Last month I visited Tiny Tattoos in Calgary to get a double heart tattoo in honour of my girls. I often wear a beautiful bracelet made by Soul Mantras with 5 dots to represent 5 deep breaths which helps to ground me whenever I feel overwhelmed but I tend to hook it on everything and it is often dipping into my paint so this is a much nicer way to remind myself to slow down and take a breath. These two hearts were inspired by my tiny heart paintings so it is doubly meaningful.

"Feminist ideas spread among the educated middle classes, discriminatory laws were repealed, and the women's suffrage movement gained momentum in the last years of the Victorian era."

After months and months of deliberation, I finally repainted my studio last month. I looked at many photographs of galleries with colourfully painted walls and finally decided upon a terra cotta. It feels so warm and inviting. Now that the carpets have been replaced with hard surface flooring, a shrub removed from outside the window (loved the privacy but prefer the light), a new track light, closet refinished and walls repainted, all the is left is a new window and then it's finished! I really do need a lovely sanctuary in order to be inspired to work. :)

I recently posted a couple of portraits of my daughter on Instagram in order to request feedback as I was curious as I had recently received negative feedback on the red background claiming that it had too much contrast (I was experimenting with a primary palette - red/yellow/blue). Yet, the feedback from my post & my stories skewed much more positively to that portrait. This is such a great reminder that art is totally subjective (expression, style, composition, even favourite colours can influence someone) and how important it is to focus on doing work you love...someone else out there will love it, too.

"The rights and privileges of Victorian women were limited, and both single and married women had to live with heterogeneous hardships and disadvantages."

I recently had the privilege of taking a cyanotype workshop with artist Julya Hajnockzky at Sparrow Artspace with a group of wonderful, creative women whom I so enjoy spending time with. After learning about this process, I also got to take a peek into artist Stephanie Jager's sketchbook...so much fun!

My time in Cranbrook was incredible, the Cranbrook Art Gallery and workshop space was so beautiful & everyone I met was so nice. It was a real treat to meet up with a couple of Mastrius members (there's nothing like connecting in person) and other artists whom I had previously only met online. Plus, the weather was gorgeous which was especially nice after the cold snap we experienced. I hadn't been to Cranbrook in almost 15 years so it was great to see so many young couples and all the thriving local businesses (delicious food & beverages!). Huge thank you to everyone who came out for the talks or the workshop, especially those who travelled a distance & thank you Sab Curtis for the photos! It was all greatly appreciated.

Myself and my friend, artist Stacey Walyuchow, recently had the opportunity to be interviewed by Samreen Ahmed, a reporter with the Calgary Journal and writer for Article 1 magazine. That article is titled "Humans vs. Robots: Are artists being replaced by AI?" To read, please visit here.

"Article 1 is a human rights magazine that highlights the shared experience of Canadians wanting justice, shining a spotlight on underrepresented sources, amplifying the voices of the oppressed, and cataloguing the strength and resilience of people who have had their human rights denied, trivialized, and disregarded. The name comes from article 1 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states “That all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” Article 1 is published by Mount Royal University journalism students in Calgary. Its mission is to tell comprehensive stories about a range of issues, everything from marginalized identities, to basic human rights infractions and the intersections where those meet."

"Upon divorce, Victorian women generally had no rights to any property accumulated during marriage, usually leaving them impoverished."