When that perfect wave is spotted, Nelson BC artist Lani Maeglin Imre hops on her surfboard, content at last to find her balance that she says is hard to find any place else.

An artist who has done printmaking and ceramics, Lani currently paints, draws and does some design work on clothing, surfboards and snowboards. She uses any materials that are available on location when leading her nomadic lifestyle which just so happens to include surfing in Baja California.

“I never stay put in one place for more than a few months except for the Baja. There are so many places I want to be; I have a lot of things going on simultaneously. When I change my environment, it changes my work,” she comments.

Lani’s extended family lives in California. Lani chose the Baja because she was interested in pursuing surfing saying, “I have a healthy lifestyle there. I can work and sell my stuff for more than what I can sell in Canada. I make so many contacts there; I even meet industry people in the water while surfing.”

Born in B.C., Lani has traveled all her life, lived with her single mother who now has a plot of land in Nicaragua, going from rental to rental as well as making a memorable van trip to Mexico in grade seven. Lani left home after grade 10 to go to a fine arts high school in Fort Langley; after graduation she went travelling with her Mom driving through Nelson and found the Kootenay School of the Arts. She ended up attending in 2000 for ceramics and now shows her paintings at the Our Glass Beads and Gallery in Nelson, as well as Vancouver’s Ayden Gallery. Check out www.bocaseda.com or bocaseda88@gmail.com for more information on Lani’s work.

“I have a strong work ethic and tend to compromise everything – relationships and physical well being for my work. I put myself in isolation in preparation for a show. In the Baja I pay more attention to myself – it’s more relaxed.”

Her works of art are usually large – 5 x 8 feet saying that her passion is with the larger canvases which tend to include women that are larger than life. Lani explains her influences are anime, graffiti, comics, pop art, marketing, advertising, mass culture, and graphics.

“My paintings started off into this venture into pop culture and for me to contend with - how images are forced upon us and how women are represented. I am fascinated and curious about it all. My women are virtualized fantasy girls; each one is their own character and strong – almost like super heroes.”

The women are becoming more personal recently. Lani says that the images are becoming more like the people around her as well as from her own body, saying, “that these strong independent women reflect the space I am in.”

This strong independent woman is the same wherever she goes – on the board, travelling, or working in the studio. It’s just that sometimes Lani needs that down time in the surf in order to keep creating and staying balanced.