preparing for asian arts and culture - may 2022

Written By Laura Beaton

My proposal for the Asian Culture and Artists Trust Conversations with Elders was accepted.  The key element of the proposal was I had to find an Elder from the Asian community that agreed to work with me and share his/her life story and I in turn, I would create a piece of art to be exhibited in a gallery in downtown Toronto in support of Asian Heritage month in May 2022.

I was connected with a wonderful gentleman, Dr. Alan K. Joe, who is an author and retired orthodontist from Sick Kids. As a teenager, Alan Joe immigrated to Canada from China in 1950, seeking life in Gold Mountain - a word Chinese people used to describe Canada because of the gold found in rivers, streams, and where the ‘roads were paved with gold’. Alan K. Joe wrote his memoirs, Of Ox and Unicorn.

I was delighted, shocked, and moved by the story of Mr. Alan K. Joe and his journey throughout China in the 1940s that ultimately led to immigration to Toronto in the 1950. I enjoyed the historical insights this memoir provides of world events and their impact on civilians. Mr. Joe's journey to become a Canadian success in all that matters in family, spirituality, basic human kindness and community service, is truly inspiring.

Right now, I am planning, sketching, and thinking about how to best represent Alan K. Joe’s life on paper. It is a process for which I am grateful.

Of Ox and Unicorn

Laura Beaton

Laura is a Canadian award winning Visual Fine Art Artist.

She studied Asian art under Masters in Mississauga, Toronto, and in China and mixed media/acrylics under Halina Wyluda-Kazmierczak and Mila Duric

Her 2-dimensional art are fusions of ancient painting techniques and her own creations using acrylics and mixed media. Painting in each medium enriches the other.

Her works transcend cultures and are in permanent and private collections in China (RPR, as well as in private collections), Africa (His Royal Highness Edward Wambuzi Colombus, Uganda) and throughout the USA and Canada.

With her University of Toronto OTC (Ontario Teacher’s Certificate) Laura taught business at the college and high school levels. She co-founded a Mississauga-based consulting business in 1996 where she honed her business skills. Laura has regularly volunteered her time to coach artists relative to the business of art.

Laura has exhibited in Canada and in China. Laura exhibited at the Art Gallery of Ontario – Portraits of Resilience, Art Gallery of Mississauga, the Qi of Water, and interviewed by Focus Mandarin, OMNI TV. Previous interviews include Lucid Gallery (USA), Camoes TV, Stella’s Studio, ep 36; Modern Mississauga, Radio 960AM – Arts Report.

Laura was invited to create the art ‘Dovetailing’, the title track of Jacelyn Holmes’ jazz CD.

2021 brought honorariums and most recently “From the Ashes Art Exhibition”. The show is an intersectional feminist public art exhibit, show casing artist interpretations of realities faced by those who identify as women in Canada.

https://LauraBeaton.com
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