For our National Day of Truth and Reconciliation
Every child matters
every child matters
Lens-Artists Challenge #261 – Work in Progress
In response to Ann-Christine’s challenge, Work in Progress, and with the encouragement of my dear friend Tina Schell I thought I would post this image of me working in my studio. To see the final painting completed after three and a half months, and to read the story behind the painting I invite you to visit my post War Child.
Canada Day 2022
From the Pacific Spirit Park on this Canada Day 2022 🇨🇦, with gratitude to all of our health care heroes who have worked tirelessly over the past two years or more so that we can all finally gather together once again, and remembering the lost generations of children from the residential schools who never made it home; but with disappointment and anger that too many of our fellow citizens remain an unworthy rabble that still fails to understand the meaning of the word Freedom. They need only to look to the brave Ukrainian people who are fighting not only for their freedom but for ours also, in their battle against the war criminal sitting in the Kremlin. That is freedom that we must all fight for in whatever way we can until this war is over and Ukraine is free once again. 🇺🇦
215 leaves
One year ago I began my drawing of the 546 leaves I had collected that day from the Pacific Spirit Park after learning about the children who had been so cruelly separated from their parents at the US border. In the following few weeks we learnt, as my daily drawings continued, how many more separated children there were. Sadly, as of today too many of these children have yet to be reunited with their parents.
In May of this year the remains of 215 children were discovered in unmarked graves in the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Reservation School, children who were never given any opportunity of being reunited with their parents and families. And so began the discovery of generations of children buried in unmarked graves of Indian Reservation Schools across the country in this sad chapter of Canadian history, a chapter that continues today through the vital and heartbreaking process of Truth and Reconciliation.
My 215 leaves today are in memory of all the beautiful children who are being grieved and remembered by their families and communities everywhere. They were very much in our thoughts yesterday as we walked in the Pacific Spirit Park on a rainy Friday with so many beautiful fallen leaves carpeting the trails and woods around us.
On this 1st National Day for Truth and Reconciliation our thoughts all day have been of the generations of children who died alone, away from their families whilst attending Indian Reservation Schools here in BC and across the country, together with thoughts of their families, those who survived, and all the communities still grieving this unbearable legacy every day.
We began the day walking the trails of the Pacific Spirit Park, the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. The orange shirts we wore were designed by the Tsimshian artist Morgan Asoyuf. Thank you Morgan.
From the trails we joined so many others at the Vancouver Art Gallery and were moved by the powerful and heartbreaking display on the Gallery steps together with the sight of 6,128 orange ribbons placed in the gardens opposite by the Haida artist Tamara Bell to honour and remember the lives of all the children lost at the residential schools. We then joined many hundreds of others in the Gallery Square and hope the love and support shown by us all will help in the healing and ease so much of the pain we witnessed today.
From the Gallery to the studio and a painting to honor this special day.
Father’s Day
Je n’ai pas une pipe.
Happy Father’s Day, as I remember my own father and grandfather, and say thank you to my amazing children and grandchildren for all their love on this special day.
My thoughts, as always, are of all those children who have no father to give their love to in this troubled world of ours, especially the nine year old boy who lost his whole family in the terrorist attack in Ontario earlier this month. He is very much in my thoughts today.
journey’s end
666+186 Day LIV – Journey’s End.
Thank you to all of you who have joined me over the past few months. Knowing you have been “looking over my shoulder” and sharing my concern for the children has been a great support. Over the next day or two I will be writing the story of my journey, which I will post once it is completed.
I thought I would add today my words from that first day, October 22nd as a reminder of the reason why my journey began:
I have begun this drawing of the 546 leaves I collected today from the Pacific Spirit Park to represent the 546 children separated from their parents. As a parent and grandparent who loves his children and grandchildren so much this is my way of representing the heartbreak and the anguish being felt by so many families suffering in this tragic story of state supported kidnapping of children. As the drawings continue I will post their progress and will be thinking of each child as I draw every one of these fragile leaves.
the last leaf
666+186 Day LIII: the final leaf, the last of the final 9 leaves that end a journey that began on October 22nd last year. I have decided to keep the dates together with the marks from each day that indicate the number of leaves drawn that day, as part of the final piece. Look for the completed work tomorrow. Posting this on Canada’s Family Day is an opportunity to remember the separated children and look forward to the day when those responsible will be held accountable. #families belong together.
18 new leaves of love
666 + 177…in progress – Day LII
18 new leaves lovingly drawn for Valentines Day, and a special leaf from Day XXXVIII.
15 new leaves
666+147…in progress – Day LI
From park to post
Today’s Pacific Spirit Park collection
thechangingpalette 