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 I've often thought about what equality means to me...even as a young child. My brother is younger than I am and we were always very close but things were different not only because of our age and gender but also because of our vastly different personalities.
We grew up in the same house with the same parents but with a totally different experience from one another. The gifts we received from our parents were different not only because of our gender but also our interests. And our relationships with our parents were different because of our personalities and possibly because of our birth order. I don't think that doing the exact same thing for two different people is equal as both my daughters are different and need different things from me. To me, treating them equally means loving them and allowing them to be who they are.  Introducing Veronica Funk who creates such beautiful bright, bold and soulful expressions in her ever so prolific art practice inspired by life steeped in place and the roots and memories they hold. I’m delighted she’ll be sharing with us for the Creative Retreat this year.
Veronica was born and raised in northern Manitoba. She studied Art & Design at Red Deer College and her work has been exhibited and collected across North America. Her goal is to create a visual story in an endeavor to capture the essence of her surroundings. She’ll be offering two lessons for us: Creating Backgrounds - Facing a blank canvas can be intimidating. Using acrylic paints and stencils we will have fun creating an interesting surface that can be displayed as is or, as in my next workshop, layered with imagery to create a finished painting. Making your Mark - Inspired by graffiti, we will begin by utilizing acrylic paint, stencils, stamps or other mark-making tools to create a vibrant background. While working intuitively we will explore colour theory, contrast, and the value of mark-making. We will complete our paintings by including a combination of symbols and images to create a visual story inspired by personal memories. For more information or to register please visit here. 
 I'm so happy to be included in artist and teacher Tara Leaver's recent blog post about loosening up as an artist. Looking for quick and easy ideas to loosen up your art? Read more here!
With her course titled Loosen Up currently open for registration, this whole idea of shaking up our art and moving away from tight habits has been on my mind a lot lately. So she decided to ask some artist friends for their tips and advice. From scribbling on your work to using a timer, there are plenty of very easy-to-do ideas here – take your pick and get painting!  Grief is an unusual thing...it crashes over me in waves and leaves me physically and emotionally exhausted over and over and over again. I have never really lost someone who I have been extremely close to before so losing this handsome man unexpectedly this week has been hard.
My Dad immigrated to Canada from South America as a young man and though he grew up in a poor family he never let anything stop him. He was brilliant and determined and taught my brother and I that we were fortunate to live in a country where we had the opprtunity to do anything we dreamed of if we worked at it. He taught me the importance of independence, showing me how to maintain my vehicle and complete my tax returns. He calmly and quietly reminded me of the good in people when I stopped seeing it. He helped me to be strong and to believe in myself, even when it felt as though no one else did. He gave me his wiry blonde hair, his square chin, the 'ball' at the end of my nose and his quirky sense of humour. The world has lost some of its colour in his loss. You will be missed...I love you Dad. xo 
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