I try so hard to love you Ottawa. You are home, and beautiful, and safe.  But shit…you are losing your cool and coolest at an alarming rate and that makes me blue. I repeat, I want to love you.

So I spent most of today doing things to repair my faith.

1. Visited some “major” ladies to have my hair chopped. Studio B: Urban Modern Hair where have you been all my life?

My new do! It wouldn't be me without the wad of gum!

2. By chance, I got to see in person a painting, and its “major” lady subject as it happens, that for weeks I have not been able to get out of my head. Felt a little fated. A remarkable piece by Ottawa artist Zaneta Pernicova. HeART!

Even better in person! ZANETA Pernicova!

3. Indulged my new obsession with street art by buying and spending most of the afternoon pouring over the updated edition of Graffiti World: street art from five continents. Then spent some time in the streets.

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All in all, a pretty good grey day to love my home. Or,…was it just the high I got from my new leather pants!?

And frankly, I’m glad my peeps are fleeing. It gives me more time to get to know you, Ottawa.

heARTbeatgal

A little update on the body parts project. It goes. Slowly. In parts.

The foundation has been laid. The parts are collected.

I want to say it feels good. It feels. And that is good.

Consolidation (C) Regarde, j’ai ajouté ceci pour que ça soit plus joli!

heARTbeatgal

Kinda sunny. Still stinky.

heARTbeatgal

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“Home” 24″ x 18″ Mixed Media (Acrylic, community newspapers, found material)

An Ottawa gal’s love song to her hood. I came alive when I moved my wee family permanently to Centretown. As heARTbeatgal, I am drawing on the eclectic energy of my environment, creating, making collaborative collage.
“Home” uses the flavours of Centretown in a hopeful expression of my profound affection and attachment to the area.

Love.

heARTbeatgal

The first step in my creative evolution required simply starting. This sounds easier than it was.

Next came clearing the hurdle of declaring something finished. Check.

Now…

3. I am no longer precious about my creation.

The piece above is something I started in the summer. It was deeply personal. Intensely fun. But I didn’t stop when I should have.

For months it stared at me, taunted, and filled me with regret. What total nonsense. So I tore it apart, covered it over, returned to white. Relief.

“Sometimes you`ve got to let everything go – purge yourself. If you are unhappy with anything . . . whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you`ll find that when you`re free, your true creativity, your true self comes out.” – Tina Turner

You tell it Ms. Turner! I simply cannot wait to see what comes next.

heARTbeatgal

I had an extra special Valentine’s Day this year. Well actually, more like an extra special Valentine’s Day Season, because for a few weeks I have been working on love letters to my “Sunshine Rainbow Magic” collaborators.

Some of them may have arrived. Some not quite yet. All of them contain my love. From the outset, the project became a reflection on the unique nature of each of my most important connections, my connection to the world. These collaborators are my nearest and dearest augmented by a formidable collection of newcomers on my scene.

[Fack!!! Shut it nauseating happy lady!]

The truth is today is Monday. It sucked in varied and uninteresting ways. But at least I know, in some formal measurable way, the utter abundance of love I have in my life.

One more GIANT thank you.

heARTbeatgal