The Art Of Tammy Bailey AT FORTY FIVE Magazine Issue R 2021 12

AT FORTY FIVE MAGAZINE /10
parents sold, everything. We bought a
Winnebago, and we drove down through the
states, Mexico, and into what is now known as
Belize.
We went to an English-speaking school
because it was at that time part of the British
colonies. It was a very different life from that of
being in Canada. At school, the boys went to
woodworking and the girls learned how to sew.
It was a wonderful adventure, but it certainly
was a culture shock going down and then also
coming home to Canada.
I believe I have an appreciation of different
cultures and I love to travel because of my
parent's adventures and misadventures.
One of my best memories was, there was this
bumpy road that went past where we were
staying. There were sugar cane fields all around.
The local kids taught us to go running to the
sharp corner where there was one bad bump.
The cane would fall off the open truck bed and
then we would all run out to grab pieces. Fights
ensued over who would get the best piece of
cane to chew on. There is nothing like fresh
sugar cane."
Finding Life Balance
"I think I’ve got a good balance in my life. I really
do enjoy my work in a very busy dental office,
but my art is very different from my work. The
art is more of the right side of the brain and my
work uses my left side.
(the inner circle is least fulfilled, and the outer
edge of the circle is optimum). Put a dot on
each segment of that pie where you are in
fulfillment and then connect those dots. It is a
great visual graph.
The low spots are where you need to nurture
yourself. I also think it goes back to having
healthy boundaries and learning to be able to
say no and feel comfortable with that. For a
long time, I would say yes to a lot of things that
I didn’t necessarily have the time or the energy
for, but I did it because I thought it was the
right thing to do. I understand now, it is
important to be able to say no and feel
comfortable with it. I do what nurtures me
because if I don’t take care of this person, and
I’m not helpful to anybody else."
Taking Running Up At Fifty
"I decided at the age of 50 to run my first
marathon. I had run on my own for several
years, completed several half marathons.
Wanting to run a full, I thought I should
connect with people that know what they’re
doing. I found a wonderful running club
“Peninsula Runners’ and I started to train for
my first marathon. They had a wonderful
It has been a journey to find balance quite
honestly. I always go back to what we taught in
our group. Draw a circle, divide it into key
components of your life in equal segments, like
a pie. For myself currently, I need to balance,
family, love, exercise, art, leisure, travel,
adventure, and health. Then rate each segment
Where The Flowers Grow Watercolor and
acrylic 11 x 7 inches $200 CAD