Canada 150 Land Art Project

Mineside Trail Temporary Public Art 

Four local artists will be exhibiting their temporary art installations in West Canmore Park along the Mineside Trail.  These nature friendly temporary art installations will be free to enjoy from August 4th to October 16, 2017. This incredible exhibition of local talent will stimulate dialogue and new ways of thinking about neighbourhoods and the public realm, inspire local artists and the community as well as cultivate future public artist and audiences.

My piece is called "Centred"

I created a large-scale mandala-inspired interactive sculpture using natural found materials from the park including pine cones, sticks and river stones. My hope is that the viewers experience is contemplative, a feeling of being embraced by the circle design and the intentional arrangement of the natural materials and being surrounded by the nature of the park.

temporary-art




Day 1
Collecting and laying out the rock outline of the design, along with filling in the heart centrepiece



Day 2
Collecting more pine cones and sticks to complete the inner circle, and developing the circular pathway





Day 2
Gathering more sticks and stones and pinecones to keep filling in the second circle of the design and defining the path.



Day 3
More and more sticks and stones to complete the third circle and fully define the pathway for viewers and participants to experience and enjoy.






Day 3
Smoky summer day in July. Finished piece 40x40ft circle.
Thank-you Town of Canmore for this exciting opportunity and to volunteers to helped collect materials for this large-scale temporary installation.






Oct 8- Notice the path has been very well used over the past 2 months and the design has maintained its integrity!



Enjoying the heart centre on a clear autumn day.

Redpoll Centre Public Art Commission

I was selected to create artwork that is newly installed in the public reception area of the Redpoll Centre in Shell Place in Ft. McMurray, AB. Arts Council Wood Buffalo (ACWB) received funding for the project through the Alberta Foundation of the Arts (AFA) Public Art Commissions grant. The artwork commemorates the opening of the Redpoll Centre, a shared social profit workspace managed by the United Way of Fort McMurray, reflecting the values of collaboration, innovation, creativity, courage, and integrity. The artwork will be officially unveiled during a public event on September 29th, 2017. Though the artwork is on display at the Redpoll Centre, it is be part of the AFA’s provincial collection, a distinguished group of 2D and 3D art pieces by Albertan artists spanning decades.

I was chosen as the successful artist after a two-round selection process that was open to artists locally and across Alberta. My work aims to “recognize and honour the relationships between all aspects of Nature.” In her proposal submission, I created a triptych, a set of three paintings that together depict one cohesive image incorporating visual elements of the boreal forest and a stylized sun. I created a fourth painting in collaboration with local students which combines the same boreal forest motif with mixed media butterflies. This piece visually pairs with the main triptych and is a community collaboration project.

http://www.artscouncilwb.ca/redpoll-centre-public-art-commission/

Concept 

The overall concept of these artworks is inspired by the Japanese “Shinrin-yoko” or Forest Therapy, which is a gentle path to wellness by simply being in the forest.

Shinrin-yoku is a term that means “taking in the forest atmosphere” or “Forest Bathing”. It was developed in Japan in the 1980’s and has become a cornerstone of preventative health care and healing in Japanese medicine. (shinrin-yoku.org)

When I lived in Ft. McMurray and discovered the many trails in the area, I found that entering the forest and walking on the trails was a very relaxing and rejuvenating experience for me, which led me to spending more time on the trails and further exploring the concept of “Forest Bathing” in my life and artwork.

The idea of Forest Bathing is to go for a slow, mindful walk to contemplate nature with all the senses. This allows us to open our senses, and to absorb what is surrounding us. Connecting with nature, we consciously see the leaves trembling in the breeze, hear the branches crunching underfoot, feel the sunlight warming our faces, and listen to the sounds of birds flying overhead.

The title of the triptych is Boreal Forest Stories. This piece represents my peaceful experience of Forest Bathing and depicts the Sun rising through the forest. The design features a stylized sun in the center panel, animatedly illuminating the trees and foliage of the Boreal Forest on either side. It is a celebration of life and light. 

Boreal Forest Stories 4'x18'

The Community Collaboration piece is entitled Butterfly Effects and depicts a colourful butterfly in the forest, highlighting the beauty, lightness, and playfulness of one small creature within the larger forest environment.

 “The butterfly effect is the concept that small causes can have large effects." (wikipedia.com)

Plant Medicine "Dieta"

Arriving back in the Peruvian Amazon in February 2017 to deepen my understanding of Amazonian Shamanism by commiting myself to a traditional plant "dieta" for 30 days. 

"The traditional plant "dieta" is a process of spiritual education, connection, healing and growth. It is simultaneously intense and intensive-taking one's consciousness to new levels of depth and wisdom as one practices abstinance from indulgences (salt, sugar, spices, oil and sex) for the duration of the diet. This provides the circumstances for a connection be established between the student and plant teacher that can develop and thrive." (highpalmshealing.com) 




My Shipibo Maestros: David, Laura, Ynes, and Jose and I in front of my tambo.




Dieting Plant Medicines: Plant Teachers

"Teacher plants’ main purpose is to help humanity evolve spiritually. They do this by healing the delusion of separation, by removing false identities and by putting us in touch with truth, with All-That-Is. Some teacher plants are ruthless in showing us the truth, even if we don’t want to see it. They teach us lessons, and if we aren’t ready, these lessons may seem hard. For those who know the art of surrender and who have an open, flexible mind the lessons will never be harsh. One needs to be willing to give up preconceived notions and go beyond all conditioning and programming when working with teacher plants. An attitude of humility and a strong desire to know the truth about oneself, the universe and the nature of reality is most beneficial when working with teacher plants." (sacred serpent.net) 




30 days later...finishing the dieta...

"During a dieta while our physical energy drops significantly, we don't notice that our spiritual energy is actually increasing. We don't notice because our minds are still so attached to our physical bodiesIt is the proverbial spiritual error that we think we are our physical bodies. This error in perception causes us to miss this increase in our spiritual energy during a dieta. At the end of the dieta, the dieter will take salt to "cut the dieta". Once the salt is taken, the physical energy rises up again very quickly to levels higher that when the dietero started the dieta. The physical energy rises to meet the spiritual energy that has been developed during the dieta. (caminodeamor.org)



Receiving guidance from Maestra Laura for post-dieta

"After completion of the dieta it is important to ease your way back into the world and protect your physical and spiritual body by following a restrictive diet for another month. It is important to maintain a clean energy field for the plant spirit to thrive in you. By eating some foods or allowing intimate energy of another person enter your energy field you can "cross" the dieta and not only lose all the benefits of your hard work, but in some cases even become ill." (cantoluz.com)

Time to go home and integrate what I have learned!