"Inspiration & Process"

Stephen Avenue / 30x40 / acrylic on canvas

Awhile ago I presented an artist's talk at the Calgary Public Library on 'Inspiration & Process'. Since I began my first 52 WEEKS project about 8 years ago, I found that beginning something at the start of a new year helped to keep me focused and so I typically begin considering what I might paint for the following year probably in summer. Because I always sketch and keep notes in small moleskine sketchbooks, I find that the ideas usually come to me quite organically. I begin to look through what I've written and drawn to see what has captured my attention.

For example, before beginning my 'Nasty Women' project, I began creating small portraits for practice (practice is where a lot of my inspiration comes). I hadn't really focused on portraiture since college (which was a long time ago), plus after hearing so much about the political climate in North America and inaugural Women's March in Washington, I kept feeling like I needed to do something as a woman and as the mother of daughters.

There were so many ideas travelling around in my head:

• did I want to draw, paint, work on several or 1 large project?
• I looked back at the 52 WEEKS::Heroes project that my youngest daughter had inspired previously and considered whether I wanted to create something similar
• a podcast that my eldest daughter recommended featured Nina Donovan, who is a young woman who wrote the poem 'Nasty Women' which inspired me further...every woman can be considered nasty if that means speaking up, defending self and others, being educated, or taking care of a family, nasty women come from all walks of life
• when I read about the #100dayproject which entailed doing something creative for 100 days I began to consider completing a portrait a day for 100 days, which meant that all of my supplies and canvases had to be prepared
• as an avid reader, I also wanted to include quotes that touched on the strength and challenges of womanhood

Finally, once I had committed to that project, I needed to find 100 women who were willing to participate. For ease I chose to put a call out on social media which would allow me to select a photo instead of requiring the women to send them to me. After hearing from much more than 100 women very quickly, I found the selection process to be very difficult so I narrowed it down to immediate family and friends followed by artists who I had been in touch with...it worked out so beautifully.

This was probably the most challenging project I have ever embarked on but also the most rewarding. The exhibit opening was held at Inglewood Fine Arts in Calgary and so many of the women and their friends and family were able to attend. It was heart warming.