I first met Michele Lilyanna in 1996 at Roberts Creek Community Elementary School. Through luck and serendipity, Michele taught both my kids. She and I quickly bonded over a mutual and voracious love of the creative process. We eventually taught art classes together to all ages. I learned so much from co-facilitating with Michele- how…
Category: Women who inspire
The inspiring work of @GlobalSorority @passionteams and @g4gcharity in Cape Town
I am truly in awe of and inspired by the powerful work being done globally by my friends at The Passion Foundation Global Sorority Girls 4 Girls And I am delighted to see our Operation Sock Monkey sock monkeys at work on the ground in Cape Town! Photos courtesy of Global Sorority and Passion Foundation: …
Hope. Dream. Goal. Gratitude. Journal page inspired by Patti Henderson.
My dear friend, filmmaker Patti Henderson, requested we start a mutual journal sharing. Do a page on hope, dream, goal, gratitude. Then take a picture and send it. Lather, rinse, repeat. Here is my first page.
“These messages are real answers…” My first ever tarot card reading with Madam Patricia. #skepticonvacation
I was delighted to be invited for my first ever tarot card reading by ScorpioSun aka Madam Patricia this afternoon at my favorite place on earth: Salmagundi West. Journal notes this morning: Purposely slower morning. Woke up at 7 AM, pressed snooze till 7:45. Coffee. Made bed. Uncovered the parrot. Tidied up in case the…
I could hear her heart stop.
I could hear her heart slow then stop. Then she flew. She flew straight down to San Francisco. She flew straight to her mother and aunts. She became everything.
A letter home. November 1, 1968
Recall the package of letters I received from my mom and dad’s friends in Sweden. LINK Letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind them. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Today I look at the first one… A letter from my mom to Rolf and Eivor dated November 1, 1968. We moved…
Package of letters to Sweden by Mom and Dad since 1968, now in my hands
This morning I woke to my very old cat bravely climbing wobbly into my bed and cuddling. I turned off the alarm clock to savour the moment and decided to change the way I approach the day. I was going to dive right in to work. But I decided instead to take it slow. To…
I have coveted her for years. My doll from Salmagundi West
I have coveted her for years. That first time I stepped into Salmagundi West with the my mom and saw her tucked in the cupboard (to your left as you walk in the door, on the north wall): Every time I have passed the shop or entered the shop and now more often spend time in…
She netweaves a tapestry of connections and we are all the better for it: Laura
I am so blessed to have Laura Mack in my life. She’s my mentor, my friend, my special guide. Her ability to netweave connections in her local and global community is truly a profound gift. She often refers to netweaving as threads building a tapestry. I am lucky to find myself woven into it. Destiny itself is…
Untangling Past/Present/Future Journal Exercise
We may find ourselves stuck in a cycle, weighed down by our past, distracted by our perceived future and not living fully in the present. If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present….
Unfold your wings as you fall. Drawing on Pain at Espana Gallery Aug 29-Oct 13
Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall. – Ray Bradbury DRAWING ON PAIN Aug 29- Oct 13, 2013 ESPANA GALLERY 689 Abbott Street, Vancouver BC Curator, sales manager: Angie Heintz 778 773 2861 infor@angieheintz.com ARTIST’S STATEMENT: “My painting carries with it the message of pain.” – Frida Kahlo…
Week 1 of Young Mothers Group: Esteem Heart
I am so honored to be journaling/ drawing/ sharing/ dialoguing with and witnessing the strength of young moms at a local support group. Week 1 was about intros, covenant, journaling and drawing and starting our esteem heart as part of a large art piece.
Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand. – Yeats
WHERE dips the rocky highland Of Sleuth Wood in the lake, There lies a leafy island Where flapping herons wake The drowsy water rats; There we’ve hid our faery vats, Full of berrys And of reddest stolen cherries. Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand, …
“Taming the inner critic” Part 5 #acceptance #dialogue
Taming the Inner Critic PART 5- coming to a place of acceptance Now that you have built a relationship with your inner critic, it’s time to sit down together and have an honest dialogue. Stream of consciousness. Let go of defensiveness. Stop fighting. Stop giving it all the power. Accept the role you play. Accept…
Did something unexpected happen? Laura asked. #sfo #reflection
I had a wonderful conversation about my San Francisco trip today with my incredible friend, Laura Mack. As always, she managed to ask powerful questions that nudge me to reflect. Did anything happen during the trip that was unexpected? Hmmm… The art event was amazing- and not unexpected. The street art filled my soul with…
New shop in my neighborhood: @ingoodcompanynv: #Local #Handmade #EcoFriendly #Cooperative #Inspiring
I love connecting with people who pursue a dream and then execute the plan. Janelle Bakker and Jean Stenhouse in North Vancouver are two such people: Local. Handmade. Gifts. Baby & Kids. Clothing. Eco-Friendly. Cooperative. I am delighted to discover the new store IN GOOD COMPANY a couple of blocks away from my apartment filled with eco-friendly,…
DRAWING ON PAIN: Aug 29 – Oct 13, 2013 at Espana Gallery, Vancouver BC
DRAWING ON PAIN Aug 29- Oct 13, 2013 Opening August 29, 2013 7-9 PM Espana Gallery 689 Abbott Street Vancouver BC Includes Artist Talk DRAWING ON PAIN exhibits my personal therapeutic process as I utilize art to help me process the difficult challenges I have encountered (and continue to encounter) in my life– such as…
“Taming the inner critic” journal exercise revisited.
PART 1: With your dominant hand write all those nasty things your inner critic hacks away at you. With your non-dominant hand, tell the inner critic off, tame it, write positive things about yourself. This exercise allows those racing thoughts to purge out on paper with the hand you usually write with. Forcing yourself to…
Desperately seeking Kate Moss…
Elusive, difficult to capture. No. No. No. No. No. No. Sometimes it is so easy to capture the essence of a person. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen. With Kate, I resorted to simplicity to finally interpret her glance and that “just so” placement of her eyes.
This poem, this city, closing its doors, barricaded, almost empty… #graphicnovel #inspiration
9:09 in the morning, the taste of liquor and cigarettes, no police, no lovers, walking the streets, this poem, this city, closing its doors, barricaded, almost empty, mournful without tears, aging without pity, the hardrock mountains, the ocean like a lavender flame, a moon destitute of greatness, a small music from broken windows … a poem…
Feliz cumpleaños, Frida Kahlo. #muse #gratitude
Frida Kahlo July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954 Frida, photographed in 1932 by her father, Guillermo Kahlo. My Frida Series (panels 1-8 of 10): Recall: Part 1 FRIDA KAHLO Part 2 FRIDA KAHLO: BREATHING Part 3 FRIDA KAHLO: ART ABOUT ART Part 4 FRIDA KAHLO: ARTIST WORDS Part 5 FRIDA KAHLO: RELATIONSHIP Part 6…
Happy Birthday, Cher of @EcoBravoBlog! #greenmom
A huge happy birthday to my sweet and beautiful sister-in-law, Cher Hanusiak! She is one of the most amazing people I know and a supermom to my nephew, Henrik. Check out Cher’s inspiring blog, EcoBravo! Ecobravo highlights eco-friendly and socially responsible products, services, people and design. Cher shares her passion for all things gorgeous and friendly…
Dementia Dad: A story about the Caring Relationship by Hannah Miller
I was delighted to receive the mini-comic Dementia Dad by Hannah Miller in the post today. The book is a simple, heart-warming, insightful and empowering piece. With her profound illustrations and humorous text, Hannah manages to paint a portrait of the effects of dementia on daily life. A simple short story says SO MUCH. We…
The darkness is not always there. But the mask slips at times. #journal
I’ve been trying to write a post for days. And those that know me know that it’s unusual for me to have to pause in the process. But I have become stuck. There’s a pain in the chest that reminds me to pay attention, to try to figure it out. My journal- usually filled with…
JR and Swoon: my #wheatpaste heroes
The original inspiration: JR, a French street artist, uses his camera to show the world its true face. He makes his audacious TED Prize wish: to use art to turn the world inside out. A funny, moving talk about art and who we are. Learn more at insideoutproject.net. — Swoon is a Brooklyn-based artist whose life-sized…
“Do you ever stop? I mean truly just stop?” How the #RightBrainBusinessPlan is helping me quiet my mind.
Kat, do you ever stop? I mean truly just stop? Just taking a day and doing nothing, just drinking tea in pjs and doing nothing? – Maryellen to me I have to say the answer is no. Or more accurately, yes- sometimes– but when I do, I feel my body reacting. I feel the migraines…
Manifesto on my mind part 1: Valerie Solanas
I am working on a manifesto. I have decided to immerse myself in the concept. To journal it out. To look at the history of the manifesto. What it means to write one. To look at the classics. The first obvious one that comes to mind for me, personally, is the S.C.U.M. Manifesto by Valerie Solanas:…
I envy you, drunk with flowers… Nancy plays with peonies.
Raw moments with peonies captured by Nancy Kirkpatrick: Moss covered paths between scarlet peonies, Pale jade mountains fill your rustic windows. I envy you, drunk with flowers; Butterflies swirling in your dreams. – Qian Qi (Tang Dynasty) Painting by Alicia Love
A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.
Weighted and achy heart today on Mother’s Day. Missing Mom is an expected constant in my life. But I am so blessed to have been loved so completely by her. The pain now is, therefore, beautiful. Revisiting some favorite photographs. A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for…