Love Your City

     I [ L O V E ] MY CITY.

  1. cherry blossoms  2. jericho beach  3. salts  4. crown st. 

[untitled]

A brief explanation...
My desire for these two canvases was to reveal the contrast in the construction of identity of trauma survivors. I wanted to be able to express the tension between the differing perspectives of identity that are presented by Western media and the trauma survivors themselves.

The Mixed Messages of Mixed Media

In my first art piece, I used mixed media to express the Western concept of identity for trauma victims (individuals who have experienced extreme violence, genocide, war, etc). By using newspaper articles, online sources, and pages from a book, I wanted to reveal the kind of language that Western media uses to create identity. I feel as though the identities that the media constructs of trauma victims can be problematic as the media tends to portray these individuals as victimized, helpless, broken, and vulnerable. Although I do believe that these titles are true to an extent, they fail to portray the strength, passion, and beauty of trauma survivors. Which is why, for my second piece, I chose to use a wood canvas and used the more traditional art mediums of acrylic paint and watercolour. 

A Sunset and a Sunrise

My second piece is my favourte. I've decided that I absolutely LOVE working with wood canvases and hope to paint on many more of them this summer. I wanted this piece to express the pure & raw identities of trauma survivors that are self-constructed. Being in a major that deals heavily with issues concerning the developing world, I've come across many life narratives of trauma survivors. I've learned about the Lost Boys of Sudan, the Rwandan & Bosnian genocides, the war in Iraq, the deterioration of the Niger Delta, and countless other heart-breaking stories. Yet, in each story, I have been amazed by the personal accounts of survivors who, despite the struggles they face, maintain strong spirits and push forward in life. 


These two art pieces were specifically drawn in remembrance of the Lost Boys of Sudan. 27,000 ethnic Dinka boys who fled their homes during the Second Sudanese Civil War, fleeing first to Ethiopia, then back to Sudan, then into Kenya. More than half were lost along the way. I was specifically inspired by the personal stories of Benson, Alepho, and Benjamin, three lost boys who wrote the memoir; They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky. It is such an incredible testimony to God's grace, power, and love. Throughout the memoir, the boys hardly ever speak of their own personal suffering, instead their greatest suffering comes from separation and/or hearing that a family member has been hurt or lost. Rather than seeing themselves as helpless victims, I was amazed at their positive attitudes as they focused on the few blessings that they did have. 


Through the sunset/sunrise concept, I wanted to express the passion, love, and pride the boys expressed in their memoir as they remembered their family, culture, and country. Their rootedness to their past is such a beautiful thing to me, and I love that although they are willing and eager to move on towards a better future, they still remain fiercely loyal to their past and feel a sense of responsibility in the construction of their country's future. I want to dedicate these art pieces to the Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan, in hopes of a better future, yet in remembrance of a beautiful past that existed before the civil war.

Let's not forget...

Keep praying for this country and for the people of Haiti! It is so easy to forget when 
the shock, horror, and sadness fades from the media, but we are called to defend 
the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. 
Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. psalm 82:3-4

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

I’m waiting for the skies to break,

For the light to fade away the mess I’ve made

And when the heavens stop flooding the earth with tears,

I know the cool waters will wash away my fears

I’ll wait for the great painter to colour the skies,

With the colour of hope and the promise of life.

And somewhere over that rainbow,

I’ll hear the lullaby,

Of blue birds, lemon drops, and starry night skies

I’ll wish upon a million shooting stars,

And always wish for love to not be far.

And when I see the colours painted across the sky

I’ll sing the once forgotten lullaby.

Cause somewhere over the rainbow,

...I know I’ll find a pot of heaven’s gold

My Ten Loves

1. Morning runs along the beach 
2. Fresh strawberries
3. Watercolour and Indian Ink
4. Ingrid Michaelson
5. The smell of cherry blossoms 
6. Late night phone conversations
7. The poetry of the Psalms
8. Snail Mail
9. Sushi 
10. My nalgene & water
11. How often my family moves... oops, that's eleven now. 


Good thing I'm an Arts major and not in Math. 
But yes, we're on the move again! I just found out this past weekend that our family is heading out West again to Enderby, BC. I know, shocking. We broke a record, we lasted almost 4 years in Calgary! It was due time we packed up again... and no, I'm not bitter. Just shocked.
                                                                               
And excited  =)


It was always my parents dream to live in the mountains near the lakes, and I'm so happy for them! Although this seriously botches up my summer plans, it could be worse. Enderby is such a beautiful little town (approx. 3000 people) and it'll suit my family perfectly as it's surrounded by the great outdoors. I'm sure my parents will end up hiking, skiing, and snowshoeing every other day now instead of just Saturdays. I don't know the details of when we're moving, if we have a place, or where I'll be for my summer... but that'll all come with time. 

I like kids and ukuleles.

This little boy makes me love life!

Bwana Asifiwe!

So I've started some early morning yoga again, finally! I haven't been very active the past couple weeks because of my snowshoeing accident and it's been killing me. 

For those who haven't heard, while on a winter retreat with my house in Hemlock Valley, I was in a minor accident. On my way down from one of the peaks, I was sitting off to the side at the bottom of a steep decline waiting for the rest of the girls to come down when one of my friends slipped and sent a small avalanche of snow down toward where I was. It wouldn't have been bad at all if a large rock hadn't been part of it! I was hit in my lower back near my left hip by a rock bigger than my head, that the boys estimated was about 20-30 pounds. The impact just knocked the breath out of me and for a moment I seriously thought I had broken something but after about 20 minutes I was able to get over the initial shock and assess the situation better (thank goodness for First Aid training in Quest and Margaret!). After making sure I could move a bit, we slowly hiked back down to the main trail where ski patrol found us and snowmobiled me out to their ski hut. To wrap things up, I went and got checked up at UBC Urgent Care and was told that it was only severe bone and muscle bruising and that I should stay active but take it easy (riight...seriously, choose one or the other!)

All creation definitely praises His name! The view at the peak was stunning, but the trek up was just as breathtaking and just so beautiful to be a part of =)

This is about where the rock fell from when we were hiking back down. You can kind of see the steepness here and how much momentum and force the rock would have had when it came hurtling down and hit me. I was only a little farther down than where the last person in the picture is. It's crazy to look at this picture because I realize how fortunate I was that my injury was as minimal as it was... Thank-you Father!

I feel very blessed that God was looking out for me and that my spine wasn't impacted, as I know that it could have been much much worse for me. I am also soo so thankful that I had an amazing group of friends with me, one who is a nursing student, two who basically carried me off the mountain, and the rest who paved the way for us in the freezing cold! (It quickly got darker after my accident as we didn't get off the mountain until near suppertime). My injury also resulted in my poor mama booking a flight out here as soon as she could because she was so worried about her baby girl! Not that I was complaining...I felt slightly bad that she thought it was so serious, but I did tell my parents repeatedly that I was FINE. I'm glad she came anyway as we both had such an awesome time hanging out in Vancouver and even managed to get a trip down to Seattle in as well to visit family and do some shopping. So I received a HUGE blessing from what seemed to be a little bit of pain and for that I'm very thankful!!

I'm basically as good as new now, except for the huge hardened knots that have formed since it happened. I've been massaging and stretching so that I can work them out, but as I'm still bruised it's taking a little while. Thankfully, my morning yoga class seems to have loosened it up a little bit, and I'm sure that it will only continue to get better from here! I know it will, because the break is coming up fast and Caleb will be here in just over a week now and we will be PAR-TAYYYIng it up in BC with a huge group of Questies! Soo excited =) 
             Thanks for reading!

With my bruise =(  taken just a couple days ago.
It's definitely not as bad as it looks anymore though!