Ellipses Thinking...

For Krista Monson, a shift from mastery to mystery feels almost seismic as she has been committed to creating breathtaking, masterful performances of virtuosity on stages around the globe. For many artists, the work of creativity can often feel both precarious and dangerously precipitous...It's not uncommon to feel caught in the pendulum swinging between pure artistic, passionate joy and the pressure or expectation to meet conventional, external definitions of success. And while you might imagine that to be the perspective of the artist who is striving to keep the work going steadily and build their practice, who might be heard saying they feel caught in the grind, the wheel or the hustle, it may be a surprise to discover this is often felt just as powerfully by someone at the top of their game and with a very full resume of successes and an equally full docket of opportunities on the horizon.

For the past 13 years (and counting) with Cirque du Soleil, Krista has served as Artistic Director of the renowned production "O" at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, as Casting Director for Cirque du Soleil's resident shows worldwide and most currently, as a writer, stage and creative director with the company. Her resume of outstanding productions and unique one-off creative adventures with and beyond Cirque, reads like a storybook and yet in this moment in her path, she looks to fully invest in meaningful relationships and projects that "make (her) heart fly!" and the mystery that lives in that promise.

If you live in Edmonton, Alberta, have been in any number of schools, community centres and places where people meet, you have likely passed by, hopefully admired some of Theo Harasymiw's visual art. She is best known for her large colourful, graphic, and often whimsical murals found all over the city. Her visual palette includes equally vivid collections of acrylic paint and assembled bits and pieces of porcelain, bone china, artifacts and the miscellany that will find new meaning and pattern in the creation of one of her mosaics. She draws much inspiration from her travels to Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, but is perhaps most influenced by her strong Ukrainian heritage and the various forms of traditional craft. Theo describes herself as seeker of all things creative, nurturer of Art in others, mother, and life enthusiast; all of which our conversation touched upon and more.

At the heart of Miranda Lucas' PhD in human behaviour and evolution lies her curiosity in understanding how people engage with visual art, and what physical and social affordances public art galleries use (or lack) to encourage a deeper human experience, one that can lead to curiosity and meaningful encounters with art, rather than feeling alienated or that these public spaces are a place reserved for someone else.

While admittedly spending a lot of time focusing on her academic studies on art as research, Miranda embraces a similar commitment to inquiry, in all aspects of life, allowing for her curiosity to lead her from one path to the next and the next and the next. Our conversation was rooted in how her approach to learning and living fuse her passions as artist and scientist.

At the outset of the pandemic, writer and theatre director, Dennis Garnhum found himself facing a crisis of confidence and the despair that so many artists around the world were experiencing when their primary venues for creative expression went dark. Garnhum, who has directed theatre and opera productions across North America, has written and co-written several award-winning plays and adaptations and is generally acknowledged to be one of the country's most admired and highly respected Artistic Directors, felt completely lost. Surrounded by a loving community, he agreed to withdraw his letter of resignation as Artistic Director of the Grand Theatre in London, and instead pick up a backpack, buy a plane ticket and head to Spain to tackle a grueling 830 km Camino walk. A choice that would prove to be a kind of personal rehearsal hall allowing him to commit fully to the work of reigniting his creative spirit.

As he walked, he captured moments in writing and upon returning published Toward Beauty, in which he poignantly shares his discoveries through the relationships with fellow pilgrims and most essentially, through the deepening of his relationship with himself. Throughout the book, Garnhum's story shines a light on the power of the human spirit to overcome heartbreak and fear and move toward beauty on soft step at a time.

Award winning actor and playwright, Beth Graham, has come to know the voices of her inner critic(s) well, having adopted the term Weasels to capture the sometimes playful, more often threatening nature of such characters to the creative temperament. She was so familiar with the nature of her own Weasels, that she chose to give them the title role in one of her latest plays, examining the turmoil we can experience when our voices turn from curiosity to doubt, to fear and to the abandonment of courage and confidence.

As an actor, Beth Graham, has worked professionally at theatres across the country and toured internationally. As a playwright, she has received the Gwen Pharis Ringwood Literary Award twice and has been a finalist for the Governor Generals Award for Drama. Currently, Beth is the Lee Playwright in Residence at the University of Alberta. At the time of our conversation, her play Weasel had just opened in Edmonton, Dora Maar: The Wicked One, which she cowrote with longtime collaborate Daniela Vlaskalic was back in rehearsals for its Edmonton production at Workshop West Playwrights' Theatre and I caught up with her in St. John's, Newfoundland where she was working as dramaturge on a dance show based on a collection of poetry.

As someone who loves to walk, wander and wonder, Katharine Weinmann travelled to Spain last fall to walk the famed Camino de Santiago. Our conversation touches on her actual Camino experience and more so, how she has found inspiration to continue to live life artfully with a true Camino spirit.

One of Katharine many gifts is her ability to be fully present and pay attention to the world and ourselves within it. Her professional and personal careers have been dedicated in service to the growth of others in leadership and living.

Always drawn to writing, Katharine has recently come to embrace and honour her poet's voice, paying fresh attention to each moment. Through poetry and contemplative creative non-fiction, Katharine shares the beauty in her imperfect, sometimes broken, mostly well lived and much loved life in her weekly blog, A Wabi Sabi Life, a celebration of existence unfolding in all its mess and mystery, with all its grit and grace.

A globally recognized practitioner, teacher and mentor of the Circle Way, Katharine is adept at the art of hosting...ensuring the space for others to be seen and understood as they navigate their own learning pathways.

A Wabi Sabi Life blog and its page on her Camino: http://awabisabilife.ca/the-portuguese-coastal-camino/

Katharine's essay, "A Creative Walks Her Camino," is forthcoming in SAGE-ING: The Journal of Creative Aging, December 2022, Issue 43 – online publication around December 21: http://www.sageing.ca/

Ellipses Thinking... will return on Wednesday Jan 25.

In this special Season 2 preview host Greg Dowler-Coltman offers listeners, a sense of what he and his guests will explore this season. As well as paying tribute to his friend and coach Bruce McLeod.

Julia Coltman is the host of "OFF THE SHELF", the newest podcast from the Ordinary Podcasting Network. On this special Bonus episode of Ellipses Thinking... She shares her love of literature and why she decided to launch a podcast book club!

In Lena McKenzie's words, she "inherited a fabric of beliefs, woven by generations of women…a fabric that tells stories of not just one family line, but a constellation of them." Her memories of the bond forged between her mother from the Philippines and her paternal Grandmother, from Minneapolis, speak to a powerful wisdom co-created by a shared desire to embrace all there was to learn. A proud Filipina Canadian, Lena's roots are in classical music, having studied voice in Manila before embarking on a professional career that has included TV, film, musical theatre and concert halls as soloist and member of Asia's premiere classical crossover trio, the Opera Belles. In 2020, after spending a decade performing around the world, Lena found home on Salt Spring Island off the coast of Vancouver Island. Here she has found herself with the time and reflective space to return to her love of song writing and recently, released her first EP, Finding North, an ethereal reflection of her complex cultural background. She speaks of finding peace with the idea of 'home' even when home exists in many places, and how she finds beauty as an artist in embracing the idea of the amateur and the excitement of beginning again.

Deep integration of past and present as we dream forward and design our collective future…that is one of the many things that is on the mind and in the heart of Lance Cardinal. Lance is a multi-disciplinary creative professional and proud member of the Treaty 8 Bigstone Cree Nation. His family roots stem deep from his small home community of Calling Lake, Alberta. Over the past 2 decades, Lance has built an impressive catalogue of work as a multi award winning Visual and Concept Artist, Performer, Writer, Teacher, Facilitator and Cultural Healer. His company, Soulflame, is committed to raising the recognition of indigenous community members through creativity, positivity, and conversations. Lance's enthusiasm is infectious and his commitment to teaching lives in everything he does. His online presence, provides snapshots of the process in process of his mural paintings…his YouTube series Indigenous Art Adventures with Lance Cardinal, provides the platform for his skills as performer, visual artist and educator to reach through the screens to young people, of all ages, to introduce or reinforce important learnings in his desire to help bridge the gap of understanding between Indigenous and Non-indigenous Canadians. Whether creating an original shoe design for an iconic local company, a mural celebrating the science of indigenous land learnings or a breathtaking celebration of Turtle Island as a logo for the Edmonton Oilers, Lance remains completely focused on his passion to share deep and reverent knowings through the imagery of his art and the openness of his heart.

To Learn More:

ordinarypodcasts.com

dowlercoltman.com