COMMUNITY FOCUS
‘I felt so much at home’
By Lisa Etherington-Runions Lorna Jane Foreman ended up work- ing in the film industry quite by acci- dent. The Cornwall resident, and native of Montreal, had dreams of be- coming a veterinarian or fashion de- signer, but by chance after working in advertising, and in the Vertebrate Pa- leontology Department of the Royal Ontario Museum, she landed a job in the film industry. She never looked back. It was 1969, and the Canadian Film In- dustry was in its infancy, where people did more than one job. While working initially as a secretary, Lorna ended up as a production manager on documen- taries and doing some set dressing. “Oddly enough,” said Foreman, “it was working in this business that removed my shyness. I felt so much at home. The assistant director showed his displeasure in their hiring an inexperienced woman and dumped so many responsibilities on my shoulders. I was very determined though, and it was a great experience. The hardest part of getting things just right in this field, was just doing the job well as the demands were fierce. Big dol- lars for budgets did not allow mistakes, and I was really good at financial stuff,” quips Foreman. “My father taught me to be self-sufficient, so I did my best.” As a child, while growing up in Van- couver in the early 1940’s, one of her most inspirational moments was amus- ing herself by performing small theatri- cal one-person shows, persuading her mother at times to participate. Her mother indulged her, and Foreman prob- ably would have gone into theatre if she had not been so terribly shy. “It stopped me from doing so much. However I did teach myself how to paint, draw, and my favourite was designing clothes for women.” Her mother used to take her to see the movies, and Foreman recalls seeing Lu- cille Ball in a straight, dramatic, glam- ourous role. Foreman thought designing glamourous clothes would be the best thing in the world. Years later, she ended up designing her own line of hand- painted and quilted clothing so in a way Foreman fulfilled that fantasy. For the woman who now feels most comfortable just dressed in jeans, a sweater or shirt, and her favourite work boots or sandals, it is a far cry from the Lorna of old. “It was the feminist move- ment that had that effect on me,” said Foreman. Probably one of the most exciting ad- Working in film helped woman overcome shyness
sounds very simple,” said Foreman, “ but I spent so many years searching for that. Foreman feels her keen sense of hu- mour and compassion are her personal strengths. “Humour helps through prob- lems and compassion is a wonderful feel- ing. I still get nervous in front of people though, but once I start, well there’s no stopping me,” she says with a smile. Foreman relaxes by reading, doing yoga, and enjoys dancing, “but for the moment it is only when I do my house- work while listening to Leonard Cohen, Willy Nelson, and Jesse Cooke. These are the sort of genres of music that I enjoy. Somehow Chopin isn’t for dusting” she says with a smile. When asked if there is a song, motto, or quote that represents something she stands for or believes in, she says, “ Funny thing. Years ago the CBC had people call in to give the song they thought most described them. Mine was ‘Don’t Fence Me In.’ I value freedom and independence.” Foreman also enjoys reading and just finished an amazing book titled “ The Art of Reading Heartbeats.” She also en- joys mysteries. She has two favourite movies. One ti- tled “ Orpheo Negro” which was done in the 1950’s and the other “The World’s Fastest Indian.” When asked if there is anyone dead or alive that she would like to meet and have a conversation with she says, “Yes!! Definitely Georgia O’Keeffe. She is one of my inspirations.” When defining success Foreman asserts that it is not monetary. “Following your passion is success,” says Foreman, “and I would like to think that I have motivated people to follow their passions. If I could change anything in my life or do over again, I would just do more of what I did in my life. “I have no children, no brothers or sis- ters, my parents are deceased, and I have lost touch with my family, however I have a chosen family and step children, who inspire me.” “My husband passed away ten years ago. Unfortunately, we were trying to finish a large catamaran to do our sailing trip again when he died. It is not a dream that is easily done on one’s own. So here I am without a boat but happy to be living here.” If there is one thing in this world that she would like changed it would be a better understanding between peoples and nations. When asked what she enjoys in her free time, she says “Free time? What’s that. Actually I will often use what I call my dream chair, just to sit and out of that quiet still place I get so many wonderful ideas. Then I write them down in a book because I don’t want to forget them, and carrying them around in my head is too distracting.” Foreman has a yen for life, and still has adventures to go on, books to write, and a passion that urges her to enjoy all that her world has to offer. When asked where she sees herself in the future, she says, “That I can’t predict, but right here is quite lovely, thank you.”
Special photo
Lorna Jane Forman poses by two of her books about gluten free cooking.
ventures of her life was a sailboat trip that changed her life experience. “Well maybe the motorcycle trip five years ago came close,” she quips, “ but I had never
been writing for Fifty-Five Plus maga- zine, and in 2010 published the book, “ When Life Becomes Real,” a compilation of her columns from 1998 to 2010. “I am still writing columns, so in
sailed before, and I needed a break from a disastrous job, so I got an invitation from an old friend I had grown up with, in fact we dated as teenagers. We did the inland waterways – up to the north channel and down Lake Michigan to the Gulf of Mexico. I had joined the boat in Schenec- tady, N.Y. and we worked our way north before heading south. I ended up marrying the captain just after I arrived in Cornwall in 1989, and we stayed, and ran a pub in Williamstown for two years.” After moving to Corn-
about eight years I will have another book,” said joked. Foreman was also instru- mental in starting up the Cornwall Writer’s Society. “I had no idea when I first put the idea to the library that it would fly or last so long, but we are still going strong six years later and it is getting ever more excit- ing,” she said. Foreman also puts to- gether workshops along with business partner David Rawnsley on mak- ing personal changes in your life. She is currently putting together a work-
“Actually I will often use what I call my dream chair, just to sit and out of that quiet still place I get so many wonderful ideas. Then I write them down in a book because I don’t want to forget them, and carrying them around in my head is too dis- tracting.” Lorna Jane Foreman
wall, Foreman also got involved in art again, and again by chance. She was part of the Focus Art group, and in the years that followed, she was asked to write a newspaper column on the arts which started her writing life. “I did that for three years but wrote for another seven on the same subject for the Glengarry News.” Since then she has
shop on how to change your diet since she discovered she is gluten intolerant. “Making those changes is not always easy,” explains Foreman. She has re- leased two books with recipe selections on the subject which she feels is really helping those who are gluten intolerant. Foreman feels she has finally reached a stage in life where she is at peace. ‘It
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