Sideways

So...it's been awhile since I posted. It's really a case of "Life is what happens when you're busy making plans." I had a NMO relapse and had to have a round of IV steroids in early June and then two weeks ago today, my husband suffered a major heart attack at work. Our lives have gone sideways, so we are kind of in a state of shock still and trying to recover from the scare. Fortunately he had immediate surgery and is recovering, though his heart rate is still wonky. I am trying to deal with what's immediately in front of me, in an attempt to try and keep my stress manageable.

I had just done this revamp of my blog header and template the day before all hell broke loose and then didn't get a chance to actually post. Since I had a sliver of time today, I thought I would do a quick update. Without further ado...

Teresa posted this really interesting book on her Instagram and I was so intrigued I had to run off to the book store to find it. It's really good and reminds me of a zine in so many ways. Fun stuff! I'd love to see more books done in this style. The aesthetics of it is so appealing and it feels like you are almost peeking into someone's mixed media journal in a way. If I was going to write a book, I'd like to do it this way. Someday...

Speaking of zines, I wrapped up the zine exchange I was hosting. I now have a beautiful box of inspiration. So much good stuff!

This was my contribution, the 4th edition of Manual Dexterity. My plan was to have a few copies available in my Etsy store, but with all the health stuff that came out of nowhere, I just haven't had the time. I will have copies for sale eventually and I'll post here to let anyone who is interested know. I just can't say exactly when that will happen right now.

I've been puttering in my 101 year old journal. Some days it's nice to sit down for half an hour and make something. I have just been flipping to a random page and going for it. Slowly but surely, the pages are filling up. I am so in love with this journal.

I have been enjoying exploring my new neighbourhood with Indy. This is part of the green belt one minute outside my door. I feel so lucky to just be able to pop into the woods any time I feel like it. We live in an area that, according to my best friend has a very high incidence of bear sightings, but so far, no luck. I am not afraid of bears-I took a bear aware course years ago, but I do have respect for them. I am always mindful that our paths could cross any time I am out and about and I will be prepared to act accordingly. I don't want any bears to come to any harm because of me.

On Father's Day, we went up to Whistler for the day because we felt the need to see things like this.

And swim in Lost Lake.

 And eat amazing food like this (The BEST fish taco)

And this from La Cantina, our favourite restaurant in the village. My son had never been before and is a foodie so it was fun watching him taste a bunch of different menu items.

My friend Amy very sweetly sent me this book when I was having trouble sourcing it locally. It just arrived this week, so as soon as the weather cools down a bit, I am going to dive into painting. Can't wait. It's so hot at the moment that I don't think my paints would stay open long enough for me to get them onto the canvas. By the way, the author, Tracy Verdugo is turning 50 and so she's giving away 22 spots in her upcoming online class. The details are here. I've been entering daily because I'd LOVE to have the opportunity to expand my painting knowledge. Paint for me is joy and I'm on a mission to invite more joy into my life. I have my *fingers crossed*!

Maureen made this gorgeous paracord bracelet and sent it to me. That was a good mail day-perfectly timed to lift my spirits. I love how chunky it is and how comfortably it wears. It has a really great magnetic clasp so I can manage to put it on and off myself. (This has become a big issue with my jewelery-with my hands so numb, working closures has become a major problem.) I really love this piece and have been wearing it pretty much non-stop. Maureen is a local BC artist-you should check her out!

I have also been super busy with advocacy work. It seems I just get one project done and another pops up. I have shared a big announcement on NMODiaries this week. I have a guest post up for the MS Society of Canada and I'm working on something else that I can't talk about right now. It's so great to be able to have opportunities to contribute and make a difference. I really do love advocacy work. It's the work of my heart.

So..as you can see, life has been rolling along, despite the major bumps and potholes. We are coping. I am going to try and post more regularly over the summer. 

New Digs!

The wall of overwhelm, (studio stuff) which I have since eliminated.

Creating:

We moved over the last week, downsizing as empty-nesters do. It was an interesting exercise in letting go-letting go of too much space and a ton of stuff we really had no need for. From this point on, I will be more mindful of what I buy and bring into our home. Fortunately, we were able to give a fair amount of useful things to friends, donated alot to charity and recycled everything we could that couldn't be re-homed.

Indy smelling all the smells.

I am now in the process of unpacking and creating a new space for us to live in. Our new home is on a green belt. We look out onto a courtyard filled with mature trees (ornamental cherry trees, magnolias and others) and we're surrounded by old growth evergreens. We have a covered balcony which Indy is really enjoying. He can lie out there even on a rainy day if he wants and smell all the good smells. It's very quiet and it's really like living in a park. We love it here.

I am getting some art ready to submit to the MS Society BC-Yukon Division's MS Expressions art show which will showcase visual arts created by people living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO). The exhibition will be held on Thursday, April 23, 2015 in the Lower lobby of Metrotower III, 4730 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC (Connected to Metrotown Mall) with a reception from 4:30 pm – 7:00 pm. The event is free and everyone is welcome. If you'd like to attend,  please RSVP here.

Reading:

Since I've been so busy with packing to move over the last 3 weeks, I haven't had alot of time to read. I've also been having some issues with my vision, so some days I can read and some days I can't. I did just finish Jonathan Kellerman's latest novel in the Alex Delaware series, Motive. He remains my favourite author.

Watching:

I've been viewing quite a few documentaries. The most recent one was K2: Siren of the Himalayas which is about a 2009 attempt to scale K2. I also saw Tell It On the Mountain-Tales From the Pacific Crest Trail which follows a number of hikers along the trail. Both were really interesting. I am waiting for Inspired to Ride which is a new cycling film to come out. It's by the good folks who created Ride the Divide which I loved.

Listening:

Songs I am currently obsessing over:

Carrying A Torch-Van Morrison

Honest Songs-Noah Gunderson

You Won't Find Me-Amelia Curran

Slow Kind Light-Zaac Pick

Zaac Pick has a new album out on April 14th called Constellations. I can't wait. He's a local artist and one of my favourites. The Indigo Girls also have a new album out shortly and I am waiting {im}patiently for that one too!

Anticipating:

I had a pretty interesting invitation in my email the other day. As per usual, I can't say too much about it right now, but it's something I am really excited to be asked to do and I hope to have a positive impact. I'll share more when I can!

Dreaming:

Right now, I am looking forward to celebrating my birthday which was on the 22nd. We were so busy with the move that I elected to postpone it till after we got settled. There's a Keg dinner and a trip to the theatre to see The Second Best Marigold Hotel involved. I also have a birthday cheque to spend. It will either go towards art supplies or art books...I just need to decide. The kids are coming over for Easter dinner on Sunday. It will be our first family dinner in our new place.

Uppercase Magazine: Something To Love

A couple weeks ago, Meghan, who recently fulfilled a dream to have work published in Uppercase, (Yay Meghan!) was having a giveaway for a year's subscription to the magazine. For those not in the know, this is THE most aesthetically pleasing, design savvy publication for "the creative and curious" and is a Canadian publication! (Which makes me ridiculously happy.)

I am extremely pleased (and grateful) to say I WON!

Issue 16, Knot Now arrived yesterday. In addition to Meghan's great article about overcoming negative self-talk in order to embrace her creativity, there were so many things to love about it. The abecedary is about thread and stitching. There's a photographic tour of The American Can Company, a place, which judging by the pictures, I would love to spend an afternoon. There is also an article about North Woven Broom Company, which was of particular interest to me because I have family that lives on Kootenay Lake and have been to their shop (located in a lovely old barn in Crawford Bay) many, many times. In fact, my step dad trained with the blacksmith across the road from them, years ago. This same blacksmith often crafts ornamental handles for their brooms. The whole area is a mecca for artisans and makers of all kinds.

Uppercase is a magazine you can look at over and over again. I especially love all of the delicious little details and the way it's chock full of eyecandy and brain food from cover to cover. Even the classifieds (one page! this magazine's all about real content!) are presented in a way that is both interesting and classy. Oh and post cards! Did I mention postcards? Well there were TWO tucked between the pages. I am a postcard junkie from way back. 

Thanks to Meghan and Janine Vangool, (publisher, editor & designer of Uppercase) I am all set to have a year's worth of good mail days! 

That is most certainly something to love!

The Pulse Charity Auction

This is my friend Seth Apter, who is one of the kindest, most generous and genuine people I know. 

Seth lives in New York City and while no harm came to him personally during the storm last week, he, (like many of us) has been touched by the stories of devastation and loss Sandy left in its wake, particularly in his hometown. Seth, ever the instigator (and I mean that in the nicest way possible!) has a fantastic plan about how we can help the people of New York City recover. 

Here's what it is, in his own words:

"As I traveled around promoting the book, I obtained as many signatures as I could from all the contributing artists I met along the way, as I knew that one day there were be a special reason to do this. And today is that day. I have decided to auction off a copy of the book, (signed by 30 artists) along with a piece of my art to benefit the victims of Sandy. The charity I have chosen is The Mayor's Fund To Advance New York City. I will be donating 100% of the proceeds and this fund uses 100% of the monies received for direct aid."

This is a beautiful book, made all the more special by merit of having been signed by so many of the artists involved. It took a community coming together to create this book and it will take a community effort now to make a difference for those who so desperately need our help.

Seth has posted all the details of this effort on his blog, which you can find here. In addition to the book, there are also some original artworks that will be included. 

There is the option to make a straight donation of any amount, if you would prefer. Every little bit helps. You can also help by spreading the word if you have a blog, twitter or facebook. Please tell your peeps and ask them to tell their peeps and let's see how much good we can do, because it's the right thing to do.

"There's a destiny that makes us brothers,

none goes his way alone. 

All that we send into the life of others

comes back into our own."

~Edwin Markham


EDIT: So many of the artists involved in the book wanted to help Seth with this auction that they've donated even MORE art to the cause. As a result, Seth now has two bundles he's auctioning off and there will be more added. Please click the link to get all the details and check back often to see which new bundles that are available.

Good Mail Day!

It's here! Stampington's Somerset Studio arrived in the magic mailbox today! I didn't know they were going to send me a complimentary issue. They usually do when you write an article for them, but I forgot they also do it when they publish your work. I am glad they did-I haven't been able to track one down in stores here yet. (Though certainly not for lack of trying!)

So here's my work between the pages. I posted images of my entire 5x5 submission here, if you'd like to see the whole thing. Seth did a great job on the article, all TEN pages of it! It's really nice that Stampington made so much room in this issue to showcase some of the 110 pieces Seth received for this call. Congratulations Seth! Long live The Pulse! Seth is now working on his second book, which is wonderful news. I can't wait to see it!

Also in the November/December issue is a great artist profile by Rice Freeman-Zachery about my friend DJ Pettit. DJ is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet and she crazy talented. She does amazing work combining her beautiful photographs with paint and textiles. I've taken a class with DJ and the techniques she's developed are like nothing I'd ever seen before. It was great reading this article and seeing how her work has grown over the years. She sent me one of her handmade books years ago and I treasure it. It's so uniquely DJ.

In addition the the magazine, the mail also brought my order from Artchix Studio. When I saw these really cool palmistry wood cuts online and had to order some for myself. (I have a thing for hands!)

Helga always ships things lightening fast and they're always beautifully packaged.

She also includes something a little extra and these were the extras this time. Love them! Yesterday was a good mail day all around! 

The Village

So about this time last year, my friend Lisa Ryder and I decided to make some small collaged houses, colour copy the originals onto cardstock and send them to one another. The other day, she showed me a photo of her wee houses beautifully framed. This was our plan, but somehow I hadn't managed to get it done. Seeing hers completed inspired me to hop in the car, zoom down to Ikea and get a frame. 

I started using Ribba frames about 5 years ago because I like how thick and chunky they are-almost like a shadow box and if you use the same type of frames for everything, when you hang it, it will look like a gallery, even if the artwork in each one is very different.

I spent about two hours last night framing mine. It took awhile for me to get the houses laid out "just so". I managed to create a combination of both our work that I think looks great together. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. The only thing is that I need to go back to Ikea for a second frame-I still have enough of our houses left to create another subdivision! (Lisa said the same thing.) She's going to post about our collaboration here later this morning. (She's in New Zealand, so it's not quite breakfast time tomorrow morning for her yet.)

Seeing as I was already shopping for frames, I picked up a couple other sizes to frame other pieces that I've been hanging onto for ages. I bought this sewing pattern crow printed on fabric years ago at Artfibrefest. It's by Carla Sonheim. It's been floating around the studio forever. I love how it looks in the frame.

I also had this pretty owl print by Cori Dantini that I bought 3 years ago. It's the same artist whose work became (with her permission) a tattoo. I have the bird print of the artwork that I had tattooed on my leg, which *ahem* also needs a frame. Yes, I'm going to have to make another trip to Ikea!

And finally, I framed this print of my own work, Diamond In the Rough. My goal is to print all my favourite photographs from the classes I've taken and do a gallery wall in the living room. My plan is to print them all different sizes, so it's interesting. I think that's going on my to-do list for 2013.

 I still have more artwork kicking around the studio that needs framing. Now that I've got a few favourite pieces finished, maybe I will be better about making the effort to get frames. I just need to figure out where I want to hang these pieces. While we're out and about today I'd better pick up some nails!

Thank you to everyone who sent their well wishes for our Anniversary yesterday. My husband worked a half day, we had some errands to run and the weather was ugly. Today it's sunny, so we're going to celebrate by taking Indy for a swim, having lunch together and just enjoying each other's company.

Also thank you for your good thoughts and prayers for us. It's so comforting to know so many people care and are supporting us. We really do feel the love. We have THE BEST friends on the planet and for that we are grateful.

xox

Ancient Art

On Friday, I discovered that the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden was hosting Tibetan monks who were going to be creating a sand mandala. I've always wanted to see this, so I quickly emailed my friend Carol to see if she wanted to come with me. She did, so yesterday, we braved the weather (it was pouring and windy) and went to meet them.

When we arrived, we discovered that the monks had not yet arrived. The docent explained that they were on "Tibetan time", which made me laugh. You cannot expect those that live in the now to be the slave of a schedule. She needn't have worried though-they arrived right after she'd said it, smiling and in good spirits despite the dismal weather.

They'd begun working on the sand mandala the day before so we were able to see the amazing progress they had already made. The mandala is drawn from memory and then they begin the painstaking work of filling it in using colourful sands.

They have two tapering medal rods that are ribbed. The top end of the rod is wide and open and they scoop the sand into the rod from this end. The other end is narrow and this is where the sand comes out. They rub the second rod up and down the one full of sand, to create vibration to make the sand come out. It's like a sand version of paint by numbers.

They create intricate patterns and outlines, using the different colours and though it's hard to tell from the photos, there are also a variety of textures created. It's really incredible the amount of skill and patience required to do this. The knowledge of this art has been handed down through the ages. 

Each element of the design has meaning. Mandalas are symmetric with a series of concentric circles and square. The center point is where the deity resides. The finished mandalas have four gates, which symbolize the four virtues: compassion, kindness, sympathy and equanimity. Sand mandalas are for purification and healing and the act of their creation is a form of meditation. Once completed, the mandala will be consecrated and then ceremoniously wiped away and dispersed into flowing water, symbolizing the impermanent nature of existence.

Before they began their work the day before, they also held a puja ceremony, honouring Buddha. Offerings were made and incense was burned. Usually I am not a fan of incense because I have allergies but the incense they used was really lovely. It didn't bother me at all.

The Abbot, Jampa Sopa created this butter sculpture. Butter sculptures are a made from a mixture of Yak butter, wax and dyes. When you're working with it, you have to dip your fingers in cold water to keep it from sticking to you. Butter sculptures are given as offerings. This one stood about a foot high, but for special ceremonies, they can reach several meters high. Again, each of the colours and designs holds special meaning.

I was able to shoot a short video of the monks working on the mandala. I wanted to be able to share with you the sound of what they were doing. It was oddly mesmerizing. Carol and I found that we lost all track of time watching them work.

During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, (1950-1959) the monk's monastery was razed to the ground. Of the 600 monks of the Dzongkar Choede monastery, only 5% survived, fleeing to Southern India with the Dalai Lama. Today they are a community of 300 monk and run a school for young monks, many of whom are orphans or semi-orphans from poor families. The monks have come to Canada to raise funds to support their school and to provide health care. I believe everyone should have access to an education and health care. It felt good making a donation to support this.

It was an amazing opportunity to be able to experience Tibetan culture right in my own back yard. I have read about the struggle of the Tibetan people for years. 7 Years in Tibet is my all time favourite movie. I never dreamed that someday, I would be sitting in a scholar's garden in the heart of Vancouver, watching ancient history and tradition unfold before me. The world seems a little bit smaller now and certainly more beautiful. Yesterday was magical and mystical and I'll never forget it. 

To see what Carol had to say about our experience, click here. Her photos are fantastic.

Catching Up

Warehouse

The busy trend continues! Saturday I spent the day at part two of Peer Support training for the MS Society. I gave a presentation on crisis and suicide intervention to a group of about 20 or so people. It was challenging to get everything I wanted to share into the brief hour I had, but several people approached me afterwards and gave me really positive feedback, so I am glad to know they felt it was helpful. Sometimes you just have to work with what you've got.

Not only was I presenting, but I was also finishing up my induction to the Peer Support program and I earned my certificate. It will be good to dust off my crisis line skills and put them to use once again. It's work I love doing and I know how difficult my first year was following my diagnosis, so I am more than happy to reach out to others who are newly diagnosed.

The MS Society gave me a thank you card afterward and when I got home and opened it, there was a gift card inside for Chapters. It was totally unexpected, but I really appreciated it! Yesterday, while running errands, I used it to treat myself to this book:

I started reading it last night. It's a fairly thick book and it does an excellent job of explaining the various techy things you need to know about using a DSLR camera in layman's terms. I've already learned alot in the first 5 pages. In addition to practical instruction, there are chapters on shooting specific things and tons of ideas for doing so creatively. It's a nice mix of technical and creative and I think it was an excellent choice. I'm going to try and read through it before YAYOM Whistler.

Meanwhile, we're only a week out from the opening of the Papergirl exhibit. The deadline for art submissions is in 2 days. I spent yesterday working on mine and they are ready for delivery when I go to our final meeting on Wednesday. It's been a busy 6 months preparing for this project. If you are local, please come join us at the Roundhouse for the official opening on Tuesday, July 24th from 7-9pm. It's a great opportunity to meet fellow creatives and see some amazing art! The exhibit will be up from July 23rd-27th.

Today I am busy writing articles. Deadlines are looming!

Challenging the Myths: Disability & Art Opening

This morning, I'm backtracking to Thursday, May 17th, to the opening of the gallery show. This is the beautiful gallery at Leigh Square where the exhibit was held. The official opening coincided with the Rick Hansen Relay making a quick whistle stop in the square.

I love when galleries put a huge decal on the wall with the show info.  I don't really know why, I just do.

My artwork ended up being displayed in a large glass cabinet, as you first come in the door. Mine are the pieces framed in black. I'm not sure who the small painting belonged to. The gallery has a ton of windows, so there was alot of glass and light, which when combined did not make for great photos. Reflections were inevitable.

These are the work of William Skuse. He had alot of work in the show, all similar and yet different from one another. What I love about his work is the geometric patterns he comes up with, combined with the use of colour. He does his pieces using a humble set of markers. It reminds me of those giant posters they used to make in the 70's with wild pictures you'd colour in. I love that his work reminded me of this.

This is my favourite piece in the whole show. It belongs to Fred Collins. Sadly, this photo does not do it justice. Let me see if I can explain it a bit. What I believe he's done is start with a wash of water colours on water colour paper. Once it dried completely, I think he went over the base layer with a fine tip black marker, drawing meandering lines which were no more than 1/8 inch apart. The lines are very wabi-sabi and intersect randomly. Once he'd covered the entire piece with lines he want back and added bits of additional colour using markers. It clearly took some time to create this piece-it measures 22 x 29 inches and it's extremely intricate.

The show runs till June 10th, so there's still time to see it. There are 12 artists with a diversity of artistic talent being featured. If you missed the article in the Tri-City news, it's here.

I just wanted to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to all my friends and family who took time out of their busy week to come and see the show. I appreciate the support. You guys are THE BEST!

EDIT: This just in!

Late last night, our local newspaper was left on my doorstep. I just this minute looked at it and imagine my surprise when I saw myself in the paper! (Bottom left!) Twice in less than a week! WOW!

Sketchbook Project 2012 Tour: Vancouver

Tuesday afternoon, I headed downtown to the W2 Media Cafe to meet up with friends Penelope and Carol at the Sketchbook Project's Vancouver debut. Being the keeners that Penn and I are, we arrived just before the library opened at 3 pm. Carol manage to squeak in under the wire at the end of her work day.

They had a really efficient set up, as you can see in the first 4 images above with great signage to explain what to do. You begin by using the DIY kiosk to issue yourself a library card and then move to the check out station where you can search for the books you'd like to view. You can generate a search based on name, location, title, medium, materials, theme and about 50 more criteria or you can simply request the computer randomly choose for you. If you do a search, you get the book you requested, plus another which is randomly chosen-two for the price of one! This is the project's way of giving everyone equal shelf time, which is great.

When a book is viewed, the author is immediately sent an email saying "Your book was viewed by (name) in (city)." I've had emails like this from the tour stop in Chicago. When I got home from Tuesday's event, I had emails from the project saying who had viewed my book in Vancouver. It's so fast that I viewed a beautiful book about the ocean, done in watercolours by Kimi Kobashi , 10 minutes later, she was following me on my page on the Sketchbook Project site! Amazing!

I knew several friends had signed up for the 2012 Sketchbook Project, so I began my time there, searching for their books. I was able to find Angela Cartwright's sketchbook and in looking for another O'Brien, came across Karen O'Brien's instead. (I've met her through Artfest.) I also check out Mat Roff's contribution. Mat was the first person on the Sketchbook Project site to "friend" me when I joined. His work is so cool!

Another great thing is that it was a great place to meet other creatives. I met some new people and had lovely chats with them and ran into old friends as well. I was surprised to see a friend from the Bellingham ATC group, Cheryl, whom I haven't seen for years, as well as another friend I met through the Al Fresco dinners, Colleen (of the famed bacon tarts!) and Mary whom I recently met through my work with Papergirl. It was THE place to be on Tuesday!

The folks from the Arthouse Co-op were super nice and friendly. That's Chris in the photo in the second row on the far left. I kept him busy running back and forth to the shelves getting me books. In all, they brought a library of 7000 books on tour. I believe I managed to look at about 50 in 4 hours. Over the two day show, they issued 265 library cards and 2588 books were viewed!

While we were there, Penn and I also took the opportunity to sign up for the 2013 Sketchbook Project. If you sign up at the tour, then you save $5 on shipping and get your blank sketchbook right there and then. Seemed like an excellent idea! Now I just have to get busy working on it-I have 7 1/2 months to get it done!

If you want to know if the tour is coming to your neck of the woods, here's the place to find out! Anyone living in Toronto will have a chance to visit the tour when it's in town July 18th-22nd. GO! You won't be sorry!

You're Invited!

Port Coquitlam, BC: The Rick Hansen Man in Motion 25 Anniversary presents an opportunity to showcase the artistic expression and achievements of artists with disabilities at Leigh Square Community Arts Village from visual art to film and performances, May 10 to June 3. The Rick Hansen Man in Motion Anniversary Tour stops in Port Coquitlam on May 17 and May is also Mental Health Awareness month. 

Often there are many myths that surround disability, both physical and mental and this exhibition offers an opportunity to hear these voices and share talent, stories and inspiration.  Sometimes the impossible can become possible as many of these community artists will show in their work. Featured artists include Lelainia Lloyd, Kevin Priebe, Marney Smithies, Cascadia Society for Social Working artists Fred Collins, Aiden Fisher-Lang, William Skuse and others and New View Society artists Angela Chapman, Marcia Weekes and Mary Jung.

The opening reception will take place on the Rick Hansen Relay Day on May 17 at 4pm with lots of special activities including performances, mini Farmers Market, face painting, bikes, BBQ and much more.

Creative Myths

When Seth was here and we were chatting before his book signing began, he mentioned that in some of the Q&A sessions that followed the talks he gave, some topics were controversial. I was intrigued, so I asked him what he meant. The example he gave was about how someone brought up the topic of hands-on art vs. digital art and how some people felt that digital art was, in their eyes, cheating or not as hard to produce as art made by hand. This got me thinking and I've been turning the idea over and over in my mind, like a small stone, so I thought I would post my thoughts about it this morning.

First of all, I've been doing mixed media for 11 years. I love it. Nothing will ever replace my desire to create using all the materials available to me. I began creating using digital photography a year and a half ago. Before I dipped my toes into this medium, I assumed one of two things about it: either is was super hard and not something I'd ever be able to do OR it was cheating because it was the lazy way of making art. Here's what I now know: Neither of these things is true.

When I first encountered digital art, computers, computer programs and the Internet were all pretty new. I thought you had to be some sort of math genius or rocket scientist to be able to make art with your computer. I am most certainly not a math genius. If I was, I probably wouldn't be an artist-I'd be a rocket scientist. (For real! I am fascinated by space exploration.) *laughs* In any case, I believed digital art was for geniuses.

It's not true. Well okay, there is the part of being a creative genius when it comes to making digital art, but the programs out there today make digital art easily accessible. Alot of the programs are intuitive, which makes them very user friendly for someone like me who just wants to make beautiful images without having to get a PhD to do it.

In my heart of hearts, I feel that creating art digitally is NOT cheating. 

Let's look at the definition of cheating:

Cheating refers to an immoral way of achieving a goal. It is generally used for the breaking of rules to gain advantage in a competitive situation. The rules infringed may be explicit, or they may be from an unwritten code of conduct based on morality, ethics or custom, making the identification of cheating a subjective process. 

 Okay, so that's pretty interesting, isn't it? "Breaking the rules". Isn't that what artists do?!? Isn't the whole idea of making art to bring forth something that has never been seen or done before and share it with the world? The idea that "the identification of cheating {is} a subjective process" is interesting. Who gets to decide this and is the decision based on their own sense of competitiveness? How many times have you heard someone bash someone else's art because it's good (or even great) simply because they know the bar has been raised and they are feeling threatened?

Using digital means to create is not cheating. It's simply using the tools of our times to move forward with our own creative process. It's pioneering, really. It doesn't make the act of creation any less-it's just different. There are some that would argue that it's less work. Let me attempt to dispel that myth. 

When I am going to work on digital photography and post processing, here's a quick breakdown of the steps I go through in order to create a single finished image:

1. I have to decide where I want to shoot, for starters. Usually it involves driving somewhere at least half and hour or more from my home.

2. Once I am at the location I want to shoot at, I spend an enormous amount of time scouting out what to shoot. On average I take about 150-300 photos. I shoot fast and dirty because I know for me that's where the magic lies.

3. When I return home, I upload the images to my computer and comb through them, deleting anything that is blurry or otherwise unsuitable.

4. After I've culled my shoot down to about 50 photos, (or less!) I start working with the one that inspires me the most, using at least 2 post processing programs.

 I begin with cropping and if necessary, correcting the image.

5. Once the image is cleaned up, I move onto working with adding layers, text and effects. This is entirely intuitive for me, so it can take some time. I move quickly in this process though, because it's not about thinking, so much as feeling and the way I get the best results it to just relax into "the zone". When I am in the zone, time feels oddly suspended. Sometimes I sit down at 5 or 6 am and it's noon before I realize I've been working for hours!

6. Once all the layers are done, I look at how I want to finish the image. In order for it to feel finished to me, I like the edges to have some sort of definition. At this point, I also add my watermark.

All of this is alot of work and there is most definitely skill involved. Some of the skills I use are newly acquired, through the photography classes I've been taking, some of skills  have been repurposed from other mediums I've worked with over the years and some of it is that intangible element that makes my work uniquely my own. The intensity of the work is the same as it would be for any other medium I work in. The means of creating is just different.

It's interesting to me that some artists draw a circle around themselves and what they do and anything that doesn't fit inside that circle is seen as "less than". I think if you feel the need to draw that circle, you should draw it in chalk, so you can keep erasing it and making it bigger to embrace all kinds of amazing techniques, ideas and inspiration. Why limit yourself? And as for the rule breakers, count me among them. I'll proudly wear that label.

The Pulse of Mixed Media: Vancouver Edition

Last night was Seth's book signing for the Pulse of Mixed Media!

It was held at the beautiful Marche St. George, which is a little gem tucked away in Vancouver. It's a very old corner store, so it has lots of character.

I love that the front door is painted with chalkboard paint. Charming!

Seth, Patricia, Leslie and I brought art that was in the book to share.

And here we all are! (Me, Patricia Larsen, Seth Apter, Leslie Avon Miller.)

Seth signing my book. He signed alot of books!

Seth gave a talk about some of the survey answers in the book and asked Leslie and I to read the written portions of our contributions.

Smoozing! There was a very good turn out. Thanks to Penelope, Vivienne, Carol, Jennifer & her mum for coming! It was so good to see you all and celebrate the book with you!

I wanted to share with you, one more piece of art that I just finished creating for a project that's tied to the book. In March and April, Seth had an open call for a 5X5 project. He asked three questions and you could choose which ones you wanted to answer. The idea was to present your answer in a creative 5x5 format. 

I decided to do mine in book form.

I made a CD envelope which I designed by first collaging papers and then photocopying them, so I could have a smooth finish.

The books itself it about photography.

The final page reveals the questions I was addressing and my answer:

Who has had the most impact on my creative life? 

It's a no-brainer-it's Vivienne McMaster! 

I decided not to post these photos until after Seth and Vivienne had seen the finished piece. When I showed it to Vivienne last night, I think she was very surprised. I promised I'd make one for her to keep.

The whole event was so much fun. Everyone was in good spirits and it was really nice that so many of my friends showed up to support Seth. (And by extension, me.) It's the first time this particular group of friends have met one another and I was so pleased everyone got on so well. It's fabulous to have a bunch of creatives hit it off. It was also really wonderful to finally meet Seth. I only have the nicest things to say about him. He's genuine, kind and funny and you can't help but adore him.

 Today Seth's off to Washington State for the final stop on his book tour. If you're in the Seattle area, he'll be at Bellevue Art & Frame on Saturday, May 5th, 2012 from noon-2 pm. Contributing artists Donna Watson and Leslie Avon Miller will be participating in an artist discussion, an art demo and book signing. This event is free! Be there, or be square!