Here at Simple Local Life we love celebrating life on the South Shore. One thing that you immediately notice, whether you live here or are just visiting, is that the arts are alive and well, you may even say thriving. It’s incredible the amount of talent and expressions of creativity you can find. We thought it would be nice to showcase a bit more of this each month. To help us share stories, interviews with those connected to the South Shore arts scene and her thoughts on arts, creativity and more, please welcome our newest contributor Deborah Raddall!

Deborah Raddall lives in Summerville Centre, Queens County with her family.  She is a fan of the arts and an active volunteer in her community.  She has shared her time with the Queens Family Resource Centre,  Queens County Music Festival, the Astor Theatre, was the coordinator of the Dr JC Wickwire Academy volunteer reading tutor program, on the board of the Liverpool International Theatre Festival,  and with Winds Of Change theatre company as an actor, singer and in production. 

Currently she volunteers with Queens County Girls Choir, The Liverpool Regional High School SAC, and the Queens Community Health Board.  In her spare time she can be found enjoying artistic pursuits of all kinds, in the gardens, quilting and not playing her guitar nearly enough to get any good at it! 

As you can see from her “resume”, Deborah is a true lover of the arts, in all its various shapes and forms. We are excited to share her first piece with you “24 hours in the middle of nowhere”. An insightful piece sparked by COVID-19 isolation and how art fits into our every day life.

24 hours in the middle of nowhere

Deborah Raddall

Maybe today, when you woke up, slipped from under a handmade quilt, you glanced at the picture on the wall. Sunday, sigh, the alarm went off by accident. Fortunately, you had chosen a melodic gentle awakening from a menu of pleasant (and not so pleasant) tones on the device. In the shower, you were singing your favourite song.  Isn’t it is magical how everyone’s voice sounds good in the shower? Now you are enjoying some time with your mug of morning happy reading Simple Local Life.

Take a sip from that mug and ask yourself.  How many bits of art were embedded in that paragraph? There were 9 but there really is no wrong answer. Art is all about creativity, personal experience and preference. How many types of art have you already experienced so far today?  Likely more than 5.  If you were singing in the shower, that’s another.  That’s you making art!  

This spring when we were in the midst of sheltering/isolating/staying the blazes home for this pandemic I read a challenge online. Spend a day, 24 hours, with no art.  No music, Netflix, books, paintings, photos, fashion, paintings, recipes. Our home is filled with photos, art, art supplies and music.  Lots of music!  A few guitars, a piano, a trumpet, some spoons and 3.5 singers.  The .5 is my husband.  The challenge really took me aback. There is always some kind of art happening.  During this pandemic we are relying on art more than ever to enrich and fill our days. Is it even possible to spend 24 hours with no art? 

What if I was dropped the middle of nowhere, for a day?  Totally off grid, to be without any kind of art.  That wouldn’t work. There would still be art.  Seeing the beauty in nowhere and making a pictures in my mind.  Reading a story about the moments of the day in the passing of the hours. Hearing the music of the wind and the melody of nature’s soundtrack.  

24 hours without any art?  Without music and creativity, painting, pictures, or any of the many kinds of art we can access all over our beautiful south shore on any given day.  Impossible, I couldn’t do it.  Could you?   

Please give a warm welcome Simple Local Life’s newest contributor Deborah Raddall, we are just thrilled to have her join us, and watch for her next Creating Space column, coming soon. 🙂