{"id":19692,"date":"2016-06-24T00:33:45","date_gmt":"2016-06-24T07:33:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=19692"},"modified":"2016-06-22T18:30:08","modified_gmt":"2016-06-23T01:30:08","slug":"honorary-degree-for-frimer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2016\/06\/24\/honorary-degree-for-frimer\/","title":{"rendered":"Honorary degree for Frimer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Linda Frimer was honored earlier this month by the University of the Fraser Valley for her artistic, humanitarian and philanthropic contributions and accomplishments. (photo from UFV)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

For Linda Frimer, art is a form of reconciliation, and creativity a means of expressing the love within us all. The Vancouver artist has been sharing her art to heal, help worthy causes, and reconcile nature and culture for more than 35 years. In recognition of her artistic, humanitarian and philanthropic contributions and accomplishments, Frimer received an honorary doctor of letters degree from the University of the Fraser Valley at its June 2 afternoon convocation ceremony at the Abbotsford Centre.<\/p>\n

Born in Wells, B.C., and raised in Prince George, Frimer connected with nature early on, and it informed her artistic development from the start. \u201cI always had a pencil in hand and was allowed to roam the forest freely as a young girl,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n

Born a few years after the Second World War ended, she heard the adults in her family whispering about the devastation of the Holocaust. Even decades before the war, her family faced hatred and expulsion. Her grandfather fled Romania during the pogroms in the late 19th century, becoming one of the \u201cfootwalkers\u201d roaming Europe, then following the Grand Trunk Railroad in Canada to its terminus in Prince George, where he became a merchant.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was too young to understand it all, but I knew something very bad had happened,\u201d said Frimer. \u201cI was a highly sensitive child, and absorbed the pain and anguish that others were carrying. I turned to nature for healing and reconciliation. I would enter the forest with a sense of awe and wonder. It\u2019s what unites all people. When we suddenly see a magical tree or a sunset that leaves us breathless, that wonder belongs to everyone. I\u2019ve always wanted to bring together the worlds of nature and culture. They are all connected, and recognizing that interconnectedness facilitates healing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Compelled by a desire to reflect the pain of her community and work towards healing, she created many works of art examining this theme. She co-founded the Gesher<\/em> (Hebrew for Bridge) Project, a multidisciplinary group that helped Holocaust survivors and their children express their traumatic experiences through art, words and therapy.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the project during a talk she gave to the Canadian Counseling and Psychotherapy Association, she noted that creative expression is a critical component to healing. \u201cI\u2019ve done work that reflects my culture and my people and their plight, but I don\u2019t want to get caught in the dark places. I want to share reverence between all cultures. I want to bring light and love to the forefront.\u201d<\/p>\n

From an early age, Frimer felt an affinity for the aboriginal people she grew up near in rural British Columbia. Her connection became more formalized when she befriended Cree artist George Littlechild (also a UFV honorary degree recipient). The two felt an immediate connection through their interest in incorporating family and history into their art and their use of vibrant colors. They have collaborated to produce art shows presented in venues such as the Canadian consulate in Los Angeles, and produced a book titled In Honor of Our Grandmothers<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth of our peoples have been through so much that we felt a real connection,\u201d explained Frimer. \u201cGrowing up, I felt a real sense of \u2018otherness\u2019 and not fitting in. Many aboriginal people can relate to that, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frimer\u2019s affinity to nature has led to her supporting many environmental causes. Her paintings for the Wilderness Committee, the Trans-Canada Trail, the Raincoast Environmental Foundation and other groups have raised funds for wilderness preservation, and also raised awareness of threatened forests and ecosystems.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love my environmental work because I know that\u2019s where I can make a difference,\u201d she said. \u201cI am committed to helping to preserve endangered species and ecosystems, as well as helping people at risk or in crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frimer spent her 20s raising her children and developing her artistic skills by finding mentors with whom to study. She didn\u2019t begin her formal training until she was 33, when her last child started school. She then finished a four-year degree at Emily Carr in three years, receiving credit for her prior learning and artistic work.<\/p>\n

More than three decades into her career, Frimer\u2019s paintings and murals can be found in galleries, synagogues, churches, retirement centres, hospitals, hospices, schools, transition houses, corporate offices, and public and private collections. She has been very prolific but says it\u2019s been easy to create so much art because she feels she is merely a vessel for a strong creative force. \u201cIt\u2019s like joy coming through me, rather than me making it happen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Frimer has received many accolades, honors and titles, but said her favorite title is \u201cGrandma.\u201d She and her husband Michael raised their blended family of eight children and now enjoy the company of nine grandchildren. \u201cIt\u2019s profoundly important, especially for the Jewish people, who have lost so much, to rebuild the family we\u2019ve lost and share reverence with others who have had similar losses,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Still, receiving an honorary doctorate is a special distinction for her. \u201cMy parents would have been extremely proud, and I know that my husband and children will be too,\u201d she said before the convocation. \u201cYou can\u2019t really declare yourself a successful artist \u2013 you need affirmation from the outside. I\u2019m so grateful that my messages have been heard, and that the care that I\u2019ve put into bringing more culture, nature, creativity, expression, healing and light into the world through the gift of art is being honored.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more about Frimer and her art, visit lindafrimer.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Linda Frimer was honored earlier this month by the University of the Fraser Valley for her artistic, humanitarian and philanthropic contributions and accomplishments. (photo from UFV) For Linda Frimer, art is a form of reconciliation, and creativity a means of expressing the love within us all. The Vancouver artist has been sharing her art to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2466,6003,6004,53,2893],"class_list":["post-19692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-art","tag-frimer","tag-gesher-project","tag-holocaust","tag-survivors"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}