In the news
My biggest art event of this year is coming up next weekend, so I spent most of the day packaging original watercolour paintings for tabletop displays. After getting my latest covid and flu vaccinations this morning, that is.
Taking place on both Saturday and Sunday, October 28 and 29, the 2023 "Gathering of Artisans" is being held in a charming waterfront area of Montréal Island, in support of the Baie d'Urfé Curling Club.
More than thirty-five local artisans and artists were juried into this indoor art fair, spread across two adjacent buildings on this site:
. The Curling Club; and
. The Red Barn.
My watercolour paintings will be on display in The Red Barn, along with information on my "Art Despite Pain" chronic pain initiative.
. The Red Barn: 20609 Lakeshore Road.
. Curling Club: 63 Churchill Road.
Parking for both buildings will be at 63 Churchill Road, Baie d'Urfé, Québec.
Event hours:
Saturday 1000 to 1600, Oct 28
Sunday 1000 to 1500, Oct 29
Featuring a wide variety of artisanal and art works, this event will include "decorative painting, woodworking, wire art, chocolatier, sewing, knitting, jewellery, soaps and much more" (via bdcc.ca/index.php/en/).
The annual Gathering of Artisans is the perfect opportunity to pick up locally-made gifts for birthdays, holidays, hostesses/hosts, or special occasions - or something for yourself.
For anyone who's looking for easy-to-mail gifts, I've created custom art-mailers, featuring my painting of a Kingfisher [shown on my poster, below].
Each art-mailer can hold either a 4 x 6" or a 5 x 7" original watercolour painting, matted to 8 x 10" [using acid-free mats, backboards, & framing-tape].
The recipient can then pop the (unframed) matted painting and backboard out of its protective sleeve and into any 8 x 10" frame that they already have lying around - even a photo frame.
If you're in the area and planning to visit, please stop by early for the best selection.
Each of my watercolours is an original painting - no reproductions - so once a particular scene is gone, it's gone!
My husband and I recently spent a few days in the Lake Placid area, hiking in the High Peaks region of the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York State. This has been one of our favourite places to visit ever since I introduced him to this spot during our honeymoon, almost thirty years ago.
He'd never done any alpine hiking before, but happily agreed to try it. So we got him good hiking boots, wool socks, a backpack, and a few other outdoor sports goodies.
At that point I was still a reserve officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force, an aircrew (wilderness) survival instructor with my Squadron, so I already had plenty of hiking equipment.
As you may have guessed, because I convinced my better half to spend our honeymoon hiking, I already adored this outdoor sport - along with its winter counterpart; snowshoeing. From the first few steps of his very first alpine hike - two days after our wedding - thankfully he also fell in love with hiking, particularly in those mountains.
This weekend was our twenty-ninth wedding anniversary, and we now stay in a hotel and choose slightly shorter hikes; our days of ten-hour hiking routes are likely behind us! And that's fine, because we continue to enjoy the time outdoors together - and each summit still feels like a challenge ... and a victory.
Because when I was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) in 2016, now called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), we didn't know whether I'd ever be able to complete summit hikes again.
Although I don't take the time to paint while on the mountain trails, I did bring my travel easel and a small selection of watercolour painting supplies on this trip.
Our hotel room had a balcony overlooking Mirror Lake and the surrounding mountains, so I was able to get out for scenic plein-air painting whenever we'd spend any time in our room.
It was rather chilly, just above the freezing point most mornings, so these plein-air paintings were very quick studies - with lots of clouds as we had quite a bit of rain during this trip.
I'm already feeling inspired to paint a number of these scenes, along with many others that I photographed during our hikes. Although we had been visiting the Lake Placid area several times a year for twenty-five years, the last time we were there was four years ago - before the pandemic began.
It was wonderful to be back, and to reconnect with the mountains that we both adore. Keep an eye out for watercolour paintings of the Adirondack Mountains this winter, when I get back to doing studio paintings indoors - when it's too icy or cold for me to do plein-air painting off the back of my bicycle.
These are a few of my favourite watercolours, from the painting-a-day challenge I set for myself in September.
With the word "pain" built right into *pain*ting, I decided to create a month-long series of fairly quick lunch-, dinner-, or break-time watercolours to mark international Pain Awareness Month.
Each day in September I painted something new, highlighting a different aspect of chronic pain or of pain research.
None of these 5 x 7" pieces are meant to be exhibition-quality works, but rather to garner interest and trigger conversations about chronic pain.
My #ArtDespitePain initiative, for chronic pain awareness, became organically intertwined with my art practice in part because they began at the same time.
In 2021 I transitioned from nature photography to watercolour painting, with three distinct but related goals.
First, to use painting as a form of movement-therapy for my right hand and arm - both significantly affected by a rare pain condition with which I was struck in 2016.
Second, this new art-learning would serve as brain-plasticity training for my CRPS-related mild cognitive impairment, which had developed at the close of 2018.
Finally, I'd use the resulting paintings to raise awareness of chronic pain.
As an added twist I gave all thirty of these Pain Awareness Month paintings a Latin title, to reflect the archaic language still used in medicine and healthcare; language that perpetuates the power imbalance between patients and healthcare professionals.
If you have a favourite, please let me know through the Guestbook comments feature or over on social media (Instagram, LinkedIn or X formerly Twitter).
Cephalgia; "Headache" in English
Nervi ignei; "Fiery nerves" in English
Nec quisquam melior medicus quam fidus amicus; "No doctor is better than a loyal friend" in English
Effigies sui; "Self-portrait" in English (an imagined view of my own nerves, affected by Complex Regional Pain Syndrome [CRPS])
Dolor draconis; "Pain dragon" in English
There was a great turnout this evening for the Vernissage of the autumn “Art Expo d’Art”, presented by the Artists' Circle of the West Island, despite a common-sense return to physical distancing in the wake of a new wave of covid cases here in Montréal.
From my perspective the timing of this exhibition is perfect, as September is Pain Awareness Month and I began learning to paint specifically because of my chronic pain condition; Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), still known in some areas by its former name Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD).
Learning to paint was a form of DIY movement-therapy for my significantly affected right hand and arm, as well as brain-plasticity training for my CRPS-related 'mild cognitive impairment'.
This led to my Art Despite Pain initiative, using my artwork to raise awareness of CRPS and other chronic pain conditions. My current painting-a-day challenge for Pain Awareness Month is a good example of this!
This art exhibition will continue through October 23, 2023 in the beautiful historic building that houses Montréal’s Pierrefonds Cultural Centre. No tickets or reservations are needed, and entrance is free.
Opening hours:
Sat & Sun: Noon to 1600
Mondays: Closed
Tue & Wed: 1400 to 1700
Thu & Fri: 1600 to 2000
* Closed Sunday October 8 for Thanksgiving.
Address:
Pierrefonds Cultural Centre
13850 Gouin Blvd West, Montréal, QC H8Z 1X7
I spent the day preparing for an upcoming art fair, creating detailed labels for thirty or so of my most recent watercolours. These were painted during the spring and summer months so far, mostly en plein-air (outdoors), often done off the back of my bicycle during rest stops. There are also a few rainy-day studio paintings in the mix, as we’ve had quite a bit of rain in Montréal since the snow melted.
Why paint while riding my bike? I’ve loved cycling since childhood, and recall going for long rides with my dad when a new paved bike-path opened along the Lachine Canal in the mid-70s. We’d ride from our home to the start of the Canal, take that new bike-route to Old Montréal, then ride back again; about 50 km (or 32 miles for my American friends) round-trip, when I was ten.
Several years ago, when I was first diagnosed with a rare disease that significantly affects my right hand and arm, one specialist physician told me that he didn’t think I’d be able to bike again. I didn’t reply to that comment, but instead thought to myself: “I’m going to prove you wrong”. And I have.
One change is that I now have to take rest stops or breaks more often when I’m cycling, but I’ve turned that to my advantage by packing my plein-air painting supplies into my bike-pack and saddlebags. Instead of getting frustrated whenever I have to interrupt my ride to rest, I take the time to appreciate the beautiful areas around me. And I can always find something to paint along my routes; flowers, forests, historic buildings, waterfronts, wildlife…
These paintings, along with many others, will be on display at a weekend art fair next month; in the lakefront town of Baie d'Urfé, on the southern shore of Montréal Island. The 2023 "Gathering of Artisans" will take place indoors in two municipal buildings, The Red Barn and The Curling Club, to raise funds for the local curling club – founded in 1959. My artwork will be on display in The Red Barn, which is a lovely community centre rather than an active farm building.
If you’re in the Montréal area, feel free to stop by and say hello during this event. As it'll be just a couple of days before Halloween, don’t be surprised if I’m wearing one of my many costumes on each of these days – and most likely my better half will be 'dressed up' as well while he’s helping me there.
October 28 and 29, 2023, at The Red Barn, 20609 Lakeshore Road, Baie-D'Urfé, Québec:
- 1000-1600 Saturday
- 1000-1500 Sunday
Please drop by to support local artisans and artists, as well as the local curling club, if you’re in the area. And if you’re too far away to visit, I’ll post photos here after the event.
To mark international Pain Awareness Month, I've challenged myself to create a painting-a-day series of thirty watercolour works - each one representing pain in some way. This is all part of my #ArtDespitePain initiative, treating my art practice as a pain-management tool and then using the resulting paintings to raise awareness of chronic pain.
For this series I've chosen to give each painting a Latin title, to reflect the language commonly used in medicine and healthcare. Here are a few of the resulting paintings from this week, with some in a much more abstract style than what I've been doing recently.
If you'd like to follow along with the daily paintings feel free to follow me over on Instagram, at @sandrawoods_creative_arts, with the caveat that I tend to post each photo late in the evening.
September 1: "Amorpho in rosea" ("Amorphous in pink"); The first in this series of paintings, showing chronic pain as the nebulous face of a monster because persistent pain can be so difficult to describe or to pin down.
September 2: "Dolor draconis" ("Pain dragon"); Imagining chronic pain as the face of a dragon, one that might hopefully be slayed someday.
September 4:"Nervi ignei" ("Fiery nerves"); Imaginary nerves, engulfed in flames... Dedicated to all the folks who live with persistent burning sensations, anywhere in the body
A fun art-related "on this date" memory from last year: I was quoted in an international art magazine, the very aptly named Artists Magazine, from The Artists' Network! - pretty cool for an emerging (new) artist.
And fantastic timing for today, the start of International Pain Awareness Month. Great timing because my art practice began in 2021 specifically because of my chronic pain. I was struck with CRPS rare disease "out of the blue" in 2016 (to use an artistic or colour expression)...
CRPS causes severe pain in the bones, joints, nerves, and skin of my right hand & arm, as well as full-body symptoms including fatigue and the 'mild cognitive impairment' that stole my bioethics career at the end of 2018.
How can one rare illness do all that? CRPS has both autoimmune & neuroinflammatory impacts, like a truly horrid two-for-one discount!
On the positive side, I decided in 2021 to try something that I'd dreamt of doing since childhood. To learn to paint, with watercolours - the most difficult medium! - and to use the results for chronic pain awareness.
That was the start of my Art Despite Pain (#ArtDespitePain) initiative. I couldn't even draw a stick figure a few years ago, so it's incredible to me that I've already won awards for my paintings...
And it was absolutely perfect that my 1st award for a painting was from the inaugural Art Awards of the Canadian Pain Society (CPS).
So today, to mark the start of Pain Awareness Month, I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has encouraged me on this wild ride of Art Despite Pain.
Living with a rare disease means having frequent medical appointments, lab tests, and other hospital visits. As a former bioethics professional, I have to admit that I'd become quite used to these kinds of clinical and soulless spaces.
But now – as an emerging artist – I can't help but notice how visually unwelcoming or even intimidating these spaces are, for many patients. So I'm always happy to see attempts being made to change this, like today.
Just look at the stunning results of this "intervention" or “makeover” by the Art for Healing Foundation at the Queen Elizabeth Health Complex in Montréal, housed in a former hospital. This space has been transformed into a much more welcoming place, by turning the corridors and waiting areas almost into small art gallery areas. This was definitely an enormous improvement on the previous bare walls and occasional peeling healthcare posters.
Who knows, maybe one day some of my paintings will find their way onto the walls of local hospitals or health centres. In the meantime, I'm a member of the National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH) in the United States - sadly not yet in Canada - and learning baout how the arts can help transform healthcare environments for the better. And I'm continuing with my own #ArtDespitePain initiative, for chronic pain advocacy and awareness.
Speaking of which, I noticed today that the elastics in my dynamic splint for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) seem to echo the lines running across the clouds in the closest painting in this photo...
Last month I’d mentioned that several of my watercolour paintings would appear in upcoming issues of two different magazines, within two different pieces on how my art practice is intertwined with my chronic pain advocacy. This is a real honour for me, not only as a Patient Partner and Patient Advocate for chronic pain research and care, but also as an emerging artist.
I’m absolutely thrilled to be able to tell you that the first of these two pieces has now been published! It’s included in the annual ‘open access’ issue of OT Now magazine, published by the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT). ‘Open access’ means that this issue of the magazine is open to all readers, anywhere in the world: “These annual issues/articles are open-access and free to the public, showcasing the Canadian occupational therapy practice to a wide variety of readers”.
To read the piece, touching on how I use my artwork to raise awareness of chronic pain and to share the benefits of creative activities as pain management tools, click on this link to the CAOT website or cut and paste this this link into your browser: https://caot.ca/document/8027/OT%20Now%20July%202023.pdf.
Then select the July 2023 issue entitled “Valuing lived experiences”, and simply scroll down to page 8 or look for the yellow flower with the headline “#ArtDespitePain”.
The Managing Editor of OT Now and her team did a fantastic job for this one, and came up with an unusual and artistic layout for this feature; the image below is only a partial view of the entire piece, the full spread is even better.
After you take a look at the “#ArtDespitePain” piece, showing several of my paintings, be sure to read the next article: “The Two-way Street of Collaboration: An Interview with Annette McKinnon”. Annette is a knowledgeable and passionate Patient Advocate for Canadians living with arthritis, and someone with whom I’ve connected through many virtual healthcare events.
When I first decided to try to learn to paint and sketch at the start of 2021, I had three goals – all of which were intertwined with my patient advocacy for chronic pain and for my own rare disease; Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). The first of these goals was to use painting and sketching as movement therapy for my right hand and arm, which are significantly affected by numerous symptoms of CRPS. The second goal was to treat skills-learning for art as a type of brain-plasticity training for my ‘mild cognitive impairment’ – also caused by CRPS; I was hoping to prevent any further decline in my cognitive function over time. The last goal was to use my artwork as part of my chronic pain awareness and advocacy activities.
The reaction has been so much more positive than I could ever have imagined, from art contests and exhibitions to a feature in a local (Montréal) newspaper, a feature on the website of a non-profit organization, and now in a national magazine. Thanks so much to everyone who has commented or joined the chronic pain conversations across social media on #ArtDespitePain, and to all those who have helped me along the way!
I haven't done much watercolour painting since my dad's unexpected death in mid-July but I'm now easing my way back into it, as a way to help me with my grief ...
In a similar way to how I've been using my art practice to help me deal with the symptoms and other impacts of a rare chronic pain condition called CRPS - and particularly with the CRPS-related "mild cognitive impairment" that stole my bioethics career at the end of 2018.
That was the catalyst for my Art Despite Pain initiative, using my artwork to raise awareness of chronic pain conditions, while also benefiting from painting and sketching as movement-therapy for my right hand/arm, and as brain-plasticity training to hopefully prevent any worsening of my cognitive impairment over time.
This morning I only painted a few first washes, over pale sketches that I'd already drawn onto 100% cotton paper ...
But it was definitely therapeutic - in sooooo many senses of the word!
As I don't have any new paintings or work-in-progress to share, here are some of the "memories" that have popped up in my social media over the past little while.
Enjoy this flash from the past!
