MISSION POSSIBLE
Mar 22, 2005
Chris Traber
York Region Newspaper Group
It's about the art of giving for Jean-Claude Paquet.
And the giving of art.
A Newmarket artist, Mr. Paquet, 38, recently volunteered to join members of Partners International in the construction of a community centre to feed, house, educate and provide medical care for homeless children in Zambia, Africa.
As a registered charity, participants pay their own travel and living expenses and contribute to the costs of building materials and supplies.
To bankroll his part in the mission, scheduled to depart May 27 for Lusaka, Mr. Paquet decided to donate two of his most prized original art works for auction.
He will also reproduce a pair of his most popular drawings and give away 100 signed and numbered prints of each for a minimum contribution of $25. Every cent raised will be donated to the children's project, he said.
The decision to help orphaned and abandoned children and the novel underwriting of the endeavour is yet another chapter in the renaissance of the talented artist.
An accomplished painter, singer, actor, dancer, martial artist and gymnast, Mr. Paquet learned of the suffering in Zambia from a colleague at the Markham-based design firm where he works as a freelance graphic artist.
Once he viewed the photograph album of a previous mission, the father of an eight-year- old daughter knew he had to help.
"I was amazed at seeing all this poverty, but looking past that, I saw all these smiling faces," he said.
"Children with nothing but the clothes on their back, laughing and playing and working together to build a new life off the streets.
"I was moved by the thought that my employer stopped his very hectic schedule, not to go lie on a beach and sip colourful drinks, but to go to a foreign country and build a dormitory for homeless children to start a new life. 'I've got to go' is what I immediately said."
Mr. Paquet learned Zambia is one of the world's poorest countries with a generation of lost children suffering from hunger, disease and abuse. Hundreds of children die daily due to a lack of food, clean water and proper medical attention.
The timing, it turned out, was fortuitous.
"I've been through four difficult, bad years," he said.
"I'm calling them my mid-life growth spurt, not mid-life crisis, years.
"I also recently attended the 25th anniversary of Sacred Heart (high school) and my old friends reminded me how much I helped them in the past, how much I gave. It opened things for me. I wanted to be my old self again. Now I had my opportunity. How could I say no?"
Joining the mission dedicated to reaching out "to bring help, healing and hope to suffering children throughout the world" was also premised as a life lesson to benefit his own little girl.
"She's incredible," he said. "I want her to see that helping is good. I want to teach her not to be afraid. As an artist, I've learned to see patterns and I'm teaching her that there are patterns in life and on a canvas.
"I just don't want to look back at my years and say, 'I could have' or 'I should have.' I want to set an example for my daughter and for everyone in our community. I want to do what I can to help."
Born in Toronto and a Newmarket resident since 1978, Mr. Paquet is not averse to taking risks and exploring life's more perilous pursuits. He has a brown belt in jiu jitsu.
"My style is somewhere between Newfoundland and Japanese," he said with a chortle. "I do it for the experience, not to collect belts."
A performer since age eight, he has sung, danced and acted in various community and dinner theatres. Between March 31 and April 10 Mr. Paquet will take on the role of Simon in Jesus Christ Superstar at Keswick's Stephen Leacock Theatre.
He is reluctant to label himself, preferring to wear many creative hats.
"The graphic arts pay the bills," he said. "The acting keeps me sane. I love the diversity of my life. I'm not out to be rich. I just want to pay the bills, raise my daughter and love what I want to do.
"Being a big fish in a small pond is a lot easier than getting lost in the background."
The paintings Mr. Paquet is offering for auction are his most cherished, he advised.
Entitled Mountain of Peace 1 and 2, the framed acrylic on canvas works depict impressionistic peaks rising from the sea. They are sized 51 x 34 inches and 42 x 31 inches respectively. The colours are vibrantly eye catching and evoke both a sense of tranquility and lucidity.
"They are visions inspired from Eastern Canada," he said. "My family originally came from New Brunswick."
Whether a savvy bidder wants both or a single is yet unknown. The artist has yet to decide if there will be a reserve bid on the silent auction but remains confident the minimum will be met, if not exceeded.
The pencil crayon prints, Embraced and On the Back of an Angel, will be reproduced on quality stock, individually numbered and autographed by Mr. Paquet.
Parting with his beloved art is a small price to pay, considering the Zambian children who will ultimately benefit.
"I've heard a lot of people wish they can do something," Mr. Paquet said. "I'm going to take this short period of time in my life and do this. I hope that at least one person will be motivated to do the same.
"I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I was born and raised in the greatest country by the greatest family and I have the honour of raising a great daughter. How do I say thank you and to whom?"
For information, call 905-717-1300. To view the art online, visit www.jcpaquet.com
JCPaquet
the ArtHouse Graphics
jcpaquet@rogers.com
905-717-1300
Randy
Cannell and the kids
September 2004