Art is a biological function. #LyndaBarry @ideaprogram

Two artists are my greatest influences: Frida Kahlo and Lynda Barry.  Both are tatooed on me.  It’s serious business. Recall my post the other day: Lo and behold, my greatest hero, Lynda Barry, is in town. Being able to attend Lynda’s lecture at IDEA, Capilano University Friday evening was a dream come true. And Lynda delivered….

#LyndaBarry is in town! @ideaprogram

Lo and behold, my greatest hero, Lynda Barry, is in town. I am a tad overwhelmed to say the least.  She is always my inspiration.  My idol.  My number one.  The greatest- PERIOD. One of the most successful alternative American cartoonists, Lynda Barry has blazed many trails over her 30 year career. Best known for her Ernie Pook’s Comeek about…

OMG! Fabulous @YouTube art series: @PBSOffBook

The Art of Glitch The Worlds of Viral Video The Art of Logo Design Seeing Beyond the Human Eye The Evolution of 8-bit Art The Culture of Reddit Lego Art Fan Art: An Explosion of Creativity The Art of Film & TV Title Design Tattoo 25th Anniversary GIF Mashup The Impact of Kickstarter Animated GIFs…

Fifth Chakra, I love you but you’re bringing me down.

I love the concept of your biology is your biography.  It’s not science but I find it a great way to address pain and blockage and to reassess your life.  It just makes you go hmmm. Caroline Myss explains: What I recognized is that your biography becomes your biology–you are one and the same with…

Kat’s DAILY JOURNAL WORKSHOP SERIES. Parts 1-35 #arttherapy

DAILY JOURNAL WORKSHOP SERIES: Part 1 JUST WRITE Part 2 DRAW OUT THE WORDS Part 3 HEART Part 4 SPILL OUT COLLAGE Part 5 NAKED SCREAM Part 6 INVITE ALTER STRETCH EXTEND Part 7 ARISE AROSE IN 3′S Part 8 SELF-PORTRAIT. HUMAN Part 9 WORD CRAZY QUILT Part 10 VINTAGE WORKOUT Part 11 GESTURE DRAWING…

An afternoon of new connections with @BeautyNight!

I was honored and delighted today to meet with Caroline MacGillivray, founder and executive director of Beauty Night. Beauty Night builds self esteem and changes lives of women and youth living in poverty through 3 streams of programming: wellness, life skills development and makeovers. They believe that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and…

Drawing during ARTS WEEK at @wpgadotca! #creativity! #highenergy!

A huge thank you to Danielle Unger for the invite and to all the staff and students at West Point Grey Academy for putting on an amazing event and for being being so welcoming!  It was wonderful seeing artists from the community sharing their gifts with these talented and highly creative kids! It was all…

When I struggle with Critique vs. Criticism, it’s time for Critical Thinking

[Images from quote books from my art shows in the early 90’s] Ah, the artist dilemma.  Or really, the human condition.   The struggle with taking critique but not treating it as criticism.  Juggling the constructive and the destructive.  Be it from friends, family, community, clients… mainly OURSELVES!  By slowing down and pulling out some…

Conception, gestation- a movement begins. #women

A movement is only composed of people moving. To feel its warmth and motion around us is the end as well as the means. – Gloria Steinhem An idea is building and I thank the women I met with last night for our initial brainstorm.  Stay tuned as we move from the concept to the concrete!…

Weekly artist series: Week 9 Part 2 SUE COE: A mother dying

Week 9 Part 2 Sue Coe The Last 11 Days is a group of charcoal drawings Sue Coe created from July 20 to 31, 1995 depicting her mother as she lay dying with cancer. The drawings reveal Coe’s private struggle with her mother’s illness and eventual death. [source] I’m not a big fan of the word “resonate.”…

Journaling at WOW- the Women of Worth Conference

It was a pleasure connecting with Christine Awram, founder of Women of Worth, and listening to Yvonne Evans last night at The Granville Island Hotel. Theme: An Empowered CEO on A New Business Culture & Currency I look forward to processing the lessons that I chicken-scratched in my journal and building on the concepts I…

Weekly artist series: Week 8 Part 2 DECONSTRUCT CONSTRUCT #OttoDix

Week 8 Part 2 Otto Dix As with George Grosz, I’m using the book LUSTMORD as my main resource this week. Look at Otto Dix’s paintings.  See the cartoonish exaggerated style. DECONSTRUCT Pull off the cover of an old hard cover book: Horizon publications are wonderful for this.  And the contents are perfect for collaging. Find a…

Anxiety journaling tool. #heart #lettinggo #outflow #arttherapy

Focus on 3-4 things that are blocking you, that hinder you, frustrate you, nag at you, keep you from living your life peacefully. E.g. I picked Anxiety, Fear, Money, Low Self-esteem Write for 10 minutes in your journal about these blocks. On a drawing/photocopy of an anatomical heart, write your main words repeatedly throughout the…

Weekly artist series: Week 8 Part 1 #OttoDix

Week 8 Part 1 Otto Dix OTTO DIX: Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix 2 December 1891 – 25 July 1969) was a German painter and printmaker, noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of Weimar society and the brutality of war. Along with George Grosz, he is widely considered one of the most important artists of the Neue Sachlichkeit. [source]  …

Weekly artist series: Week 7 Part 3 ELAINE #deKooning. #husbandsandwives

Week 7 Part 3 Willem de Kooning Artists do not work in a vacuum.  I am fascinated by artists in relationships. Frida/ Diego Camille/ Auguste Lee/ Jackson Sophie/ Hans Elaine/ Willem How did they feed each other’s art?  How did they harm each other?  Influence each other?  Who was more powerful?  Are they inseparable? ELAINE…

Weekly artist series: Week 7 Part 2 ERASING #deKooning. #arttherapy

Week 7 Part 2 Willem de Kooning To read about the erased deKooning, click ERASED deKOONING Look up de Kooning in images. Copy a favorite with charcoal. Now erase it. See also: 35 PART daily journal exercise Weekly artist exploration/journaling series INTRO Weekly artist series Week 1 parts 1-6 FRIDA KAHLO Weekly artist series Week 2…

Weekly artist series: Week 6 Part 2 DOWNTOWN 81 #Basquiat #arttherapy

Week 6 Part 2 JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT Downtown 81 (a.k.a New York Beat Movie), shot in 1980-1981, was directed by Edo Bertoglio, written and produced by Glenn O’Brien with post-production in 1999-2000 by Maripol,  It is a rare real-life snapshot of ultra-hip subculture of post-punk era Manhattan. Starring Jean-Michel Basquiat and featuring such early Village artists as James Chance, Amos Poe, Walter Steding, and Tav Falco, the film…

Weekly artist series: Week 6 Part 1 A LIST OF MUSTS #Basquiat #arttherapy

Week 6 Part 1 JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT Jean-Michel Basquiat (December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist.  He began as a graffiti artist in New York City in the late 1970s and evolved into a Neo-expressionist painter during the 1980s.[source]. I don’t think about art when I’m working. I try to think about life. — This week we dive into the…