Tag Archives: passion

Passion Portrait: Sandy Silva

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SANDY SILVA-

 

DANCER & CHOREOGRAPHER-

 

I thought I was going to be a healthcare practitioner. I was on my way to college and stopped off at a festival and saw dancers and musicians playing together. I was completely blown away by their conversations. The way they talked to each other and listened with their instruments and bodies was all so rhythmic. Eventually I was living in a house with musicians. Between classes and studies, I would listen to them practice with a metronome and play tunes through the night. I couldn’t get enough of it and I wanted a piece of it. I knew that to fully immerse myself, I would need to travel, discover new cultures, embody their percussive dance language, listen and embrace their music. Everything I do now comes from my travels and life experiences. I don’t feel that it was conscious choice. I was simply obsessed.

 

The work became an unending process. When you repeat something a thousands times, you get it in your body and it becomes you. I think I found what I loved and just rode the wave. It wasn’t “should I” or “can I”,  I just had to do it!

 

I never auditioned, because I never had to. I know this might sound slightly cocky, but I was one of the few people doing it! When I travelled for work, study or to festivals, I would listen to musicians and if I liked what I heard, I would ask if I could go in the corner and dance a little. They would reply: “Get out of the corner!”. Sometimes I would get a gig with them or even a small tour months or even years later.

 

There’s still more to learn and thankfully, there’s also more I want to do. As I get older and listen to my body, I have to adapt to where I am physically and spiritually while exploring what is true to me. That is where the work comes from. Naturally, I am not the same as I was in my 30’s or even early 40’s. I want to continue to explore and refine ways to speak with my body and share it with other people.

 

Website: http://www.sandysilvadance.com/

 

 

Passion Portrait: Janet McNulty

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JANET McNULTY-

 

COSTUME DESIGNER-

 

My involvement with costume design probably started with my first Halloween costume at the age of eight. I cut up a blue bed sheet and hand stitched an elf costume; boots, a tunic and a cape. No one showed me how, I just did it. In my adolescent days, I set trends with how I was dressing. I’d scavenge second hand stores and my friend’s attic trunks, always insisting on wearing old dresses and accessorising my look with modern day flair. At my boyfriend’s graduation, (I was a year younger) he wore the classic black top hat and tails with white spats on his shoes, and a golden headed walking stick. I wore a long black chiffon gown, white satin gloves and my hair in ringlets hanging to my shoulders. Everyone went crazy; black was not the norm for the occasion. The following year, many couples copied our style. I knew then that I had a sense of style that influenced others.

 

Later on, I became a dancer first and a costume designer second. Sometimes, I danced in the pieces that I had created the costumes for, and at other times, I watched my designs dance on stage without me. It was such a thrill! This was a passionate, prolific, and creative period in my life. In these years, I attempted to capture the meaning of the dance in the costumes.

 

Today, returning to costume design gives me a fresh attempt to capture dance; collecting ideas and putting them into some collage of inspiration, mixing and matching to find the final design that will accompany a choreographer’s work to the stage.

 

Website: http://fousdemiseenforme.weebly.com/styliste-et-couturiegravere.html

 

Portrait Passion: Kim Barr

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KIM BARR-

 

FILM DIRECTOR-

 

It’s always an interesting question for me: “why do I do what I do?”  I guess at the heart of it is the desire to tell stories.

 

When I was a fashion photographer my editorials always looked liked film stills. One day it occurred to me that with a motion picture camera, not only could I capture the movement I tried to create in my photos using odd angles and framing, but I could also fill in the gaps of the story I was telling. So, one thing lead to another and I started making films.

 

When I am working on a script, or editing another writer’s script before production, I always ask myself if this is the most authentic way I can tell this story. And, if not, what can I draw from in my own experience to make it so? The best films for me are those where you just know that the scriptwriter and/or filmmaker have been on a journey that informs the story you see unfolding on screen. It doesn’t matter if it is a romantic comedy, buddy film, animation, or a great drama- it must ring true. This is much easier said than done and I can’t say that I have mastered it, and maybe I never will, but I love trying – which is probably an indication that it is my life’s work.

 

To find out more:

Website: www.kimbarr.com

Facebook page

IMBD: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1409900/

Passion Portrait: Gabrielle Alicot

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GABRIELLE ALICOT-

 

PROFESSIONAL MAKE-UP ARTIST AND OWNER OF MUA COSMETICS-

 

I have been a professional make-up artist for 5 years now. Since I was little, I always loved working with my hands and for as long as I can remember, I’ve always done manual work such as painting on fabrics, drawing, sculpting, glass engraving, etc.

 

At a young age, I quickly gravitated towards the arts, starting with dance. It’s an environment in which I always felt comfortable. I have never been a person capable of being enclosed in an office all day. I love walking to the beat of my own drum, being in my bubble, ultimately being creative. That’s what makes me tick. When I spend a day without being able to touch my brushes, it brings me down. Make-up and the creative process are vital to me.

 

I am proud of my career and I love seeing people leave my chair feeling beautiful and good in their skin. However, being a very artistic individual, little by little, I began body painting. It’s an aspect of my work that leaves space for unbounded creativity. I love starting from nothing and transforming a body the way a painter brings life to a blank canvas.

 

More importantly, what I love most is to be limitless and my career makes that happen. Whether it’s for weddings, fashion shows, cinema, theatre or television, I never do the same thing. Every face, every body and every project is different. I never get bored.

 

I wouldn’t change my career for anything in the world. I guess the one thing that may make it slightly more difficult is that as any independent worker, it’s not always easy. I don’t have a fixed schedule, and therefore no fixed income. We are often faced with uncertainty and stress. However, when I wake up in the morning to go to work, I do it with a smile and for that, I consider myself really privileged.

 

To find out more:

Website:  http://www.muacosmetiques.com/

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/mua.cosmetiques.5

Passion Portrait: Shaharah Sinclair

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SHAHARAH SINCLAIR-

 

SINGER-

 

What inspires me to keep doing what I do is simple: I love it. What ‘allows’ me to keep doing what I do is a very different question. Most aspiring artists who are yet to catch a break in this crazy industry are stuck working a dead-end job while feeding their passion for the arts on the side. I, however, am one of the lucky ones. I’ve managed to build a lucrative business around my love for singing. And not just ‘singing’ as in ‘do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-si-do’, but singing the songs the way my heart desires. Magic. Freedom.

 

I had a conversation with a fellow professional singer in Montreal the other day who was dumbfounded to hear that I was doing so well in the corporate world without singing songs like ‘I Will Survive’ and ‘It’s Raining Men’. Those melodies have never been produced by my vocal chords, and hopefully never will…unless very specially requested by a very special friend on a very special day (fingers crossed). I am far from your typical corporate singer. I don’t wear sequence or change outfits after every set, I don’t learn choreographed dance moves and I don’t sing the songs that drunk people are able to sing along to. Respect to the singers that can do and enjoy it, it’s just not for me.

 

Why does my stripped-down, free-style approach work? Because it’s genuine and different. If all the bands after me were to follow suit, I’d be in big trouble. Luckily, my current financial situation allows me to create and focus on original music during the days which will lead my transition into the big leagues before long. I’m confident but I’m not stupid. Nothing in this business is guaranteed and some days I wonder why I invest so much time, money and energy into such a risky career. It’s a pretty crazy idea when you break it down like that, especially when there are so many other ‘safe’ options out there. That’s why singing the songs I love to the people I love is so important to me. It keeps me loving and wanting a professional singing career so bad that my willingness to sacrifice is renewed every single time I perform. If it’s supposed to be about the journey and not the destination, we need to make sure we’re smiling on the way there right? :)

 

To find out more:

Website: www.shaharah.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/shaharah.news

Twitter: @shaharah

My Space: www.myspace.com/shaharahspace

Passion Portrait: Sébastien Desrosiers

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SÉBASTIEN DESROSIERS-

VIDEOGRAPHER-

Sébastien Desrosiers website
“I remember making my first videos in elementary school on big VHS tapes. Later on, when I got my own recording and editing equipment, I really started tripping out! I was making videos of everything: films for my school work, dance shows, video clips and road movies when I’d go to the cottage with my friends.

 

A few cameras later, I now work in conceiving and producing promotional videos for business’ and artists. My objective is to make people who work passionately on projects shine.

 

My career brings me a lot of joy and pride, but also a lot of responsibility and stress, not to mention irregular working hours. Like many freelance workers, I sometimes ask myself why I’m in this crazy profession rather than be in a normal 9-to-5 job with a boss and a coffee machine.

 

What pushes me to continue, among other things, is the ability to make my own schedule and my own coffee – which is frankly better than what you get in office buildings! I strive to make a difference for my clients with every production I undertake. Because at the end of the day, my main objective is to touch people visually.

 

Also, and above all, what motivates me is a sense of pride when I’ve managed to create something beautiful, that magic moment where I smile and tell myself: wow, I just made gold there!”

 

Démo BPM Delarosas from sebastian delarosas on Vimeo.

Passion Portrait: Marianne Girard

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MARIANNE GIRARD-

VISUAL ARTS-

Marianne Girard website -

“In my case, I don’t really think that I chose to be an artist; I was exposed, at a very young age, to circus arts, dance, and visual arts and the trajectory sort of traced itself.

 

The uncertain and contractual side of these sectors was instilled in me at a young age, which allowed me to become familiar with the negative sides that some may fear. I had the opportunity to learn very early on to adapt myself to different situations and variables. I was then able to make an informed choice to stay in the field and develop my career towards where I wanted it to go.

 

It was always obvious to me that there was more positive aspects than negative ones in having a career in the arts. You must, at the very least, have a good tolerance for uncertainty and change, be comfortable working alone (at least in visual arts), and love what you do unconditionally. No matter what career you choose, there will be always challenges and disappointments. However, I have creative freedom and the opportunity to be autonomous and independent. I also have the possibility to work wherever I want without feeling locked down. I love managing my own time and constantly reinventing myself. I also have a strong sense of accomplishment and pride when I create a piece of art from an idea, a feeling, a person into something very unique. I also enjoy what I do for the process of researching and experimenting which is very interesting on a personal level. No limits are imposed other than those that we impose upon ourselves.”

 

 

Passion

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Ask any dancer why s/he has chosen dancing as a profession and more often than not, the answer will be “I could not imagine doing anything else.” A career in the arts is often unforgiving; the stereotypical portrait of the “starving artist” is not without some truth. Working in the arts does not pay well and often demands a secondary career path. However, unlike the assignment of quantitative and tangible measures of success used in so many other fields, artists are driven by something else; something that cannot be measured, whereby the meaning of success is different and personal for each individual. That something else is passion. The innate and inexplicable hunger for what makes us feel fulfilled, what gets under our skin and defines us.

 

Passion, for those who may not understand it, is a frightening thing. We are easily consumed by it. Those who devote their lives to their passion surrender themselves completely to it, exposing their vulnerabilities, letting it engulf their homes, their lives, and their entire state of being. Passion can make someone become obsessive, neurotic and crazy to let something so abstract dictate our way of life. What others may not see is how the intensity of this passion translates to the immense happiness of fulfilling it, and essentially living our dream. Those who follow their passion are often those who make their dreams come true; those who inch their way closer to their dreams through blood, sweat, and tears. These so-called obsessive, neurotic, crazy people, however, eventually reach that peak; never needing to ask “what if,” never knowing the regret of giving up on a dream or worse, the regret of never even trying at all. There is nothing like the joy, the liberation and the serenity of living your passion, whereby sacrifices are easily forgiven and soon forgotten.

 

Passion is what we dedicate to 2012. As such, we welcome this New Year by honouring some of the remarkable artists that we are privileged to know. Throughout the year, we will be featuring these artists and their words. We have asked each of them to share their passion with us by telling us why they do what they so lovingly do. We are humbled to be among them and hope that your passion, whatever it may be, continues to inspire you, strengthen you, and bring you unconditional love and joy.

The Year of Passion

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As many of you know, passion is our theme and focus for 2012. We are proud to begin our ‘Year of Passion’ with a new blog and brand new series of features on our website which will be honouring artists from all art forms and walks of life. Every other week, we will be introducing our friends and followers to some really great artists who will be sharing their passion and what it means to them. So keep dropping in and discover some really remarkable people.