Gifts Of Madness – Part III – The day after the exhibit was actually just as lovely and dear to me as the day of. It was the day I got to spend a little more time with Kagan Goh. I thought he would be too busy with his multiple projects at the Ignite The Arts festival, but Kagan really takes time for everyone. We met at the gallery and his delightful friend Tricia Beatrice Ryan was there as well, who was also a featured Gifts Of Madness artist. No small talk, we delved right into a conversation about mental health, empathy, and our works as artists. Though still a little chilly, this was a beautiful day for the scenery. The sun had come out and unlike the former day that was a bit overcast, the water looked just as blue as it did on the travel websites I saw. It was amazing to me that it actually looked that way!
We were all in good spirits due to the sunshine and the honor of being a part of the Gifts Of Madness, something that was very meaningful to all of us. I remember as we were walking to a little cafe to get coffee, we started singing the Sesame Street song “Sunny days,” except no one could seem to remember the whole thing.
We went to an adorable beachside cafe and Kagan treated me and Tricia to coffee and an apple strudel. This was hands down the best apple strudel I have ever had in my life, with real apple slices inside and whipped cream on top! We sat out in the sunshine on the beach where I snapped some photos of the beauty of the blue water and continued to have some deep conversations about our art, our dark periods, and our life’s meaning and purpose.
I thought another reason that would make the trip worth it was just meeting Kagan in person, like traveling a distance to meet a Buddhist monk with Zen wisdom, and it was actually true. He is 100 percent the real thing, devoting his life to mental health advocacy both through helping people struggling and through his multi-disciplinary art, and he does not slow down. He told me once again how much he appreciated Mental Filmness and the festival screening the world premiere of his short film The Day My Cat Saved My Life. He continued to tell me every single thing he liked about it, from the diversity to the way it supported emerging artists like he did. He has been one of its biggest fans and supporters. He gifted me his poetry chapbook. The terrible disease of bipolar disorder may have brought us together but our persistence and love of art is what really cemented our bond.
I had another couple of my classic misadventures that evening when I realized that while my Internet connection worked my phone network wouldn’t work, and I needed to check out of my motel and call a cab to pick me up, so I had to look at who was online and “phone a friend” through Facebook Messenger to help with my flakiness, and all I can say is I’m lucky to have a great support system. These are just the kind of practical things I don’t think of, that my phone wouldn’t work in Canada.
However, I also finished my mental health art journey at Sociale, the restaurant next door to my motel, with a decadent dinner of prawns and crab. Just as good or better than the food was the view as I watched the sunset over the Lake Okanagan beach. It’s funny, I could see the man at the table next to me doing the same thing, just gazing at the window, and the waitress even asked me if I wanted to stay longer for the view as the sun was setting, but I had to go catch my flight.
Some people say that with travel you pay for memories and experiences rather than possessions, and those feel more important to me. I will always remember that morning by the lake with these people I bonded with over art and mental health, sipping our coffee and sharing our experiences. I think Kagan even said something about how you can’t take your possessions with you, but these memories you make are priceless.
