Finding a Voice
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Seattle artist-in-residency
For the first time, the scent of cedar and saltwater did not raise homesickness in my heart.
I spent two weeks in the Pacific Northwest, mainly in Seattle via Vancouver. Friends Dave & Chelle Stearns had invited me to do music – concerts, writing, musing.
Yet, I suddenly realized that this is exactly what Dave & Chelle did for me. They were my patrons. They helped me travel across borders, housed me, fed me, fellowshipped with me, challenged and encouraged me to write and do it well. They introduced me to their community and provided venues for my artistry.
It’s like I was their artist-in-residence.
And it was fruitful. I wrote 2 new songs. One is a blessing for Dave & Chelle in their new home. The other is unlike anything I’ve written before: through-composed and based on a short story by Scottish writer George Mackay Brown about sermons on the wedding at Cana. Chelle had commissioned the song for her Biblical Theology class at Mars Hill Graduate School. I'm quite pleased with it, if I may say so! It feels like there's an entire song cycle to glean from the story.
The final concert on Monday afternoon was at Dave & Chelle’s place with several talented musicians and their children. Wonderful mix. Rich harmonies. Several stayed for supper.
On Tuesday, Chelle and I stayed in Vancouver, visiting with our friends Duffy and Sherry. The four of us attended Regent College together, where we received significant formation as women, Christians, and artists. Having journeyed far in the past few years, we took delight and comfort in each others’ presence on Tuesday.
Wednesday I came home – to Saskatchewan. To the wide-open prairie spaces where incessant, unseasonal rain just won’t let the farmers harvest the crops. I came home to the ordinary dailyness of living – going to a job, attending community meetings, cleaning and cooking at home, visiting friends, worshiping with my church. And I have a refreshed perspective and new confidence for my artistic vocation.
Dahlias purchased at Pike Place Market.
Hot chili peppers, Pike Place Market
The first books on the shelf in Chelle's shared office at Mars Hill Graduate School.
Dr. Michelle L. Stearns behind the desk in her shared office at Mars Hill Graduate School.
"Chariot of Fire" - the piano at CocoaNymph in Vancouver (10th & Alma). Yummy.
With my cousin Amy Caswell. She's a Regent student. We met up at CocoaNymph.
Outside my door at Dave & Chelle's house. They have SO MUCH ROSEMARY in their yard!
The kitchen/dining room in my temporary Seattle home.
Labels: calling, music, performances, retreats, vocation, work, writing
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
a working vacation
I'm in Seattle right now. Friends Dave & Chelle invited me here to do some concerts in celebration of their return from Ph.D. studies in Scotland. They've given me their spacious, gorgeous basement suite (former b&b) for the entire 11 night stay, complete with a library of BBC videos, mainly Jane Austen. Yummy.
My first concert was on Saturday afternoon. It was small (6 guests) but cosy and people were willing to sing along. Unfortunately, I started feeling ill not long after the concert ended and spent the next 36 hours attending to bodily functions, sleeping, and subsisting on broth and ginger ale, cable television, and Jane Austen videos.
But I'm feeling much better today (if only the heartburn would go away). Since Chelle has a new teaching contract with Mars Hill Graduate School, she is doing a lot of course prep, so I'm working on my own projects, which include layout for a theatre festival booklet, ghostwriting a book about the founder of Servants Anonymous Foundation (www.safoundation.com), and composing a song or two. But now ... I must leave the Mars Hill library to drink some famous Seattle coffee, take a tour of Pike Place Market, and browse at Lark in the Morning!
My first concert was on Saturday afternoon. It was small (6 guests) but cosy and people were willing to sing along. Unfortunately, I started feeling ill not long after the concert ended and spent the next 36 hours attending to bodily functions, sleeping, and subsisting on broth and ginger ale, cable television, and Jane Austen videos.
But I'm feeling much better today (if only the heartburn would go away). Since Chelle has a new teaching contract with Mars Hill Graduate School, she is doing a lot of course prep, so I'm working on my own projects, which include layout for a theatre festival booklet, ghostwriting a book about the founder of Servants Anonymous Foundation (www.safoundation.com), and composing a song or two. But now ... I must leave the Mars Hill library to drink some famous Seattle coffee, take a tour of Pike Place Market, and browse at Lark in the Morning!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The Story of Stuff
My cousin Michael is a farmer near in southeast Saskatchewan near the town of Wawota. Last week at Arlington Beach family camp, we had several thought-provoking conversations.
Michael and another cousin, Greg, along with Greg’s wife Cathy, are thinking hard about bio-friendly farming. Greg farms the land that his dad and my dad used to farm together. Recently he’s been wondering why the crops were so good 30-some years ago, but are not as good now. Cathy, not having a farm background and being a very thoughtful, inquisitive type, asks, “Well, what has changed?” So they’ve been investigating soil quality, additives, chemicals, and other factors involved in growing crops, and discovering troubling information. Michael has also been looking into and pondering things like land trusts and living in community.
Michael and another cousin, Greg, along with Greg’s wife Cathy, are thinking hard about bio-friendly farming. Greg farms the land that his dad and my dad used to farm together. Recently he’s been wondering why the crops were so good 30-some years ago, but are not as good now. Cathy, not having a farm background and being a very thoughtful, inquisitive type, asks, “Well, what has changed?” So they’ve been investigating soil quality, additives, chemicals, and other factors involved in growing crops, and discovering troubling information. Michael has also been looking into and pondering things like land trusts and living in community.
The lifestyles most of us lead are not sustainable. What will it take to preserve and/or achieve sustainable living?
One of my intentional attempts to make a difference is through selling Norwex Enviro Products, specializing in microfiber mops and cloths, along with other environmentally friendly products. These products are sturdy and designed to be used over-and-over-and-over again, rather than single usage or becoming quickly obsolete.
Today I was looking for information on Norwex in other countries, and discovered The Story of Stuff, a fascinating educational cartoon by Annie Leonard. Just over 20 minutes long, it is both convincting and encouraging. We don’t have to helplessly lament the demise of environments and societies – we can get involved.
Watch it here: The Story of Stuff.
Labels: Arlington Beach, family, health and wellness, life, releasing the nations, work
Sunday, July 20, 2008
4-Door Arts Forum
On Saturday, July 12th, eight artists gathered in Duval, SK for a 4-Door Arts Forum in which artists of all kinds gathered purposefully and spontaneously worshipped together through their various media. The 4 doors represent "text, voice, music and visual art". The plan was to work along side each other in a neutral setting, experiencing and revealing the sounds and colours of heaven.
Artists at this event included Steve & Leanne Epp, Shea-Marie, Beryl Fournier, Margie McConnell, Myrna Peterson, and hosts Colleen Taylor and Jeffrey Taylor.
Everyone came on Friday to see and pray over the spaces. Beryl and Marie stayed overnight while the rest returned to Regina. On Saturday the old school where Jeffrey and I live was the central meeting-place and we borrowed the former United Church from Karen Gwillim for the Saturday forum. The church is across the back yard from the school ... which is a good thing, since it doesn't have plumbing!
Friday, July 18, 2008
BUSINESS PROFILES
In November 2007 I started working for the Last Mountain Times newspaper. Early in 2008, with a strong conviction that a local newspaper should make a difference in its community, a desire to get to know more about the area I had moved to, and a suspicion that our readers might also want to know more, I initiated a profiles project. My bosses, Lance & Vicki Cornwell, liked the idea, so I designed an introductory package: 1/2 page profile for a very small participation fee and 6 gift certificates for 10% off advertising. The price was barely break-even, but I wanted to create some momentum and reward the early-adopters.
So far I have done ten profiles:
So far I have done ten profiles:
- Strasbourg Royal Bank
- Earl Grey Credit Union
- Affinity Credit Union, Strasbourg
- Safety For All Consulting, Cheryl Basey (I have since also designed her website)
- Every Little Thing (a lovely home decor store in Strasbourg with a dollar store in the back)
- JDR Marketing (featuring Joanna Krentz, a woman from my church)
- Arlington Beach Camp and Conference Centre
- Mind and Body Acres, a "health-conscious" farm owned & operated by Warren Larsen (also from my church!)
- Southey Agencies
- Newschool Arts -- my brother, Jeffrey Taylor
PROFILE Newschool Arts: so much more than pottery
Perhaps this most recent profile is my favourite: Newschool Arts. Not just because it's my brother, but because I recently read that the best profiles are based on interviews about the person more than with the person. So I asked several people for their impressions of Jeffrey and was delighted to hear what they said. Funny enough, I didn't actually interview Jeffrey for the profile -- I went from my experience of knowing him all his life (he's younger) and of living with him these past months, added bits from quizzing other people, then had Jeffrey check the draft.
BUSINESS PROFILE A Last Mountain Times Advertising Feature
Newschool Arts: so much more than just pottery
July 22, 2008, page 8
Jeffrey Taylor is so well-known as a potter that people are sometimes surprised to learn of his other diverse talents. The proprietor of Newschool Pottery in Duval, Saskatchewan made his acting debut this year, rediscovered his love of painting, and has been working hard at expanding his professional arts to include photography and video.
Growing up in southeast Saskatchewan, Taylor’s family lived on a farm near Parkman in spring and summer, and in the town of Manor in winter. Like many prairie boys, Taylor played hockey, rode bikes, and explored the countryside. Early clues to Taylor’s creative genius were copious drawings, an animated cartoon, carpentry projects like a three-storey treehouse and a nook that transformed his bedroom into a studio, and a greenhouse operation that provided a source of income.
Taylor took grade 12 as a boarding school student in Caronport. Here he fell in love with the craft that would define his life: pottery. After two years of post-secondary education at Briercrest Bible College, Taylor enrolled in the Fine Arts program at Red Deer College, majoring in pottery.
Reluctant to limit himself to a single arts medium, Taylor spent a few years traveling in the States with a construction crew, then working for his brother in Vancouver, BC.
In 1997 friends informed him that Duval’s old school was available for sale. By this time Taylor had recognized that establishing himself in pottery would later free him to branch out into other media. He purchased the building, which was actually a two-room schoolhouse and a one-room schoolhouse joined together. Putting his artistic flare and carpentry skills to work, the larger original school became his home and the one-room addition became his pottery studio.
The old school transformed into a home is full of character, colour, and texture. Some of the old school maps and health posters acquired with the building hang on walls painted gold, leaf green, deep marine, and burgundy. Taylor constructed the front steps from railroad ties, gallery shelves from old timber and his dining table out of salvaged wood from an elevator leg. Massive triple-paned windows provide endless prairie sunlight and picturesque views, with a playground, farm fields, and the Last Mountain hills on the east side and two steepled churches on the west side.
Neighbour, co-worker, and friend, Dennis Hodgins marvels at Taylor’s creativity. “Jeffrey could be creative in any medium if he wanted. Give him a pile of junk and he could create something out of it if he wanted.”
Take sewing for an example. Hodgins recalls Hallowe’en parties at the old school, with Taylor “whipping up costumes” beforehand. “Jeffrey could take a heap of rags and make a Joseph coat out of it.” Of course, trick-or-treaters get pottery cast-offs.
Taylor’s pottery has always been functional art. He serves up dishes for everyday use – plates, bowls, mugs, casseroles, butter dishes, sugar bowls, creamers. While he repeats uniform shapes and sizes, no two pieces are exactly alike. Unusual tools like gear wheels and syringes produce unique imprints, splotches and strokes. Taylor has worked especially hard to design dripless teapots with snug lids, handles for easy lifting, and a special hole in the lid for dangling a tea ball.
“It’s interesting to watch people’s faces as they look at his work,” says Cheryl Wolfenberg, co-owner of Traditions Handcraft Gallery in Regina. “His work gets fondled a lot because of the textures.” Personally she adds, “When my husband and I go camping, we always take Jeffrey’s pottery. I’m sure I’m the only person in the campground with a full set of pottery.”
Even so, not all of Taylor’s art has an everyday function. In experiments with setting stained glass in clay, the function is in the message: a ceramic mask (part of a juried show) reflects on judgmentalism; ceramic spaceship-shaped lamps with stained glass windows consider the relationship between religion and science; large pieces composed of smaller rounded shapes illuminated by mini-lights depict human cells with a variety of colours, evoking the Christian concepts of light and of the Church as the body of Christ.
As an active artisan, Taylor has held memberships with several professional associations. He sat on the board of the Saskatchewan Craft Council for several years. With SaskTerra, he has enjoyed artistic community and professional development in raku and wood fired pottery.
Taylor’s work can be found in several Saskatchewan venues: Traditions Handcraft Gallery in Regina, Silver Street Jewelers in Prince Albert and Saskatoon, The Comfort Zone in Strasbourg, and his own studio gallery, of course.
Occasionally, Taylor has taught art classes for both adults and children. One class led to a contact that led to his involvement with a heritage project at Raymore School in 2008, funded by an ArtsSmart grant from the Saskatchewan Arts Board. Taylor delighted in seeing the kids realize they could create something.
Hospitality is one of Taylor’s gifts. He has hosted several creative retreats for college students, and he holds two or three open houses per year – Christmas, summer, and sometimes Mother’s Day.
Gallery shows have given Taylor opportunities to hone his craft. Traditions’ Cheryl Wolfenberg praises his work as “always pushing the limits, yet always related to what he does in his everyday work with functional pottery. He takes the pressure of a gallery show and improves on it.”
Wolfenberg continues, “The effort he puts into the gallery work has resulted in an extreme change in what he’s doing, whether he realizes it or not. With the first show he went from pale white and blue to soft greens and creams. With the second show he moved to more vivid green with touches of blue. With the third he arrived at exactly what he does now, vibrant green and blue.”
As Taylor expands into photography and videography, he is especially drawn to the fields around Duval for photography and to Northern Saskatchewan for video. He desires to explore, preserve, and document that land. He has also used these skills for online pottery demonstrations, weddings, graduations, and the Last Mountain Times, and is the official photographer and videographer at Arlington Beach Camp.
A non-exhaustive list of Taylor’s other artistic skills includes drawing, painting, carpentry, singing, guitar, harmonica, songwriting, and poetry. Drama has twice put Taylor on the front page of the Last Mountain Times. He is brilliant with computers and is mechanically inclined.
In the wider community, Taylor is an active member of the Strasbourg Alliance Church, is on staff at William Derby School as an educational assistant and special needs bus driver, and is a member of the Duval Optimists. He likes to tease the ladies at bingo by calling non-existent numbers.
He loves the outdoors and cares deeply about the underdog. Anyone who knows Taylor finds him creative and fascinating, generous and welcoming. Dreaming big dreams, Jeffrey Taylor continues moving forward.
BUSINESS PROFILE A Last Mountain Times Advertising Feature
Newschool Arts: so much more than just pottery
July 22, 2008, page 8
Jeffrey Taylor is so well-known as a potter that people are sometimes surprised to learn of his other diverse talents. The proprietor of Newschool Pottery in Duval, Saskatchewan made his acting debut this year, rediscovered his love of painting, and has been working hard at expanding his professional arts to include photography and video.Growing up in southeast Saskatchewan, Taylor’s family lived on a farm near Parkman in spring and summer, and in the town of Manor in winter. Like many prairie boys, Taylor played hockey, rode bikes, and explored the countryside. Early clues to Taylor’s creative genius were copious drawings, an animated cartoon, carpentry projects like a three-storey treehouse and a nook that transformed his bedroom into a studio, and a greenhouse operation that provided a source of income.
Taylor took grade 12 as a boarding school student in Caronport. Here he fell in love with the craft that would define his life: pottery. After two years of post-secondary education at Briercrest Bible College, Taylor enrolled in the Fine Arts program at Red Deer College, majoring in pottery.
Reluctant to limit himself to a single arts medium, Taylor spent a few years traveling in the States with a construction crew, then working for his brother in Vancouver, BC.
In 1997 friends informed him that Duval’s old school was available for sale. By this time Taylor had recognized that establishing himself in pottery would later free him to branch out into other media. He purchased the building, which was actually a two-room schoolhouse and a one-room schoolhouse joined together. Putting his artistic flare and carpentry skills to work, the larger original school became his home and the one-room addition became his pottery studio.
The old school transformed into a home is full of character, colour, and texture. Some of the old school maps and health posters acquired with the building hang on walls painted gold, leaf green, deep marine, and burgundy. Taylor constructed the front steps from railroad ties, gallery shelves from old timber and his dining table out of salvaged wood from an elevator leg. Massive triple-paned windows provide endless prairie sunlight and picturesque views, with a playground, farm fields, and the Last Mountain hills on the east side and two steepled churches on the west side.
Neighbour, co-worker, and friend, Dennis Hodgins marvels at Taylor’s creativity. “Jeffrey could be creative in any medium if he wanted. Give him a pile of junk and he could create something out of it if he wanted.”
Take sewing for an example. Hodgins recalls Hallowe’en parties at the old school, with Taylor “whipping up costumes” beforehand. “Jeffrey could take a heap of rags and make a Joseph coat out of it.” Of course, trick-or-treaters get pottery cast-offs.
Taylor’s pottery has always been functional art. He serves up dishes for everyday use – plates, bowls, mugs, casseroles, butter dishes, sugar bowls, creamers. While he repeats uniform shapes and sizes, no two pieces are exactly alike. Unusual tools like gear wheels and syringes produce unique imprints, splotches and strokes. Taylor has worked especially hard to design dripless teapots with snug lids, handles for easy lifting, and a special hole in the lid for dangling a tea ball.
“It’s interesting to watch people’s faces as they look at his work,” says Cheryl Wolfenberg, co-owner of Traditions Handcraft Gallery in Regina. “His work gets fondled a lot because of the textures.” Personally she adds, “When my husband and I go camping, we always take Jeffrey’s pottery. I’m sure I’m the only person in the campground with a full set of pottery.”
Even so, not all of Taylor’s art has an everyday function. In experiments with setting stained glass in clay, the function is in the message: a ceramic mask (part of a juried show) reflects on judgmentalism; ceramic spaceship-shaped lamps with stained glass windows consider the relationship between religion and science; large pieces composed of smaller rounded shapes illuminated by mini-lights depict human cells with a variety of colours, evoking the Christian concepts of light and of the Church as the body of Christ.
As an active artisan, Taylor has held memberships with several professional associations. He sat on the board of the Saskatchewan Craft Council for several years. With SaskTerra, he has enjoyed artistic community and professional development in raku and wood fired pottery.
Taylor’s work can be found in several Saskatchewan venues: Traditions Handcraft Gallery in Regina, Silver Street Jewelers in Prince Albert and Saskatoon, The Comfort Zone in Strasbourg, and his own studio gallery, of course.
Occasionally, Taylor has taught art classes for both adults and children. One class led to a contact that led to his involvement with a heritage project at Raymore School in 2008, funded by an ArtsSmart grant from the Saskatchewan Arts Board. Taylor delighted in seeing the kids realize they could create something.
Hospitality is one of Taylor’s gifts. He has hosted several creative retreats for college students, and he holds two or three open houses per year – Christmas, summer, and sometimes Mother’s Day.
Gallery shows have given Taylor opportunities to hone his craft. Traditions’ Cheryl Wolfenberg praises his work as “always pushing the limits, yet always related to what he does in his everyday work with functional pottery. He takes the pressure of a gallery show and improves on it.”
Wolfenberg continues, “The effort he puts into the gallery work has resulted in an extreme change in what he’s doing, whether he realizes it or not. With the first show he went from pale white and blue to soft greens and creams. With the second show he moved to more vivid green with touches of blue. With the third he arrived at exactly what he does now, vibrant green and blue.”
As Taylor expands into photography and videography, he is especially drawn to the fields around Duval for photography and to Northern Saskatchewan for video. He desires to explore, preserve, and document that land. He has also used these skills for online pottery demonstrations, weddings, graduations, and the Last Mountain Times, and is the official photographer and videographer at Arlington Beach Camp.
A non-exhaustive list of Taylor’s other artistic skills includes drawing, painting, carpentry, singing, guitar, harmonica, songwriting, and poetry. Drama has twice put Taylor on the front page of the Last Mountain Times. He is brilliant with computers and is mechanically inclined.
In the wider community, Taylor is an active member of the Strasbourg Alliance Church, is on staff at William Derby School as an educational assistant and special needs bus driver, and is a member of the Duval Optimists. He likes to tease the ladies at bingo by calling non-existent numbers.
He loves the outdoors and cares deeply about the underdog. Anyone who knows Taylor finds him creative and fascinating, generous and welcoming. Dreaming big dreams, Jeffrey Taylor continues moving forward.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Nokomis' Little Miss Higgins, Juno nominee
Here's the article I mentioned in yesterday's post.
Oh dear ... I noticed a typo in the third line on the second page: "miss" should be capitalized, "Miss." I haven't checked The Watrous-Manitou paper to see if they caught it.
It must be noted that the spelling of the song title, "This Train's a' Com'in Down," is correct.
Anyhow, this article is still one of my favourites thus far. Click on the image to enlarge it for reading.
Oh dear ... I noticed a typo in the third line on the second page: "miss" should be capitalized, "Miss." I haven't checked The Watrous-Manitou paper to see if they caught it.
It must be noted that the spelling of the song title, "This Train's a' Com'in Down," is correct.
Anyhow, this article is still one of my favourites thus far. Click on the image to enlarge it for reading.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
tour update #6: nearing the end, finding a home
This particular journey is nearing the end. It has been exhausting yet exhilarating, affirming and confirming my calling to a creative lifestyle, with music as a central part of that.
The house concert in Kitchener, Ontario was a delightful reunion of Briercrest alumni from the 2000s, plus a few new faces. One fun introduction was Laura S. Her sister Hannah (also there) was one of my students and introduced Laura to this blog. Laura has been quietly reading for a couple of years, and finally we met. It was amazing to open my concert singing "Poetess" and see her wipe away tears, then later to ask what caused the tears and have her respond that it was seeing me "standing, declaring my choice / To take my calling after resisting far too long." Hmmm. What a place to be in.
My other Ontario house concert in Markham was quite a bit smaller, but no less lovely in reuniting with old friends and meeting new ones. The CACSD meetings were fruitful, there were several opportunities for rejuvenation and reconnecting with friends during the trip. Of course, a touring schedule, sleeping in a different bed every night or two, being with different people every day or two, is not easy and I have often longed for a companion and/or a manager/agent at home and/or a laptop of my own to help streamline some aspects of life on the road.
I'm in Calgary this week. Arrived at 10:00 on Thursday evening (midnight in Ontario). Probably one of the funniest (as in ha-ha) touring moments happened the next morning at 6:30 when my alarm went off to get me up for a day of CHEC meetings (Christian Higher Education Canada). My last bed in Ontario was a mattress on the floor for two nights (comfy and restful). However, my bed in Calgary is your typical off-the-ground variety, but combining lack of sleep and disorientation, I jumped, rolled, and fell on the floor, banging my forehead on the night table! A bit of ice and nobody could tell, but it underscored my relief to be staying put here at my brother Tom's place for a few days and doing ordinary family things like driving my nephews and niece to school and writing little ditties to record on a birthday CD for my youngest niece and nephew.
Just a few days ago I found out that the Canadian Christian Music conference is here on Thursday and Friday, so I'm going to go for learning, networking, and inspiration. Possible workshops present me with some tough choices:
These sorts of dreams have been stirring in my heart and soul for a long time, but I could hardly imagine how or where they could begin to happen, even though Jeffrey had talked about similar things. The past year in Spiritwood has been transitional, knowing that I needed to finish my thesis and regain some health while seeking the Lord for the next step.
While in Ontario, my friend Anna reminded me of a developmental model that helps make sense of this past season: Janet Hagberg's Critical Journey. I've spent most of the year on a "journey inward" (stage 4), and have struggled "to be comfortable staying in this place until the new path comes." This summer I started hitting "the wall," wanting direction (particularly paying work) rather than waiting. I wrote out some elaborate schemes, trying to imagine ways to move on, make money and fulfill my calling at the same time. I have even submitted numerous resumes, with no bites. What should I do, what should I do, what should I do?
In all of this, the Lord has clearly had his hand on me. I recognize it in many ways. First there was the breakthrough in going on tour. There have been places to sleep and food to eat and people to sing for and with. As the tour nears the end, I have been wondering what to do next. I could keep touring, but it's time to stop and rest and be creative. I have been scouring job sites and brainstorming possibilities for self-employment income. Walls, walls, walls. Now Duval.
Though it seems perhaps a bit strange and risky, what hasn't been risky and unusual in my life for the past year plus? We're not naive. This transition will not be without challenges, of course, but that's the nature of anything worth doing. This feels like the right next step, pulling together all of my interests, training, experience and passion for the arts, business and education.
Hopefully my next post won't be so long in coming.
Here's a forecasted schedule for the next few weeks:
WEEK 6
Mon, Oct 22, Calgary (driving my nephews and niece to school--a nice change for me and a break for my brother & sister-in-law!)
Tue, Oct 23, Calgary, house concert, Pete & Brita Miko's home
Wed, Oct 24, Calgary, writing
Thu, Oct 25, Calgary, Canada Christian Music Conference
evening, Red Deer, house concert at Pete & Audrey Winter's home
Fri, Oct 26, Calgary, CCM conference
drive to Caronport
Sat, Oct 27, Caronport, house concert at Brendan and Laura Winter's home
Sun, Oct 28, Moose Jaw First Free Methodist Church
WEEK 7
Mon, Oct 29, Caronport
Tue, Oct 30, Caronport
Wed, Oct 31, Eston, SK, Full Gospel Bible College, concert (to be confirmed)
Thu, Nov 1, home to Spiritwood, Mom's birthday
Nov 2 - 8, Spiritwood: house concert at Inn on the Tenth; packing to move to Duval, SK for creative space and to be my brother Jeffrey's business manager and personal assistant during the Christmas rush.
Sometime in November: that free trip to California from a bank promotion last year
The house concert in Kitchener, Ontario was a delightful reunion of Briercrest alumni from the 2000s, plus a few new faces. One fun introduction was Laura S. Her sister Hannah (also there) was one of my students and introduced Laura to this blog. Laura has been quietly reading for a couple of years, and finally we met. It was amazing to open my concert singing "Poetess" and see her wipe away tears, then later to ask what caused the tears and have her respond that it was seeing me "standing, declaring my choice / To take my calling after resisting far too long." Hmmm. What a place to be in.
My other Ontario house concert in Markham was quite a bit smaller, but no less lovely in reuniting with old friends and meeting new ones. The CACSD meetings were fruitful, there were several opportunities for rejuvenation and reconnecting with friends during the trip. Of course, a touring schedule, sleeping in a different bed every night or two, being with different people every day or two, is not easy and I have often longed for a companion and/or a manager/agent at home and/or a laptop of my own to help streamline some aspects of life on the road.
I'm in Calgary this week. Arrived at 10:00 on Thursday evening (midnight in Ontario). Probably one of the funniest (as in ha-ha) touring moments happened the next morning at 6:30 when my alarm went off to get me up for a day of CHEC meetings (Christian Higher Education Canada). My last bed in Ontario was a mattress on the floor for two nights (comfy and restful). However, my bed in Calgary is your typical off-the-ground variety, but combining lack of sleep and disorientation, I jumped, rolled, and fell on the floor, banging my forehead on the night table! A bit of ice and nobody could tell, but it underscored my relief to be staying put here at my brother Tom's place for a few days and doing ordinary family things like driving my nephews and niece to school and writing little ditties to record on a birthday CD for my youngest niece and nephew.
Just a few days ago I found out that the Canadian Christian Music conference is here on Thursday and Friday, so I'm going to go for learning, networking, and inspiration. Possible workshops present me with some tough choices:
- Grants – Find out how you can improve your chances of receiving grants with tips on writing effective applications
- The Signpost Music Story – What it takes to make it as an independent artist. Speaker: Steve Bell
- Tours and Booking Panel – Perhaps the biggest challenge for the artist, booking gigs is an art in itself. Hear from a panel who have been putting together successful tours and concerts for years.
- SOCAN – What is SOCAN and why is it so important to the Canadian Artist? Hear what’s going on in Canada, how to protect your songs, and get answers to your questions.
- Artist Management Panel – Whether self-managed or you have a manager, hear what it takes to stay proactive rather than reactive in this industry.
- The Songwriting Process: Steve Bell and Carolyn Arends talk about the process of songwriting.
- The Secret Life of the Artist: Learn from the Breakforth founder and artist: Arlen Salte – Breakforth Ministries
- On-Stage Techniques: Learn from the Tom Jackson school of stage presence, from one of his trained presenters, Kevin Pauls
- Artist Panel: The realities of being a Canadian Christian Artist full time
- Kick-start the Heart – a frank discussion on how to take your heart for music and ministry and begin building a lasting career in the Christian music industry – Speaker: Jon Buller, Hear the Music Ministries
- Worship as a Journey: the corporate movement from alienation to intimacy between God and God’s people. Speaker: Steve Bell
These sorts of dreams have been stirring in my heart and soul for a long time, but I could hardly imagine how or where they could begin to happen, even though Jeffrey had talked about similar things. The past year in Spiritwood has been transitional, knowing that I needed to finish my thesis and regain some health while seeking the Lord for the next step.
While in Ontario, my friend Anna reminded me of a developmental model that helps make sense of this past season: Janet Hagberg's Critical Journey. I've spent most of the year on a "journey inward" (stage 4), and have struggled "to be comfortable staying in this place until the new path comes." This summer I started hitting "the wall," wanting direction (particularly paying work) rather than waiting. I wrote out some elaborate schemes, trying to imagine ways to move on, make money and fulfill my calling at the same time. I have even submitted numerous resumes, with no bites. What should I do, what should I do, what should I do?
In all of this, the Lord has clearly had his hand on me. I recognize it in many ways. First there was the breakthrough in going on tour. There have been places to sleep and food to eat and people to sing for and with. As the tour nears the end, I have been wondering what to do next. I could keep touring, but it's time to stop and rest and be creative. I have been scouring job sites and brainstorming possibilities for self-employment income. Walls, walls, walls. Now Duval.
Though it seems perhaps a bit strange and risky, what hasn't been risky and unusual in my life for the past year plus? We're not naive. This transition will not be without challenges, of course, but that's the nature of anything worth doing. This feels like the right next step, pulling together all of my interests, training, experience and passion for the arts, business and education.
Hopefully my next post won't be so long in coming.
Here's a forecasted schedule for the next few weeks:
WEEK 6
Mon, Oct 22, Calgary (driving my nephews and niece to school--a nice change for me and a break for my brother & sister-in-law!)
Tue, Oct 23, Calgary, house concert, Pete & Brita Miko's home
Wed, Oct 24, Calgary, writing
Thu, Oct 25, Calgary, Canada Christian Music Conference
evening, Red Deer, house concert at Pete & Audrey Winter's home
Fri, Oct 26, Calgary, CCM conference
drive to Caronport
Sat, Oct 27, Caronport, house concert at Brendan and Laura Winter's home
Sun, Oct 28, Moose Jaw First Free Methodist Church
WEEK 7
Mon, Oct 29, Caronport
Tue, Oct 30, Caronport
Wed, Oct 31, Eston, SK, Full Gospel Bible College, concert (to be confirmed)
Thu, Nov 1, home to Spiritwood, Mom's birthday
Nov 2 - 8, Spiritwood: house concert at Inn on the Tenth; packing to move to Duval, SK for creative space and to be my brother Jeffrey's business manager and personal assistant during the Christmas rush.
Sometime in November: that free trip to California from a bank promotion last year
Labels: CACSD, calling, family, identity, music, vocation, work
Sunday, February 04, 2007
who are the sisters?
I realized today that an earlier post, "unity week," is not entirely self-explanatory.
To understand it, you need to know that I live with my parents in a 9000-sq-ft former convent, built in 1953. It is down the street from Spiritwood's Catholic Church and across the street from Rivier School, a Catholic school named for Sister Marie Rivier, founder of The Sisters of the Presentation of Mary. A few months ago, Mom and Dad heard that Spiritwood's resident nuns had sold their house and were hoping to stay in town if they could find a place. My parents have a lovely apartment downstairs, where my grandfather lived until May. After prayer and deliberation, my parentes decided to offer the apartment to the Sisters, and on January 23rd they moved in.
The convent was also a boarding school for many years for children who lived further north in Saskatchewan. It sits on land that used to belong to the Searle grain company, for which my grandfather was a buyer. Grandpa was involved in the transactions with the Catholic Church to buy this land. As a child, my mother took piano lessons in a little room that is now the apartment office, and sometimes she would join the boarders for study hall, which room is now divided between the apartment and my dad's carpentry workshop.
When Srs. Therese and Bernadette joined the Presentation of Mary, their vocational choices were two: cook or teacher. Sr. Bernadette thought she would like to be a cook, but her superiors steered her towards teaching. Sr. Therese was also a teacher, a profession they both loved, particularly their four years each in Spiritwood. Each of them has had a teaching career of more than 30 years. But profession was not as important to them as devoting themselves completely to God. Now their work is parish ministry with seniors, especially visitation and taking the Eucharist to shut-ins.
For Sister Therese this move was a kind of homecoming. A teacher at Rivier School in the early 1950s, she was among the first nuns to live in this building when it was built in 1953. It's good to have them home.
To understand it, you need to know that I live with my parents in a 9000-sq-ft former convent, built in 1953. It is down the street from Spiritwood's Catholic Church and across the street from Rivier School, a Catholic school named for Sister Marie Rivier, founder of The Sisters of the Presentation of Mary. A few months ago, Mom and Dad heard that Spiritwood's resident nuns had sold their house and were hoping to stay in town if they could find a place. My parents have a lovely apartment downstairs, where my grandfather lived until May. After prayer and deliberation, my parentes decided to offer the apartment to the Sisters, and on January 23rd they moved in.
The convent was also a boarding school for many years for children who lived further north in Saskatchewan. It sits on land that used to belong to the Searle grain company, for which my grandfather was a buyer. Grandpa was involved in the transactions with the Catholic Church to buy this land. As a child, my mother took piano lessons in a little room that is now the apartment office, and sometimes she would join the boarders for study hall, which room is now divided between the apartment and my dad's carpentry workshop.
When Srs. Therese and Bernadette joined the Presentation of Mary, their vocational choices were two: cook or teacher. Sr. Bernadette thought she would like to be a cook, but her superiors steered her towards teaching. Sr. Therese was also a teacher, a profession they both loved, particularly their four years each in Spiritwood. Each of them has had a teaching career of more than 30 years. But profession was not as important to them as devoting themselves completely to God. Now their work is parish ministry with seniors, especially visitation and taking the Eucharist to shut-ins.
For Sister Therese this move was a kind of homecoming. A teacher at Rivier School in the early 1950s, she was among the first nuns to live in this building when it was built in 1953. It's good to have them home.
Labels: family; home, vocation, work
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Real Sex review published, plus reprint
This book review was published in The Christian Week, an established Canadian newspaper. Christianity.ca contacted me (unsolicited) for permission to reprint it on their website, so here it is!
Enjoy!
Simple, Difficult Truth About Sex by Colleen Taylor
Enjoy!
Friday, January 05, 2007
new year, new day planner, & nuns coming "home"
Last Sunday our interim pastor, Vern Munshaw, preached about the new year (surprise) from the perspective of buying a new pocket-sized personal calendar. For years this was the gift he bought himself for Christmas -- always the same, and better than any of his other gifts. "Someone" (his wife) eventually realized how important this purchase was and now she buys it for him.
The image of looking for a new day planner really resonated with me. I had been looking for my new day planner but holding off the purchase. The brand I keep returning to is Quo Vadis, the style Minister Prestige. The paper is creamy (in both colour and texture) and heavy (ink never bleeds through); the layout is ideal (1 week on 2 pages, 8am-9pm, with lots of room for notes); the extras are handy (anno-planning, world maps, time zones, receipts and payments section, address book). And recently, in shopping around, I have learned that the paper comes from environmentally friendly mills in France!
Listening to Pastor Vern talk about new calendars and new years confirmed to me that it was time to really welcome the new year, so I had my uncle pick up a new Minister Prestige planner at Staples on his last trip to Saskatoon. Last night I finished the transfer from the 2006 book to 2007. Feels good.
More than ever a good calendar is imperative. 2007 is starting out crazy!
When I came to Spiritwood last fall, my parents moved down to my grandpa's apartment and I moved into their spacious bedroom suite (300+ sq ft). For many months Mom & Dad have been fielding queries about renting space here, but have never felt like they had the right set-up for boarding. That all changed a few weeks ago when they learned that the local nuns had sold their house and, not wanting to leave Spiritwood, were looking for a place to live. (Sister Therese and Sister Bernadette who are not only vocational sisters but biological siblings, too.)So my parents offered the apartment, the sisters came to see it, and Therese could hardly sit down she was so excited! This is where Sister Therese and Sister Bernadette lived several decades ago when they first came to teach in Spiritwood, so it's like coming home for them -- except that they never imagined it could be so beautiful! They would like Dad & Mom to build a little chapel space somewhere so they "can bring the presence of God into the place." Mmmmm.
It's exciting all around -- a home for the sisters, some rental income for Mom & Dad. But then it also means that Mom and Dad want their bedroom suite back, which means carving out different space for me in the south end upstairs.
Add to the mix a handful of international farm workers (employed at Fast Genetics) who are looking for places to live and a desperate lack of rental accommodations in Spiritwood, giving my parents have other possibilities for renters, which means more potential renovations on this 9000 sq ft 1950s former convent. And a lot of tradespeople have moved to Alberta!
I had hoped that January would be a quiet month to settle into my thesis and finish that thing, but I've been assigned several training & relief shifts at the Spiritwood home care office, I've got at least 5 Norwex shows in the next 2 weeks, and there are some exciting things happening with a glyconutrient company, so I'm going to Caronport and Weyburn next week "on business." I'm also considering getting certified as a Birkman consultant. (Training in Orlando, Florida, February 6-7 or Orange County, CA, March 13-14. Ask me about my introductory rate.) Interestingly, being so busy provides structure and perspective that somehow helps me to be more productive than when life is slow, increasing my motivation to write! Strange how that works, but I won't argue. Guess I'm just going to have to cram that thesis into the small spaces!
Stay tuned! ...
new year, new day
planner--clean
pages, empty
yet full of
possibilities--
familiar,
family,
friends,
vacations,
promotions ...
empty pages,
like an unopened door.
someone knocks,
you open, and there
stands a stranger,
the Unknown.
Release your fears,
welcome the stranger
bringing blessing and bain.
Release control,
open the door,
open your hands,
release and receive,
release and receive.
The image of looking for a new day planner really resonated with me. I had been looking for my new day planner but holding off the purchase. The brand I keep returning to is Quo Vadis, the style Minister Prestige. The paper is creamy (in both colour and texture) and heavy (ink never bleeds through); the layout is ideal (1 week on 2 pages, 8am-9pm, with lots of room for notes); the extras are handy (anno-planning, world maps, time zones, receipts and payments section, address book). And recently, in shopping around, I have learned that the paper comes from environmentally friendly mills in France!
Listening to Pastor Vern talk about new calendars and new years confirmed to me that it was time to really welcome the new year, so I had my uncle pick up a new Minister Prestige planner at Staples on his last trip to Saskatoon. Last night I finished the transfer from the 2006 book to 2007. Feels good.
More than ever a good calendar is imperative. 2007 is starting out crazy!
When I came to Spiritwood last fall, my parents moved down to my grandpa's apartment and I moved into their spacious bedroom suite (300+ sq ft). For many months Mom & Dad have been fielding queries about renting space here, but have never felt like they had the right set-up for boarding. That all changed a few weeks ago when they learned that the local nuns had sold their house and, not wanting to leave Spiritwood, were looking for a place to live. (Sister Therese and Sister Bernadette who are not only vocational sisters but biological siblings, too.)So my parents offered the apartment, the sisters came to see it, and Therese could hardly sit down she was so excited! This is where Sister Therese and Sister Bernadette lived several decades ago when they first came to teach in Spiritwood, so it's like coming home for them -- except that they never imagined it could be so beautiful! They would like Dad & Mom to build a little chapel space somewhere so they "can bring the presence of God into the place." Mmmmm.
It's exciting all around -- a home for the sisters, some rental income for Mom & Dad. But then it also means that Mom and Dad want their bedroom suite back, which means carving out different space for me in the south end upstairs.
Add to the mix a handful of international farm workers (employed at Fast Genetics) who are looking for places to live and a desperate lack of rental accommodations in Spiritwood, giving my parents have other possibilities for renters, which means more potential renovations on this 9000 sq ft 1950s former convent. And a lot of tradespeople have moved to Alberta!
I had hoped that January would be a quiet month to settle into my thesis and finish that thing, but I've been assigned several training & relief shifts at the Spiritwood home care office, I've got at least 5 Norwex shows in the next 2 weeks, and there are some exciting things happening with a glyconutrient company, so I'm going to Caronport and Weyburn next week "on business." I'm also considering getting certified as a Birkman consultant. (Training in Orlando, Florida, February 6-7 or Orange County, CA, March 13-14. Ask me about my introductory rate.) Interestingly, being so busy provides structure and perspective that somehow helps me to be more productive than when life is slow, increasing my motivation to write! Strange how that works, but I won't argue. Guess I'm just going to have to cram that thesis into the small spaces!
Stay tuned! ...
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
incident reports
Have I mentioned that my new workplace is a different world? It is, indeed, unlike any other place I have worked, and I've worked in everything from sanitation engineering (janitor) to summer camp counselling and directing to teaching overseas and in a college to academic administration. But I had never worked in the "health care" field nor in a unionized setting. Now here I am, an employee with the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region.
So the first 15 minutes of our days are scheduled for stretching (aka TLR = transfer, life, repositioning).* I have had jobs where we started the day with prayer, but not exercise. It's kind of nice.
Three part-time training weeks on the job and I have "accidentally" discovered another fascinating detail -- twice: incident reports.
The first incident report was for a paper cut, when I jokingly exclaimed to the co-worker training me, "Oh no! Call Worker's Comp." She half-smiled and then very seriously said, "Actually, you do have to fill out a form." You have got to be kidding -- a form for a paper cut!?!? Yup. Fill it out, fax it in to the central office, and report it to your supervisor within 24 hours.
The second incident report was for getting a finger caught in a desk drawer. Drama queen that I am, I yelped quite loudly, not expecting anyone to pay attention as I was alone in the office. But my supervisor heard me and leapt from her office to my doorway: "What happened!?" "Oh," I said, "I just caught my finger in this drawer. I don't have to fill out a form, do I?" She kind of chuckled and said, "Yes, you do." Chalk it up to another learning experience. My supervisor and co-workers quipped, "Next time you won't yell so loud." Indeed.
Apparently, in a health care environment, one must take these things seriously. Legend has it that one woman received a paper cut on the job and was hospitalized that weekend with an infection. So I can appreciate the attention to detail -- and I really need to be more careful!
*"The Occupational Health and Safety department provides training on a range of safe practices such as TLR (transfer, lift, repositioning), proper use of equipment and training for managers and supervisors."
So the first 15 minutes of our days are scheduled for stretching (aka TLR = transfer, life, repositioning).* I have had jobs where we started the day with prayer, but not exercise. It's kind of nice.
Three part-time training weeks on the job and I have "accidentally" discovered another fascinating detail -- twice: incident reports.
The first incident report was for a paper cut, when I jokingly exclaimed to the co-worker training me, "Oh no! Call Worker's Comp." She half-smiled and then very seriously said, "Actually, you do have to fill out a form." You have got to be kidding -- a form for a paper cut!?!? Yup. Fill it out, fax it in to the central office, and report it to your supervisor within 24 hours.
The second incident report was for getting a finger caught in a desk drawer. Drama queen that I am, I yelped quite loudly, not expecting anyone to pay attention as I was alone in the office. But my supervisor heard me and leapt from her office to my doorway: "What happened!?" "Oh," I said, "I just caught my finger in this drawer. I don't have to fill out a form, do I?" She kind of chuckled and said, "Yes, you do." Chalk it up to another learning experience. My supervisor and co-workers quipped, "Next time you won't yell so loud." Indeed.
Apparently, in a health care environment, one must take these things seriously. Legend has it that one woman received a paper cut on the job and was hospitalized that weekend with an infection. So I can appreciate the attention to detail -- and I really need to be more careful!
*"The Occupational Health and Safety department provides training on a range of safe practices such as TLR (transfer, lift, repositioning), proper use of equipment and training for managers and supervisors."
Labels: health and wellness, work
