Tag Archives: art

Seasonal Slowness

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I am currently working on a documentary on slow clothes and have been in contemplation on how hand made items can deeply enrich our lives, how it is a necessity for us to make more of our own goods with 7 billion people cohabiting on the planet with a limited amount of natural resources.  It is a fact that the majority of people in our society have no connection to the items they possess other than selecting them at a store. 

During the winter holidays, when daylight is scarce and our schedules are full, it can be hard to maintain our bliss.  I am coming out of a very busy spell with a schedule that kept me at school working on projects until 1-2 AM several days a week, and sometimes at school 7 days a week.  Now that I have a few weeks off my first instinct is to sleep.  My second instinct is to spend as little time as possible shopping for obligatory gifts and to spend quality time with friends and family, the people who fuel me.  Taking the time for the subtle joys.

bright

The first thing I did with my free time was to buy materials in which I can create with.  For the next few weeks, aside from quality time with loved ones, I am developing skills pertaining to hand crafted textiles.  I am slowing down this season and that does not mean that I will be hibernating.  Aside from catching up on sleep I am going to be less spread thin and more intentional with my time.  As the winter solstice envelopes us with darkness I find my equilibrium, I engage in activities that recharge and inspire rather than distract and deplete.  Moving forward with clarity and focus on what the holidays really represent and not so caught up in the superficial aspects of the winter holidays in North America.

drop spindle

I hope to create more of what we normally consume, always contemplating how to reduce my footprint.  I look at all of the stores selling stuff and I wonder how much of it ends up in a land fill within a few years, barely making a lasting impact on the person who acquires it. I dream of a society that spends more time with peers creating rather than shopping for useless distractions that are depleting our Earth’s resources.  I dream of people learning more traditional skills and combining them with our modern technology and wisdom to truly innovate and revolutionize how we be.

I slow down this holiday season and my mind feels anything but slow.  I feel sharp and inspired.  My heart is full and ready to give.

Truly sustainable textiles consider the land that grows the materials spun then woven into cloth.  It is a human art deeply connected to the Earth.

Synchronistic Flow

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Continuing with my theme of the past two posts this is turning out to be a magical summer where all of my efforts have produced a flow that seems to have a force of its own. That is what synchronicity is after all. After seeing ‘Cave of Forgotten Dreams’ I ended up at a ranch on native land near Lytton, BC. We stayed with a beautiful family with a special ancestry steeped in rich traditions from BC’s first nations. In the surrounding area and in the nearby Stein Valley there are caves with petrogylphs and for three days I listened to stories of the paintings in these caves, stories of the land and of ancestry. Stories of prophecy.

My dreams during my stay on this pristine land were vivid and insightful. My dreams were different than I have ever recalled, and I am a dreamer. I felt a strong connection to nature which was refreshing after months of intense study. Further to the synchronicity the room I stayed in had an old spinning wheel in it which was exciting for me as I am developing a documentary on textiles produced from hand spun fabrics. This family has lineage as very skilled weavers. When I drove home I felt elated and allowed myself to fully relax and rejuvenate before jumping back into my hectic schedule.

There once was a time when people lived in harmony with nature, when communities coexisted without causing destruction to the environment. These people looked up and had a vision that reached beyond the sky. Our leaders today look down and squabble over breadcrumbs in comparison. I am feeling refreshed after listening to stories that have been preserved over thousands of years. I am feeling refreshed to remember that life is beyond what we produce and what we acquire.

Forgotten Dreams

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I find it ironic that my last post was referencing Bjork’s ‘Crystalline’ then the next film I watched was Werner Hertzog’s ‘Cave of Forgotten Dreams’. In this theatrically released 3D documentary we are taken into the pristine Chauvet cave in France and explore the earliest and most well preserved cave drawings dating back 30,000 years. In this cinematic journey into the cave we see a sparkling layer of calcite crystals covering the cave’s inner surfaces and as I watched the film, enjoying the ambient soundtrack scored by Ernst Reijseger, I couldn’t help but feel the symmetry between the content of the film and the content from my last post.

I enjoy Hertzog’s storytelling and the subject is beautiful. When I was in high school I read the ‘Clan of the Cave Bear’ series by Jean Auel which I found magical and inspiring. The drawings in Chauvet are from the same period that the book is set in which helped evoke my imagination. There was a shot that was especially impressive that I couldn’t figure out how it was taken; it followed a river then went under a naturally formed arch then immediately turned around and went back. It couldn’t have been taken by helicopter because the helicopter wouldn’t have made it through the arch. They reveal how they cleverly did the shot at the end. There is an epilogue to the film which I found pertinent to the times we live in focusing on the environmental effects from the Nuclear Power plants that are situated in the vicinity of the Caves.

The images in this film are striking and as they were filmed in 3D it really brought the images to life. You could experience details of amazingly skilled drawings that would have been lost on a flat screen. There was a drawing of a bison with 8 legs and it looked like it was running. Hertzog claims that it was a proto-cinema which indeed it did feel like; the inspiration and expression found in this cave blew me away. I feel like this was the birth place of art and film history.

If you watch this film and let yourself go it is somewhat magical and giving that the topic of her track ‘Crystalline’ I think Bjork would get a lot out of watching it too. Another irony is that I have had several dreams through out the years in which I was connected to a community that lived in caves. We all had an area in the cave in which we displayed our art or shared our skill, my area of the cave was beside Bjork’s. That was one of my forgotten dreams. I find this amusing as my last blog post ‘Crystalline Clarity’ was spontaneous and I posted it without giving it too much thought. And then I watched ‘Cave of Forgotten Dreams’ and felt an awakening into my subconscious on many levels.

Crystalline Clarity

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Again I am tickled by Bjork, she just released a stellar track about crystals. Perhaps as I have been working a lot lately on computers and in dark studios I have been drawn to wearing gemstones and have been admiring the crystals we have in our home. They are just ever so cool and make me feel more connected to the earth while I am so in my head with my work.

It also reminds me of a ‘jem’ from my childhood: does anyone remember this?

Breaking down Bjork’s lyrics is always a mind expanding process. Here are a few verses:

***

Underneath our feet
Crystals grow like plants
(Listen how they grow)
I’m blinded by the lights
(Listen how they grow)
In the core of the earth
(Listen how they grow)

Crystalline
Internal Nebula
(Crystalline)
Rocks growing slowmo
(Crystalline)
I conquer claustrophobia
(Crystalline)
And demand the light.

***

Enjoy the video, directed by one of my favorites, Michael Gondry.

And if you are into interactive websites and iPads check out her new interactive 3D website: http://bjork.com/

Human Behaviour

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Last week the Vancouver International Film Festival wrapped up after two weeks of film galore. This year the theme for me was documentaries and each documentary that I watched had an environmental spin on it even if it was not an ‘environmental’ film; it is a global topic. All of the films discussed an imminent need for conditions on this planet to shift RIGHT NOW, that we are in need of a REVOLUTION.

Sometimes I think about conditions on our sacred planet and I wonder why people aren’t freaking out and being more proACTIVE. There are some amazing people making a difference, creating a future for us to live in balance and all of these people are my HEROS. Although we are making progress it seems as if a great majority of the population are so passive about planetary conditions and current issues. regeneration-themovie.com discussed how we are plugged into the internet, personal entertainment devices, we are consuming more than ever before and this is leaving us DISTRACTED. Our youth is preoccupied and passive. Even with all of this ‘media’ there is such massive censorship that most Americans have no idea about what really is happening in Iraq, there are no major protests like there were when the US ambushed Vietnam & Cambodia.

Our feet in both worlds the key thought for me, leveraging our connectivity and unplugging on a regular basis. Remember that we CAN make a difference. Make time for community, don’t wait for someone to do something. MOVE. I am certain that we are capable of pulling up our socks and focus more effectively at transformation and have ecstatic fun while doing so. Immerse yourself in love, remember that when we keep our vibrations high we have more energy to focus our thoughts and actions, magnetizing momentum.

Irresistible.

Remix Culture

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I had an inspiring lunch this week with a dear friend and we got to talking about being on track, or not being on track, and how that is measurable only by the self and the development of our consciousness. It is an exciting time on our planet, sometimes I am overcome with a deep rooted belief that we are going to elevate living conditions on our sacred Earth and sometimes when I relapse into autopilot and I see others do the same I feel not so certain. It is difficult to believe that with all of the amazing advancements in how we communicate and exchange information and media that we can’t utilize this to really connect, inspire and ultimately elevate. I have been finding heaps of inspiration in this way lately.

With all of the voices having access to a platform, and all of the audiences available, how much of the content that is out there is original? The beauty of most popular media is how it is remixed, our utilization of co-creating, gaining inspiration from a previously produced work, and adapting it with our own flavor. What exactly are we saying?

I have been contemplating a ‘wireside’ chat at W2 during the Olympics with Stanford Professor Lawrence Lessic speaking via Skype on open video and remix culture. I work with video and create a lot of content for youtube or internet download/streaming. Since 2006 the YouTube platform has hosted a venue for a plethora of people and has created a call and response environment that makes my heart smile. One person posts a video, their own expression and perspective on something, and it is responded with by another video building on the previous theme or actually incorporating footage. It can be hysterical to see how a story evolves, though is it really true art? Are we warranted to take video footage and make it our own?

Intellectually this can be debated in great detail, we can analyze trends and content though from a greater vantage point it almost becomes like a digital jungle with video streams appearing like insects in a bustling symphony. Yes, when one person responds with their version it is art, or a valid form of modern expression. Ideas and expressions interweaving, inspiration coming in faster than ever. A call, a response. Video hosts all outlets and is a powerful accompaniment to music, the king of remix.

A very small example of some of the MJ inspired youtube remixes…

Kirtan is an ancient tradition stemming from Vedic culture thousands of years ago where sacred mantras are chanted to music in a call and response fashion. It is actually quite a powerful method to dissolve stress and tune into higher heart centered frequencies, a needed remedy to the sometimes chaotic conditions produced by our modern pace. Call and response culture is not new on this planet, it has been ingrained in us since we started evolving as a species. I’d say it has been remixed into a more modern context embracing the digital mediums sparking up our planet right now.

Currently drinking some home made chai with my own twist to it, listening to some favorite re-mixes and contemplating how we can utilize this phenomenon for the benefit of raising it up.

This hit sparks these character’s creativity, Indian style…

Arts Cuts: Make Your Voice Heard

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The BC Liberal Government has proposed massive cuts to arts funding over the next few years. If you are an artist, have artistic children, or if the arts in any form have enhanced your life PLEASE contact your MLA and encourage your tribe to do so too.

Be informed, check out the Stop Arts Cuts website: http://www.stopbcartscuts.ca/

Apparently ‘ink’ petitions are more powerful, so get out your pen and write right now! This blog has some great guidance: http://stopbcartscuts.wordpress.com/

I can’t even begin to articulate how opposed to the cutting of 92% of the funding allocated to Arts in BC over the next few years I am. At the Wrecking Ball, a fund raising event put together by the vibrant theater community, the statistics were presented so colorfully and humorously. In the new year the government is going to be making some big budget related choices, NOW IS THE TIME TO CONTACT YOUR MLA. I don’t feel like reiterating the facts, I just want to remind you that your voice counts and now is the time to speak out.

If you Twitt follow these great tweeps:
http://twitter.com/AllianceArts
http://twitter.com/stopbcartscuts

May BC remain a colorful province. May artists everywhere be victorious. :: Creativity Counts ::

FUSE: Interactive Art For The Whole Family

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Today I had to do some errands downtown and serendipitously stumbled upon the first ever Family FUSE Weekend at the Vancouver Art Gallery. I had the young apprentices with me so naturally they were excited about all of the great activities that were going around the VAGs perimeters, inside and out.

making seed balls

making seed balls


We hula hooped, stilt walked, made an animation, and even made seed balls. The Environmental Youth Alliance creates events that connect youth to wholesome activities ranging from gardening plots, walks to educate on edible herbs growing in our environment ect. Seedballs are a great way to re-plant areas that don’t have great soil or irrigation conditions, it involves mixing local seeds with clay and soil, the clay holds the water, helping the seeds to germinate in less than ideal conditions. These seeds can be planted anywhere including in unsuspecting abandoned lots and unnoticed free spaces of land in our environments. I think guerrilla gardening is pretty cool.

parkour krew

parkour krew

Solen was thrilled and amazed by the Parkour demo. It is impressive… think of the stunts from The Matrix, guys running up walls and doing back flips off, guys diving through the air and doing acrobatics over stair wells in sequence ninja style. It is amazing what we humans are capable of training our bodies to do.

painting bliss

painting bliss

While Sarina and Solen did some paintings that will be displayed at the VAG for the next week I got to dance to a DJ while admiring all of the chalk art and other engaging activities. Later on, while exploring the Annex inside we found the amazing goo sculpture that mesmerized Sarina & Solen at Granville Island. Sarina was transfixed upon the florescent goo coming out of all of the pipes ever so beautifully and I literally had to drag her away. Vancouver based sculptor added the ink from 50 highlighter pens to 250 gallons of non-toxic polymer to create a beautiful snot-inspired visceral piece to appease his wacky sense of humor while managing to create a dynamic piece that captivated all children who crossed its path.

glow in the dark goo

glow in the dark goo

The VAG has a new Director who was at the TATE before coming to Vancouver. The Family Fuse Weekends will be happening three weekends of the year. Don’t miss it! Check out the new programing!

marbles

marbles

After spending 5 hours at the beach yesterday I had no problem playing downtown on such a gorgeous day. I am drinking up all of the creativity boosting goodness that we stumbled upon.

88 blocks: Art on Main

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instant-coffee_88blocks_evite1

88 Blocks: Art on Main

There is another wacky fun art initiative happening in Vancouver. The Main Street corridor is hosting a public art program which has been kicked off with A BRIGHT FUTURE by Instant Coffee, Vancouver/Toronto based artist collective that has been keeping me in the know for a few years now. The fun installations will be comprised of temporary works on display until April 30th with some permanent displays. Blanket Bus: Imagine a random number 3 trolley bus covered in bright afghan blanket patterns. Instant Coffee 500: Walk inside another trolley and see artworks commissioned by Instant Coffee from artists in North, Central, and South America as well as Europe, in the place of paid advertisements. You can use your preferred choice of media (text 604.779.0008 or online www.instantcoffee.org) and vote on your favorite piece. The winner will be announced at the event launch this Saturday, January 17th from 7-10PM at the launch’s co-host VIVO 1965 Main Street, and will get to grace the full exterior of a third number 3 bus.

Other works you will see adding some spice to Main Street is a bus shelter on Main and 20th suited with S.A.D. lights! I could use a little light therapy right now… (Instant Coffee Light Bar Bus Shelter installation). Say Nothing in Bright Colours will permanently adorn sandwich boards bearing hand painted slogans installed on the sidewalk at my old stomping grounds; Main and 22nd as well as Main and 20th.

afghan wrapped buses!

afghan wrapped buses!

May contemporary art swell up in this city and invade a street corner or public transit device on a more frequent basis.

On my stove top: a pot of water boiling fresh ginger and turmeric with a few cardamon pods.

creative weave

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On the eve of yet another beautifully intense, round, life-provoking full moon I found myself unable to stay home after a long day of work and meetings, so I rounded up Sarina & Solen, my infamous young apprentices, and headed down to the cultural beacon here in Vancouver, the VAG. I make a point of going to galleries when I visit a city, and make a point of staying current with the major galleries of the city I live in and a few smaller favorites as well.

Jeff Wall’s work is being exhibited and I felt drawn to see his works again. I have seen his works and attended an artist talk a few years back in my days of involvement with the CAG, but was very excited to see him in the gallery this evening. He was giving a private tour to some of the subjects of his photographic works, a collection of homeless/street youth, it was a very special event. As there was a crowd around him it was easy to stand in the back with other gallery folk and listen to his engaging talk. I enjoyed serendipitously running into his little tour of the exhibition at the beginning and having the chance to hear him speak about his creative process as he brilliantly fuses the creative with the technical. I think what I enjoy about his works, aside from the brilliant light coming from behind the images, is that he treats his works as if they are a movie, there is a production involved. His images always have such a story to tell, and much to say about the world we live in. And the city I live in.

I also enjoyed Kai Althoff’s exhibition, especially the collaborative instillation: The Weaving Place showcasing the work of San Fran artist Travis Joseph Meinholf, inventor of the Laser-Loom! The room was filled with weaving projects that you can work on, a modified handloom, woven fabrics, spindles, quilts and more! I was in heaven. Art and hand made textiles all under one roof! The instillation examines alternative methods of producing goods and really showed the beauty of fabrics made by hand, there is no comparison for me.

vagquilt

vagknit

Equally as impressive was Evelyn Roth’s Environment for Reading Recycled from 110 Sweaters, 1974, a part of the WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution exhibition. A tipi-like structure was knit from the yarn of old sweaters with a light hanging from the middle. It was a beautiful work in alternative/sustainable media transforming the environment within the gallery.

Sarina and Solen’s favorite was Martina Minujin & Richard Squires’ Soft Gallery, 1973. Imagine a room created out of many mattresses and you could bounce freely or chill and watch a movie playing on the suspended tv. Or take a nap as one patron did. Solen polished his great somersault in the air move.

youth appreciating the arts

youth appreciating the arts

I am off to drink some tea and have a good conversation with the moon that is full. Weaving my kaleidoscopic-like roles that I have back into my heart.