WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS PODCAST.

SYNOPSIS
Episode 50

Fifty! Can you believe that? 50! Let’s say that again! 50 is definitely cause for celebration for all the “staff” at WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS the podcast. That would be me and my husband if I let him call himself the employee of the month for listening in on Tuesdays. We can pretend his Law career is just a side gig for the day. Actual thanks extend to Andrea McCallum in Ontario who has been editing and loading up my episodes to this point. Find her at concreteandcrystals on instagram to see how her art practice evolves.

If we weren’t doing a dry April ahead of warmer weather it would definitely be time for some champagne, clapping hands and high fives. So, for now a virtual cheers but please make sure to splurge on the best virtual champagne you can find. I know I will.

Thank you!

This episode is shared with gratitude for all who have been along for the ride: seeking discovering and finding pause within the noise of the busy lives we have chosen. Your support and enthusiasm is appreciated.

Numerology officiondos would remind us that 50 signifies completion while also inspiring new beginnings. 50 offers an opportunity to reflect on the growth and evolution that has brought us to this present moment while also inspiring us to trust our intuition and embrace the possibility the future holds.

Our mindful meditation concludes this episode with a colourful visual journey where we invite our inner child out to be inspired to play, with colour and materials. Believe me when I say, there are no lines to be coloured in here. I hope you enjoy this peaceful pause to conclude our 50 episodes.

Detail “Big Sky Country I” Acrylic on Panel, 24” x 36” 2023

GROWTH feels like an appropriate subtitle for this fiftieth episode, especially considering a podcast was something I didn’t even imagine I would be a part of before I started. It just kind of evolved after I took an online course with Cathy Heller and began asking myself two little questions that kept coming to the fore for me,

“If not now, when? and “Why not me?”

Tech is not my forte so imagine how chuffed I was when my web designer Chantelle complimented my developing tech skills. Yes it would be appropriate to imagine i wide grin and taller demeanour here. Her comments took me back to where I began, which admittedly oscillated between fetal position and tears when it came to anything tech related that inevitably tripped me up. But here I am now sending out links making recordings, reels and narratives, embedding data, writing and organizing weekly blog posts, audio uploads, drop box nonesence, you name it I am making the effort to learn how to do it.


“There is no time like the present, no time more appropriate than where we are”

Chartreuse on the palette …thinking of spring with spring greens

“Together we are seeking and finding, listening in and making connections.”

A large part of this podcast has been the meditations that conclude each episode. I feel they are the most important part and I have tried to be aware of developing a variety of tools for our meditative toolbox in the process. I find it remarkable that together we have been working on a meditation practice for the last 49 episodes of the podcast.

Can you believe that? 49 episodes in the can and this one will mark a 50th milestone. That means there are a lot of meditation options that you can freely return to at anytime. I really appreciate the fact you have shown up for yourself to join me in taking a pause in the busy lives we have chosen. And I am proud of us for taking this time to develop our own route to becoming more present on our own paths. If feels good to be taking the reins in hand and working towards a greater and more fulfilled and aware life.

Please consider sharing your favourites with a friend. We all deserve to find a quiet respite in the busy lives we have chosen. Sharing is also a free way that you can support my creative endeavours. Thanks :)

Detail Greens from “New Naturalism”

Creativity as you know if you’ve been listening in with me is my avenue to presence.

When I get to engage in the process of creating on the paint wall the world quiets and I can literally zone out or get into the zone, however you like to think of it. I know you have had moments when you have been fully engaged in some activity or action, when you have been fully present on your own journey, however that looks for you. When we really get down to basics, …Life is the journey, so why not make that journey the best balance we can imagine.

Working on “Emerald City” Triptych

I’m trying to be aware and present for my journey in all the ways that it presents. I have discovered there are definitely seasons in our lives, some are our favourites, while others, …maybe not so much ….
but If we can learn to appreciated all of the seasons for the different things they bring, for the lessons we discover within them and the connections we make to others in the process, our journey will be enriched because of it.

Crystal inspiration in heart space green at the studio.

The Meditation…

In our meditative practice we are re training ourselves by trying out new ways to be present and to live in the moment. I hope the meditations that end each episode have been helping you to become more mindful. I have been mindful of my choices in sharing stories from my real world experience that might inspire
you to connect to your own stories . As One listener reminded me recently the stories are food for thought that take her on her own interior journeys through memory and inspiration.

Colour is at our disposal in the meditation this episode. Choose one, choose all.

Getting into the green…

In this episode we bring colour within on our intentional breath and aim to be accepting and imaginative within this visual practice. We begin with green because green has been a recent feature on my paint wall and it is also associated with our heart chakra. Who can’t benefit from a little heart medicine, any time or day of the week? When I think of green there are many varieties that come to mind: It might be the Chartreuse of new spring growth like that on my palette above? Or the warm pale mid green of aventurine that also has the ability to radiate positivity and to diffuse any negative emotions?

You might connect to the deep rich healing patterned green of malachite. Malachite is known as a stone of transformation as it brings ease to our system during periods of change and helps us to heal. In the recording I ask you to visualize the green of your choice. You can isolate separate colours or invite them all in on a blended pallet of refreshment. Colour decisions for me often end up in the “too hard basket, so I use them all.

Chartreuse detail from “Growth: Inner Resource/Wisdom”, Diptych. Acrylic on Panel, 2023, 36” x 48” each.

It’s time to invite our inner child out to play

We continue our meditation in the recording by visualising those colours forming a crayon or a marker and
imagining ourselves reaching to take a favourite tool in hand and begin to make marks on a large blank a sheet of paper.
The child within embraces this request because they are naturally enthusiastic about the invitation to feel and are genuinely curious to find connections between materials and surfaces. This inner part of ourselves is uninhibited and wowed by the discovery of this colour and the miracle of lines as they move in a generous sweep of fluid action.

Green detail, LTGLC Office Commission, Sweeping movement

Adding to the arrangement…

We add blue to keep things harmonious. Blue and Green are adjacent to each other on the colour wheel and naturally relate. Blue adds a breath of fresh air to the meditation with its associations to the throat chakra and our ability to share our voice (light blue).

What version of blue are you drawn to?
The blue of the sky on a clear summers day? The clear icy inference of aqua marine imbued with the properties of happiness hope and everlasting youth? Or maybe the rich aqua of turquoise to shed light on undiscovered artistic abilities?
Your preferences might lean to the dark side and the rich dark navy blue of sapphire that sparkles with the promise of wisdom and expansive vision at the third eye? In the recording we notice the course of your intentional breath and accept these creative and metaphoric decisions. You can access the podacast recording on all platforms. Press the arrow in the player at the top of this blog to listen directly on Podbean, or scroll to the end of this post and press the listen now button to hear it on Apple Podcasts.

Green detail, Tropical House, The Leaf, Winnipeg. I love a good contrast like these red stems and the lime green fronds. red and green, opposites on the colour wheel to keep our visual cortex firing..

Creativity really is a gift. The meditation tries to infer the gift that comes with agency. This simple invitation is without any expectation or judgement. It is simply an invitation to feel, explore, engage and allow. It is essentially a reminder that the marks we make become a permanent record of our physical presence. Right now wherever we are.

“I allow myself to become present, in the knowledge of who I am,

what I can do and who I can be.”

Big Sky from the Sweet Suite Series, 11” x 14”, Acrylic on panel, 2023

At the studio…

This week has been heavy on the painting as well as the showing. I finished up works for THE PULSE GALLERY Show, “Spring Fling” that opened April 1 st at Johnston Terminal at the Forks in Winnipeg.

I have always loved the connections I have made through my art and I was grateful to be able to reconnect with old friends and new at the opening. On more than one occasion I regretted not recording conversations I had with attendees as they would have been great fuel for future episodes of the podcast.

As you know WiSDOM AT THE CROSSROADS is all about presence: for me on the paint wall and for all of us through meditation and story that hopefully inspires a connection to your own stories through my examples.

After 50 episodes I’ll be taking my own advice and pressing the pause button on this initiative. I have new tech skills to learn as my editor Andrea will not be continuing with her side gig. Taking a pause will allow me a chance to recalibrate and to come back to the podcast at a later date with a renewed focus.

In the meantime I’ll be continuing my growth journey by learning how to replay the first 50 episodes in full or in part to keep us in the habit of our practice. I hope if you have questions or suggestions you will feel free to reach out. I appreciate your comments questions and feedback.

Thanks for listening in…

Our time together is coming to an end for the time being. If you have enjoyed our visits or have found something that resonates for you within my stories I hope you will return to your favourite episodes regularly, and consider sharing with a friend. Every share, review and comment helps this small initiative to grow and to be found within the complex algorithms that challenge us on social media.

“Can’t say enough about your podcast yesterday, it made me feel so calm. It was such a blessing! Thank you.” A

I appreciate you listening in to this podcast and joining in on the visual journey with me here on the blog.

I will look forward to continuing our journey seeking presence.

So, until next time, be you and be well.

With gratitude as always,

Amanda

WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS PODCAST.

The Synopsis…

Tis the season for new growth with spring on the horizon at last. A new season on the paint wall is allowing for experimentation, discovery and dependably, colour.
Preparations for a “Spring Fling” at THE PULSE GALLERY in Winnipeg are shaping up to be the beginnings of a refreshingly colourful new chapter. Locals can join your host at The Forks April First, 2-4 pm. You’d be April foolish to miss it. NO JOKE!
The show continues until the end of the month.

The Mandart meditation that concludes this episode continues the theme of growth and discovery. We take in a little forest bathing without the need for travel or passports. This self care practice can refresh your senses and help you to soar whatever the weather.

Fresh off the paintball.. “GROWTH: WISDOM/ INNER RESOURCE”, Acrylic on Panel Diptych, Each panel 36” x 48”, 2023

At the studio…

At the studio recently as a new season begins to emerge, the snow begins to melt and the residue of winters weight begins to lift I have been painting a lot of references to the natural world. Painting with colour has long been my antidote to winters length but the winter is also a gift in that It allows for time to work with focus at my studio practice.

First marks on a new triptych are made in gesso without a plan or an intention. They are a physical response to the materials at hand and the surface that receives those marks. I stand to paint and this size 20” x 40” x 3 canvases is a comfortable and generous space to work on from that perspective.

A new audience at the PULSE GALLERY …

Preparation for a exhibit gets me excited and I will paint till I literally run out of time. Above are the beginnings of a new trio I am undertaking just a week ahead of my show. I don’t intend to show them then but I will continue to work on them as my creative energy flows.

There is something about a deadline that lights a literal fire under me and keeps me in flow. It can actually be a little exhausting but also a lot of problem solving fun. If you have been following along you will be aware that black has not been part of my studio practice for a very long time. Instead of saying never I am embracing change and taking opportunities to play and experiment. An accidental purchase of black gesso instead of my usual white has proven to be an opportunity to change things up and to try new things.

And why not? Each studio session takes its own form. I am trying to trust my experience in the painting process and allow the conversation between materials and a surface to begin with the gesso. Gesso is the sealant that prepares the surface to accept the paint without diffusing it. In the recording I say I don’t care about adhering to the criticism of my inner voice, and while that is what I am striving to do of course some days that is easier than others. Of course I care about my work and the execution of the process and the end product. I care about the perceptions of all who have invested in my work over the last 25 years or so, what I don’t care to do any more is to hold myself to a rigid scale. I am working at ditching perfectionism and embracing the materiality of the media I choose to work in. I’m a painter not a photographer or a graphic artist and I am embracing the intrinsic actions as they appear on a surface… for me that is definitely growth.

How do you see yourself embracing growth in your daily actions?

This trio of 20” x 40” panels are developing.

I have included this image as an illustration of a second or third pass across the surface of this evolving triptych. I am still concentrating on covering the entire substrate with gesso, only in this group, I am inviting those earliest marks into the creative conversation.

Green seems to be a colour I am drawn to lately. That might be because spring is in the air? Or it just might be part of my evolution as a painter? Friends have commented that previous bodies of work have a noticeable focus on a particular colour. Could the current green trend be related to the heart chakra? Who knows? I guess hindsight will offer a clearer perspective down the road. Stay tuned to see how this trio evolves.

Here is another swath of green as it appears on a recent canvas. I employ a lot of contrasts in my work. This hint of pink, which I love in the mix of this particular painting helps to give the composition energy. In much of my work the reactivity of contrasting colours often becomes a compositional devise that helps me to direct the viewer within the visual story of the composition.

Embracing change, trying new things…

And why not? Each studio session takes its own form. I am trying to trust my experience in the painting process and allow the conversation between materials and a surface to begin with the gesso. Gesso is the sealant that prepares the surface to accept the paint without diffusing it. In the recording I say I don’t care about adhering to the criticism of my inner voice, and while that is what I am striving to do of course some days that is easier than others. Of course I care about my work and the execution of the process and the end product. I care about the perceptions of all who have invested in my work over the last 25 years or so, what I don’t care to do any more is to hold myself to a rigid scale. I am working at ditching perfectionism and embracing the materiality if the media I choose to work in. I’m a painter not a photographer or a graphic artist and I am embracing the intrinsic actions as they appear on a surface and for me that is definitely growth.

How do you see yourself embracing growth in your daily actions?

“GROWTH:WISDOM” is the Left side of the diptych shown at the top of this blog. This duo are the last pair painted ( and completed) for the “SPRING FLING” exhibit Pulse Gallery in Winnipeg are hosting. The show runs from April 1-30, 2023.

After many years of wearing all the hats I am accepting the invitation to be supported with gallery representation. I hope if you are in Winnipeg at the Forks in the month of April that you will stop in to JOHNSTON TERMINAL, 25 Forks Market Road, Winnipeg, to accept a refreshing dose of colour into your soul.

“We grow when it rains”.

“GROWTH:INNER RESOURCE” Right side of Diptych, Acrylic on Panel, 36”x 48”, 2023.

Mindful Moments within a Prairie forest…

Inspiration is everywhere and I find the real world and my studio world flow together. Thoughts of a new season are bringing a new colour palette into my work and also inviting thoughts of being outside experiencing the natural world into focus.

Those thoughts got me thinking about friends of mine who recently purchased a new property in the countryside. They have spent a few summers now getting acquainted with their woodland home and as they have gotten more familiar with the landscape and its inhabitants they noticed the tops of trees reaching through the dense tangle of generations of overgrowth.

 With an exploratory mindset they began to excavate some of the organic debris, to decommission the residue of past seasons and to make way for what could be new.

As they worked to clear to rubble of untamed growth, they unearthed a pair of boulders set about six feet apart. I’m told these large, round, time worn stones, felt like markers that defined an entry point or a gateway to an intentional place.

As the clutter of undergrowth was gradually cleared through their actions and intentions they came to realise their land was host to a small henge or copse, a ring of pine trees growing in a supportive community.

What a lovely analogy their industrious experience of landscape provides.

I adopted that exploratory mindset as I developed this episode’s “Mindful Mandart Meditation”.

Settling in to our meditation with an exploratory mindset…

In our self-care practice in this episode a real time story of growth and refreshment inspires a refreshing pause.

When I begin my practice I like to close my eyes to get in touch with the idea of being still. Closing my eyes also helps me to tamper my curiosity and bring my focus within, to be where I am.

 When you listen in on the recording you ‘ll notice we combine our personal visual with the international breath. As we notice the inhale we imagine the refreshing scent of the evergreen forest, warmed now beyond a hint of spring, to fill the air with its exhilarating fresh scent.

We invite that refreshment in on the breath and might also welcome the wisdom the pine forest is thought to shelter within.

 We take a moment to appreciate the grounding effect of these living totems that form a physical bridge connecting to the earth to the sky, and Invite and accept this natural refreshment .

Press the arrow in the player at the top of this blog to listen in to the complete episode or you can access the show and listen in on your preferred platform. I hope the time spent will help you to feel refreshed and ready to personally grow.

Green in the details in recent work. I am attracted to contrasts and this quinacridone red smeared in a blend with clear gesso makes for a lovely “popper”. It illustrates one of my effects, that of remnants from an under layer peaking throughout to the surface. Those “poppers” are often my favourite features within any painting. They become compositional details that help to lead the eye of the viewer into and through a composition.

Thoughts for your journal…

Taking to a journal or giving ourselves an opportunity for a little reflection after a meditation is a lovely activity if time allows. Here are a few questions you might like to contemplate.

What might we have hidden in plain sight?

What we can invite to melt away with the new season?

 What might we be able to work through to provide room for expansion within us?

I hope you have enjoyed a restorative pause.

Our time together is coming to an end for the time being. If you have enjoyed our time together or have found something that resonates for you within my stories I hope you will return to your favourite episodes regularly. I also hope you will also consider sharing this podcast and this blog with a friend.

I appreciate you listening in to this podcast and joining in on the visual journey with me here on the blog. I hope the images are helpful and that you are finding something of your story within mine.

So, until next time, be you and be well.

With gratitude as always,

Amanda

WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS PODCAST.

“Each day is an opportunity to begin again, to forget the troubles of yesterday, to abandon our attachment to the promise of tomorrow”

Getting quiet and being still sounds simple but it can actually be quite complex

The queen of distraction gets lost and found in this episode. Organization may not be my forte but it seems when I am ready for the words I have written while getting in touch with the deepest parts of myself the universe will find a way for them to literally cross my path.

Rediscovering meditative notes on presence when I am ready to accept and share their resonance was a reminder that today is where we begin. Nowhere is there more promise or potential than in this moment.

Join in to the mindful self care practice at 8:40 in the recording, to seek and find:
Presence, possibility and peace. We take a literal breath and engage in a simple process to connect to the wisdom the resides at our core.

“Tofino: Reflection”, (detail) Acrylic on Canvas, 22” x 30”, 2023. This painting which for some reason refused to display in its complete form was part of a commission process I was working on as I was preparing this episode for publication. Gotta love technology???!!!

This episode is about presence 
Which sounds pretty simple, yet getting quiet and being still can actually be very complex for me and I suspect I am not alone in that challenge 

The words I’ll share in this episode came from a set of notes I had made during a meditative moment when I sat with a pencil in hand, got still and quiet and in touch with the wisdom at my core. 

I have lots of notebooks and my mother will not be surprised to learn I can’t always find the ones I am looking for. In my role as the Queen of distraction I had, surprisingly, misplaced this batch.

Organization may not be my forte but it seems when I am ready for the words I have written in the process of connecting to the deepest parts of myself, the notes I’ve made at a previous time will cross my path at an opportune time. Three scratchy looseleaf pages were found crumpled up on the bottom of my bag. I’d been carrying them around for some time. It seems I was ready to hear the words I had written when I cleaned out that purse no doubt in search of something else? In that moment I must have been ready to listen and  to really hear them. 

Now  I’m ready to share this session with you…,

But first, the studio…

In being present for this episode I am sharing works in progress or paintings like this one, Tofino: Reflection”, above, fresh off the paint wall, here on the blog. As I was preparing this episode I was also getting ready for a show and finishing up a commission so I have a lot of balls in the air. It is definitely a good time to be reminded about presence.

Being present and giving myself permission to pause this week was particularly timely. This 22” x 30” acrylic on Canvas I am calling “Tofino Reflections” is newly finished and awaiting my signature. It was an exercise in trust. I am more successful in my creative endeavours when i allow myself time to pause, to take a step back, to regather myself and my thoughts.

“Tofino Reflection”, Acrylic on Canvas, 22” x 30”, 2023

They say a picture is worth 1000 words and so I am sharing snapshots from a couple of different stages, in the making of “Tofino’s Reflection. We had been lucky enough to stay in Tofino at Long Beach Lodge where a wide expanse of sand invited fall beach walks between the tides.

I take lots of photographs on my travels but I never intend to recreate exactly what I see in the landscape. The landscape provides a starting point and the painting evolves into its own entity through the process of painting. I had started to paint with thoughts of some of the vignettes that inspired me while in Tofino.

I began with…

Drawing in wet liquid acrylic with a thin flippy brush. I prepare my surfaces with gesso to seal the surface first. New this year is black gesso in the underpainting. I used the black gesso to rough in some basic forms and begin to define the composition.

Next steps were to cover the canvas’ surface, in this case I added white and clear gesso with a soft Bismarck Yellow to begin the foundation of the sky. I like contrasts remember. Beginnings are fast and fun. Find the video on my instagram favourites @mandartcanada. Or drop me a line and I will send it to you if you are particularly curious. I am a private ate painter so you probably won’t find me doing an in person demo but in the sanctuary of my studio I am happy to set up the tripod with my iPhone and press play now and again.

Next steps in the process…

Once I had established a foundation I used clear gesso and some quinocridone red to fill in some of the gaps where raw canvas was exposed. My primary goal is to ensure the surface is covered. The type and colour of the marks in the base layers are really not that important but as the decisions I make later on in the process get more complex sometimes the residual of what was left behind from a previous layer can become a major player on the surface. Check out the deep red marks on the lower quadrant of both sides of this painting as they appear in the illustration at the top of this blog.

Personally they are my favourite “poppers”, the colour devices that do the work of leading the viewers eye around and through the composition.

While my physical environment looks a little more like this outside in real time I am working at being present inside. It’s a bit too chilly to be doing a meditation outdoors, even a walking meditation for any length of time in the winter, so presence is found on the paint wall or in my mediation chair. If you have an opportunity to be outside in nature as part of your meditative practice I would encourage you to do it. Restore relax and pause to find presence wherever you are.

Notes on presence begin here…

I had begun my written meditative process  with a paragraph as I always do. It begins in pretty much the same way each time and I explain the whole process word for word in episode 42 of the podcast, “Mindful Mandart Moment: Process and Practice” 

You might like to go back to that one for the details but for now just know that I get intentional with my breath, 
release my fear and make a request to the universe. I then relax my gaze and dive into the process that has become my familiar pause.

I began to write. The words flowed from my pencil in longhand and like every other time i sit with pencil and paper in hand engaged in this same process. Each time I am always surprised at the wisdom that forms on the page  when I read what I have written at the end of the session
These are the words I wrote then when I made a specific request to learn more  about “presence”
I’ll invite you to Listen in with me and hope that the words that follow might resonate in some way for you too 

My trusty meditation chair…

The “download” begins here…

Each day is an opportunity, I wrote 
An opportunity to begin again, to forget the troubles of yesterday to abandon our attachment to the promise of tomorrow. Today is where we ARE and today is where we begin
Nowhere is there more promise

Open yourself to potential for, in seeking we find; (and access) presence, possibility, peace 
Three terms to apply in personal governance on any given day.

How to achieve and maintain presence I asked… 

Ist efforts are to avoid distractions or at least try to minimize our tendency to be distracted
It is ok to recognize and acknowledge a change in our plan or an inspired thought, it is less effective to chase after each and every one  

Acceptance of where we are does not mean we are destined to remain there 

”Presence is not a static state.”

Marks on a surface draw me in every time. Painting, my avenue to presence whatever the weather.

”Being present is being aware of the moment, whatever that moment provides.” 

“Journey” Acrylic on Canvas, 24” x24”, 2010

The written meditation continues …

We get ourselves tangled up when we confuse denial of our present state with forward planning 
We can definitely plan in the moment and be inspired to dream but we need to check in with our motives when doing so 
We can ask ourselves am I making future plans because I don’t recognize this present moment as valid or am i avoiding where I actually am because it is not what I really want or find desirable? 
Acceptance of where we are at is our first order of business, 

We can only be where we physically are 

Making  plans, dreaming and long term goals are all worthy activities. By all means imagine dream and strive to become who and what you aspire to be and do
However along the process of planning and dreaming try to be aware and present in moments as they present themselves 

We can acknowledge yes this moment is a beautiful gift or, it  might not be my most desirable, nor is it what I strive to be, do or have, but whatever the situation I recognize I am here, right now, I am in This fold 
I accept where I am in the present because from the present is where all future steps emerge 
We Check in with ourselves to ensure we are not avoiding the present by living in our dreams 

To check in with ourselves we can ask;  Am I aware and accepting of the moments of my journey? The good ones and the not so good ones? 
Life grows through ebbs and flows, it evolves from the simplest observation through every perception and action,  that combine to be part of our unique individual journeys
Being present might take us within ourselves to evaluate where we really are 
To check in with ourselves to pause and recalibrate 
To Be 
Be more. When we are still we might then and do a little less. Be less inclined ti juggle all the balls in the air, at least for a moment 
When we pause to be present we can more easily evaluate where we are and from there make choices to implement the next stages of our lives 

“Slow down. Take in the majesty of what is, instead of rushing towards what could be.”

So how do we keep ourselves mindful enough to stay present? 

A good friend of mine once reminded me to simply, Be. To be just where I am wherever I am 
It’s amazing how powerful a few simple words can be
By just being more I was inspired to do less but I was also aware of where I was, I could pause to take in the details or deficits of my situation which without slowing down to be present for I would surely have missed 

Be more. Do less. Became a mantra of sorts for me, my email signature as a reminder to myself and for the benefit of those I connected with should they avoid skimming and read correspondence to the very end? 

Be more do less us a simple reminder to slow down to seek presence 
Right where we are 

An example might be being thankful for the small things in Life 
A good breakfast 
A conversation with a friend 
Finishing your morning swim or run or yoga practice 
Spending a moment patting your pet
Watching a child play 
It’s the small moments that combine to become the narrative of the story we write of our lives 

“Pause, to be present …”

It feels like a nice way to conclude our mindful practice in this episode 

Being PRESENT and achieving PRESENCE doesn’t happen at the exclusion of everything around us.

Rather presence comes from our ability to fully engage in the moments of our days.
To be AWARE, to notice the world around us, to pause to connect to all the small things. 

The meditation in the recording is a simple breathing practice that is a great way to sooth and calm our energetic and physical bodies. Its one I return tp regularly as I hope you will to find a mental and physical break in the action of your day. It begins at 8:40 on the podcast recording. Play it on the player at the top of this blogpost or hit the listen here button below and forward to the time stamp. Wisdom at The Crossroads the podcast is available on all platforms.

Wisdom at the Crossroads, my book of the same name is now available for sale on my website.

Accept the invitations your environment provides. This coastal pathway leads to one of my favourite South Coast beaches. Wherever you find yourself, be there.

Thanks for listening in…

Our time together is coming to an end for the time being. If you have enjoyed our time together or have found something that resonates for you within my stories I hope you will return to your favourite episodes regularly, or consider sharing with a friend. I appreciate you listening in to this podcast and joining in on the visual journey with me here on the blog. I hope the images are helpful and that you are finding something of your story within mine.

So, until next time, be you and be well.

With gratitude as always,

Amanda

WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS PODCAST.

Thanks for joining me here on the blog. This episode is about embracing the season.

A Canadian winter is a lot of things and white is definitely one of them. In a world of white we dive into the magic of the landscape on a day where boundaries merged with atmospheric change to insulate the view. The view viewed through a window to wind sculpted snow banks and variations on a white theme from the warm side of the glass became the inspiration for a reflective pause.

Easy does it is definitely the theme of our self care practice this time around. I hope it provides a little respite for a few minutes in a world where our only constant is change.

Listen in on the recording to take a few restorative moments for yourself.

We’ll get reflective as our vision narrows yet somehow simultaneously expands.

1

This episode is about embracing the season and Inviting the light 

I was at the studio when I sat down to prepare this episode.

Where I live we were in the midst of winters white.

Some might think it strange that my art work doesn’t really feature white considering I am surrounded by so much of it for a large part of the year. Believe me I am very familiar with White in the landscape. 
I may even have been known to complain about the cold on occasion but the winter does have some positives. It allows space for some prime work time for me. The winter is a time of year when I’m not distracted by the garden and outdoor activities.

Our family has always tried to embrace the season whatever the weather but I will admit that sometimes even walking outdoors can get a bit complicated on the prairies, if it’s available at all. I wasn’t born with the balance gene that is bred into Canadians and I can get tripped up by the season. Ice isn’t my favourite so instead I find I am drawn indoors where I get to cocoon a little in my bright and sunny studio that offers a cosy contrast to whatever the weather can dish up outside.

2

I’ve been a morning swimmer forever

I get my physical exercise on the yoga mat before my swim in the pond at the “Y” on weekdays

Winter can be winter on the other side of the glass walls at the y too but there is something really satisfying about driving to the Y in the early morning through brutal cold on icy roads before diving into the deep end of an indoor  swimming pool, where the air is humid and friendly faces are all around

In the pond as we regulars call the pool at the YMCA I can be in my own lane, undisturbed, with the rhythm of the stroke and the muffled sounds of  trailing bubbles as my morning soundtrack.

Just like the my morning swim that takes me to a different zone, The action of painting can be like that too. The process takes me to a place where the world quiets and I am fully present in the process

Engaging with a surface at the studio is an active and colourful antidote to a long  Canadian winter where the white of the winter also creates a neutral backdrop and allows me to focus,

I am grateful for the time I get to take action on All the ideas I have banked through the summer when I’m busy in my garden or on my faithful lake bike or waking a beach or trail, 

3

White appears in my painted as under layers but not usually as a feature in the surface. Instead my paintings are generally known for their colourful presence. Lately though, I am trying new things and winters white may become more  of a player on the surface? 

New work seems to be incorporating more contrast and I’m also adding softer tinted layers with transparent gesso to encourage visual space in what can often be a busy surface

These decisions for me as a painter are personal decisions that are leading me to try new things but whether you are a painter or not the choices we make each day however small can change the path we take and

as a result, lead us in new and undiscovered directions. 

4

Many would call that change which technically it is, but right now I like to think of it as growth
Taking chances, being playful and experimenting with small additions to my creative tool box
I have no expectations for these new works but I am enjoying the process of being present as I work on them and i am looking forward to seeing where these new choices will take me 

I’ll keep you posted as these new projects develop and resolve 

5
Thinking about meditation and the ability the practice has to quiet our minds and take us to the places our soul yearns to explore, got me thinking…

The meditation in this episode was inspired by an experience in real time. It was a Saturday afternoon in the middle of a Canadian winter at our cottage which sits alongside lake Winnipeg on the prairies

As I watched the winter on the other side of the glass a narrative developed
So, For this practice on the podcast I invite you into the story of my space and thoughts as they evolved

The softness of the winter light coupled with imagination invited the noise and speed  of the world on the other side of the glass to soften and slow and that’s what I hope this recollection will do for us all Allow us a moment of respite from the busy lives we have chosen, to pause, to rest and reflect

The meditation begins in the recording with an invitation to take a few restorative breaths to alert your system this time is for you as we step into this reflective moment together. Simply press the arrow in the embedded player above as we pause to settle in for a few minutes of self care.

we invite personal expansion within this enlightening resonance 

6

No two moments are alike at the lake and the one I am about to describe was like none I had experienced before 
In that moment the view was comprised of a marshmallow moonscape where shadows were painted mauve and drifted across the wind sculpted snow.  Light snow dripped in constant crystal waves that fell across the yard in sheets ,obscuring boundaries. Even the snowmobilers had abandoned their trails across the frozen lake in the enveloping quiet.

Imagining white…

What is your experience of a peaceful landscape? What does your imagination conjure for you when you imagine white?

You might imagine this white as a sheer white curtain that drapes softly across your view or a translucent sheet that fluffs and flows and floats down to rest upon the landscape like a translucent bedsheet cast across a soon to be made bed. 
That Saturday morning felt kind of magical as I looked out across sculpted snowdrifts and falling snow. I paused and waited, paid intimate attention to the atmospheric changes that took place before me, became a witness to the creation of a tonal retreat where less felt like it was absolutely, spiritually more.
As the horizon blurred I found my gaze resting in the infinite absence of colour before me.

“I paused, my vision narrowed yet at the same time somehow expanded.” It was as though all barriers dissolved and I saw only the luminous glow of the peaceful white light before me. The magical lightness of the light around me become the light within. I was no longer at home where the horizon levelled my gaze, I was, simply home.

7

The following quote evolved out of my own written, meditative practice. It resonates for me as I hope it will for you too and feels like an appropriate way to end our time here together.

“All is available In love And in Light In love, We are the light“

I hope you have enjoyed a lovely light filled pause and that the images and notes here on the blog are helpful. If you are finding something that resonates for you on the podcast I hope you will consider inviting a friend to join in to your favourite episodes. Every download or review helps this podcast to grow. I wish you peace and ease and hope you will take opportunities to pause and be totally you, often 

Until we meet again.

Amanda

White has not been a major player in my work but this whispy sky is from a small painting called “Pink at Ponemah”. The brushstroke tempered the colour in the sky just like the falling snow did in the reflective story I share in the recording on this episode. “Pink at Ponemah” was featured in episode #9 in case you would like to go back and hear her story..

This episode is about embracing the season and inviting the light… 

I was at the studio as I sat down to prepare this episode. Where I live we were in the midst of winters white.

Some might think it strange that my art work doesn’t really feature white considering I am surrounded by so much of it for such a big part of the year. I may even have been known to complain about the cold on occasion but the winter does have some positives. Most importantly it allows me space for some prime time to work at the studio. In the winter I’m not distracted by the garden and outdoor activities.

Our family has always tried to embrace the season whatever the weather but I will admit, sometimes even walking outdoors can get a bit complicated on the prairies, if it’s available at all, particularly for someone like me who was not born with the innate sense of winter balance my children have inherited.

While my fam loves to skate and ski i prefer to cocoon a little in my bright and sunny studio that offers a cosy contrast to whatever the weather can dish up outside.

This detail is from “Prairie Girl” the very first painting I discussed on the podcast in episode #1. White in this painting was being used to erase what I thought needed a new beginning. That act was a reminder that small changes can leave a lasting impact. In this case, the white tempered the elements that were bothering me. I am pleased to tell you I also learned to leave well enough alone. lol

Being who we are…

I’ve been a morning swimmer forever. Water is my elemental home. I get my physical exercise on the yoga mat before my swim in the pond at the YMCA on most weekday mornings.

Winter can be winter on the other side of the glass walls at the “Y” too but there is something really satisfying about driving to the “Y” in the early morning through brutal cold on icy roads and then diving into the deep end of an indoor swimming pool, where the air is humid and friendly faces are all around.

In the pond as we regulars call the pool at the YMCA I can be in my own lane, undisturbed, with the rhythm of the stroke and the muffled sounds of  trailing bubbles as my morning soundtrack. It is wonderful thinking time.

Just like the my morning swim that takes me to a different zone, The action of painting can be like that too. The process takes me to a place where the world quiets and I am fully present in the process.

Engaging with a surface at the studio is an active and colourful antidote to a long  Canadian winter where the white of the winter also creates a neutral backdrop and allows me to focus,

I am grateful for the time I get to take action on all the ideas I have banked through the summer when I’m busy in my garden or on my faithful lake bike or waking a beach or trail, 

“Mojito” was one of 4 paintings on paper, 22 1/2” x 30”, that featured snow. White wasn’t so much a feature but more of a suggestion inferred by shape. Mojito and others in that colourful winter series can be found on the podcast in episode #12, “Cocktail Hour” if you want to hear a little more about them.

At the studio…

White appears in my paintings as under layers but not usually as a feature in the surface. Instead my paintings are generally known for their colourful presence. Never one to say never, lately I have been trying new things and winters white may become more of a player on the surface? 

New work seems to be incorporating more contrast and I’m also adding softer tinted layers with transparent gesso to encourage visual space in what can often be a busy surface.

These decisions for me as a painter are personal decisions that are leading me to try new things but whether you are a painter or not the choices we make each day however small can change the path we take and

as a result, lead us in new and undiscovered directions. 

White gesso is where all of my paintings begin. The gesso is the first layer that forms a barrier between the porous substrate which can be paper, canvas or birch panel. In this case it was a small wood panel.

“Change is our only constant”

Many would call those painterly choice4s a change, which technically it is, but right now I like to think of it as growth. I am taking chances, being playful and experimenting with small additions to my creative tool box.
I have no expectations for these new works but I am enjoying the process of being present as I work on them and I am looking forward to seeing where these new choices will take me.

I’ll keep you posted as these new projects develop and resolve. Feel free to check in @mandartcanada on instagram anytime or drop me a line if I forget to post exactly what you are wondering about.

The view from my temporary winter desk at the cottage during a daytime snowstorm tempered the landscape white. Drifting sheets of falling snow reduced visibility, dissolved the horizon line and reduced the depth of field my vision could process. This pic was taken after the snow had stopped and the skies had begun to clear. earlier in the storm I could barely see the trees in the forground.

The same lake view at twilight on a clear day with the rich blue sky of winter on the prairies. Don’t be fooled. A bright blue sky in the depths of winter often means the temperatures have dipped. Without cloud cover to insulate the earth at ground level it gets colder. Who could imagine the weather warming up to snow? The horizon and the expanse of frozen Lake Winnipeg are visible here unlike the white out of a storm.

Thinking about meditation and the ability the practice has to quiet our minds and take us to the places our soul yearns to explore, got me thinking…

It was a Saturday afternoon in the middle of a Canadian winter at our cottage which sits alongside Lake Winnipeg on the prairies. As I watched the winter on the other side of the glass a narrative developed. For this practice on the podcast I invite you into the story of my space and thoughts as they evolved.

The softness of the winter light coupled with imagination invited the noise and speed of the world on the other side of the glass to soften and slow and that’s what I hope this recollection will do for us all in the meditation. I hope it allows you a moment of respite from the busy lives we have chosen, a moment to pause, to rest and reflect .

The meditation begins in the recording with an invitation to take a few restorative breaths. To listen in simply press the arrow in the embedded player above as we pause to settle in for a few minutes of self care.

“We invite personal expansion within as we rest within this enlightening resonance” 

One of the few examples of winter white in one of my paintings. This little gem is “An Everywhere of Silver”, 16” x 16”, acrylic on panel. Listen to her story on the podcast in Episode #22. Available on all platforms or scroll down the list of blog posts to find it right here on my website.

No two moments are alike at the lake and the one I describe in the recording was like none I had experienced before. 
In that moment the view was comprised of a marshmallow moonscape where shadows were painted mauve and drifted across the wind sculpted snow.  Light snow began to drip in the morning and developed into constant crystal waves that fell across the yard in sheets, obscuring boundaries. Even the snowmobilers eventualy abandoned their trails across the frozen lake as the enveloping quiet took hold.

Imagining white…

What is your experience of a peaceful landscape? What does your imagination conjure for you when you imagine white?

You might imagine this white as a sheer white curtain that drapes softly across your view or a translucent sheet that fluffs and flows and floats down to rest upon the landscape like a translucent bedsheet cast across a soon to be made bed. 
That Saturday morning felt kind of magical as I looked out across sculpted snowdrifts and falling snow. I paused and waited, paid intimate attention to the atmospheric changes that took place before me, became a witness to the creation of a tonal retreat where less felt like it was absolutely, spiritually more.
As the horizon blurred I found my gaze resting in the infinite absence of colour before me.

“I paused as my vision narrowed, yet at the same time somehow expanded.” It was as though all barriers dissolved and I saw only the luminous glow of the peaceful white light before me. The magical lightness of the light around me become the light within. I was no longer at home where the horizon levelled my gaze, I was, simply home. At one with all that is.

This detail comes from a commissioned painting that resides in a Winnipeg Law Firm. It is an example of two things: my particular use of white in a prairie sky and also the show through of a previous iteration on the surface. Not every work takes a straight path from A to B sometimes they take a few trips through A to B, C or even D before they find their feet. I can’t recall what intention this piece began with but I do love the way marks made for another purpose find their way to the surface to become the “poppers” that lead the viewer through the composition on the surface. Life. The journey.

Thank you…

The following quote evolved out of my own written, meditative practice. It resonates for me as I hope it will for you too and feels like an appropriate way to end our time here together. after chatting about white light.

“All is available,

In love

And in Light.

In love,

We are the light.“

Ahh, Exhale…

I hope you have enjoyed a lovely light filled pause and that the images and notes here on the blog are helpful. If you are finding something that resonates for you on the podcast I hope you will consider inviting a friend to join in to your favourite episodes. Every download or review helps this podcast to grow. I wish you peace and ease and hope you will take opportunities to pause and be totally you, often. 

Until we meet again.

Nameste, Amanda

WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS PODCAST.

”Every journey begins with a single step”

In this one we get a little primal, we explore first steps on some big new panels on the paint wall and take an exhilarating trip through the process of marks and the making.

The legacy of creators through generations of history, thought and process became the focus of travels in real time through the Art Gallery of Ontario during a recent visit.

How great is it to get out of town, to explore Art and history, to be inspired and curious and to make connections to the past, to wonder about the lives of others in different times?

Like many of our mindful moments the meditation in this episode is a virtual experience we explore together.
Getting cosy and curious we are encouraged to consider the marks that are left behind, the marks we are making in the moment and what future marks might become our legacy

Beginnings on the paint wall are fast and fluid and really get my creative juices flowing. This large pair, Wisdom/ Inner Resources, are 3’ x 4’ each so together make quite a statement. I don’t know where they will take me or how they will end up but I am looking forward to adding to their creative journey after this blog is posted. Hopefully they will be finished in time for my show “SPRING FLING” at THE PULSE GALLERY, April 1-30 at Johnson Terminal at The Forks in Winnipeg.

Art-y-Facts…

I hope all is well in your world and that if you are local you might even have an opportunity to get to a warmer climate for a winter getaway
I, sadly, do not have plans for a warm beach walk right now but the potential for a virtual one is always on the back burner for me, particularly when the mercury drops so severely as it has lately where I live.

I’m calling todays episode “Arty facts” because it was inspired by both work and travel
At the studio I was most recently underpainting two large birch panels (see above) 3 x 4 feet each
I love the beginnings where I have no attachment to an outcome
Where I tune into a primitive part of myself and fully immerse myself in the process of adding paint to a surface. The concept of tuning into a more primal part of ourselves is what inspires the meditation later in this episode.

Interior staircase by Frank Gehry, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada.

This sensuous interior wooden staircase is a stunner. Seeing it does not do it justice. The experience of function defies the perception of materials. We all should be so lucky to experience the work of Frank Gehry.

Get out of town!

Getting away without an agenda and a view to discovery recently took me to Toronto. I don’t know about you  but my first port of call in any unfamiliar city is always to the largest gallery I can find. In Toronto it’s the Art Gallery of Ontario that I go first.

The galleries of the AGO became my temporary office as I opened myself to seeing.
I love to view life in its details, to witness snippets of humanity, to experience marks made by another hand, sometimes, centuries ago.
When I walk along our beach at the lake I find each different trek inspires the gathering of a particular type of stone or shell. One day colour might be my focus on another the shape of a stone or the texture of a lucky rock might be what comes home in the palm of my hand.

On this particular visit to the gallery I was attracted to patterns, the patterns  of process and patterns made with different materials, by the hand of makers sometimes centuries apart.

What do you look for when you enter a museum or Gallery?
My focus narrowed as I was led through halls to dedicated spaces, where I was mindful of mark making and drawn into journeys that rode the energy of the brushstroke, telling stories of the past that now so fully fuelled my present.

Marks that have become a permanent document of a moment of someone’s physical presence in time.

Frank Ghery: Facade Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.

Architecture is another story I find fascinating. The How’s and the Why’s combined with the engineering feats that harmonize, contrast, unify and expand structures in our urban spaces.

A Journey through history…

The Middle Ages inspire me every time. I imagine I spent a past life involved with illuminated manuscripts .

i find I am drawn to particular items within the exhibits and I try to follow the unspoken cues that lead me into the clues they share that develop into stories in my thoughts
I always leave inspired and full of questions. On this particular visit I wondered about the artistic statement made by an anonymous scribe on a large ceramic platter in 1370 and how  this token of creative energy had survived history unscathed.
How did it find its way to this moment to be held preciously behind glass and within my gaze. How many eyes have feasted on its delicate, rhythmic marks? How many more will also be touched by the enormity of this feat in the future?
As my travels through curated spaces continued I found gold bouillon with impersonal utilitarian marks  stamped centuries ago, and glass dated as early as AD 70,  fragile hand crafted miracles of survival that resonate with luminosity as the elements impact their delicate exterior surfaces

This medieval platter was dated at 1370. I can’t help but to wonder about the anonymous maker whose marks have been salvaged from another age. An artifact like this one gets me curious. I can’t help but to be drawn into potential narratives that might explain the life of the artist and the world they lived in. How do these graphic marks on ceramics survive the adventures of history unscathed?

At the Art Gallery of Ontario…

I bonded with Canadians: David Milne, AY Jackson, JEH MacDonald, Tom Thomson and studied the marks they made and allocated to landscapes, observed the details they used to describe the elements, curated into compositions that hobbled together from the colours on their palette to express the energy of a moment.

At the AGO the physical structure of the space was equally inspiring. Centuries of architectural thought and practice merged to curate space and light and accommodate growing and expanding collections
Frank Ghery’s internal staircase drew me literally on a circuitous route to the apex of the building. It is a celebration of craftsmanship, engineering and design. The sensuous utilitarian curves lead us through layers of history and expression
The view from the top of the stairs offered the reward for our efforts with views across the city that echoed the merger of old and new, contrast and uniformity and shared connections to the past that are still respected in the present.

”On our travels along our daily paths or the circuitous routes we wander when exploring a new place or site we are offered an opportunity to see and to connect to the world and ourselves.”

I love to discover characters in galleries and museums like this guy whose personality resonates from the materials that contain him.

Luminous miracles of ancient glass from 70AD. How does something this fragile and precious survive history to be encased behind glass for us all to see. and experience in the present?

On my visit to the art gallery of Ontario that day I was inspired to admire and imagine, to think and to wonder and to bring that curiosity into my own experience of the human condition.
The game I played took me into the artists thoughts where their distinct marks revealed themselves as moments of expression that captured, recreated or explored the essence of a subject.
How does your journey evolve when you visit other cities? Is it to a gallery that you go? The mall? The countryside? What gets you thinking?

Tom Thomson Winter Sketch on cigar box lid, AGO, above.

Creativity and painting in particular are my favourite route to presence. The process of painting quiets me as it draws me in to the action of problem solving in colour. Engaged, painting, time can literally fly by.

Tom Thomson was clearly present in his travels into the Canadian wilderness. His expert marksmanship with colour and line is undeniable.

Our Self Care Practice…

I am fascinated with marks and the making of marks, curious about the choices artists make as they make their unique marks. Sometimes I wonder why my own marks are what they are and why they aren’t more like yours or theirs?
In our meditation practice today I invite you to join me on a journey that will encourage us to explore the making of marks and maybe even inspire us to think of the marks we have left behind in the past, the ones we are making in the present, and maybe even what future marks we’ll be inspired to create.

Like all of our mindful moments this one is a virtual experience
You need only a comfortable spot to rest and relax and the ability to pause the business of your day for a few minutes of self care.

David Milne Trees above.

In this episode the meditation is an invitation to revisit a more primitive part of ourselves. You are welcome to explore your own memories as you relax and listen in on the recording or you can choose to accompany me as I share a personal moment with marks and the making.
In the episode I reconnect with much younger version of myself. This part of me is aware and curious and excited to explore and discover

I hope you will choose to listen in on the recording to take a virtual pause with me.

Early marks on a new painting above are free and fluid and all about getting a feel for materials on a surface with no attachment to outcome…or even a plan, if i am honest. I strive to let go of ego and reconnect with the primitive part of myself that feels, as my younger self did, an instinctive connection to paint on a surface.

As a painter I have the privilege of revisiting moments of process and curiously regularly
If you haven’t had an opportunity to invite your inner child out to play with colour , what are you waiting for?
I would encourage you to give your self permission to try it once in a while. You might be surprised at how much you will like it.

Thanks for listening in…

Our time together is coming to an end for the time being. If you have enjoyed our time together or have found something that resonates for you within my stories I hope you will return to your favourite episodes regularly, or consider sharing with a friend. I appreciate you listening in to this podcast and joining in on the visual journey with me here on the blog. I hope the images are helpful and that you are finding something of your story within mine.

So, until next time, be you and be well.

With gratitude as always,

Amanda

WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS PODCAST.

”Warm thoughts on the paint wall on a cold winters day take us on a visual journey.”

SYNOPSIS (48)
Y2E5 “Wise Words: Presence”
Publication date March 21st 2023

“Each day is an opportunity to begin again, to forget the troubles of yesterday, to abandon our attachment to the promise of tomorrow”

Getting quiet and being still sounds simple but it can actually be quite complex

The queen of distraction gets lost and found in this episode. Organization may not be my forte  but it seems when I am ready for the words I have written while getting in touch with the deepest parts of myself the universe will find a way for them to literally cross my path

Rediscovering meditative notes on presence when I am ready to accept and share their resonance was a reminder that today is where we begin

Nowhere is there more promise or potential

Join in to the mindful self care moment at … in the recording to seek and find:
Presence, possibility and peace as we take a literal breath and engage in a simple process to alter the course of our natural rhythms and connect to the wisdom the resides at our core

The creative action in real time invites some reflection as works in progress at the studio flow through the lovely subtleties of initial marks…only to crash and burn when judgement is applied.
Add your own expletive here!

In the meditation that accompanies this episode on the podcast we repurpose those flames and take a stroll down memory lane to a crisp evening in the fall. The story leads us to pause around a campfire, to visualize the snap and pop of poked logs in a contained circle where we too pause to be present and to invite the aromatic medicine of the sacred fire within.

With this self care pause we’ll aim to slow down, to dip into the creative magic of being still.

We talk about paintings blooming and then crashing and burning on the paintball in this episode. It’s never the plan but unfortunately it does happen, possibly more than you might imagine. The image above is a detail of the right hand side of the “Pink Pair”, whose early marks were fluid and energetic yet soft and subtle. I had put the canvases aside and come back to them as I reacquainted with my space after an absence.

Burning with Passion…

I was excited to get back to work at the studio after a holiday absence but there was definitely some rust in the muscle memory to deal with. Getting back on the creative horse is the best way to deal with that. It’s like taking that plunge and getting back into the swimming pool, but not necessarily diving into the deep end. This session was more like wading into the shallow end to rest the waters before I got back to the rhythm of my practice. It’s definitely a process that builds and it doesn’t happen overnight.

The pink pair moved through several stages. This is one of the midpoints when i started to lose it by over doing it. In life as in art less can definitely be more.

Every painting period develops its own characteristics. I might begin with an intention but the process of solving a visual equation in acrylic colour often creates its own path. As go back to work and got more comfortable with my process I wanted to ground myself in the feeling of a loaded brush addressing a static surface. I gave myself permission to begin again on what I like to call a “painting start”, a canvas pair that had been under painted but abandoned or left to cure for any number of reasons.

I never approach my work with the expectation of producing a masterpiece at days end, and its just as well as i would be bound to set myself up to fail before I had even begun. If I allow myself to be present in the process each painting session becomes an opportunity to make more choices, to play mental mind games in colour, and to allow the composition to unfold.

The Pink Pair Left Side 20” x 40” acrylic on canvas 2023. This is where this part of the composition left off . There might be minor tweaks yet to come but I will do my best to leave well enough alone having lost and regained this pair once already.

“Choosing to take a particular path in a painting is making a choice. Not making a decision is also a choice.”

I have made many choices in the production of this pink pair for example. They had beginnings in an earlier season and have evolved. Some of the decisions I made in the process may not have been my best choices but in the cumulative process of painting, where every decision is impacted by those that came before it and will impact those that will follow, we are bound to have some blunders.

With this pink pair the ebb and flow of the creative process was in full swing. At one point i ended my day deflated and disappointed that I had worn my “Over Painting Crown” ( I hate that tight fitting accessory!) and lost the early subtleties that were leading the composition forward.

When I resist the urge to clean things up I produce some of my best work. In this instance I totally F…ed things up. Like any passionate golfer a bad day on the course is better than any day away from it and so too the painting process draws me back every time. I try to see my blunders as an opportunity for new decisions on the paint wall that might lead me down a new and unexpected path.

As Forest Gump reminds us “You just don’t know what you’re gonna get”, and that’s half the fun of the process., of eating chocolate and painting.

The Pink Pair, Right Side 20” x 40” acrylic on canvas, 2023.

Changing perspective by viewing a composition in a different scale is a strategy I use often. At the end of the day at the studio I try to remember to take a snapshot of where I am leaving things off. It makes for an effective way to reevaluate the composition on my phone before my next studio visit. I spy a spot for a little yellow in this one but that might be the last addition before a signature is added and I move onto to new challenges..

The duo may not have followed my earlier thoughts as I had intended but in allowing the composition to evolve through the cumulative choices I make, they did come to a resolution. They’ll be available for in person visitation at the PULSE GALLERY in Winnipeg at Johnson Terminal at The Forks April 1-30, 2023.

The mesmerizing action of an outdoor fire pit is shown above. This is where our meditative moment will take us in today’s self care practice. In fact these are the cedar fronds curling amongst the embers of the fall fire I speak of in the recording. I can almost inhale the scented magic of Cedar as I recall this seasonal memory from lake country.

Its a little too chilly where I live right now for an outdoor firepit. I’d have to dig out both the woodpile and wade through 3 feet of snow to uncover the firepit in the front yard at the cottage . The Hoar frost pic opposite was taken a few snowfalls ago.

Our Meditative journey this week…

A seasonal story of fall clean up warms us up on the recording begins at …in the recording. We gather virtually around the firepit on the shores of Lake Winnipeg. Our meditative tool kit opens up to invite you to bring your creative imaginings along with you as I share a story and some prompts to join me , wherever you are and whatever the weather. This seasonal memory is shared in story format so there is nothing to but but lie back and listen in, unless you want to take me and some headphones outside on a walk with you, if that is an option where you are.

The firepit takes centre stage as we add our collected offerings to the sacred circle and invite the earths medicine to rise from the flames and warm us to the core. The power of visualization can take us anywhere we want to go when seasonal limitations prevent us from being present in the physical experience. Baby it’s cold outside as I type but our thoughts warm up our self care practice at the end of the podcast with our “Meditation”.

This pic of the cottage during a Hoar Frost was taken a few snow falls ago. The front deck is currently enveloped in a wide wind sculpted curve and is no longer distinguishable as a different level. It’s a little too chilly where I live right now for an outdoor firepit. I’d have to dig out both the woodpile and wade through 3 feet of snow to uncover the firepit in the front yard at the cottage.

Last week I mentioned I had been interviewed by the inspiring Whitney Baker Host of the “Electric Ideas” Podcast. Whitney, from the Windy City aired the interview we did together on her Podcast this week.

Whitney is a woman with a purpose and a sense there is more out there for us all. She is on a reflective journey. Connect to a sense of possibility by listening in to Whitney’s Podcast, “Electric Ideas” where each week she interviews a woman who is lighting a path and offering others hope. I was honoured to be invited to share my story of the Wisdom I leaned at a literal Crossroads when world changed. What began as a healing journey through change became the book, “Wisdom at the Crossroads” (2018) and now a podcast sharing the same name. Listen in the the interview below.

Click the arrow in the embedded player below to listen in to the interview.

Work at the office…

Not all day of everyday is a paint day. There is business to attend to and I have been working with my website designer developing an opportunity for visitors to purchase my book, “Wisdom at the Crossroads” and Mandart Greeting Cards directly from the website. Why have I been so resistant to doing that for so long?

Chantelle Andercastle of clearquartzcreative: an entrepreneur, podcast host, website designer and now magazine publisher is a dynamo. Find Chantelle at www.clearquartzcreative.co

Chantelle has brought my tech skills a long way. We joked i could only attach a single image at a time to an email when we first met and now I am embedding data so you can listen to my podcast above or The Electric Ideas interview below. Simply press on the little arrow and send thanks to Chantelle for the convenience.

Lastly…

Since we were in a warming up mood: on the paint wall in colour and on our visual journey to the campfire, I thought I‘d end by sharing a little bit of Georgian Bay’s summer magic from a series of smalls I did in 2011.

Warm thoughts led me back to this little gem , “Cocktail Hour”, from the Georgian Bay Series of 2011. In my painting practice I like to play with colour and colour relationships by turning traditional colour practices on their head. A warm sky like this one tends to flatten the surface because warm colours generally come forward visually while cooler colours recede. By inverting that principle the depth of field is reduced

Thank you…

We’ve come to the end of this post but before we part ways I wanted to remind you, I appreciate you tuning in to this podcast and joining in on the visual part of this journey with me here on the blog. I hope the images are helpful and that you are finding something of your story within mine. If my work or words inspire you please consider inviting a friend to share in our adventure or writing a review. Every shared word or post helps helps my to work reach those who could benefit by it.

Find me…

on instagram @mandartcanada or message me on the contact page of my website. I always love to hear your thoughts and comments.

With gratitude as always,

Nameste, Amanda

WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS PODCAST.

“This anniversary edition inspired a new beginning that starts and ends with gratitude”

Thank you for joining me in this experience of story as we pause to connect, to make ourselves available to the creative magic all around us through the action of slowing down.

It was your curiosity that motivated me to visualize this virtual morning tea or afternoon coffee break.
In choosing to be present for you I am reconnecting with my own need for stillness and for that I am grateful

The meditation begins at around 7:15 in the recording.

Self care is the focus of our meditative practice in this episode where we encourage our automatic pilots who easily express gratitude for others, to step aside for a moment. This practice brings gratitude home by directing our mindful pause in mantra form, to all the parts of our body.

”Our energy flows where our attention goes” Cathy Heller

This episode is all about gratitude. One of the things I am most grateful for is the ability to have maintained a studio art practice since 2001. I may be dating myself but I am grateful for every second I get to work at my passion. “Big Pink” evolving on the paint wall at the moment is inviting new directions to manifest on the surface without judgement. She is 48” x 48”, acrylic on panel, 2023

WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS the PODCAST, now in its second year!

If you’ve been following along with me you’ll know stories feature creativity and inspiration and the paired Mindful Mandart Meditations that conclude most episodes are a short few minutes of self-care you can take anywhere. This year I’ll be adding to the catalogue as we continue the search for wisdom at the crossroads, where action and presence meet.

I can hardly believe a year has gone by since the day I gathered all of my courage and (with help) pushed the publish button on this podcast. The project began as a response to a question I had posed for myself while doing an online course with Cathy Heller. What would I be doing a year from now?

What I didn’t want was to be doing was looking back thinking I wish I had or I could have or should have. Instead I asked myself two simple questions, “If not now, when?” and “Why not me?”… and then I dove imperfectly into this new adventure.

The podcast thing was not actually even on my radar at first, As an expat with an accent and a comfortable studio art practice an audio based tech heavy adventure was really stepping out of my comfort zone. I’ll be totally honest, I’m scared of technology, it makes me cry… and swear, sometimes a lot.

I was digging in the archive and came across this acrylic and chalk pastel on paper, 22 1/2” x 30” from the early 2000’s. “Pina Colada” was one of a series of 4 full sheets of heavy duty water colour paper that I pinned to the paint wall. I approached the same subject matter in 4 different ways in a very fun game of problem solving in colour. One of these 4 version greets visitors at my front door. “Strawberry Margarita” was the subject of a podcast in episode #12. A local tree backlit in St Vital Park was the inspiration for a study that began with the premise of exploring the shape of snow.

A studio neighbour at the time remarked my quads were more like cocktails than winter trees. And so this new series became “The Cocktail Hour”. I am grateful for the ability to play at my work and for all the contributions large and small made by friends and colleagues through their words and actions over the years.

Moving into the closet…

What you should know about podcasting is that it is not as glamorous as some of the hip 20 somethings might make it look. For me for example, McGivering a recording space has been an adventure, sometimes I’ll admit, a ridiculous one. I move into my closet on recording days and settle under the ironing board that stands precariously on the sound absorbing pillow foundation I gather and tumble around on the floor. The goal is to transform the space into a makeshift recording studio.

Think Barbara Eden in a more haphazard set of “I dream of Jeanie”. I feel more tech savvy than that seventies sitcom with my iphone in my hand and my laptop on my knee. I am grateful that I am not reliant on anybody having to rub a lamp to let me out. Can you picture it now?

The vowels have it…

The choice to create a podcast has been an additional challenge for me. I enjoy words but sometimes my accent gets tangled up in the vowels or hung up trying to annunciate a particular word that is just having none of it. On a couple of occasions I have ended up in hysterics, alone in my closet laughing out loud to the point of tears because the dance with the quilt covered ironing board has come to a tumbling end, again, or the word that is tripping me up is relentless. Its taught me to not take myself too seriously and I am grateful for that too.

Above is the cover image for my Podcast which turns 1 this week. YAY!! Cue the anniversary celebration!

I am grateful to my daughter who designed this image. She has tech skills I covet and I am always grateful when she shares some of her many talents with me. Cue the applause for Emma now.

Gratitude is what I’m feeling right now. ..

I am grateful to have made a choice to try something new, to make new connections and support the connections that have brought me to this place in my life. I am grateful to all who have sent me personal messages and comments. Words are powerful. Sometimes it can be the smallest phrase or individual comment that can have a resounding impact. and yours have had an impact on me.

I’m not sure where this new year will go but I am grateful to have the opportunity to dive in with your support.

In choosing to be present for you I am reconnecting with my own need for still ness. Along the way I am discovering that I really enjoy the practice of writing and I am able to think and reflect on my words my work and my actions. So thank you for inspiring that opportunity for growth within me. We’re never too old and it’s never too late to find creative ways to connect to each other and to ourselves.

I am grateful for THE WAVE Interlake Artists Studio Tour. I have been a member for several years. I am grateful for all the visitors who have become friends and return year after year like the perennials in my garden; rain, hail or sunshine. This pair of dear friend made a purchase and walked away in Jazzy style. I am grateful for the support my studio practice has received since 2001. It is your support that keeps a girl like me in business and able to continue doing what I love to do…and for that I am exceedingly grateful.

On the paint wall…

I am grateful to be reacquainting with my painting process after a holiday that took me back to the Land of Oz to visit family after a 5 year covid induced absence. Yes, it was magical. I am feeling refreshed and refilled and overflowing with new ideas. I am definitely ready to see where this new chapter takes me. Are you ready to dive in with me? Feel free to invite a friend to join us on this journey as we play with story, explore the creative process and discover some of the wisdom our souls wish to share with our meditation practice. I hope you’ll bookmark your favourites and return to them often.

I am grateful for my connection to place, especially this place, at the waters edge in Ponemah, which is part of Manitoba’s smallest municipality. Our seasonal piers foster community and connection and that’s a big deal to the ex pat within me. I am grateful to have found connection and community so far from my original landscape. in Manitoba’s Interlake just an hours drive north of the city.

Quilt Gem, 6” x 6”, collaged fabrics and dye sublimated image.

The last pier in Ponemah has become the backdrop to our summers. I can see it from my cottage window as I prepare dinner or pause for a drink on the deck with neighbours. In high water years i could see our girls jumping off the end into the waves and on some occasions watch the waves breaking over the pier’s deck boards.I am grateful to view all the seasons with this backdrop in view.

A new year of the podcast includes a Mindful Mandart Moment…

The intention of the meditation in this episode is to experience lightness and ease in the various parts of our body.

Our meditation practice is a way for us to pause and to connect to the deepest part of ourselves. We begin by being deliberate in naming our gratitude. The simple courtesy of saying thank you is something we turn inwards with this self care practice. As Cathy Heller so enthusiastically declares “Our energy flows where our attention goes”. It feels like good advice to direct some of our intentional focus to the many mechanisms and systems that make up the physical body that supports us in every action of every day.

I hope you will join me in the recording as we invite the healing energy of the universe within. We begin with our intentional breath and once our bodies settle we allow ourselves to visualize the healing light of the universe. I imagine it to be like static on a tv screen, or the tiny bubbles rising to the surface of a champagne flute, the visual equivalent of white noise that dissolves into a sparkling mist that can be any place or all places simultaneously.

Tune me up Scotty…

The body is an amazing machine. Like your car it can require regular maintenance and can benefit from a tune up or attunement. By applying practices such as this one that offers gratitude for the contributing parts of our body, we can assist our bodies to run more efficiently, to experience lightness and ease, to pause and recalibrate as we rest and relax. Our choices, our dreams and desires are made possible because our physical body leads the way. .. and for that I am very grateful.

Creativity and painting in particular are my favoured avenue to presence. The process of painting quiets me as it draws me in to the action of problem solving in colour. Engaged, painting, time can literally fly by. This image is of developing work in the wings at the studio. I have been changing things up and trying new things lately, like black gesso in the foundation despite having used compliments to create contrast in the last, oh let’s say, twenty years or so. I’m grateful to never say never and to be able to freely make, and change up, my own creative choices.

At the studio this week…

I have continued working with my website designer developing an opportunity for visitors to purchase my book, “Wisdom at the Crossroads” and greeting cards on my website. Chantelle Andercastle is a dynamo, a podcast host, magazine editor and entrepreneur. I am very grateful for her input and assistance. Email Chantelle good vibes at hello@clearquartzcreative.com

Also…

My interview with Whitney Baker for the “Electric Ideas” Podcast went very well this week. I was strangely nervous and had to remind myself it was not a test but a conversation with someone genuinely interested in what I am doing. I am grateful for Whitney and the invitation to share my story with her audience. I will share the link on socials as well as here when the show airs.

Lastly…

I am grateful for you, for reading to the end here, bravo!, and for your questions about the how’s and the why’s of my studio practice that evolved into this podcast and blog. I am grateful for your curiosity that has inspired me to visualize new ways to connect and share my ( weirdly accented) voice.

I am also grateful to have the use of this space. I call it my Sunday office. It is a corner of the board room at Leven Tadman Golub Law Firm. I am happy to accompany my hubby there for his regular weekend calls and very grateful to take in the views of downtown while I work. It is a big upgrade from my lovely studio and reserved for writing and planning. The 40” x 60” canvas shown, which for the life I can’t recall the name of, was commissioned for this space. I am grateful to all who have purchased or commissioned work over the years. Your choice to live with original local art allows me to continue doing what I love and I am very grateful for that.

Thank you…

I appreciate you tuning in to this podcast and joining in on this journey with me here on the blog. I hope the images are helpful and that you are finding something of your story within mine. If my work or words inspire you please consider inviting a friend to share in our adventure or writing a review. Every shared word or post helps helps my to work reach those who could benefit by it and I would be very grateful for your help in growing my audience.

With gratitude as always,

Nameste, Amanda

WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS PODCAST.

“Landscape is inspiration for the painter in me. In this episode landscape inspires a meditative journey where colour in the landscape is invited to flow within, to encourage the vital energy around and within us to grow”.

Through our mindful moments we can learn to nurture ourselves within the busy lives we lead. Actively engaged in the creative process is where I find myself tuning out or tuning in depending on your perspective, to a place where the world quiets around me and I become fully present. I guess really I have learned to encourage my ego to step aside so I can take myself to a place where I can be still and quiet, a place where I can nurture my spirit and access the gifts the universe offers to us all.

In this episode I take you on a journey with me to slow down, to pause…

“Listen in as we seek wisdom at the crossroads where action and presence meet.” 

This episode is all about refreshing our system with the intentional breath and colourful imaginings. I thought I’d like to illustrate this blogpost with some details from recent paintings. This one is from a painting called “Blue Gums”. The story of Blue gums can be found in episode #24 (season 2 Episode 4). This lovely deep blue correlates to the third eye chakra and our inner sight and is where my thoughts on colour often begin.

Colour is a big part of my studio practice and it is playing a larger role in my meditative practice now too. During a trip to a warmer climate in the midst of a Canadian winter my morning swim turned into a magical moment. As an artist I am always open to engaging with the minutia of the world around me, of finding inspiration in the details of experience. This mindful moment on the podcast shares a magical morning and has become one of my favourite reflective meditations.

This self care practice as it developed actually felt a bit like a cosmic embrace. Using the breath I was guided to become more intentional with my focus and invite colour to bloom and to flow to all the areas of my body. 

A good friend familiar with my painting practice since its very early beginnings made an observation that I found really interesting. Her comment was also a reminder that we don’t always see what can be right in front of us in plain sight. She had noticed she said that bodies of work over the years tended to include periods of work where particular colour ranges dominated. There was a red period, a yellow period and recently a blue period. Were these works related somehow to the chakras, our body’s energy centres, and was the work I was doing in colour related somehow to my personal healing journey? It was an interesting premise and a thoughtful observation and one I am continuing to explore.

Newly emerging on the paintwall is this 24” x 36” acrylic on panel. I wanted to introduce vertical elements to a horizontal motif. I have been working on it in the depths of winter. Colour in my studio and as part off my creative process provides an antidote to winter’s white where I live. If we relate the dominant colours of the painting to the chakra column it appears, if my friend is correct in her theory, that my continuing healing journey is reenergizing all the chakras with related colour.

Vision, Insight, Hindsight and looking at alternate perspectives…are a part of my current creative process and might relate to the dominance of blue in this big sky.

The original extended version of this episode paired with a painting called “breathing Space” in episode #11 of this podcast. “Breathing Space” is a triptych that hangs in the living room at the cottage. It’s three panels are “Inhale”, “Exhale” and “Relax” which are a perfect compliment to the ease of summer living and seasonal refreshment. Thoughts of the cottage and summer living are also helpful memories to recall when the going gets cold on the prairies in the depths of a Canadian winter.

This little 16’ x 20” acrylic on canvas has lived for many years above the fireplace at the cottage. I’ve included her now as an illustration of a piece from the archive that resonates with me and also relates to my friend’s observation. The gestural brushstrokes, the movement of marks across the surface, the pale pastel blue sky and the green summer landscape put me in mind of the heart chakra, green, the throat chakra, light blue, being heard, telling my story, and the darker blues of the third eye chakra; insight, hindsight and vision.

“Flow with the intention to restore balance, to breathe in the energy around us, to use that process to connect to something greater than ourselves… pause… listen…expand”

I’ve kept the pic of my meditation chair in this week’s notes in the hope that it will inspire me to settle into my meditative practice more often. Defining a space as our own is important and it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. This chair lived in my studio for many years when I had lots of space and before my daughter took the opportunity to adopt it when I moved into a smaller studio.

Having a place to create a personal sanctuary is a luxury even if a chair like this one was salvaged from the loading dock where it had been “released”. Admittedly it did not look this good or clean when I rescued it. This cosy spot has encouraged my journey to presence. Literal journeys like the one I share in the recording in this episode also help us to restore and rebalance within the seasons of our lives. What is your preferred quiet sanctuary? Some friends I am told are taking this practice on walks with headphones. What works works. I am always open to getting outside and trying new ways to connect to my own spirit and the universal spirit that supports us all.

I hope you are allowing your CHI to flow in our weekly gatherings. Ideally 15 minutes per day is a wonderful addition to our daily activities. Connecting to ourselves is important, Connecting to the wisdom your soul yearns to seek and to share is a gift. The pause is the gift we give ourselves when we allow ourselves to be quiet for just a little while and listen to the wisdom, at the crossroads, where action and presence meet.

This is the actual Hummingbird I encountered on my morning walk to the pool in Phoenix that lovely morning. The retelling of that story became the mindful meditation you will hear on the recording.

It was a magical encounter. Opposite is the twisted tree set in the lawn I padded across on the way to the pool. This is the actual setting for our colour inspired meditation.

In Sedona I learned a twisted tree is often a signifier that an energy vortex is in the vicinity. At the base of this tree I sat and understood some of that magic.

At the studio this week…

I have been working with my website designer developing an opportunity for visitors to purchase my book, “Wisdom at the Crossroads”. Why have I been so resistant to doing that for so long? I am possibly lazy? or scared or both? I don’t really know the answer to that question but here we are putting our big girls pants on and doing the work. Its definitely time I got out of my head putting tasks like this one to the back burner. Check on the website in a week or so to see how it turned out.

Also…

I am being interviewed by Whitney Baker, host of “Electric Ideas” Podcast this week where we will be discussing my book; “Wisdom at the Crossroads”, it’s origin story, the idea of presence and some of the soul care practices I use that have transformed my life. Stay tuned to instagram or sign up for my newsletter on the website to see when that episode airs.

Lastly…

I am getting some visuals ready for the WAVE Interlake Artists Brochure, the WAVE website and social media posts. The image below I took yesterday at the studio with a tripod, a ten second delay and my iPhone. An extra pair of hands on a colleague would be an asset on days like this but somehow a sole practitioner/ soul practitioner finds ways to get things done.

Creativity is another avenue to presence. The process quiets me as it draws me in to the action of problem solving in colour. Engaged, painting, time can literally can fly by. This image is of new work on the paintwall in progress in early 2023. This 48” x 48” acrylic on panel is as yet unnamed. I am liking the colour palette that is developing in a new direction.

I hope you have enjoyed a restorative break by listening into the last of the Mindful Mandart Moments in this group of ten episodes. It is one of my absolute favourites and I hope this practice is one you too will return to as often as I do. A new batch of episodes will begin next week

‘Allow this practice to help you to get quiet and to be accepting of the support that is always around you and infinitely available.’

Thank you…

I appreciate you tuning in to this podcast and joining in on this journey with me here on the blog. I hope the images are helpful and that you are finding something of your story within mine. If my work or words inspire you please consider inviting a friend to share in our adventure or writing a review. Every shared word or post helps helps my to work reach those who could benefit by it.

With gratitude as always,

Nameste, Amanda

WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS PODCAST.

DISCLAIMER: This meditative process may lead you to find the wisdom your soul yearns to share. 

Viewer discretion is advised! 

This episode might focus on process and personal practice but the key word

for this post might just be vulnerability.

I am a fairly private person and not generally prone to public vulnerability yet I am the Mand in this mindful MANDart moment where I invite you behind the curtain to experience the magic of process as it is revealed. 

This episode is all about personal practice. In it I step way outside my comfort zone to share parts of the written meditative process I use to access the wisdom at the crossroads where action and presence meet. 

Listen in to rest your heart in the details of your own story and trust me, this process,  with practice, will be an enlightening and inspiring interaction to add to your meditative tool kit. 
Connecting to the wisdom we all have access to is the end goal here. I hope you will listen in to rest your heart in the details of your own story.

Since this episode is all about process I thought we’d illustrate this blogpost with a snap shot of my most recent paint pallet. I love to see the details in the everyday, snippets of small magic that cause me to take pause or to press the trigger on my iphone camera. This snapshot was taken a few hours before I wrote this post. The remnants of my painting day at the studio were probably not even dry as I uploaded it.

A practice, a routine or a process can also be called a habit and I am definitely a creature of habit. When I think of my studio art practice I definitely have a routine and routine is somehow comforting. Years ago I rescued an abandoned teak bucket chair from the back loading dock at my studio building. I recovered it and it became my favourite chair, eventually my meditation chair that became a major part of my morning routine.

Since we’re being vulnerable… I am also an early morning person. The water is my elemental home so early mornings find me swimming laps at the Y when at home in Canda. This pic above is me swimming in the pond I learned to swim in. Olympic sized and unheated in an Australian spring this pool was cause for a lifetime aversion to cold water. Thankfully I still love to swim and my local Y is an indoor pool heated all year round.

How do you start your day?

Once at the studio , for many years, I settled myself into my meditation chair, turned on my trusty CD player and set about establishing a meditation practice.

Monkey mind is a thing…

Settling into a process or a practice or a routine is an individual thing. In the podcast this week I share my personal meditative process. You are welcome to follow along, to listen in or to take the parts that might resonate for you and adapt them for use in whatever practice you develop as your own. Accepting where we are and the unique way our mind works is a brave first step. Our thoughts are our own and all of them are welcome. On occasion though we can move them to the side for just a little while to engage in a meditative practice and listen for the wisdom our soul years to share.

My practice is something I have developed over time and it works for me. The terminology I use suits my personal paradigm. I hope you’ll feel confident to use terminology that aligns with your personal preferences and practices if my terminology is not for you.

Words are powerful. My handwriting is “Creative”, ie a little rough at the best of times, the words I write during my meditative mornings get even looser, sometimes they don’t even look like they belong to me.

Intention is key…

My intention is always to allow the words to flow without forcing anything onto the page. Each day I sit down to be intentional about my process I settle in with paper and pencil and a board to lean on at the studio or in the “starbucks corner” if i happen to be at home. Think comfy chair in a sunny corner but without the crowds or the coffee. I save the coffee for later as I am rereading the words I have written in the process As with every process we don’t just sprint the 100 meter dash without a warmup.

Warming up…

My warm up consists of writing out my intention longhand as a way to get the muscle memory engaged in my writing hand. It also serves as a way to relax my mind and body that settles me into the moment. An intentional yoga breath becomes a signal to apply my focus. It’s like rebooting my system. The exhale is a release that encourages space within that can be replaced with the wisdom and healing energy that flows… from within, or the universe, …?

and then i begin.

Listen in on the recording for the actual mantra I write longhand for inspiration. You might choose to use the same words or you are free to modify the process to suit yourself. Its just important to know that though I am not concerned with the words I am writing as I am writing them, I trust that I’ll be able to read any messages I receive at the end of the session. I am always amazed that there are few edits beyond recognising and clarifying my own handwriting.

Trust in your process…

Our routines become more comfortable when we relax into the process. Engaged in this process I was astounded at the wisdom I was discovering. The words were not a series of random disacssociated thoughts but a thoughtful and enlightening philosophy. With minor editing and a lot of hesitation I published excerpts from my meditative notes as my first book. It shares the name of this podcast.

Wisdom at the Crossroads…

became a simple alphabetical journey, a picture book for adults, or Yoga for the mind. “Weightier than its small stature” according to one early reader.

Meditation..

Is something we all can do. It can take many forms and can be as simple or complex as we feel is appropriate for ourselves. Whether formal or informal the process helps me to feel centred and refreshed on all levels. In fact I am often surprised at the depth of my focus moving forward into the rest of my day after I meditate. Your imagination is a gift and I love that you get to co create mentally along with me, to connect to your own stories, your own wisdom, by choosing to listen in to my examples.

I wonder what wisdom will surface for you should you choose to work through my process or amalgamate parts of it into something that is uniquely your own. Its not easy to quiet the noise of distraction that permeates all aspects of our busy lives but with practice I hope you’ll be inspired by the wisdom you already have at your core and that you’ll feel more refreshed and at ease through the simple action of slowing down.

Creativity is another avenue to presence. The process quiets me as it draws me in to the action of problem solving in colour. Engaged, painting, can literally can fly by. Setting an alarm was my best idea when I had small children to pick up from school and didn’t want them feeling abandoned or missing their activities because Mum had lost track of time and was still at work at the studio :)

Painting as pause…

Inspiration is everywhere. The act of painting and the creative decisions I make in the process transport me into a different world as I work. The process feels a bit like a physical meditation. The process is about being present within an activity. A painting is the culmination of a series of decisions I get to make along the way. Each cumulative choice , documented in consecutive marks, forms the foundation for what comes next. Writing , similarly, is just another way to express ourselves creatively.

Part of my process includes music. I have gardened with David (Bowie) and Joni (Mitchel), hung out with John (Mayor) and Jack (Johnson) and crooned with Ray (Charles) and Brian (Ferry).   In the past few years Richard Goldsworthy’s Piano instrumentals have dominated as heart songs that serenade me at the studio.

Sound combined with action, in my case painting or writing, is my way of taming the noise of the busy life I have chosen. What are your chill tunes? Where do they take you? Take some time to listen in with intention and a pencil and paper in hand to see where inspirational music might take you

WONDERLAND is a pair that paired with a version of this episode’s mandart moment on the podcast in episode #23. I share it here as an update. The left side “Heart” sold and was shipped across the country. My apprenticeship as shipper and receiver got a literal work out. Getting a 4 foot square into a purpose built cardboard box was an adventure for sure. One I imagine to be the equivalent of wrestling a crocodile into a tea cup. The Right hand side “Soul” is available but would have to be wrestled off the wall in my husband’s office where it is currently being “stored”. He can be so helpful :)

This detail has become the newest addition to the MANDART GREETING CARD BOX as well as a prototype for fuzzy Mandart Blankies, coming soon. Here my hubby, 6’2” is modelling his long reach and demonstrating scale.

We’ve come to the end of todays story. I hope this practice is one you will return too often as inspiration that will help you to get quiet with the support that is always around you and infinitely available.

I appreciate you tuning in to this episode and joining in on this journey with me. I hope the images are helpful and that you are finding something of your story within mine. If my work or words inspire you please consider sharing the podcast with a friend or write a review on apple podcasts. Reach out if you have qjuestyions on how to do that.

The full episode is available anywhere you get your podcasts or simply press the arrow in the player at the top of this post.

I appreciate you!

Nameste, Amanda

Apple Trailer - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-at-the-crossroads-trailer/id1609992256?i=1000551067035

WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS PODCAST.

In this episode we chat about the painting “with Heart and Soul” and the idea of ritual in the work of art. We find the intention of an action is key and nobody is sitting around eating cake waiting to be inspired.
“Wonderland” is the main topic of todays chat. It is part of a recent batch of paintings trending large on 4 foot panels in my tiny studio space. This diptych takes us on a journey through process, like Alice’s, but without the use of hallucinogens.

Music as muse helps to silence life’s noise and transport us to a crossroads where we are not lost but found, fully present. I always paint with a music in the background. Join in to discover some side notes on the evolving soundtrack that plays in my studio practice. You might learn which David, Joni, Jack, John and Richard currently serenade this soul practitioner at the studio.

The meditation is 10 minutes long today. It begins at 8:41 in the recording. Process and practice are at the core of this invitation that allows a glimpse into a very personal and formerly private meditative writing ritual.
Connecting to the wisdom we all have access to is the end goal here. I hope you will listen in to rest your heart in the details of your own story.

WONDERLAND: HEART/ SOUL on the paint wall at the studio. Acrylic on panel, Each panel 48” x 48”, 2022

This is not the final version as I do remember adding some late marks while the pair hung on the outside of our cottage during the WAVE Interlake Artists Studio Tour in June of 2022. There’s always just one more thing to add that will either make a composition sing or kill it. I’m happy to report is continues to sing.

Thanks for stopping in to check out this weeks episode featuring WONDERLAND.

Today’s theme seems to be RITUAL.  When I looked up the definition of Ritual I found the intention of the action is Key.  Most activities are considered ordinary unless the action has an air of seriousness about it that makes it somehow sacred.

Ritual can also be described as an act or series of acts regularly repeated in a set manner, or sometimes  as a habit, a pattern or a practice.

When I think of my studio art practice I know I follow prescribed patterns of behaviour as I engage with materials in process. My actions could be called patterns when I reach for a favourite colour or tool or purchase a particular brush or brand of paint because I like the way it feels. I think we could all probably find ways that we have each embedded subtle and not so subtle rituals into our everyday lives.

WONDERLAND in the very early stages. I love the energy of the beginning stages when the action is rapid fire. My intention is always to cover the surface, to play and hold no attachment to any outcome. This is the stage where the composition starts to flesh out and lead the way forward.

Over the course of the last 20 years or so I would say I have definitely had plenty of time to practice, to engage, to explore and to create. I don’t know if that makes my work ritualistic or not but it definitely feels more elevated than an ordinary personal activity of mine. Plus I love what I do. Does that count?

In recent work this past year I have noticed a tendency to paint large. 4 foot panels have regularly bloomed on my paint wall. Perhaps it is the season for large squares to appear solo or to join together into pairs to create diptychs? The process of creating them gets both my mind and body moving. I tried to apply my usual process to the pages of a sketch book this past July. I wanted to be flexible and portable over the summer. It was a challenge and an activity that was quickly abandoned. I have many sketchbooks on the sidelines waiting for me to adapt to their size and media but so far I think it is something about the scale that stifles me.

How about you? Do you have routines you have attempted to alter? Hopefully you had more success than I did.

WONDERLAND Ultra Detail. I love the energy of the brushstroke. Sometimes i look reflectively at my paintings and think i should add or change something but then i gather my senses and realize each painting is a record of a moment and the decision i made at that point in time should remain.

Recently back at the studio after a break I have been painting again and am working on smaller panels in groups of 18” x 24” and 20” x 36’s. These sizes are available most importantly which is key at the tail end of a pandemic when supply chains have been problematic. They are smaller than the 4 footers, I can manage to schlepp them easily in and out of my car but they are also large enough that when gathered together into pairs and trios I am afforded the freedom of movement not found within the warping pages of a sketch book. It has definitely been fun getting back to work.

WONDERLAND left Side, HEART, 2022, Acrylic on Panel 48” x 48”

WONDERLAND: SOUL, Right side of Diptych

In this episode I want to share one of those 4 foot pairs that have become a big part of my practice. The diptych is called “WONDERLAND: HEART/SOUL”, and I completed it at the end of December 2021. It’s one of my favourite recent works and I am seriously searching for a spot at home to install it. I called it Wonderland with the help of friends on social media who thought the imagery was like falling into a different world, just like Alice’s. I loved that sentiment but you should know there were no psychadelics involved.

The act of painting and the creative decisions I make in the process do transport me into a different world as I work. The actions that created this painting, “Wonderland”, really are the result of “an act or series of acts regularly repeated in a prescribed or set manner”. Painting begins with routine for many artists, for me it is metaphoric music to my ears. It is also a regular weekday process for me and mostly it is undertaken to a soundtrack.

Inspiration is everywhere.

These pics were taken in an incidental green space I discovered in the historic part of Montreal. The memory of the warm sunshine and the scramble of the uncultivated grasses and hardy native plants was where my focus was drawn as a starting point.

During covid I discovered podcasts so listening to a faux colleague while I worked become a thing. As a “Soul Practitioner” I am low on the scale of workplace interactions so I have found that helpful but music is still my go to studio companion. In the early days I was weirdly addicted to David Bowie. Any Bowie fans out there?   

David serenaded me into the night when I worked in my downstairs sewing room as our young girls slept. At the studio on my CD player, yes I was old school, and may still be? I rotated through periods of John Mayor, Jack Johnson and Joni Mitchel among others. I have named many paintings after song lyrics as well as a trio called “Gardening with David and Joni” from way back that refers to the artists I listened to as I painted. Bryan Ferry…  Bryan Ferry in his Roxy Music stage brought instrumental soundtracks into favour  not to mention Avalon,  hmmmm….

Here I am at the studio laying down first marks. This is a screen shot of a short video of my process but in this blog I was limited by my tech skills and couldn’t figure out how to add a video. If you know let me know.

Inspiration is everywhere and sometimes I come across it in the most unusual spaces. Like on one long ago visit to Australia to see family we found ourselves at the Curumbin Markets on the North coast. As visitors we followed our experienced family on this holiday ritual and maneuvered a prescribed path in a set manner that began with turning right at the entry. I tend to get distracted, surprise surprise. Tuning out was one of my super powers after years of kids in sport, constant volleyball whistles at National tournaments and hours in the car with excited teenaged teammates or duelling sisters spouting “She’s looking through my window” from the backseat. And no, I am not making this up.

I can also be pretty quickly tuned in when my imagination is engaged. Silencing the noise around me in fact I think is part of my natural creative process that settles around me as I gather focus and come into flow. Our travels through the market that day brought us to the most incredible calamari vendor who cooked very simply on a single burner. Oh my goodness it was sensational. While scarfing down the calamari at the market I remember hearing delicate piano music in the distance and I found myself drawn like the pied piper towards the notes aloft in the air.

I met Richard Goldsworthy there and bought one of every CD he had on offer. His creative output became the backdrop to mine once I returned to my Winnipeg studio. I played only his Cd’s, on repeat, for literally years, eventually wearing them out until there was one last soldier serenading me. On one adventurous day I thought I would try to switch things up but when I replaced the Richard Goldsworthy CD with something else the CD played would not work at all. I returned the Richard Goldsworthy CD and it magically played??  Even my ancient CD player was reluctant to let that soothing serenade go. You will be pleased to know I have updated myself and downloaded all of his CD’s onto my iPhone. (Look at me moving into the 21st century with no CD player required)

What’s your favourite soundtrack? I’d love to know.

You know I love to view life in the details. This little vignette from WONDERLAND shows that less can definitely be more. This is the view I see while working at an arms length from a surface. We need to take a few steps back in real life to let the perspective settle and allow for the eye to fill in some of the details.

Music is part of many rituals and ceremonies. In my studio familiar sounds resonate and set the tone for the creative day to follow. Time can stand still and I find myself lost in the process. Lost is maybe too harsh a word as really I find myself at the paint wall hyper focused and fully present, less lost I guess and more found at the crossroads where action and presence meet. I guess I am one of the lucky ones who gets to work and play in a literal wonderland.

At the studio this week my time has been disrupted by an absence, unexpected travel takes us out of familiar routines and wakes us up to the landscape around us in new ways. You've probably gone to new places and found yourself focused on unfamiliar details .or inspired by something you saw or experienced. I think I am drawn to see the world in its interesting details and then to transcribe some of that into various aspects of my art process from there. Lately though I have found my computer is joining me in my space as I am focused on writing and contemplating what is next for my paint wall.

Wonderland has taken up temporary residence in my husbands office.( i.e he is storing it for me on his lovely large

neutral wall. My work benefits from the ability to view it from a distance as well as up close. As you can see from the details each viewpoint is very different. This detail has become the newest addition to the MANDART GREETING CARD BOX.

Well, that’s the end of todays backstory. Thanks for tuning in to this episode. I hope the images are helpful and that you are finding something of your story within mine by listening in to the podcast, or catching up through this blog. If my work or words inspire you please consider sharing the podcast with a friend or writing a review. You can listen to the full episode anywhere you get your podcasts.

This week’s meditation begins at in the recording. I hope you’ll take a listen…and until next time, stay well.

Amanda

Apple Trailer - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-at-the-crossroads-trailer/id1609992256?i=1000551067035

WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS PODCAST.

We celebrate connection in todays backstory. Connection to our past: relationships, spaces and places and end up in the present musing about imagination and a sisterhood evolving in vibrant colour on the paint wall.

With the example of “Crossroads”, a marker at the beginning of a new chapter in my studio archive, we are reminded that creativity is a powerful journey.
Marks made in expression are made in many mediums and sometimes might not be a physical action at all.
Life evolves.
Cast across distant memories our backward glances might offer us a little perspective or contextual insight but the present moment is where we live and what will always lead us forward.
The road less travelled beckons as we grow and evolve into the highest version of ourselves.

The meditation in this episode is 10 minutes long. It begins at 10:12 in the recording and takes us on a journey into my impression of a landscape, to a candy coloured windbreak.
Together we’ll allow intention to lead our tranquil breaths to pause between actions on an imaginary journey of self discovery.

What whimsy will build around you at the crossroads where action and presence meet?

“CROSSROADS”, 24”x 36”, Acrylic on Canvas, 2010 by Amanda Onchulenko

Connecting to others through creative enterprise has been a highlight of my journey so far. It never ceases to amaze me how our stories and our histories intersect and how many connections I have made through my work as an artist.
 There is so much to celebrate in our connections from the briefest acquaintance to our longest and oldest friendships.

 Today’s podcast, the beginning of Season 2, celebrates connections made and rekindled. The back story of “Crossroads” the painting takes me back to first friends in Canada. For me, the image is a reminder of new beginnings and new stories. This new season of the podcast similarly puts me in mind of things starting anew, of the potential for new connections and the beginning of stories that are yet to bloom.

This past little while, while I have been contemplating where to take Season 2, I took myself on a midsummer hiatus out of town. It’s great to get away but equally good to return to some routine and for me that is the comfort of paint and colour. So at the studio I have been working on a triptych inspired by a casual section of poppies planted at the edge of a local vegetable plot carefully tended by a neighbour I am yet to meet.

I am always open to new inspiration. This group of cheer leaders lined the edge of a public garden plot along a local cycle route. I couldn’t help but to stop and “smell the roses” and store some pics for a later date with colour.

I am always on the lookout for little incidental greenspaces and poppies call to me every time. It's something about their cheeky personalities and their floppy faces suspended above fragile stems. I naturally paused to take some pictures on my phone that I thought I would use as a painting starting point in the future.

A new season of painting after a break is a crossroads of sorts. When i begin a painting I start with casual and loose colour and gesso to cover the surface and rid the canvas of white. The underpainting tends to lead me on its own journey as I paint regardless of what my original intentions are. In the “Sisterhood” trio I allowed myself to be guided by new marks as I laid them down. I was intentional about using my brushes in different ways, of including a rubber spatula in my painterly tool box and to see where the unfamiliar application of media would take me.

As a new beginning after a break this trio helped me to get back into a painterly groove. They began at the crossroads where action and stillness meet. They took me on a ride, became a sisterhood as they conversed with each other, became friends and then a community. The beginning always flows freely and without restriction. The middle of the process got a little rocky ( you know everything went to heck in a handbasket ) but I accepted where they were and trust in my experience with the process to bring them to a compositional resolution. I’ll share the finished version on the blog when they are complete but for now I just want you to know how good it felt for me to get back to a routine, to feel grounded in my own painterly rhythms.

This is part ! of the “SISTERHOOD” triptych that was developing on my paint wall as I was writing this podcast. See the finished Trio in the gallery pages. ( because I can’t for the life of me get them to show up aligned in this blog) tech….

Taking a break is refreshing and necessary but getting back on the horse is equally necessary. How about you? Do you have something in your life that you simply must get back to?

“Crossroads” is the name of today’s painting from my archive. This painting from 2010 has inspired many things for me since then, including a book I published in 2018 titled “WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS” and this Podcast. My little book so generously described by a friend “as weightier than its small stature” was the result of my personal experience with change. I called it wisdom at the crossroads because it was at a crossroads that my life came to a literal and metaphoric halt. In a split second my world was altered.

A Ford F150 careened through the intersection on my turn light and i thankfully, walked away from the wreckage, changed. The healing journey took longer than anticipated but on that journey I discovered meditation and a spiritual practice at a time before Mindfulness was a term in common practice. I couldn’t lift a paintbrush for a long time but the quiet of healing translated creative expression into words. I came to realize I was gifted time to slow down, and I remembered I loved to write.

Taking a page out of my book. Here is a snapshot of CROSSROADS as an illustration. “Wisdom at the Crossroads” the book inspired the name of this Podcast. This little book I like to refer to as “Yoga for the Mind” or a picture book for adults. It has proven to be a favourite for girlfriend gifting and appears on coffee tables and book shelves everywhere. Send me message if you are interested.

 I found myself at a new crossroads recently on this podcasting journey. I held a desire to do things differently post covid in ways that did not involve schlepping large paintings. Sorting out the details was a “bit of a challenge”. I enlisted my daughters help to figure out a title and after many unsuccessful versions she typed in WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS to see what would happen…the name was miraculously available.

We took that as a sign, a nudge from the universe that was allowing me to reflect on the questions I had on the tip of my tongue…”If not now, when” and, “Why not me?” A Podcast host???? Of course you can present a visual discussion, with an accent, and without visuals. What was I thinking?

The painting Crossroads is not large and would easily have fit into the back of my car, 2 x 3 feet.  Unlike the groups of 4 foot panels that have bloomed in the last year in my new smaller space. Like my current work Crossroads began with a different intention that evolved into what it became.

In my painting practice I am trying hard to relinquish control of intended outcomes and accept the turns and transitions as they evolve in the process.

“CROSSROADS II” was a commission painted at the request of a client who like me was also taken with the candy coloured trees in the background. I tell my clients that i can never replicate a painting of mine from an earlier era but somehow the intention translates and an impression of the original evolves into its own composition.

Life is full of turns and transitions, some are expected, and many are not. This painting came about after the passing of a close friend when my family had sat beneath the twiggy limbs of a sapling planted to mark the resting place of his ashes. The site is beautiful and expansive, and like our friends passing the location at the top of a ridge on the boundary of a valley carved deep into the endless prairie, is also an anomaly.

I began painting “CROSSROADS” with an intention to describe the horse trails in native undergrowth in the foreground below the ridge, the fields sectioned into colourful quadrants in the middle ground and the homestead in the distance under a prairie sky. I had already under painted in contrasts as is my habit so the upper third of the canvas was a range of pinks and lemons. At my next studio visit I began blocking out what I thought would refer to the farm buildings by inverting positive and negative space. As I worked the variegated pinks of the underpainting evolved into a row of voluminous trees. They felt magical and minimalist but somehow necessary and so the plan was revised. The middle ground does reflect the prairie segmented into sections and the foreground is loosely descriptive but the intended landscape is barely a reference to the original plan, and that is ok.

These curious Icelandic Horses roam the lands the fictitious “CROSSROADS” was inspired by. They are part of a unique herd in Manitoba that agists in the Neepawa Valley.

 Those pink trees though are the highlight of the composition. Details of them have appeared on prints, on bookmarks and as greeting cards. This painting, “Crossroads” is definitely one of those paintings that got away. Given its personal significance I really should never have sold it. It was sold back in 2010 through the once upon a “Fish Fly Gallery” at Winnipeg Beach. I did not meet the buyer then, but mid-pandemic I had an opportunity to participate in a little outdoor art market in Manitoba’s Interlake. Under a flimsy canopy in the rain I had a small display that included a triptych I had just completed. It was so fresh is was probably still wet from the palette as well as the rain. It  drew lots of attention as new friends and old joined us in our socially distanced space. Among them a couple taking shelter from the rain turned and asked if I had painted a painting called “Crossroads”. They had bought it for their daughter at Fish Fly and told me it resides happily in Toronto where it introduces the magic of this prairie resting place to a vibrant urban environment. I was glad to know it had gone to an appreciative home.

Sometimes a detail of a painting will end up as a MANDART PILLOW like this one called ABUNDANCE from a 2021 painting. The original now resides with CROSSROADS’ original owners. Pillows are available at pop up events or on request.

CROSSROADS is clearly a favourite. I have reprinted the image as a constant member of MANDART GREETING CARDS. Series 6 is recently hot off the press.

That couple went on to commission a new painting for themselves that turned into two paintings. I was glad to have learned where Crossroads had ended up and grateful for the continued support of my clients. Isn’t it neat how the world works, how interactions can come full circle like that.

 My book “crossroads” ends with the quote. “There is no going forward looking backwards” I wrote it I know, and I roll my eyes at myself thinking I should be listening to my own advice, but a little backward glance can afford us a little perspective, or some contextual insight when we find ourselves at the beginning of a new chapter or season, can’t it?

“YELLOW BRICK ROAD” acrylic on panel, 11” x 14” is part of “The Sweet Suite” of smalls I painted over the summer. On this panel i was auditioning a rubber spatular as I sought new ways to play with tools. She was inspired by the inspiration gathered earlier in the summer along the cycle path. The rest of the series is soon to be uploaded to the gallery pages.

The painting “crossroads” may well have been the one that got away. It was the marker of a new chapter or beginning in my archive. Whenever I see “Crossroads” on a bookmark or a greeting card in reproduction I am always drawn to the horizon where that row of voluminous pink trees, that added themselves to the painting, rest. They take me back to childhood and sticky servings of candy floss held on leaning wooden sticks at the fair. Australians would know candy floss, spun sugar, as Fairy floss. I love that term as it reminds me of the elemental magic all around us.

In the meditation that is part 2 of this episode I’ll be inviting you to experience your version of a candy coloured wind break. I hope you’ll join in to listen to the episode as we travel an imaginary path to see what lies beyond that fictitious ridge. I know you’ll feel rested and revived after the short pause we take together.

“NEW NATURALISM” Triptych was the freshly completed Trio i took to the Covid Market in the Interlake and the painting that brought the owners of CROSSROADS back into my sphere. BTW a little rain didn’t hurt them at all :) Each panel 18” x 36”

If my work or words inspire you please consider sharing the podcast with a friend or writing a review on apple podcasts . Thanks for sharing your time with me. I hope the images are helpful and that you are finding something of your story within mine by listening in to the podcast, or catching up through this blog.

All best, Amanda

Apple Trailer - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-at-the-crossroads-trailer/id1609992256?i=1000551067035

WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS PODCAST.

Art like music plays a role as the backdrop or soundtrack of our lives.Todays introduction to “Nostrum” and “Curative”, a pair of 30” x 40” acrylic paintings on panel, were once given the cold shoulder. Now they offer a little bit of flexible colour magic and a balm for the soul in the depths of a Winnipeg winter.

Do you have a studio? Want a studio? This backstory may be a curative for any romanticised notion you might have dreamed. Unless you are attracted to heavy traffic, emergency sirens and a breeze on your side of the brickwork, that is.

I share a reflective tip to brighten your workspace and add a pro to the cons of my former expansive, frosty space.

We also learn about schlepping, What it means to sail across a parking lot in a brisk breeze and how to safely wrestle a 4’ square painting into the back of an SUV... shlepping. I missed painting this week when the work of art took over.

The meditation begins at 10:45 in the podcast today. I hope you will join me there.

The strong colour story of this pair has inspired a favourite visual journey that rises through the chakra column. Together we visualize a colourful chakra cleanse. We expand, we rise, we imagine and imbue our chakras with crystal magic from head to toe. You will want to return to this practice often.

Simple, energetic colourful, a curative for the winter blahs begins by getting top close and personal with paint.

Thank you for joining me. I hope you find something that resonates for you in today’s journey through the backstory’s of my studio practice. Today I ‘d like to introduce you to “Nostrum” and “Curative”, a pair of 30” x 40” acrylic paintings on panel that we have nick named Em’s Blue Pair. Maybe it’s the Australian coming out in us? Or maybe it’s because her collection is so vast it is simpler to reduce things down to slang terms. Whatever we call them this pair is a reminder of a point in time and place. They offered a little bit of colour magic then as I worked on them in my largest and coldest studio in Winnipeg’s Historic Exchange District through the depths of a winter.

You may have visited one or other of my studio spaces over the years but if we have only met over the airwaves today’s description of my artist’s studio might be all the curative you need to squash any romanticised notion you might have harboured an attachment to. A studio is the term used to describe  an artist’s office, some are large, some are tiny, often they are hobbled together as an economic solution to doing the work of art, wherever we can. The standard is often set by what we can afford cause we are driven to create, whatever that looks like and wherever we are lucky enough to do that. My current space is my smallest ever yet it is also the warmest studio I have inhabited and in the depths of a Canadian winter an appropriately heated work space is worth the price of admission. I definitely won’t be going back to the antique groove in lieu of amenities anytime soon.

If you love the idea of an expansive loft style studio and can handle heavy traffic, emergency sirens and a breeze on your side of the brickwork then Studio 211 would definitely had been the one for you. The space featured all the charm of exposed blonde brickwork common to structures built at the turn of the, 20th century. It had massive exposed timber post and beam construction and intoxicating light. All of this 800 square foot space came with massive single paned windows, that are fine in a more moderate climate but in Downtown Winnipeg when the elements are invited in she gets pretty cold. Like, so cold that my paints and water buckets left too close to a window on an exterior wall would freeze overnight. The frost on the glass in January was not the arc of white spray paint added to the window panes on the set of a hallmark Christmas movie but the real deal that could get so thick the window was opaque. I actually found the patterns formed by frost fascinating and have used dye sublimated printing process to transfer those frosty images to fabric in a textile body of work I exhibited in 2020.

Here are Nostrum and Curative on my very sophisticated photography wall. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. I spent a week fighting weather to shoot images of a batch of paintings including this pair. Of course when I need them they are no where to be found on my camera roll, but just this pair??? Better images will replace these when conditions allow. 30” x 40” each panel.

About half of the 800 square feet in studio 211 really weren’t habitable for large chunks of time so all of my active workspaces were centered around interior walls that were the furthest away from the beautiful natural light that had inspired me to move into the space in the first place.

Brickwork adds character to loft living but so too does actual heat. The brick exterior walls would definitely have been more useful with the insulating factor of drywall that would come with the added flexibility of being able to hang artwork easily onto it without piercing the already fragile mortar rows with nails so large they were almost a javelin. Picture hanging on any wall in that space required something sturdy enough to prevent the paintings from falling off the wall as buses or ambulances rolling down McDermot Avenue rocked the 100 year old walls. I became deaf to emergency sirens during those years in much the same way that someone living along a train line acclimatises to the noise

NOSTRUM has a creamy yellow section that balances out the drama and intensity of the reds and mid range blues that dominate the pair. Apologies for the effects of fluorescent light on the colour story.

My original studio was also on the second floor. A forward thinking previous tenant had painted the ceiling boards white. This made for beautiful reflective light perfect for a painting studio. 211 was a much bigger undertaking so instead of painting the ceiling above the entire space, when the land lord declined my request, I installed 4’ x 8’ laminated Masonite panels above my painting wall and created a similar though modified reflective effect. I highly recommend this strategy if you are looking to improve the light in a work space

This detail view of NOSTRUM shows my habit of painting the edges of a panel so that when seen from the side the image appears to wrap around the canvas or panel. The client then does not have to add a frame. Framing though, is like adding jewellery or mascara. It dresses the artwork up, adds the punctuation.

I did have lots of space to spread out in that downtown studio and that was a huge advantage when I was in textile mode constructing an art quilt project or composing quilt gems from my precious scrap bags. Emma’s pair, Nostrum and Curative were witness to the unique world of my studio at that time. Like many paintings they spent time on the paint wall opposite the breezy windows in the path of the north wind. There they got to take in the entire activity, they saw mini compositions grow in silk and maybe even raised a painterly eyebrow as they observed  fabric fragments accumulate into deep piles at my feet. I know it looks bad if you happen to wander in on a particularly intense creative episode, but sometimes I like everything in view. You never know what tiny square of a former necktie or printed silk remnant might be the final piece in a colourful puzzle in fibre.

Here’s a little climate reference for you. How cold is it? It’s Effing cold! Paint will freeze when the studio lacks insulation. My former space definitely lacked the warmth I had hoped the beautiful light and that expansive space would offer.

This old girl is kitty corner to my former studio building. The view to here was often obscured in the winter because of frost.

These two paintings NOSTRUM and CURATIVE, created in Studio 211 have been in residence in our younger daughter’s basement suite for several years. They’re pretty adaptable down there and have been hung as intended and sometimes in reverse just to change things up; Covid has taught us to be flexible like that. They have more recently appeared on zoom and been the backdrop to interviews with colleagues and clients. Right now she wakes up to this graphic world and sometimes shares them through the structure of her swinging basket chair where they have become an integral part of the perfect student office in a pandemic.

A little comparison for you. The winter landscape lacks the colour of the physical garden

This detail of “Em’s Blue Pair” adds colour to the indoor landscape.

I love how art like music plays a role as the backdrop or soundtrack of our lives. Revisiting them now for this project has first of all granted me more flexible access to my daughter’s space which has been interesting. Getting reacquainted with them has also taken me back to the energy of my former studio space and the other players that grew out of that creative period. I like to paint in multiples. A pair like this diptych are fun to work with and easy to live with. 30” x 40” is a comfortable size to paint: generous meaning the size and shape gives me room to physically get into it as they hang on my painting wall, while not being too big that they are too heavy to lift and carry or what I usually call, schlepping.

I have been doing a lot of schlepping this week, delivering commissioned options to two different homes first for trial and then for adoption into their forever homes. I love to see my work loved and am also fascinated by the decision making process. “” Bear Necessities” and “Tina’s Garden” will get a moment in the blog/show notes (and feels like) it might end my week with a morning visit to my chiropractor after my swim at the Y tomorrow. Podcasting might be more intense with technology and writing but it does not involve negotiating a breeze across a parking lot with a 4’ square panel acting as a sail that then needs to be wrestled it into the back of an SUV. Pros and cons to everything.

I have missed painting this week

Here’s a painting being schlepped. “FIESTA” was donated to the Oseredok art auction where she raised $1700 for Ukraining refugees arriving in the city. I am grateful for the support of the community who placed bids and supported this very worthy cause. At 24” x 60 Fiesta is a simply fit in the back of my car. 48” x 48” is my size limit before i have to enlist the help of a friend with a truck or rent one.

That’s the end of todays backstory. Thanks for tuning in to this episode. I hope the images are helpful and that you are finding something of your story within mine by listening in to the podcast, or catching up through this blog.

If my work or words inspire you please consider sharing the podcast with a friend or writing a review. You can listen to the full episode anywhere you get your podcasts. It costs nothing to do so and i would be very appreciative.

This week’s meditation begins at 10:45 in the recording. I hope you’ll take a listen

The covid university classroom/student office

Apple Trailer - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-at-the-crossroads-trailer/id1609992256?i=1000551067035

Wisdom at The Crossroads, the Podcast

“Pink at Ponemah” offers an invitation to park yourself on a sandy beach on a shimmery summer day no matter the season. In today’s episode 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.

We learn how to celebrate our creative missteps by making a mistake feel intentional and we continue to explore the backstories of my work in art.

The meditation that begins at 10:55 in this episode’s recording will help us to ease into a peaceful moment.

We get into the pink and seek to experience ease when we allow ourselves to dream and are encouraged to come back to ourselves. We invite the light around us to become the light within.

Life is lived in the Details. This one introduces my solution to a creative misstep. When I dropped my painting panel and snapped a Eucalyptus leaf embedded into the gesso, I chose to. celebrate your it. I painted it aqua in an effort to make my accident appear intentional,

Welcome back to the podcast. I want to thank you for sharing your valuable time with me. 

Last week, feeling the need for a bit of a break I picked up the March edition of Health magazine. In it Editor Liz Vaccariello wrote in the Editor’s Note about her own writing process. I totally resonated with her admission when she said, “I think better with a pen in my hand”. I was grateful to know I am not alone in my comfortable ways, even though I might prefer a pencil. It was a reminder of how a few simple words can connect us to each other.

Liz went on to explain, “If we read to know the world, we write to know ourselves``

While considering this podcasting adventure I had wondered how my visual medium as a painter and textile artist would translate as an audio experience, I am working it out and hopefully making connections. Thanks to those who have reached out to tell me how my stories and meditations or reflections have made a difference so far.  Liz’s editorial note seemed to capture the essence of what I am trying to do as she continued.

 “When we share our experiences we invite others to not only feel what we felt but to find themselves in our stories” and that is essentially my hope for you, that you will find something of your story within mine as we continue to explore the backstories of my work in art.

In today’s episode we will meet, “Pink at Ponemah” from the shores of lake Winnipeg, a painting that hangs by my front door at home. It is a small acrylic on panel that welcomes guests indoors. I’m finding it funny as I write about it and only now realise that it’s not until we really explore the reasoning behind the ways we curate our personal spaces that subliminal motives become clear. I am now realising the 2 sentinel trees that are the primary subject matter in the painting, welcome visitors to our local Ponemah Beach.  Hanging where they are, they are facilitating that same action at home. I guess it really is true` life imitates art, imitates life.

 This little gem is only 12” x 30” and was painted on a cradled board back in 2005. 

Ponemah is part of the smallest municipality in Manitoba . The Village of Dunnottar sits on the western edge of Lake Winnipeg’s South basin. An inland ocean on the Canadian Prairies.

We didn’t call Ponemah, in the smallest municipality in Manitoba, our summer home until several years after this piece was painted but even then I think I was beginning to understand the Canadian connection to place. Canadians are an endearingly outdoorsy bunch who embrace where they are whatever the weather. Sometimes we push ourselves to get active in spite of it. This phenomenon is particularly prevalent where water bodies abound. Lake Winnipeg is the sixth largest lake in Can, sailors, water enthusiasts and cottagers who reside and play along its extensive perimeter. 

We were initially guests here, at the invitation of friends who had invited our family to share a weekend at the cottage which had been their families’ weekend experience since the 50’s. As broad as the types of recreational properties that exist in Canada there are an equal number of endearing terms to match. This family calls their place the cottage while others are known to reference their summer homes as the camp, the cabin, the lake or the beach, to name just a few.  Everyone it seems takes ownership by prefacing the title with the word “our” or “my”. That is, our cottage, our cabin, my lake, our beach.

At the bottom of their street on the lakeshore at Ponemah stand a pair of weathered Willows that act like sentinels inviting the community to play on its sandy shore. It’s a beach well known to cottagers in the area, a once well-kept secret. In recent years the neighbourhood is welcoming new and unfamiliar faces to our little cottage neighbourhood on picnics and day trips. We are an easy commute from the city and have been garnering added attention since Pokémon planted some virtual characters on òur` point. Bridal parties have discovered our unique swimming piers make a spectacular backdrop to their wedding pictures with vast and expansive prairie skies as a backdrop. Social media too is sharing the seasonal magic of this quaint little beach community.

The lake for me is a magnet. Water is my elemental home.  I swim weekdays year round at the YMCA. When it is minus 40 with a wind chill, getting dressed to drive and get into the Y takes some effort. Our winters may be brutal but our summers are glorious and being by water body in July and august for even just a weekend day trip is the goal of so many of us. As an ex pat Australian who grew up by an ocean, Lake Winnipeg`s shallow wide basin is prone to variable weather and rolling storms that acts as a surrogate ocean for my family. There are of course no salt crusted eyelashes to squint through after a swim and no swell to surf unless there is a crazy storm, but in the middle of a continent I am so totally grateful to be able to look out at that ever changeable horizon and feel at home. When we did purchase what my now neighbour squared described as `Mr Pool`s Cottage, a long neglected log cabin we have smothered in love and major efforts to salvage its quaint stature while bringing its interesting building practices up to code. My husband said to me as we walked along the lake shore on a breezy afternoon that season, “We just breathe better here don`t we”, and I agree. We feel the stress dissolving as we leave the city and by the time we arrive we have already relaxed into that beach hair don’t care state of mind.

The swimming piers are a feature of our little cottage community. They are affectionately called stick docks and are built and dismantled each season. The neighbours celebrate with morning coffees and afternoon “tea” when the pier is finally ready for our gatherings and we declare it to officially be summer.

The little painting we are chatting about  I named ``Pink at Ponemah` because it has a delicate softness about it that puts me in mind of a peaceful summer day, you know those days when you have been outdoors and the sun has blushed, not burnt your skin with that healthy glow. Use sunscreen people but when you do get a chance go out and enjoy that feeling of relaxation that reminds us we are lucky to be such a small part of an expansive nation. 

“PINK at PONEMAH”, Acrylic on Panel, 12” x 30”, 2006

The sentinel trees that feature in the painting are the beginning of two rows of plantings that shade the back edge of the beach in the summer and take the brunt of the wind when it blows. You would have to imagine the shorter row extending to the right beyond the paintings composition to the point and a longer row leading you left parallel to the sandy beach walk along the shore in the opposite direction. `Sand is an invitation to walk here. Every walk is different. Most inspire me to pause to collect lucky stones with intrinsic holes perfect for summer pendants or beach glass weathered smooth by the action of water and ice. One year a beachgoer left messages written in sharpie on smooth and warm summer stones. I collected one that exclaims, `You Rock! I love that. It keeps vigil on the kitchen table year round to inspire all of our guests. What a lovely sentiment to find. I would urge you to make someone’s day next time you find yourself with a smooth stone and a pen in your hand. Write some small affirmation and leave it behind to be found later in the day.

The prairie that flattens out to the west is its own inland ocean…of canola, flax or wheat.

The magic of hoar frost on a breathless early winter morning at Ponemah

The seasonal differences are distinct in this part of the world

In the painting there is more white than I usually incorporate but if flows with the idea of a whispy breeze and sets the scene for a bathing suit bleached with wear or a picnic blanket faded and softened with use. Embedded in the surface are some saved eucalyptus leaves brought in as bookmarks in a novel or clipped from a florists arrangement. Australiana, I am an advocate for it all. On the back of the painting I discovered I had inscribed, `Give me a home amongst the gum trees” which may have been an original intention for this piece and possibly also a reference to the iconic swimming flags on patrolled Australian beaches that are placed a similar distance apart. Remembering we bring to our work our own unique experiences. And though I have lived in Canada since 1991, our beginnings are always our beginnings and mine are clearly evident in my work.

 Unusually in this composition I used some gold and silver leaf. I had some; I was playing with it as an addition and liked the subtle reference to reflections on water that felt so familiar to a part within me. Adding it made reference to the flash of silver we might see underwater or the glare or reflections on the water’s surface that keep our dark sunglasses in place as we tan. I love the metallic addition to the composition that flashes differently depending on the angle of approach and the time of day. The trees I have spoken of are a mere suggestion themselves cast as they are with a few loose marks that describe a breeze.  

Leaves embedded in the gesso feature in this little painting on panel. They connect the beachscapes that are part of my psyche.

Tree detail fro “Pink at Ponemah”. I love the little fleck of gold and silver leaf. They flash in different ways depending on the angle of approach to the painting

 In the painting there is a distinction between areas where sand meets water, meets sky, but it is a suggestion and open to interpretation.  Art and the making have taught me many things over the years. This little gem is no different. In fact as I was screwing in hangers on the back I remember I actually dropped the panel and wouldn’t you know it one of those sacred remnants of Australian, a perfect gum leaf embedded into the surface cracked clearly in half and left a weird gap where a lovely leaf form had been. Ouch that one hurt. The moment may have inspired an uncomplimentary word or two to escape. I don’t remember, it was in 2005, but knowing me I would not be surprised if it did. 

So, what to do? Never one to disguise a flaw I do recall dipping my brush into a lovely aqua tube and filling the void with a startling contrast to that blushing pink I have already told you about. It was a perfect solution and a reminder, when we are presented with lemons, we should totally make lemonade.

This little piece was a great lesson in life and in art that I try always to remember. And that is, what we think as a wrong turn can actually turn into something to celebrate. It also reminds me year round that though the seasonal winds will blow and bring snow into my front door at times, there is always the promise that the sun will shine and soon I will be migrating back to our little beach with the hummingbirds and eagles to feel that blush of pink on my winter weary skin once again. 

Gold Leaf detail “Pink at Ponemah”, 2006

My thanks extend to you today for tuning in to this episode. I hope the images are helpful and that you are finding something of your story within mine by listening in to the podcast, or catching up through this blog.

It’s all FREE content that I very happy to share with you. If my work or words inspire you please consider sharing the podcast with a friend or writing a review. You can listen to the full episode anywhere you get your podcasts.

This week’s meditation begins at 10:55 in the recording. I hope you are able to make time for a little self care.

please feel free to leave your questions or comments on the website or find me on instagram @mandartcanada. I would love to hear from you

Until next time, stay well,

all best

Amanda

Apple Trailer - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-at-the-crossroads-trailer/id1609992256?i=1000551067035

Wisdom at the Crossroads, the Podcast.

 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 art is definitely open to interpretation.

 The meditation that compliments this episode can be found on the recording only. In it the story of less as more inspires a simple meditative journey. Where we will discover moments of tranquility as we seek ease and refreshment using imagery to curate our own virtual sanctuary.  Catch the meditation at 8.15 in the recording.

“Town’s End” is featured on a version of one of my locally made MANDART PILLOWS. I offer them seasonally as a pop up. Drop me a message if you might be interested so I am sure to let you know when the next one takes place. There are a dozen different pillow designs now. Available in 3 sizes with or without pillow inserts.

“TOWN’S END” , or a detail of the painting appears in my book as an illustration. My book shares the name of my Podcast. “WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS”. Described as weightier than it’s small stature. This book is available at events and pop ups or directly from me personally.

“TOWN’S END” was the starting point for this illustration project that remains on the back burner. One day I will get back to working on my children’s book project. This version of “Town’s End” is painted in acrylic on paper. Shape and scale are quite different to the original in acrylic but the sense of expansion remains.

I know my Season 1 intention has been to introduce you to some of the art work I live with and to chat a little about the stories and lessons that inspired and were inspired by them.  And we will be chatting about art, todays piece is just a little bit out of order. It’s been a very LONG winter here and you know how you sometimes just need to shake things up a little? Well that’s kind of how I am feeling, so, I am allowing myself a little flexibility with my plan. In today’s episode we will be taking a virtual break from my own space to introduce to a piece called “TOWN’S END” that moved in with its forever family some time ago. 

 When our girls were really small I sought ways to acknowledge my creative drive I did some ceramics on the kitchen counter, hand building lanterns at nap time? I doodled with watercolor and chalk pastel and even some stained glass. All of these outlets came with sharp edges, toxic ingredients or were so appealing to inquiring small hands that any progress quickly devolved into a tactile game of squish.

 I learned to compartmentalize my creative projects, to seek nontoxic avenues to address my need for experimentation and discovery Textiles solved that equation. They were tactile, quenched my thirst for colour and could be picked up for short periods of time and abandoned without interfering with the process.

I was composing large art quilts in piecemeal segments that I exhibited internationally. I worked from my basement sewing room under daylight bulbs where I machine stitched into the night. David Bowie serenaded me with his expansive catalogue while I was happily at play and my smalls slept.  

I had befriended neighbors on my street at that time. Two of them were home economics grads who also had an affinity for cloth and textile applications. They kindly invited me to join their “Stitch” group. This was a group of women who had met when their children were small. They had recognized the need for mommy time that did not involve parenting, a place where women gathered in support of each other. 

The stitch girls were 10-15 years ahead of me and had they had figured life out. Together their experiences combined to cover all potentials. They had accomplished, confronted, commanded, conceded, succeeded and failed. They had grown together through all that life had thrown at them, and all of it with the support of each other. … And boy did they have a lot of the answers I then sought. 

Stitch continues and remains a highlight when we get together. They even inspired another circle of women I initiated on the Montessori playground. The mamas are a story for another day. Suffice it to know the gift of friendship grows and supports us through life’s chapters in all of our lives. 

Though not discussed in this week’s podcast I wanted to remind readers that this painting,“FIESTA”, 24’ x 60”, Acrylic on Panel, is my donation in support of The OSEREDOK ART AUCTION and Fundraising initiative in aid of the Canada-Ukraine Fund.

!00% of proceeds from this painting will directly help displaced Ukrainians.

Please contact Osederok’s Fundraising officer for more information katie@oseredok.ca or call 204 942 0218

Fast forward several years to a gracious weekend invitation to the recently remodeled and expanded lake home of one of our stitch girls, in Woodchuck bay which is part of Canada’s picturesque Lake of the Woods. 

 As an aside there is also a little woodchuck bay, a zig zag island and a labyrinth of channels and bays that have obliterated many an undercarriage on speedy watercraft operated by even the savviest of boaters. 

 We arrived at our friend’s home to admire the new addition with awe and were excited we could all be together and be so comfortably accommodated.

The weekend was a welcome retreat and a feast of friendship, camaraderie and support mostly undertaken with laughter in the air and wine glasses in our hands. 

Clear blue skies and friends on the way down to the dock for a morning swim.

Morning coffee, or tea if you are like me with an English background, is a lovely summertime destination.

Lake of The Woods is a beautiful; part of the country

I am a swimmer with a morning weekday habit at the YMCA that I have kept up for most of the 30 years I have been a resident then citizen in Canada. Getting up early is second nature to me so in the early morning after our overnight gathering I crept outside and made my way down to the dock to take in lake life at water level. 

The morning was still and clear before the families of boats towing skiers were on the move and the community that rose each day to play was not quite ready for coffee. 

The view across the lake was wide and majestic, still and inviting. It was tranquil with the remnant sunrise still in the air and the gentle echo of remote ripples lapping quietly against the understructure of the decking. The birds had been awake for hours and were as chatty as our girlfriends had been. the previous night. The moment was a peaceful pause before the day really began and others in our group joined me with coffee. 

Some dipped their toes into the lake from the end of the dock and a few others joined me to swim in the dark cool and refreshing channel. I took some photographs of the view from the dock that morning, of cottages hobbled along the opposite bank in generational groupings. There were Lake Neighbors known and in view yet still set off in the distance. 

The view across to Zig Zag Island. Little Woodchuck Bay goes around the corner to the right

Back at the studio some time later I prepared a square 30” x 30” canvas to accept my painterly thoughts. I began with quinocridone red light that I am sorry but I may have just killed with my pronunciation. I call it q red for short because I really don’t know how to pronounce it and I am not going to pretend that I do. I do love its clear blushing rose vibe. It’s a favorite of mine and with it I sketched in a suggestion of a space divided by a horizon line upon which I added the most basic of lake life infrastructure referencing that which came into view that morning from the end of my friend’s tranquil dock. 

The red pink marks made with a square flat bristled brush developed to suggest the community on the opposite shore backlit in thin early morning sunlight. Initially I added in the ladder rails from which reluctant swimmers made their way into the watery depths and all of us used to climb back onto the dock from the water. 

Their addition felt too literal to me at the time and altered the suggestion I was hoping to achieve of that lovely morning in that ruggedly beautiful lake country. 

The composition felt more restricted with their addition so with a liberal dose of rich cobalt blue among other blues and greens on my palette,  I painted over the man made additions in favour of the suggestion of a natural landscape, raw and unstructured, an image more in tune with that particular moment in time 

I was reminded in the process that sometimes less can be more and in the case of this painting it was definitely simplicity that I sought. My friend could recognize her tranquil oasis while a viewer unfamiliar to lake country terrain could still find their own connection to this painterly suggestion of place. 

Though not mentioned in this episode of the Podcast, “GEORGIAN BAY: AUDIENCE” is a recent work inspired by the Canadian Shield.

“Georgian Bay: Channel” was part of a commission request I painted this past summer. This pair share Canadian Lake country as inspiration.

 I want you to know that I don’t actively seek homes for my art beyond an invitation to studio open houses events or exhibits. I don’t want friends to feel an obligation to buy pieces inspired by their distinct and familiar landscapes. And I definitely don’t want to be forfeited an invitation to lake living for fear of it.

It did so happen that my friend was drawn to this piece in my studio prior to realizing it had been inspired by that peaceful memory at the end of her families dock. She appreciated the simple reference to place and did invite that painting to find a permanent home on a stairway at her lovely lakeside home. It lives where every visitor can’t help but pass it. I may have mentioned in previous stories how a large painting can expand a small space to enhance the experience of both. 

Mounted as it is in a descending stairway this painting, “TOWN’S END”, has the effect of a window. It is also a conversation piece. The 30“square image draws visitors down the stairs to the lake to enjoy their own experience of beautiful lake of the woods at “Town’s end”. 

Town’s End is a play on my friends last name but also a nod to lake country in general as a respite from urban living that is refreshment for anyone lucky enough to be invited to stop in.

“TOWN’S END”, Acrylic on Canvas, 30” x30”, 2013

My thanks extend to you today for tuning in to this episode. I hope the images are helpful and that you are finding something of your story within mine by listening in to the podcast, or catching up through this blog.

It’s all FREE content that I very happy to share with you. If my work or words inspire you please consider sharing the podcast with a friend or writing a review. You can listen to the full episode anywhere you get your podcasts.

This week’s meditation begins at 8:15 in the recording.

I will add the new link below when the episode is live but in case you stop by ahead of that you can feel free to google “Wisdom at the Crossroads Podcast” with Amanda Onchulenko, Season 1 Episode 8: “TOWN’S END”

Leave your questions or comments on the website or find me on instagram @mandartcanada. I would love to hear from you

Until next time, stay well,

all best

Amanda

A direct link to the Podcast on Podbean below:

A direct link to the Podcast on Spotify below:

A direct link to the Trailer on Apple podcast below

Apple Trailer - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-at-the-crossroads-trailer/id1609992256?i=1000551067035

Wisdom at the Crossroads, the Podcast.

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 in my painting practice. Sunshine yellow continues in the conversation about composition and inspiration in my work in art.

The meditation begins at 12:44 in this episode. It is available on the recording and I hope you will listen in.   .

“SWEET SIXTEEN”, Named after the yellow Head Highway #16. 30” x 30”, acrylic on Canvas

By Amanda Onchulenko

This pair became an unintentional diptych because of their proximity to each other on my painting wall. “YELLOW HEAD” and “SWEET SIXTEEN” are the names given to a regional highway our family travels on when we head west to visit grandparents. “YELLOW HEAD”, Acrylic on Canvas, 24” x 24”, 2013.

My current work in acrylic is focused on the painting process. I start with a general idea, inspired somehow by landscape. The act of painting for me is a tactile and physical process concerned with the feel of liquid acrylic contacting a surface: a panel being more resistant to the action of the brush, while canvas has a little more give, but hopefully not too much.

I am often asked how do I begin? “Do I start at the top and work down for instance?

No. For me right now a piece begins with no visual reference or defined intention. There is no photographic starting point like there once was, so the 100’s of photographs I have taken and continue to take are not engaged on paint days. The painting process instead flows through layers of visual decision making with a focus on the concept of composition. That is the internal structure that invites the viewer on a prescribed journey through a 2 dimensional surface.

When I paint I use only paint. Drawing is done with a thin flippy brush loaded with very watery acrylic paint. The action is reflexive and intuitive. I will sometimes use this technique right at the very beginning to rough in my initial intentions but mostly I reserve “drawing” for when the composition is more advanced and can benefit from a little clarity.

Each mark has a role to play. At the outset a work flows together with large active strokes and gestures that are first concerned with adding colour to a surface and I do aim to cover the entire surface, very often with a large wide brush. This is usually done in a compliment, or colour opposite on the colour wheel to what I think I am intending. Beginning with very basic, yet fluid, divisions of the surface into suggestions of background and foreground. .Way back when I was doing my higher school certificate in Australia my inspirational art teacher impressed on our group her preference for eradicating the white dots of the naked canvas from showing through onto the finished surface.  It was the early 80’s and photo realism was getting to the end of its reign. In covering the surface with underpainting, I feel like I am accommodating Diane Epoff’s voice which remains with me even after all these years, and should these compliments show through I am not leaving the surface untended, instead I am planting seeds that just might help the composition to bloom.

As a composition progresses my additions are slower, smaller and more considered as each mark I make contributes more significantly to the composition… less really does become more. 

Though not discussed in this week’s podcast I wanted to remind readers that this painting,“FIESTA”, 24’ x 60”, Acrylic on Panel, is my donation to The OSEREDOK ART AUCTION and Fundraising initiative in support of the Canada-Ukraine Fund.

!00% of proceeds from this painting will directly help displaced Ukrainians.

Please contact Osederok’s Fundraising officer for more information katie@oseredok.ca or call 204 942 0218

Some of the things I do with regularity that give my work its signature vibe include: washing my brush with regularity, some might say compulsively? This keeps the colour clear. In art school I double majored in painting and printmaking and though printing inks proved too toxic for my system, I did retain the printmakers’ tendency to think in one colour at a time. This practice helps to prevent me from blending colours down to neutrals. I use a single colour on multiple areas of a surface to encourage both movement and balance and I add compliments together to create darks without the use of blacks.

These strategies all contribute to the vibrancy of colour that you see and feel in real life with my work, it may be less obvious in reproduction and since we are on a podcast, well it can be whatever you want it to be. Lol I just hope you aren’t disappointed when you see the actual images on my blog. You know how when you read a book that later becomes a movie and the lead character you imagine as Jaimie Fraser from outlander turns into Ronald MacDonald? I want you to use your imagination here but I am hopeful my images in real life don’t disappoint.    

 I often paint in series and can have multiple pieces on the go at any given time. Sometimes these are defined groups like a triptych with 3 panels or a diptych with 2. These groups also mean I can paint a large piece that I can still fit into my car. These formal groups are always worked on as a team. Sometimes two pieces will be neighbours on my painting wall, like the two pieces we will talk about a bit later. Multi panelled pieces offer the additional challenge of having to be compositionally sound as individual paintings, as adjacent pairs and if there is a third player, as a triptych.

Composition is one of my primary concerns. It is the structure that drives the viewer’s visual path around a surface. For me it is what informs the direction any painting takes regardless of subject. Compositional challenges have been known to turn a painting literally upside down on my painting wall. An altered perspective can be the key action that helps me to solve the visual puzzle. Really when it all boils down painting is a visual problem to be solved and each artist uses their chosen tools in their preferred way to do that. 

Some days I might be frustrated with how a particular work is progressing. Most likely I have overpainted and lost some of the spontaneity that existed in the underpainting by trying too hard to clean things up and control the action. Why do we do that? I ask myself not infrequently. I might even be sulking because I have turned something fresh and fabulous into something , well, a little lacking.

 At that point my energy is better spent refocusing on another piece. By having more than one ball in the air I get to continue in the flow of painting until I feel finished for the day on my terms instead of feeling defeated by a block or a perceived misstep. In life as in art it’s good to remember everything happens for a reason and our journey evolves.

I always want to end the day on a high note. That way when I come back with fresh eyes on my next studio day, having allowed a composition to rest or marinate, the painting will generally lead me back to a resolution and i will be enthusiastic about making my next steps.

Life is definitely lived in the details. Here is a close up of the personality filled cloud that found itself in the composition.

The Cloud formation in these Aces might be distant cousins to the cloud formations that formed in the Sweet 16 pair?

Sometimes under painted marks create something unexpected. Like this open palm in “YELLOW HEAD”.

The unintentional diptych, “Sweet Sixteen” and “Yellowhead” are a sunny pair of paintings that combine aspects of several seasons in only a few major colours. “Yellowhead“ on the right bares some reference to the spring gouges left to tell the story of the farmer’s eagerness. These marks also help to section off the foreground and draw the viewer into the composition on convergent lines that delineate a pink triangle just off centre to the right. A soft rosy pink triangle forms between the 2 edges of these receding lines that might reiterate the idea of fertility in the rich dark earth of central Canada. Clear sunny yellows suggest the abundance of grain ripened at the heart of the prairies. Colourful quadrants are sectioned off by the loose marks that sweep suggestively across both canvases.

The middle ground recedes with the aid of vibrant slashes of azure and cobalt blue that also continues through both compositions. In each piece a lone cloud formed in my wispy under painted marks that began as a subtle sketch in watery blue. Sometimes a little happenstance leads the evolution of the subject like in this case where my watery initial marks combined to suggest an open palm in profile. In “Yellowhead”, if you are familiar with the Rider Waite Tarot, think aces of cups or pentacles and the potential of harvest and another seasonal cycle bearing fruit. In “Sweet Sixteen” on the left a Cloud formation on the far left puts me in mind of a cheeky character ready to forcefully exhale the captured air in his overstuffed cheeks.

The atmospheric upper third of both panels revert again to bright sunshiny cadmium yellow with creamy variations that balance the composition and read as sky. This pair of cousins though originally not intended as a diptych, hold together compositionally by means of a few shared lines that extend from one composition to the other. Sometimes that’s all we need to bring two individual composition together to become more than the simple combination of their parts. Painted in 2013 not long after we  purchased our cottage, when one teenage daughter admired them as a pair it was a simple action to bring them home to take up residence at the lake where wall space was more than plentiful.

Tools of the trade. Here are a few friends at rest on my painting desk. The way a brush feels is important to me. Squares somehow inspire me.

My paintings come into service as backdrops. I found “Yellow Head” masquerading behind this cheeky little buddha who came to the studio via the good will store. We can all use a little peaceful inspiration on occasion.

 The Yellow that dominates this pair is a colour not instinctively embraced by Canadians. At the time I was happy to assume the Australian part of our daughter resonated with this scheme. I resonate with their sunny personalities and personally love waking up to their positivity. Together they have taught me to appreciate the ages and stages of our kids, in all seasons, to observe the seasonal markers of the landscape and in the coldest of seasons to appreciate the radiant light they bring to my space that reminds me of the potential for warmer days ahead.

I hope their sunny disposition resonates with you as it does with me. May they remind you of road trips you have taken or maybe even of roads less travelled that might appear on your bucket list soon?

“Eye on the Sky” 10” x 20” , quilted textile, 2021 though not mentioned in todays podcast episode, it does illustrate another example of the prairie as muse. The yellow colour story also continues in this piece.

Thanks for tuning in to see what “Yellow Head” and “Sweet Sixteen” were all about. I hope you are finding something of your story within mine in listening in to the podcast, our catching up on the images through this blog.

IT’S FREE. If my work or words inspire you please consider sharing the podcast with a friend or writing a review. You can listen to the full episode anywhere you get your podcasts.

This week’s meditation begins at 12:44 in the recording.

I will add the new link below when the episode is live but in case you stop by ahead of that you can feel free to google “wisdom at the crossroads podcast” with amanda Onchulenko, Season 1 Episode 7: “YELLOW HEAD/ SWEET SIXTEEN”

Leave your questions or comments on the website or find me on instagram @mandartcanada. I would love to hear from you

Until next time, stay well,

all best

Amanda

A direct link to the Podcast on Podbean below:

A direct link to the Podcast on Spotify below:

A direct link to the Trailer on Apple podcast below

Apple Trailer - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-at-the-crossroads-trailer/id1609992256?i=1000551067035

Wisdom at the Crossroads, the Podcast.

Thanks for joining me to on this podcasting journey. This week we weather a prairie storm to be reminded less can definitely be more and firsts are always worth remembering.

Today’s featured pair, “AFTERNOON SHOWERS”, was inspired by an afternoon road trip in the summer of 2008. The pair became members of our household when a same sized pair moved on to their forever home. I didn’t let my husband sell this diptych which became part of the backdrop to our lives when they moved out of the studio and into our living room. They bring sunshine indoors on even the coldest days of a Northern winter on the Prairies.

“AFTERNOON SHOWERS I”, 30’ x 60”, Acrylic on Canvas, 2008 By Amanda Onchulenko

This diptych was the result of a very fun yet focused week of work while the children were at camp and Mum was free to play, all day.

Today at the studio as I was contemplating writing this episode I spent some time in a reflective state taking in the vibes and the winter light in my space. We have had a bumper year from a skiers perspective with record amounts of snow that has created snowbanks as high as fences. Snow ironically usually brings milder temperatures here but as luck would have it we have had record cold as well. 

 Driving conditions aren’t ideal and if you were to ask any Manitoban they would surely tell you they are ready to hang up their snow shovels and replace them with a rake or a trowel to go play in the dirt. Gardening season may be a ways away for us just yet but it never hurts to take ourselves on a little mindful journey when we need to reboot.  

Studio practice isn’t simply the act of creating; getting out meeting and engaging with a new to me audience is always a part of the equation. I love the connections I have made through my art and have found colour is connective particularly in a nation where winters white reigns for a large chunk of the year. After 31 years in Canada, I’m dating myself, I know, I find the morphed accent of mine does still get in the way especially when I am meeting new people or when I am tired and this weekend I was both.  I wrote the following quote many years ago as a way to describe the way I expressed myself without getting tangled up in vowels. 

“Colour quiets me, colour lets me sing. It is my language in all its affectations of nuance, of syntax, of pronunciation. My voice is most clear in colour”. And really it is still accurate; this podcasting venture is challenging me to step out of my comfort zone, to try new things, and to shake up my comfortable paradigm just a little bit. I want to thank you for spending your valuable currency listening in and deciphering my words. I really am trying to slow down, on so many levels lol. This past weekend my boss had me working 12 hour days, during a blizzard, at a convention centre, which explains the contemplative mood I was in at the studio earlier, some might call it exhaustion. 

 Being in a crowded public venue after two years of restrictions and shut downs was a definite contrast to my solo practitioner status where I work alone in a cozy and quiet studio space with piano gently playing in the background. I love to see colour at work on even the most taupe loving, and neutral friendly folks, to field questions and to soak up the enthusiasm of those who are truly touched by what they see.

 At the event which was a departure for me it was interesting to hear peoples questions and comments about my work and also to notice which pieces they connected with in a display I only half-jokingly called “Colour vs Winter”.  

“Fiesta” is a busy floral landscape with lots of action and lots of colour that I finished just in time to include. I called it “Fiesta” because right now I am dreaming of walking on a Mexican beach. Others may have also been in a Mexican frame of mind as “Fiesta” was an early favourite on  the most talked about list. The set up involed a double sided wall so those circling back to see the reverse side were greeted by a large 4’ x 8’ diptych, “Wonderland: Heart and Soul”, striking a pose in the afternoon sunlight.

  “Bear Necessities” had a distinct following too by the end of the weekend, among them my hubby who “in air quotes,” borrowed” her for a zoom courtroom he was refreshing at the office. These pieces might feature in future episodes but for now I want to take a brief journey back through the archive to an august road trip that resulted in another diptych named, “AFTERNOON SHOWERS I and II”. It is a pair of 30’ x 60” vertical canvases from 2008. (Shown above)

“FIESTA”, 24’ x 60”, is a busy floral landscape that inspired winter weary visitors in Winnipeg in February with thoughts of Mexican holidays and retreats to warmer climates. Since this podcast was recorded this painting has been donated to The OSEREDOK ART AUCTION and Fundraising initiative in support of the Canada-Ukraine Fund and local initiatives to support what Manitoban’s expect to be an influx of Ukrainian Refugees locally.

!00% of proceeds from this painting will be donated. Please contact Osederok’s Fundraising officer for more information katie@oseredok.ca or call 204 942 0218 (w)

With the snow continuing to pile up outside there are no rain showers in our forecast other than this pair that straddles our family room fireplace and fills our living area with prairie sunshine year round. 

They were the last piece I created to fill a gap in wall space when I exhibited, I forget where, that year. It was also the first pair I painted without having to set my alarm to pick up my kids or to fit painting time in around summer or school activities.

I was the stay at home mum at the time. I used to joke that I just wasn’t home. Instead  I would drop the girls off at school and head to the studio where I would be up to my elbows in paint or ankles in fabric until the alarm sounded to remind me it was time to go. Summer was something we all looked forward to but the downside for me was that studio time was pretty much out until the school year began again in September.

 In this particular year our girls were playing ringette among other sports. It is a game played on ice with a hook less stick and rubber ring instead of a hockey stick. It encourages team play, passing and without having to stick handle a puck, is played at full speed. It is fun to watch at even the early age groups.

 Anyway without grandparents nearby when the girls attended ringette camp together it was the first time we were without children since having children. The camp was a sleepover camp about 40 minutes to the south east. There was a request for cabin mums, which I successfully dodged. Sorry kids but date week and paint week loomed and I really needed it. Everyone was excited. I had bought and prepped two new large canvases for the occasion and plotted out 4 nights of restaurants for date night dinners out, so I was ready. Joy was palpable.

 The Sunday drop off day arrived and we packed up and drove to the camp where we watched the little teams of girls excitedly sort out their bunking arrangements according to age group and met the cabin mums. (Bless you)  A quick bbq and we were on the road heading home. Summer days are endless this far north. After what had been a beautiful prairie summer day we could see the sky grumbling in the rear view mirror as a spectacle of a prairie storm rolled directly towards the camp we had just left. The drive by shooter that I was I snapped a series of photographs from the passenger seat as I wondered if I was doing the right thing in leaving my babies behind. 

Life is definitely lived in the details. This one from the middle ground of “Afternoon Showers I” (Left side)

This washy layer was not originally intended to remain on the surface but I love the effect that it has. Afternoon Showers II

Sometimes under painted marks remain and help to define the direction a composition takes.

No phone calls home and the week went off perfectly. I remember feeling exhilarated and exhausted from all that work at play. The storm had inspired the subject matter and I had a lot of fun allowing myself the luxury of uninterrupted time to paint. I used some big brushes on the underpainting  with loose liquid acrylic and remember enjoying watching a watered down version of  liquitex’s brilliant blue drip into the horizon line and beyond from the sky as a reference to the stormy show we had witness on the drive home to the city.

The girls had a wonderful time and so did we. And a few days later I had the girls with me as we stopped by the studio. They loved to go there and we often did back to school fashion shoots on the roof with a turn of the century architectural backdrop. On this day I handed our youngest the studio keys as she always wanted to be first. She raced up the stairs to unlock the door as our eldest and I climbed to the second floor behind her. As we reached the top steps my youngest met us there, ashen faced and clearly upset. I worried she had fallen and hurt herself,” No” she explained, she had seen the paintings and was saddened to tell me, ”Mum, your paintings have dripped”. She thought they had been ruined. It was so sweet.

“Afternoon Showers” exhibited briefly but around that time my hubby had convinced me to sell one of my first poppy pairs also 30” x 60” that had hung on either side of our fireplace, to a client who had been campaigning for them. I agreed to send them on their way despite the fact that I tried to keep the firsts of new bodies work. “Afternoon Showers” made for a simple replacement.  It turns out the yellow that shines in the centre of this pair somehow speaks to me as an ex pat Australian where yellow is embraced more commonly than it is in the northern hemisphere. It might be something about the light, it is definitely something about that volatile prairie storm that neutralised the tension of worry and excitement and reminds me we all need a little journey on occasion that refreshes our perspective and soothes us from our core. 

Tools of the trade. This square bristled brush is a favourite. It is even loaded with canola yellow

This spring bouquet, likely one of the first from a spring garden benefited from an afternoon shower in the background

 “Afternoon Showers” has hung by the fireplace ever since. It’s true that we get comfortable with items in our home that help to make it feel like our own. These two are part of the furniture but they are not shrinking violets. Originally a temporary stop gap to painting storage I should confess  we have only recently added a picture hook and attached wires to their backs for hanging after they had been bumped too often from their push pin temporary supports and crashed down to the floor one too many times. 

This pair reminds me of that week at the end of a summer. My journey was intense. It took me away from my usual responsibilities and allowed me to play, to express myself as a creative. There was no accent to be misinterpreted beyond the accent on colour that clearly shines.

 Another lesson I learned from this pair was that less can definitely be more. With only 4 very full studio days I covered a lot of literal ground. I didn’t have time to go in and “neaten or clean” things up which generally leads to overdoing it so the end result remains fresh and seemingly unstructured. It also reminds me to respect the perception of young patrons who have their own very distinct set of parameters for how they see and interpret the world. Ruin is subjective.

 The foreground reflects the idea of scrubby and wild grasses by means of reductive brush strokes made with a square bristled brush. The marks are generally in solid colour on top of the washy rouged underpainting.  

These paintings work as a diptych but the compositions standalone individually so that if one day our competitive children can’t decide who gets what the pair of paintings can be easily separated to solve the problem, to literally balance the visual equation.

Podcast cover art. Keep your eye out for this image wherever you listen to your podcasts

Inspired by “:Afternoon Showers I and II” this little acrylic on paper uses the sky as a starting point for an illustrative project I have on the back burner. No time frame as yet for the follow through.

I hope my stories are inspiring and help you to recall some of your own stellar moments. on the road of life you have thus far travelled. I appreciate you joining me on the ride that is mine.

If my work or words inspire you please consider sharing the podcast with a friend or writing a review

Listen to the full episode anywhere you get your podcasts.

This week’s meditation begins at 10:55 in the recording

I will add the new link below when the episode is live but in case you stop by ahead of that you can feel free to google “wisdom at the crossroads podcast” with amanda Onchulenko, Season 1 Episode 6 :”AFTERNOON SHOWERS”

Leave your questions or comments on the website or find me on instagram @mandartcanada. I would love to hear from you

Until next time, stay well, all best

Amanda

A direct link to the Podcast on Podbean below

https://wisdomofthecrossroads.podbean.com/e/afternoon-showers/?token=998d99e082cb4bfdc5697ef71cbe4407

A direct link to the Podcast on Spotify below

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6rDElSmkHfPDMVnMRtSpf0?si=hmriAnf3S_e-7hYcvHNLeQ
Apple URL for the Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/widsom-at-the-crossroads/id1609992256

A direct link to the Trailer on Apple podcast below

Apple Trailer - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-at-the-crossroads-trailer/id1609992256?i=1000551067035

Everything takes time and sometimes inspiration waits longer than we intend

Painted Ladies were inspired by this celebratory bouquet

I should maybe have called the painting “Patient Ladies”

Welcome to WISDOM at the CROSSROADS, The PODCAST Season 1, Episode 3, “PAINTED LADIES”, 2019.

The desire for me as a Painter and a Textile artist, to do things a little differently began when I moved out of Winnipeg’s Historic Exchange District after 20 years in the same studio building. I occupied 3 different spaces at 318 McDermot, the last of which was Studio 311. It was here in this space the “Painted Ladies evolved after very patiently waiting for me to catch up with the backlog of inspiration I had collected. By the time I got around to painting them in acrylic, the inspiration had devolved into a bundle of brittle twigs. That’s where creative licence came into play.

Before we get into the podcast notes, …As I was prepping to begin this episode I was juggling the endings of a couple of large canvases I am working on. I am fighting a deadline and wanting to be painting more but as life would have it I am juggling too many other things to closet myself away from reality for as long as I would like to play at solving the vibrant problems I have waiting for me on the wall. I have mentioned I often have multiple pieces on the go and this is because a painting, like preparations for a good meal, can sometimes need some marinating.  Often I will hang an almost finished piece, if space allows, on a wall in the studio so I can see the work indirectly in the comings and goings of my routine.

Today I arrived with a clear intention I had planned for the foreground.

 My current project is quite far along in the process. At this point in a painting each mark has a larger impact on the composition so I try to tread carefully to avoid my over painting tendencies. Today I didn’t have as much time as I had hoped for but the time I did have was engaging and inspiring and ended with a signature which to me is kind of like an exclamation mark that states. Yes. This baby is finished. 

I paused yet still painted and walked away content. It was a good d at the office.

“Painted Ladies, 30” x 30”, Acrylic on Canvas, 2019

“Painted Ladies” is a Still Life: a loose and sketchy suggestion of a once beautiful bouquet that graced the then newly re opened Adelaide McDermott Gallery in Winnipeg. The gallery was on the main floor of the building I rented studio space in from 2001-2019 in Winnipeg’s Historic Exchange District. The Exchange was the centre of Canada’s Grain industry in the late 19th and early 20th,  centuries that became a national historic site in 1997. For those unfamiliar with the city, The Exchange District was the original financial and business hub of the downtown, home to warehouses built at the turn of the century that accommodated the exponential growth of a city known then as the gateway to the west and the Chicago of the north. It harbors a unique collection of early modern warehouse architecture, hip tech start-ups, art galleries, restaurants and more recently, loft style apartments. The area is regularly used as a period movie set. 

In fact, Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck were my neighbours during the filming of “The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford”, which debuted at the Venice film festival way back in 2007. The funeral scene among others I remember being filmed around and alongside the studio building. I watched the action unfold with other tenants from the roof as all the street side windows along McDermot had been blacked out for the shoot. It was inspiring to see the bustling vibe of the area morph over a few short weeks into a time stamped set where all electrical references to the 20th century were removed overnight just before our streets, the set, closed down for public use and the paved sidewalks became a sawdust covered boardwalk in the old west for filming to begin. 

The whole neighbourhood was involved. The building kitty corner to ours was extra central and at the sound of horn, from my window on Adelaide, I could see whole communities of period dressed actors spill out onto the pavement for their scene. Brad Pitt’s trailer was set up in our loading dock and the stables for all the livestock took over our parking lot across the street, so, yes, I can legitimately say, “Brad Pitt has parked his horse on my space. Movie making in the city might be a theme for another episode, for now I want to get back to those “Painted Ladies” who also had their beginnings in the Exchange district, the subject though, reaches much further south than Chicago.

 After the official opening of the gallery the beautiful flower arrangement purchased for the occasion which featured some Australians: eucalyptus and a central clutch of King Proteas, made their way to my studio for inspiration.  As an expat Australian I have a habit of rescuing Australiana when I come across it. In fact I have a stellar collection of linen tea towels from the goodwill store on Princess, which were a once upon a souvenir featuring all kinds of Australian flora and fauna. My intention with the flowers was first to rescue them so I could paint the arrangement but of course I had so many balls in the air as I usually do that I didn’t get to it until the bloom was well and truly off the rose.

 I did enjoy the view of the shapes though as they dried into a brittle silhouette against my windows light. Someone without an emotional attachment to the subject might have discounted the flowers as a bunch of dead sticks and looked elsewhere for inspiration. Eventually I took out a 30” x 30” canvas and loosely sketched the forms in paint. I’m a Painter. I like to paint and even when I draw I like to sketch in loose liquid paint with a flexible long flippy brush. ”Drawing”, for me even if it is done in paint offers a change of pace from the rhythm of my favoured square bristled brushes. I think most artists have specific tools they are drawn to and those choices become part of the distinctive painterly signature each individual has.

The “PAINTED LADIES” are 30” x 30” acrylic on canvas. A still life that reminded me that inspiration can wait but the creative process is not something that can be put off indefinitely.

The stars of the dormant bouquet were what I grew up calling king proteas because the same Native flowers had grown vigorously in a sandy oasis of a garden bed ,alongside the extended driveway in front of the garage at my childhood home. It was a hot spot and these shrubs loved the heat. The flowers bloomed vigorously alongside the driveway where they were witness to the frequent handball tournaments between the neighbourhood kids and the competitive nature of my pseudo brothers keeping score. This still life is representative of a time and place and I kept it because it resonates as a connection to both my Canadian home and my Australian beginnings, breaching a gap between my past and the present. She was also one of the last pieces I painted in my old studio before I finally moved out of the Exchange after almost 20 years in the same building. These painted ladies became my souvenir.

 The painting is a new addition to my home’s collection. This is partly a space issue as our walls are pretty saturated. Maybe it was a combination of timing and subject that brought her home. I had thought about entering the piece into a competition so she hung on the walls of my last hoorah at the old space but despite inquiries I did not offer her for sale.

 If you are an artist you can probably understand getting into a groove with your work, but I think anyone can relate to the idea of getting proficient at something and relaxing into a process. My process evolves through seasonal chapters, meaning each physical break away from the rhythm of the studio generally results in some variation or change in the subsequent work. Sometimes nuances I only see in hindsight, and I have to admit, this process of storytelling through my archive is really bringing some elements and tendencies into focus. (Thank you Dona and Cindy for your insight)

 For many years my studio life slotted in around the school year and the hectic sporting schedules of our girls. In fact I might still be conditioned to keep that structure as I find I am wearing out energetically at about 10 to 3 in the afternoon which is when I would have packed up for afternoon pickups. Coming back to the studio after a break or a holiday means it takes a bit of time and effort to return to flow.

 I am often asked how long it took to paint “that” piece.  I could respond with an estimate of 25 years, since everything we do brings us to where we are right now, but generally getting back into the saddle after a period away means the effort in the beginning is greater and the results are tighter,. Tighter for me refers to the work feeling  more constrained and depending on your perspective, everything is subjective right, less successful according to my personal painting paradigm.

Once I am in the groove, let’s use the analogy of a marathon runner whose training is prescriptive. When you first start out, there is some pain as your body works out the kinks in your style and technique, by mid-season the muscle memory is more relaxed and the output is too. As a painter that means the work gets progressively looser and freer as I get back on my painting horse and if I have a deadline or am nearing the end of a painting season I get into a flow state and magic can happen. 

 “Painted Ladies” came about during one of those relaxed and comfortable flow periods so the action was quick and fluid and the composition is strong but appears effortless. Muscle memory can account for part of that ease in the final image. Sitting at the dining room table, across from the painting and evaluating her with a critical eye I see her as a blend of presence and memory. There is a distinct structure, the composition in hindsight is showing me a broad square visually (loosely) divided as a peace sign. Colour balances compliments as is my habit but the primary colours are present but variations are more subtle. Yellows are a combination of: lemon, acid green, cream, beige and yellow oxide. Blues feature cobalt blue, emerald green, pale aqua and mint, while the red range is more fuchsia, light pink and quinacridone red light, one of my faves used sparingly carries heavier impact.

 There is balance between the intense rich colours of one quadrant in contrast with the subtle creamy highlights of another. There is movement and action in this still life and a whispy arc drawn in that wet flippy brush in white gesso, washed with mint that simply describes the transparency of the globular glass bowl in which those dried sticks sit.

 I am glad I kept this bouquet which felt a bit like a parting gift as I closed up shop downtown and moved into a new chapter. One of the lessons I learned might be that not everything is for sale and it is perfectly ok to keep personal things personal. I am the queen of overpainting because sometimes I am just so darn attached to the actions of liquid acrylic at the end of my brush that I want to keep going even when a composition is flashing a red stop light that is screaming at me to slow down and come back with fresh eyes. When time becomes a constraint like when a deadline looms for a show or on a rare occasion like this when I was moving, walking away from a piece while it is still loose and fresh naturally comes about as I stop overthinking and get out of my own way. Less can definitely be more. 

“Painted Ladies” became a gift to me. It was a reminder to commemorate both endings and beginnings, to take a pause and to accept where we are, as well as where we have been, before we head off to where we are going.

The colour is more subtle in real life but the gestural essence is the same regardless if the colours are distorted by variations in our computers settings .

Describing glass with a wet flppy brush

Here is the link to go back to the podcast to take in the meditation if you haven’t already. It can be found at 11:11 in the recording of this episode.

Wisdom at the Crossroads, The Podcast is also available wherever you listen to your podcasts. I appreciate you tuning in and joining me as this new journey begins. I will look forward to connecting with you again soon as we journey through the backstories of my artistic practice in the search for presence.

Until then, may you be more, be present and do a little less.

Amanda

Apple URL for the Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/widsom-at-the-crossroads/id1609992256

Apple Trailer - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-at-the-crossroads-trailer/id1609992256?i=1000551067035

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5AbmRHQor17IeJJivYaYJf

SPOTIFY:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6vfUjwApDxZ5ScqohexDe3?si=cgi3nlaVT3ywCqdBTOLbbg

Wisdom at the Crossroads, the Podcast.

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, 2008.

“Enlightened at Beaver Bay”, by Amanda Onchulenko. Triptych, acrylic on canvas, 2008. (48” x 48”, 24” x 48”, 48” x 48”)

Mindfulness has become a mainstream term in recent years. The practice of paying attention is what I like to call it. By being mindful we can help ourselves to feel centred and it can also help us to self-regulate our emotional responses, to balance stress and anxiety.

Taking a pause in our day is important and I am glad you are joining me as we help each other to be mindfully present, together.

Creativity has long been my avenue to presence. In my day, my work, my life, in the creative process I often find myself in the zone or even zoning out.

Today I want to take you on a journey through the backstory of a large triptych, called, “Enlightened at Beaver Cove” made up of three canvas panels, 48” x 48”, 48” x 24” and 48” x 48” which is an unusual configuration. Ordinarily I would use a consistent shape for a multi panelled painting. This one however was part of a commission I was asked to create for a lovely couple celebrating their 30th anniversary. I was honoured they wanted to gift each other a piece of my work to mark the occasion.

It was a site specific piece which accounts for the unusual dimensions and like all commissioned work I created two versions. “Enlightened at Beaver Bay”, was the larger version that featured a Lake of the Woods inspired landscape.

 I remember sketching out the foundation of this piece in broad strokes with a three inch wide brush in warm watery reds and oranges. The action was fast and focused, exhilarating and experimental and crudely mapped out my very rough painterly intentions. A picture paints 1000 words and I had a lot to say about this landscape that was more easily communicated in this sketchy and loose format.

I took both interpretations with me, all 6 potential panels to my clients home as the basis of a preliminary discussion where the clients settled on the smaller version, the prairie theme because it related more specifically to their personal experience of lake life on Lake Winnipeg at the edge of the prairie. It is a place where an inland ocean of fresh water or fields or purple flax rolled in the wind like inland oceans or oceans of land. The images more accurately aligned with their attachment to their family experience of a treasured summer lake community

I was drawn then as I am now to the larger scale triptych and was excited to continue work on the sketchy start I had made as my follow up project. Check out some details below.

Life is lived in the details…

“Enlightened at Beaver Bay” was inspired originally by a series of shoreline photographs I had taken as a guest at a friend’s cottage in Ontario’s appropriately named, “Lake of the Woods”. It seems it is not only Australians who are descriptive with their names. Beaver Bay is the name that appears on an early map of the small curve in the shoreline that must have at one point been home to Canada’s iconic rodent,

I was a grateful guest in this beautiful landscape which felt quintessentially Canadian.  Here I immersed myself in deep, rock bottomed waterways with shorelines and islands for days. The area is rich in foliage, with lush evergreens sculpted by the wind and rocky outcroppings of granite, worn smooth by centuries of seasons. It is boating country, self-propelled and motorised. Beaver Bay like my friends, the caretakers of this beautiful part of the country remind me of the support I received as a newcomer to this nation and this particular friendship.

The work of art in any project is an evolving process. It is not always an easy road through the flow state; sometimes it’s hard to start up and it often takes discipline and also a measure of forgiveness.

There is no room for perfection and often no room for expectations even if as the author of the story in colour and composition, I instigate a particular process with a specific intention and end result in mind.

I might start with a plan of sorts but when I am true to myself as a painter, I allow myself to react and respond to the various layers as they evolve and develop in the process. What might start out as a washy expressive under painted mark designed to get the party started, might, with some contemplative pauses inspire me to find ways to bring those initial marks into play as features on the developing canvas.

Every action becomes a decision that impacts every other choice. The ones that came before impact  the following decisions to be made. That foundation sketch made with a loosely applied washy mark with what is essentially a housepainters paint brush was so lovely and compelling I felt I had to re-evaluate my plans and find ways to keep the most appealing parts of the under structure in view. I wanted to keep the warmth and glow that backlit areas I wanted to infer as those richly evergreen trees in the foreground. That red residue of my initial thoughts is also a reference to another Canadian icon, painter Tom Thompson who’s “Jack Pine” among other examples shows the under structure glowing loosely around the boughs in a similar red.

Living with large art expands a small space. Art becomes part of the family.

 Colour is a thing for me and I love to tinker with the relationships, the push and pull of spaces painted in colours opposite on the colour wheel that become dueling features our eyes visually try to bring into balance.

 This disparity creates a literal vibration between areas and also assists me in moving the viewer’s eye into and through a composition. Sometimes it is a small mark, a brushstroke or shape set within an area of contrast that becomes what I like to call a “Popper” or a compositional seed.

Balancing, rebalancing organising and redistributing become the thoughtful actions of a fun visual equation I try to solve on the canvas or panelled surfaces. It is my work at play.

In a multi panelled image such as this 3 panelled triptych, it is not a matter of dividing an image into 3 equal parts and joining them back together. A true triptych is actually 3 separate and independently resolved compositions that combine to form something more. Each composition pairs with the adjacent panel to create two further compositions and finally the three panels all together become a final sixth composition, which to me is more than the sum of its parts.

 It is all about problem solving a visual equation in brilliant colour. The process inspires me, challenges me and quiets my soul as I work. It draws me in, pardon the pun, and sometimes takes me to the zone where time slows down and I am led to a place where I am fully and unequivocally present.

 This painting, “Enlightened at Beaver Cove”, lives in our front living room. It came home to fill a gap left behind when a 40” pair went off to their forever home. If you have ever taken a large image out of a small space you will have felt the absence and the space metaphorically collapsing inwards.

 “Enlightened at Beaver Bay” expands not only my living room wall, the view expands me with gratitude for the friendship that invited myself and my young family into this summer haven, their Lake home in the picturesque Canadian Shield.

It reminds me of the support I have been shown in my 30 years in Canada and the gift of friendship I am honoured to share. It reminds me also of the two bear sightings we made enroute and the trio of galloping deer that kept pace with our vehicle along a stretch of the highway on the drive out.. The image takes me back to days of young children in life jackets leaping off the dock into refreshing dark water, and the sharing of gin and tonics on the deck at dinner. It helps me to recall the transplanting of garden cuttings into a literal cottage garden not to mention the visiting friends in canoes who initiated my eager young girls into the experience of a twilight paddle across glasslike reflections as the call of Loons sounded off in the distance.

My friend and neighbour is a regular visitor to my front room. She has seen this trio many times. In the spring and fall at a particular time of the afternoon when light enters that room from opposite ends of the house, the light somehow illuminates the trio into a glowing beacon. My friend has commented more than once as she has taken in the view, “Mand, I know that’s my view, but I just can’t quite fathom how you interpret it like that”. I love her honesty and I love this painting

Fond memories definitely dominate our living room. The images document a time in our lives and stand witness to the seasonal moments that unfold in our space.  Our annual live Christmas tree joins the painted evergreen forest and fills the room with its heady evergreen scent as colourful baubles of the season naturally blend into the vibrant semi abstracted scene that “Enlightens us all from Beaver Bay”

My podcast shares the name of my book which launched on Australia day in 2019. Then I was very grateful for the support my creative efforts were shown not to mention to find myself sharing table space, even for a short while , on the best seller list locally with Michelle Obama.

I am similarly grateful for your support, listening in on this new creative venture.

Listen to the full episode and participate in the Meditation for this episode below.

Until next time, stay well,

Amanda

Apple URL for the Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/widsom-at-the-crossroads/id1609992256

Apple Trailer - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-at-the-crossroads-trailer/id1609992256?i=1000551067035

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5AbmRHQor17IeJJivYaYJf

Childhood memories are deeply etched for this prairie boy, now dad to these prairie girls.

My current studio is a tiny nest.

Dad drives the toboggan train…many moons ago.

Welcome back

Thanks for joining me for a virtual visit today.

 I want to invite you back into my studio which is very cozy right now, atmospherically light filled and as a bonus tempered with heat in the winter and cooled air in the summers, in life as in art, there is always a balance right and the question, Do I want the comfort of heat or do I want a larger but colder space to work in? I might miss the 800 square feet I once enjoyed but I love not having my water bucket freeze on the window sill overnight in the depths of winter, or the need to wear multiple layers of clothing to work in.

So, Just like at home where spaces within spaces have popped up and been given new designations, during these past 2 years, I have all kinds of specified areas here at the studio, they just happen to fit into about 140 square feet. 

You will have to imagine liberal use of air quotes as I describe my space. For those who have been there I hope you recognise it from the description. 

At the studio I have a lunch and meeting room, which is in reality two hand me down leather bucket chairs and a side table In between that is loaded with collections of rocks and twigs and shiny things. I sometimes touch or hold some of these while I am taking a contemplative break to look at and think about the current composition on the painting wall. 

I have a reference library which doubles as a privacy screen when the door is open and a kitchen or tea station on the bottom shelf when it is closed. My painting wall is of course the main attraction at about 10 feet long but I also have a cutting and creative table that I refer to as the office with canvas storage beneath it. Butted tightly up against the window wall is my writing desk which is also my painting table strewn with supplies, brushes, pallets, paints in tubes and tubs and a water bucket.  My hardy reblooming orchids have moved to the new space here with me too. They love the light and the view to the river and supervise the place when I am not here on weekends and evenings.. Weekdays are my regular routine here

 On this morning my Riverview desk is uncommonly cleared and is spaciously accepting of notepaper and my thoughts. Later in the day it will morph to its usual disorder to accommodate my paints as I get back to a commission I am just beginning. I have been working large lately or as large as my painting wall can accommodate. 4 x 8 foot diptychs have bloomed pretty regularly here throughout the pandemic. 

This new one is a 4 foot square canvas that is at that early stage where the underpainting is energetic fun that aims to cover the surface in colour in a loose and expressive way. It is at this stage that I usually write an intention with gesso on the surface as I am prepping it as a little extra reminder for me as the process evolves.

“Child’s Play”, Acrylic and Chalk Pastel on Paper, 2001

This morning with a clean desk feels like a pause before the action begins. My view to the river is covered in winters white, trees are bare structures along the river trail and from here through those trees standing witness to all the comings and goings, I have a front row seat to take in all the action on the river. There are skaters gliding by on freshly groomed river ice, solo and with purpose, or  in pairs and groups at a more relaxed pace. There are runners, dogs, walkers and fat bike cyclists too. It’s a community on the move embracing the outdoors in very, very, cold weather.

The view has gotten me thinking about communities and the outdoor spaces that speak to us, that invite us to play and to have fun in and around. So as a reminder to play in the great outdoors, I want to introduce you to a painting from the very early days of studio practice that I am calling “Child’s Play” , see the illustration above.

It was painted on a  half sheet of water colour paper, split horizontally, in 2001.  The first lesson this 11’ x 30” mixed media piece is reminding me is again the need to keep accurate records. I seem to be learning that one in hindsight. If you are an artist just starting out, keeping accurate records might be my best advice.

 “Child’s Play”, lives behind glass in our living room above a long silent upright piano adjacent to the Starbucks corner we chatted about last time.

You know, it’s hard to go back to look critically at early work without being critical. This piece is so different to what I am working on now, “Childs Play” is small and on paper and way more representational than anything I have done in a very long while. I am trying not to be judgemental with current eyes on my archive but I have to say it would never qualify as one of my best works. Instead it is a  representative of a specific time and place in both life and in art.. Beyond that it is also a reminder of the growth in my practice as a painter over the last 20 or so years and that is a perfectly good reason to keep older art in view.

As a side note here I very recently learned another lesson from this painting as I played a preview of the recording to gather my husband’s impressions. He emphatically added a disclaimer disagreeing with my critical observations. In stating his admiration for this painting he reminded me just how subjective the visual world is. Everyone’s opinions matter and he loves this little piece.

This painting was inspired by a Christmas visit to my husband’s hometown in small town Manitoba, and may have even been a gift. As a side note I don’t recommend gifting art because art is such a subjective and personal choice.

“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful”,

Said William Morris, and he was right.

And though this one was for a gift for my hubby, it represents something uniquely personal and so it gets a pass in our home. It came about after a discussion of favourite spaces and places growing up. As an ex pat Australian in 2001 I was always curious about landscape. I wanted to know what had inspired this former kid on the prairies, how seasons played a role and of course how snow came literally into play. 

These were favourite hats and favourite past times… snapshots taken on Tower Hill in the middle of the Canadian Prairies.

Our experiences differed obviously. I was never too fond of the cold and knew only oceans and sandy beaches. Ironically I ended up in the middle of a northern continent. It was also ironic that I was kicked out of my local swimming club as a winy preteen for complaining about cold water. To my defence it was an unheated outdoor, Olympic sized swimming pool at the start of an Australian spring… and training started at 6am in the mornings. It was without a doubt nippy. Older swimmers taught us to smear our shivering skinny bodies with Vaseline, like the English Channel swimmers, to insulate us from the cold water. The action of swimming warmed us up but never quite enough for me. To this day though, the water remains my happy place and I am proud to be a lifelong weekday swimmer at the Y where I swim indoors in a heated pool with no Vaseline required.

In 2001 when I painted “Child’s Play”, as a new to the Canadian climate young mother, one of the first lessons I learned in this country was that everything is better when you dress for the conditions. That lesson was quickly followed by the freedom of sliding, intentional and otherwise. 

Tobogganing at Tower Hill I learned, was a feature at the top of my hubby’s childhood list. The hill was part of an incidental greenspace in the small western Canadian town he grew up in. It still had a large pocket of scrubby forest at the base of the toboggan hill that all the town’s kids called their own.  That was before the late 2000’s when a new subdivision claimed some of that forested green space for the backyards of a new cul-de-sac. Generations of town residents who had grown up playing hide and seek and building forts under its summertime canopy were clearly disappointed.

Discussion of this place animated my husband’s features as he described memories of games, real and imaginary, neighbourhood kids painting wooden clothespins that raced in spring runoff water down the hill, the winner aerodynamically carved with a blade all the country kids carried (I am told) was the first to reach the deep forest puddles at the bottom of the hill. Each season featured its own exploits that took place in this treed realm at the collective heart of the under ten crowd who found ample ammunition there for the shooting sagas featuring stick guns and duelling swords.

He shared stories of his experiences in that forest with me as we walked from Grandmas house to the hill to go sledding. Dad was the head of the toboggan train and behind him he dragged two small girls on their bellies, on sleds, for this afternoon family adventure.

In illustrated letters I made the old fashioned way, literally cutting and pasting snapshots and text, we shared our North American experiences with cousins and grandparents overseas who like me had no experience with winter games.

“Our Christmas is cold and white at Grandmas house” we wrote,

There are no bikes being ridden on the streets as there are in Australia at Christmas. There are no beaches to swim at but Santa still comes to our house with too many gifts and we eat too much of everything”

“Daddy pulled us in a toboggan train. He likes to take us where he played when he was young” the story reads.

“It was quiet and peaceful on the way through the forest to the hill. Eventually we had to pull our own sleds. Small branches and twigs were coated white with tiny ice crystals” the pictured letter continued before action shots of kids alive with the thrill of motion sliding downhill on snow whooshed past.

 It makes me smile thinking of those simple pleasures. The picture letter ends with an invitation for cousins to join us for a white Christmas, to remind them they did not have to be sweaty and hot in an Australian summer, they could come to Canada where cooling off was a s simple as unzipping a jacket or taking off hats and mitts.. The story ends with hot chocolate as most events did in those long ago winters. I have since quit the hot chocolate

My life experience meant winter white was not part of my equation. We are who we are and we each bring our own preferences to what we do whatever that is and wherever that might be. The painting “Child’s Play”, from my perspective focused on the lush undergrowth of that favoured forest because the growing season was more familiar to me.

 My experience of the Australian bush also came into play. In a eucalyptus forest there is no fall season where the tree divests itself of its leaves and the branches lay bare like the North American deciduous norms. Instead much to the chagrin of homeowners, whose backyard features a native gum, leaves run an independent lifecycle where some leaves are dropping year round. A close look at leaf litter will show a range of colours in play all the time so spring green is not the only fair weather colour in the landscape of foliage that I painted. Strong earthy reds and rusty browns show up in this composition in the under layers.

 Those early works on paper followed a similar path. First under painted in acrylic which I often watered down to be similar to gouache or watercolour. I was precious with materials then and didn’t want to waste whole sheets on these early experiments that got me back in touch with my creative self.

 The underpainting gave me a foundation for the composition. I had previously had an attachment to earthy ochres and neutral oxides that I painstakingly blended together. At this time I was trying to train myself to resist greying everything down so 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. I am also keen on clear colour so I am in the habit of washing brushes a lot, some might say excessively but hey it keeps the colour clear and that is my preference.

In early works like this one I may have done some sketching or at least roughed in the basic structure of the composition in pencil and I was most definitely using photo references as I began. In this painting I gave precedence to the literal landscape. 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. 

It was interesting; Scale my husband explained was noticeably different returning to that sacred forest as an adult with our own children. The density of the foliage and the size of the trees that had once dwarfed him felt a little scrubbier and less the imposing fortress that had contained the exhilaration of breaking trail through long prairie grasses while chasing or being chased by a buddy in the undergrowth.

Art I find, can take us to places, both real and imaginary, it can inspire process in the creator and it can process aspects of inspiration from the past and bring that inspiration into the present. I hope you have pieces in your home that inspire memories of attachment to special places in your history 

This episode of the podcast ends with a brief meditation. This one was a reminder for me of the importance of the pause. and the comfort of looking to our memories for experiences within the landscapes that have brought us joy. You can find the episode by clicking the link below or searching out, Season 1, Episode 2 , Wisdom at the crossroads, The Podcast ,wherever you listen to your podcasts.

I hope you will accept the gift of a few minutes in your own presence by listening in. May you find your own rhythm: where nothing is forced, nothing is extended and nothing is withheld.

Next Tuesday we will gather here again to be “Enlightened at Beaver bay”. Please consider joining me as we reflect on how some of my favourite paintings have evolved and what wisdom i have found at the crossroads where action and presence meet. Invite a friend , drop me a line, with your questions or comments, subscribe or leave a review. It all helps to get a new venture off the ground.

Thanks for being here. I am Looking forward to meeting you here again soon

all best, Amanda

Apple URL for the Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/widsom-at-the-crossroads/id1609992256

Apple Trailer - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-at-the-crossroads-trailer/id1609992256?i=1000551067035

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5AbmRHQor17IeJJivYaYJf

Cleaning my brushes is a thing for me, wasting paint is not. So this is what happened…

Life is definitely lived in the details. Check out this sky feature in the “Prairie Girl”.

You never know what little piece of magic will turn up in the foreground.

Welcome to WISDOM at the CROSSROADS, The PODCAST! I can hardly believe I am typing that. This project has been a while in the works. The desire to do things a little differently began when I moved out of Winnipeg’s Historic Exchange District after 20 years in the same studio building.

At the time of moving into smaller space closer to home I didn’t really know what that would look like. Add in a pandemic and the loss of two long ago friends well before their time and I kind of felt ,a little bit of “If not now when?” and “Why not me?” So here we are and I am ready to launch myself right out of my comfort zone and into the deep end that is this new podcasting venture.

Thanks for joining me on this podcasting journey. I am looking forward to inviting you into my studio space to share in the backstories of inspiration and process that have resulted in my work in art.

After more than 20 years of studio practice I have created a lot of art. Most pieces find their forever home but over the years I have amassed a collection of artwork that spans my career to date and it is these works that we live with that I would like to begin the storytelling. 

There is a wide variety, there are pieces on paper, on canvas and on panel, and art quilts that have travelled further on exhibition than I have … which is saying something, considering I am an expat Australian and the commute to my original home starts at 12000kms. 

The pieces I have kept are all different yet they do share one common denominator and that is the fact that they have taught me a lesson or modelled something in particular that, I feel, is worth remembering.

Living with them reminds me of a time in my personal or family history and mostly they are pieces I have forbidden my husband from selling off the dining room wall. It was a thing there for a while in the early days.

When we have something in our personal interior landscape for a long time, those pieces can make us feel at home and grounded. It’s only when things change, when we rearrange them, move, or as we are, in recent years during this pandemic, spending more and more time at home that we tend to notice our environment more 

Our personal effects can be a comfort but at the same time the familiarity they offer means they can easily blend into the background to be unremarkable. 

The places and spaces we inhabit and are inspired by can be like that collection of paintings on the walls at home. The more familiar they are the less we see them.

Cathy Heller likes to say, “energy flows where attention goes”. Through our interactions I want to help you to see and experience the familiar, to explore and find inspiration in your personal circumstances wherever that might be to come back home to yourself 

I want our interactions to be about finding and seeking presence and I’ll use the process I am most familiar with to do that

I might be painting on larger surfaces with more confidence in the present but colour remains the focus of my choices in paint. “Blue Gums” in progress.

Creativity has always been my road to presence so that’s where I would like to start. For those not familiar with my work it is generally colourful, semi abstracted and though it might be inspired by a particular place, I have no desire to replicate the real world. I prefer inference and reference and an emotional connection to an experience. 

The act of painting takes me to the zone, that place where time stands still and the worries of my world fall away. It is a place where I am fully present in the moment and a place I would like to introduce you to , to share in the stories my paintings tell. 

The painting I want to chat about in this episode  started out inspired by a collection of photographs I took one day on the trip home from the girls’ gym class when the sun was shining on the incidental green space along the side of the road. It was wild and woolly and fully in bloom. This painting has taught me several lessons including a new reminder I am in need of learning and that is ..to keep better records of my work 

I am embarrassed to tell you that I don’t have a professional photograph of this piece, nor a name written on the back of the stretcher, which has been my habit for many years now. 

I am going to rename her “Prairie girl” after the once small prairie girls whose daily activities inspired her beginnings. At home she hangs in what we affectionately have come to refer to as the Starbucks corner. 

I don’t know about you but at our house during covid we have found different uses for the different areas in our house. The dining room has become a multipurpose design studio, a zoom room, an office and a bistro for when the take out boxes are traded for a tablecloth and dimmable lighting. 

The living room is my daughters’ office, preferred by the cat in the afternoon and also the yoga barre. But since I am inviting you into my space and suggesting you get yourself a cup of tea or coffee, something stronger if you prefer,… there is no judgement here.  Let’s imagine we are settling into the Starbucks corner in the lovely morning sun

“PRAIRIE GIRL”, with her eagle taking flight in the background and her fairy magic occupying the foreground.

The painting, newly renamed “Prairie Girl”, is a semi abstracted landscape, 30” square, painted in acrylic on canvas in 2001! That was in the very early days of having a studio when I shared space and barely had time to get there during the course of any week. 

Those were the days when the needs of our then very young children were my focus and my creative practice slotted in anywhere I could squeeze it in. The rhythm of the weekly schedule showed me snippets of inspiration but I did not have the luxury to take a day or an afternoon to seek and be inspired so I took any opportunity as it arose. These moments had to be found as they could so easily have blended into the background of familiarity.

In 2001 our daughters were 6 and 4 year olds and gymnastics was a weekly activity. The facility we attended was a bit of a hike from home, along a secondary road yet still within the city limits.

 I don’t want to say I am a distracted driver, but I am very observant, I am curious and I am always very aware of my environment. 

Each week the roadside foliage along the way, some might say weeds, but that’s a judgement and remember, there is no room for  judgement here… with each passing week the foliage scrambled more and more energetically as the weather warmed into summer and the roadside bloomed. 

I love a little incidental landscape, you know, those un curated spaces along the side of the road, in infill lots, along railway lines, in suburbia, or anywhere really where the weeds and grasses are allowed to compete and freely blossom. 

In the image “Prairie girl”, you can see the suggestion of the prairie landscape stepping into the background and the roadside weeds scrambling in the foreground. 

For me this painting will always be a direct reference to that one sunny day after gymnastics class when I pulled off to the gravel shoulder in my bottle green minivan. I handed my girls a snack and juice box to consume in the backseat while I quickly snapped a dozen or so pics on my elf camera before hopping back into the van and heading home.

 I am dating myself but this was before digital cameras and iphones, nothing was instantaneous and printing the film was a delayed and intentional act. My studio at that time was a shared squeeze but was a space that was exclusively mine while I was there in the odd hours I could make it and it was a place to be creative.

 There, I was not worried someone would eat the chalk pastels or hurt themselves with toxic or sharp implements and I could relax and immerse myself in colour, in the process of interpreting the world around me.

I worked on paper initially and quickly developed the habit of painting on multiple projects simultaneously. I can’t even remember what I was working on as the main focus at the time but I do recall I had this 30” x 30” canvas that kind of became the canvas I ended my day with. ( meaning I used it to clean my brushes and use up any excess paint at the end of my time there. 

The foreground evolved into a reference to that overzealous stretch of wildflowers on the roadside. It is quite colourful as marks were dependant on what had survived the day in my paint pallet. It’s a little repetitive and just like the weedy blooms I was recalling, it too found its own rhythm 

This happened without much conscious thought and the piece evolving from a vague premise without any preliminary thoughts or sketches. My primary goal was to use up the paint and not be late for pick up.  I was immersed in the process with zero expectation and I guess effectively I was getting out of my own way. This incidental green space first encountered in those trips to gymnastic class, had bloomed through the struggle and competition for resources untended just as my painting had began. 

This “Prairie Girl” reminds me to be present, to be observant and to be aware but possibly the most important lesson I learned happened in the top part of the composition, in the sky. When I did take a pause to evaluate what was happening in the canvas I didn’t feel the sky was  working so with one of those critical self-statements I remember telling myself emphatically.. “Mand, this looks like absolute crap!” So I proceeded to paint out the sky with white gesso , effectively overpainting with the intention to erase what I had done and start again. 

As luck would have it the paint oozed in great globs across the surface as well as my desk and since it was almost time to leave I gathered a spoon or something to coral the liquid mess back into a container.

 As I brushed and dabbed at it some of the purple paint from below the surface began to blend with the white and as each spoonful of salvaged paint stretched across the painting to reach its salvaged container, long strings of liquid paint drizzled across the surface

Exasperated and literally up to my elbows in wet paint I paused to take in the sky that had bloomed into a pending prairie storm. And if you look closely there is the suggestion of a giant eagle taking flight. “Prairie Girl” lives in the Starbucks corner of our living room. She has a beautiful handcrafted bloodwood frame crafted by my talented friend and picture framer. In it her presence reminds me of my own “Prairie girl” It reminds me to take those detour adventures when i can and to allow events to unfold. Sometimes what happens will follow the course we have planned while at other times a new path will be forged and that path just might take us to somewhere new and unexpected.

Years later while I was doing some experiments with dye sublimating imagery onto fabric I used this same painting as a source image. It meant really enlarging parts of the composition. When I received the prints back, details from the foreground had blossomed into a clear elemental image, a lovely fairy hidden in plain sight. She became yet another reminder to be present, to be aware and observant in our daily travels because we just might find some hidden magic along the way.

Here is the link to go back to the podcast to take in the meditation if you haven’t already. Wisdom at the Crossroads, The Podcast is also available wherever you listen to your podcasts. Thanks for tuning in and joining me as this new journey begins. I will look forward to connecting with you again soon as we journey through the backstories of my artistic practice in the search for presence.

Until then, may you be more, be present and do a little less.

Amanda

Apple URL for the Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/widsom-at-the-crossroads/id1609992256

Apple Trailer - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-at-the-crossroads-trailer/id1609992256?i=1000551067035

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5AbmRHQor17IeJJivYaYJf

SPOTIFY:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6vfUjwApDxZ5ScqohexDe3?si=cgi3nlaVT3ywCqdBTOLbbg