Why the Beaver Hall Group is Better Than the Group of Seven

I am very interested in good legacy, particularly the legacy women leave. The women of the Beaver Hall Group left a legacy that most Canadians are unaware of including myself until this year.

• Nora Collyer
• Emily Coonan
• Prudence Heward
• Mabel Lockerby
• Mabel May
• Kathleen Morris
• Lilias Torrance Newton
• Sarah Robertson
• Anne Savage
• Ethel Seath

This list of ten women are artists who, dare I say are to me much more significant to art in Canada than the Group of Seven, and were all members of Montreal's Beaver Hall Group.

Last week I heard Steve Martin on CBC talking about his love for The Group of Seven and recently curated an exhibition of Lawren Harris at the AGO, entitled The Idea of North.

Granted, some of these women in the Beaver Hall Group may have come from the same privileged WASP backgrounds, as the Group of Seven, but I would've preferred an exhibit of these women over Lawren Harris any day.

When I was attending my Canadian Art History classes in University, the Group of Seven was part of our Canadian studies. I was struck by how many students, in particularly young women held an opinion of disdain toward the Group of Seven, expressing their weariness of hearing about them and were critical for a myriad of reasons, but directly related to historical colonialism in Canada and all that it entails.

 I was also included in that group of critics, with the exception of Tom Thomson. He was outside the Group of Seven, not that it mattered, but I just happened to be a fan.

To the women in the Beaver Hall Group, it mattered as it affected them in not receiving the same kind of public recognition as those privileged white male artists. The social conventions of the culture and time made it difficult to do so.
Certainly the same can be said for First Nations artists who were and are still ignored, marginalized and are the survivors of an attempted cultural genocide through that historical colonialism previously mentioned.

Canadian Art Magazine in it's critical review, entitled Whose Idea of North? Lawren Harris at the AGO written by David Balzer, Merray Gerges and Caoimhe Morgan-Feir gives an excellent and very accurate overview and criticism of the Lawren Harris exhibit. It accurately conveys the numerous reasons it falls very short in not measuring up to what should be expected from the AGO, which is insensitive and devoid of the any concern for the political implications of having such an exhibition, presupposing that it is representational of the Canadian North.

Not surprizingly, there once again exists an acute and infuriating irony in that certain Canadians continue to be willingly addicted and dependent on allowing Americans to define or usurp our identity as Canadians. Canada sadly continues to teach our American neighbours to do this. It is even more disturbing when you see cultural institutions intentionally and willingly doing this because the temptation of celebrity, power and money is just too great to resist. On other words it's expediently good for business. This is not a good legacy, and in fact it makes an already existing bad legacy, worse.

7 Ways For Artists To Be Their Best Boss

One of the most challenging personal ' issues ' I've had in the past was making allowances, excuses or treating others better than myself. This doesn't translate well into a healthy personal or professional life.

As an artist the most important lesson I have learned, and it took me years, to finally understand and know how to advocate for myself proactively, as a business person. Creating art is business, and creating a good business is an art. This doesn't mean I make art I don't really want to create for money, that's called selling out. I want to create art that has value above and beyond my art and sell it, this is my vision.

Artists advocating for themselves is lesson is a particularly difficult lesson to learn, because we aren't taught it in art school. Especially if you are female, trying to navigate their way in a male dominated art market, in spite of the fact the majority of art students in University Fine Art programs are women, however are not represented in enough galleries or museums.

So I thought I would give a brief list of 7 ways to be your own best boss that you probably already know many if you're an artist. I have found the more I revisit and apply helpful lists, hints, tips and useful tools that empower me as a professional artist, they act as important reminders that get embedded into my psyche. I can compare it to learning a skill. Someone shows me how to do it, I give it a try, and then I have to practice it to improve my skill, until it becomes inherent to my basic nature.

Here's my list of 7 Ways For Artists To Be Their Best Boss

1. Advocate for yourself. Be you own best friend. Most artists can't afford to have an agent or a dealer, and why should you pay them to do so, when you can get 100% return and be the kind of ideal boss you'd want as an employer. Don't settle for sloppy seconds and end up saying to yourself,' You're Fired!'

2. Allow courage to be your guide. Go against the grain and don't allow fear to dictate your behaviour, or someone else to dictate your behaviour.

3. Believe in yourself. The old adage you hear time and time again is so very true. If you don't believe in yourself, how can others believe in you? Don't be shy and hide your lamp under a bushel, because you won't be seen and your lamp will likely just burn out!
Building productive discipline work habits and focus will help to build your confidence.

4. Know your purpose and mission. Having a vision with authentic integrity helps you to clarify and determine your purpose and inspired mission. that should be both over and beyond the value of the created art work itself. Once you have laid this foundation you can find the target market that you can best serve and celebrate their values and culture. Know your why, what, how and who.

5. Network. In business you hear this word over and over, because it is absolutely essential. There are countless ways to network. Personal interaction, connections through friends/fans, family and social media are excellent ways to make inroads. Also following up with contacts made will make the difference for your business in the present and into the future. Have a great business card at the ready to share with potential clients.

6. Be reliable. There is a myth that artists are always unreliable, crazy, addicts, mentally ill, and perpetually lazy and poor. Don't give those who believe these myths any more reason to perpetuate them, by not following through. Mean what you say, and say what you mean. If you can't for whatever reason follow through, make sure you own up to your mistake immediately, make your amends, assuring the client it will never happen again. We all want and need to have and keep a good reputation.

7. Have a business plan. This can be a tricky one because most of us haven't got two clues as artists how to go about getting ourselves an effective business plan. As someone once anonymously stated," A plan to do business without a plan, is a plan to do no business. "

 Basic money management is paramount to effectively running a business. Learning from a Business Development Bureau can't show an artist how to do this because they aren't artists and what you are selling is emotion not a widgets.
Learning from another artist who has not only the experience, strength and hope to share with you is invaluable, but learning from other artists in community who walk the talk and know from where they speak is priceless. Being in a creative community with artists that support, encourage and mentor one another is the way we grow exponentially. I have been blessed to find one such person in Ann Rea from Artist's Who Thrive. I strongly suggest you visit her site, because it might make all the difference to you and you'll hire yourself, because you'll find more than 7 ways to become an artist who is your best boss and hire yourself!



That's my list. Please feel free to add to it! I'd love that! 

How To Get Your Moo On.

My Mini Moo Business Cards

I'm fussy about the products I endorse on my site. Unless I feel I can stand behind the company the individuals involved, whether it be a website, product or company, otherwise I'm just not interested.

Today however I was so excited to peer into my mailbox and to very unexpectedly find a package. I was so hoping it just might contain my Moo business cards I'd designed, and sent for a week or so ago from the Moo site. I started ripping open the package before I got back to the house, and sure enough there they were inside the package!

They'd arrived much earlier than expected, as the estimated date of delivery was July 24th 2016. This is the second time I've ordered business cards through Moo. I first found out about this site through an artist friend who had some Mini business cards. I'd loved like the look and that I could put my art work on the cards. Plus the quality,  and the price, made them even more appealing. I wanted to get some of my own.

So this time I ordered 100 cards the same amount as my last order, but Mini cards instead, plus a spiffy, very groovy card holder. As they say "half the size twice as nice"! And it certainly isn't any ordinary print company. I'm now even more impressed with my cards, plus the case holder. I'd highly recommend Moo to anyone wanting to get quality business cards, or other business related products that are affordable. They are of the highest quality, with great attention to personal detail, hand packed, paper sourced from sustainable forests and packaged  in a 100% (and recyclable) pulp box (that's so cute) because I love lil' boxes, and my lil' Mini Moo business cards!

My Spiffy Mini Moo Card Holder

Hari Kondablolu Has a Rubber Sword

This guy is laugh out loud funny. But his message is serious and definitely strikes a nerve, because he has the guts to speak the truth.

Hari Kondabolu  was on Q this morning. I'd never heard of him. His comedy is edgy and poignant in his description of the present North American political climate, that reflects the kind of divisiveness we see going on within the world.

Comedians like Hari Kondabolu provide a social critique, enable transformation, and are a sign that there exists a healthy comedy culture, pushing social boundaries and presenting a commentary about present day race relations. These comics hold up a mirror that forces us to confront what most of us would rather ignore.

When a comedian can get his observational humour across using an intelligent wit, it's refreshing and healthy. It enables honesty, truth telling, and transformation toward a more compassionate and peaceful world. That's what I hope for.
 

“Humor is a rubber sword – it allows you to make a point without drawing blood.”
-Mary Hirsch, Humorist

Creativity, Tarot, The City of Words and Gilgamesh

Eight years ago when I began to seriously study Tarot, I saw creativity as being naturally and directly connected for many reasons, and has increasingly been affirmed to me as being a perfect fit, especially as an artist.


 Primarily it's necessary to have a creative, intuitive perception for both pursuits. Consciousness and the unconscious are also involved with execution of both these creative arts and skill. This instinct and ability is certainly not exclusive to certain individuals, as we all possess this instinct and creative ability, but they must be nurtured and practiced in order for it to increase.

 C.G. Jung stated  'the collective unconsciousness is the "soul of the world" and it is in that 'soul' that our shared symbolism of the archetypes dwell. An archetype is a universal human behaviour or pattern. Tarot and art help me to tap into the universe's unlimited creative energy through archetype.

Tarot has long held the human imagination for ages and shows no sign of disappearing. Art and creativity do the same. Both reflect story telling, and a self-knowledge of the soul. Tarot imagery is fundamental and exact in describing the multi-coloured working of the inner psyche that spring from the imagination spontaneously, in a poetic language that tells the story of the archetypal life journey. This language of story is found on many levels and in countless creative outpourings over the millennia.

The use of the Mythic Tarot deck has allowed me to study the images of the Greek Gods so beloved by the Renaissance artists and writers that formed art and literature, the cultural underpinning of the whole western world.

 Currently I am reading a fascinating book given to me by a good friend, by Alberto Manguel, entitled The City of Words. His book suggest that perhaps through "the stories we tell, these hold secret keys to the human heart. "
He encourages us to look at the artists and other visionaries who can help us change our hearts for the better and build a better world through myth and story.

Like in the story of the ancient epic poem Gilgimesh, we can learn to live life and to love well.

Gilgamesh Morns Enkidu

Alyona Azernaya

 From - The Cycle of the Life

Your entire human experience is predicated on your viewpoint.
Your viewpoint is predicated on your
inner belief system and that is predicated on
how much you believe in fear
and how much you believe in love.

 
 - Emmanuel

Art by Alyona Azernaya

Finding artists online is one of my very favourite things, and I've come upon several over the past eight years since beginning this blog. But I must say, I haven't found one artist that spoke so strongly to my soul until today, when I learned about Alyona Azernaya. This is I think the third Russian artist I've found online, and I admit I'm fast becoming a great admirer.

I happen to subscribe to a Jungian site on Facebook and one of the members had posted one of Alyona Azernaya's paintings along with the above quote.
Her palette is sumptuous, subtle, and muted, simultaneously with a brilliance of colour that delights all the senses.
 I expect the reason I so love her work, is because I have a strong identification and affinity with mythology, symbolism, the Divine Feminine, all of which is reflected in my own subject matter. Her imagery struck me as being so familiar on both a conscious and an unconscious level.


Alyonan Azernaya is Russian and her subject matter explores mythological, symbolic subject matter, and dream like imagery. She inspires me!

Canada Day - Open Mind, Open Heart, Open Spirit

On Canada Day, I think most of us take time to reflect about our country and what it means to be Canadian. I think Canadians have a clear understanding of what our identity is, in spite of the days when we seemed to be were less clear. We are ourselves are, down to earth, generous, love the land, and our culture of inclusiveness. This has not always been born out in reality in our past, present and no doubt reaching into our future. But I think we like to see ourselves as a hopeful people in spite of our troubles, and character defects.

David Johnston the Governor General of Canada does a good job in describing what Canada means to him. His perception is creative, hopeful and realistic I think.

Being Canadian for me is best described creatively through all the arts. Creativity requires an open heart, mind and spirit. That's my kind of Canada.