Earth is too mysterious not to have been inhabited by fantastic creatures and mythical beings.  

Ancient stories of their existence are present everywhere.  They spring from the ground, dance in the flames, wander through the air and resonate in water, like distant echoes, seeking to make themselves known.

A landscape that stirs the imagination is magical.  It is inhabited by a soul.

A "Curio" is a glass cabinet or display case where you can present collections of objects that share a common theme.  The "pop-up" installations allow alternatives to traditional exhibitions spaces; they are also an invitation to experience works of art, either passing by car, or by walking on the sidewalk.  

"Curio" is an installation of 3 digital paintings of goddesses, in a gothic style, presented as an altarpiece.  This arrangement refers to cathedral windows; which, in this example, symbolically offers a look into the sacred feminine.  Presented from an improbable and surprising place, these newly invented goddesses are in a way visual anthologies, modern icons that add to the traditional world of female archetypes.

Some worldbuilding projects can be presented as a whole, a one shot deal, while others cannot.  They contain too much information.  Also, they keep evolving on an indefinite timeline, new content constantly being added while old content is sometimes reassigned to a different place in the project.

The only way I can present Imaginarium is one bit at a time, focusing on small pieces of the project. Today, I'm unveiling one of those small pieces.  "Stella-Maris" was written over 10 years ago, but had to be put aside. At that time, I was working on a public artwork, "Khronos", an earthwork that took 4 years to bring to life.  Other fairly large projects followed that one.  This manuscript need a final nudge to bring it to the finish line and that's what I started to do a year ago.  

Today, "Stella-Maris" is officially here, published by Les éditions La Grande Marée.  At the moment, it's available in french only.

The day that I decided to gather all the hidden work that I had in boxes and drawers, journals, mind maps, sketchbooks, files in my computer, was the day that I realized that I had the beginnings of a whole imagined world, the size of a planet, at my fingertips.  I knew I could gather all this work into one single concept, a worldbuilding project.  I named it Imaginarium.  

This project has been growing at a steady pace ever since.  I'm still sifting through old works, some of them over 20 years old; but, I'm also creating new works on a continuous basis.  At the moment, Imaginarium has a creation myth, lots of drawings, hundreds of digital images, drafts of short stories, character origin stories, beasts and other odd creatures, gods and goddesses and mind maps for different groupings of species and ecosystems.  This is a long term project. 

October 9, 2020
at the Galerie Art-Artiste
Dieppe, NB

It happens that some of my works are created and sit somewhere in limbo in the studio or in stasis in digital land in my computer.  Its okay, I know I'll get back to them sometime.  

I created this digital image of a birdwoman 5 years ago.  Birdwoman is a reoccurring theme in my work, just like the medusas, goddesses and turtle women.

For various reasons, some sculptures are in process longer that others, like this one that I started a couple of months ago.  So I let it be in my everyday space and at some point, everything "clicks" in place.  Its at that precise moment that I know what needs to be done to bring it to the finish line. 


Its simply a matter of letting myself be with the process, be with the work.

I am very grateful to be part of issue no. 12,
"Enviro", of the CreatedHere Magazine.  

Art Deeply Sown ...
"Nature is in me and I am in her.  I do not know if I was inspired by nature or seduced by her.  I was born on a farm with the nearest neighbours kilometres away.  Huge gardens, picking wild fruits, being snowbound for days in winter, swimming in the river two, three times a day in hot summers, working very hard, surrounded by wild and domesticated animals; all this was part of my everyday life.  This natural upbringing is at the base of who I am.  Nature has always attracted me like a flower attracts a bee to the intimacy of its heart.  I am hardwired".

In this time of pandemic, a couple of days of social distancing at its best.  Private cottage, deserted beaches, homemade seafood cooking and taking some time to do landart.

Here I am at Miscou Beach with my "chéri" and there's nobody else in sight.  I'm in heaven! 

An sculpture for the garden that still needs a few more hours of work before it is finished.

It will be created entirely with reclaimed materials.

In the studio, working on a lot of things at the same time; digital works, paintings, sculptures and writing ... having lots of fun doing so!

The thing is ... keep learning, whatever the subject.  I'm taking masterclasses online to help with my Imaginarium Project.  I'm enjoying this one with Dan Brown.

When you are asked for a photo of the artist in the studio ... but ... Smokey has something else in mind and only wants to play!!  Ok, let's play for a bit, even if it takes half an hour to have a photo taken without a black blurr going on in the frame.

I say it was time well spent!!

Gods and Goddesses are immortal and supernatural beings.  They are worshipped through adoration and prayer.  It is believed that they possess the abilities to control or to exert power over some aspect of the world. They are creators and rulers of the universe and are spoken about in world mythologies, in sacred stories and in traditions.

A pantheon of eclectic Gods and Goddesses is taking shape in my worldbulding project Imaginarium.  Earth, air, water, fire and cosmic gods and goddesses are revered for their knowledge, love, fortune, fertility, wisdom; while others are celebrated during seasonal and celestial events.  They represent aspects of light and dark, masculine and feminine, expressed in all ways that are possible.

Temples, stone circles and shrines are built in their honor and as spaces for their worship.  Amulets, charms and other power objects are also created to hold their magic and are also used to ward off evil and to bring good luck and protection.