Ellipses Thinking...

Nicole Schafenacker, lives her life in a constant state of ellipsis thinking. Her work as an interdisciplinary artist and researcher has always existed in the liminal spaces between; a space of curiosity in which the unknown is the only way we can ever truly be discovery-ready. She sees in art, the existence of pathways to create both meaning and understanding, to bridge knowledge systems and ways of knowing and to make the possible, personal. Through her work, she embraces radical, transformative approaches to addressing the challenges of the complex issues that we face as one species alongside others on Earth. A cohort member of the International Centre for Art for Social Change, Nicole has spent the last 5 years living, studying and working in northern BC and northern Norway and is thrilled to now be living on the edge of Marsh Lake, Yukon. Her artistic signature is indelibly driven by a commitment to social justice and framed in terms of action research in which she is as curious about what might result in the space of creation as the creative result itself. She is currently Artist in Residence with the Yukon Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. She is deeply committed to and engaged in working to undo the colonial relations at the root of the climate crisis and fully acknowledges her role in making active the ongoing process of decolonizing self and society.

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Facing the challenge of choosing a focus for his PHd thesis in Computational Media Design, Owen Brierley felt the panic we so often feel when the canvas feels too blank, too wide open…But almost immediately he found himself drawing courage from the voice of a mentor dating back nearly 3 decades, specifically on the importance of trusting self in order to enter the void. By his own admission, Owen Brierley's life has always been about transitions fed by an insatiable curiosity. At times those transitions have felt like, "now what!?" At other times, "what's next?!" But he has never felt a stranger to an ellipsis state and the creative opportunity it has consistently offered. A performer from a very young age, his mind was blown when a friend introduced him to a new computer "fad" called the World Wide Web and he leapt into the brave new world of digital media design and production. A natural ability to bridge gaps in understanding between disparate groups of experts, has allowed him to collaborate across many disciplines in the arts and sciences. In his latest ellipses thinking adventure, Owen is discovering the world of academia and the process of doctoral studies in the Computational Media Design program at the University of Calgary. In this space, Owen is playing with Intelligent Virtual Beings and the human side of research in video gaming and virtual realities. He is fascinated by the relationships we create with Roombas, our wariness of autonomous vehicles, our complex evolving trust with Siri or Alexa, and our joy of watching and interacting with non-player characters in open-world games. Owen knows beauty to exist in these virtual creatures, and is intrigued by how the artists who design them might help us appreciate the beauty in our relationships with them.

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Sister/Singer/Songwriters Emily & Samantha Schultz continue to discover, (sometimes uncomfortably) the power of vulnerability in shaping and maturing their artistic voices. Over the years, I have witnessed them carve out and navigate the complicated relationships that are demanded of artists and their art and to me, in a manner that demonstrated incredible courage and imagination. Trusting their intuitive powers and anchored by strong foundational values rooted in family, they continue to find ways to show up as their most authentic selves… as artists, as women, as daughters, partners and sisters, even when it has felt incredibly challenging to do so. Over the course of two conversations, we had the opportunity to trace from childhood what drew them both the music, the importance of finding and nurturing community, their ongoing articulation of what success means on a personal level and how both have been and continue to be in life and through their art, powerful advocates for mental health. They also shared some insight into their creative process, trusting that when they are open and ready for the muse to arrive, they stand a chance of capturing what they need to spin it into music.

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Nicole Deibert is clearly is on her own Renaissance Woman journey. Whether at work as Head Scenic Painter at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, at home surrounded by acrylics, oils or water colours or her digital canvas…in her kitchen with an ever-widening palette of garden delights heading into preserve jars…or as she currently steps into the entrepreneurial ring, Nicole boldly embraces her true creative nature. In our conversation, she shares how she loves the invitations to figure out artistic solutions to the challenges of creating visually stunning illusions in the theatre. We talk about the path to mastery and the role that intuition and experimentation plays. I also asked how she continues to access the kind of space that allows her to drop in and get lost in the creative zone of a work in progress. I hope you will join us for another conversation on ellipsis thinking. And if you are enjoying this program, please spread the word with your community of curious listeners.

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Ciele Beau 'sees' a piece of music. Growing up this was normal. It wasn't until 3 years into her visual art studies at the then, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, that she learned there was a thing called Synesthesia - a condition where the brain mixes up the senses and stimulation of one sensory pathway leading to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory pathway. Her discovery of her synesthesia has led her not only to better understanding her sensory experience of the world but has also allowed her to embrace it as a powerful modality for creative expression. She has created a painting practice around this experience that allows her to translate sheet music of her favourite songs into colour on the canvas. Her work focuses on the human condition, our emotional responses and everyday experiences. Her visual art explodes off the canvases or walls of the urban landscape with a vibrancy of colour and shape, that invites the inner child in us all, outside to play in this imaginative world she has created.

Ciele is a full-time freelance creative, and has worked with companies such as Pabst Blue Ribbon, Warner Brothers (CW's Riverdale), Slack, Adobe, Vancouver Mural Festival, Vancouver Pride, Georgia Straight, Sarah McLachlan School of Music, SAD Magazine, Sofar Sounds and more.

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3 time World Improv Champion and funny man, Donovan Workun. has been bringing his comedy into the lives of audiences on stage, film and across the air waves for over 30 years and is currently touring in the lead role of the runaway musical hit Jason Kenney's Hot Boy Summer. His comedy duo Atomic Improv has toured across North America, Asia and Mexico and are the first improv group to headline Montreal's Just For Laughs Comedy Festival. A lead writer and performer for 7 seasons in the hit CBC Radio One Series: The Irrelevant Show. Donovan has had the pleasure of performing live alongside Mike Myers, Wayne Brady, Colin Mochrie, Dave Thomas, Joe Flaherty, and Kevin McDonald. His extensive work in film has him sharing the screen with Patrick Swayze, Tom Green, Demi Moore and Tim Curry. This summer he is thrilled to be opening for Amy Schumer and Pete Davidson. Like any true improviser, Donovan has always embraced a "Yes, Let's" attitude to life and is grateful for the doors that have opened as a result of accepting all offers. Still, he acknowledges the challenges of the juggling act we create when yes is our go to response. Knowing laughter to be good medicine, Donovan reflects on how as he gets older, he is coming to better understand the deeper value his improvisational powers have in serving to bring joy to others by reminding us that laughter has the power to get us through the other stuff, not to mention keep us all learning something new every day.

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Alana Hawley Purvis, reflects on her recent Canadian Screen Award nominated role in the feature film Range Roads. She shares how the film is at its core, about the struggle to return to oneself, and how her personal process of working on it, served as a powerful mirror to her own journey as an artist and a mother. In both roles, she was reminded daily of her true commitment to fully living each moment for what it presents and how she continues to strive to redefine success and her relationship to it as a pursuit of joy. In the second half of our conversation, Alana goes on to share how she has discovered deeply meaningful work away from the stage with Trans Vocal Care. Through working with trans clients to find gender identity through their vocal instrument Alana is able to support their journey so that each unique voice might fully represent their authentic self.

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As I considered the idea of ellipsis thinking and its invitation to take a moment to wonder from within, I found myself curious about how artists here, especially those with deep personal relationships with Ukraine, might be processing and responding to what we were all now seeing in this chaotic and terrifying time. I welcome two conversations with Canadian artists with family and friends living and fighting to survive in Ukraine. In both these conversations, I was struck with the common theme of how vital it is to find your authentic way or the language that feels right to you and that best allows you to express what needs to come forth. Visual and graphic artist Larisa Sembaliuk Cheladyn, reflects on how for over 40 years as a creative, she has always been compelled to find the light in order to balance out the power of the dark. Theatre artists Matthew Mackenzie and Patrick Lundeen of Pyretic Productions (Toronto/Edmonton) are living their company's mission to raise awareness of political and social issues as they work to provide tangible support to friends and family now caught in a war zone.

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Stacey Cabaj, a Professor of Acting & Pedagogy and Faculty Fellow of Mission & Identity at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, she shares her journey from Perfect to Play to Magic. A lifelong believer that perfect was her goal, Stacey shares how she was able to finally release the burden of perfection and the freedom she has experienced in doing so. Weaving the wisdom of Mary Oliver, and others into her own evolving life, she speaks of an incredible sense of wild belonging in simply being still and choosing to no longer define life as a self improvement project but rather one of reclaiming identity as she calls out from the mountaintop 'stop striving, you're already here."

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Valerie McIntyre-Baird always wrestled with her relationship with being the 'creative one'...that is until she embraced the invitation of designing her life as an experiment. A certified Forest Therapist, she draws on the power of nature and our relationship within it, to guide her fullest expression each day. Nicknamed The Purposeful Optimist, she delights in the best case scenario as she approaches each opportunity as threshold experience.

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