 "The longest journey a man must take is the eighteen inches between his head and his heart." - author unknown On February 1st, my solo art exhibition opens at MacDonald Island Community Art Gallery! I've called it "The 18" Journey" based on the quote above. The first time I read it, I felt like an internal battle had been acknowledged. A simple sentence from an unknown author but they knew the struggle deep within. I have often felt like my heart didn't quite get with the program, despite what I knew and understood on an intellectual level. But the heart isn't the one to blame, our head can get us into all sorts of trouble as well! How we think and how we feel is a rather complex system, isn't it? Often in conflict with one another and certainly not to be trusted, we tend to listen to one over the other. I've spent over a year diving deep into all the journey could entail, exploring the disconnected space between intellect and emotion (the head and the heart). I challenged myself to confront the questions that contribute to their misalignment, hoping to find freedom and peace on the other side. As a multi-disciplinary artist, I wanted to give myself the permission to create however I felt compelled. Although I had to reign things in, it has been a profoundly fulfilling year of creative freedom. I know this 18" Journey will continue long after the exhibition in various forms. For now, the exhibition will showcase paintings (acrylic, oil and watercolour), mixed media work, sculpture and 3D pieces, as well as poetry. In the next few weeks I'll be releasing more details about the events I'm holding in conjunction with the exhibition. There's a dedicated page here on my website that will give you more information and be on the lookout for posts on my social media pages, as well. I hope you'll be able to take it all in and join me in the journey!   A new year means many things to us. A fresh start, new opportunities, a clean slate, renewed goals, big dreams and the wonder of what is to come. I'm watching the Tournament of Roses parade right now, one of my own traditions for January 1st. The theme of this year's parade is, "Find Your Adventure" - what a great way to start off a year with active anticipation! We're not just bystanders in our lives, there certainly is an adventure before us, waiting to be found.
As much as I love the fresh start of January 1st, I have come to adopt the philosophy that every moment is a fresh start. The adventure of our lives is a collection of all these moments: good, bad and ugly - all working together to tell a story, all for a purpose. I wonder, what will the chapter about 2016 say? What adventures await you this year? What are you leaving behind? I'd love to hear about your hopes and dreams for 2016! Here's to a peaceful, hopeful, joy-filled new year! |