 Over the next four months I have decided to post a GIVEAWAY a month and since I've been enjoying my latest tarot deck titled Sacred Vessel Tarot which focuses on my 52 WEEKS::Wildflowers series I wanted to begin by sharing a deck. Unlike the True North Tarot deck, I haven't included any description on the cards so that they are much more intuitive though the card meanings are the same as a traditional tarot deck. To enter the draw, sign up for the eNewsletter and leave a comment here, on Instagram, or email. The draw and the next Giveaway will be shared on the July newsletter. Good luck!
 I'm very excited to have completed another body of work and to begin preparing for another upcoming series. Besides being rather long, I enjoyed my previous 100 Day Project (Nasty Women) so much last year that I have decided to create another project, though reduced to 30 days. I think this one may be a little easier on me...we'll see.
wunderland (German): won·der·land | \ ˈwən-dər-ˌland , -lənd\ 1 : an imaginary place of delicate beauty or magical charm 2 : a place that excites admiration or wonder; a scenic wonderland As long as I can remember I have been drawn to interesting, independent female characters in film. I love movies and television, and the quirkier the character and the storyline, the better. There is something so special about stepping away from reality for a little while and being lost in a visual wonderland. In this series of 30 portraits painted over 30 days my focus is on the unapologetic females that help me to appreciate the unique qualities that make me who I am. There were so many to choose from but I have decided to narrow it down to these thirty as there was just something special about the storyline or the roles that drew my attention. I have specifically chosen 30 days in June to celebrate the end of a previous body of work, the beginning of summer, and the month of my birth. If you want to follow along, I will be posting it here, online in my portfolio and on Instagram/veronicafunk/  In 2015 I created a banner to celebrate my annual Word-of-the-Year (you can see my process here) which was based on Tibetan prayer flags. In spite of the weather over the past few years (rain, hail, snow, sun, and Chinook winds), the banner has held up very well on our back deck so I decided to take it down, replace ribbons that were badly frayed and prepare another chunk of canvas to add my words from the past three years. This time I also added additional pieces so that I can continue to add the guiding word I select for the next three years. It's been really great to see how well canvas and acrylic paint stands up to all kinds of weather conditions...it's durable and the colours still look vibrant. Most of the materials were inexpensive - canvas floor cloth that I had used, dollar store acrylic paints in addition to the Liquitex heavy body acrylics and ribbons that I had at home. And I have enjoyed being able to look at it through the French doors outside my kitchen all year long.   The Fashion Plates series is now complete! Twenty-two paintings that have been a pleasure to create and have given me a lot to think about regarding what we wear and why. The entire series along with the statement about the body of work can be seen in my portfolio here.
  Besides being a very a very creative elementary school teacher, my daughter Alex is also an artist. Her favourite medium is printmaking, which she does using carved rubber for cardmaking. but she also carves wood-block prints which she sells. Last weekend I had the privilege of sitting at the Hawk & Harvest market at the Galt Museum in Lethbridge and it was such a pleasure to watch her work and also interact with people. She's an excellent teacher so I'm not surprised that she enjoys others so much. Anyway, her work can be viewed on Instagram at @thefunkystudio.
 My current email address has been glitching, which unfortunately means that I'm not receiving or able to access all of my emails so if you need to get in touch, please do so here. Thank you!
Why is 21 SECRETS retiring? After 11 years of being online as Dirty Footprints Studio, this June 21st host Connie will be launching a brand-new website and business. During this transition she has decided to scale down many of the 21 SECRETS editions that are currently for sale to make space for new work and projects to unfold. So this May 8-11 there is a 50% off retirement sale on all of the following editions: 21 SECRETS Best of 2014 & 2015 21 SECRETS Tell Your Story 21 SECRETS emBODY 21 SECRETS Color, Color, Color 21 SECRETS Tools & Techniques Once Sunday, May 12th arrives these editions will no longer be for sale on DirtyFootprints-Studio.com. Though all owners of these editions will still have unlimited access to the content and videos. SAVE 50% with coupon code: RETIREMENT. My workshops are included in Best of 2014 & 2014 as well as Tell Your Story: 21 SECRETS The Best Of - 21 SECRETS is an online course where a variety of artists combine mixed media and art journalling for creative expression. Each teacher uses art to explore many vital topics that impact their life and creativity, all while sharing a potent peek into their approach and mechanics behind their own creative process and perspective. My contributions focuses on Connecting With Your Wild Spirit through painting your own totem animal. Click here for more information. 21 SECRETS Tell Your Story - In this session of 21 SECRETS you will find a talented team of teachers who are excited to share with you the powerful way their art, writing and personal experiences connect. We will be combining mixed media and art journalling to express what it’s really like to Tell Your Story. Each teacher will use art to explore many vital topics that have impacted their life and creativity, all while sharing a potent peek into their approach and mechanics behind their own creative process and perspective. For more information, please visit here.  In the past few days I've received several tidbits of wonderful news. I met with the Director of Calgary Reads and had a lovely tour of the Children's Reading Place in Inglewood...what a magical place! They make sure that every child leaves with a book - it would have been lovely to have a place like this for my girls when they were little. I'm looking forward to future collaborations with them along with exhibiting artwork and altered books. There is also planning in place to exhibit my Fashion Plates series which makes me very glad as I was certain where it would head. I love it when these opportunities present themselves in these ways. I feel so blessed.
 Details Number 19 in this series is coming along quite nicely and though I am only 4 paintings from the finish line I'm still uncertain about the title 'Fashion Plates' for this body of work. I do love the idea that this is a vintage label which much of the fashions in the series relates to, but typically my work delves deeper than just a physical image for me. It means a lot, something that I have addressed briefly in the Artist's Statement which I have currently written for it:
After studying Art & Design in Alberta many years ago, I was on my way to Toronto to study Fashion Design but met my husband in the prairies and didn't continue. Over the past two years my daughter has been designing and creating beautiful clothing from a variety of eras which I have been photographing and now have been drawn to utilizing those photographs in this body of work. I believe fashion is about pursuing a life that is not about appearance but rather self-empowerment. It is a form of self-expression, a way to share who you are without words. It also documents the history of the women in this region. On its own the clothing we choose to adorn ourselves with and the way it moves can convey a feeling. This is a way to remember my personal history and to collaborate with a new generation of woman. To view my daughter's work please visit her website here. But it feels like it still means so much more than I have captured in words. I think this is the most I have struggled with a statement about the work and I'm not sure why. I keep thinking of the psychological connection that the clothes we wear has on the wearer. I also think about history and it's influence, socially and culturally, and how our clothing influences others' opinions of us. I would really love to hear some feedback if you'd like to share. Though I am becoming quite excited about this final leg of the Fashion Plates project, I am also a bit sad, too. My goal was to paint 22 pieces, I'm currently on number 19, as I had that many canvases prepared and I want to create another tarot deck...this time focused completely on women. The title of the deck will either be 'Nasty Women' because of my 100 Day Project or, because I do prefer to focus on the positive 'Heroes' based on my first 52 WEEKS::Heroes portrait series. These pieces will be the Major Arcana in the deck. It's been so nice to be able to collaborate with my daughter in this way even though I have still experienced doubt along the way (why does the creation of art always feel this way?). Anyway, if you're interested in viewing my True North and Sacred Vessel tarot decks visit here. To see the Fashion Plates portfolio visit here. And to read more about my Nasty Women here and Heroes (as well as the other four 52 WEEKS projects) here.
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