Live Theatre

Growing up, I was a very shy child. I would barely talk to people, and my parents and my teachers were always concerned with my lack of communication, especially among my peers. I was approaching grade 5, and my parents were so concerned by my lack of communication, therefore, they enrolled me in Surrey Little Theatre.

In 3 years, I performed in 9 youth productions, and became a fan of live theatre. Now, the problem is I can barely STOP talking. My experiences at Surrey Little Theatre taught me a lot about myself, and the importance of communicating with others.

The picture I have posted is me as Elf #1 in the Christmas play of 1995 (the biggest elf role in the play). I was so proud of myself because I earned that role on my own. In my practicum I did a unit on Readers’ Theatre, and I was able to make connections with two
of the shiest students in the class. I told them the same thing the youth director Mr. Cross told me, “Don’t worry in your someone else’s shoes. If you mess up it is okay because you did it in someone else’s shoes”. And that is why my first lesson of my drama unit was called Someone Else’s Shoes.

My Artistic Influence: Heneri Matisse

My artistic expression is influenced by the work of Heneri Matisse. My grandma and my cousins Nicole and Stacy influenced by appreciation for art. I cannot remind when exactly, but I remember when I was young attending an art show celebrating the work of Mattise’s. I remember going by the Blue Nude 2 picture, and being instantly compelled by the image. I was so fascinated by his use of stencil art (something that he started in 1948 before his death in 1954. As a young child, I wanted to be an artist in the worst, but I could not draw or paint for the life of me. I was so disappointed that I had given up hope on being an artist until that day. Since then cut out art has become my form of artistic expression. My pictures of representing the Metis people are all done by cut out.

Remembering Louis Riel

In remembrance of his illegal execution in November of 1885.
The course First Nation 498: Image of an Indian in Films was valuable course in teaching me how to recognize and examine media in regards to the hidden messages that misrepresent Aboriginal people/and or expressions of their culture. For my creative project I choose to show the Métis perspective of the events leading to the Métis rebellion of 1885.

The image of the man in a purple suit is John A. MacDonald on top of Métis land. I choose MacDonald to be purple for the fact that he is on $10 Cdn bills. The red smears in the picture is to symbol bloodshed. The image of the skull in the fire is Thomas Scott. There are two stories about Thomas Scott. The one I choose is from a Métis perspective, and I show Scott as an evil man who was out to get the Métis people, especially Louis Riel. The image of the mother and child, is Louis and his mother Julie. Besides God, Julie was major influence upon her son Riel. The text that surrounds the image is from letters between Riel and his mother. The type of art I choose is influenced from the work of Matisse.

Carl Beam 1942-2005

Carl Beam Born 1942-2005
Ojibway, West Bay, Manitoulin Island, Canada.

It was in FNST 411, I was introduced to Mixed Media, focusing on the Carl Beam’s work. When I was introducing the concept of Mixed Media to my class, I did a slide show using many of Beam’s images.

Carl Beam style was well know for using graphics, photographs, text, acrylic, ceramics, montage, photo transfer and collage. His art work liked to express the “relationships between Native culture and the 20th century white culture technology”.

“My works are like little puzzles, interesting little games. I play a game with humanity and with creativity. I ask viewers to play the participatory game of dreaming ourselves as each other. In this we find out that we're all basically human…. My work is not fabricated for the art market. There's no market for intellectual puzzles or works of spiritual emancipation.” – Carl Beam in an interview with Allan J. Ryan

When Beam was a young child he was sent to Garnier Residential School, many of his images reflect his childhood experiences were “less than pleasant”. Beam studies art at the Kamloops School of Art, UVIC, and the University of Alberta. It was the National Gallery of Canada, “one of the first major Canadian galleries to recognize Beam’s work”.

If you wish to read more and see more of Carl Beam, you should borrow the book Trickster from UNBC library. My favourite image of Beam, is when he posing in Christian Dior underwear.

Sources
www.maslakmcleod.com/c_beam.html
http://www.artbank.ca/News+and+Events/Activities/bulletin20.htm

I have always found comfort in Joan Miro’s work. His sense of colour mixture, and his “naïve, childlike impressions” have always captured my attention. In grade 11, I once tried to experiment with his Cubanist -Surreal style, which turned out to be difficult to reproduce.

Miro was born in Barcelona in Northern Spain, and later studied art at the Barcelona School of Fine Arts at the Academia Gali. It was in the 1930’s that Miro had developed his unquie style. His work has been described as a “reminiscent of drawings made by children at the age of five...who integrate[d] elements of Catalan folk art”.

Sources
www.artelino.com/articles/joan_miro.asp
http://www.e-fineart.com/biography/miro_bio.html

This image was originally designed for the mural outside of the Duck Lake Museum. Artist Ru Huang created the image as a represent of the aftermath that occurred at Duck Lake, on March 26, 1885, between the Canadian government and the Métis people. “Artist Ru Huang conveys the solemn, tragic and moving aftermath of conflict. It is as if the Métis fighter, even in death, is clutching the precious ground he died for. The Policeman and the Volunteer, who died no less nobly or tragically, appear to be subtly portrayed as almost strangers in the land”.
It is one of my favorite pictures because it represents something outside the box. Although the image was envisioned by the artist, it is a good reminder of the relationship and history between Canada and the Métis people.

(Source: Town of Duck Lake. www.ducklake.ca)

Just SCREAM

My favorite painting of all time is Edvard Munch The Scream. I love the picture because it shows a person screaming. Acceptance, saying good bye, and moving on. So often life challenges us to the point where you have nothing left to give; that your at the end of your rope holding on for dear life. Faced with two options, let go or find that last bit of drive and fight. The picture is a good reminder it is okay to be down and be sad, about things that happen or have happened along the way. But it is important to release.