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After a couple of intense months creating and working on new pieces, “Ordinary Alchemy” opened at Bluerock Gallery in Black Diamond, AB yesterday and will run until August 27th.

This is my first solo show in twelve years, and quite different from the focussed large projects that I’ve undertaken since 2008 with Community Fusion and CAMP (which…by the way, will open in my first solo public exhibition EVER in January 2013, at the Okotoks Art Gallery, Okotoks, AB)

There were many long nights and a lot of take-out involved. A huge thank you to my husband Kevin and the kids for helping out around the house, staying out of the way and dropping in at the right time when I was locked away in the studio. Also a big thanks to my Mom and Dad in Ontario for setting me on an even keel when I felt the ship was about to sink!

Even more, I want to celebrate you! All the comments, support, questions and “likes” from our social media outlets on Facebook and Twitter have been encouraging to me while I worked long hours alone. I always joke about the fact that the only real people I see are the UPS delivery guy and my family, but it’s true! For the past six weeks, I’ve hardly even made it to the grocery store for milk or coffee….okay, maybe coffee! In a six week period, I finished off no less than twenty new pieces – some of them VERY large, major works. This represents a time investment in painting anywhere from 8 – 15 hours a day. That’s a lot of solvent, and admittedly, there were times when I didn’t think I could go on.

Working with excellent gallery owners and supporters is a gift and I’m very thankful and blessed by Karen Gimbel’s vision, support and assuredness in launching “Ordinary Alchemy”. She worked very hard, and even had the time to commission some very talented local young professionals to work on this video artist’s statement:

Now, it’s time to take some time and celebrate the success of this wonderful show. I’m usually not one to pause long enough to catch my breath….but catching my breath was exactly what I did yesterday when I saw the works all hung together. As artists, we need to take a moment and celebrate the accomplishments along the way. It is no mean feat, taking hours of manpower, years of training, eons of practice and a little magic!

Please enjoy some of the photos from the gallery yesterday, and thank you all for being such a large part of this achievement.