Tompalski at Hermann’s Jazz Fund Raiser

Sherry Tompalski featured at Hermann’s Jazz Club Art Auction @ Martin Batchelor Gallery Dec 27 2017.

__sherry-martin-margret-01-w600 — Margaret Hantiuk, Martin Batchelor and Sherry Tompalski

Artist Sherry Tompalski donated her “Ice Woman” painting (shown below) to the December 27-31, 2017 Hermann’s Jazz Club Art Auction at Martin Batchelor Gallery in Victoria Canada.

__FINAL-reassembled-self-196-w600 — Ice Woman by Sherry Tompalski

Tompalski’s Artist Statement

I have been blessed with two parallel careers over the past 25 years: psychiatry and art. While they are intrinsically different fields, the work of each has informed the other. I assessed and treated adolescents, adults, couples, and families, and also worked for the military treating soldiers. Throughout, I maintained my art practice working on projects often with my husband, and invariably exploring visually, psychological concepts, questions and understanding.

I experienced my art and my art career as vitalizing my work with patients, while my psychiatric career underlined the importance of people feeling understood and understandable. Consequently, in my art I often wanted to “put myself in anothers’ shoes”, maintaining that the individual’s world or point of view is worth looking at and paying attention to.

The Ice Woman being offered for auction is from my The Reassembled Self Series. This series began as graphite drawings that were torn up and reassembled with fragments of musical score, portraying the process of coming undone, reforming and coming together again. This is the process many of us will experience when dealing with change and upheaval. The Ice Woman makes this process visible. She embodies a fragmented, difficult history which hopefully with healing and strength becomes music.

I do not believe we give people a voice, anymore than we can empower people. However, when we listen in an authentic way people develop a voice and experience themselves as more effective. Ultimately, I hope my work helps to contribute to an environment that embodies trust wherein people can feel their needs are legitimate and experience themselves and the world as a safer place to live in.

I thank the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Ottawa for their financial support of these projects.

Sherry Tompalski, http://sherrypaints.info

__sherry-martin-heather-02-w600 — Heather Atkinson, Martin Batchelor and Sherry Tompalski

The 5-day auction was organized by Margaret Hantiuk and Heather Atkinson and presented by Jazz on View as part of an ongoing effort to purchase and operate the Hermann’s Jazz Club. Jazz on View is a B.C. non-profit society dedicated to turning Hermann’s Jazz Club into community owned and operated facility. The December 27th 2017 opening program also featured pianist Tony Genge shown below.

Hermann’s Jazz Club, which began 35 years ago, has provided a venue for artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Wheeler, Dewey Redman, Hal Galper, Rob McConnell and Diana Krall .