AT MOLE GALLERY THROUGH JULY
Multi-Talented Kathleen Katon Tonnesen

(click images to enlarge)

The July exhibition at Mole Gallery features the works of multi-talented Mole Hill resident Kathleen Katon Tonnesen, a Canadian painter (signed as Katon), sculptor, author, poet, and inventor.

Her exhibition, Seeing Beyond the Light - The Soul Family Collection will run starting July 7, located at the rear of 1157 Pendrell Street (access from Jepson-Young Lane). There will be an opening night event from 6 to 9 p.m. that all are welcome at. Regular gallery hours are Fridays from 1 to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Kathleen Tonnesen with her book *Two Souls on a Moonbeam: Love Poetry & Verse.*

In a recent review Cindy Hops said, "Kathleen Katon Tonnesen has spent her life savouring the warmth of the light and attempting to capture its beauty through her paintings. Despite the fact that Kathleen was born without sight in her left eye, or perhaps because of it, she became enchanted with the dance by which light ignites matter.”

The Mole Gallery show is Kathleen's “triumphant return” to the world of art according to Hops’ review.

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Kathleen immigrated to Canada in 1998. She has pursued a professional career as a working artist since 1990 and is a respected international artist dedicated to the enhancement of public spaces with meaningful and thought provoking art.

Kathleen holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops.

Kathleen is also a Shodan (1st degree black belt) in Yoshinkan Aikido and has trained with several leading Aikido teachers in British Columbia. She gives a great deal of credit for recovering her personal and artistic equilibrium to instructors Keith Taylor Shihan, Andrew McBride Shihan, Tim Barr Sensei, and Tin Ma Sensei.

Kathleen is the author of two books of poetry, A Hummingbird in December (2020) and Two Souls on a Moonbeam: Love Poetry & Verse (2019), with a third volume coming out any day now.

*Soul Treats* will be shown for the first tie at the Mole Gallery Exhibition.

Excited by ideas, energy, movement and emotion, Kathleen has developed a mixed media, multidisciplinary approach to her artworks, installations and live productions. She believes in allowing the creation to determine its own tools and process toward manifestation, including collaboration with musicians and cutting-edge technology. This is exemplified in her latest upcoming production, Traditional Martial Art (TMA) (2025) a family fun education 90-minute adventure via sensory experience, which utilizes immersive and interactive mixed VR technology, including her own inventions, in a touring 6000 square foot space, providing public awareness of the respectful values of martial arts.

*Bridges Funky Dining* (not in the Mole Exhibition)

Kathleen has also explored the how-to genre with her 2019 publication How to Draw Step-by-Step Charcoal: Portraits for Beginners, about which she said: “I have created an easy to practice guide, demonstrating simple portrait steps for beginners. I love charcoal! Charcoal affords the artist the opportunity to sculpt with dust, by building layers of charcoal and then softening the lines with your fingertips. Massaging the dust into the contours of the facial features and removing the highlighted areas with a kneaded eraser, is for me almost a 3D experience - as I move the charcoal into the energy of my sitter.”

Kathleen’s published works are all available on Amazon and Kindle.

As Kathleen strives to find creative ways to overcome life's obstacles, including those pertaining to her personal health, she is forging a new path forward in 2023 where her new works reflect her ongoing vision improvement and insights regarding light angles and human interactions and connectivity sans sight.

Among her influences she cites Auguste Rodin, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Vladimir Tretchikoff, the natural environment, and the black and white action packed drawings of war comics she consumed as a child.

In her own words: "I wish I could reach inside of you, touch upon your hidden hurts, release them like the Dove of Peace and help you walk anew. This is the maxim by which I live and subsequently permeates all that I create. By the very nature of our birth, we will all face our death – what matters most, is that we truly “Live” in between. To live is to experience the highest potential of our physical being; to plunge the depths and heights of our emotional being; to challenge and expand our intellectual capabilities and curiosities; to harness the energy of the metaphysical, collaborating with like-minds, beyond mind – energy to energy, thought to manifested creation.

“Artists are their own best therapists as at no time can we deny what's going on inside. No matter how ceramic the mask for social gatherings, when heart and medium meet - our soul stares back revealing our truth. In the process of creating, we process our healing. The visual language of Art is my playground of expression.

“I couldn’t have done any of this without my friends, teachers, and the support of Mole Hill’s Quentin Wright and Sandra Martins who gave me this opportunity.”