Terry Stevens says his passion for art helped him heal from a traumatic life-changing experience.
Stevens says he was touched by the theme of his art during this time.
“The idea of harmony and healing came into my spirit when I had a stroke 13 years ago,’’ he says.
Doctors said ‘’I wouldn’t be able to talk on your own, walk, breathe on your own, or eat on your own and that one of his vocal cords was paralyzed.
‘’I knew I had to identify with something higher as a part of harmony in order to heal properly,’’ Stevens says.
Stevens’ art is part of The Harmony as Healing exhibition, which also includes work by Kenneth G. Mills. The exhibit is on display in the Art Space Connect Gallery located in the Neilson Park Creative Centre on Neilson Drive in Etobicoke.
Mills passed away in October 2004. In a video called ‘’The Rapture of Being: Three days with Kenneth G. Mills’’ it says that he ‘’throughout his life, his pursuits as a philosopher, poet, musician, painter, and a designer have inspired thousands and was a modern-day Renaissance Man.’’
Stevens was 23 and Mills was 50 when they met. He heard Mills' lecture in 1973 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Toronto. Stevens says he was impressed with his words and presence, and he says he called Mills his mentor because he was a man ‘’whom I could ask any question and get an inspired answer.’’
Stevens says ‘’a mentor gives from his own experience, which opens the door for another to experience a new platform of realization’’ and Mills is the one who opened a new experience for him.
Mills “had me in his art studio one day, and I was rolling out a wall, like a house painter would, and brushing, and he said, ‘Terry put down your brush and roller, come over here and see me paint this large flower. He said. ‘You will be able to use it in your artwork’.’’
Stevens says he thought to himself, ‘'What artwork? ...I wasn’t painting at all. I could just paint a stickman, and that’s about it.’’
He says he started a small creative piece that he committed to turning into a piece of art.
“Six months later, I started to do faux finishing. And then about two years later, I said to my wife, ‘I’m going to paint on canvas for the first time, and once I start, I won’t be able to stop.’ And that was it.”
Jennifer Murphy, co-curator of the show and chair of the art committee of the Kenneth G. Mills Foundation, says she was inspired by Mills' creativity to start painting.
“He was an example of unfettered creativity of the freedom to create without thought, and I had always wanted to paint. But I had always been afraid to,’’ Murphy says. ‘’Because of his example and his presence, I was able to start and that made me so happy.’’
Murphy says being ‘’able to share this beautiful art with whomever would like to see it’’ is what inspired her to be part of the event.
“We wanted to create an environment in the gallery where the audience could experience a lessening of the objective confinement. And we knew that music and art would be able to do that,’’ she says.
Stevens shares his perspective on how music is connected to art at this exhibit.
“The musical aspect is imbued into the painting because it’s still based on rhyme, harmony and melody. Those three aspects are just involuntarily imbued into the artwork,’’ he says.
Glen Noble, one of the co-curators working with Jennifer Murphy, explains Stevens’ painting of water lilies.
“It’s the perception of nature and the nature of perception, so presenting landscapes that appear normal, but they have magical qualities to them,’’ Noble says. ‘’We have two paintings by Terry Stevens featuring portals of going through the portal from landscape into water. We wanted to transition from landscapes to water. The viewer comes and they see the beauty, and then they get a sense of wonder, gratitude. It’s like a reciprocal movement of energy,” Noble said.
Robin Eisenberg says she came to see the exhibit after hearing Stevens’ story.
“I was blown away by it … it’s otherworldly,’’ Eisenberg says. ‘’All of this art strikes emotion in everyone. You’re giving a lot of emotions (and) that will resonate with me for a long time.’’
“It’s almost a spiritual experience,’’ she says.
Ann Marie Gonda, one of Mills’ students and Stevens’ friend, says the experience of viewing art in person helps healing.
“I’m drawn inside here, like a heart response, something is telling me, ‘Well, stay with this for a minute cause it’s just so beautiful.’ And art is so healing whether you have a major thing going on in your life or a little something, it helps you reset,’’ Gonda says.
The Harmony as Healing: A Sound-Art Experience runs until Feb. 28, opening daily at 9 a.m.
