2016 !

....I held an atlas in my lap, ran my fingers across the whole world and whispered, "Where, where does it hurt?" It answered, "Everywhere....Everywhere....Everywhere...." - Warsan Shire

Troubling times indeed as our hearts ache for the thousands of fleeing refugees being devoured by the oceans. Another almost immoral headline that 62 people own "as much wealth as 3.5 billion humans in the bottom half" (Oxfam. Jan. 2016)

So what can I do ? What can each of us do?

March 2, 2016: Skype call with Grade 3 students at Jayshree Periwal International School, Jaipur, India who chose my work on the theme of 'Woman Empowerment'. Thrilling to answer student's questions and to show them around my studio and to hear their comments on my paintings.

REFLECTIONS OF THE PAST YEAR: 2015 went by too quickly. I can hardly remember what memorable events took place that year, which means, there were none. No, no, that's not true. On further reflection, there was a harrowing car trip (lashing winds, sheets of rain, escaped prisoners on the loose, high fever) that I took through the Adirondacks to Saratoga Springs to pick up an award, actually a Lifetime Achievement Award which by definition, makes me feel ancient. For my contribution to art activism. Yes I was deserving and I was humbled to have been chosen by Jan Phillips of the Living Kindness Foundation in the United States. Canada, sadly, does not recognize her own or they will, I suppose, when I'm safely out of reach ....

There are times that I must remind myself that for the past 2 years, I have been on chemo-therapy for multiple myeloma, which means a bus ride to the Jewish General Hospital regularly - every week, then every 2 weeks, summer, fall and winter. It's called "maintenance" therapy, which is basically controlling the cancer and keeping me alive. The opposite of alive is dead, so I am naturally grateful. While there are days that follow the treatment that are horrific, leaving me feeling alone and useless, there are luckily also times when I am infused with a quiet energy to do what I do best. Paint, write, play the piano, meditate, connect, attempt, as a terribly flawed individual, to leave a crease somewhere in the universe.

On March 15, the women's guild of St. Augustine's parish in St. Bruno invited me to speak to their members. The title I chose was "DISCOVERING MY SACRED SPACE - One Woman's Journey" I told my life story through paintings which were projected on the large screen, through my piano playing and through my poetry. Being a small intimate gathering, I could feel the warmth in the room and saw how engaged everyone was.