 |
| From the Collection of Colin Frank |
Did you
lose a couple friends along the way?
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| Are You Kidding Me? 11x14 in ~ Painting, Ink ~ Paper 2011 $200 |
Might be time then. Might be time now.
 |
acrylic on canvas $1730 |
I honestly believe something greater is at stake
than to just live here, and to work here and to love.
 |
| From the Collection of the Honourable Yola Grant |
Did you
fight for your position? Win, and then still lose?
 |
I Hope For Strength - From the Collection of the Honourable Yola Grant
|
Sometimes
it happens.
 |
|
acrylic on canvas
8x10 in
$120
|
The path we choose has no guarantee of blissful
perfection at it’s end.
 |
| A Day at the "Beach" (es) 2015 |
I tried
everything.
 |
| Tumble acrylic on canvas 12x12in $225 |
You tried too?
 |
|
acrylic on canvas
12x12in
$225
|
Let’s hang out then.
Let’s
have brunch.
Discuss the subtle, strange acceptance of the lie you challenged... again.
 |
|
acrylic on canvas
24x30in
$1440
|
You have
pride in yourself.
 |
The Walk from the collection of Paul Rapati
|
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| Misery to Joy mixed media 11x14in $400 |
You believe that you are worthy of amazing things
because you worked hard,
and you’re good,
and you were born deserving them…
 |
| I am Love - Fiction - Simone Frank $4.95 |
You’re
right!
You deserve the best!
 |
|
ink on paper
2011
$200
|
You haven't received the best yet?
Maybe you should change.
 |
|
ink on paper
2011
$200
|
Not likely.
 |
| A Black One from the collection of Diavin Miller |
Change can be
good.
 |
| Regent Park and Tearing Down - 2015 |
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| Sand Under My Feet - 2015 |
I tried that too.
 |
|
ink on mulberry
5.25x8in
2014
$20
|
I tried to
be normal from 2004 to 2006.
I lost the imagined love of my life, my passion
and my drive.
Normal people, don’t hurt this much, I decided.
So I tried to
join the masses.
How hilarious was that?
Calmed some others and bored myself.
 |
| Not one of mine, but gorgeous, isn't it? - still searching for the photographer... |
my version
of normal...
I moved into a condo in Mississauga. I worked at a shoe store in the mall
with a lovely bunch of ladies who were married
or dating
and had no desire whatsoever to exhibit at the Guggenheim.
I shopped
at the Gap. I drank instant coffee.
I watched daytime talk shows and night time
dramas.
I rode the stationary bike in the condo gym
instead of the fold up
bike Igor the angry bicycle salesman probably stole.
 |
|
mixed media
8x10in (framed size)
$95
|
I went to Church with my
Mom.
I fell asleep in the pew. I snored there.
Nothing against Church. I just found it so relaxingly calm.
She told me I was embarrassing her. I apologized.
We laughed a bit.
We laughed about a lot of things.
 |
|
2013
24x36 in
From the collection of Father Saul
|
 |
Lilium Casa Blanca is missing in action.
(I have to hunt it down. A store closed as a result of Bloor Street West reconstruction).
acrylic on canvas
2013
$120
|
I knew who I was before I got there.
 |
|
scratchboard
9x6"
I'm keeping this one!
|
I know who I am now.
|
|
scratchboard
9x6"
Ya... I'm still keeping this one!
|
Being "normal" required more effort than I imagined.
It didn’t work for
me. Not judgement here. Maybe that is you.
Maybe it was you.
Until. Until.
Until...
you realized you didn't "belong" anywhere.
And neither did anyone else.
Maybe, you turned to "Justice" like I did. There must be "Justice"!!! Things must be made right!
 |
|
ink on paper
11x14in
2011
$200
|
You sued. You sued your
employer, your doctor, the institution that unnecessarily made your life more
complicated than it needed to be. You won!
You ditched the friend(s) who rarely understood you because you realized
that while you spent time in places – with people – that didn't satisfy you,
you were missing it.
Missing it – the time of your life.
A crazy
kind of sorrow can erupt as you lay there,
thinking a million mournful things that made you stagnant.
Get up now,
Honey!
You did your best and failed and won.
 |
| Spiral Strength from the collection of Nancy McGovern |
It happens. It
happens to everyone.
 |
| Punching Rain acrylic on canvas 18x24 in $640 |
If you lose
your faith in most things
on the way to things much greater, something will
happen.
Some balancing flash of something you couldn’t possible imagine
is happening in
spite of your loss.
 |
| Lady of Song acrylic on canvas 16x20 in $480 |
Someone has been watching is in the purview.
An
opportunity is about to present itself.
And trust me,
even if you are lying on
your back
on top of unwashed laundry on the floor
and you no longer are able to
pay your phone bill.
Something is coming.
Some remarkable thing.
It always does.
Information from the strangest places.
A zillion people want you
to have more.
You won and
lost again?
Me too!
Daily.
It happens daily now.
One candle
in the darkness can light the place up.
One single flicker of your little,
fabulous flame
gives some other candle the audacity to light itself.
Hate is a mere drop in the bucket in an ocean filled with a gazillion possibilities.
Hippy dippy as it sounds, Love and is stronger than any kind of negativity there is.
What
doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
or crazy, or cruel as a form of revenge.
What
doesn’t kill you
leads to enlightenment
if you let it.
Exhausting, demanding
enlightenment.
And some other stuff.
Many things
can evolve out of heartbreak.
Many things can evolve out of losing your job,
or losing a loved one due to crime, due to corruption.
Who will
you become after being tested?
The
greatest champions history recorded were underdogs who had everything to lose.
They
made us see that they had nothing without the very thing they fought for.
Without the thing they dedicated their lives to fighting for.
The world
needs you. It does.
The world needs you.
I don’t have to tell you why.
You know
why already. You know!
You always knew.
Keep your
integrity.
It’s insanely valuable.
It’s your greatest sword in the duel.
It’s
the best thing about you.
It’s the reason you are strong, have vision,
and are
now developing the best life anyone could ever have.
 |
|
ink on mulberry paper
7ishx4ish in
$27
|
I applaud you
for your courage.
For your dedication to reminding those around you
that you
are worthy of all the beauty and glory and the wonderful, wonderfully good.
It’s your
time now! You did it. It’s your time now, Friend! You made it!
 |
|
ink on mulberry paper
7ishx4ish in
$27
|
 |
| Sober Up
ink on mulberry paper
7ishx4ish in
$27
|
 |
| Think Up
ink on mulberry paper
7ishx4ish in
$27
|
Become the
dream you fought for!
Keep going now!
Become the dream you’ll live for!
The
roaring, soaring beauty you were destined to enjoy is here right now.
It’s not a
door you open,
a film you see
or a song you listen to.
 |
| A Study of Dream 11x14 in ~ Mixed Media 1997 $200 |
There are
things around you
that can revive you so easily.
 |
| Kites at the Beach(es) 2015 |
 |
| The Sky on the Water 2015 |
A walk by
the lake.
Yes in the winter!
Dress appropriately.
A YouTube
something you watch in the library.
That album you already own and love and haven't played in a while.
You’ve been out of work for a while
now?
Waiting for the rest of the rocks to fall?
While you wait,
listen to the
album
that saved your life the last time.
Find the new album
that sings your
new theme song
and perform it at Karaoke night at the Gladstone.
This is why
we make art.
This is why some of us,
brilliant as we are,
chose to answer the
question, “Why do we go on?”
with a piece of art.
 |
| Re-introducing Lawrence Wraith in Die Fledermaus performing Sunday March 6, 2016 at 2pm Bickford Centre - West of Christie Subway on the South Side of Bloor St. West 777 Bloor Street West, Toronto |
With a story.
 |
| Two Candles - Fiction - Simone Frank $4.95 |
You had
some people cut you off.
Not your problem. It’s theirs.
Nothing left to tell
them. Just walk away.
Walk away from the things that make your eyes twitch,
your head hurt, your brow furrow.
Walk away from the things
that compel you to punch brick walls.
Leave the ones who punch you.
Walk away and do something fun.
Do many fun things at least once everyday!
Read books
that help you out.
Design a paint by number
book.
Sing in a salt bath.
Laugh. Laugh. Laugh.
You’re
still alive!
You know
why.
Rest now
and rejuvenate. Love.
To fight
and win doesn’t always feel victorious right away.
Maybe it
never will.
Maybe it always will.
My walk
through the existential.
I don't have the answers.
But I have tons, mountains and galaxies of questions.
And a lot of art in mind.
Peace, Love
and Chocolate!
Hear2Help (simone@hear-2-help.com) can take you further if
you let them.
The pursuit of justice can be depleting. It can also be the
beginning of a vast opportunity for personal development. Be that good to
yourself. Managing Director of Hear2Help, Simone Jennifer Smith works closely
with two of the leading Meaning Centered Psychologists in Canada. Dr. Lilian
and Paul Wong are the founders of the International Network of Personal
Meaning.
The INPM is dedicated to advancing health, spirituality, peace and human
fulfillment. Through research, education, and applied psychology, they focus on
the universal quest for meaning and purpose. Simone Jennifer Smith holds a M.A.
in Humanistic and Clinical Psychology.
“What have
you done for fun?”
