City of Merritt- Courthouse Gallery
Over the past few years I have become very engaged with the city’s local arts council here in Merritt. This includes curating and installing gallery shows (one of which was my own), performing guitar and ukulele at open mic nights, volunteering for local fairs, participating in a focus group for a program, and hours spent working the gallery’s gift shop.
Facepainting at local event- Seymour Arm Community Association
Seymour Arm is a small local community on the Shuswap. Every August-long weekend, there is a large community event centred around baseball, family activities and the beach. As an artist, I volunteered my time and skills as a face painter for children.
Merritt Arts Council Garlic Fest- Paid Performer
In the fall of 2018, I played guitar and sang original songs and covers as entertainment for this local fair. The set was an hour and a half long, and it was a beautiful day!
Education Assistance at Merritt Secondary School
This was my 100(+) volunteer hours required for application to TRU’s Bachelor of Elementary program. I am hoping to be employed in grade 7-12 for my specialties (Fine Arts and Language Arts) so I worked in classrooms grades 8-10. I was working with two teachers who were gracious enough to share their wisdom. This experience further encouraged my goal of working in higher grade levels.
Illustrator- Barnard’s Bellybutton Blunder
In 2018, I was asked if I could illustrate a children’s book for a local author (Gene Field). I charged a small fee and worked with this man over many revisions to the illustrations, which were done in ink and watercolour. This was great experience for me, participating in a different kind of commission. I have done other artistic commissions, but they are usually one painting with a basic example to work from. With this author, I had to make many of his visions “come alive” and found this challenging in a different way. I never did receive a copy of the book, but here are some examples of the illustrations:
