Category: Books

We are currently in a historical moment, witnessing some large shifts in society that will affect our lives into the future.  Even though sometimes I feel like I am watching from some far off distant corner of the world, separated by water and in my little art studio, I know that I am still part of it all.

A weekly planner has been part of my daily life for over ten years now.  There are countless ways of keeping track of life’s commitments; such as in a wall calendar, computer or phone. I enjoy being able to write on paper and getting an overview of a whole week at a time.  Once the year is done I have a record of this time in my life in one little book.

While reading all her books in succession I started to feel like Emily Carr was becoming a friend which I looked forward to hanging out with at the end of the day.  Maybe it is the frank, direct way in which she wrote – believing you shouldn’t “use a big word if a little one will suffice” or  the humour she found in everyday life, which made her feel so real.

I’ve travelled on many trails in a variety of landscapes; such as circumnavigated the Yosemite Valley, hiked up Mt. Albert Edward in Strathcona Park or a ridden a myriad of trails in twenty years of mountainbiking.   Every time I set out on a hike, bike ride or even start a new painting I am aware that I am assuming some risk, taking a step into the unknown and that I may emerge from the ordeal or event, changed in some way.  I find this process to be an essential part of who I am.