Olympic Moments VI – 9.2.22
Congratulations to our two Team Canada medal winners today: Steven Dubois 1500m men’s short track silver medal and Meryeta O’Dine women’s snowboard cross bronze medal.
pen and ink drawing
olympic inspiration
So much inspiration from Team Canada in Beijing yesterday. Congratulations to all our medal winners: to Max Parrot who has recovered from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, on his gold medal in men’s Slopestyle and to Mark McMorris on receiving bronze; to Kim Boutin, on her bronze medal in the women’s 500m short track speed skating ; and to Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes, Alexandria Loutitt, Matthew Soukup and Abigail Strate all winning bronze in the Olympic debut of mixed team Ski Jumping.
Olympic moments however are not only just about winning medals. After Justine Dufour-Lapointe fell on her mogul run seeing her comforted by her sister Chloe was inspiring and golden in every way, as are the words she has written on Instagram at @justinedufourlapointe Read them and be inspired by this great Canadian athlete and role model.
Olympic Moments IV – 6.2.22
olympic moments begin
Olympic Moments I and II – 4.2.22
Congratulations to Team Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury, men’s mogul Silver Medal making him the most decorated mogul skier of all time; and congratulations to Canada’s Isabelle Weideman, bronze medal in women’s 3000m long track speed skating.
Canda Proud
Let The Games Begin
Looking forward to the start of the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games and wishing Sara Villani and Melissa Lotholz together with all of Team Canada every success in Beijing, plus a look back to a few memorable Olympic and Paralympic moments from the 2018 games in PyeongChang to whet our appetites for the excitement that’s ahead.
Go Canada Go
year of the tiger
Happy Lunar New Year to family, friends and colleagues, and a special thank-you as always to our health care heroes who all fight like tigers for us each and every day.
Gung Hay Fat Choy
a remembrance bouquet
This morning I enjoyed my new Winsor & Newton pro marker brush and blender from Opus Art Supplies. The Xmas bouquet was from dear friends and is displayed in a treasured vase that was a wedding present of my wonderful late parents from their marriage in 1936.
As I remembered mum and dad today my thoughts were also of the parents in Australia grieving the loss of their beautiful children who died so tragically as their bouncy castle was blown up into the clear blue sky. My heart breaks for them all as I know yours does too.
Yesterday Canada recorded its 30,000th Covid19 death so today is very much a day of remembrance, and as always a day to express our heartfelt thanks to all of our frontline and health care heroes.
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.
Celebrating Simone
Today I am reposting “The Power of Teal” from August 2018 when Simone Biles reigned supreme at the US Gymnastics Championships. The teal leotard she wore then was to honour victims of sexual assault, which she, and members of the US Gymnastics team, had all been subjected to over so many years. The following year she then became the first woman to win four all-round World Gymnastic Championship titles.
Today after withdrawing from the Tokyo Olympic Games in order to focus on her mental health, a decision that USA Gymnastics supported with their statement, “We wholeheartedly support Simone’s decision and applaud her bravery in prioritizing her well-being,” adding, “Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many.”
Sadly, she is now being subjected to shameful and despicable commentary on her decision from people who in so doing have demonstrated the depths of their ignorance and hate.
My drawings and paintings are my way of demonstrating my support and admiration for someone who is a true role model and inspiration for us all.
She is today and always will be the greatest of all times.
The Power of Teal – August 23rd, 2018
Celebrating the athleticism and sublime grace, artistry, strength, and courage of Simone Biles who reigned supreme at the US Gymnastics Championships last weekend.
The teal leotard she wore was to honour the victims of sexual assault, being a survivor herself.
“The colour is for the survivors. I stand with all of them…” Simone Biles
A true hero and inspiration for our times.
#OurLondonFamily
Today I grieve with my treasured Muslim friends and colleagues mourning the loss of such a beautiful family in London, Ontario who were just out for an evening walk, and thinking of their 9 year old son in hospital, orphaned by such a despicable crime of terrorism and hate. I will always stand with you against Islamophobia, hatred and racism of any kind. My heart breaks with yours as I send my deepest condolences to all of their family and friends in mourning tonight.
for the love of dance…
…on International Dance Day, a day of both celebration and remembrance.
thechangingpalette 