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A new form of ‘yinspiration’

Artist with Whistler ties holds solo exhibition as part of Cornucopia celebrations
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As people circulate through the Whistler Conference Centre this Cornucopia weekend, wine glasses at the ready, they'll also have the opportunity to feast their eyes on some new paintings by a talented artist with roots here in Whistler.

Michelle Yamamoto has been tapped to be the solo exhibiting artist at both Crush grand tasting galas, with eight new pieces to be put on display in the grand foyer on Friday and Saturday evening. Her subject matter typically focuses on surfing and Buddha, a fusion of athleticism and ancient Eastern philosophy if you will. But for her upcoming Crush exhibit, Yamamoto's work has evolved yet again, moving away from her "Buddha and Surf" and "Yinspiration Surf Art" collections and depicting the female form, instead.

"I wanted a really elegant series to complement the elegance of the event," she explained.

Originally from Kamloops, Yamamoto actually spent a considerable amount of time living in Asia - over the span of 12 years she lived in China, Malaysia and the Philippines - with many of those Asian influences shining through in her work.

"It was January 2001 and I was watching CNN in London, England, and we saw five bombs going off simultaneously too near the house for the second time in six months."

She knew it was time to come back to Canada and as an avid skier, kite boarder and biker, was naturally drawn to Whistler's mountains. She lived here for seven years, developing a strong network of lifelong friends and connections within the community.

"I've got a really, really tight circle of friends up there and my friends are everything to me," she said.

With a formal background in commercial design and advertising, Yamamoto is essentially self-taught, but has had a lifelong interest in art.

"My first studio was under the basement stairs when I was six," she recalled, "I used to keep my little sketches in a file box."

Living overseas and unable to work, Yamamoto was encouraged to pursue her artistic interests, honing her drawing and painting abilities through a series of classes and practice. She eventually attended the Vancouver Academy of Art, where she studied classical portrait drawing, watercolour portrait painting and Boku Jazz, a form of Zen brush painting, with artist Ari Tomita.

"The secret to a good painting is starting with a good drawing," she said.

"...Ari Tomita, she taught me about using energy, using your personal energy to flow through the brush."

Meditation practice and the yoga community here in Whistler actually inspired her to paint more Buddha. Unlike many other artists in the community, she wasn't inspired to paint the mountains.

"I can't get interested to paint a mountain to save my life," she said, "My thing is people and I have a good understanding of physical anatomy."

Her work reflects the escape and solace she finds in sport.

"I think for any kite or wind surfers out there, or anybody who's really passionate about their sport, it's a really grounding place to be, it's a really centering place to be, and so that's what makes me think about Buddha, with my kite boarding and being on the water. It's like a meditation.

"...In truth, I really enjoy observing people in their lives and I try to capture the deeper spiritual aspects of what inspires people," she said. "I have interests in so many different aspects of life and I think as the ebb and flow of life takes its path, these experiences and observations go into my art."

She also incorporates Japanese symbolism into her pieces, which heralds back to the spiritual roots of ancient calligraphy.

Yamamoto still comes to Whistler often, making a point of visiting every month during the winter to ski. You may recognize her work from the cover of Pique Newsmagazine - she's done more than 20 covers for the publication over her short career. Now, she's returning for a special solo exhibition as part of the Cornucopia festivities.

The event has been a great excuse to get back to her roots, using Bonny Makarewicz's photos from a multimedia exhibition they partnered on for WAC's annual ARTrageous celebration a few years ago.

"She displayed her photography of me, nudes, and I painted from her photography," she explained.

She's created eight new pieces specifically for this show.

"This exhibition for Cornucopia, it's really going back to my roots. It all started with drawing women and figures."

This year, Watermark Communications, the company organizing the 2009 Cornucopia events, has decided to integrate artwork into one of their most popular events, the Crush gala grand tasting. Crush is held on both Friday and Saturday evening, with more than 1,200 people expected each night to taste what 75 wineries have on offer this year.

"Basically, what we were trying to do last year... was just trying to get a handle on the event. And now we've done that and it's our second year, we can be a little bit more creative and we can be more proactive with some of our choices, and one of our choices was to incorporate art into Cornucopia," said Lilli Clark of Watermark.

"...As events producers, we like to put our own flare on things, our own spin on things, and art is a big part of the World Ski and Snowboard Festival and it's a big part of our lives, so why wouldn't it be a part of a celebration that is celebrating wine and food, but also good coffee and good culture and great lifestyle and great art?"

The organizers were introduced to Yamamoto through a local food industry contact and recognized that her work could be a great fit for the event.

"It'll add something to the room, to the Grand Foyer, where her art is going to be displayed."

After they see how things go this year, Clark said they would consider expanding the art aspect of the event in future years.

"A lot of people are really protective of the event - as they should be, people who have been coming for years and years - so this is definitely like all the other new things that we've incorporated. Its an experiment."

Yamamoto's pieces will be on sale at the event, but you can also check out her work online at www.yinspirationart.com .