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Bio of Linda Downey

"I have been an artist all my life and art has been an inspiration and creative catalyst for me to express my passion. "I feel it is time to share my passion for art on a larger scale and help others to tap their creative genius through art workshops." Art is a wonderful tool to release shame, guilt and denial and to empower ourselves. Handicapped or Genius? If having a diagnosis of bipolar puts me in a category with Emily Carr, Georgia O'Keeffe, and VanGogh then I am beginning to understand why I was driven to create." Linda Downey grew up with nature on a farm in New Mexico. She studied art at Texas Women"s' University and The University of Texas at El Paso. At 21 she moved with her family to Sweden because of the Vietnam War. Linda then came to Canada in 1971 where she lived in the James Bay area in Victoria, B.C. ------ She coordinated and directed a meditation center, and later, a retreat for low-income mothers. Linda is also a photographer and poet and has been published in three books, and several magazines. She self-published two books, won a poetry award and was a featured poet for the Border Book Festival in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where she also taught a poetry art class to rape survivors. Linda has produced several videos of her work, Her performance art "Self Body Blessing" was shown in a gallery in Japan. She enjoys using her poetry with art, movement and dance in her gallery showings. In Linda's workshops participants will express passion through art, poetry and movement. For information on her creative workshops contact mermaid@island.net.

Genius/ Handicapped?
(on seeing The Living Museum)


We are like a red violin fine tuned instruments

when we are played sharply the wires can sometimes break due to our own sensitivity

the music we create awakens the fairies and angels to sing

the art we create touches deep into the root of the soul and melts those with hearts of gold

but for the others the seeds are firmly planted

we transform passion anger and rage through our vortex paint palet of multi coloured hues that dance on the wind

we talk with the masters gone by and are shunned for our truth

we dance with the stars perhaps we are from Orion as golden warriors of truth		 we may look different from you sometimes you turn away but could it be we are just reflecting back to you your own denied rage, repressed, pulling on your soul and you are unwilling to listen

so you label us handicapped but in truth you may have a broken walking stick yourself but hide it a lot better and lean harder

so we paint, write, and heal with the master's hand

Georgia O'Keeffe, Emily Carr, VanGogh, Gauguin, Sylvia Plath, Edgar Allan Poe Tennesse Williams, Mark Twain as our mentors

and you stand in Awe of our mutidimensional creations while we continue to play for you . . . sometimes in silence and sometimes alone

but the angels and fairies dance and sing for they hear our song of the spheres.

mermaid Linda

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