Cay Denise

Over the years, I've loved the artistic, creative, and magical shows of Cirque du Soleil that feature such talented and skilled performers.  If you've seen one of the company's shows, you understand. The troupe, originally under the leadership of Guy Laliberté and Gilles Ste-Croix, got its start when hired by the Quebec government (for a series of celebration performances) in which its first show was created and performed in 1984. Within two years, the troupe was performing for international audiences.  Laliberté remained involved financially until about 2015 when he sold a major stake in the company to an investment firm.  From there, company leadership focused on media acquisitions and expanding Cirque's shows portfolio--that focused on growth. In February 2020, as the pandemic was raging, Laliberté sold his remaining minority stake.  That March, the company cut 4,700 employees and 44 shows because of a drop in revenues to near $0 due to Covid-19.  Highly inde...

Do you ever have the experience of a project (or many of them) that seem to come up and distract you from your habit or intention of art-making? That has been the last month for me.  Rather than give up because of a lack of time and focus, I've shaken things up.  My interim way of working has been to do at least three blind contour drawings (5 minutes each) daily to the extent possible. I now have one full sketchbook with 100 blind contour drawings and I've just started a second.  What I like most about doing them is the freedom to be imperfect.  For example, the eyes may be outside the face shape, or the face is too thin or too squat.  Even as these kinds of things happen, my interest is whether the sketch captures an essence of the source image.  When looking at the sketches, I make notes about what I like and dislike.  Yes, there are  those I don't like.  That said, knowing and being able to describe both my likes and dislikes is good inf...