12 minute read
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
Darcy Luke
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I first started creating art from a very young age, although it wasn’t until I was fifteen that I started beading. I watched an elder bead while I was at an Indigenous youth conference, and I immediately fell in love with it and knew I had to try for myself.
My beadwork was not amazing at first, but I still loved it, imperfections and all. I kept up with it for about a year. Eventually I stopped beading as I had other passions in my teen years. As I got older, I became more interested in being involved within my Nation, and at some point this led me to digging out all of my beading stuff and picking up where I left off... and I fell in love with it all over again.
Beading is like medicine for me. It took me a while to get the hang of it again, and a long time for my work to look nice. My creations are still not perfect, but I think that adds to it. It is still beautiful and meaningful, and every piece I create is unique and made with love. It brings me so much joy to see others wearing my work, and knowing my pieces are being loved and enjoyed. One day I hope for my work to be well-known within my community, and to be able to see more people enjoying it.
I am so thankful for all my Ktunaxa women, Elders and community for supporting me and my artwork, and always encouraging me to keep going. The women in my community without fail continue to bring one another up, and I know I wouldn’t have the confidence to keep going if it wasn’t for them.
Darcy Luke is a self-taught artist in traditional art, from beading to creating murals and sewing pieces. Her work can be viewed at mountainartscranbrook.square.site. Follow her on Instagram @Mountain_arts.
Change a Mood, Not a Mind
by MICHAEL HEPHER
As an artist I’ve attempted to make a career out of trying to make the world a more beautiful place. I understand that beauty is quite subjective, but my overarching goal is to treat the planet, and humanity, like I’m on a multi-decade hike—to leave the place better than I found it. It turns out that that is a more complicated task than I ever thought it would be.
I would describe myself as a Highly Sensitive Person. Highly Sensitive Person (or HSP) is a term psychologists use to describe about 15% of the general population, but that percentage is much higher among creatives. Science has shown that this extra-sensitive way of seeing the world is hard-wired into our DNA. HSPs are easily overwhelmed and often reclusive which can give us a negative rap. While there are some downsides, the extra sensitivity also allows us to see and hear things others don’t, which in turn gives us a larger capacity for empathy, compassion, and wild imagination.
Being an HSP at this time is challenging. I don’t require a lot of face-to-face time, but I need the energy of my community to maintain hope so I can continue to move forward. The ability to imagine myself in another person’s place, or see things from their perspective, has made equality a defining structure in my emotional landscape. I believe everyone should get the same respect, opportunity, and resources, but figuring out how to facilitate that means breaking down social biases and cultural constructs. It means rethinking how I interact with my neighbours and my kids. It means re-evaluating what kind of art I make and why. It’s hard, hard work.
One challenge is that equality is difficult to measure. Does it mean everyone gets the same opportunity, or does it mean everyone gets an equal opportunity? Pure equality can lack justice. Do we send all our Olympic and Paralympic athletes to the same sporting event? That would be equality, but it wouldn’t be fair. Equity means creating systems that give each person the ability to rise to their potential. Equity means supporting those who need extra help so they can access a similar opportunity. It means creating space for those who start at a disadvantage due to factors out of their own control. Creating those systems requires all of us to live with
Plein-Air selfie | Mike Hepher Photo
empathy and compassion. This is why we need our creatives—so our HSPs can continue to help us navigate our way into an equitable future.
Perhaps I’m dealing with a middling bout of Seasonal Affective Disorder, but this is a hard stretch of winter for me. Everywhere I look there is a problem that needs help fixing, or a need that begs for filling. I am missing all the normals like everyone else in this strange era. My creative friends and our work have been impacted in ways that are feeling more and more permanent. My studio wall is covered with motivational quotes and pep-talk generator memes. I’m just trying to find my way to a little hope so I can get back to doing what I love: making art that brings joy.
There are times I wish I had a big truck to park somewhere, something that would drive my point home more firmly than the gentle lullaby of beauty and creativity. And yet, isn’t listening and compassion the things we need more than anything right now? My mom used to always say ‘Change a mood, not a mind.’ Great parenting advice, and it’s just as relevant to our cultural dialogues: we are much more amenable to change when we are in the right mood. How can we change the mood of this time so more people can feel heard? How can we learn to stop holding each other ransom at each end of the spectrum with belligerent actions and snide remarks? Maybe it’s time for all of us to get in touch with our inner HSP and dig into the empathy that insight provides.
As poet Emma Lazarus says, ‘Until we all are free, none of us are free.’ But true freedom cannot be legislated—it is given to you by your neighbour when they respect you and allow you to be who you are. True freedom requires equity and true equity requires community and true community requires compassion and true compassion requires listening and listening requires humility. That’s the kind of freedom you can only find around a campfire, or shovelling your neighbour’s sidewalk, or plein-air painting with friends.
Empowerment in Action
Through the Government of Canada’s International Youth Internship Program, the College of the Rockies has deployed Gender Equality Officers to Tanzania to introduce girls to non-traditional trades, establish women’s leadership clubs and identify female role models. Find the full report here:
cotr.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/ISTEP-GenderEquality-Report-final.pdf
The purpose of the Communities of Interest Advisory Initiative is to foster dialogue and communication between the four coal operations and community representatives within their area of influence.
PHOTO CREDIT: COTR
www.evcnpvoice.com
FERNIE DRAGATHON
Hosted by the Elk Valley Suicide Task Force.
A week full of events leading up to the 2nd annual Dragathon. Events to promote awareness, prevention and support for mental health and those impacted by suicide in the Elk Valley.
Monday March 7: Art Cleansing Session at The Arts Station, 7pm Tuesday March 8: Bingo with the Rainbow Club at Fernie Secondary School Wednesday March 9: Mental Health Themed Trivia at The Fernie Hotel, 8pm Thursday March 10: Storytime at the Fernie Heritage Library, 10am Drag Walk through Fernie Downtown, 2pm - 6pm Cocktails & Pussy Willows at the Fernie Distillery, 7pm - 10pm Friday March 11: Mighty Moose Dragathon, 4:30pm After Party at The Griz Bar, 9pm
And remember, it’s ok to not be ok.
ELK VALLEY SUICIDE TASK FORCE
est. 2020 it’ s ok to not be ok!
SnapShotS: A glimpse into the remarkable stories of people and places in the Columbia Basin.
Find more on
ourtrust.org/stories Fernie store makes it easy to choose local!
Simply named ‘Local,’ the volunteer-run store is a social enterprise of Wildsight Elk Valley, a non-profit committed to food sustainability. Unlike a traditional farmers’ market, vendors are not present at the store, but their business names and locations are listed beside their products. The store also offers online shopping 24-7, with pick up or delivery during regular storefront hours.
“I think it provides opportunity for these food businesses to grow,” says volunteer Robyn Peel. “With the Trust’s support, we’re able to make bigger purchases, which in turn attracts more customers, with the goal of continuing to promote food security and to support our local farmers and small-scale producers.”
And the Women
by Sadie Rosgen
The worst form of inequality is to try and make unequal things equal. -Aristotle
Equality implies individuality. -Trey Anastasio
All who have died are equal. -Comanche horseman
As I continue to celebrate women while recognizing the theme of equality this month, I am reminded that none of us are created equal. We all possess varied strengths and weaknesses, the driving elements of who we are, changing all the time. I wanted to ask some of the women in my life, “what is the best part about being a woman?”
Carefully crafting their vulnerabilities and observations, I created this poem.
Thank you for your heartfelt contributions.
I pluck my feelings from the laundry pile and shake them out. I navigate hardship with compassion, as I sort the clothes that suit my fashion.
Leaving my thoughts and desires outside, looking deeply, I find my intuition blooming.
Making space, for moments of grace, for finding my seat at the table, voiced strongly and able.
Feminine Tough Rough Surreal I am witchcraft and mysticism. Climbing the mountain alone, surrounded by sisterhood, motherhood, childhood and adulthood, all while trying to survive in my ‘hood.
Feeding from the body of woman, feasting on the Earth. This mortal vessel as housing, crowning as queen setting the scene for the instant camaraderie that comes from a ladies’ room.
And the Women
by Sadie Rosgen
581A 2nd Ave., Downtown Fernie | 250.423.2680 | OPEN DAILY | Locally owned and operated.
Excavating • Road Construction • High Quality Aggregates Professional Service • Locally Owned
Don’t Look Up
by ANDREW VALLANCE
In 2016 the U.S.A. went insane and elected a fascist game show host as president. Donald J. Trump was a xenophobe, a misogynist, a war hawk and a swindler, who bragged about sexually assaulting women, used his position as commanderin-chief to enrich his family, brutalized Latin American migrants and lent support to neo-Nazi thugs. He completely botched the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, stupidly recommending the use of dangerous, useless drugs instead of urging caution, and ultimately encouraged a mob to attack the capital building, the seat of the United States Congress, on January 6, 2021. The mob threatened to kill many prominent American politicians, including then Vice President Mike Pence.
Trump was all at once fantastically arrogant, ignorant and incompetent, a man who put the country he governed and its citizens in danger, and yet when all was said and done, claimed to be its saviour. His one term in office was traumatic for many Americans.
Given the aura of the recent Trump presidency, it makes sense that Don’t Look Up should grab the attention of not just Americans, but so many people from all over the world. The film, which is written and directed by Adam Mackay, is in large part about an out-of-touch, ultra conservative administration that continues to ignore a global crisis, which in this case is a giant planet-killing asteroid racing towards the earth, and the brilliant scientists trying to convince the world that disaster is imminent.
Don’t Look Up is meant to serve as an allegory for climate change but could just as easily be seen as a film about the mishandling of the recent COVID pandemic.
The movie features Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence as the scientists, Mark Rylance as an unscrupulous tech billionaire who wishes to monetize the asteroid, Jonah Hill as the lazy, drug addicted son of the president, the great Meryl Streep as the venal, image obsessed and ignorant commander in chief, and Cate Blanchett as a vapid talk show host reminiscent of the ones seen daily on Fox news. Filling out the cast are excellent character actors including Ron Pearlman, Timothy Chalamet, Arianna Grande and Tyler Perry.
This is not a technically bad movie. The script is excellent, the performances understated and effective. Adam Mackay, previously known for writing and directing such excellent films as The Big Short and Vice, has undoubtedly created a piece of art that will net him multiple awards. However, I can’t help but feel that the work is misanthropic in the extreme. Most of the characters in the film are a bit thinly written, and are either selfish or stupid or both, and our heroes spend much of the movie’s run time frustrated and angry, or experiencing panic attacks. As much as I like DiCaprio’s work (especially The Revenant) and think that Jennifer Lawrence is a great actress (her performance in The Hunger Games trilogy was wonderful), it is difficult for me to watch these actors displaying fright and/or depression for two hours over an imaginary disaster while we are experiencing angst over two potentially real world disasters.
I can’t recommend this one, folks.
