback on each dish. I've never done something like that before, but thanks to watching a couple of seasons of Master Chef, I felt like I had some idea of the type of comments they would be interested in. We got to meet Chris, the manager, who is a super nice guy. If you're out and about in Vancouver, you should pop in for a bite. They're going to have some great new additions to their menu soon!

I am working on the presentation I am giving my UBC medical students next week. During our last session, the topic was my health journey and this time, it's about my life, outside of my diagnosis. This session will help them form a picture of me as not just a patient, but also as a person. I think this is a pretty important distinction. It's always important to me that my health care professionals recognize that I'm not just a set of symptoms, a problem to fix or a disease, but a living, breathing multi-faceted human being with feelings, dreams and a whole life I'm living outside of dealing with chronic illness and disability. I'm looking forward to presenting this side of things. I think it's going to generate some really interesting discussions.

I am also attending a Health Mentors' meeting next week, where I will get to give feedback on how the program is going so far. We're also going to talk about the symposium that my students and I will participating in in the spring and getting more information on what that will entail. I know that we'll be presenting and having the opportunity to hear the presentations of the other teams, but it will be good to get the specifics. We'll have some work to do!

In two weeks, I will be presented with the Queen's medal! I'm very excited and more than a little nervous-I really have no idea what to expect and no idea who will be there. It's all a bit mysterious. The one thing I do know is that I'll definitely have Kleenex in my pocket!

HUGE News!

Today an official letter arrived from my MLA's office, which read:

"On behalf of his Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, I am pleased to inform you that you have been awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal."

The letter went on to say that I was being invited, along with two guests to the presentation ceremony which will be held on January 25th, 2013.

WOW!  I am deeply humbled to receive this incredible honour and eternally grateful to those who had a hand in my nomination. (You know who you are.) 

What an amazing way to kick off the new year!

Current Projects

 I've spent yesterday puttering in the studio. I bought this old dictionary some time ago with the idea of gutting it and rebinding it into a journal. Yesterday seemed like the perfect day to do this.

I love vintage Canadiana, which can be hard to come by here on the west coast. Every now and again, I come across something like this dictionary and I snap it up. The only thing that would have made me happier was if the cover was red, instead of green, but it'll do.

After I carefully removed the original signatures inside, I recovered the entire interior of the cover with a heavy weight scrapbooking paper that matched nicely. This helped reinforce the spine and honestly, it just looks nicer.

 The book measures 6 1/4 inches tall x 4 1/4 inches wide, so I cut a wide variety of papers this size or smaller. Some of the papers I wanted to use were smaller to start with and I didn't want them all the same size anyway-it's more interesting when there's a variety.

Some of the pages were made with pages torn from old art magazines. When you pay $18 CDN per issue, you don't just toss the old ones in the recycler! I use the ones I'm not interested in keeping in this way or make envelopes to send art mail in until the whole issue is all used up. Waste not, want not!

I took an initial pass through the journal, gluing bits and pieces that amused me onto some of the pages. This was done quick and dirty-I'll be writing and gluing things in till it's all filled up, so there's no rush. I added some colour copies of some of my favourite photographs to a few of the pages.

More bits from magazines combined with scrapbooking papers. I am a bit of a paper junkie, truth be told.

I also discovered that travel guides and brochures have interesting images of where I live, so some pages were made with bits and pieces from those. Most travel bureaus have websites where you can order free info by mail from just about anywhere you'd like to visit. Free journal fodder is a good thing!

I added a library pocket in the back as a place to stash paper bits for later, if need be. My plan is to use this journal as a catch all. I'm going to keep it in my bag and the idea is to not have it be too precious to use. I'll jot and glue things into it when the spirits move me and not worry to much that anyone's going to see it. (And what I mean about not worrying about anyone else seeing it is that I don't tend to handwrite much anymore. Having lost all the feeling in my hands because of the damage MS has done to my spinal cord, writing is difficult and it just takes too much energy.)

Anyway, that was yesterday's project. Today I am working on completing some digital artwork for The Week As Art project being hosted by Tonia Davenport of Northlight Books on the Create Mixed Media website. The week I was assigned just happens to be March 18-24, which is my birthday week!

Just before I sign off, I wanted to take a moment to say a very heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who commented, emailed and called to offer congratulations, encouragement and kind words about my name being put forward for the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. I deeply appreciate all the love and support. xox

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal

Yesterday, I was reading an article about a new medal that's being awarded in Canada to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's accession to the throne.

"A new commemorative medal was created to mark the 2012 celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the Throne as Queen of Canada. The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal is a tangible way for Canada to honour Her Majesty for her service to this country. At the same time, it serves to honour significant contributions and achievements by Canadians.

To be eligible for this honour, a person must:

•Be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada, but need not necessarily reside in Canada;

•Have made a significant contribution to a particular province, territory, region or community within Canada, or an achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada; and

•Be alive on February 6th, 2012, the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty’s accession to the Throne. The medal can be awarded posthumously, as long as the recipient was alive on that date."

 Here is a video message about the medal from the Governor General of Canada:

So you're probably wondering why I am posting about this today. Well, this morning, I sat down to check my email and there was an email from the Vice President of the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay, which said:

"The Rick Hansen Relay is committed to recognizing Canadians who have made a difference in their communities. Given our shared vision of honouring those who make a difference, we have been asked by the office of the Governor General to put forward a select number of names for consideration to be recipients of the Diamond Jubilee Medal.

We would like to put your name forward for consideration by the Diamond Jubilee committee."

I was (and am) completely stunned.

People like Derrell Fox (Terry Fox's brother) and Paralympian Lauren Woolstencroft and a whole host of exceptional Canadians have received this award. Whether the Diamond Jubilee Committee ultimately sees fit to grant me this award or not, I feel so deeply honoured and humbled to even be considered.

Like I keep saying, the most beautiful compensation of this life is that the more you give away, the more you get to keep for yourself.

This is a moment I will hold in my heart forever.