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ART KITCHEN 

Karen and Vanessa love to talk. One day, they talked about how much they love to talk, and thought, gee, let's start a podcast, shall we? 

WHO WE ARE

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KAREN MORAND

I have been a professional musician for 12 years. I have created 5 albums, performed live solo, with the acoustic trio I lead up and in collaboration with other artists. I have played extensively locally and throughout Ontario and Quebec. I have received the Canada South Songwriting Contest (2016), played festivals (Kingsville Folk Festival, Blue Skies Music Festival) and conferences (Folk Music Ontario, SWERFA Canadian Showcase in Austin, Texas). I write and co-write (Suzie Vinnick, Linda McRae, Steve Hindalong),  I volunteer as music support for multiple local churches. I teach private music lessons.

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VANESSA SHIELDS

I am currently the Poet Laureate of Windsor, and have been extensively involved in the creative community for over two decades. I am the owner of Gertrude’s Writing Room - A Gathering Place for Writers, a creative space that offers writing workshops, classes, mentoring and editing. For three years, I created and hosted Mouth Piece Storytelling, a successful storytelling series, in various locations across Windsor/Essex. Each show was recorded and a podcast was created. I have 5 published books, numerous self-published books, and I have edited more than 10 books of poetry for various artists/publishers. I am the Ontario Representative (outside Toronto) for the League of Canadian Poets. I am a member of the League of Canadian Poets, The Writers Union of Canada and the Ontario Poetry Society. I have been on numerous juries for literary arts awards across the country. 

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