Catch the discussion on YouTube Redefining the Art of Aging Well
Sometimes the stars align and the right people just show up. It happened to me. A few weeks back Tina Dolter came into my life. Tina is an award winning artist from Newfoundland, Canada and she found me in Zoomer magazine.
Tina checked out www.fiftyfab.com and decided we were kindred spirits, joined at the post menopausal hip so to speak.
Tina was just about to launch the third installment of her painting project, titled The Sensuality of the Maturing Woman – Celebrating the Fine Art of Aging Well. The project is a universal theme that explores the feminine allure, and the positive influence maturity and life experience have on the perception of female attractiveness together with the idea of the female as the centre of human sensual power. It is comprised of nearly two dozen portraits of women from varied and diverse backgrounds, between the ages of 40 and 85, experiencing the most creative and dynamic time of their lives.
I attended the opening of the exhibit and I was touched and overjoyed to see the response of those who came to view the art.
At first they appeared just ever so slightly shocked as they came face to face with scantily clad women between the ages of 50 to 85. But then a smile broke on the faces of women and men alike. I have interpreted those smiles as recognition- recognition of beauty which has been before them all along, in the mirror or across the room but which they have not acknowledged as such, until Tina’s skill and the wisdom in the eyes of her subjects, put it right out there where it cannot be denied.
Tina’s work is the visual medium of my writing.
As we began to connect we found ourselves using the same phrases and metaphors to describe the stage of human development that begins for a woman around 50 years of age.
Tina had found through and represented by, her art, the same wonder and vibrance that I had discovered in my interviews with women around the world and then shared in Fifty & Fabulous!The Best Years of a Woman’s Life.
We decided that a joint project was in order and on Sept 21st in conjunction with Tina’s Toronto exhibit we hosted a panel discussion titled Redefining the Art of Aging Well.
The Propeller Centre for Visual Arts on Toronto’s trendy Queen Street West hosted our panel in a spacious room surrounded by Tina’s outstanding paintings.
The panelists included
Dr Susan Brunt – Toronto based Family Physician
Marilyn Lightstone– Actress, Author, Broadcaster Artist
Mary Sheppard– CBC Executive Producer and Author
Tina and myself– Artist and Author of sparkling- eyed women
What a wonderful evening it was! We drew a full house in the pouring rain.
We were very fortunate to have the skilled moderation of Elizabeth Lancaster of Kingstone Brigid Consulting . Elizabeth tossed out the questions and for an hour we took turns with the” talking stick” microphone and told our stories about living female and 50+
Catch the discussion on YouTube Redefining the Art of Aging Well
I felt so grateful to have the time and attention of such accomplished and thoughtful women, to spend the evening in discussion with women who are fully and unapologetically present for the stage of life in which they now find themselves.
At the end of the night everyone agreed,there is so much more to say.
