workedover.ca

A friend and mentor of mine sent me an e-mail about a month ago, and I have been so busy getting organized for my move I did not have the chance to get back to her in an appropriate fashion. I hope this makes up for it. This entry is to say thanks to Sheila Butler who is a well respected Canadian artist and someone who has had more influence in my life than I think she is aware of. When I quit my job as an art teacher in June, I received many letters of thanks from my students and parents via facebook, e-mail or by personal letter. That got me thinking that I should do the same to those who have helped me – especially now that I am on to a new phase of my life and finding myself reflecting on where I have been and where I am going. Sheila was my mentor throughout my undergraduate years at the University of Western Ontario and the image posted above is titled “Her Body”. It is a mixed media drawing on paper completed in 1991. I vividly remember walking into her studio to ask for help with projects or just guidance on everday life issues. This drawing was on the wall and I could not keep my eyes off it. Female bodies raining across the paper’s surface over images of posed men. Sheila embodied the ideal teacher who was open and receptive. It felt as though I was speaking with a best friend or a family member not just a professor. Through her I learned to love my identity and my passions in life. Most importantly she taught me to be a polymath and have an engaged life acting on the world with all my senses. Her classes went well beyond learning about painting, drawing and theory…it was really about living. Over the past decade I have done well for myself here in Toronto (on many levels) and I owe a lot of it to her guidance and encouragement back then. Sheila…this one is for you! I promise to carry on what you taught me in the next phase of my life. Lots of love and respect!