Speaking up

charm beauty and poise title 72 dpi

Charm, Beauty and Poise:Timeless Tips for Girls Who Have Let Themselves Go

I accumulate old things: manual typewriters, small plaid suitcases, dog figurines, and the plastic fused couples that live on the top of wedding cakes. But by far, my most impressive and important collection is the one comprised of etiquette books, home economics texts, beauty guides, charm manuals, sewing handouts and other materials aimed squarely at the mid-twentieth century North American female. It all started with one small tome plucked from a Toronto flea market in 1994 and today the combined weight of the congregation threatens to bring down the wall.

Finding that first etiquette book changed my life. The fire of indignation that had been smoldering under me since girlhood erupted into full flame. I ferreted out a handful of other etiquette books and then created a body of artwork forcing marriages between quotes lifted from the books and visuals taken from women’s magazines of the same period. The artwork was exhibited in 1995 at a Vancouver Gallery and was turned into a book in 1997 – Storm Clouds Over Party Shoes, Etiquette Problems for the Ill-Bred Woman. Storm Clouds was reviewed enthusiastically across the country, short listed for the VanCity Book Prize, and named by Quill and Quire as one of the Best Canadian Non-Fiction Books of 1997.

Even though I returned to my studio to continue work as a painter, my passion for the vintage etiquette material never faded and in 2004 I mounted another show of mixed media works once again exploring the material found in the old books. On opening night at the Nanaimo Art Gallery, I presented a short and cheeky slide show featuring some of the material from my old books; a kind of mock etiquette lesson complete with me in full vintage drag. The gallery was packed, the place was hopping, and a new (three dimensional) outlet for my passion was born.

From its modest inception that night, the slide show has evolved into a full-fledged performance piece called “Charm, Beauty and Poise, Timeless Tips for Girls Who Have Let Themselves Go”. I have delivered it to sold-out audiences as far away as LaCrosse Wisconsin and I am currently in discussion with a group of Manhattan feminist psychoanalysts (try saying that in a hurry) who are interested in having me speak next year at an international summit they are hosting called “Endangered Species: Preserving the Female Body”.

The women who come to hear me speak and who (still) buy Storm Clouds, know what I know: things haven’t really changed and we haven’t really come a long way baby. There is a fuse running just below the surface of the lives of North American women and girls and even though the match may have been lit during the period covered in my old books, the bombs are still going off today.

Call me strident…just don’t call me late for dinner.

what they are saying:
“a smart, slyly hilarious etiquette lesson by a kind of post-modern, lesbian Emily Post”
“a rare combination of brilliant political satire and a rollicking good time”
“riveting, creative and original”
“if you have a chance to see this show – we say don’t miss it”
“a delightful presentation…an instant hit!”

See the Upcoming page for details of my next performance of “Charm, Beauty and Poise”.



 

 

 

 



Vincent Van Gogh once told his brother Theo, that whenever he saw a blank canvas staring him in the face, he just slapped some paint on it.

How and where does one begin when meeting up with the bare canvas (or score sheet or manuscript)? And then once underway, what holds us to the promise we made when we started out? What keeps us returning again and again to try and make sense (or not) of what is emerging?

Join me as I mud-wrestle with these and many other questions in a dynamic and captivating slide show guaranteed to throw some light on the matter. Starting with the dreaded blank canvas and meandering through all the twists and turns as paintings present themselves, it’s a rare and intimate glimpse into the creative process. Everything is laid bare for the audience; no roadmaps, no sketches, no net. Share in the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Observe the two halves of my brain as they dance together like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (or something like that). Watch as paintings I thought were finished proved to have entirely other plans for me. It’s like being a fly on the studio wall without the paint on your pants.

what they are saying:
“Spellbinding…Norgate’s courage to do things over and start again is inspiring. She is so open about her journey as an artist and as a human being that you will come away feeling emboldened by her courage.” Shelagh Rogers, Canadian radio broadcaster currently host of CBC Radio One’s “The Last Chapter”

“Fascinating and beautiful, unsentimental and tremendously brave.” Hilary Peach, writer, audio poet, recording artist, arts activist, and founder/Artistic Director of the Poetry Gabriola Festival

“Norgate opens an entertaining window on the creative process that is informative, funny and fascinating for anyone wanting to learn what really lies underneath the surface of art – and artists.” Katherine Gordon, author and free-lance journalist

“Norgate’s Blank Canvas made we want to race to the studio! Sheila’s honest and generous account of her creative process will energize and motivate you.” Grant Leier, Canadian artis

See the Upcoming page for details of my next showing of Blank Canvas.


Nice Girl/Bad Girl: the Incredible True Story of One Woman’s Psyche:
An animated and provocative slide show recounting my evolution as a self-taught visual artist. More importantly it chronicles my near-fatal battle with Nice Girlism. Nice Girl/Bad Girl is about a profound psychic and emotional split which worked its way to consciousness through my art. The show consists of slides of work covering over twenty-five years, from the petite and tentative watercolour landscapes in 1983, to the strong and full-scale canvases  now shown in galleries throughout North America. I take viewers along on the bumpy ride from art dabbler to full-fledged painter, and introduces them to the cast of psychic characters that have inhabited my life as a ”recovering nice girl”. You will hear about how an impulse to make art arose out of the chaos of debilitating illness. You will find out how an ex-banker with no training in the arts and no particular aptitude made for herself a successful and meaningful career as a painter. It’s a tale about finding one’s place in the world, about finding one’s voice. It’s a tale about it never being too late.


what they are saying:
“insightful, inspirational, and provocative”
“intelligent, poignant and healing”
“It is rare for an audience to have the privilege of hearing such a personal, engaging account of the growth of the artist’s psyche….the audience marvelled at this glimpse of Norgate’s art and process.”
“Norgate’s ability to be vulnerable, witty and guileless is astonishing”
“it is a challenge to convey just how captivating this show is”
“beautiful, intelligent and fun”
“Norgate manages to be profound and witty, personal and polished, probing and healing all at the same time”
“travelling a gentle and fascinating journey, Norgate’s piece is both political and entertaining”
“understated and witty…Norgate’s talk touches on the human spirit in a delightful, universal way. When the lights went  on there was a feeling of regret that it was over”.


A List of Presentations

  • Charm Beauty and Poise, Timeless Tips for Girls who Have Let Themselves Go” National Campus and Community Radio Conference, Gabriola BC, June 2010
  • “I Never Met a Blank Canvas I Didn’t Like” , St. James Community Square, Vancouver BC, May 2010
  • Charm Beauty and Poise, Timeless Tips for Girls who Have Let Themselves Go” La Crosse Wisconsin, New Horizons Women‘s Shelter, April 2010
  • Charm Beauty and Poise, Timeless Tips for Girls who Have Let Themselves Go” Port Theatre, Nanaimo BC, February 2010
  • Charm Beauty and Poise, Timeless Tips for Girls who Have Let Themselves Go” Poetry Gabriola Festival, Surf Lodge Great Room, November 2009
  • Charm Beauty and Poise, Timeless Tips for Girls who Have Let Themselves Go” Heritage Hall, Vancouver BC, benefit for Elizabeth Bagshaw Clinic, October 2009
  • Charm Beauty and Poise, Timeless Tips for Girls who Have Let Themselves Go” BOLD Lesbian Conference, Coast Plaza Hotel, Vancouver BC, September 2009
  • “I Never Met a Blank Canvas I Didn’t Like” , Roxy Theatre, Gabriola BC, July 2009
  • “Charm Beauty and Poise, Timeless Tips for Girls who Have Let Themselves Go” Nanaimo Golf Course, Guest Speaker at Nanaimo Women’s Business Network, June 2009
  • “I Never Met a Blank Canvas I Didn’t Like” , Roxy Theatre, Gabriola BC, May 2009
  • “Charm Beauty and Poise, Timeless Tips for Girls who Have Let Themselves Go” , Martin Batchelor Gallery, Victoria BC (benefit for BC Sierra Club), April 2009
  • “Charm Beauty and Poise, Timeless Tips for Girls who Have Let Themselves Go” , Gabriola Island, Nov 2007 and Apr 2008
  • Artist Talk, International Women’s Day, Gabriola BC, March 2007
  • Artist Talk, Meyer Gallery, Park City UT, March 2006
  • Artist Talk, Nanaimo Art Gallery, Nanaimo BC, November 2005
  • Guest Speaker, Vancouver Island Birth Control Clinic, Victoria BC, February 2004
  • Artist Talk, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, April 2003
  • Guest Lecturer, Victoria Women’s Transition House, October 2002
  • Keynote Speaker, Haven Society AGM, Nanaimo BC, January 2002
  • Keynote Speaker, ANAD, Disordered Eating Awareness Week, Vancouver BC, February 2001
  • Presenter, Restoring Justice for Women and Youth, Elizabeth Fry Conference, April 2001
  • Keynote Speaker, Burnaby Teachers Status of Women, March 1999
  • Guest Speaker, Vancouver Elementary School Teachers Association, September 1999
  • Guest Speaker, Life Line Society, Burnaby BC, March 1999
  • Guest Lecturer, Thomas A Dohm Lecture Series, Capilano College BC, April 1998
  • Guest Speaker, Victoria Feminist Archives, Women’s Studies. University of Victoria, Oct.1998
  • Presenter, Storm Clouds Over Party Shoes Launch, Vancouver BC, November 1997
  • Presenter, Storm Clouds Over Party Shoes Launch, University of Victoria, November 1997
  • Visiting Artist, Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art, Winnipeg, Nov. 1997
  • Presenter, World Conference on Breast Cancer Conference, Kingston Ontario, July 1997
  • Guest Speaker, International Women’s Day, University of BC, Vancouver BC, March 1997
  • Keynote Speaker, North Shore Registered Nurses Association AGM, Vancouver BC, June 1996
  • Blind Date Productions, Victoria, April 1 1995
  • Women in View Festival, Vancouver BC February 1995
  • Presenter, British Columbia Teachers’ Federation Conference, Richmond BC, 1992
  • Keynote Speaker, Sooke Teacher’s Association, Sooke BC, March 1992





She had the audience laughing so they didn’t have to think about thinking.  Her use of images, body language and words combined into more than their sum.   It was a fun, informal presentation that was the perfect length to keep the audience entertained and engaged.  Immediately after Sheila’s presentation, we were already thinking about ideas for our next fundraiser.   I would recommend Sheila to anyone who wanted a clever, fun yet thoughtful take on the world of women, beauty, etiquette and beyond!