I did awake yesterday to find myself in Vancouver and not feeling a great deal of joy with my plight. Plight shall be the word of the day. Plight, a noun, he has no concern for the plight of the homeless: predicament, quandary, difficult situation, dire straits, trouble, difficulty, extremity, bind; informal dilemma, tight corner, tight spot, hole, pickle, jam, fix.
So the quandary of living in an inhospitable city fell upon my shoulders but I gamely rose to face the day. I stopped into the Pendulum Gallery in the HSBC building and was delightfully surprised by a new art exhibit, a rather fascinating one which will be discussed in a later blog and probably Instagrammed. Then onto something with proved a huge disappointment, the issue shall be resolved and then discussed. I shan’t burden you with my troubles. Then to Copper Kitchen for brunch which consisted of Avocado Toast with a Poached Egg. It was most delicious. A taxi was achieved for me because of the sciatica. It was off to an eleven o’clock interview that had been planned for over a week. It was entirely delightful and you shall read of my time with her.
This is how it all happened. I was having my nails done by wonderful Amy and a woman was there for her toes. She found my energy compelling and, therefore, reached out to me. She told me of her blog, I gave her contact information, she immediately followed through and we set up this date which was held in her West End apartment. She is/was an utter delight, we spent almost five hours together. We laughed, we exchanged stories, we philosophized, we politely interrupted one another. In other words, we made an immediate connection. She will feature me on her blog, I feature her on my blog and we did a video which was posted on Instagram, which has received hordes of likes and,already, 96 views. We are happening.
Kathleen Katon Tonnesen is an incredible artist and her apartment which is also her studio is full of her art, done in different phases of her career. It is all very moving, very unique, very real, very alive. She is younger than I am, almost everyone is. (hahahaha). She was born in South Africa but came to Canada so that her children could be brought up in a safe and nurturing environment. She and I certainly have our differences but also our similarities. We went back to school late in our lives, we have had varying careers, our creativity keeps us alive and we both are most lively. The noise we made with our laughter was deafening. It is rather amazing that she was not evicted for excessive noise.
This is what she does, other than her paintings which are large pieces of art. She interviews people she finds interesting in her studio. When the interview is completed she asks her subjects to pick a painting and then she photographs them with their painting of choice. I picked a miraculous image which is entitled The Girl Who Came To Play. Kathleen always writes a poem that describes and becomes a part of her art. These are the words of The Girl Who Came to Play
Girl in play.
Carbon connected.
Energy ensconced in flesh.
Dress code: skin suits of time.
Frequency levels: play, love, learn.
Band width: Fluid.
Skill levels required: passion, enthusiasm, empathy, patience.
Disengage: shed skin.
Carbon disconnected.
Girl. Game over.
– Kathleen Katon Tonnesen 2016
The WEB site link for painting
www.artworkarchive.com/profile/kathleen-katon-tonnesen/artwork/a-the-girl-who-came-to-play
The painting is so me on so many levels. There is some physical resemblance to the younger me. More good news, Kathleen has been accepted for an exhibit in Florence this fall. I think it would be fun to travel with her in all her glory.
But here is something else I received from a young woman via Instagram. I met two young Korean women at Vancouver Public Library some months ago. I received a message from one.
She: Hi. Do you remember me? I am the girl in the green sweater. Thank you for signing up this picture on your Instagram. I love YOU.
Me: Of course I remember you! I love you back!
So sisterhood can be powerful, those words of old come back to me. But many within our ranks can be jealous, petty and rather conniving. We are not all alike – not the same age, not born in the same country and have chosen different pathways. But we can meet on common ground, with Kathleen and me it is our creativity but in separate fields. I cannot paint (nor sing) to save my soul. But connection is possible if we are brave enough to try.
There are two pictures attached to this blog. One is me in front of The Girl Who Came to Play. The other is a Bloody Mary at Wipe Out, Pier 39 in San Francisco. It is the best Bloody Mary I have had my whole life. They do have something in common, they are both red.
