ERIKA MAURER

Painting, Works on Paper, Collage

City: Penticton, British Columbia

Website: http://erikamaurer.com

Instagram: @erikamaurer4

Artist Statement: First I jumped into a sea of colours, splashed around and took a long dive. When I came up for air I took a deep breath and opened my eyes: I saw a drawing board! I saw that colours alone don’t cut it. I wanted more! Now I live in a junk yard. I collect the things that visit me and laugh at me and ask me to abuse them and tell my story of chaos and delight.

I am trying my best to please them, and let this poem be my guide:

We work in the dark-
we do what we can-
we give what we have.
Our doubt is our passion
and our passion is our task.
The rest is the madness of art.
Henry James, 1893

Biography: Born 1951 in Munich I soon longed to leave the regulated prosperity of Germany behind and see what else this thing called “Life” could be. The opportunity arose when my future husband, an equally unruly spirit, decided to immigrate to New Zealand in 1974. From there I came to Canada in 1976, worked as waitress, dispatcher for a small air service, tourist guide, florist, horticulturist … and tried self sufficiency together with my husband clearing land and building a homestead near Telegraph Creek, BC. There we lived for 15 years with interruptions needed to earn enough cash to afford the luxury of life in the bush.

I moved to Whitehorse in 1991 to escape this precarious hold on existence, became a florist, and continued a life of hiking, climbing, skiing and generally trying to be outside as much as possible. In 2000 I relocated to Italy where I lived for 3 years before returning to Canada in 2003. I still do everything: I am still working and designing gardens and grow as much of our own food as possible. As of April 2020, the latest exciting pastime has been volunteering at the Naramata Permaculture Community Garden in British Columbia, There we have endless opportunities to grow more food, not only for us but also for others who might not have the luxury of their own green space. In my painting I try to find the colour, chaos and humour of the life I had so far.