 Real Love, Journal Page June 30 2010 All summer I’ve been running around like mad preparing for my upcoming September exhibition: “Pieces of Me II” being held at the Ottawa Public Library. You know, I practically grew up there. It’s where I first fell in love with reading and story telling. All those years ago, I never dreamed I’d be showing in a space I consider sacred: a place of knowledge and escape. Some years ago, I arranged to have an exhibition there but chickened out fearing the public spot-light. With the start of my new business, however, came new courage. Facing old demons, I booked another show. For those of you who are new to my work, my latest pieces are a series of 17 new collage/mixed media journal pages that give the viewer insight into aspects of my life. You may be asking: why the heck does she want to expose herself so publicly? This is a question I’m asked often. Truth be told, I’ve always felt the need to share my experiences with others. I feel through sharing our life experiences with one another, we may perhaps find a sense of solidarity and connection to each other. My entire career has been based on art that explores personal issues surrounding my family and heritage. I began speaking through art installations, the internet, and now, journaling. It’s been a long journey. As my second solo show approaches, I want to thank those creative souls who helped me get my act and confidence together this year. There is Carmin Davidson, an amazing portrait photographer whose photos now grace my artist statement and biography website pages. The majority of my web portfolios have been documented by Peter Farris-Manning, a brilliant local photographer. The images he has taken of my “Fly Girl” assemblage never fail to blow me away and garner constant praise from website visitors. Digital scans from pieces of both my 2010 shows (as well as prints) are done by Norm Prest of GPC Labworks – I can always count on him to take care in capturing my images digitally as faithfully as possible (I know, I know Norm – you can never get the original colours!). Then there is Luis Salazar (Art World One) whose expert framing style perfectly accentuates my work. Luis is also a great advisor on life and art. Where would I be without friends and colleagues like: Elaine Coombs (in San Francisco!), Jean Griffin, Gates Cooney, Olive Jones and Susan Ashbrook as well as family members: Kevin (my hubby) and Teresa (my youngest sister) whose advice and encouragement get me through the toughest periods of creating and exhibiting my work. A friend I’d like to single out is Margos Zacharian, my hairdresser, who gave me the opportunity to have my first solo show in his salon this spring. A great supporter of local emerging artists, he is a master of colour and design himself working his magic through hairstyling. Speaking of hairstyle I must not forget make-up! Generally I never wear the stuff, but when I feel the need to be just a teeny bit glamorous for PR-related photos, I can always count on Carla Richichi of the Aveda Boss Arts Salon to jazz up my best features! Finally, there’s Pat Velte (in Oklahoma) of White Wing Design who has been instrumental in fusing together this website. Through her cheerful, calm demeanour, expert organizational and design skills and creative flair, she is able to weave the most amazing pages together. I enjoy collaborating with her – even though we’ve never met in the real world! So thanks to these wonderful folks – it’s this great collaborative effort that gives life and breath to my career as a working artist and I’m very grateful for it!
 Michelle Casey Portrait 1 July 2010 by Carmin Davidson  Michelle Casey Portrait 2 July 2010 by Carmin Davidson  Michelle Casey Portrait 3 July 2010 by Carmin Davidson  Michelle Casey Portrait 4 July 2010 by Carmin Davidson
 Michelle Casey Portrait 5 July 2010 by Carmin Davidson This summer it was time once again, to consider the dreaded task of getting my portrait taken. I’m always nervous about being photographed because I don’t feel I’m an especially photogenic person. Sometimes when I see photos of myself, drama queen that I am, I lament the results for weeks and months! This past year, however, good fortune came knocking at my door in the form of Carmin Davidson, a young seasoned photographer, fresh from Kenora (MB), who helped me design my new business card. Once we got to chatting, I discovered we shared similar artistic sensibilities and that she specialized in portrait photography. A glance at her portfolio, revealed people of all ages, shapes and sizes photographed in stunning style, colour and detail. As I regarded these images, I felt she truly captured a sense of the personae of her clients. Smitten with these images, I asked her to take my portrait in the hopes that some of that magic might rub off onto me! It was a hot, humid July day when we headed to the Byward market teeming with musicians, tourists and local shoppers to do our photo shoot. Spiriting me away into hidden corners, secret squares, exotic flower stalls, wondrous architectural vistas and stylish cafes, Carmin managed to find the most intriguing spots to photograph. While I fended off insects and wiped off dripping sweat, she peered out her camera’s lens seemingly unaffected by the summer’s heat, lost in the world of composing. At first I was intimidated by the attention of onlookers but soon developed a sense of ease working with calm, unassuming Carmin… who had assured me she saw the beauty in me… time sped by … it was Monday morning of this week on an equally hot August day, we met once again in the Market to exchange “goods”. I was nervous about picking up my DVD of images; adding to the tension, Carmin called to say she’d be delayed. When she finally arrived breathless, she pressed a neatly wrapped brown paper packet tied with a black leather string and tiny dangling spotted feather into my hands. “It’s all recycled materials!” she exclaimed, taking pride in saving a tiny bit of the world through her packaging. Moments later we were sipping coffee in a cafe exchanging stories about our lives. I eagerly opened the contents of my package to discover the DVD wrapped in red tissue paper tucked in along side it, a touching personal note. We talked some more, then said our goodbyes. Three days later, I found the courage to view the contents of my DVD. I am thrilled with the results! There are so many images… ones that depict me in a multitude of airs and poses – fairly confident artist, lost soul, cool chick and even mythical and dream-like figure all in the rich, gorgeous colour and detail I have come to admire about her style. I fire off an email to her straight from my heart. We both breathe a sigh of relief. It is the perfect end to my week. Look for more of Carmin’s images on my site later this week. Visiting her blog is definitely a must!
 "Pieces of Me II", Ottawa Public Library Postcard August 2010 As I prepare for my second show of journal pages next month, I’m anxious to share my discovery of journaling with you. In 2003, when I found myself depressed with life and art, I turned to Julia Cameron’s book: The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity for guidance. Among many useful strategies discussed to combat the artist’s blues, was journaling. For the past 7 years I’ve been recording my thoughts in a journal, on a daily, weekly or monthly basis and found it very helpful. Eventually I felt keeping a written journal wasn’t enough; I wanted to create a visual one. I soon found an invaluable source of information and inspiration in Gwen Diehn’s: The Decorated Page which revealed a variety of ways visual journals could be designed. I began creating visual journals to experiment with collage and mixed media techniques. While this was fun, what I really wished for was to create pages that spoke about the heart of my life experiences. Feeling the need for a real live teacher, in 2007 I registered for Juliana Coles’ Extreme Journaling Workshops at Art Unravelled in Phoenix, AZ. I was seduced by her expressive emotional journaling style. I quickly found out when Juliana meant extreme, she meant extreme! Timing our every step through the process of creating multi-layered pages with all sorts of mediums, she forced us to act immediately and viscerally to fill our pages with every conceivable material. Never sitting idle or lost in indecision we practiced, practiced, and practiced layering our pages with colours, textures, words and patterns, while maintaining a wild sense of experimentation and developing the ability to leap into the unknown fearlessly! Juliana’s methods of making journal pages opened up my sense of creativity to levels I had never imagined before. At Art Unravelled the journals of another artist also caught my eye. Kelly Kilmer’s sweet and sassy pages called out to me to recover the sense of play with materials I had as a kid. Working with papers, pencil crayons, stickers and markers of all kinds, I was drawn to Kelly’s skilful use of colour, pattern, texture; her awesome sense of layout and design as well as her honest journaling style. A few years later when she was offering courses on-line, I was eager to learn her techniques for creating fabulous journal pages. One of the most important things her courses did for me was to kick start my ability to make art on a daily basis. The other was to introduce me to an on-line community of fellow artists. The support I received from these friends from the different parts of the world really boosted my creative spirit. Through them I realized the power of nurturing each other’s talents and skills as well as sharing life experiences with others.
 Kevin (and his vision board) & Michelle along the Ottawa River, August 2010 After months of advertising my collage workshops I was on cloud nine when finally gave my first Vision Board Workshop in late June. Inspired by the creation of my own visual business plan, it seemed fitting that the first workshop to attract the attention of potential students was this one. My interest in vision boards was first piqued by a talk given by Dr. Lucia Capacchione at the 2009 SmARTist Telesummit hosted by Ariane Goodwin. A few months later I found myself collaging together a visual plan to give birth to my new art business, courtesy of a course given by artist/career coach Jennifer Lee. Realizing the great impact making one’s visions concrete, I was excited about sharing this technique with others; it gave collage a practical and magical purpose. I began surfing the net and discovered the role the 2006 movie The Secret played in re-igniting the idea of visioning and uncovered some quirky but helpful home-made videos related to the subject. Among the information I uncovered was Joyce Schwarz’s book: The Vision Board: The Secret to an Extraordinary Life. In it Schwarz leaves no stone unturned in discussions and other creative possibilities related to the vision board; she also includes many wonderful images on the subject. Now getting back to my first workshop… it was no surprise either that it was peopled by those closest to me who wanted to support my dream of becoming an artist/instructor – many thanks — Susan, Gates, my husband Kevin… and to Ericka for taking a chance on me! Normally lost in the great World of Warcraft (that nasty virtual game space that steals my hubby away from me every evening!), I was elated when Kevin showed interest in creating his own vision board in the real world. It’s funny how you can live with someone forever and still lose touch with their dreams… I was amazed to discover he held a vision of travelling through the desert some day… it made him so much more intriguing! When he finished his board, “Desert Dream” a few days after the class, I was so proud of him I framed it an anniversary gift for him. As well as referencing the dry, hot, desert, I found it fascinating that Kevin’s board also echoed primordial visions of creation. In the months to come, I’ll keep you abreast of some of the other fabulous visions my students have dreamt up.
 "Medici Princess", Joseph Cornell, 1948, Assemblage When I started announcing my upcoming collage show in June, I got many strange looks from folks. Collaging – “What’s that?” they asked. I usually began with well… in French “colle” means “to glue”… . Long story short, collaging can be as simple as taking pieces paper (new or old) and sticking them with some type of glue onto a 2D or 3D surface. Many of you may recall doing this as kids in grade school for craft projects or language arts assignments. Collaging, however, can be much more sophisticated than this. Thanks to its user-friendly relation to other art mediums such as painting, drawing, sewing, writing, etc., collage has been making a stunning comeback. Magazines such as Somerset Studio or Cloth Paper Scissors as well as a whole slew of how-to- books and courses (on-line and off) have cornered a sizeable piece of the market. Did you know that collaging is as old as the hills? It can be traced back to the continents of: Asia, Africa, the Middle East as well as Europe and America. For the better part of the twentieth century, popular artists such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Salvador Dali used it to further expand their painting. My first collagist hero, Joseph Cornell, developed his work into shrine-like worlds called “assemblages” for his favourite topics and movie star idols. I truly believe, when embarking upon the journey of discovering collage, it doesn’t hurt to become acquainted with the art history of the medium. Now I’m quite sure I can hear some of you groaning but keep in mind, the language of collage has been used in the last century in so many novel ways – through scrapbooks, photography, painting, collage novels, printing (the list goes on). Investigating, even briefly, the ways other artists have explored this medium will do you good and provide you with so much fodder for your own work. Gerald Brommer has written a wonderful book you may want to review: Collage Techniques: A Guide for Artists and Illustrators. New York, New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1994. His brief and exciting references of collage works as well as techniques are a great way to become acquainted with this medium. Here’s a list of 6 collage artists to explore in the fine art world, perhaps you may find one you share a connection with — if you do, I’d love to hear from you.
Hannah Hoch (social commentary)
Max Ernst (collage novels)
Joseph Cornell (3d collage/assemblage works)
David Hockney (photo collages)
Barbara Kruger (social commentary on the fashion world)
Betye Saar (African-American heritage assemblage)
 Facing My Fears, Journal Page March 2 2010 I’ve always believed that even if you think you don’t have an artistic bone in your body, if you try collaging you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish. You don’t have to know how to draw, paint or sculpt yet you are doing all these things when you collage. When you pick up a pair of scissors and cut, you’re drawing lines around forms: making shapes. When you choose images with specific colours, textures and light, you’re painting or even photographing. When you choose architectural elements to build your collage, you’re sculpting and giving dimension to a world. Modern and contemporary artists such as painter Pablo Picasso and photographer Jerry Uelsmann have used these techniques to further the bounds of their artistic mediums. I’ve always believed too that collage is magical. If you don’t believe me, just check out Uelsmann’s photographs which he produces by “collaging” or photomontaging various photographic negatives before printing them. You can invent or conjure up just about anything with images from magazines, papers of any kind or recycling scraps from life. You can bring into existence things that have never been seen before. Or you can take ordinary things and give them a new extraordinary take as can be seen in this Picasso collage. In my own work when I “speak” through collage forms such as journaling, for example, I can physically take on any form… become anyone or anything: any age, any size, any gender, or any ethnicity to express my feelings on various subjects – this can be a powerful thing as it has given me the ability to fully express myself in ways I couldn’t otherwise. In viewing my journal pages someone commented that they couldn’t find “me” in them and then suddenly realized that the variety of main characters they were viewing were me! I like that I can time travel and shape shift through collage. It’s such a flexible medium. Every day we are bombarded by imagery from billboard ads, film, television, music videos, magazines, the internet, etc. – these fragmentary images we visually inhale have the power to inform who we are and what we are to become. I have found collaging is a perfect vehicle to directly express the ways in which these inform our identities.
 Best Birthday, Journal Page November 7 2009 Happy Birthday! … to my me, my new business and my blog!
July being my birthday month really got me thinking. At some point of every decade in my life, I’ve felt the need to transform it. This began with my father’s death of cancer in my mid 20’s. You see, I have often felt my father spent half his life working in a career that cost him his health and his happiness. A musician at heart, upon moving to Canada from Pakistan, dad gave up this love to pursue a career as a sedate government clerk to support our family of 5 (and eventually 7). Following in my father’s footsteps, I too, for practical reasons, chose such a career. When he passed away, I asked myself if this was really what I wanted to do for the rest of my working life. A part of me was dying to know what it would be like to pursue a career in my first love, art. Quitting my full-time, well-paying job is a decision I often regret when financial troubles loom large. But even still, I wouldn’t trade the valuable experiences making art has taught me for anything. I’ve been collaging now for 15 years; even longer if you count the Sears cupid-like hand drawn baby models (any of you remember those?) I cut out to use on my Valentines Day cards when I was 10. In my teens I collaged the lavish lifestyle I dreamed I would have when I was older from images in Vogue magazines (NOT!). In university, while studying visual arts in my thirties, I used family photographs to form mixed media and electronic multi media collages that enabled me to reflect upon my ancestral ghosts. I even sandwiched photographic negatives together of business colleagues to critique the ideals of consumer/corporate society. By the time I reached my forties, I finally found the courage it takes to want to share this skill with others — thus Collage Your World was conceived with the help and support of many dear friends and colleagues. This is a longer story you can check out on Jennifer Lee’s Right Brain Business Plan Blog. Thanks to taking a series of teleseminars offered by Jennifer of Artizen Coaching and Ariane Goodwin of SmARTist, I am managing, bit by bit to breathe life into a business as I embark on yet another life altering journey. Along the way, my dear reader and, perhaps fellow or fledging artist, I invite you to share in the magical world of making collage.
 I love collaging Just checking out WordPress functions… . Blog coming later in July 2010!
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