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My life in Art

Making art to inspire, to connect and to feel fully alive. 
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CHANGE AND ITS AFFECT ON THE CREATIVE PROCESS

3/29/2021

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This is my mom. She passed away March 6 at 11:30pm. There is no greater thing we can do in this life than to love and be loved. Sounds easy enough, but there are so many competing interests. Our careers and access to this global world take us travelling and we often move far away from our family. Since I was a little girl I loved to travel and I was always finding ways to leave home for a while. The last couple of years I spent living in the same city as my family and I spent a lot of time with my mom. I was able to spend each day and hour with her at the end of her life. It was such a gift for me to help her, to provide what comfort I could and to just be with her while she travelled her final journey. Peace resides in my heart and I imagine her running and playing with a dozen dogs in a big dog park in the sky; finally without the hinderance of her body, which caused her so much pain.

How are you affected by the death of a loved one? How about separation or divorce? How about losing a job? These are all things that have landed on my plate over the last year. I have felt a whole array of emotions through all these changes and some of them are sorrow, anger, frustration, uncertainty and confusion.

But honestly, I need to confess something to you.

​Overall, I feel such lightness and joy. I feel grateful to be alive to be healthy, to have people in my life who care for me and very grateful for my curiosity and desire to create art. My curiosity and desire to create has grown stronger this year and maybe it is because so many other things have fallen away. Maybe because change is a sharpener of our senses and we see things with more clarity or at least from a different angle. Maybe because creating art provides me with such comfort. I suppose it is all true.

Today I am stronger painter. I feel it when I move the paint around my canvas. I feel a certain stillness when I work. I can see tone and composition a little better. I’m excited to create new work and to share it with the world. I hope my words and my work can somehow bring you some joy and some inspiration in your life. I also send my love, condolences or congratulations to any of you who have also experienced world altering changes in your life over the last year.

    How about you?

    Chose as many as are applicable for you.
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Cityscape Painting Workshop with mixed media

10/2/2020

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Saturday 12 - 5pm. &  Sunday 1 - 5pm  Oct 24-25, 2020
​Cost: $195 - includes most supplies.

Yes!! Our second Cityscape workshop. The first one was a big success. Everyone was amazed at the outstanding work they created during the workshop. City scenes launch our paintings because they can include so many different elements. Buildings, trees, transportation, skies, people... your imagination is the limit. What is most important is to experiment and play with form, colour and layering. You will create a painting starting with the sketch of a city scene, using markers, collage and photo transfer to complete your painting by the end of Sunday. 

I love this workshop because everyone's results can be different from each other. Some want to draw an exact replica of a scene, while others want to work from a fantasy place. Following your creative desire is encouraged.

During the last workshop, some students brought ipads or laptops in order to work from a picture they like. Other's worked from a printed photograph from their own collection. I will have some city scenes available that are both inspiring and accessible for all levels. YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW HOW TO DRAW to enjoy this workshop.

I always work on board - never canvas. If you want to work on gallery quality birchboard canvas please bring these to class. I will be providing small boards for experimenting. 

Please bring a sketchbook, felt pens, pencil and sharpener/eraser and apron. The rest of the supplies will be included. 
  • To register please send full name, address and phone number to: jakejoyartist@gmail.com.  
  • Refer someone else to the workshop who signs-up and receive one of my signed prints at the workshop!
  • Once I receive your payment, I will send you a receipt.
  • It is fully refundable if 5 days notice are given. After that there will be a $25 fee kept to cover extra supplies purchased for your spot. If the workshop is cancelled, then 100% will be refunded. ​
($40 discount for previous cityscape workshop participants who also bring their own paints & Acrylic medium)
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NEW Youth Painting Workshop!

9/30/2020

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Saturday &  Sunday, Oct 17 & 18, 2020. 1 - 5pm  Cost: $150
LIMITED SPACE available - max 10 students. We will be following all recommendations to stay safe, including wearing masks.
I am so excited for this, as it will be the first workshop dedicated specifically to young people! I want to support the next generation who has had to put up with such a crazy world these days! I want to offer a joyous place to create where complete self-expression is encouraged and accepted. If I can supply a place for 10 teens  to relax, be themselves and express feelings they may have about life these days - then I will rejoice!

I will be showing lots of techniques that I use, but also, students will show and share things they have learned along the way. It will be a very collaborative approach. You bring: sketchbook. felt pens - like sharpies, pencils you like and a sharpener. I supply the rest!

Some techniques we will explore are: painting with ink & acrylic. Collage and Ink transfer. Linocut printmaking. Wax layering. Expect multiple activities to be happening at once. Embrace variety and experimentation.

To register please send full name, age, address and phone number to: jakejoyartist@gmail.com.  
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Hard to Make Plans These Days?

7/29/2020

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Have you found yourself pencilling something in your calendar one day, just to erase it the next? Over the last few months, I have either planned nothing, or I have tried to plan events, but have had to make numerous changes. Trying to plan a business venture right now is super challenging. There are constant new rules and recommendations being put out by various levels of government and it is very hard to react quickly, even for one person! I have to change marketing material, both print and online and I have to inform staff and co-creators of changes. Then I have to make adjustments in my personal commitments.

One tip I read about said, 'predict and prepare for the future while focusing on the present,' but they obviously did not write this article for COVID times. Together with Jennifer Beeger - owner of Mona Lisa Artist Supplies - we have tried to predict what this summer would bring. “Are people going to look for art classes this summer? Will it be possible?” We were asking each other back in early June. Well, people can't travel, so maybe... We just had a blank page in front of us. We really couldn't compare this summer to any other. 

So many people are facing the same situation. CALGARY (660 NEWS) – As many as one in four Alberta business owners feel that they aren’t going to be able to hold out until a vaccine is found.

In July, I met a number of brave explorers who came out and took a few classes of Mixed Media. We had a GREAT time.  We closed the doors behind us and went to work. We forgot all about our problems and trying to predict the future. We just focused on the here and now.
 
This is a lesson I bring into my daily life. I have no idea where this is all going to land, so I am just going to pay attention to how I am spending each day. Make each day count. Enjoy, explore, work, connect to those I love, connect to my work, connect to my art and something good is bound to happen. I am an optimist, but this is not just based on hope, it is based on making every day as good as I possibly can.
 
How are you managing the unpredictability in your life?
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Feel Better After Making Art

7/13/2020

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Can a person feel better from the act of making art?

Studies have show that yes, this is possible.  A study on the the evaluation of art therapy on adults with mild to moderate depression showed that there was significant improvement. (Zubala, A. 2017). These adults reported:
acceptance of depression, readiness to express emotions, sense of self and awareness of others, readiness for meaningful relationships, sense of achievement, sense of balance and new insights, growth and meaning.

I don't need a study to tell me that art helps a person feel better and one doesn't need to have depression to feel better from art! The fact is, doing anything that helps you get out of your head and into your hands - just feels good! Your ART could be carpentry, gardening, sewing or cooking for example. 

When you are making art you are more mindful. In my studio I recommend putting away your phones, clearing your mind and making space for the present. While we are here together in the studio, I encourage you to work mindfully. To access your inner voice and give it some respect. It will guide your every move. 


So far, every student has left my class with a sense of peace and accomplishment. This is really important to me. 

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Why I think making ART is so effective is because it doesn't matter what previous experience you have, there is always a depth where you can explore and get lost in the activity of making.

​You can experiment no matter your skill level and you can get absorbed in the act of creating because the tools are so accessible. 
Enjoyable. Releasing.

Engaging. Encouraging. Rejuvenating.

Relaxing. Healing. 
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Wed, Dec 31, 2015

12/31/2014

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After a week of getting settled in Mexico city, I now have a studio on the roof! It is a wonderful studio with plenty of room and light.

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The wall to paint on
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My view
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Supplies I brought from Canada
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      Passion can start you efforts. Love keeps you going. Success follows after lots of mundane details.

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    Art is the...

    great connector of people, places and dreams. It speaks the language of the heart when it is authentic and created from an open and non-judgemental space. It is passionate pursuit of creation with a playful mind.

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Copyright: All content on this web site, such as text and ARTWORK is the property of JACQULYNN MULYK, and are protected by karmic laws. Steal = using my images as your own artwork may result in some not so favourable karma in your life. Just saying - drop me a line first. 

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