BY NANCY SNIPPER

There are those who sing and write, others dance and draw; some pot and paint. New ideas percolate incessantly in this distinctive group of artists. Not surprisingly, they are torn between two talents, with one often ‘outshining’ the other.

Not so with Paule Guérard. Her talents exceed two, and each one is equally strong. Paule is a painter, poet and healer — enviably outstanding in this trio of multi-coloured beauty — the kind that is grounded in roots following connective pathways. As they grow, their blooms unfold bounteously in varying directions.

Reflective, expressive and spiritually unstoppable, Paule openly reveals her philosophy that shapes her vision and achievements.

“Creativity is what life is about. It doesn’t really matter if you are painting, cooking or writing. It’s all the same energy in the end that is being expressed in a different,” said Paule is one of NDG’s most well-travelled artists.

She’s walked all over the northern part of Spain three times, making the pilgrimage trek of 750 kilometres to Santiago de Compostola.

“I had just completed four years of training in alternative healing at Brennan School of Healing in New Jersey, and another four years at A Society of Souls in Princeton, in integrated kabalistic healing. My father had just died, and I wanted to celebrate my accomplishments and to turn inwards in a reflective, quiet manner.”

Paule does hands-on healing working on the different charkas.

“I use the seven main chakras — each chakra is connected to a gland which in turn is connected to hormones and emotions — as doorways into the body’s history. Whatever pieces of our lives remain not dealt with, the body will carry. Ultimately, this impacts our well-being.” Paule’s sessions always have the intent of increasing the “aliveness” of the client. A session can also involve sound therapy using one of ten tuning forks. “Sound creates harmony in the body.”

For Paule, hope is something primeval. “Hope allows us to see the profusion of life’s possibilities. When we are hopeless, we have lost the ability to reinvent ourselves or the situation. We feel trapped. Part of our misery comes from our unmet expectations and the way in which we respond to disappointments. The kabala teaches us how to receive life in its fullness with no censoring. Everything is divine and relationship is all.”

Her paintings show this richness of life. Her colours are bold and life affirming. So passionate is Paule, her images both stylistically surreal and naive impact profoundly on the viewer. Emerging images of faces, waves of colours and kinetic kaleidoscopic movement celebrate the abundance of life. She is self-taught, yet Chagall, Rivera and Cézanne speak through her paintings. She’s been painting for 20 years.

Her work has taken her to Mexico to paint and write. She’s also been to Africa, England and France. Globetrotting Paule is francophone, but — here comes another surprise – she writes poetry and short stories in English. Recently, she gave a reading at the Lawn Chair Soirée held at Nota Bene of her epic story, Garden State. It is about the fall of Adam and Eve. Paule turned the story into a riveting dialogue between Eve and the devil, and God and the devil. It was compelling and totally different. She took it beyond the creation story. Meeting Paule is an opportunity to see how she combines all these elements into a unique canvas of hope, creativity and colorful surprises.

• To consult with Paule, (she is also a numerology

expert); view her paintings (they ‘re for sale), or simply learn more by talking with her, you can call her at 514-481-9310. Her email is paugue2@hotmail.com