Led by Pat Calihou and JP the young artists were introduced to Red Cedar and Holly. Western Red Cedar is known as the Tree of Life by Coastal Indigenous peoples because of its versatility. Holly is an introduced species and known as an invasive plant. The young hands were each given a piece of cedar which was donated by artist Elisa Yon, each child learned how to sand, drew a design on and used their human energy to hand drilled a hole. The Holly wood pieces which were cut into tree cookies, were given to the young artists to write their name with a wood burner.
I am a contemporary outsider artist that believes in the healing properties of the natural environment. I paint landscapes in abstract as an expression of my connection with nature and its ability to provide me peaceful inspiration. As organisms on this earth I believe we are interconnected with nature and highly interdependent.
But as the psycho-social environment we live in today gets ever increasingly complex its effects on us are becoming more pervasive, corroding and sophisticated. However the energy, peace and serenity of our natural surroundings can provide a way of grounding our senses and healing our minds. I try to capture the interrelationship between my mind and nature as I see and feel it; it’s an expression of my soul captured on a physical medium and in a point in time. Going through the process in itself contributes to balance.
Driven by my own lived experience, I am a self proclaimed arts-based advocate for mental health and strive to demystify and eliminate stigma around these issues. My initiatives in this regard include being the Vancouver Caucus leader for the Artist Alliance for Mental Health, a collective member (2010) of the artist-run Gallery Gachet in Vancouver and the Producer and Host of Sound Therapy Radio a peer oriented mental wellness show on CJSF 90.1 FM. I have a true belief in human potential and in the statement; ‘art is a means for survival’.
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Creative Cafe Artist Collective 