My new friend, Chrissy Davey (aka @craftyfatalist) recently connected with me on Instagram about my embroidered drawings. Serendipitously, she had taken pictures of a street art wall (in the lane behind 119 East Cordova in Vancouver) a few years back- which amazingly turns out to be the wall I worked on with my youth program. She sent me some photos that take my breath away. The wall may be gone. But the ghosts live on.
Photos by Chrissy Davey:
That is why I love the creative process- especially street art. You create, you share, you let go. It deteriorates but leaves a mark in the heart.
Photos of the wall from my archives:
With fondness, I look back through some of my blog posts about the wall. What I love so much about that is the connections made with the artists and with the community…
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet…
– TS Eliot
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On my way to Williams Lake to co-facilitate forums with youth and program leaders for the viaSPORT YOUTH INCLUSION PROJECT! So excited to spend the week with this extraordinary community!
Bringing along the last batch of portraits I drew from last year’s art camp (based on photos by Rick Magnell)!
As this is a wheatpaste project developed from my initial obsession (that began in 2012) with the street artist JR…
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I knew the Punky Lake project had to include photo portraits. Rick was THE PERFECT PHOTOGRAPHER for this purpose! He not only has a profound gift for the visual but also a demeanour that makes even the shyest participant at ease in front of the camera!
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He also has an ability to go with the flow! It was only Day 1 and we were all just getting to know each other, but Rick managed to take EXTRAORDINARY portraits of the participants and support staff. I am BLOWN AWAY by the beauty of these faces as captured by Rick.
I will let Rick explain:
“Sarah Jackman from The Punky Lake Wilderness Camp Society offered me the opportunity to photograph the Journey and Mind Mapping Art Camp with Kat Thorsen. My first task was to head out to the Old Training and Recreation Complex in Riske Creek and take portraits of all the youth and adults involved in the camp and have 8×10 prints made. The prints would then be cut out and become part of the mural project with in the gymnasium. Once I got there Kat had already got the group to all sketch pictures of raccoons and after lunch started teaching the group how to sketch anatomical hearts. These would all get incorporated in to the mural. Everyone was great, of course you get the few shy ones but we managed to get them in front of the camera.” – Rick Magnell
“Day 3 was where I brought out the 8×10’s to be wheatpasted on the mural and documented the rest of the day. The day concluded with a closing circle where everyone shared their thoughts about the art camp. Two of the youth were presented drums along with Kat who received a drum herself as thanks. Elder Gary finished the circle with a drumming song. Gary has some incredible stories, I did approach him to see if he would be interested in my Story project. Overall it was a great group and a great experience for myself to photograph. I appreciate the opportunity and it was great to meet Kat and everyone else involved in the project.” – Rick Magnell
… the power of paper and glue… – JR
Thank you Rick for making the art camp extra-special! I look forward to drawing all the participants from your photos!
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I want to thank and acknowledge the Toosey (Tl’esqox) and Tsihquot’in First Nations, Old School Training and Recreation Complex and Punky Lake Wilderness Camp Society (Sarah Jackman, Samantha Dick, Bruce Baptiste, Ann Guichon) for hosting the Summer 2016 Art Camp. I also want to thank and acknowledge the elders, the chef, the photographer, the chaperones, youth workers and the participants!
Holy shit- let’s be honest- being a freelance creative is tough. It’s a bare cupboard lifestyle and yet there it is- that inexplicable drive to keep creating– knowing that you somehow do not have the option to stop.
WTF is up with that?
You need to create. It’s so fucking weird.
And you need to help others create. You feel and you see everyday the power that art has to heal, to empower. You want others, who haven’t experienced that, to experience that.
You are two personalities: the solitude-mongering hermit and the engaging group facilitator. All your actions are always about the act of creating.
But why the drive?
Without art you do not die. But without art you do not live.
Hmmm. Wise words from a student.
So there you are. You:
EAT SLEEP CREATE.
EAT SLEEP CREATE.
It’s a bare cupboard lifestyle.
You take small teaching jobs and revel in the gorgeous therapeutic act of sharing the joy of creative expression. You are good at it. The results are wonderful. But it’s not consistent. Nor regular.
So you hustle and hustle. Wake at 3 AM and churn churn churn. Use your creative mind to come up with how to fill the cupboards. How to pay the rent.
You may take low paying contracts well below your skill set. Then you reach a certain age where that is no longer an option both for your stamina and mental health. And you have bigger fish to fry.
You network and develop bigger programming and have several hopeful irons in the fire.
But you’re still in bare cupboards mode- you are used to it. No Frills for no name products. Dollar store for art supplies.
So you hustle and hustle. Wake at 3 AM and churn churn churn. Use your creative mind to come up with how to fill the cupboards. How to pay the rent.
You apply for and– HALLELUJAH!– receive grants to implement those teaching opportunities. You feel valued for your experience. Woohoo! OMG- THE MONEY IS IN, they say! Woohoo! The grant will help you survive for several months as you prepare to share the gorgeous therapeutic act of creative expression. And you can take a break from 3 AM wakeups and you can focus on the project.
But wait— shit…
Not so fast.
You are all of a sudden hostage.
The grant money won’t be paid till after the program is completed.
Um… but… but… you are a bare-cupboards-freelance-creative who does not have several months of income to be able to develop and implement the program before getting paid. Oh shit.
So here it comes. The sense of fear and defeat. So you beg. You plead. But the answer is no.
So embarrassing. The mind and heart ready to go back to old patterns of self-attack.
But you are you, so you hustle and hustle. Wake at 3 AM and churn churn churn.
Use your creative mind to come up with how to fill the cupboards.
How to pay the rent.
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The panel above was created as I sat in the shit met it with love and humor. And yes, the story on the panel is painful reality.
But…
I am not ashamed any more. And fuck it, I am not holding back.
I am embracing that this is the path I am on…
and I’ll keep walking it for now because it is actually quite beautiful and hopeful.
And I seem to have been born for it and am maturing into it.
Make sure to check out:
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But back to reality… it is rent cheque time-
So I am taking custom orders for embroidered portraits through my blog store.
You can also check out other offerings!
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YOU CAN SUPPORT MY PERSONAL CREATIVE WORK VIA PAYPAL HERE:
We are tapping into our calling, our purpose, our joy in this SACRED CONTRACTS journal series. It is inspired by Caroline Myss. The journal series is an experiment on my part, and I welcome you to join along.
Recall Part 1: Future and Present where we took time to look at where we would like to be, and where we are in this moment.
THE FIFTH CHAKRA represents your faith and higher communication. Here is where you discover your inner truth and use your voice to convey it to the world. Organs associated with the Fifth Chakra include the thyroid, trachea, neck vertebrae, throat, mouth, teeth, and gums. Spiritual and emotional issues that can block energy in the Fifth Chakra are the struggles between speaking versus listening, pushing forward versus waiting, and being willful versus compliant… – Dr. Christiane Northrup
Journal or draw:
Take note of when your voice gets caught in your throat.
Take note around when and with whom you feel safe to speak your truth.
Begin the honest dialogue with yourself. Work towards creating a safe space within your heart and mind so that when you speak your truth with anyone in any context, you allow the emotions and you simply sit with them.
Many of you have asked, pleaded, begged… so today I’m doing a special SALE!
Today only ending 12AM PT: order your handdrawn portrait in my signature style for only
$30!
18″ x 24′ on newsprint in china marker
Regular price ranges from $100-$300
But until midnight tonight, for $30 per portrait, I will email you a high def photo of the portrait based on photos you email me. I will also be wheatpasting the original on our Gastown street art wall.
