Always Go Full Heart

By Chantal Abdel-Nour (Sudbury, Ontario)

261 Regent Street, Sudbury, Ontario
August 2020, Up Here 6

Sponsored by Eastlink

Artist Statement

The mural design is a means of helping to improve your journey. We’ve been living in a society, a world, that’s all about going full-throttle—get it done, and ignore other critical needs and effects. I worked in a European deli and import shop for 20 years (family business), and it was instilled in us to always think about the customer’s experience. We wanted them to enjoy coming to our shop, discovering new treasure/products, be helpful and kind no matter what, and ensure that their day moving forward was even better than when it began. We gave it our all each and every day, and at the end of each day, we were proud of the work we had done. And it wasn’t always glamourous, but I strongly believe that no matter what you’re doing in this life, whether you’re part-time in retail, raising children, trying to make a marriage work, treating a patient, teaching college students, or painting a mural, if you strive to always go full-heart, then you can end a day knowing you gave it your absolute best. 

And if you’re discovering that you just can’t go full-heart anymore, then that’s often the sign that something needs to change. Give the song Raise a Little Hell by Trooper a listen, and make your journey a little better.

Chantal Abdel-Nour

Chantal Abdel-Nour is a graphic designer, illustrator, printmaker, and mushroom-picker in Sudbury, and has been teaching (and forever learning from her students) in the Graphic Design Program at Cambrian College since 2014. Her work tends to feature bold and controlled line-work, minimal palettes, experimental typography, and strategically arranged foraged organics. She strives to make you take pause.