Upcoming

Gabriola Island Farmer’s Market, 465 South Road, Saturdays through the summer

I can be found most saturday mornings from 10am to high noon, at Gabriola’s fabulous saturday farmer’s market, held outside the AGI (agricultural) Hall on South Road, just a hop skip and a jump up from the ferry. So drop by and check out my free range paintings, fresh every week, original all the time, and priced to agree with the recessionary position.

They may not be edible, but then again, they won’t repeat on you.

p.s. any paintings not sold at the market, always make their way to my Small Works for Sale page here on the website. So not to worry if you can’t get to Gabriola.

“Charm Beauty and Poise, Timeless Tips for Girls Who Have Let Themselves Go”. Boldfest Conference, September 9-12, 2010, Coast Plaza Hotel, Vancouver BC.

Well, the older lesbian set has once again decided that my services are in great need and they have asked me to bring my presentation, Charm, Beauty and Poise to the many girls who will be washing up on the shores of Vancouver from all across North America this September 9-12. One of the things I will surely be recommending is the use of a chin strap such as the one pictured here. Although it can’t promise miracles, it will help out with those aging necklines and the many chins I am likely to encounter in Vancouver.

Gabriola Island Thanksgiving Studio Tour, October 9-11 2010, 10-4pm

Join the thousands of guests arriving from all over the Pacific Northwest for one of the largest studio tours in the region. Friday, Saturday and Sunday October 9-11, from 10-4pm each day, over 50 studios will be open to the public showing off their best creative finery. Everything from painting through photography to silversmithing to macrame (just kidding about the macrame) will be available for your perusal. I myself will be taking part in this free event as I have since God was a girl at studio #11 on the Tour map. You can go to the Gabriola Arts Council website for all the details and to download a map and then once you are on the island, pick up one of the beautiful, full-colour brochures. I will have a studio full of new work in a wide range of prices, plus some of the best snacks west of the rockies. I know there isn’t too much actually west of the rockies, but still, my snacks are reknowned.

Thursday, November 18th 7:30pm, Vancouver Island School of Art, 2549 Quadra St. Victoria BC (tickets will be available through the school in October)

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 beingthat 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 artist.