I produced this painting about two years before I wrote Mary and her Metis Grandma. However, while I was writing the novel, I decided to make the main character a painter and I included this painting in the manuscript.
Painting of a Pregnant woman birthing
As I helped Grandma up from the bench on the balcony, she glanced at my painting. “Do I see a pair of legs in there? And those look like breasts?” I tensed with a question. I wonder. What does Grandma think about naked legs and breasts? Instead of asking that question, I sheepishly smiled and said, “Yes.”
Grandma just said, “Hmm, interesting.”
Passion and Desire
Grandma sat up straight with that little smile she would have when she was feeling proud or accomplished. “Good idea, Mary. That’s usually what I say. You’ve exhausted me.” I kissed her on the cheek. Before we went to our separate bedrooms, she smiled and added, “I’ll always be there for you.”
Hmm. I kept my thoughts to myself. That’s nice of you to say Grandma but you aren’t going to be around for long.
From that day on, I started to see the world differently. I understood the difference between passion and desire. Desire is like wanting a cookie, but you’re not likely to jump off a bridge to get it. Passion is something that you care about deeply and is not a passing thought — being passionate about something is when you spend a great deal of energy achieving it and you might jump off a bridge to get it but hopefully you do not. Passion sometimes causes you to make sacrifices for it.
1) Mary and her Metis Grandma: a coming-of-age story. Based on true stories, this is a gripping work of auto-fiction / biography and memoir that results in historical accountability.
Filled with wisdom, grit and honesty, this is the journey of a Métis teenager overcoming personal grief, family traumas, witnessing the pain of others, and experiencing the healing power of a Grandma’s love.
Instead of succumbing to self-pity, Mary rises above her presumed narrative with courage and love as her Grandma takes Mary under her wing to guide her into the mature woman she will become.
and
2) Moon Water: a documentary about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Moon Water was distributed primarily to educational institutions throughout N. America.
My childhood was spent in Jasper, Alberta, surrounded by nature. My amazing mother encouraged me to write stories and paint or draw pictures for her; she was my first teacher.
