Last Spring, at lunch celebrating my 49th, a girlfriend told me about a friend of hers who’d done a ‘50 for 50’ list: 50 things she’d never done, during her 50th year - some things small and other things more robust… I was intrigued. I decided that, for the year surrounding my 50th, I’d try to do something similar (although maybe not 50 😉).
I started a list but decided I’d also lean into any opportunities or ideas that might arise throughout the year - a quasi year of ‘yes’ (ie: while boating on the Shuswap this past summer, and with plenty of encouragement, I went cliff jumping - which surely equals ‘10’ points off my list 😬 lol).
With this ‘list’ simmering in my subconscious; I was scrolling IG, as I sipped my coffee one morning last May, and was admiring one of Stacey Walyuchow’s most recent paintings. Stacey’s a friend, client + colleague and so, on a whim, I texted her to ask if I could commission a painting to celebrate my 50th. She said yes and what ensued has been one of my favourite experiences!
Titled: “The barn’s burnt down, and now I can see the stars.”
I wasn’t sure what the process would be and so Stacey guided me with what would be helpful to her and - with my full faith + trust in this woman who continues to wow me with her heart + art - I provided a small selection of photos for her to choose from, together with a list of things + people meaningful to me, with the explicit instruction for her to follow her intuition. I gave her full reign, knowing that it would both best honour her as an artist and that it would also be a beautifully vulnerable experience for me.
Stacey is not only a skilled artist, who has been specializing in hand-painted collage for the past many years, she’s also a woman who adores women: our strengths, struggles, and stories. Her art honours and celebrates our layered existences with whimsy, intelligence, poetry, and soul. Who WOULDN’T want to be in her hands, so to speak. 🎨
Yesterday, Stace generously hand-delivered my finished painting and I was blown away… it holds so many beautiful details, including elements that she didn’t even realize important - notably that the photo she’d chosen was actually from a self-portrait series I’d done in 2013, when I both needed a headshot for a photography panel I’d been asked to participate on (the only woman on the stage with four men 💪 (thank you Sam + Darwin for that honour + opportunity 🙏🏼)) AND for the launch of Bella Forza Portraits, a division of Bella Faccia Photography*, which was focused on compassionate portraiture for women facing, or who had faced, serious illness.
Stacey + Lori
Self-portrait (2013): one of the handful of images I sent Stacey, the only one from this session, and her chosen one. ✨ Note that it’s in B+W… Stacey expertly put colour where there was none.🎨
In this series of portraits, I wished to emphasize that it isn’t the clothes, styling, or perfect smile that ‘define us’, rather that our ‘stripped down’ offering is actually: everything. In many of the shots from that day my only accessory was the locket I bought after Mom died, which holds her photo. It was imperative to me that Mom - whose life and loss inspired Bella Faccia & Forza - would have a visible presence in the portraits.
Stacey - not knowing any of the back-story - managed to not only include the locket but to incorporate a few poignant details within it.✨ Sitting there yesterday as she walked me through the painting, in realization of what she’d captured without knowing it, well, were we both teary eyed? …ummmm, YES.
It’s easy to think that investing in art, and maybe especially portraiture, is perhaps indulgent… but - as I’ve long advocated - it’s actually an incredibly empowering and meaningful experience. Thank you, Stacey, for this beautiful representation of me and what I hold dear… I LOVE it and I’m thrilled to own (another!) piece of your art, and especially one that allows me a glimpse of who I am from afar; a legacy piece to treasure and to pass down to my kids and beyond. 🙏🏼
I encourage each of you: invest in yourself, invest in art, and invest locally. ⭕️