Tag: art

Gifts Of Madness Part II – Opening Night

by sgissy2000

Gifts Of Madness – Part II – After my arrival I dashed over to check into the Kettle Beach Motel and get more dressed up for the exhibit opening in a few hours. There’s a cute little strip of old-fashioned beach resorts and motels along Lake Okanagan that are all fairly cheap.

It was walking distance to the gallery so I headed over to the opening at 7 p.m. I was incredibly anxious but it was such a special evening and so worth it. First of all, the exhibit was *very* well-attended, there was actually a line waiting to get in. I got to meet the gallery owner Paul Crawford and both Paul and Kagan gave moving speeches about the importance of recognizing mental health issues in the community and funding mental health resources. They both gave me a shout-out by name as having come all the way from Chicago to attend!

There were quite a few people looking at my art and some recognized me from my photo. I saw a couple of people engaged in conversation about it and though it felt awkward I made a joke like “Isn’t it amazing?” LOL and we talked about it. Everyone seemed to like the snowy day painting the best, which is interesting because I felt it was the most rough and loose, and the one I spent the least time on. The woman I was chatting to pointed out how she liked that there was just a little bit of color in the lights among all the snow that gave it a sense of hope. I talked to these appreciative folks for awhile and they were the ones who ended up snapping these photos of me a little more dressed up for the special night. After it was pointed out that I was from Chicago several people came to talk to me too, and some took my business card. I got quite a bit of appreciation and one attendee even said I was her favorite artist!

Julia introduced me to an artist who had a short film piece in the gallery, who wants to submit to Mental Filmness. We really bonded and she made me feel so much better because she had traveled from Ontario and had a very similar experience to mine. I told her I hadn’t flown since 2018 and it was a bit nerve-wracking with everyone being rushed along and airport staff being brusque, and she told me she hadn’t traveled since 2018 either and felt the same, and like everyone already expected you to know what to do. I also told her that it was stressful because the customs agent grilled me about why I would come from Chicago to spend only two days in Canada, and when I told him it was for an art exhibit it was like he didn’t believe me and looked at all my papers. He asked if I was required to come or being paid and I said no, but I really wanted to come. It made me feel kind of shitty, like being in an art exhibit wasn’t a valid reason to travel to Canada. She empathized with me and said that was just the way customs in Canada usually is, very suspicious and it was almost like they were upset they didn’t get the chance to interrogate her when she was just going home, LOL. Our talk made me feel so much better and less incompetent and I really hope she submits her film to the festival.

When I was walking back to my motel of course I got lost, which I have no idea how I could even do because it’s basically one turn but it was dark this time, but a kindly pedestrian steered me in the right direction and I made it back exhausted but fulfilled.

Gifts Of Madness Part I – The Journey Begins

by sgissy2000

[Background: I had the great honor of having my art selected for the Gifts Of Madness exhibit at the Penticton Art Gallery. The exhibit was curated by the renowned Kagan Goh, affectionately known as the “bipolar laureate” of Vancouver, whose short film The Day My Cat Saved My Life had its world premiere at Mental Filmness. The exhibit was a celebration of Mad Pride, a movement that encourages those who struggle with mental health to embrace not only its challenges but the gifts of creative and expressive gifts it often brings, creating a holistic and de-stigmatizing picture. I was so honored, in fact, that I decided to attempt to pull off the truly mad stunt of traveling from Chicago to Pentiction in one weekend to be at the exhibit opening, which I somehow managed to do, with some pratfalls along the way.]

Gifts Of Madness – Part I – OK, from now on, I have to make more detailed itineraries and plans. This trip was kind of last-minute and on a whim and I forgot *everything*, I really mean everything. My passport and phone at first, my toothbrush and brush somehow, and even some of my clothes. I have no idea how I managed to do that with so little packing to do, except I was terrified and overwhelmed and almost paralyzed.

Because of my blunders I missed my flight and with international flights that don’t run frequently that meant I had to get to Penticton the next day, which was a huge bummer of course. I was sad and frustrated and about to give up, but I kept thinking, how many chances like this do you get in a lifetime? and pushed through.

Also, the buses don’t run on the weekends in Penticton, so I took a cab straight to the Penticton Art Gallery. This was when I began to forget my travel troubles a bit as I looked out the window at the beautiful rolling mountains and trees. Our cab had to stop for 20 minutes because we were at the site of a landslide (?) so that threw another hurdle in my way. When I arrived, though, I immediately knew that everything was worth it.

I finally got to meet Kagan Goh and his lovely wife Julia in person and look around at the amazing exhibit. I have never been in an exhibit of this scope and scale. There were over 100 artists showing with a few pieces of work in a diverse array of styles that reflected a theme of mental health. Kagan said that he put out a call for work on the theme rather than seeking out established artists because he wanted to give “emerging artists” (like myself) a chance to exhibit, which reminds me a lot of what I try to do with Mental Filmness.

And then I saw my exhibit and it just blew my mind. There was nothing different about it really except that my landscapes were hung together within that context, but I can’t describe how truly special it felt for them to be there. I was also quite moved that they included my entire lengthy biography and artist’s statement next to my work. Julia was kind enough to offer to snap a few pics of me next to it when I was still a little frazzled. You can spend hours of painting in solitude, and these moments of validation and recognition are what make it worth it. And now I can truly say that my art has gone international!