A first timer

Wow it’s been an exciting year and now Ta DA !i have a web site too! I’m a blog virgin, but then again this has been a year of firsts for me. 2013 was a sabbatical, a year vacation from exhibit design and creation at the museum in Yellowknife. While searching for funding to assist me in promoting my visual art, I lucked into the mentor program at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre. Who knew what simply asking for money could lead to? While mistakenly thinking I was looking for a painting mentor I signed up for a performance. And this is a doorway I had only briefly noticed as a founding member of the Borderless Art movement (BAM). Several visual arts friends who were attracted to painting on stage to live music, and story telling. To suddenly take a reclusive visual artist out of their cozy little studio and put them onstage was the beginning of the sixty year old virgin thing. now I find myself signed up to write and create and perform a one man stage show featuring my art within the year. I am firm believer in accepting accidents that occur in my studio. Painting is mistakes , art is knowing which ones to keep. The un-intended swatch of colour that appears out of nowhere and eureka like improves that particular work. Now here was one of those out of the blue moments to take a chance and do something akin to jumping off the high board with a blindfold on, not knowing if there was water in the pool. So I began singing lessons because I don’t sing, I starting writing a story because i don’t write, I am a painter. I chose singing because it equals the surprise of my going on stage. I chose to write my story because thats what I know the best. Over the past year this “project” has developed  step by step just like my painting does from idea to sketch to underpainting to rendering to finishing touches. Good people have helped me a lot, my singing coach who was confident that my whisper could sing,  a writing mentor and several friends who’s curiosity and enthusiasm for what I’m trying nudged me along the path. The first person who listened to my voice, gave me few tips and then assured me that yes there was a voice in there worth hearing. 2013 has been very busy and exciting as I try all these new mediums, blindfolded. Where does this adventurous leaning come from? thats part of what my show will explore on May 15th at NACC. So a slightly mistaken funding application may seem an unlikely impetus to change but like that out of the blue swatch of colour that fixes the painting I’m keeping it