NL Rock Art

Over the summer, Andrew and the children and I have been enjoying some of the walking trails in and around town that we frequent regularly. On a recent visit to Voisey's Brook Park, we noticed some painted rocks hidden along the path. They made us smile, but when we looked a little closer, I saw that there was a message on the back: "NL Rock Art. Keep or Rehide". We ended up finding several beautifully painted rocks tucked in around the trail that day. We collected one or two and hid them in different locations in the park, and we choose this special strawberry rock to bring home.

When I looked up 'NL Rock Art', I was amazed to see that this is an actual thing that people do! The idea is to paint rocks and place them around the community for others to find and enjoy!

It is incredible to see some of the time and talent that goes into painting theses beautiful rocks! We found this one with the bunny while walking around Kent's Pond. I think the general thought is that you rehide them for others to find, unless you find one that you love or inspires you - then you keep. We are keeping this beautiful bunny, for now anyways!

I know it might not sound very exciting, but I got a surprising amount of thrill out of hunting for painted rocks this summer. Once I realized that they were hidden all over some of our favourite locations, we were eager to get out there and find more!

I loved the idea so much that we decided to paint some rocks of our own and hide them in special places around town. We hid a few in Bannerman Park, and still have a couple more to hide on our next adventure!

These rocks provided hours of entertainment, both from creating them and imagining where we were going to hide them. Is this happening in your community? Next time you are out for a walk on the trails or in a park in your neighbourhood, keep your eye out for some interesting looking rocks! They are so fun to find! (Maybe you will find our sweet little turtle or chick?!)

Check out NL Rock Art on Facebook to see where they might pop up next!

Petit Mail

With so much of our time focused on technology these days, I love getting good old-fashioned paper mail. And when the majority of our mail is comprised of bills, bank statements and medical appointment reminders, it is exciting to find a brightly coloured, fun looking envelope sticking out of the pile!

We recently discovered Petit Mail - a kids story postcard subscription created and written right here in Newfoundland by local mom and entrepreneur, Alison Butler. Alison created Petit Mail with her own kids in mind, after noticing how her young daughter loved going with her to their community mailbox. She wanted to give her the excitement of finding a piece of mail with her own name written on it. Learn more about Alison and the story behind Petit Mail story postcards here.

Petit Mail is a fun way to introduce a new generation to the joy of snail mail. Every month, your Petit Mail story postcard arrives in your mailbox in a bright, colourful envelope, addressed by hand with your child’s first name. Brennen was pretty excited to receive his!

Each Petit Mail story postcard has a different theme, such as: art, writing, science, engineering, nature, reading, and imaginative play, all at an age-appropriate level. We were excited to receive several themes to try this month!

Brennen and I enjoy making art, so I was thrilled to find 'Oliver Explores Art' in his envelope. We read the postcard, then used the tips on the back to dive right in and make some art together!

All kids love to use their imaginations and create something new with their own hands. Some kids, like Brennen, need extra help to do so but it is just as important for him to be creative as it is for anyone else. Art fosters sensory perception, offers children a chance to experiment, create and build. It strengthens their ability to think and make decisions, and helps children make sense of the world around them. And art is fun! Children have a natural tendency to create, and as always, with children’s art activities (certainly at our house) it is more about the process than the final product.

I love that Petit Mail encourages a parent and child to spend quality time together, and offers you suggestions of new and unique ways to spend that time with your child. As a Mom, I always harbor a bit of guilt, thinking I could be doing more. There is always too much to do and not enough time to do it, and the reality of life with jobs and families and infinite responsibilities is that we must prioritize and make time for what is most important. For me, that is my children. Spending precious time with Brennen is at the top of my list. It can be tough at times to connect and engage with him, but I will continue to make efforts to find ways to nurture our relationship, because it is the most valuable part of my life.

Thanks to Alison at Petit Mail for creating such a high quality subscription service that offers so much in one little envelope.

Our next story postcard is 'Milo Loves Reading'. We love reading together, and we love to visit our local library, so this one should be fun!!

Alison has also recently created a Preschool Kids Reading Club on Facebook where parents can share book ideas and recommendations specifically for preschoolers and early readers. Learn more about that HERE!

Freedom Tube

Jes Sachse is a Toronto-based writer, journalist, artist and curator. Moreover, Jes is a story-teller. With a rare genetic condition known as Freeman-Sheldon syndrome, Jes has unique facial features, a curved spine and their right leg is a bit shorter than the left, but Jes is very positive and forward-thinking. Jes identifies as genderqueer and prefers non-gendered pronouns (they, them and their in place of he or she). Their passion is disability, whether through writing or art. It is a daily lived experience that is intricately tethered to how they exist.

Jes was in St. John's recently to take part in HOLD FAST - A Contemporary Arts Festival presented by Eastern Edge Gallery. I had the pleasure of meeting Jes at the festival's opening night 'Fancy Artist Talks'.

Jes's work was featured in the Hold Fast 'Art Crawl', in which artists from across Canada presented projects throughout the city over the course of a single evening. Jes created a curtain of over 12,000 drinking straws that was displayed at St. John's City Hall. The piece is entitled "Freedom Tube", and it links to disability culture and the idea that a drinking straw, to most people, is just a drinking straw, but to many people with a disability, it represents a sense of freedom and independence. Jes explained it's meaning by telling the story of buying a coffee for their friend, who also had a disability:

“Eliza, are you able to do take-out cup lids, like, put your mouth on it and sip?” She laughed and she’s like, “No!”, like I asked the stupidest question. And I started explaining that generally I deal with the fact that I can’t do it either by using a straw. And without missing a beat, she turns her head around at me and says,“You mean ‘freedom tube’”.

"It became this object that I then, as a visual artist, immediately connected to, and I wasn't able to sleep after she said that to me. I was remembering every time I’ve ever seen a disabled person use a straw. I kept imagining straws - the classic red and white bendies, thousands of them in front of me. Sitting, creating long strands of piping, weaving them together in a sort of tapestry. The straws becoming a network of straws - one for every cup of coffee, one for every daily adjustment to make bodies "fit". And with patience and the passing of time, this mundane ritual becoming something larger. Together the straws will become a structure - an iconography of culture, and an honouring of an invisible tradition."

Freedom Tube has already had several incarnations, and is forever a work in progress. It does not have a finalized form. It is a new show, a new exhibit every time. Jes starts each new installation from scratch because the labour of the work is just as much a part of it. Very much a proponent of community-based art, Jes believes that it is important to focus on the ways that communities can contribute to the process of art-making. They invite people to not only visit their work, but to participate as well.

On Saturday, I met Jes at City Hall and spent several hours helping put straws together!

"Aesthetically, I’m a little in love.", said Jes. "I have a penchant for pretty things, and this is a very pretty thing. It’s pink and pretty and fun and I kind of feel like I’m at a birthday party. The straws are very uplifting en mass."

We had a great discussion about disabilities, perception, and the role of the internet and digital media. It is interesting that once you put something out in the public domain, you have little control over how people interpret it, and as an artist, Jes uses their art to make social statements.

If you think Jes looks familiar, it's because they went viral back in 2010 when starring in a series of photographs taken by Holly Norris, spoofing advertisements by American Apparel. The series was called “American Able”, and included 13 recreations of actual American Apparel ads. The photos challenged the retailer's claim that the models in their provocative ads are just "ordinary people".

American Apparel gave permission to display the photos in fifty Toronto subway stations, and both Holly and Jes were floored by all of the negative feedback. They heard comments that the photos had "shock value", that they were "ugly", "disturbing" and even "grotesque". The photographer replied with "Those are photos of Jes. Why does Jes’s body have a shock value? Why is it that people’s disabilities are so unseen that there’s a shock value there? There shouldn’t be.”

With Jes's latest installation of Freedom Tube, they continue on the path of making people stop and look, and hopefully also making people think.

"I needed it to not be something you can pass by and think an easy thing about. It makes you ask questions about what it is or what it’s trying to do, which is what I decided was enough."

An Art Affair

Megan Morrison holds a place in her heart for people living with Alzheimer's Disease. Having two beautiful grandmothers who have lived with the disease, she has seen first hand how it affects not only the individual, but their family.

She created Newfoundland Art Affairs as a way to engage these individuals in meaningful activity.

Megan says, "I have a dedicated passion for working with individuals living with Alzheimer's Disease and those who care for them. I have facilitated arts-engagement for those living with dementia on a one-on-one basis in both a private home setting and a residential community setting in the St. John's, NL community. I am currently in the final stages of my PhD in the Faculty of Medicine, in the division of Community Health & Humanities at Memorial University of Newfoundland. In 2011, I participated in the Creative Expression, Communication and Dementia Conference in Burlington, Ontario. In 2012, I received the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada and Creative Expressions of Dementia Society Award. In 2013, I attended the Training Institute at the Creative Centre at University Settlement, New York for artists and administrators in creative aging. I have participated in community art classes since a very young age and consider myself mostly self-taught."

An 'Art-Affair' is a half-hour to an hour visit where a person living with Alzheimer's Disease is given an opportunity to do a creative-arts activity. Megan will come to the individual's home or to a residential care-facility, and based on their personality, strengths and their level of ability, she will engage the person in an art-making activity. The session is aimed at enriching the quality of life for the person with dementia as well as those who are caring for them.

"The visits are not "art therapy" in a traditional sense. I am not an art therapist. However, many would argue that art has a natural therapeutic effect. Essentially, I am providing a visit, materials, and the assistance needed to enjoy creating something artistic."

Art Affair activities may include any of the following: watercolour and acrylic painting, mixed media painting, collage, crafts, poetry, play dough or clay activities, working with photographs, print-making, playing with textures, pastels, imitation stained glass, or metaphor imagery put into visual form.

"My experience working with people with Alzheimer's is that while they all seem to follow a similar progression of the disease, their personalities reveal beautiful differences through art and music. I've been looking at how people with dementia communicate through body language and symbolic words and gestures, through a research lens for about 7 years. I have worked as a volunteer as well. I find myself now somewhere in-between. I really love adding to their quality of life and experience of person-hood. I am interested in seeing how the community responds to an arts-based resource of support for families going through this. I'm not an art therapist, but I am invested in art as a means to better health and better quality of life. Individuals living with dementia have so many stories. Some of these stories are based on things you and I may remember, and some of them aren't. Art and creative expression encourages all stories. Our stories are who we are. Our art helps us to enjoy who we are."

Megan, I am so inspired by what you do. It's like we are on opposite ends of the spectrum. I work with children, and spend my days preparing them for their future. I drench their beautiful little brains with knowledge and experiences that I hope will give them the best possible foundation from which to grow.

I don't often think about the later years (the last years), but longevity is in my genes. If I live to be 94 like my grandmother, or 102 like my great-grandfather, I can only hope to know someone as kind as you, who will take the time to engage me in activities to stimulate my mind and soul.

Faces of Newfoundland, Episode 2

Faces of Newfoundland, a photoblog capturing faces and stories from across the province, proudly presents a series of collaborative videos "made with you, for you, to help bring us all together".

A couple of months ago, I talked about how Brennen and I were photographed and interviewed for Faces of Newfoundland (read HERE). 

Now, take a look at these two incredible videos.. and have a look out for my boy! He makes a couple of appearances in the second one!

With the perfect mix of people and nature, these videos provide a wonderful depiction of what our beautiful province consists of. If I didn't already live here, I'd wish I did!

Thank you, David, for including us in this project!

Love Local: Ragmaw

Rich designs, compelling patterns, East Coast inspiration.

Megan Natasha is the artist and owner of Ragmaw. She grew up in Central Newfoundland and has lived in St. John's for over ten years. Much of Megan's childhood was spent with her grandparents; her grandmother teaching her to sew, and her grandfather teaching her about hammers and hardware in his workshop.

In 2013, Megan followed her life-long dream of creating unique handbags for a living when she opened Ragmaw, a studio-based handbag business. The word 'ragmaw' is actually an old Newfoundland term referring to a woman or child wearing tattered, torn clothes - a nod to creative resourcefulness.

Megan prints all of her fabrics with her own drawings and designs. She also does the pattern drafting, sewing, and leather work on each piece! You can meet Megan and purchase her work at her studio, located inside the Quidi Vidi Plantation.

The Quidi Vidi Village Plantation is an incredible new facility situated on a wharf in the heart of historic Quidi Vidi Village. “The Plantation will serve as a craft enterprise incubator for emerging artists wishing to pursue careers as professional craftspeople in Newfoundland and Labrador. Ideally situated in the fishing outport of Quidi Vidi Village within the city limits of St. John’s, the Plantation will also function as a destination for those wishing to explore a unique corner of one of the oldest cities in North America.”

The public are invited to watch and interact with the craftspeople as they create unique handcrafted items in a series of ten purpose-built studio spaces. There is a potter, a printmaker, jewelery maker, a textiles artist, and more. Each with a unique set of skills creating beautiful artwork in a stunningly picturesque environment. If you haven't been to the Plantation yet, I would absolutely recommend it. It is here that the past and present come together, and pave the way for something exciting and new!

Find Ragmaw on Facebook

Faces of Newfoundland

I was recently photographed and interviewed for Faces of Newfoundland: Portraits & Stories from the Far East of North America.

David McComiskey is a 30 year old fourth year medical student living in Mount Pearl, NL. He has a passion for portrait photography however, and what better way to channel that passion than to capture some of the people of this province. He says, "There is such a rich culture and diversity of life stories here. My goal is to photograph and get to know 1000 Newfoundlander 'Faces'." 

The Faces of Newfoundland project is modeled after Humans of New York, which was started in 2010, and now has over ten million followers on social media, and provides a worldwide audience with daily glimpses into the lives of strangers on the streets of New York City. 

Faces of Newfoundland has also partnered with Humans of Planet Earth (HOPE). The first project of its kind, HOPE brings together over 130 photojournalists from around the planet on a mission to share a rich diversity of profiles from Paris to Uganda, Bolivia to Shanghai, Kabul to Newfoundland. 

At its core, HOPE is about promoting a universal appreciation of, and respect for, our numerous similarities and vast differences. It is a global celebration of humankind. 

Go to the website to read our interview - http://facesofnewfoundland.com/
or visit the Facebook page -  https://www.facebook.com/facesofnewfoundland

I'm going to tell you a story. The story behind the story.

When David and I initially talked about doing this interview, we scheduled a time for Brennen and I to meet with him. When that day came, it was very windy and cold, and I knew that Brennen would not enjoy being out in that weather. Thinking that we could still do the interview and take some photos, I told David that I could meet with him, but Brennen would not be joining me. His reply was: "It would be better to reschedule, as I'd love to photograph both of you for two separate posts."

I read that message on my computer screen, stopped what I was doing, and sat quietly for what felt like a long period of time. I realized in that moment that I had not been seeing Brennen as his own person, as an individual, separate from me. My own son, my flesh and blood, my heart and soul. I was unable to untangle the ties that bind us.

I was horrified by the realization that while I spend so much time and energy writing about how I feel that people with disabilities deserve to be valued and respected, in this instance, I wasn't doing that for my own child.

Brennen depends on me for everything.

Everything.

He will never be independent, but he is an individual, with his own thoughts and feelings and likes and wants and needs. He has intrinsic value, and he is living a life with purpose.

Thank you, David, for opening my eyes and for reminding me that Brennen is his own person. He is a 'Face of Newfoundland'.. and a pretty damn awesome one, if you ask me!