{"id":29618,"date":"2018-07-13T03:51:46","date_gmt":"2018-07-13T10:51:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=29618"},"modified":"2018-07-11T15:45:15","modified_gmt":"2018-07-11T22:45:15","slug":"art-reflects-constant-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2018\/07\/13\/art-reflects-constant-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Art reflects constant change"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carly Belzberg\u2019s solo show is at Zack Gallery until Aug. 3. (photo by <\/em><\/strong>Nathan Garfinkel<\/em><\/strong>)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Carly Belzberg is a Zen practitioner, and her art reflects her beliefs. Her solo show at the Zack Gallery \u2013 The Spirit of Cloud, The Spirit of River \u2013 is all about change.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m frequently at the Zen Centre of Vancouver,\u201d she said in an interview with the Independent<\/em>. \u201cI study there and I realize that everything in life is in flux. A river is always changing. Water is quiet one moment, turbulent the next. It could be playful or angry, rushing or swirling, transforming from moment to moment. There are bubbles and spray and flow. Nothing is ever constant. The same is true of clouds. You can\u2019t say a cloud is fluffy. It\u2019s only fluffy one moment. It\u2019s dynamic, fluid. The same is true of humans. We change from one day to the next, under the influence of the world. That\u2019s what I wanted to express in my paintings: the freedom of change, its boundlessness. Nothing stays \u2018this way.\u2019 Everything evolves. Everything grows, and the essence of change is clearest when watching the river or the clouds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watching the river or the sky helps her meditate. \u201cNature comes into you,\u201d she said. \u201cYou breathe it in, and then it comes out again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of what comes out for Belzberg is her art. Colours and lines coalesce and crisscross in her abstract images of movement and form. The paintings represent the essence of change, as she sees it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is my first-ever solo show,\u201d she said, although she has participated in several group shows at the Zack in the last few years. \u201cMy art is a joy, and I wanted to spread my joy. I\u2019m really happy to share my vision, something I\u2019ve been nurturing for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her path to this exhibit was as complicated as a water drop. She grew up in Vancouver, then studied at Concordia University in Montreal, Drexel University in Philadelphia and, later, at Simon Fraser University. With a bachelor of fine arts and art education and a master\u2019s in art psychotherapy, she started her working life in Baltimore as an art therapist.<\/p>\n

\u201cI painted as a school girl and loved it. Had an amazing art teacher. That\u2019s why I decided to do a master\u2019s in art therapy. Art helped me a lot when I was sick as a teenager, and I wanted to learn how to use art to help others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her work in Baltimore was in crisis intervention and with elderly dementia patients. She loved both sides of her job.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Carly Belzberg at the July 5 opening of her solo exhibit at the Zack Gallery, called The Spirit of Cloud, The Spirit of River. (photo by Nathan Garfinkel)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cArt gives people in crisis a voice,\u201d she said. \u201cIt soothes. It supplies cathartic relief. Art is much better than talk because it gives people distance from their trouble and their feelings. Art provides a safe outlet.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also explained about the people she worked with who had dementia: \u201cSome of them lost their memories in words, but the images are still there and they come out in the \u2026 paintings, even if they don\u2019t remember. They draw their memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

While she kept on painting all that time, her focus was on building her art therapy career. Like many hobbies, her painting became relegated to the sidelines of her life.<\/p>\n

After awhile, she moved to Winnipeg and, a few years later, around 2007, returned to Vancouver.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t do much art, and it made me unhappy,\u201d she said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t connected to who I really am. I found the lack of liveliness inside. I needed art. It is something to look forward to in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, between her work for the Vancouver School Board and her private therapy practice, she couldn\u2019t seem to find a place for her own art. Then, about three years ago, things changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a demo at Opus, the art supply shop on Hastings in downtown,\u201d Belzberg recalled. \u201cIt was held by a wonderful Vancouver artist, Suzan Marczak. I went there and I loved it. There were some difficult people attending that demo, and Suzan dealt well with them. I was impressed, and we talked. Suddenly, I wanted to get back to my painting. I guess I needed a push in the right direction. I started studying with Suzan. She is a very talented teacher, demanding but generous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since their first meeting, the two have become such good friends that Marczak helped Belzberg hang the paintings for her Zack show.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuzan reminded me how much I loved painting,\u201d said Belzberg. \u201cIt happens sometimes \u2013 you forget parts of what you are, and then you remember, and you have this desire to create again.\u201d<\/p>\n

About the same time, Belzberg made a serious commitment to studying Zen. This also led her back to her artistic core.<\/p>\n

And her work for the school board helped, too. \u201cI offer art therapy classes for the children of Vancouver elementary schools. Young kids don\u2019t have stereotypes, their minds are free,\u201d she said. \u201cThey see everything with fresh eyes, and it meshes with the Zen philosophy. In Zen, you let go of your preconceived ideas, of stereotypes. Eternal change means there are no stereotypes.\u201d<\/p>\n

This approach is what led to the current exhibit. \u201cThis show was a spontaneous exploration of change, prompted by curiosity. I never knew what would happen when I started a piece. As one of my teachers said, painting without a final product in mind is akin to driving on a dark highway, where you only see a short distance ahead of you at a time. Each decision is based on moment-by-moment input, on what you see on your canvas right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the prolonged period of partial withdrawal from the arts, Belzberg has had some sales and commissions over the years. One of her biggest commissions was the purchase of 14 paintings for a nursing home in Winnipeg. But she doesn\u2019t paint for money.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I had to paint for money only, I think I\u2019d get sick,\u201d she said. \u201cI want my paintings to go to people\u2019s homes, make their space beautiful. You know, they say sometimes, \u2018This house is so you.\u2019 That\u2019s how it is with me in my house. I like crystals and plants, they make me feel good, so I buy them for my home. If someone buys my paintings to make them feel good, to create an environment that resonates with their souls, that makes me happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Spirit of Cloud, The Spirit of River exhibit opened July 5 and continues until Aug. 3. For more information on Belzberg and her work, visit carlybelzberg.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Olga Livshin<\/strong> is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at olgagodim@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carly Belzberg\u2019s solo show is at Zack Gallery until Aug. 3. (photo by Nathan Garfinkel) Carly Belzberg is a Zen practitioner, and her art reflects her beliefs. Her solo show at the Zack Gallery \u2013 The Spirit of Cloud, The Spirit of River \u2013 is all about change. \u201cI\u2019m frequently at the Zen Centre of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29619,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[989],"tags":[2466,1158,6691,40,8260],"class_list":["post-29618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-visual-arts","tag-art","tag-carly-belzberg","tag-painting","tag-zack-gallery","tag-zen"],"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\/29618","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=29618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29618\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}