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!