Cendrine Marrouat: What is the daily routine of Violette Clark? And do you like to work in a specific setting?

Violette Clark: I get up and have a coffee….I shuffle to my computer in my jammies and check my e-mails.  Then I respond to some of them. Next, I might create a drawing to illustrate a blogpost or if I’m clever I’ll leverage something I am already doing, for example a journal page and finish it up, either photograph or scan it and then post it to my blog. I’ll blog about the process or the inspiration of the piece. 

To read part 1, click here. 

Cendrine Marrouat: Would you share a short extract of "Journal Bliss: Creative Prompts to Unleash your Inner Eccentric" with us? 

Violette Clark: Here is a sample from my book "Journal Bliss":

“When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college— that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared back at me, incredulous, and said, ‘You mean they forget?’”
— Howard Ikemoto

Who doesn’t love to doodle? How many times have you sat at your desk or kitchen table during a long phone call, pen in hand, and wound up with some pretty phantasmagorical doodles? Now don’t tell me you can’t draw or doodle — of course you can! Your doodles can be windows to your soul.

Violette Clark lives in White Rock, British Columbia. She dubs herself a "compulsive painter, who paints with the colour and warmth of Mediterranean Sunshine." It is my pleasure to feature her today.

Cendrine Marrouat: Hello Violette, thank you for answering my questions. First, tell us a little bit about you.

Lu Robitaille has been a professional landscape artist for 15 years. She lives in Victoria Harbour, Ontario.

Cendrine Marrouat: Hello Lu, thank you for answering my questions. Is there a particular event that triggered your desire to become a painter?

Cendrine Marrouat: How have people reacted to the book, so far?

Andre Gerard: The response has been terrific. Readers love the selections. They love the quality of the pieces. They love discovering great writers, writers they may have heard about but have never taken the time to explore. Take, for instance, Saul Bellow, Winston Churchill, Seamus Heaney, Doris Lessing and Derek Walcott. All five are Nobel laureates, and Fathers offers a chance to sample some of their best writing and then perhaps go on to read more.

Cendrine Marrouat: Would you share a short extract from "Fathers: A Literary Anthology"?

Andre Gerard: Copyright reasons prevent me from sharing some of my favourite pieces, pieces such as Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays” or an excerpt from Philip Roth’s Patrimony.  I could, I suppose, share my own poem, “Sauvez Vous, Les Enfants!” but I don’t want to abstract the poem from its context in the anthology. What I’ll do is to share a couple of paragraphs from my introduction, paragraphs which discuss the history of the father genre.

Until a month ago, I had never heard of band Ranj Singh and The Discriminators. But when Singh contacted me to review their newly released debut album, “Found A Way Home,” I felt very lucky. For the first time in a long while, I realized that I was literally listening to  — and almost touching — the “soul” of an artist.   

Today, I am pleased to feature Andre Gerard. This tutor has recently become an editor and publisher, and released his debut anthology. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.  

Cendrine Marrouat: Hello Andre, thank you for answering my questions. First, tell us a little more about you. 

Andre Gerard: I was born in Vancouver and raised in Powell River, British Columbia. I have an MA in English Literature from the University of Washington and over twenty-five years of private tutoring experience in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Originally from Horseshoe Bay, B.C., Adrienne Pierce now resides in California. She has performed all over the world and shared the stage with prominent artists (Damien Rice and The Stereophonics, in particular). Some of her songs have been featured on shows like "Grey’s Anatomy," "Veronica Mars" and "The L Word." In this interview, she will tell us about her music and her current projects.

To read part 1, click here. To read part 2, click here. To read part 3, click here. To read part 4, click here.

Cendrine Marrouat: What kind of advice would you give to someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?  

Kate Kelton: I count myself lucky to have had some pretty incredible teachers. Every other week Toronto's local weekly featured some cover story about people who went to my high school.

To read part 1, click here. To read part 2, click here. To read part 3, click here.

Cendrine Marrouat: You lived in Toronto for many years and moved to Los Angeles six years ago. How is the artistic scene there? Have you noticed differences in the way American and Canadian audiences react to your work? 

Kate Kelton: The scene here feels very wild and rebellious. It strikes me as a bit tongue in cheek, with lots of kitsch and sculpture and a world inspired by comics, Disney and video games…

To read part 1, click here. To read part 2, click here.

Cendrine Marrouat: When you work on a piece, do you need a specific setting or do you usually go with the flow?

Kate Kelton: I've been debating this with my artist friends for years now. By 'setting' I assume your French roots are showing, and you mean something akin to 'disposition' or the temporal quality that lends itself to being struck by the muse. Versus, say, 'going with the flow' and working straight through a lack of motivation. I'm convinced that the fire that consumes you the moment inspiration hits, is what creates the masterpieces. Sustaining this fire indefinitely, is impossible even for the best of us, so it's become an ongoing argument whether or not to push through the moment when a glowing ember is all you're left with.

Cendrine Marrouat: You are also an accomplished artist. Your prints and paintings have been exhibited in Canada and beyond. What is the underlying theme of your work?  

Kate Kelton: If there were one, I wish I could articulate it better. A predominant love of portraiture (creature or human) and architecture, forms most of my content.

You may remember seeing her in "Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle" or as the world's first non-blond 'Tic Tac Girl'. Canadian artist Kate Kelton currently lives in Los Angeles, California. It is my pleasure to feature her today.

Cendrine Marrouat: Hello Kate, thank you for answering my questions. First, let us talk about your “eureka” moment, the particular event that triggered your desire to become an actress...

"I am dedicated to providing music that touches your mind, body and spirit. A commitment to music as an art form is my one and only rule." – Stephen Jerome Ferguson

When Stephen Jerome Ferguson contacted me for a potential review of his album, titled "We Are One," I felt instantly drawn towards his unassuming approach. And upon hearing the first song on his Reverbnation profile, I knew there was something definitely worth paying attention to. And I am glad that I took on the assignment.