Wisdom at the Crossroads

Singing the Blues

“Singing the Blues" begins with a return to work after a break and a reminder that life is seriously too short to take ourselves too seriously.
We chat a little about taking on commissioned art and familiarize ourselves with colour stories. In this, we realize that the difference between old work and new work, is GROWTH.
We get a little CHI to flow in preparations for a new project, take a reflective look at works in progress and exchange criticism for critique.
“Singing The Blues” is a fresh little composition from the “Trespassing Series”. It reminds us we and the work we create are worth the investment. 
The visuals for this painting can be found on my blog.
 
𝗙𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
The Meditation begins 13:30.
In it we follow the example of CHI inscribed into the base layer of a new canvas. We colour our breath with intention and take a short meditative journey, together.
 
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada 
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
Blog: https://www.mandart.ca/blog

Pink at Ponemah

“Pink at Ponemah” offers an invitation to park yourself on a sandy beach on a shimmery summer day no matter the season where you are. Today we step into Canadian cottage country to find connection in community. We take a pause, find ourselves pretty in pink and learn a simple way to leave our own marks on the world.
Visit my blog to view images of the painting and read the full transcript.
𝗣𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗵 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 - 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝗲
The meditation begins at 10:55 in the recording.
We get into the pink and seek to experience ease, to soften, together. We allow ourselves to dream and are encouraged to come back to ourselves. We invite the light around us to become the light within.
 
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada 
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
Blog: https://www.mandart.ca/bloghttps://www.mandart.ca/blog/wisdom-at-the-crossroads-7bzg8-8s58a-3mllf-44yzs

Town’s End

Supportive communities, circles of women and flexibility are topics of conversation on the podcast this week…and where would we be without them? In this episode, I invite you to find something of your story within mine as together we discover tranquility and presence in morning routines. We learn how less can be more as we reflect on simplicity and our connections to: place, to those around us and most importantly, to ourselves. With a limited palette, the view from “Town’s End” illustrates how art is definitely open to interpretation.
Find the blog post with images on my website.
 
𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗻'𝘀 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
The story of less as more inspires a simple meditative journey in this episode. Catch the meditation at 8:15. Here we will discover moments of tranquility as we seek ease and refreshment using imagery to curate our own virtual sanctuary. 
 
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada 
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
Blog: https://www.mandart.ca/blog/wisdom-at-the-crossroads-7bzg8-8s58a-3mllf-44yzs

Yellow Head Sweet Sixteen

This week on the podcast we reflect on family road trips and recall the gift of time to be ourselves. We learn creativity is mined from routine actions and chat about some of the painterly traits I commonly use. Sunshine yellow continues in the conversation about composition and inspiration in my work in art.
 
𝗬𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗦𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗦𝗶𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
The meditation begins at 12:40. With repetition and a short meditative practice we work toward opening ourselves to the wisdom at our core. Together we share simple ways to soothe ourselves when the waves of our real life experiences roll.
 
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada 
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
Blog: https://www.mandart.ca/blog/wisdom-at-the-crossroads-7bzg8-8s58a-3mllf

Afternoon Showers

The featured pair of this weeks podcast, “Afternoon Showers” from 2008, are a celebration of a long ago date week and paint week. The pair bring sunshine indoors on even the coldest of northern winter days on the prairies.
 
They were inspired by an afternoon road trip during a prairie storm. They are a reminder that less can be more, firsts are worth remembering and that we are all happiest when we acknowledge our passions and make time to honour them.
 
𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Todays meditation starts at 10:55 and has a focus on bright sunshiny yellow.  It was inspired in part by the buoyant orb of a rising full moon which brought new cycles into focus.
 
In this short practice we use the breath to create space in our bodies. We are reminded that nothing occurs in isolation as we seek balance, while striving for presence, together.
 
To see an image of 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 and the full episode transcript, visit my blog.
 
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada 
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
Blog: https://www.mandart.ca/blog/wisdom-at-the-crossroads-7bzg8-8s58a

Ode to Tom

This week on the podcast we take a trip down memory lane where I introduce you to a mixed media painting on paper. From the earliest days of my studio practice. 
 
“Ode to Tom” is a recollection of childhood memory, first visits to lake country in what was at the time, an unfamiliar yet quintessentially Canadian landscape. 
 
We chat about my tendency to paint like a printmaker, about collage and the gathering of visual ideas and references for inspiration. 
We see north meet south in the painting where universal flatlands become coastal and inland oceans while nocturnal auroras and painterly signatures merge in colour through process. 
 
𝗢𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗼𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
The reflection begins at 10:55.
In it we explore an imaginary experience of landscape together. I hope you will join me for a restorative moment inspired by memories of connection: to place, and to the wisdom of our younger selves.
To see an image of 𝘖𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘰𝘮 and the full episode transcript, visit my blog.
 
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada 
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
Blog: https://www.mandart.ca/blog/painters-process-n7gbg
 

Painted Ladies

“PAINTED LADIES” are featuring on the podcast this week. They originate from Studio 311, in Winnipeg’s Historic Exchange District. This building is a grand old dame who was part of the exponential growth of Winnipeg at the turn of the 20th century. Winnipeg has her own identity despite being known then as both the gateway to the West and the Chicago of the North. 
 
This neighbourhood with its historically preserved warehouses, stars in their own right, have shared billing with Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck. “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” was filmed just outside our windows and transformed 2007 into the wild west virtually overnight. 
 
I introduce you to my habit of rescuing Australiana and the transformation of a brittle bundle of sticks into a cheeky and energetic still life that marked the end of a chapter.
 
We learn that not everything is for sale and that art can just as easily be a gift to ourselves. 
To see a visual of 𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 and the full episode transcript, visit my blog.
 
𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗟𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
The meditation begins at 11:11.
It is an invitation to find our own rhythm where nothing is forced, nothing is extended, nothing withheld. I hope you will join me on this interior journey seeking peace.
 
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada 
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
Blog: https://www.mandart.ca/blog/painters-process-sz7mw-dwzha

Enlightened at Beaver Bay

Art expands spaces and perceptions and becomes the background to family life. 
In this episode we are encouraged to be mindfully present using the example of a large triptych, Enlightened at Beaver Bay”, 48” x 48”, 24” x 48”, 48” x 48” from (2008) 
This painting was inspired by an invitation to Lake of the Woods, a quintessentially Canadian landscape rich in the foliage of poplars, dense with evergreens sculpted by the wind and populated with ancient granite outcroppings smoothed by a million seasons. The lake, at Beaver Bay hosts friendship and family in refreshing, deep, dark lake water at the centre of a continent. 
 
We chat a little about the painting process, where every action is a decision impacted by the choices that are made in colour, where relationships are constantly revised and reorganized as a composition evolves. 
 
To see an image of 𝘌𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘢𝘺 and the full episode transcript, visit my blog.
𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗹𝗺𝘀 (𝗥𝗵𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗺) 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
The meditation begins at 9:00.
It is an opportunity to rest as we focus on Rhythm and contemplate the support and inspiration around us in the seasonal rhythms of our lives. 
I hope you can find a few minutes to allow your peaceful heart to align with your unseen, yet ever present support system.
 
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada 
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
Blog: https://www.mandart.ca/blog/wisdom-at-the-crossroads-7bzg8
 

Child’s Play

My studio may be much smaller than the 800 square feet I once had, but it is light, cozy and warm. My orchids and I appreciate the abundance of light and the river view that this space offers. The winter white scene includes skaters and other active members of the community embracing the cold weather.
 
𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥'𝘴 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺 is an 11" x 30" mixed media painting on water colour paper from 2001. It is from my early studio days and is a lot more representational than most of my work. I am trying not to be too judgmental of this work as it is from a particular place and time and reminds me of my growth as a painter. It was inspired by a conversation with my husband about tobogganing at Tower Hill as a child. The painting focuses on the undergrowth of the forest as that is what is more familiar to me. In Australia, trees drop their leaves all year round and I would have been riding a bike rather than a toboggan in my winters back home. 
 
Early works like 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥'𝘴 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺 on paper were first under painted in acrylic which I often watered down to be similar to gouache or watercolour. I bought myself some chalk pastels so I would be forced to hold one colour at a time in my hand as I worked on top of the painted acrylic base. My goal here was to document an actual place and to provide an invitation into a space that had been so precious from the child’s perspective.
 
I hope you have pieces in your home that inspire memories of attachment to special places in your history.
 
To see an image of 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥'𝘴 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺 and the full episode transcript, visit my blog.
 
𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗣𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗘
The meditation this week starts at the 13:39 mark.
 
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada 
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
This week's blog: https://www.mandart.ca/blog/the-wave-community-8cl7z

Prairie Girl

Thank you for joining me on this podcasting journey! I am looking forward to sharing the backstories and process that have resulted in a master collection of artwork that span my career. I would like to start the storytelling with the pieces that have remained in my home and have taught me a lesson worth remembering.
 
Creativity has always been my road to presence. My work is generally colourful and semi-abstracted with a focus on the emotional connection. Though it may be inspired by a particular place, I have no desire to replicate the real place. 
 
𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭 is a semi-abstracted landscape on a 30" x 30" canvas from 2003. It is inspired by a collection of photographs taken one day on the trip home from the girls' gymnastics class. I am a curious and observant driver and I was inspired by the changing foliage on the roadside trip on our route. I love an uncurated incidental landscape.
 
In the painting, the suggestion of the landscape steps into the background and the roadside weeds are scrambling in the foreground. The colours for 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭 were dependent on what was leftover on my palette as I worked on multiple canvases simultaneously. The prairie storm sky occurred as I attempted to cover the sky in white gesso and had to remove excess paint that oozed onto the surface. From this painting, I learned to take detour adventures when I can and to let things unfold unexpectedly.
 
To see an image of 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭 and the full episode transcript, visit my blog.
 
𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
The meditation for this week starts at the 11:11 mark.
 
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada 
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
Blog: https://www.mandart.ca/blog/painters-process-sz7mw