Interview with Mia Weinberg, Vancouver Artist

This interview is with Mia Weinberg, a local Vancouver artist. Personally, I describe Mia’s art as non-traditional, but you can decide for yourself by visiting her website.

Q: Mia, thanks for sharing you time, thoughts, and opinions with us today. In our previous discussions you mentioned that you started out, career-wise, as an engineer so can you please tell us when you knew you wanted to become a full time artist and why?

A: After spending ten years working in the UK in manufacturing industry I decided to take a year “off” to see if being creative was important to me. This led me to Vancouver where I attended some part time courses in art and photography and eventually I was accepted at Emily Carr College of Art and Design to study Industrial Design. However, after three semesters I realized that I did not enjoy the constraints of design and I transferred into the studio department where I found the freedom of expression that I was seeking. I had my first solo show the year I graduated: 1994. I have considered myself a professional artist ever since.

Q: What motivates you as an artist and where do you get your inspiration?

A: I am an artist because I believe passionately in the power of art to reawaken us and to encourage us all to become more present and engaged in our world. I am particularly inspired by images of nature.  My hope is that viewers of my art of nature become re-enchanted by the truly marvelous in the everyday. I often work with botanical specimens that are in the process of decay because especially in their passage through death, they lead to regeneration, new beginnings, and exhibit extraordinary beauty.

Q: Offline, we’ve discussed art as a form of therapy. Are there studies that demonstrate that art can contribute to a person’s well-being and, if so, where might we find this evidence?

A: Currently, I am not specifically focusing on art therapy, I am more interested in the beneficial effects of having art around us and the implications for our health and well-being. There are various studies that have demonstrated the benefits of the arts: a Swedish study found that people who go to lots of cultural events live longer; another study showed that having artwork in labour wards reduced labour times; landscape images are more suitable for healthcare facilities than abstract images. Dr. Roger Ulrich, of Texas A & M University has done research on how design can improve medical outcomes. He found that what patients see from their bed can affect their recovery times: cardiac patients who had a window with a view got better faster than those looking out to a brick wall.   One of Ulrich’s articles that has important information about various ways to use design to improve healthcare outcomes is “Evidence Based Environmental Design for Improving Medical Outcomes”. It also has an extensive list of references. Another resource is The Society for the Arts in Healthcare.

Q: Does colour have a beneficial effect to our well-being? Or can it make me happy?

A: Yes, colour can certainly affect your mood however when choosing colours we need to take into account that different cultures have different traditions regarding the meaning of colour. DuPont, who manufacture a commercial surface material called Corian® even have a “Corian® Healing Colors Collection” and explain on their website the reasons why the colours and textures found in nature help provide a positive impact on patient health.

Q: If possible, how can art or colour keep minds sharper?

A: I heard of a study that found when Alzheimer patients that had not been verbal were taken to an art gallery they could talk when looking at a painting. Later on, when these patients were back at their residence they stopped talking, but when they were reminded of the paintings they talked again.

Another interesting article I came across last year in the Vancouver Sun “The healing power of horticulture” by gardening expert Steve Whysall.

Q: And lastly, where can we see your art?

A: My art can be seen on my website; on my Facebook page ; at Latitude 44 Gallery in Toronto, and people can arrange to come to my Vancouver studio by contacting me through my website.

Examples of Mia’s art below and they can also been viewed on her website.