To the one who comes into this weary mess and makes all things straight, you are welcome here. Please help me to see you more clearly, oh Way of humility that leads to wisdom. Help me to love you more dearly, oh Way of peace that leads to rest. Help me to follow you more nearly, oh Way of compassion that leads to generosity and joy. Please come into this weary mess and make all things straight. You are welcome here. . . . . . . . . . #inspiredbyfaith #myhearttoday #prayerforpeace #intuitiveart #seekingtruth #emergingartist #contemporaryartist #yegartist #yvrartist #thisbeautifulmess #graceinthemiddle #allthefeels #heartfelt #oilpainting #paintingeveryday #prayingeveryday #prayingforpeace #paintmixing #kunst #arte #picoftheday #thoughtoftheday #thecrookedstraight
I realize that I’m unfashionably late for that whole #12yearchallenge thing. Since I’m not really a selfie gal I’ll show my work instead. My older work (swipe to see) reflects so much about who I was at the time. Obsessed with getting it right. The subject matter, an Indian man with a glass eye, reflected a deep desire to see things outside my own daily existence. After the piece was drawn, I left for all those glorious backpacking adventures that I never have gotten enough of, and I know less about the world than I thought I did before I left to “see it all” 😂 . The wall mural, from work I finished last month, is all intuitive, from my passive observation of life and forests. No sketches beforehand, no photographs to draw from. All I draw from now is prayer, fresh air, forest walks, and unanswered questions. The past 12+ years have been so full of experimenting, exploring, life, growth, and beauty. Today I am finished another trip around the sun at ECUAD and I am so deeply grateful for yet another year of sharing thoughts, learning the art of respectful dialogue, and finding new inspiration everyday. It’s a beautiful thing. . . . . . . . . #lifeisagift #thankful #artadventures #learningeveryday #realism #abstract #intuitiveart #artistmom #keeppainting #arteveryday #keepgrowing #doitfortheprocess #creativejourney
Today, scientists released the first photograph of a black hole. Today! https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5081243 . . . . . . #thoughtoftheday #newstoday #scienceandart #wow #indianink #somethingnewtoday #yegartist #learntocreate #picoftheday #socool
I’m interested in the connections we make and the way we all see things differently. What is the significance of a dream? A coincidence? A helpful word from a friend spoken just at the right time and they couldn’t have known what it meant? I’m interested in making little mechanisms in each piece that somehow operate autonomously, yet also serve a greater function when they are shared between pieces. I’m also interested in breaking down these lines and planes, illustrating how sometimes, things don’t connect. I observe emotional and psychological impacts of this disruption from one plane to another (family members, religious groups, communities, cultural groups, political parties). Many of us want to build a better world. I want to know what materials we have to do this. Some people I know have better answers than me. I only know how to paint the questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #oilpainting #globalism #community #communication #workingforpeace #understandingconflict #conceptualart #arte #emergingartist #artforsociety #contemporaryart #canadianart #canadianartist #westcoastartist #yegartist #artandlife #keeppainting #detail #arte #kunst #arteveryday #thoughtoftheday #contemplativeart #shepaints #ampainting #amtrying
Final critique went well today. The hanging part drove me up the wall (see what I did there) but it gave me the chance to see what my larger pieces do in close proximity one another (verdict: they need a little space to breathe!). I’m excited to see where the rest of this series takes me, it has been the most fun 💥 🎉 💪 💫 . . . . . . #emergingartist #studentoflife #keeppainting #emilycarrstudent #artshow #wip #shepaints #paintmixing #artistmom #yvrartist #yegartist #artandsoul #treeart #creativelife #creativeprocess #paintingfordays #colortheory #intuitiveart #inspiredbynature #largepaintings #treesandroots #keeplearning #doitfortheprocess #contemporaryart #arte #kunst #artworks #painting🎨 #paintingalways
When I graduated high school, I graduated with top grades in art. My teacher’s face fell when I told him I was applying for nursing. I couldn’t even admit to myself how badly I wanted to study art. It wasn’t accepted in my family, and I was scared of taking a risk without much family support. When I graduated nursing I had this funny feeling, even on commencement day, that I wasn’t done my formal education. Eight years later, I was applying for art school and so many people subtly and vocally discouraged me from taking the step. I was a mom now. My husband didn’t have his career plans sorted, and was in a long term existential funk. Why on earth would it make sense to move us four to a more expensive city, take a big pay cut in nursing, and hope that my husband would find his groove over here? So many questions. And if art school didn’t make sense when I was 18, how much less sense did it make when I was in my early 30’s? But the feeling never changed, and some key people supported me so strongly. I wanted to go so badly when I was young. I wanted to go so badly when I got older. I just want to say this to encourage anyone who has a niggling feeling like you just have to follow your heart on some matter. I want to encourage you to take your dreams seriously, as they will be the seeds that grow to nourish your beautiful contribution, your most heartfelt gift that you can give yourself and the people in your sphere. I am so glad I am on this journey, taking the risks I wanted to take as a younger woman. Finishing up second year and everything is working out, even with the wrinkles along the way. My husband has found his path too in his own way and it is so fun to cheer him on as he has cheered me thus far. Emily Carr is full of amazing profs who I have found to be so supportive as well, understanding the ways I must bend and flex to accommodate the needs of my kids. And my kids! They have been just the most interested little people in this process. I am so happy I waited to take this creative path for them to benefit in some way too. I’m so thankful for this journey so far! . . #happyartistmom #emergingartist #artstudent #yegartist
These days all I’ve had on the brain are the nature of debates, conversations, arguments, the implications of monologue vs. dialogue. In my brain have been these loops non stop. Loops during conversations. Loops in the sleep/wake state. Loops while reading. Loops while walking. Loops loops loops. My recent works have helped me articulate these lines of thought, giving me some reprieve from all that thinking. Over time I have learned that looking at thoughts and communication patterns is better than just being stuck on the looping paths that they seem to always want to take me on, with no rest for miles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . #mindfulness #keepyourthoughts #picoftheday #loops #oilpainting #roots #colortheory #wip #canadianartist #emergingartist #yvrartist #artstudent #studentoflife #shepaints #keeppainting #paintmixing #yegartist #yegarts #amthinking #toomuch #abstractartwork #kunst #creativejourney #creativelife #studiotime #carveouttimeforart #artandsoul
I have been running every day I can in the woods. Part of it is for my body, part for my soul/spirit, and part is to increase awareness and gratitude for life around me. To find influence as an artist is a state of mind. When the heart is open, the eyes of the heart are wide and there is beauty and glory to be found in everything. I’m thankful for seasons when the clouds lift and I can see all this wonder for what it really is. I hope I never take it for granted. . . . . . . . . . . #inthewoods #creativityfound #exploretocreate #creativepersuit #detail #canadianartist #emergingartist #happyartist #shepaints #inspiredbyfaith #heartisfull #springishere #newgrowth #innerpeace #creativeasventures #acrylicandoil #everythingcomesalive #yegartist #westcoast #yvrartist #kunst #arte #shecreates #creativesoul #amliving #happymonday
Spring is here and when it comes I feel this fresh aliveness, it just barrels through me, it feels like the sunrise of the whole year ahead. My birthday is in spring, Earth Day to be exact, and this year it is on Easter (for me: represents the triumph of life over death, love over hate, peace over anxiety, grace over judgement, clarity over confusion, and hope over despair), so all the beauty and new beginnings are compounded into one Holy Whole. Yeah...I’m feeling it early this year...😍 . . . . . . . . . #springishere #newbeginnings #happyandwhole #earthday #oilpaintings #lovewins #glorious #earthy #earthart #thewholeearthisfull #myheartisfull #allthefeels #colorinmotion #yvrart #yegartist #ohmyheart #shepaints #paintmixing #keeppainting #savedbygrace #artstudent #studentoflifeforlife
When you spend your long lived days in and out helping them to look at things for themselves, to take in all the ideas and phrases and beliefs that abound and turn them all around, take them apart, and question them, and only apply them with a mix of humility and curiosity and openness, when you spend every day in some sort of conversation saying about any old thing: “I don’t know the answer, and you would have to think about that question for a very long time and maybe at the end of your life, after asking everyone you know, you still might not know that answer fully.” When parenting is about taking all the things, big and small, and helping them to consider every angle, and then they go ahead on their own and take an old chair, dismantle it, take all the pieces and nail them together in the shape of a heart, a sculpture even, to show you, that tired old thinky mama, that they are starting to see possibilities in something so mundane as a cracked old chair in the garage, and besides, that they love you. well. That is really something 😍 . . . . . . . . #creativekids #childhoodunplugged #sculpture #thoughtoftheday #springbreak #artistmom #makesomething #proudmama #westcoastkids #canadianartist #creativejourney #actsoflove
Studying subtle relationships between the pieces. What do they have in common? What is the background for one? The foreground in the other? How do they operate when turned upside down? They continue to learn from each other as the layers are added. . . . . . . . . #dyptichs #emergingartist #yvrartist #artstudent #oilpainting #keeppainting #hopeful #amtrying #shepaints #ampainting #colortheory #paintmixing #canadianartist #wip #workinprogress #problemsolving #peacekeeping #studentoflife #intuitiveart #yegart #yegartist #tinyart #artlovers #kunst #artcollections #boss #abstracts
“Listen to the trees talking in their sleep,” she whispered, as he lifted her to the ground. “What nice dreams they must have!” -Anne (L.M. Montgomery) . . . . . . . . . #acrylicart #oilpainting #canadianartist #emergingartist #springishere #hellospring #freshpainting #shepaints #paintmixing #dreaming #ampainting #yegartist #picoftheday #workofheart #interior #arte #kunst #womanartist #intuitiveartist #art_ #natureart #inspiredbynature #creativelife #keeppainting #artisti #paintings #painting🎨 #yvrartist #westcoastartist #inspiredbyfaith
Forging connections. Is there a point? We spend time highlighting uniqueness and identity, and for good reason. So finding things we all have in common then, is another type of work isn’t it? Is it a good work? I think these can happen simultaneously: revealing uniqueness and unearthing commonality. Sometimes this whole interacting thing seems pointless to me. What is the purpose? I feel so discouraged by conflict on tiny and massive scales. It drains me! An argument with my kid, hearing about all the sadness that seems to be everywhere always. Why? And really, what can one small and very confused mind do in a broken and tired world? I find the purpose always behind the process reveals itself in good time. I don’t really know what else to say. Except this. If I ever say something that just annoyed the heck out of you on here or in real time, please just come out and tell me. I’m always looking to see things a little clearer, and nothing in my life has done that better than the search for common ground in a mess of confusion and miscommunication. It’s all I really know how to do, the only sense I can make of anything. . . . . . . #artinprogress #lifeinprogress #conflictmanagement #peaceonearth #thesearchforpeace #findingclarity #letstalk #imtrying #emergingartist #oilpainting #wip #yvrartist #yegartist #commonground #artistmom #mycreativeprocess #shepaints #paintmixing #ampainting
Loop dee loop. How did we find ourselves in this mess? How do we find our way out? . . . . . . . #commonthreads #wip #oilpainting #paintmixing #creativeprocess #contemplativeart #miscommunication #untangling #thetiesthatbind #canadianartist #emergingartist #shepaints #problemsolving #artistmom #womanartist #yvrartist #yegarts #yegartist #colortheory #intuitiveart
Please don’t ever think you have nothing to offer. Our world isn’t the same without your best, most caring and empathetic self. We need to work together. The stakes are too high. We need to hear each other in this crazy web of communication where everyone is speaking and there are so many opportunities to learn and grow from comments that resound and comments that infuriate. There are so many opportunities for negative, harmful and hurtful ideas to spread. I know it sounds modernist, and maybe too idealistic, but what is the alternative? . . . . . . #unity #workingforpeace #partofawhole #workingtogether #stophatred #stopwhitesupremacy #loveyourneighbor #thoughtoftheday #lovecomesfirst #stayawaketolove #cometogether #emergingartist #yvrartist #yegartist #peace #canadianartist #oilpaint #differencesaside #artinconversation #artinlife #paintmixing #shepaints #ampainting #respect
“I think art is a total thing. A total person giving a contribution. It is an essence, a soul...in my inner soul, art and life are inseparable.” -Eva Hesse . . . . . . . . . . #processart #oilpainting #intuitiveart #abstractart #emergingartist #canadianartist #thoughtoftheday #ampainting #shepaints #paintmixing #creativeprocess #dowhatyoulove #mycreativejourney #rawart #keeppainting #creativelife #sheexplores #artistlife #yegarts #yegartist #yvrarts #yvrartist #allthefeels
Of Life The first story, as in the first thing to know about life is that there are two trees: one is called Life and it is the tree of the spirit. The other is called Wisdom and it is the tree of the soul. We taste of wisdom and contemplate existence, but we don’t find life there. We try and try to find the Illusive tree of life. It appears in dreams. It is felt in a song. Sometimes it feels closer on drugs. Why can’t we find Life? Because we tasted from wisdom, and sometimes it tells us that the deepest, truest Life to be found, a way to believe like a little kid, with no bitterness, no fear, well that’s just not wise. It will lead to pain. It is not scientifically accurate. It is not socially acceptable. It is not fair. It is not Real. Where is that tree of Life? I know a path, a broken, old, narrow one: Follow a Child. Wash some feet. Put your head down and have a good cry. Whisper to the mountains of fear and doubt inside: it’s time to move out of the way. . . . . . . #treeoflife #thinkingagain #keeppainting #spirituallife #forestart #acrylicandoil #wip #treeart #creativeprocess #canadianartist #yvrartist #yegartist #yegarts #paintmixing #intuitiveart #inspiredbyfaith #faithlikeachild #interior #shepaints #ampainting
Part of a greater whole. . . . . . . . . #circulation #oil #wip #studiotime #studiosesh #processart #emerginartist #acrylicartist #canadianartist #yvrartist #yegartist #wip #pink #interior #artistmom #shepaints #ampainting #keeppainting #oilpainting