I first met Lorinda almost five years ago at the launch of Dee Appleby's book “Nova Scotia's Contemporary Artists Volume 2.” We are both featured artists in the book and I was delighted to meet her. She is highly respected and valued for her personal dedication, contribution and service to the fields of visual arts, culture and education here.
For fifteen years, this Glace Bay native taught art and drama at the Institute for Human Services Education, one of our local career colleges. She also offered weekly private art classes for more than 20 years and her students ranged in ages seven to 85. Some students have been with her for more than a decade and wonder how different things will be without their favourite teacher and mentor.
Lorinda looks forward to the future but holds her students close to her heart, she said.
“Each one has taught me extremely important life lessons,” she said thoughtfully. “We experimented with all mediums and techniques each week. All flavoured with laughter, humour and a sharing of stories of life and living. How blessed I have been! My hope for my students, as I reflect on my years of teaching, is that they see the world with artist eyes.
“Art is much more than something pretty to put on a wall. The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a passing shape, from a spider's web said Pablo Picasso,” she said.
Lorinda also believes that life contains a spark of the divine that can be found in everything and once discovered, you will see and translate it into your painting. This is the motivation behind her teaching and her artwork.
“When you are truly inspired ‘in spirit’ it will bring you into a new world, so let yourself create with that level of inspiration,” she said.
Lorinda’s artwork is reflective of the broadness and intensity of her creativity and imagination, showing an appreciation for colour and a dramatic use of light. A variety of subject matter from portraits to local architecture, capturing life from various angles and points of view have all been successfully translated into her original works of art. She has left her mark on the hearts, homes and businesses of those she came in contact with since moving here more than 25 years ago. Part of her will always remain here with us. Her painting “Can’t You Hear the Whistle Blow” is part of the Town of Truro's permanent art collection, which is on public display in the town hall at 695 Prince St. Her work can also be found online at https://www.facebook.com/artistlorinda
I fondly recall a series she did a number of years ago of 20 different doors from homes in the Truro area. A composite poster of these doors, called Doors of Truro, can still be purchased at Seashell Design on Inglis Place.
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens … the door to success opens widest on the hinges of hope and encouragement,” Lorinda said.
Our doors will always be open to you Lorinda to welcome your return visits and we thank you for the lasting passion, inspiration, skills and insight you have shared with our community.
Janice Guinan is a local artist who passionately believes in the importance of visual art. Her About Art column appears each week in the Truro Daily News. Guinan also writes a weekly column for the Colchester Weekly News. Both can be viewed online at www.trurodaily.com. Contact her at [email protected].