Lisa Golem's artistic journey began as experimentation… where once in a while “glorious accidents” happened while experiencing a childlike freedom with the materials. Growing up with a musician Father and an artist Mother, she learned early the value of creating and expressing. With more instruction in the form of University courses, multiple workshops and gallery courses over the last 30 years, her artistic process has become more intentional while at the same time retaining it’s spontaneous and kinetic flavour.

Acrylic and multi-media pieces form the body of Lisa's work. She produces some 'representational' work, though abstract will always be her first love. Lisa has a distinct preference for strong, vibrant colour palettes with a high level of contrast as this is closer to her nature than soft, muted colours. Highly textured surfaces, embedded objects and unusual grounds are also commonly found in her collections. As for subject matter, Lisa likes to allow the canvas to evolve in an organic way that is driven more by the subconscious mind, revealing content, meaning and mystery as it takes form.

Lisa's academic training takes the form of Psychotherapy and Creativity Coaching. She has now retired from her career as a professional therapist. She founded 'The RAW Creativity Network' in 2002 to promote creative growth through encouragement, coaching & opportunity for artists, musicians and writers. RAW ceased operations in 2015 as Lisa become a franchise owner for Cocktails n' Canvas--teaching art in restaurants as a fun way to introduce the love of art to beginners. Then in 2018, Lisa launched 'RAWc Studio' -- both a 'sip & paint' service and an art studio.

Lisa was an active member of the "KW Society of Artists" 2007--20014, having served as secretary and Vice President and exhibited in 12 gallery shows. She has also curated small exhibitions and art markets for fundraising events. She has been a member of ARTSpay (a professional arts organization in Waterloo) since 2017. She is also serves on the leadership team of the "Belmont Village Bestival--a Festival of Art & Music" which happens every fall in Kitchener, Ontario; she teaches classes and hosts live art events as part of this festival. Her art is sold privately as well as in boutiques and art markets, and adorns the walls of various community businesses.

When COVID hit in the spring of 2020, Lisa took her love of teaching online. RAWc Studio became simply, "Lisa Golem Art". She creates weekly videos on YouTube; some are time-lapse demos which show her process, others are step-by-step tutorials. She is moving towards creating a comprehensive abstract online course to be launched in 2021, so stay tuned for that!

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

The magic happens when you let go --in art and in life. One must both trust their intuition and develop the skills to bring their creative vision into reality. The arts have immense transformative power both individually and collectively when we remove judgement and striving... and just create!