Saturday, February 25, 2012

UPDATES for APRIL 5th ART EXHIBIT OPENING!

The date has been changed to the 5th of April, 2012 as I realized the 6th is Passover and many people would not have been able to make it.


http://marietomeoki.com/wordpressgallery/index.php/news/


I will be raising awareness for children/youth mental illness/health with The Hincks-Dellcrest Centre: http://www.hincksdellcrest.org/

Also music will be provided by DJ Floh Back: http://flohback.com/

More updates are to follow as they happen so please subscribe and stay tuned!


Thank you:)


Marie

Friday, February 24, 2012

Are you a sprinter or long distance runner?

Relay race in kindergarten.

I have been a sprinter since I can recall; I never went through the crawling phase, stood up and started tottering around on foot when I was nine months old. Although it may have seemed a positive development, from another perspective I had weaker arms.  There are always pros and cons, the many angles to life's happenings and developments.
Hey, varsity track and field in high school.

As I am getting ready for my first solo exhibit I am realizing that my 'give it all I've got, at all times, to everyone' sprinting ways are not the most conducive to life's journey (which most of the time is a lengthy process of progress and evolution).  At the same time being who I am, I don't think I will ever be able to not give everything my fullest and complete attention, effort and heart.  
So I remain wondering how then do I keep from getting tired/exhausted/burnt out while sprinting?  
-I've learnt that the corporate world is definitely not for me, neither are the systems in society like schools. Unless I am able to reconfigure and sculpt it accordingly (but usually these systems are not that flexible).
-I am aware, hyper-sensitive to signs and sensations that I know to look out for.  
-Remember to breathe.
-I schedule time out for myself from the 'doings' in life to recharge and nurture, heal, and prepare.  It can be anything from a vacation to just sitting in bed before I go to sleep.
-I stay organized.  And try not to procrastinate.  
-Remember to eat, and sleep.  
-Write or draw things out either in a notebook or journal or drawing pad.
-Laugh often.  It relieves tension.
-Listen to music.
-And keep the positive affirmations flowing in my head, especially when traveling uphill, on unsteady ground, low on fuel, or decrease in capacity.  
-Another aspect that helps is to have a support system, one or a few people you can talk to about things wracking your brain.  If you don't have anyone to speak to/with, maybe facebook or tweet about it, sending it off into the universe... although this is risky and can backfire depending on content.  
-Big hugs and an encouraging word or comment make an impact; we don't do this enough in the world.  
-Create a positive dialogue with the self instead of negative destructive critical noise that seems to keep playing.
-Surround yourself with genuine people.  
-Stay in touch with your passions and meaningful subjects which are interesting and enriching to your soul.  
So, as I keep fine tuning the balance of creating art and spending time on the business aspect of art, I take it one step at a time and keep training to become a long distance marathon runner as well as a sprinter; interchanging the two, and adapting as I go, and being in tune with my well being.  

Clover during three day long photo shoot at my place full of studio lighting, and 'lamp shade' like apparatus that she loathes.  She has dealt with it her own unique way; giving me the constant 'I can't believe how long this is taking, I am not pleased, you better be feeling guilty' look.
  
Also, for my upcoming solo show I have chosen to raise awareness for children and youth mental health with The Hincks-Dellcrest Center: http://www.hincksdellcrest.org/  
The music for the opening event will be organized with DJ Floh Back: http://flohback.com/
I have just sent out material for an article on TORJA: Toronto and Japan cultural magazine: http://torja.ca/ as well as a bit on E-Nikka, a part of Nikka Times, Toronto Japanese community news central: http://www.e-nikka.ca/  

Further details and news will be updated in depth and up to the event as they happen.  Thank you for reading and going on this journey with me!

Simple make up for photo shoot.

More to come, I only have this shot from the shoot last weekend:)

  

Big Hugs,
Marie  
               

Monday, February 20, 2012

New Video Live: Contemporary artist collaborates with fashion designer: Photo shoot, and review.

My recent experience meeting the fashion designer with whom I've collaborated with to create the out fit for the opening event for my inaugural solo art exhibit, now live on video, with further review and information:



I hope you enjoy:)
-M

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

PHOTO SHOOT with Latex Fashion Couturier: solo exhibit outfit collaboration.

Last week I had the opportunity to meet with the fashion designer who I have been collaborating with for creating the outfit I will be wearing to the opening of my solo art exhibit.  She is based in the Netherlands and her husband who is a photographer also came to visit Toronto.  I will put the links to their website at the end of this blog.  Her work is immaculate and I have never encountered such detail and precise quality in a garment made out of latex.  I am extremely glad I had a chance to meet them in person and work with them on this project.  


This was my first time ever doing a photo shoot so I was nervous, and just trying to take everything in as I went along.  I felt very comfortable and enjoyed the whole process.  It is always a joy to connect with interesting, creative and genuine people.  Thank you for making it such a pleasant experience:)



There are more photos to follow when complete so I will keep you updated.  

Also, on the fine art front, I am making lots of progress and I hope to share a few things I have been working on in the next post, and a new video for my youtube channel is in the works (http://www.youtube.com/user/BeingMarieT).

If you are interested, please visit, the fashion designer's website: http://www.arditaff.com 
and my art website:

Thank you for tuning in and I shall speak to you soon:)

-M



Thursday, February 9, 2012

REASON: BeingMarieT 101 series.

REASON: 
A cause, explanation, or justification for an action or event.  A good or obvious cause to do something.  The power of the mind to think, understand and form judgements by a process of logic.  What is right, practical or possible; common sense.  One's sanity.  Rationale, logic, understanding, answer to a problem after considering various possible solutions.  (MacBook dashboard dictionary states.)
A statement presented in justification or explanation of a belief or action.  The mental powers concerned with forming conclusions, judgements, or inferences.  (Online dictionary states.)
Stickers for my solo exhibit.  Character is of a Japanese divinity and guardian called Ojizo-sama.


As I mentioned in my previous post here are the reasons I decided to do the BeingMarieT 101 series:
-Three weeks ago I was having a particularly difficult time; that niggling feeling inside and mind searching furiously to find the cause and answers to my state of being.  Everything from the weather to my own values.  You may ask why a niggling sensation is such a threat, well, throughout my long recovery process to being somewhat functional in life, I've picked up some wisdom and signs or shall I say red flags that alert me to my state of well being under all kinds of circumstantial risk; stress, imbalance, family disfunction, memories, old anniversaries of experiences past, unwelcome sensations ingrained in the body from years of repetition, etc.  These are never ending and my brain seems to fire them off naturally now every moment (sometimes annoyingly in my sleep too).  Survival of the fittest?  Fight or flight response?  For me its another one of those coping methods I've picked up and honed along my journey, so NOT to slide backwards or allow the dark shadow to creep near.  
-As I realized there were MANY reasons; uncertainty of career, new unexplored and scary territories, my inner critics, the unexpected direction my videos on youtube were starting to veer towards, not being happy with that direction, how do I want to portray myself or 'brand' myself as, the fact that society can be very narrow minded and how does a multi-faceted individual like myself succeed without dwindling myself into one corner (the one trick monkey), how things once shared with the public gets filtered and processed which is to some extent out of my control, time, finances, the way my heart operates, the jumbled mess of a knot the path from my brain-to-heart often leaves, the fine balance of studio time and business aspect of art, what is to come, why the hell do I have such a tendency to strive for the best and nothing else, leaving me usually exhausted, tense, overwhelmed, and a bit doubtful, where is that head ache coming from!?  Oh, such is LIFE.  
-I am human.  I've always had this frustration since childhood with the realization that I have limits, an expiration date, I am breakable, I can not be everything to everyone, that I need to sleep and eat, people happen, some systems are, I can not put my foot under a Jeep Grand Cherokee and not feel the pain, or force my legs into a 180 degree-and-beyond turn out without the grinding of hip sockets and joints, or be able to like physics class in school.  I curse and shake my fist at my mortal capabilities/capacity/confinement!!! 
-I need to have a voice, and be able to express these on-goings that often feel would burst at the seams if there weren't pressure release outlets.  
-The question; will mixed media art be enough for me?  I don't think so, I need a full, complete, all senses moved, influential, soul reverberating, stimulated, evolving, embraced in creation, thought challenging existence!  I think my boundaries will definitely overstep those of the formal school of 'fine art'; already is, so where to will this take me?  The unknown is another one of those human aspects that make me wonder.


       
Do you have moments where you find yourself searching for reasons to niggling thoughts or feelings?  How do you react to them and what do you do to cope and deal with these realities?  


I will be speaking with National Initiative for Eating Disorders with the support of MP Mark Adler at a Toronto high school (http://www.nied.ca/).  I also have a photo shoot coming up this weekend with the designer from the Netherlands (http://www.arditaff.com/).  I need to start on my large art piece with the amazing hand made Japanese unryu paper I ordered from Paper Connection International (http://www.paperconnection.com/).  Also upload a video on my Youtube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/BeingMarieT).  Cook dinner, do the laundry, exfoliate, paint toe nails (so I am somewhat presentable in front of the camera), clean paint brushes, finish up other art pieces, and remember to breathe.
A few years ago in NYC...




Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, I am so grateful:)
-M   

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

AUTHENTICITY: BeingMarieT 101 series.

AUTHENTICITY:

The quality or condition of being authentic, trustworthy, or genuine- states Google, and Free Dictionary. 


Undisputed origin, genuine, original.  Relating to or denoting an emotionally appropriate, significant, purposive, and responsible mode of human life- states Dashboard Dictionary on Mac.

So, how do I stay authentic to myself and the world in a day in age where corruption, lies, betrayal, transience, super sonic pace, laziness, immorality, the 'masses', propaganda, negative greed, ignorance, ill manners, and the lot run naturally rampant, even promoted?  

One of the first memories I have of preschool in Tokyo were of a group of girls that kept close and did the usual 'girly' things, keeping the boys and other unfortunate souls who didn't fit in far from their circle; I was not too fond of those girls, as they would often be quite irrational and unpredictable.  I was far happier hanging with the boys playing tag, going down in history being the first girl who need to be rushed to the ER (I think a few of the nuns fainted) as I did a face plant into the solid piano, splitting my brow bone.  I touched it to see if it was bleeding and it wasn't, I thought I could continue playing, the teacher looked at it and went an ashy blue color.  I knew play time was over.


In my uniform from kindergarten.




I was the school relay star, until I left.
  

I've many stories similar to this that have accumulated and don't think will ever end.  But the point is, I have always stood apart from these so called groups; never fitting in, always thinking, and wondering, I was an 'in-between', and in a way, I guess I got along with everyone... but did I feel that back then?  Nope, I felt alien.  And for much of my life I was an alien (in an immigration/customs official, international way), unable to speak the language, learning new cultural traditions and mind sets, good byes and new hellos, always in transit.  I had no opportunity to plant roots in a destination, community, friends, and even family; for a while I was searching frantically, it lead me to the darkest areas of life where hopelessness and death ruled, and I no longer existed.


I always got along well with dogs; they got me and I got them, simple.
  

The toughest was -first the decision/choice to climb, -next the process of climbing (especially at the beginning, for the longest time, there was no light up ahead anywhere, the tunnel/hole was that deep), -then not giving up and persevering, -gaining as much knowledge along the way, so not to slide back down.  But sometimes it was inevitable, so I -learned and kept trying.  I looked like hell, I felt like shit, I didn't think I knew what I was doing or where the heck I was going, I was scared, anxious, and everything amplified to the max!  

But, I learned a whole lot about myself; who I am, what defines me, my universal truths, values, morals, mannerisms, cultural heritage, the inner workings of my psychological, emotional, spiritual, and physical self, wants, needs, where who I am originates, why, when, how, who, works or doesn't work, a small red flag or a big neon red flag, to the tips of my fingers and every cell in between I have researched, experimented, experienced, sensed, felt, known, defined, and affirmed.  Every moment is new, unknown, and something to be discovered!  That excites me, and makes life worth living; enthusiastic, exuberant, intense, honest, and authentic.  Why be anything or anyone but your naked, whole, truthful self.  (And don't be lookin' at me like you'd rather be like so and so and look like so and so; I've been there, thought/felt that, but truthfully, being unique is a treasure that no one can take away from you, so embrace and enjoy)!


The traditionally Japanese side; that is my great grand mother, the grand master of tea ceremony and flower arrangement.

I am going to be doing a series of these posts writing about BEING Marie T; my life experiences, lesson's learned, options and possibilities of regaining healthy life and well being, trials and tribulations in society, being an artist, the truths in the art world (which I will probably get a lot of flack for), and for anyone else in any profession, sect, corporation, community, and walks of life (as they are all inter-related).  

In the next blog post I may talk about how this idea came about; this is more my style.  Personal, honest, frank, sharing, expressing, and being authentically me.  So I hope you enjoy and will journey on with me:)

What traits make you authentically you?  Do you embrace those special aspects or are you still trying to accept them?  What does authenticity mean to you?

Hugs and Smiles,
Marie