I have ‘a collaborative habit’.
In past years I have worked with other pioneering artists on creative projects designing children’s mittens, modular shoes, cashmere knitwear, workshops and other scenic detours.
My photography sessions and art commissions are the definition of joyful creative collaboration, and custom building creative workshops for educational institutions and workplaces insist that I continue to refine and redefine my purpose and service.
The pandemic invited new and surprising ways of collaborating, that at first felt inferior, but new connections and approaches sprouted out of the concrete of lockdown it seemed.
At The Lyceum Gallery in Toronto where I was artist-in-residence for two years. Gallery director, Holly Venable, I co-curated:
SOVEREIGNties (a collection of silk scarves by 21 women artists),
Small Victories (a collective community quilt),
and also a trio of photo exhibitions of the work of my young photographic mentorees at The Orchard Lyceum; 2021 Group Show, HOPE Portraits, and a collaboration with Mindy Stricke showcasing the work of my students exploring her ongoing public participatory photographic project called The National Park of Emotions.
Collaborating on again and off again in the flesh presented a host of new challenges but what resulted was an inspired record of persistent collaborative creativity through our weekly photographic assignments which were inspired by a wide range of renowned photographic artists.
My most recent collaboration took me by most beautiful surprise. Dear friend and longtime professional photographic colleague Christina Gapic and I had bubbled family weekend getaways to Lake Erie that inadvertently paved the way for more experimental and playful creation in nature.
I am beyond excited to see where this collaboration leads us in 2022 – our combined interdisciplinary skills and sensibilities have made this adventure feel free and focussed while embodying growth and expansion in practice. We are starting to feel the exponential joy of these creations being out in the world as part of people’s everyday rituals.
Welcome to the world BELOVE UNLIMITED!
I look forward to championing all your creative whispers this year, let me know if you want to collaborate in some form or another!
Gratefully,
“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it.
It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open.”
- Martha Graham
Share this post: