Be Still my Heart

Dimensions: 20 x 24 x 0.5
Inspiration: I want to pay homage to the people living and using this stretch of road that passes through magnificent scenery, as I am moved by their tragic stories of loss. The beauty of the seascape for me is a symbol of hope, as well as longing for a peaceful future. The poem expresses loss, longing and hope that arises with the contemplation of death.

Dimensions: 20 x 20 x 1.5
Inspiration: This piece was inspired by a series I did based on my mother's life. In this image, based on a family photograph, I cropped the image into a very tight face focusing on the eyes . The photo was taken shortly after the birth of her first child . She and my father were great dancers and loved Glen Miller and the other Big Band orchestras and the " crooners " of the 40/50's. We ( my sisters and I ) always thought of her in songs as she loved to sing too. I wondered who she only had eyes for - her new baby or her husband.

Dimensions: 16 x 12 x 0.75
Inspiration: I wanted to do this portrait of a mysterious woman I got to know in a restaurant in Beijing. She embodies a lot of feelings and experiences in contemplating her image. Her openness yet reserve is appealing to me and invites memories of living in China. I feel she is reciting Emily Dickinson’s poem, I am Nobody, to us, the viewers.

Dimensions: 16 x 20 x 1.5
Inspiration: In my travels through hills and mountains I have discovered a few spots with infinite inspiration, regardless of the time of year. This is one.

Dimensions: 1 x 11 x 16
Inspiration: The blue epoxy reminds me of the song "Singing the Blues"

Dimensions: 18 x 36 x 2
Inspiration: Loving the photographs from space telescopes, and viewable on my computer was so inspiring. I wanted to come up with my own version of what this small part of the universe might look like from a different perspective.

Dimensions: 10 x 12 x 1
Inspiration: Inspiration

Dimensions: 20 x 20 x 1.5
Inspiration: This painting is my love for the forest and a direct attempt to interpret the poem "This is the Place", when as I read it, visual images arose in my mind, one after another all through the poem. The opening verse took me immediately to the rain forest on Vancouver Island. The 'constant sound of moving water', 'the ground soft and spongy', 'a calligraphy of shapes' all painted a picture in my mind. The focus of the painting came with the line 'the whole tree leans in the wind... But the last line held me 'captive as you are grown over and absorbed by the slow and ancient riot of growth.' "Between the Pacific Ocean and the land, sloping towards the east, Stand the highest freestanding creatures on earth... This is the place the path begins... A calligraphy of shapes, amputated tree limbs splintering in the wind. The whole tree leans in the wind of centuries, Twisted around itself in time to the wind. The cold pine scent and the raven call, circling upward into the spiraling wind tunnels... If you stop too long you will be held captive as you are grown over and absorbed by the slow and ancient riot of growth." by Tanya Darling

Dimensions: 3.5 x 7 x 7.5
Inspiration: I love the process of creating something unique from wood that otherwise would feed a fire, exposing the beauty hidden beneath the bark, knowing that the less perfect wood makes the most exquisite vessels. Hesse describes this well. When a tree is cut down and reveals its naked death wound to the sun one can read its whole history in the luminous, inscribed disk of its trunk, in the rings of its years, its scars, all the struggle, all the suffering, all the sickness, all the happiness and prosperity stand truly written, the narrow years and the luxurious years, the attacks withstood, the storms endured. By Herman Hesse

Dimensions: 16 x 24 x 1.5
Inspiration: There's a melancholic beauty to this scene: the weight of weariness, but also of quiet resolve.

Dimensions: 12 x 36 x 1.5
Inspiration: This particular piece held a certain mystique, a beauty that seemed to transcend words. It felt like a memory not entirely my own, yet nestled deeply within my heart. For a time, it remained nameless, until a dear friend of mine stumbled upon it. She suggested "What's Left Behind," and I was intrigued. When I asked her about the choice, she shared a tender reflection. She spoke of her time in Victoria, the beaches, the ocean scent, the salty air, the breathtaking scenery, and the profound sense of peace it brought her. Though she's since moved away, the painting evoked those cherished memories, reminding her of leaving everything behind, encapsulated by the island of trees. It felt like a heartfelt christening, and thus, the piece found its name.

Dimensions: 24 x 24
Inspiration: The poem that produced this piece is about love and longing of a subtle kind - but if we can't love ourselves where are we? The intent of the poem is to appeal to "self" to come forward and create. The longing is in the hesitancy as is the love. Both are an offering of love.

Dimensions: 4 x 8 x 10
Inspiration: I love the process of creating something unique from wood that otherwise would feed a fire, exposing the beauty hidden beneath the bark, knowing that the less perfect wood makes the most exquisite vessels. Hesse describes this well. When a tree is cut down and reveals its naked death wound to the sun one can read its whole history in the luminous, inscribed disk of its trunk, in the rings of its years, its scars, all the struggle, all the suffering, all the sickness, all the happiness and prosperity stand truly written, the narrow years and the luxurious years, the attacks withstood, the storms endured. By Herman Hesse

Dimensions: 24 x 24 x 1
Inspiration: Having a daughter who is an organ donor is always on my mind, and defines who I am as a mother. When I heard Jamie Lawson's song, "Still Yours", my heart became still -- utterly still, almost as if it had stopped beating. Similarly, when I received two random colour swatches from an art group to which I belong for a challenge exhibit, my heart was quiet. The world seemed to be non-existent. I stood in disbelief: my swatches were red-orange and blue! The image that instantly came to mind was my daughter and the recipient’s hearts at the moment of transplant. The song that guided my hands was "Still Yours". Hearts in Abeyance is a mother’s reflection on the gift that her daughter, Dani, passed on to another family. The pieces are counterparts, just as the lives of donor and recipient are entwined. The two works, being near mirror images, form a whole heart. The red-orange heart has seventeen pieces: Dani’s age at passing. The blue heart has thirteen pieces which is the family’s lucky number, being Dani’s date of birth. Because of medical science, her life carries on, and through art and stories, she continues to inspire others. Hearts in Abeyance is a diptych, with each canvas being 12"x12".

Dimensions: 11 x 14
Inspiration: There are a number of contemporary and historic poems containing the phrase 'whispers sweet nothings'; however the original line is from a 1776 poem by Mary Elizabeth Braddon that reads "As low he bend o'er her he loves so dear, to whisper some sweet nothing in her ear". In my lino print, the jackrabbits' ears are a notable feature, and the male attempts to convey his interest in the female, by whispering flattery, but not at close range. Nonetheless, with superior hearing, the female listens to his words, but finds them puzzling.

Dimensions: 18 x 24
Inspiration: The ocean has held me in its spell since I moved to the Pacific Coast 17 years ago. I feel that it is where I've always been meant to live. Mary Oliver's poem "Ocean" resonates with me when she says "I will live nowhere except here, by Ocean, trusting equally in all the blast and welcome of her sorrowless, salt self. The photo inspiration for this painting came from the north coast of Vancouver Island, a rugged, beautiful area. 2024 has brought many sorrows and I can appreciate Mary's description of the dusty road and acceptance as the only answer.

Dimensions: 30 x 40 x 1.5
Inspiration: In Strathcona Park we learned to thoroughly enjoy camping after many years of not camping. It remains one of our favourite places for its wild naturalness. But the natural landscape colours here are muted out. In 2023, my beloved husband of 45 years died suddenly. I was devastated to say the least. My visual language became the pink healing energy of love and longing as I infused it into this favourite landscape.

Dimensions: 36 x 46 x 1.5
Inspiration: This painting inspired by the poem “If I Could Tell You” by W. H. Auden. A lament to the passage of time to a loved one. A poem about time and the inability to change or explain its effects even though we desire understanding.

Dimensions: 22 x 16 x 23
Inspiration: The tune "Rockstar" is one of my favourites by the group Nickleback.

Dimensions: 30 x 24 x 1.5
Inspiration: Birds have always been part of natures songs often never heard...as for a poem...one can only wish to capture the words that would give blessings to all who stop and admire.