
Back in 2008, i was accepted into the Vancouver Pride In Art juried art show called “Gender Twist”... i was thrilled my painting ‘then i smoked a peterson pipe...’ was a part of this wonderful show at Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre.
It’s a self portrait i painted in acrylics on a 4 x 4 foot gallery canvas... around the outside of the painting are the words:
“true story... everybody thot i wuz a boy... so, i got my hair permed thinkin’ that would fix it... but that just made it worse, so, then i smoked a peterson pipe...”
It’s funny, i wasn’t really sure i’d be accepted into the show... when i entered my submission, i hadn’t painted the final size painting yet... i initially submitted a small 1x1-inch thumbnail study...
Well, i was accepted into the show... and then, had to paint the full size painting... i had never painted that large before... though i was up to the challenge... It now hangs in a private collection of two dear friends. It has certainly become one ‘conversation starter’...
When i was growing up, i was definitely a ‘tomboy’.... and, during most of my youth, i was constantly mistaken for a boy... Being already quite androgynous-looking... super skinny with short-cropped hair, always in jeans or shorts, t-shirt and a hat... and, it seemed the older i got into my teens, more-often i was being called ‘son’ or folk being totally confused to ‘what’ i was...
When i hit high school... being frustrated that folk were continually confused and now, being teased by my peers, i pleaded with mom to get my hair permed... thinking that, if my hair was curly, people would perhaps stop seeing me as a ‘boy’...
After much pleading, mom finally succumbed to my wish and i finally got my hair permed.
However, the perm went bad turning into a big complete mass ball of frizz...
Getting a perm didn’t work at all... it made it worse... my crazy hair made me look even more androgynous! By this time, i was living and working at a summer job in the interior of Naramata BC...
and, “then i smoked a peterson pipe!”
I really did for a time... a bunch of us did...and no one knew who or what we were... and, that didn’t matter... anymore.