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B6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, April 14,1999 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT r v •'... r t s Photo by Peter J. Thompson Emma Bramma Smith poses with a couple of her paintings at a surprise exhibit that was organized by one of Smith's elementary school teachers in the teacher's home. Photo by Ian Ross CHILDREN'S CHORAL FESTIVAL: The first bi-annual Junior Choir Festival took place on Friday afternoon (April 9) at The Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. This event, sponsored by the Oakville Children's Choir (OCC), was created as a non-competitive choral festival offering school choirs an opportunity to perform and share their music with other school choirs. The choirs of Sunningdale, Holy Family and Oakwood elementary schools joined the Oakville Children's Choir at the festival. Each choir performed two short selections of their own choos­ ing in addition to performing two selections as one large choir of 222 voices. The 39-member Senior Choir of the OCC also performed several selections. iritual surrealism' Young artist says her im ages come from 'our collective consciousness' By Carol B aldw in ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Everybody sees them, she just paints them - spiritual figures from the past that is. That's the difference between gift and talent, says Emma Bramma Smith. "Talent is something I can hone," she explains. "A gift is some­ thing that allows me to open up to higher worlds, to our collective con­ sciousness. I am able to translate what I get and what I hear from that place and put it on paper." Smith believes that humans are the source of all art and that art should never be representative of the artist but rather of what the viewer gets from it. Smith's particular art work, which her dad has dubbed "spiritual surreal­ ism," consists of interconnected images from 'the other side,' gothic and Celtic figures, and images from ancient religions and mythology. For example, she was commissioned to do a series of four paintings rep­ resenting earth, wind, air and fire. When completed, each of these basic elements was strongly represent­ ed in the midst of an intricately woven pattern of ancient Celtic images. "I don't choose the subjects. They choose themselves," says Smith, explaining that the images she trans­ fers from her imagination to paper intrigue her enough to follow up with research, after she has drawn them. Smith, 25, attributes much of her success with art to her parents and to the art teachers she has encountered throughout her life. In fact, one of her elementary school teachers, Cynthia Nelsen, is so supportive of her former student's work that she recently held a surprise art exhibit in her home, featuring Smith's paintings. Friends and neighbours helped complement the exhibit by lending paintings that they had already bought from Smith. "There were 20 pieces at the exhibit, and only four were not sold, one of which I won't give up - Lore- lie in Winter. There's a lot of symbol­ ism in it. It's very much my personal­ ity," says Smith, adding that her for­ mer boss, Gary Ustel, owner of Peach Tree Gallery (1011 Upper Middle Rd. E.), framed her art work for the exhi­ bition and is not asking to be paid until the pieces are sold. "Of the four that were left to sell, I sold one. And I had one sketch that a woman wanted to buy when it was finished; and I got two more orders. I have an order from someone in Aus­ tralia." Smith says her parents contributed to her creativity by restricting her "I need to m ake a living. ** I 'll never be r id i.rU he sustained.. M ind, body and sp ir it- I w ork on aU three levels. That's how I pain t, am i th a t's how I w ill live m y tile . And th at takes hard w ork." television watching to public TV pro­ grams. According to the Oakville artist, she was also exposed to classi­ cal music as a child as well as Celtic and gothic literature. "My parents put their money into books and trips. They said, 'There are things that you don't need, like the right kind of jeans. But you do need trips to the museum.'...They didn't believe in allowing us to watch TV; and I had limited social skills, so I did something else, like read," Smith says, explaining that it was books and music that helped her find that other world - the world of gods and god­ desses, fairies and nymphs. "I remember watching the Italian opera of Macbeth at age six or seven, and I would ask, 'When is the ghost coming?"' Add to this precocious and intro­ verted child a chemically induced depression at about age 9, and you have what Smith calls "a neurotic kid...like most artists." And it was art that gave her a cre­ ative outlet and helped her evolve into the cheerful young woman she is today. "Artists spend a lot more time being solitary, and you are only going to hear (spiritual) things when it's quiet," the young artist explains, adding that the many planes on which her work is based developed out of her childhood depression and her introspective adolescence. She says her parents were hoping that she would grow out of her paint­ ing stage. But she didn't. Since her math wasn't good enough to tackle architecture, and her short stint with illustration was less than rewarding, she continued with her unique brand of medieval art. And she sold her first painting by the time she was 18. "I like a challenge," she says, explaining her need to paint rather than settle into a "stable" job. "Artists get bored really easy." Although Smith gives private art lessons to a few students, she says her ultimate goal is to teach on a larg­ er scale. "I would like to go through being what I am now - a naive begin­ ner... become jaded, and then redis­ cover my art work. And then I would like to teach," she says, adding that she pictures herself in a one-room open-concept cottage with a large fireplace/stove in the middle where she can set a cauldron and also bake bread. "I need to make a living, but I'm not destined to be a painter; I need to make connections with people. I'll never be rich. I'll be sustained... Mind, body and spirit - 1 work on all three levels. That's how I paint, and that's how I will live my life. And that takes hard work." Do you know a girl between 4 and 18 years who could benefit worn a one to one relationship with an adult female volunteer? Our matching and group pro­ grammes offer triendship-f%motioriil support and guidance allowing girls to realize their full potential, build on their unique strengths and enhance their self esteem. 11/ Please call Karen or Fiona at a s a o u M V O N to see if Big Sisters is right for you! 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Call Dr. Robert Jones now to find out how you and your loved-ones' can achieve a better nighfs sleep. S I liifl IIJ IH III [HUES www.laserdinics.com Oakville (905) 842-8346 Toronto (416) 923-0092 SPRING OPEN HOUSE I P R O G R A M New Hamilton Orchestra Towards The Millennium l Does BOIh Cenlurq Classical Music MoHe you... Head for the hills • Foam at the mouth • Hatch re-runs of The Partridge Familg? Eet the REAL TRUTH! Rein, cabaret stifle, at this fun informal concert inhere candelit tables and refreshments i l l enhance your evening. Sahjrdoq. Bpril 17U). 1999 8:00 pi-SioH t, Hamilton Place The Gallery Shop presents their SP R IN G O P E N H O U SE April 16 -18 ,1999 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 15% off almost everything! Visit The Gallery Shop where you'll find original works of Canadian art: glass, pottery, metal, wood, textiles & jewellery. Join us for refreshments & meet the Artists! The Gallery Shop in Gairloch Gardens 1306 Lakeshore Rd. East, Oakville For information: (905) 844-3460 Ives: The Unanswered Question Davies: Rhapsody - 4 dances for Strings (Premiere) --■ •o.uou Louie: Arc C#M»Cto/fcsf Ravel: Ma Mere L'Oye (Mother Goose) Guest Soloist: Lance Elbeck (Violin) Millennium E Concert Saturday. May S9fti. 1999 Studio Itieatie. Hamilton Place New HAMILTON Orchestra Call For Tickets Today! General Admission $25 The New Hamilton Orchestra Box Office Jackson Square, 2 King St.W. Ham ilton, ON L8P 1A1 Phone: (905) 526-6556 Fax: (905) 527-5306 Sponsored by Elizabeth & Frank Butty Book reading and signing Enjoy a dessert buffet and coffee while listening to Canadian author Joan Barfoot discuss her life as a writer and read from her new book, Getting Over Edgar. A book signing will following the reading in Book­ ers Caffe, 172 Lakeshore Rd. E., on Thursday, April 18th, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ADVERTISING CORRECTION In our Spring TACA insert (promo #682) included in this newspaper. 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