tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16641401146412797182024-02-25T23:03:15.202-08:00Gloria Hickey craft writergloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.comBlogger304125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-19677721052992944022019-11-20T13:07:00.002-08:002019-11-20T13:07:51.134-08:00Frequently Asked Questions About 10,000 Villages<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfAk3n_eGYclOJL8QHlyDJcHz7QFdnE7-J-fzAqTCH3Ot2RiTu0xYbyksQGtYy-z1xn87j-8vAPaftsuqvHT_hndm62JuNwR6BpxUyBK5dTBmdO29YvRutF5WZL53rtTMyADJpISKkwdpF/s1600/Ten+Thousand++Villages+2019+Fair+Trade+Gift+Sale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1328" data-original-width="747" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfAk3n_eGYclOJL8QHlyDJcHz7QFdnE7-J-fzAqTCH3Ot2RiTu0xYbyksQGtYy-z1xn87j-8vAPaftsuqvHT_hndm62JuNwR6BpxUyBK5dTBmdO29YvRutF5WZL53rtTMyADJpISKkwdpF/s320/Ten+Thousand++Villages+2019+Fair+Trade+Gift+Sale.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="page" title="Page 1">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPS'; font-size: 12.000000pt; font-weight: 700;">1. What is Ten Thousand Villages?
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Ten Thousand Villages is a marketing organization that sells handicrafts from developing countries
through its network of 36 stores in Canada, 115 in the US, and through 300 annual Festival Sales in
Canada (100+) and the US (200+).
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">It is a program of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), a relief and development organization working
around the world. Ten Thousand Villages has its roots in the work begun by Edna Ruth Byler in 1946.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPS'; font-size: 12.000000pt; font-weight: 700;">2. Where does everything come from and who made it?
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Products sold by Ten Thousand Villages come from more than 30 countries around the world, countries
considered to be “Third World” or “underdeveloped”.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">We buy from more than 120 different groups of artisans and reach thousands of individual people. About
70% of the artisans are single mothers. Some artisan groups also seek to employ persons with physical
disabilities.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Ten Thousand Villages intentionally looks to work with people who are unemployed or severely under-
employed. Products sold by Ten Thousand Villages do not come from large factories but are made in
small group settings or in homes where artisans can also manage household responsibilities or farm work.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">We are concerned that the environment in which our artisans work is clean and healthy and materials used
for production are not harmful to the artisan or the environment
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPS'; font-size: 12.000000pt; font-weight: 700;">3. How is a “fair wage” determined?
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Ten Thousand Villages talks with the artisans themselves. They also talk with other organizations that are
working in that country. We also learn what other persons in the community earn – farm workers,
construction workers, teachers, etc. It is our goal that a person’s income enables her/him to pay for food,
clothing, housing, children’s education and medical care.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPS'; font-size: 12.000000pt; font-weight: 700;">4. How much money does Ten Thousand Villages send back to the artisan?<br />
None! </span><span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Before placing an order, Ten Thousand Villages establishes what the artisan group considers to be
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">a fair price for the item.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">When placing the order, half of the purchase price is sent with the order. This allows artisans to purchase
the raw materials needed and to pay wages during production.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Upon completion of the order, the remainder of the purchase price is paid before the order leaves the
country. Orders are paid in full before they arrive in our warehouse.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPS'; font-size: 12.000000pt; font-weight: 700;">5. How do we find these artisans and products?
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Ten Thousand Villages is a program of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC www.mcc.org), a relief and
development organization with contacts in 50 countries around the world.
</span><br />
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="page" title="Page 2">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">More than 500 MCC workers live and work in 40 developing countries. In many cases these MCC’ers
introduce us to artisans. Sometimes contacts come through other church groups or through the
International Federation of Alternative Trade (IFAT www.ifat.org). IFAT is a 200-member fair trade
organization to which Ten Thousand Villages belongs.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Regular visits and financial statements help us to ensure accountability. We do not ask any of the groups
we buy from to sell exclusively to us, nor do we have exclusive contracts on any products.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">We continually focus on trading with communities with the greatest needs.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPS'; font-size: 12.000000pt; font-weight: 700;">6. How are we different from Pier One® or other importers?
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Our principle is People First / Product Second. We deliberately go looking for people who have little or
no marketing connections. In some cases, we buy from artisans who have never made anything they
could sell before. We first encourage the artisans to make whatever they can from raw materials they
have available locally. As we work together, products and artisans increase in sophistication.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">We worked with Allpa (a group of artisans making ceramic pieces in Peru) for 5 or 6 years before helping
them attend the New York Gift Show. Pier One learned about Allpa at the gift show and has placed orders
with them since then.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPS'; font-size: 12.000000pt; font-weight: 700;">7. Is everything really handmade?
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Items are made in home workshops or yards. Stone workers use power tools but items are still made one
at a time. Textiles are woven on handlooms rather than on power looms. In the case of the papyrus cards
from Egypt, cards are printed by a silkscreen process, then individually hand-painted. Being individually
made, products are not always identical.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPS'; font-size: 12.000000pt; font-weight: 700;">8. Why aren’t there any products from the impoverished in Canada?
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Our mandate is to work with poor artisans in developing countries. In developing countries, governments
do not have social assistance programs to help the unemployed or disabled. Any person in Canada
probably has better possibilities of accessing the market than a person on the other side of the world. The
poorest person in Canada is generally better off than the typical person in Bangladesh, for example.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPS'; font-size: 12.000000pt; font-weight: 700;">9. Who does a Festival Sale benefit?
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">It is Ten Thousand Villages’ intention that the artisans who make the products we sell are also the ones
who benefit from our sales. No local Canadian organizations benefit from a Festival Sale. Each sale is
run by volunteers.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Ten Thousand Villages is a non-profit, self-supporting organization. We do not raise funds for other MCC
programs, nor do we receive donations from MCC. We have no shareholders to pay. We are grateful for
the many volunteers who gladly work on behalf of world neighbours they will never meet.
</span><br />
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br />gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-92131710365048385072019-06-09T13:50:00.000-07:002019-06-09T13:51:40.698-07:00To Blog, or Not To Blog<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtbfWxjrnUDVaRH5o28uc7CppFvxxTbfVfhxgV-oZ6qUQbl3s1G0lm456YM_F51z_1VLbJnmH2YUdI8IPAgK_xYjic-kXklyhUQDRMCp9RsmwSIteUrJfcHxbnykkQ0R6Z7U2b9sXK5RfP/s1600/burlap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="794" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtbfWxjrnUDVaRH5o28uc7CppFvxxTbfVfhxgV-oZ6qUQbl3s1G0lm456YM_F51z_1VLbJnmH2YUdI8IPAgK_xYjic-kXklyhUQDRMCp9RsmwSIteUrJfcHxbnykkQ0R6Z7U2b9sXK5RfP/s320/burlap.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pins by PLSGOCO</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I have been a regular blogger now for a few years and have racked up more than 300 of them in addition to my professional practice as a reviewer, essayist and curator. Facebook has also taken up some of my attention and has been a good way of reaching out to readers. The temptation with Facebook is that it can be done in a few minutes. It is the graffiti of communication, a post-it-note or abbreviated means of expression. It does not encourage considered thought or a developed argument. It does not encourage responsible thinking and writing. But it can pack a wallop with a stinging after effect. That makes it expensive mind-candy.<br />
<br />
Tenured academics have the perk of sabbaticals to feed their research and keep the creative engines running. I envy that situation, so I decided to take some time off from regular blogging and do some dedicated reading. Furthermore, I chose to read fiction and poetry rather than factual prose. I became more selective about which assignments to accept. Now this was real luxury.<br />
<br />
It is often said that there are usually two solutions to any problem: time and money. I believe that time is more desirable than money. If I am considering whether to accept an assignment or pursue a professional project, I will ask myself the following question. "Do I want to spend my time thinking and researching this topic or artist?" I rarely give second thought to the writer's fee.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5cZQvTEgLwg1tfs8X2QcOFktXWOLYNxxC2NuBJA_4v6ENcqOCga8DC7mGTg-xD-VMSJIKy_49es6h-aiB8DC7Hbfp7YdXwg4OYDeTveuCfB7TTfKxdcLZjwRLWIqSJ9qOOjhmZB9aRkqr/s1600/banksy+wall+and+piece.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="380" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5cZQvTEgLwg1tfs8X2QcOFktXWOLYNxxC2NuBJA_4v6ENcqOCga8DC7mGTg-xD-VMSJIKy_49es6h-aiB8DC7Hbfp7YdXwg4OYDeTveuCfB7TTfKxdcLZjwRLWIqSJ9qOOjhmZB9aRkqr/s320/banksy+wall+and+piece.jpg" width="242" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snagged for only $6 at Broken Books.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Hopefully, this is a matter of quality over quantity. Oddly enough, life is too short–the quantity of days–to sacrifice quality. Of course, practicality determines that we need a balance between the two. I seldom take a walk without a goal or destination in mind. Maybe it is the result of working to a deadline for the majority of my life.<br />
<br />
Part of what sparked this phase of life or attempt to switch gears was a question posed by a friend. She said, "what do you like to do for fun?" I was stymied. Dancing would have been my usual response but I have been sidelined with a persistent injury. Activities like theatre, cinema and other cultural pursuits are for me professional endeavours. Had I forgotten how to play?<br />
<br />
I am an empty-nester and in my 60s. What would I do in my so-called retirement years? A second career seemed unlikely. Serious travel was too expensive. I have champagne taste and a beer budget. My leisure time is dotted with thrift shops, second-hand bookstores and free lectures. Perhaps I should have followed that sarcastic philosophy professor's career advice and "open a brothel."<br />
<br />
<br />gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-62663170095436201322019-03-11T08:14:00.000-07:002019-03-11T08:15:38.097-07:00When Politics Make Sense<img align="center" alt="" class="mcnImage" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/bc224c5a1b1c2c9d5fefe9b07/images/d081f980-09f0-4daa-90b8-22dc8ead7794.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: inline !important; height: auto; max-width: 600px; outline: none; padding-bottom: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="564" /><br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnTextBlockOuter">
<tr><td class="mcnTextBlockInner" style="padding-top: 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="mcnTextContent" style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><h1 class="null" style="font-size: 26px; line-height: 32.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
Happy International Women’s Day!</h1>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">
<em>“They tried to bury us. They didn't realize we were seeds.”</em></div>
<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">
On this day, we are proud to share with you what we stand for:</div>
<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">
The <strong>vision</strong> of PerSIStence Theatre is community enlightenment based on the core beliefs of <strong>feminism</strong>.</div>
<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">
We are a charitable.non-profit organization based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, that responds to the persistent and universal need for promoting, understanding and embracing the core beliefs of feminism. Through professional theatre and related initiatives, we work to change hearts and minds.</div>
<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">
OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%;">We challenge discrimination and stereotype in all forms</li>
<li style="text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%;">We offer opportunities to all genders with a focus towards people who identify as women*</li>
<li style="text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%;">We respond to issues that affect women and girls in our community</li>
<li style="text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%;">We re-examine universal stories traditionally told by men, through a feminist lens</li>
<li style="text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%;">We produce stories where at least 50 per cent of the text is spoken by female character(s)</li>
</ul>
<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">
THE CORE PRINCIPLE</div>
<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">
Feminism: The belief in political, economic, personal, and social equality for women*.</div>
<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">
OUR CORE BELIEFS</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Sexism exists</li>
<li style="text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Sexism against women (misogyny) is enduring, pervasive, systemic, cultural, and ingrained</li>
<li style="text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%;">All genders should have equal rights and opportunities</li>
<li style="text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%;">All genders are the intellectual and social equals of each other</li>
<li style="text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%;">All genders should be recognized and treated as equals</li>
</ul>
<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">
*<strong>Women</strong>: PerSIStence Theatre recognizes the limiting nature of the binary use of woman. We serve and welcome anyone on the gender spectrum who identifies either always or some of the time as a woman. We also serve and welcome those who identify as nonbinary. </div>
<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">
<strong>Intersectionality</strong>: PerSIStence Theatre works through an intersectional lens for gender parity. We understand and acknowledge that systems of oppression and discrimination are interdependent and span all social categorizations such as race, class, gender, ability, parental status, size, age, and sexual orientation as they apply to a given individual or group. Addressing one spoke of systematic discrimination or disadvantage means holistically addressing them all. </div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnTextBlockOuter">
<tr><td class="mcnTextBlockInner" style="padding-top: 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="mcnTextContent" style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><h1 class="null" style="font-size: 26px; line-height: 32.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
<em>A great way to celebrate international women’s day</em></h1>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-48426255362464115792019-01-28T05:32:00.000-08:002019-01-28T05:33:18.908-08:00Where Art and Science Meet: Emily Jan
<br />
<div class="page" title="Page 1">
<div class="section" style="background-color: rgb(100.000000%, 100.000000%, 100.000000%);">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<br />
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="page" title="Page 1">
<div class="section" style="background-color: rgb(100.000000%, 100.000000%, 100.000000%);">
</div>
</div>
<div class="page" title="Page 1">
<div class="section" style="background-color: rgb(100.000000%, 100.000000%, 100.000000%);">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvQXfL2lQKSebU7vcffeMn70eS3n2bOvojsocSKJ4FoIf5Is-Uhl9AtXhm0iVHIKAxYeiafiLI2y_oX1fgqulMIJnR8CHbaSrsgpF0IoCv_XqXwaIs4IR588RLTkkbx_7fiVdDHo38hDwS/s1600/Anteater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="1000" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvQXfL2lQKSebU7vcffeMn70eS3n2bOvojsocSKJ4FoIf5Is-Uhl9AtXhm0iVHIKAxYeiafiLI2y_oX1fgqulMIJnR8CHbaSrsgpF0IoCv_XqXwaIs4IR588RLTkkbx_7fiVdDHo38hDwS/s320/Anteater.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apologue1 (The Anteater) 2016 48"x30"x24" by Emily Jan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: 'AvenirLTPro'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Two little girls stand transfixed before a mixed-media sculpture by Emily Jan, which takes the life-sized shape
of a fabulous anteater. Its intense pink, shiny tongue is frozen in a gesture that snakes towards the girls and
then ends with a flourish of greenery. A large bouquet of vividly coloured flowers cascades from its
hindquarters and contrasts with the creature’s soft, snowy coat. The girls are puzzling this out. It doesn’t
resemble any creature they’ve encountered in reality. It is literally fabulous or fable-like; Jan calls this series
of sculptures A</span><span style="font-family: 'AvenirLTPro'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">pologues,</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Gautami;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'AvenirLTPro'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">as in the animal populated stories of Aesop,although these are simply numbered
rather than titled. Jan’s sensibility may be literary but she is never literal. The girls want to know, “what is the
fable about?” They speculate about familiar squirrels and birds, “creatures that eat seeds and then poo
them out” starting a new crop of plants. Their conclusion: “it’s the cycle of life, just like in The Lion King.”
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'AvenirLTPro'; font-size: 12.000000pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'AvenirLTPro'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">The earnest young art critics have successfully untangled the challenge of interconnectivity in Emily Jan’s
exhibition, </span><span style="font-family: 'AvenirLTPro'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">T</span><span style="font-family: 'Gautami'; font-size: 12.000000pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'AvenirLTPro'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">he World is Bound by Secret Knots</span><span style="font-family: 'Gautami'; font-size: 12.000000pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'AvenirLTPro'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">. Or perhaps they have enacted one of Jan’s favourite
concepts, “the artist as explorer.” They have journeyed to the safe jungle of the artist-run gallery, explored,
discovered and studied. This ambitious solo show of ten vignettes in fibre and mixed media is Emily Jan’s
response to a three-week residency in the Peruvian Amazon. This 2015 rainforest adventure was typical of
Jan’s creative practice, which alternates between research travel and exploration–she has been to 36
countries so far–and long periods of deep engagement with materials and process in the studio. She needle
felts raw wool into fur for her hybrid beings, casts resin for their skulls, teeth and impressive claws and hand
weaves caning into armature-like skeletons. Second hand flowers and foliage are up cycled into fantastic
accents that evoke forests and domestic decoration.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'AvenirLTPro'; font-size: 12.000000pt;"><br /></span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="page" title="Page 2">
<div class="section" style="background-color: rgb(100.000000%, 100.000000%, 100.000000%);">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<span style="font-family: 'AvenirLTPro'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Characteristically, Emily Jan avoids plinth furniture that is common to art galleries. Her methods of display
are nuanced selections from the domestic arena: tables, desks, plant stands and shelves. These in turn are
harvested from the sustainable economies of the thrift shop or are temporary loans from the community of
the exhibiting venue. Think of it as an artistic variation of “catch and release” hunting.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'AvenirLTPro'; font-size: 12.000000pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'AvenirLTPro'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">The furniture choices for The World is Bound by Secret Knots extend the aesthetic and narrative possibilities
of her sculpture. Tables that would otherwise nest, are stacked vertically becoming small scale towers of
consumption. They perch upon each other with neat, poised feet. Curved furniture lines resonate with
curling talons, beaks and snake coils. Furniture references function and the warmth of the human hand. The
rainforest has come into this living space although not through the use of precious exotic woods. There is a
palpable animated energy in the room. A diamond-patterned textile leg from a pair of tights becomes a
sinuous serpent on an equally sinuous branch that sprouts a surprising pair of eyes. Will we get consumed
by our own habits of consumerism?
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'AvenirLTPro'; font-size: 12.000000pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'AvenirLTPro'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Emily Jan blurs the distinctions of time and being in her sculpture. It is hard to tell if her creatures are
flourishing or becoming extinct; are they regenerating or are they in a state of decay? Fungus, plant and
animal merge in ways that erode the boundaries of species. A fierce bird of prey is festooned with strands of
beads that resemble both entrails and caviar. Jan confounds our categories of understanding into a fertile
hybridity of fact and fiction. A rich ambiguity seems to have replaced the laws of nature.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'AvenirLTPro'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Although the series is called Apologues, Emily Jan does not moralize. Instead she seduces the viewer with
voluptuous form, detail and colour that is ultimately mysterious. Beauty resides in both the flowers and the
weeds. The domains of science and art, which are both ways of understanding the world, are brought
together to enhance each other. If fallacy is allowed in art, it is simply because it is another kind of truth.
</span><br />
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br />gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-34310235821940338712019-01-19T10:48:00.000-08:002019-01-19T10:48:35.075-08:00Oh, For the Love of Words!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY__62lM-VgjgiyfbTtZrqFwhYBMiQvbIhUZRv_ZZv3p8b8nja1EhdwpGActfMNasulPUBUTxb7D4PNCBQwmjfvB0Sd7t8vgnQL7oZX-rQzravhHlJt7wxw7o-slK0tJ5WPjI6AQyBo4dC/s1600/download.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY__62lM-VgjgiyfbTtZrqFwhYBMiQvbIhUZRv_ZZv3p8b8nja1EhdwpGActfMNasulPUBUTxb7D4PNCBQwmjfvB0Sd7t8vgnQL7oZX-rQzravhHlJt7wxw7o-slK0tJ5WPjI6AQyBo4dC/s1600/download.jpeg" /></a></div>
I have often joked that my business card should read, "Ms Words, For Fun and Profit". Yes, words are my friends and I truly relish them.<br />
<br />
A long while ago, a colleague of mine quipped, "what's the use of big words if nobody can understand you?" I agree that words are meant for communication and there is little use in obscuring meaning with "fancy words". However, I do refuse to dumb things down because that seems to me to be a race to the bottom. <br />
<br />
Thinking about my co-workers' comment and being truly adversarial at heart I subscribed to the Merriam Webster's word-of-the-day service. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/calendar">https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/calendar</a><br />
<br />
I was a little disappointed. This week there was only one word that I had never seen before: freegan. Not surprisingly, it refers to someone who only eats free or recycled food. <br />
<br />
I didn't realize that I would get to use the word the same day that I made its acquaintance courtesy of Miriam, or rather Merriam. (Yes, I am having fun anthropomorphizing words and books.) Last night, I was in a Spanish restaurant where they are testing new recipes for a February launch. I was offered a bowl of quail soup. It was excellent– a great combination of creamed onions, quail and Vallencia oranges. In turn, I offered a taste to a friend of mine. His response was "no thank you, I've become a vegan". I couldn't resist saying that what I had become was a freegan. (Yay!).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisUw2c8861rNWRgttRc7i9iRmqihPVjFcbgSRq91e7-fKaBvwmT-efAzZP9Foaeahi1P5xeIZtedFODx3N6NWoQtQ3eqe1KwyTkjgzhD5jKl2NwufJB9N9fUkKAuVgrl_0wcLjYIoq8ppM/s1600/_41599098_dictionary_203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="152" data-original-width="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisUw2c8861rNWRgttRc7i9iRmqihPVjFcbgSRq91e7-fKaBvwmT-efAzZP9Foaeahi1P5xeIZtedFODx3N6NWoQtQ3eqe1KwyTkjgzhD5jKl2NwufJB9N9fUkKAuVgrl_0wcLjYIoq8ppM/s1600/_41599098_dictionary_203.jpg" /></a></div>
gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-5201359294325956982018-11-12T10:49:00.000-08:002018-11-12T10:50:40.469-08:00A juror's perspective<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxR8Dnb3kYV0PMr9s9d49qC__pb5YMnonExelPLC_eYdF5lbn9inTFeHG6BQak_9JfKAtm4VUjzHL8JdHhR_HNFxVeIa3mVzhqWuOZlAE-CrXB2C0TCHWzs5jXpZvNOdqy7yZJlbJmQjY0/s1600/hellcats1_websize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxR8Dnb3kYV0PMr9s9d49qC__pb5YMnonExelPLC_eYdF5lbn9inTFeHG6BQak_9JfKAtm4VUjzHL8JdHhR_HNFxVeIa3mVzhqWuOZlAE-CrXB2C0TCHWzs5jXpZvNOdqy7yZJlbJmQjY0/s400/hellcats1_websize.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> <em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.6667px; text-align: start;">Hellcat Foos (For Protecting A Space)</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.6667px; text-align: start;">, 2018, Lindsay Montgomery.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One of the aspects I most enjoy about my professional life is its unpredictability. Assignments, invitations and projects come out of the blue and many of them have last minute deadlines. Juggling all that can be a challenge, and I confess the older I get the more selfish I get –accepting those tasks I find most educational and enjoyable. Jurying competitions, whether it be for grants, awards, or exhibitions, is on the top of that list. <br />
<br />
I try and always say "yes" because having to study a number of applications (often dozens of them) is a great crash course on what is being made by some of our most talented artists. I can spot trends, get inspiration for articles. Reading letters of recommendation are indicators of who are the power players. And then there is my favourite– getting to work with my colleagues, who are a well informed and good natured bunch from across the country. Last but not least, there is the pleasure of giving back to my community. Given the professional path I have chosen, I will never have enough money to be a benefactor of any significance to an artist or institution. This is the closest I get to being a cultural Santa Claus.<br />
<br />
Most recently, I was involved with the Winnifred Shantz Award, which is a national award with the aim of transforming the career of an emerging ceramics artist–to the tune of $10,000. The unanimous choice of the jurors, Dr. Rachel Gotlieb, Paul Mathieu and myself, was Lindsay Montgomery of Ontario. You can read more about it: <a href="http://www.theclayandglass.ca/events/awards/">http://www.theclayandglass.ca/events/awards/</a><br />
<br />
The award winner will be celebrated at the host venue of the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery in Kitchener on December 1st.<br />
<br />
<br />gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-18973311263154080342018-10-23T07:13:00.000-07:002018-10-23T07:17:04.642-07:00The Writing Life: Sound Symposium X1X in Musicworks Magazine<div class="c21" id="content" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; float: left; font-family: "FreightSans Pro", freight-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 655px;">
<div class="post-content" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<b>Ah, the rythms of writing and publishing. It is its own kind of ebb and flow. I submitted the following review for a mid August deadline in Musicworks magazine. I was excited by the opportunity to write about a new topic for me…experimental music and I threw myself headlong into the exhausting opportunity, not to mention the challenge of trying to cover an event that spanned ten days and 53 artists. Now that it is published, I get to share it with you too.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsqWeBEYcC4A4gAQQW8WCfEwQZRL0DkZWbHLRs7S9I6TcMT-sIcF532LaDip7gZ1tCxnFnV3fLAs4yzdqfXUfxYPZ-WBqCYE0DMO0Zo8ctbvjYvz3YrNzr1fIPsBIz2yizTrXMeuAsnPBW/s1600/Cinquanta_7116338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="655" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsqWeBEYcC4A4gAQQW8WCfEwQZRL0DkZWbHLRs7S9I6TcMT-sIcF532LaDip7gZ1tCxnFnV3fLAs4yzdqfXUfxYPZ-WBqCYE0DMO0Zo8ctbvjYvz3YrNzr1fIPsBIz2yizTrXMeuAsnPBW/s320/Cinquanta_7116338.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Sound Symposium XIX</b></div>
<div class="p1">
July 5-15,2018</div>
<div class="p1">
St. John’s, NL</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Although this year marked the 19th iteration of the biennial Sound Symposium, it was distinguished by several firsts such as colloquium, new awards, and of course–risk taking world premieres. The Symposium commenced with the <i>Indigenous Improvisation Colloquium: Freedom and Responsibility</i>–and heritage, ceremony and cultural ontology quickly became themes that threaded throughout the ten following days of performance.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Raven Chacon, who is a member of the American Indian arts collective <i>Postcommodity</i>, situated improvisation as a “safe place” for marginalized cultures. Meanwhile, Dawn Avery and Cris Derksen–both outstanding and innovative cellists–added First Nations voices that challenged simple categories.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Featured artists from Norway, Frode Fjellheim and Snorre Bjerck, expanded the scope of discussion to include the resurgence of the Sami vocal tradition of yoiking.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>These themes, which probe the symbiotic relationship between place and identity, have a special resonance in the cultural psyche of Newfoundland and Labrador.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
With ten international and forty-three Canadians artists creating sonic adventures in concert halls, cathedrals, galleries, pubs and the unforgettable Harbour Symphonies it is difficult to convey a cohesive review in a few words.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Performances went from dawn to dawn.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I have to admit I didn’t make the 4:30 a.m. organ and voice performance (David Buley) in the Anglican Cathedral, although I know from previous experience that the 4-manual Casavant organ is a treat.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>One of the advantages of having afternoon, evening, late night concerts and even later night jam sessions was that there were multiple opportunities and impromptu contexts in which to absorb the many talents singly and together. If you didn’t make <i>Subhira Quartet</i>’s set in the formal concert hall, you could pick up their pub feature of Chilean infused world music. How often do you get to hear a guzheng and didgeridoo throwing down dance tunes?</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Concerts were interspersed with events from sunrise meditation (Rosalind MacPhail), mindful sound walks and gatherings (Gayle Young and James Harley), to technical workshops on composition, instrument building and graphical scores. The screening of <i>Sonic Divide</i> (Payton MacDonald) gave audiences an in-depth appreciation of the training, inspiration and interpretation of MacDonald’s unique approach to using his mountain bike along with<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>found materials as percussion instruments.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXP3xPt7I3IqHOxTIaS_qLaIRyEh7GsfSaUXuOH_7Khkfv02cTkQ4zIiI9SGAil2sBmLSlkKLFQrRwEERqhv98-RbXanGrhksHEuQH4UXPnxTNC5OO2v3BAF8KMAEXkrG36I-mPVGDcJP/s1600/Rokkur_7096235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXP3xPt7I3IqHOxTIaS_qLaIRyEh7GsfSaUXuOH_7Khkfv02cTkQ4zIiI9SGAil2sBmLSlkKLFQrRwEERqhv98-RbXanGrhksHEuQH4UXPnxTNC5OO2v3BAF8KMAEXkrG36I-mPVGDcJP/s1600/Rokkur_7096235.jpg" /></a></div>
The evening that MacDonald played live, he was on a concert program that included Rokkur and NL knitters and storytellers, and Doron Sadja.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>That meant the audience was taken on an odyssey that went from pure acoustics –think bicycle wheels, spinning wheels and wool winders– to synthesizers, extreme frequencies and dense noise.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This is ambitious programming that requires an audience to really open its mind and ears.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>As the week unfolded it was rewarding to see both audience and artists grow to accommodate each other.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
The ambient <i>Cinquanta</i> (Jordan Nobles) played by percussionists, guitarists, keyboard and harp situated on the different floors of the open atrium of The Rooms charmed audience members.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>They actively listened not by passively sitting but by walking through the environment, almost as an act of collaboration. Nobles’ composition was ideally suited to the soaring vistas of sky and sea on view through the expansive windows.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
A few hours later we figuratively transported to cliffs and ice flows. <i>Roarshack</i>, the impressive NL team of Paul Bendenza, Rob Power and Andrew Staniland, aptly performed <i>Birds & Ice Report</i>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This composition is an artistic retrospective from Sound Symposium 1983 conceived by visual artist Frank Lapointe and the late percussionist-composer Don Wherry.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It is delicate without being precious and is a rare instance where neither image nor sound overwhelm each other. Photographer Greg Locke designed and digitalized Lapointe’s original images for this 2018 version. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Throughout the Symposium, the strength of women composers was evident.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Adding to the well recognized Hildegard Westerkamp and Gayle Young, we were introduced to powerhouse players like Cris Derksen; Dawn Avery, who performed from her <i>North American Indian Cello Project</i>; Jennifer Thiessen (viola d’amore) and Ida Toninato (baritone sax) who as a duo admirably build performances based on their contrasting instruments; and improvisers Susan Alcorn (pedal steel guitar) and Amy Brandon (acoustic guitar and electronics) who combined their and the audiences’ energy.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2SD4URq3hg32qbfEcWw5qrt_dFJ8g3IYba1fjUmuAdZaZOjcgHI7bzwkDkdyMaOf2ze1F7JV6iS3bKcclwd9KzFKUwoKHRkgQ00x0A1y6nsEuH9ZYln5nB5FrBB035ZgoZU5I8-UEfUb0/s1600/PaulBendzsa_7116267.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2SD4URq3hg32qbfEcWw5qrt_dFJ8g3IYba1fjUmuAdZaZOjcgHI7bzwkDkdyMaOf2ze1F7JV6iS3bKcclwd9KzFKUwoKHRkgQ00x0A1y6nsEuH9ZYln5nB5FrBB035ZgoZU5I8-UEfUb0/s1600/PaulBendzsa_7116267.jpg" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
The Sound Symposium has been a consistent creative pressure cooker for decades.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This 19th event, with its sense of adventure and community, could not be dampened even by Hurricane Chris that was reduced to a post-tropical storm and one more contributor to the St. John’s soundscape.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Gloria Hickey</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">PHOTOS:</span> (Top) Percussionist performing with others (not shown) the world premiere performance of Jordan Nobles' <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Cinquanta</em>; Local knitters joining Sarah Albu (far left) and Reuben Fenemore (far right) of Rokkur; (bottom) Paul Bendzsa performs as part of Birds And Ice Report. <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">SOUND SYMPOSIUM XIX PHOTOS BY</span>: Greg Locke.</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="post-author" style="background: url("../images/h.png") 0px -15px repeat-x; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; clear: both; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 15px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Gloria Hickey</span> is an independent arts-and-culture writer based in St. John’s. She has written articles for <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">C Magazine</em> and <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Billie.</em></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="c22" id="sidebar" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; float: right; font-family: "FreightSans Pro", freight-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 300px;">
<div class="panel-separator" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div class="adslist box sb-ads" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 19px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 300px;">
<div class="simpleads-94" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div id="ad_groups_94" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="simplead-container image-ad" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-18828577588175448982018-10-07T10:47:00.000-07:002018-10-07T10:48:19.297-07:00A Prayer for Len E Carmella
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 11.0px; font: 10.0px Arial}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 11.0px; font: 10.0px Arial; min-height: 11.0px}
p.p3 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 16.0px Helvetica; color: #232323}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHpU5NvvTETtRpuDWVVkvmJ6X4Da6JRRvqozdl7ZEzuKRiAz4imfHrxWjxWeOyV-2HVB8LeJKSWSZE2Gdd5FW8LFkiN_TSgyZBten6W1mlx6jOcdWOAVC9IrjRskFXd1R0GPIyZdvd9-2e/s1600/Lenny+Carmella.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="233" data-original-width="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHpU5NvvTETtRpuDWVVkvmJ6X4Da6JRRvqozdl7ZEzuKRiAz4imfHrxWjxWeOyV-2HVB8LeJKSWSZE2Gdd5FW8LFkiN_TSgyZBten6W1mlx6jOcdWOAVC9IrjRskFXd1R0GPIyZdvd9-2e/s1600/Lenny+Carmella.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Dear friends.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">It is with great sadness that I share the news that our good friend Len E. Carmella passed away on August 18, 2018. Lenny was just 64. I have pasted below a brief obit and details of his celebration of life.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1">Leonard Eugene Carmella, 64, of Zellwood, Florida, passed away August 18, 2018. He was born July 29, 1954 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Mr. Carmella is preceded in death by his sister Christine Puskas. He is survived by his loving wife Karen Sue Carmella; son L. Eoghan (Natasha) Carmella of Wales; sister Lenna C. Lipman and several nieces and nephews.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1">Celebration of Life</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1">Kat’s Vine & Tap</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1">1061 W. Orange Blossom Trail</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1">Apopka, Fl 32712</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1">(In Victoria’s Plaza)</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1">Saturday, October 13, 2018</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1">Starting at 6:30PM/Music & Art Show at 7:30</span></div>
<br /><br />
<br />
After a string of deadlines and a little personal time off I went back to my computer to discover this message from a colleague from my university days at The Loyola News. We were a crew of many differences and no shrinking violets, which is what I guess you'd expect from a bunch of opinionated young journalists. Anyhow, we became incredibly close despite our differences and to this day the vast majority of us are involved in communications and media.<br />
<br />
This October is when I learned of Len E's passing and it was truly sad. Len was our cartoonist and had an acerbic wit. Being the Entertainment Editor, I had a keen interest in Len E's talent and his ability to communicate ideas and humour through images. We became fast friends.<br />
<br />
The only way I could make sense of his sudden death was to summon one of my favourite memories of Len, whose visual art practice also included fashion illustration and painting. My favourite memory is of me modelling for Len E in his apartment in Montreal on a Wednesday afternoon. I was wearing a midnight blue satin negligee–very vintage. I think there was a Vermouth martini in the picture somewhere.<br />
<br />
Anyhow, our creative adventure was interrupted by a knock on the door. It turns out it was the landlord come to collect the rent. Len invites him into the apartment and goes to get the payment. I felt a little silly but any discomfort I might have felt was overcome by my surprise when I recognized the landlord. It was Dr. Henry Morgentaler, who was famous even back in the seventies for his advocacy of pro-choice. (Today there are five clinics across Canada.) He had been in the news after his first clinic was targeted by pro-life protesters. Morgentaler was a frequent subject of death threats but he had withstood internment in Dachau and he wasn't going to give in. <br />
<br />
So, all of sudden the afternoon with Len had gone from satin and martinis to religious opinions and firebombs. It made for a charged conversation. I will miss the ever colourful Len E Carmella.gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-38094809090065206892018-08-20T10:07:00.000-07:002018-08-20T13:10:09.382-07:00When the Going Gets Tough, The Animal Solution<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9uJztrtX9WN7UOhXTDytyBbSwpw_CTf29lMzOMQ7h9Tsmqf9EA30V0kchxGl9vaif5RnU_INNeo8AYsB-sVgToEFMtXHKZCZF05AmUVIig2cV_Qb1I5VCg_7edJrJsTSqiCFLwgF3wFNM/s1600/squirrel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="372" data-original-width="620" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9uJztrtX9WN7UOhXTDytyBbSwpw_CTf29lMzOMQ7h9Tsmqf9EA30V0kchxGl9vaif5RnU_INNeo8AYsB-sVgToEFMtXHKZCZF05AmUVIig2cV_Qb1I5VCg_7edJrJsTSqiCFLwgF3wFNM/s320/squirrel.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karl-Friedrich uses his tail as a comfort blanket.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Turning on the news, regardless of your choice of outlet, is getting to be a daunting task. Mass shootings, natural disasters, celebrity suicides and then of course there is always a steady stream of Trump antics. It used to be that Canada was the "safest" compared to the United States or other international continents. But this summer, we've had our share of all of it: raging wild fires in multiple provinces, the shootings in New Brunswick and Ontario, the passing of Ricki Genest a.k.a Zombie Boy, and Trump's tariffs. Even in Newfoundland and Labrador there is much handwringing over the fate of Saudi students at the province's university. All these events are recent and in addition to anything else you might have already been worrying about. Summer movies aren't a sufficient escape.<br />
<br />
I've noticed that there has been a corresponding spike in animal stories on television, radio and print media. Cats have dominated the internet for awhile. All joking aside, I do think we are gravitating towards animal related stories as a remedy for so much bad news that is beyond our control. Even late night TV hosts are reaching beyond their usual acerbic humour and bringing animals into the spotlight. Steven Colbert took great glee in sharing with the public an account and video of Pancho, a dog in Spain who administers chest compressions to would be heart attack victims and then checks for a pulse by resting his furry chin against their necks. Here's a link, if you'd like to see for yourself:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/colbertlateshow/videos/poncho-the-police-dog-to-the-rescue/1445806622230751/">https://www.facebook.com/colbertlateshow/videos/poncho-the-police-dog-to-the-rescue/1445806622230751/</a><br />
<br />
One furry criminal caught my attention–a baby red squirrel chased a man in Germany with such persistence that the man felt threatened and called the police. The tiny rodent had probably lost its mother and was looking for a replacement. When the police arrived on the scene the exhausted squirrel lay down on the pavement and went to sleep. Charmed, the officers took the sleeping squirrel back to the station. The commanding officer said they could not keep it as a mascot. The squirrel, who had been given the name Karl-Friedrich, was brought to an animal shelter.<br />
<br />
A theme park in France is taking advantage of its crows' clever ways and has implemented a system of reward. When the crows collect a piece of trash, say a cigarette butt, and place it in a special waste bin, a food pellet is released as a reward. <br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">Oh yes, and on Quirks and Quarks the CBC science radio program, it was reported that goats' anxiety levels in Italy were measured by satellite as an early warning system to predict volcanic eruptions. </span></h4>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4escUCE1_zpJqjb4u3A0DI8pgHEQ_TBFavfYfSk64QdvSSe-7Fsgix80TLyqvrmRKfZ2v-pe3QEp-rf3l-CeZudMqaXuMn0nodtIES6pu0Txl3GCcSfBIBAawugIIbZaE4DiTXcD_slcb/s1600/goats.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="357" data-original-width="279" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4escUCE1_zpJqjb4u3A0DI8pgHEQ_TBFavfYfSk64QdvSSe-7Fsgix80TLyqvrmRKfZ2v-pe3QEp-rf3l-CeZudMqaXuMn0nodtIES6pu0Txl3GCcSfBIBAawugIIbZaE4DiTXcD_slcb/s320/goats.jpeg" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goat participating in Icarus project in Sicily.<br /><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-36579021533675208092018-07-27T08:11:00.001-07:002018-07-27T08:11:22.993-07:00Just Be Gemma<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6KxKegDEJhgytN7caNqe3HPpz6Yx5e3Tq0dM-zFjqE65GK5xi7qaZj4eSHXIJIvEOjDKUUAzcvdEqbL3J3UkopO81ZtGPXIT5XzBhOzmfxwnAXxUUhGQKU9bkaFoJdu0nAqjDnwJWkCQ/s1600/pride.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6KxKegDEJhgytN7caNqe3HPpz6Yx5e3Tq0dM-zFjqE65GK5xi7qaZj4eSHXIJIvEOjDKUUAzcvdEqbL3J3UkopO81ZtGPXIT5XzBhOzmfxwnAXxUUhGQKU9bkaFoJdu0nAqjDnwJWkCQ/s1600/pride.jpeg" /></a></div>
Last week was Pride Week in St. John's. It is good to see that the week-long event has become more than a marketing ploy with rainbow flags in store windows or even a token ceremony at City Hall. Pride Week has become a much more inclusive event, with family flair, with readings in bookstores by drag king Doctor Androbox and art activities at The Rooms. Gender inclusive washrooms were noted in programs. Times really seem to be changing.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHyjRa4wnmFw6kOa5cpksM0hHUNYWopSZE-llhY4fZHR6KrFgVjsSgKfLvNyE8hHBIiGqAVB8UM0Ivw7wMaBJSdFdQ6wUQwyj-btZBRRqJqHwlek4vVxBqM-JQ9fJ-hECXgMXSg05yZITk/s1600/doctor-androbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="780" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHyjRa4wnmFw6kOa5cpksM0hHUNYWopSZE-llhY4fZHR6KrFgVjsSgKfLvNyE8hHBIiGqAVB8UM0Ivw7wMaBJSdFdQ6wUQwyj-btZBRRqJqHwlek4vVxBqM-JQ9fJ-hECXgMXSg05yZITk/s320/doctor-androbox.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Androbox at Chapters bookstore.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The documentary that traces Gemma Hickey's gender transition over a two year period was also screened at The Rooms. This documentary is the product of Peter Walsh and his style is understated. The result is a film that is intimate rather than dramatic and shows a much more vulnerable side to Gemma Hickey. Hickey (no relation to me) is well known as a social activist, especially as they have championed same sex marriage, fought for survivors of clergy abuse and most recently gender neutral birth certificates. Clearly, no shrinking violet.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX5td7FGUR__tTMdx3aqaWytMFqlHyZSkMpbnwA6IzM0KXzqo2E30KskuZBHJAl23J5ukNcRuFr1z-mvX9OQe1pJ6j4KsHMPOXwMBNM7jJA5Py70miG2pYK8dO94iqXlpvLxtKlO5_eWk1/s1600/peter-and-gemma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="780" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX5td7FGUR__tTMdx3aqaWytMFqlHyZSkMpbnwA6IzM0KXzqo2E30KskuZBHJAl23J5ukNcRuFr1z-mvX9OQe1pJ6j4KsHMPOXwMBNM7jJA5Py70miG2pYK8dO94iqXlpvLxtKlO5_eWk1/s320/peter-and-gemma.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peter Walsh (left) and Gemma Hickey(right) with film poster.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The film starts with Gemma's first day of testosterone therapy. Since 2014, there have been a spate of tv programs–both "reality" and dramatic– like "I am Jazz", "Transparent" or "I am Cait" that have banked on the growing interest in gender identity. What makes "Just Be Gemma" outstanding amid this crop of films is its subtlety. This is not a simple case of transitioning from one gender to another.<br />
<br />
There's a very moving section in Hickey's story when she consults with her Nan, who is the family wise woman and matriarch. Hickey shares that she doesn't know whether she wants to be a boy or a girl. Nan's advise is to "just be Gemma". And it is that process of discovery that is the film's strength. It is not about binary definitions, sensational surgery or miracle hormones. This documentary reflects on what is lost and what is gained and an evolving sense of self that impacts a whole family and community. The film is a coproduction of CBC. Here's the link:<a href="https://watch.cbc.ca/media/media/absolutely-canadian/just-be-gemma/38e815a-00d0bde093e">https://watch.cbc.ca/media/media/absolutely-canadian/just-be-gemma/38e815a-00d0bde093e</a>gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-16604469299945552472018-07-15T12:00:00.000-07:002018-07-15T12:01:38.958-07:00Everything from yacking to yoiking
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-_V5DhFmze6gbDLbWLH80Af9haEAO6Ld9nppaSNRsUepE7SwYYfX6QCjyR128F5keExmcFKuWGlRM_1ZV48e3GALduEuUWxEHxDbPWqaFgT5tujS5GTQiZ4JYnVhsFFOfpzkXrec3iZ3X/s1600/Fjellheim-Frode-Musikkfestuka-2016-sm-1024x683.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-_V5DhFmze6gbDLbWLH80Af9haEAO6Ld9nppaSNRsUepE7SwYYfX6QCjyR128F5keExmcFKuWGlRM_1ZV48e3GALduEuUWxEHxDbPWqaFgT5tujS5GTQiZ4JYnVhsFFOfpzkXrec3iZ3X/s320/Fjellheim-Frode-Musikkfestuka-2016-sm-1024x683.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frode Fjellheim</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
Last night (Saturday July 7/18) was another jam packed evening of talent and good camaraderie at the Sound Symposium.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Even before the opening act there was a tangible good vibe that filled the LSPU Hall.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>To me, this is one reason that makes the Symposium so extraordinary.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Not only do you get to experience astonishing talent on stage but you get to talk with the performers afterwords.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I am always impressed by the feeling of community that develops in such a short time at the Symposium.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It is a pressure cooker of musical and sonic talent.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It seems to bring out the best in so many people.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
It would be difficult for me to pick a favourite from last nights’ musicians.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Hildegard Westerkamp’s multilayered recorded set based on boat horns was delightful.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Bill Horist’s guitar stylings was a surprise (at least for me) and Frode Kjellheim and Snorre Bjerck’s performance was nothing short of memorable.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I think everyone’s favourite new verb is yoiking.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Frode Kjellheim’s interpretation of yoiking is a soulful blend of jazz and Nordic traditions.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I thought he played the keyboard with tenderness.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Combine this with Snorre Bjerck’s percussion and you indeed have something special.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I particularly liked how he played the rim of his drum set.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bu8JAcuZE0VydUbuku6PFc47e7KZtbX37X-2ztHRQ_Kk6A34PNmgUoKvXHlkuKIxYRM8Yjv1uEBTZX-D_hRWxjexU1X1Rtff_sIFlxMNK0tKLlpFHBWTN0JvI9p_CnGGvxBUmDvkziEF/s1600/Bjerk-Snorre-0007043195_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="426" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bu8JAcuZE0VydUbuku6PFc47e7KZtbX37X-2ztHRQ_Kk6A34PNmgUoKvXHlkuKIxYRM8Yjv1uEBTZX-D_hRWxjexU1X1Rtff_sIFlxMNK0tKLlpFHBWTN0JvI9p_CnGGvxBUmDvkziEF/s320/Bjerk-Snorre-0007043195_10.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snorre Bjerk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
What I also found intriguing is how so many music traditions were brought sensually together by Kjellheim and Bjerk.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Was that really Turkish neh I heard blended in the composition?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>And Bjerk’s use of ankle bells reminded me of Kathakali temple dancing.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Don’t get me started on his brush work.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Speaking of dancing, it took every shred of my self-discipline just to stay seated.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I know for certain I was not alone in that regard.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It was a comment I heard from several audience members.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
My only regret of the evening is that I knew we would run out of time before music.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>But that’s what happens when you have so much talent in one room.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Thank you to the staff and volunteers for another wonderful Sound Symposium!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I am sure St. John’s, especially for such a sparsely populated city, is the envy of many provinces in this country. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
<br />gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-63177416884421142332018-07-03T08:53:00.000-07:002018-07-03T08:54:10.095-07:00The Red and the White of Canada Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifop1R43hDdIyEhYWtwiEOreRD6zPywYbzCy5HTyTQJii0Arste7ZyQNdye6qZ5WJ7yVD6ShGMSJicyoIS0ZWAw9n6oiuc9LkDeMPhpU2YXOaRYNUvYDxeiSuyjLo5N_fbAfUJELeg88Pi/s1600/7+Fallen+Feathers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1031" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifop1R43hDdIyEhYWtwiEOreRD6zPywYbzCy5HTyTQJii0Arste7ZyQNdye6qZ5WJ7yVD6ShGMSJicyoIS0ZWAw9n6oiuc9LkDeMPhpU2YXOaRYNUvYDxeiSuyjLo5N_fbAfUJELeg88Pi/s320/7+Fallen+Feathers.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
I hope I never have to read another book like this one, <b>Seven Fallen Feathers,</b> <i>Racism, Death, And Hard Truths In A Northern City</i>. This is worse than dystopian fiction. Sadly, all these stories are true and exhaustively researched by award winning journalist Tanya Talaga. Seven Fallen Feathers was on my radar when it made the CBC Canada Reads challenge. I have been on something of a year-long marathon of learning about Indigenous culture. When a friend gave me a copy, it fit perfectly in my purse and it became my go-with-me-everywhere book. As it turns out, I was very glad to read it in short bursts of time and in waiting rooms, airport lobbies, etc The stories it tells are hard and harrowing–as Katherena Vermette says in her review. I found them so harrowing that I had to keep putting the book down and I was glad when I was not alone. <br />
<br />
Seven Fallen Feathers is heavy medicine and I could only take it in small doses. When I read that Canada's Indian Act had been used as a template for Apartheid in South Africa, I felt physically ill.<br />
<br />
Another curious thing occurred about taking the book with me and reading in public. There were frequent, spontaneous conversations with strangers. It seemed everyone had an opinion or their own heart breaking tale to share. I met two people with direct experiences in Thunder Bay that included open acts of racism (like having a beer bottle thrown at your head from a passing car) and the tragedy of suicide within the family. All of a sudden being a Canadian meant something different to me.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjl7Ft1lkGPyBg1yC5d8-sbggM5t9CJ6U95IzM8V_h-M0P8J-TN2868pGprVXdC_B6lZHVdiRxEbKlJwGPuRQa58EUhh0J1-5IuiivEsFmiFeDIaV3QfUXt-bflRHOdE-XaMb0cnrmw_B3/s1600/alanis-headshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="640" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjl7Ft1lkGPyBg1yC5d8-sbggM5t9CJ6U95IzM8V_h-M0P8J-TN2868pGprVXdC_B6lZHVdiRxEbKlJwGPuRQa58EUhh0J1-5IuiivEsFmiFeDIaV3QfUXt-bflRHOdE-XaMb0cnrmw_B3/s320/alanis-headshot.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alanis Obomsawin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Thankfully, the darkness of these bleak truths was somewhat alleviated by the National Film Board's Wide Awake Series. This initiative addresses the need for more women filmmakers and especially Indigenous women filmmakers. So far, there have been 900 free screenings across Canada that showcase these films. Last week I was able to attend two, here's a snippet from the press release:<br />
<br />
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial; color: #3c3c3c; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b><i>Our People Will Be Healed</i></b> is 85-year-old <b>Alanis Obomsawin</b>’s 50th film. It follows a school in a Cree community that experienced a remarkable increase in high school graduates after introducing ancestral culture to the curriculum.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-converted-space">Both of the film presentations were accompanied by Q&A sessions and social events. This gave us a chance to learn more about Obomsawin's and Clements' creative vision and decades long careers. Obomsawin had a lovely grace about her too and I could only wish to "grow up" and be like her.</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQSHsMyLVaEB6YLfvJCxCrQ4FJJFkO-21nSjzCENpNu4dyTQ8DzfpVPCHmYXYARvHe40_shK8ub594CDMMx4kqHYYc5SFL_lb2rF_cCyAmGgK6RPwkZg9uCHgoQ-aisjmBjTj2ruUxqTkT/s1600/marie+clements.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQSHsMyLVaEB6YLfvJCxCrQ4FJJFkO-21nSjzCENpNu4dyTQ8DzfpVPCHmYXYARvHe40_shK8ub594CDMMx4kqHYYc5SFL_lb2rF_cCyAmGgK6RPwkZg9uCHgoQ-aisjmBjTj2ruUxqTkT/s1600/marie+clements.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marie Clements</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-converted-space">The film on the next evening was </span></span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><i>The Road Forward,</i></b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Marie Clements’</b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> stunning musical documentary about First Nations activism, told through seven story-songs, performed by an ensemble of some of Canada’s finest vocalists and musicians. I will never forget the opening scene where the keystrokes of a 1920s typewriter are paired up with the urgent sound of a tribal drum. The ensemble acting in this film was seamless and the collection of activist musicians from across Nations was inspiring. Please let there be a CD released of this soundtrack! Anyhow, long story short –these two films tell much-needed, honest, good news stories of resilience.</span></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial; color: #3c3c3c; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-85148568492198786472018-05-29T16:46:00.000-07:002018-06-29T15:13:31.556-07:00Ranting versus reviewing<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px}
</style>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkoTVVQdzTv3h3Q1ukqNMfkGuNInB72IiFrGTA58S3ugqnf5u8C2AQsMHc-n0pKhH2R9uIkZJBKkvyjxMORcicI7n5Nc04u8hEyTB_e088zr8DAh_-PA04W9jjNVt-2imB5v77ZzJo8AE0/s1600/critical+thinking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkoTVVQdzTv3h3Q1ukqNMfkGuNInB72IiFrGTA58S3ugqnf5u8C2AQsMHc-n0pKhH2R9uIkZJBKkvyjxMORcicI7n5Nc04u8hEyTB_e088zr8DAh_-PA04W9jjNVt-2imB5v77ZzJo8AE0/s1600/critical+thinking.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
“The unexamined life is not worth living” or so the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates supposedly said–and I am willing to bet that if he were alive today he’d add something like, “and bitching doesn’t count”.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Socrates was a proponent of critical thinking, which is often confused with criticism. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
I’ve been pondering the topic of critical thinking because I am currently involved as a mentor in a critical art writing project organized by CARFAC Saskatchewan.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Decades ago, when I first starting writing art criticism there was much more of a cult of the critic.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Print media encouraged coverage of the novel and the controversial and that certainly rubbed off on art critics.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>“Painter paints picture” is hardly news nor were most journalists trained to analyze fine art.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>What happened is that we ended up with human interest stories about artists, often with a regional slant, or articles that focused on the financial aspects.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It was a narrative approach or story telling, if it was an outrageous story or an extraordinary event all the better.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Think of finding a Maud Lewis at a flea market for a fraction of its market value.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
What troubles me most is that the negativity that is sometimes attached to criticism has morphed into something more potentially sinister.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Ranting is replacing reviewing.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The well reasoned argument has changed into a seductive sound byte or a punchy tweet.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Now that we are equipped with phones that rival professional video and audio capacity combined with near-immediate access to digital broadcast platforms there is little to hold back the unfiltered “really, really stupid” comments.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Everyone can become a critic of almost any topic–and one without an editor. We live in a visual culture and unfortunately lots of finger waving and fast paced, loud talking mixed in with animated exclamation marks can be convincing to a surprising number of people.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHuvT5Q4z3esS9pOQ9r6es9fR3oRFF0W9aIApd5WOFdda_t6YYuAy3AY4OvxMgBYMD_65bfFoX4Zo00j3EgaEHufLhPT5fk9S4guO0YS4dkPzW0ZQe-naX9gzDIDlxpGz5_fXzttHZIpEV/s1600/rant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="212" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHuvT5Q4z3esS9pOQ9r6es9fR3oRFF0W9aIApd5WOFdda_t6YYuAy3AY4OvxMgBYMD_65bfFoX4Zo00j3EgaEHufLhPT5fk9S4guO0YS4dkPzW0ZQe-naX9gzDIDlxpGz5_fXzttHZIpEV/s1600/rant.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wordchowder.com/">http://www.wordchowder.com/</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Perhaps we are vulnerable to caustic ranting because we live in a society that is equal parts anxious and distracted.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We are over-stimulated and our attention span is splintered. We consume flashy headlines but not balanced debate. The more uncertain the future becomes the more attractive is a romanticized version of a slow-motion past.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We are bombarded with tragic and frightening events both at home and globally. A dose of gallows humour may relieve stress but it is no match for the roar of the rant.</div>
<br />gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-61796055343929024582018-05-14T05:15:00.001-07:002018-05-14T05:16:05.703-07:00A Transfusion of Colour<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirgPbTkzffhkFexfJVmOy2KnW1mSgsT7RS62kHHF3xXBjRVTQ3g1h-kwRcWK69o012WOykURN42wSjTINOg096yHw2iJRBHxlXgc1qrJgiInb5QNVoFeuPflFJ0Qx2X9fhJunKWkUjT8Fw/s1600/phone+box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirgPbTkzffhkFexfJVmOy2KnW1mSgsT7RS62kHHF3xXBjRVTQ3g1h-kwRcWK69o012WOykURN42wSjTINOg096yHw2iJRBHxlXgc1qrJgiInb5QNVoFeuPflFJ0Qx2X9fhJunKWkUjT8Fw/s320/phone+box.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Susan Parson's painting on the traffic box was a welcome boost.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My Mother's Day was not turning out the way I had hoped. Without going into details, my plans and expectations went awry but I knew better than to complain. I didn't want to feel sorry for myself. Instead, I prescribed myself a walk in the sunshine. At least I could count on a Newfoundland breeze to clear the cobwebs from my mind. Instinctively, I reached into my closet to put on the brightest piece of clothing I had. No black outfits today.<br />
<br />
Colour has been my remedy on many occasions. When I first moved to St. John's, I couldn't get over the persistent grey skies and fog, which I knew would affect my moods and my comfort with my new home town. So, I painted the living room yellow. I couldn't change the weather but I could change my immediate environment. It's like the Russian expression, "there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing". I've always been amused how men will wear navy blue business suits but women's power suits were usually a bright red. Take charge…I decided I would also paint my toenails, what I call, rich girl red.<br />
<br />
Fortuitously, the sun came out for my Mother's Day stroll and I was rewarded on what could have been a day of drudgery. When I went to Churchill Square to do some errands I was greeted by an eye-catching piece of traffic box art by Susan Parsons. It was a giant sunflower against a vivid blue sky. The yellow and blue painting sings with optimism. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbsSOe0WUfg1koptvFDIctZzpiWWjKFDkIgP7rOZrQF31SKasPenXTkCg5yQC_d2GgQovpxYOrCVaE0-mA0nOSi2cFQSqSMFMmbBJu4MpqC0RaJ5MfDDLtumSGTWuWfaOMp3hHYqNK3bQ/s1600/crayons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbsSOe0WUfg1koptvFDIctZzpiWWjKFDkIgP7rOZrQF31SKasPenXTkCg5yQC_d2GgQovpxYOrCVaE0-mA0nOSi2cFQSqSMFMmbBJu4MpqC0RaJ5MfDDLtumSGTWuWfaOMp3hHYqNK3bQ/s320/crayons.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katie Voutour's Crayons appeals to the kid in me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The traffic box program is a project of Clean St. John's and has the goal of local beautification. The transformed box I encountered is one of forty nine in the city; the project started in 2012. With at least 100 boxes in the city there is plenty more "canvas" for local artists. Each year, a call for artists goes out and eight proposals are selected. Most of the imagery is upbeat but is definitely not ho-hum. Encouragingly, I have never seen any of the artwork on these boxes defaced. The success of the St. John's project has spread to nearby Mount Pearl and Torbay.<br />
<br />
And on a positive note, my Mother's Day ended with two of my favourite young servers giving me three red and three yellow roses.gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-34467253265412329252018-04-30T12:06:00.002-07:002018-04-30T12:13:01.720-07:00My Leonard Cohen is not a Planetary Icon<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px}
</style>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaA-7R-s0BSQS5-fACJmvRW92DLFF57rgx3X0WbWPE1bsnhkg0QH2RldiIfGcDwU35PoxnQjkc5RCF4uLO5ZrC2VdsmD-ZzGTSiXOkhNm8pJon8S8AYg2-IZHFca2V9h55A28xo1sxcwKF/s1600/affichage-sauvage%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="1000" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaA-7R-s0BSQS5-fACJmvRW92DLFF57rgx3X0WbWPE1bsnhkg0QH2RldiIfGcDwU35PoxnQjkc5RCF4uLO5ZrC2VdsmD-ZzGTSiXOkhNm8pJon8S8AYg2-IZHFca2V9h55A28xo1sxcwKF/s320/affichage-sauvage%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
I was not amongst the nearly 300,000 visitors to the Musée d’art contemporain’s blockbuster exhibition, Leonard Cohen Une Breche en Toute Chose/ A Crack in Everything, which closed this April 12th.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This show was three years in the making and I recall director and chief curator John Zeppetelli saying that he was both delighted and relieved when Cohen agreed to the concept of the show and generously made his entire artistic output available to MAC and its participating artists.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>A Crack in Everything would evolve into a sprawling show that would take over six exhibition halls at MAC for several months.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It was a massive multimedia undertaking and wowed audiences.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Discussions are underway to see if a version of the show might travel to international venues.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
As it would turn out, the show opened exactly one year after Cohen’s passing.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It transformed from an ardent celebration of a universally acclaimed Montrealer into something more solemn and commemorative.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It was an exceptional project that fulfilled its goal of marking Montreal’s 375th anniversary.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
I am a native Montrealer and I happened to visit the city in March.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I could have gone but resisted the opportunity and this puzzled me.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>So, I decided to reflect on that decision and I realized that I did not want the MAC’s version of Leonard Cohen as a planetary icon.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>My reasons were entirely personal, emotional and subjective.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I wanted to hang on to my own version of Leonard Cohen.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Leonard Cohen was very fond of my mother’s BBQ sauce and she was a cook at the BBQ Chicken Chalet in Montreal.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>As a little girl, I would frequent the family restaurant, entertaining myself in a booth.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Occasionally, when I got restless I’d visit with customers.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>If I was bold, I’d sing and dance for the regulars.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Cohen as a young man had a favourite booth and I remember him, keeping to himself reading and writing in notebooks.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Back then you could smoke in restaurants and eat your french fries.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfa1oeSX-bk-mTYVgapbuS3Ib_EX7nXZqlDaVOZheDEHV8FPXcvQDKyqv4Vj9leptUuadPc4jgjy3vs2U6sG8D8wjC6QKf6L3lZZrdIQoJLVRwBKaDI_EwNeG10HZ7-o85EYiFjQmI8DND/s1600/losers.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfa1oeSX-bk-mTYVgapbuS3Ib_EX7nXZqlDaVOZheDEHV8FPXcvQDKyqv4Vj9leptUuadPc4jgjy3vs2U6sG8D8wjC6QKf6L3lZZrdIQoJLVRwBKaDI_EwNeG10HZ7-o85EYiFjQmI8DND/s1600/losers.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
I could never shed that image of Leonard Cohen at the BBQ, even as I grew up and became old enough to buy and read his novel Beautiful Losers or listen to his music.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Still, decades later I bumped into the now famous poet and bard at Concordia University.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I was with friends who were taking a class in Jewish mysticism.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Leonard was a fellow student in that class, which was taught by a conservative rabbi.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I remember standing in a circle after class and the students introducing themselves to the rabbi.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Cohen presented his hand ceremoniously and intoned “And I am Leonard Cohen”.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>“Nice to meet you Lenny!” the rabbi exclaimed.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It was clear that this rabbi, who neither watched TV nor was in tune with popular culture knew who his famous student was.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It was delicious. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
I believe that as life worn on, with all its ups and downs–including financial upsets–Leonard Cohen grew into a humble man.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Perhaps, it had to do with his lifelong interest in spirituality, including Buddhism.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Whatever the cause, his acute sensitivity to the human condition of suffering was a magnifying lens for his talent, which indeed did connect with audiences worldwide.</div>
<br />gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-79926763047278747402018-04-06T05:27:00.000-07:002018-04-06T05:47:10.049-07:00Looking Through Painted Glass-Rosemary Lawton's Debut CD<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKiXvv4UwUXvkmD3KhlZT7nSy5y4EfhHlXrlfBSWZj6_FcnfjK2XaXhLbYfu2PN4XAoElH1zjU4xd-7fdgoAwNgZXYxpMe6hGe9bngJ6UiyqKJJJgKJZ1y9qGLfUGbDm9ZXbc-sfh9u8sM/s1600/Rosemary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKiXvv4UwUXvkmD3KhlZT7nSy5y4EfhHlXrlfBSWZj6_FcnfjK2XaXhLbYfu2PN4XAoElH1zjU4xd-7fdgoAwNgZXYxpMe6hGe9bngJ6UiyqKJJJgKJZ1y9qGLfUGbDm9ZXbc-sfh9u8sM/s320/Rosemary.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<i>Rosemary Lawton’s premiere CD, Painted Glass is a delightful listen–full of colour, tone and nuance and a few surprises.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>What follows is an excerpt of our conversation:</i></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px}
</style>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<b>GH: Can we begin by talking about the title, Painted Glass?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It is a very evocative title and I can imagine so many interpretations, what did you have in mind when you picked the title?</b></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
RL: Well, when I was working on this project, I thought of how each tune I had chosen came from someplace different in Newfoundland. The whole project is comprised of old and new tunes but all fits together somehow. It reminded me of a patchwork quilt or something pieced together to create something special.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>When I finally got the artwork from Trevor de Verteuil, It made me think of stained glass, which still fit that idea so I thought I might name it “Pane of Glass.” When I mentioned it to my dad, he thought I had said “Painted Glass” and I actually liked it better so that’s what it became.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>GH: The first track is your arrangement of the Emile Benoit tune, Sally’s Waltz.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It is sweet but not sentimental and has a mellow quality.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>What would you like to tell us about this track?</b></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
RL: When I was working on my undergrad at Memorial University, I took a course from Dr. Andrew Staniland. Throughout the course I learned how to compose and arrange for all different types of ensembles.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>After I graduated, I was hired by Beyond the Overpass Theatre Company to work out in Twillingate for 4 months.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>During that period, I had time to write and compose, and that is when I started to fool around with some arranging of traditional Newfoundland tunes.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Sally’s Waltz happens to be the very first one I arranged and it is what ignited the flame that is now “Painted Glass.”</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>GH: It is followed by the traditional Kitchener’s Army.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I found this arrangement driven by melody rather than rhythm.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It made for an easy going army!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Can you tell me about some of the decisions you made with this piece?</b></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
RL: I was guided towards this tune set by Christina Smith who recommended that I look in the Memorial University Folklore Archives and the Centre for Newfoundland Studies for a specific set of field recordings from the Codroy Valley done by Margaret Bennett at the University of Edinburgh. They were tunes performed by the MacArthur family and from these field recordings, I transcribed their versions of the tunes. The tunes are both commonly known Scottish session tunes however; I thought it was very interesting that the tunes were preserved in such a rural area of Newfoundland.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Not only were they preserved, but the second tune was also assigned a Gaelic name when its original name was in English.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Looking back on the process now, I suppose I took the feel of their recordings with me when I arranged them, which provides a more peaceful arrangement to something with “army” in the title.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>GH: Next came one of your own compositions, The Siren, which I thought made a great contrast with the prior tracks.</b><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></div>
<div class="p1">
RL: Thank you.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>GH: You sing on The Siren!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I realized that although I’ve heard you play violin for years, I was unaware of your vocal talents.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>What do you want to tell me about this side of your creativity?</b></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
RL: When I was a kid, I loved all forms of music including dance, musical theatre, violin, and singing. I was very shy and had trouble performing in front of people so my mother put me into singing lessons.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I pursued singing throughout my school years and actually got accepted to do vocal studies in university as well as violin but I had to make a choice and the choice was violin.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I never stopped singing although, I was eventually labeled as a violinist.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>When I decided to record this CD, I saw it as a chance to break out and sing more.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>GH: The image of the captain having to choose between the pull of the deadly siren and the safety of home harbour is a wonderful metaphor for so much in life.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It’s universal and yet very appropriate to Newfoundland.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>What was going through your mind when you wrote The Siren?</b></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
RL: I am absolutely passionate about traditional Newfoundland music.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I had heard of many songs of men leaving their wives and children behind while they work on the water, but when I was living in Twillingate, I started to branch out and do some more research. I heard of songs written about women dressing as men to rescue their husbands and fathers, ghost stories, mermaids, and more.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I decided that I wanted to write my own Newfoundland folk song. I really liked the idea of having two powerful female images in a folk song and that is really where the story unfolded.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I had read a book called the Sea Captain’s Wife by Beth Powning, which I found to be a great inspiration.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>In the book, a young woman’s husband is off at sea when she gives birth to her daughter, and he does not get the chance to meet his child until she is three.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I used this story in the song and her child became “the daughter he never knew” in the song. The fear of her husband never coming home was always present, thus the repetition of “head towards the rocks,” which I decided to include as a percussive type of vocal sound.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I really wanted the arrangement to create the soundscape of a stormy sea, and the high vocal lines were meant to imitate the call of the Siren.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>GH: The progression or build on the Dave Panting medley of Circumstance Waltz, Stomp and Rockaway was very appealing.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Why did you pick this one for your CD?</b></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
RL: When I was putting this project together, I knew I wanted to create this blend of old and new, with well-known tunes and lesser-known tunes too. I contacted Dave Panting who was incredibly kind to give me three of his tunes that have never been recorded before. I decided that I wanted to have a Dave Panting tune set so I strung the tunes together.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I started with the waltz because I really liked the idea of making the arrangement grow throughout and leave the audience “rocking away” by the end.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>GH: There has got to be a story behind your composition The Movie Jigs.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Can you share it?</b></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
RL: There is indeed! While completing my undergraduate degree, I took many courses from the incredible Dr. Andrew Staniland as mentioned before and another one of those courses was Electronic Music. During the course, I had to write a score for a short film about a girl who adopts a baby dragon.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>There is a scene where the dragon gets loose in the market and has fun chasing some chickens and another scene where he is kidnapped and the girl has to set off on a quest to find him. I decided to write some jigs to fit the score and thought they would be a good addition to this project.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Looking back, I could have called them something more interesting like the “Dragon Jigs” or something but as of now, they remain “Movie Jigs 1 and 2”.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqYkIw70kX53C-OYBzO4NWJbNkbAJlDDNEeMiONUMRUmjbRqTwnKZ1SmeYPPowAAdvMGK4VhzcwgTYLK8ujxNGi8F6RRYPZydTcnyD48LDHhma-bDtTKvucYWsOaqOEZAoRf5a-GXOjbY7/s1600/painted+glass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqYkIw70kX53C-OYBzO4NWJbNkbAJlDDNEeMiONUMRUmjbRqTwnKZ1SmeYPPowAAdvMGK4VhzcwgTYLK8ujxNGi8F6RRYPZydTcnyD48LDHhma-bDtTKvucYWsOaqOEZAoRf5a-GXOjbY7/s320/painted+glass.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>GH: Your album ends with the traditional, Ghostly Lover.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I’ve always found the lyrics to this piece almost achingly beautiful.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Why did you choose to end your album on such a melancholy note?</b></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
RL: I actively sought out a ballad to end the album. I liked the idea of fading out for the end.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I looked through various ballad collections and found this song in a Greenleaf edition.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The supernatural aspect of the tune interested me but what drew me to the piece was the melody.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I am a very melody-driven musician and I will often hear a song many times before I even notice the words.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>There were many ballads that I saw with stunning poetry but the melody decided it for me.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It was my producer Ian Foster’s idea to add the gentle strings to the background, which I feel really set the scene for the last song.</div>
<br />gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-50336984299695628552018-03-26T08:43:00.001-07:002018-03-26T08:44:24.370-07:00Sleeping: I'm Just Not Good At It<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn36U2m99ziz6RXy_Nli9p7y6ZYcQQVadgRJShzUcGaMda6zBZbQaUz_E4JcuBReQ4q8CSloa1dl-NPv17Gagrrx1yIyb5KPHe6LfYOMyhcWSgfQAQVIaIhSzU-gpXX4KxiPASx9K08MPB/s1600/sleeping+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn36U2m99ziz6RXy_Nli9p7y6ZYcQQVadgRJShzUcGaMda6zBZbQaUz_E4JcuBReQ4q8CSloa1dl-NPv17Gagrrx1yIyb5KPHe6LfYOMyhcWSgfQAQVIaIhSzU-gpXX4KxiPASx9K08MPB/s320/sleeping+cover.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
Some people count imaginary sheep when they cannot fall to sleep. Other people, like poet Ryan Buynak, make lists–lists of favourite songs, games, words or countries to visit, and on and on into the sleepless night. In 2017, Buynak released a collection of his insomniac lists under the title <i>Sleeping: I'm Just Not Good At It. </i>In the perfection of an imperfect life, I was given a signed copy of this book by a kind employee of the Chateau Versailles, my favourite boutique hotel in Montreal. In the course of seven days I had two stints of insomnia that lasted more than 24-hours a piece. <br />
<br />
Buynak's book did not put me to sleep but it did make me laugh out loud on more than one occasion during my vacation. One of my cherished personal maxims is to "take your work seriously but not yourself" so you can imagine my enjoyment of Buynak's flair for the irreverent. When I was going through the fine print of the inside first page–the place you would normally find copyright and credits–I read the usual statement about copyright but with an endearing addition, "But any part of this book can be used or burned for money." Further down the page, I read "Author Shit-" followed by a notation for Buynak's blog, which is www.coyoteblood.blogspot.com as well as his e-address. This was a man after my own heart.<br />
<br />
That impression was deepened when I next flipped to the inside back page and encountered a diagonal swath of bold type that proclaimed <b>Proof</b>, which I took to be an insider's jab at the convention of the author and editor's proof copies that predate final releases. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMRpI70bCrgtxZ36on2vDEIVsOYWN8ghj2M5ZX6XVZ0Hetdm10z-i94PR6QE7Cbq9JlOyxUAbbqwG53Lv1KrDD9dI4DqZMfSGawq1MotSl8sIqHmpNoaCRp9pmbsiPwG3veE3kcDj_s227/s1600/back+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMRpI70bCrgtxZ36on2vDEIVsOYWN8ghj2M5ZX6XVZ0Hetdm10z-i94PR6QE7Cbq9JlOyxUAbbqwG53Lv1KrDD9dI4DqZMfSGawq1MotSl8sIqHmpNoaCRp9pmbsiPwG3veE3kcDj_s227/s320/back+cover.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
Another of the conventions that Buynak defies, is the practice of numbering pages. His lists are titled and have numbered entries but none of the pages of the book are numbered. There is no sequence; I suspected that the poet wants to facilitate the random. It is a flip book of mind candy. Sure enough, I find tucked into the lists a <i>Things to Know While Reading This Book</i> list, entry "8. There are no page numbers for a reason (entry) 9. That reason is to encourage people to just pick up the book and flip to a random page". There was also a phone number to call if you had any complaints–that was entry 6. I didn't call, I just smiled bemused savouring the possible outcomes.<br />
<br />
I did Google Ryan Buynak hoping to find out more about this quizzical creature. When I visited his webpage I pulled up his bio. Do you know what it said? You guessed it, "Blah, blah, blah" for about three paragraphs worth. Buynak does appear to have other titles out in print and works as designer.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-82887150554169925922018-03-20T09:30:00.001-07:002018-03-26T08:50:10.519-07:00Waterloo Library staff recommend books based on your tattoos<div class="asset-body-part3" id="div4680" loaded="true" lpos="asset-body-part3" style="background-color: #f6f6f6; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; font-family: "Open Sans"; width: 661px;">
<div article="" page="" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 20px;" text="">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnB-Uon6TQ5676bMdJ8CRQT-A6_ok65jmdYBNxxyFJLyKUYDU7P5ueRIa8UcoBLBHHw1-4zQqb5UY0RWjjjpJCGH2UcD7Mu5rpokPW2p6Jrmk7EUOIQxA1ksbZZDe5nXxe82zLEqg00CLf/s1600/Waterloo+library+tattoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="418" data-original-width="424" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnB-Uon6TQ5676bMdJ8CRQT-A6_ok65jmdYBNxxyFJLyKUYDU7P5ueRIa8UcoBLBHHw1-4zQqb5UY0RWjjjpJCGH2UcD7Mu5rpokPW2p6Jrmk7EUOIQxA1ksbZZDe5nXxe82zLEqg00CLf/s320/Waterloo+library+tattoo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 16.0px; font: 14.0px Arial; color: #777777}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><i>A photo of this tattoo was sent to the University of Waterloo library </i></span><br />
<span class="s1"><i>as part of a project to recommend books based on tattoos. - </i></span><i>Courtesy of the University of Waterloo</i></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; color: #333333; font-family: "UniversLTStd Cn", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.1em; padding: 0px;">
<i>This article from the local newspaper in Waterloo, Ontario was recently brought to my attention. The paper is called The Record. I know that many folks who share my fascination with tattoo culture would enjoy this so:</i></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; color: #333333; font-family: "UniversLTStd Cn", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.1em; padding: 0px;">
WATERLOO — Could your literary tastes literally be tattooed on your body?</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; color: #333333; font-family: "UniversLTStd Cn", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.1em; padding: 0px;">
The latest initiative undertaken by the University of Waterloo library suggests they could be.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; color: #333333; font-family: "UniversLTStd Cn", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.1em; padding: 0px;">
For two months, a number of library staff members are volunteering to interpret tattoos belonging to members of the community by offering up a book recommendation from the Waterloo Reads collection. The collection consists of more than 600 books.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; color: #333333; font-family: "UniversLTStd Cn", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.1em; padding: 0px;">
"We call it the Tattoo Tuesday task force and there are 10 individuals, nine of whom take turns conducting the readers advisory based off the tattoos," said Michael Myers, the 24-year-old library co-op student who came up with the idea. He was inspired by the Kitchener Public Library's recent campaign to collect stories behind tattoos.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; color: #333333; font-family: "UniversLTStd Cn", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.1em; padding: 0px;">
Every Tuesday, images of the tattoos, along with the book recommendations, are posted to the UW library's <a href="https://www.instagram.com/uwlibrary/" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(197, 42, 44) !important; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3em;">Instagram</a> account. At first, organizers didn't know what to expect from their social media audience.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; color: #333333; font-family: "UniversLTStd Cn", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.1em; padding: 0px;">
"UW's pretty serious and we weren't sure what kind of response we'd get from the campus community, but it's been really positive," said Mary Lynne Bartlett, a library associate who oversees e-learning and user experience.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; color: #333333; font-family: "UniversLTStd Cn", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.1em; padding: 0px;">
Since the library launched the program three weeks ago, it has posted about 15 book suggestions.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; color: #333333; font-family: "UniversLTStd Cn", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.1em; padding: 0px;">
"We've been getting a really good response," said Myers, adding that the tattoo submissions just keep coming in. "We've had a couple of staff members as well as several from the student body. We even had some people from Wilfrid Laurier (University) submit tattoos."</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; color: #333333; font-family: "UniversLTStd Cn", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.1em; padding: 0px;">
To date, Myers' favourite submission is a delicate ink image of lavender.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; color: #333333; font-family: "UniversLTStd Cn", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.1em; padding: 0px;">
"The tattoo itself is very beautiful," he said. "It looks like someone just pressed in a (piece of) lavender into someone's skin."</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="asset-body-part4" id="div4681" loaded="true" lpos="asset-body-part4" style="background-color: #f6f6f6; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; font-family: "Open Sans"; width: 661px;">
<div article="" page="" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 20px;" text="">
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; color: #333333; font-family: "UniversLTStd Cn", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.1em; padding: 0px;">
But he was even more impressed by the book recommendation — a graphic novel by Craig Thompson titled "Blankets." The social media post describes it as a coming of age story about love and loss.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; color: #333333; font-family: "UniversLTStd Cn", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.1em; padding: 0px;">
"I actually haven't read that graphic novel, so I picked it up," he said.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; color: #333333; font-family: "UniversLTStd Cn", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.1em; padding: 0px;">
And that's the goal of the initiative — to get more people reading.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; color: #333333; font-family: "UniversLTStd Cn", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.1em; padding: 0px;">
All of the recommended books are available at the university's Dana Porter and Davis Centre libraries.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; color: #333333; font-family: "UniversLTStd Cn", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.1em; padding: 0px;">
<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"></em></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; color: #333333; font-family: "UniversLTStd Cn", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.1em; padding: 0px;">
lbooth@therecord.com, Twitter: @BoothRecord</div>
</div>
</div>
gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-78275638708126346592018-02-21T14:19:00.001-08:002018-02-21T14:21:29.890-08:00Black Panther –Hype or Racial Equity?<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px}
p.p3 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 12.0px Arial; color: #666666; -webkit-text-stroke: #666666}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
span.s2 {font: 10.0px Arial; font-kerning: none; color: #a5a5a5; -webkit-text-stroke: 0px #a5a5a5}
</style>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm7Qnl4TpYXc9AtOpnY2OlbPGUE99e6Rrtf_7-fIRhdYKcDjEZGqHkVAkr5wajKgkSGzck2INuMkFFdbOZgHGyx_qgEsqX16PRAsYFm5k1Ojj81_TsmmH3kAmDIYSgSpNr7Ou0L57EBBs3/s1600/black-panther-watching-videoSixteenByNineJumbo1600-v2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="891" data-original-width="1585" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm7Qnl4TpYXc9AtOpnY2OlbPGUE99e6Rrtf_7-fIRhdYKcDjEZGqHkVAkr5wajKgkSGzck2INuMkFFdbOZgHGyx_qgEsqX16PRAsYFm5k1Ojj81_TsmmH3kAmDIYSgSpNr7Ou0L57EBBs3/s320/black-panther-watching-videoSixteenByNineJumbo1600-v2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px;">A scene from “Black Panther.”</span><span class="s2" style="text-align: start;">Matt Kennedy/Marvel — Disney</span> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="p1">
I have a weakness for superhero films and I am a dyed-in-the-wool Marvel fan.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>So, of course I had to go and see <i>Black Panther.</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Typically, I go as close to the film’s release date as possible so I can sit in the cinema with an audience of like-minded fans and share in their enthusiasm.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We are like an unofficial club and it’s very easy to separate the hardcore from the casual among us.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Who watches for the Stan Lee cameo?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Who waits until after the credits roll to catch the teaser for the next film in the sequence? –not to be confused with the previews before the film.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>And then we all stand around and trade notes.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Much has been made of the Black Panther film as being “the first Black Superhero film”.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The problem with that pitch is that it’s just not true.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>What about Blade in <i>Tomb of Dracula</i> in January 1973?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I thought it was interesting that Wesley Snipes, who played Blade, came out and said that he wanted to make Black Panther 20 years ago but was unable to for a varied of reasons.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Oh!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I forgot about Luke Cage in <i>Hero for Hire</i> in 1972.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>And then there was Storm in 1975; many will remember Haile Berry playing her in the X-Men trilogy.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
The iconic image of Black Panther crouched on the hood of a pursuing vehicle<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(in the film) struck<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>me as downright funny.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I thought it looked like a pun on the Jaguar hood ornament…indirect product endorsement?</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
One of my favourite scenes in the film took place in a museum.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>In it, the film’s villain comes to reclaim an artifact that originally belonged to his tribe.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I got a kick at the banter between the museum curator and villain and all the post-colonial digs.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I am not going be a spoiler and tell you how the scene ends because I want you to see it for yourself.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Oh and as for me and comic books, we go back far enough that I remember when I could spend 12 cents of weekly allowance and buy one.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I never bought <i>Archie</i> like the other girls.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I went for Marvel or Golden Key.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I first discovered Plato’s philosophy in Golden Key. Here’s to encouraging kids to read!</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoO8b0VVrM-aLSib73hLKnCit_E1i6xUeSnxGNY6N6bBDbZx2Wpk7snTYOuuxBXQstofXuwpZ5hABp0EfZoBH0xiKkEi0m_OijCKVWly4lsG7NuS6JMvarHEZ4_P4h5rTl3KFeRCIWBSWd/s1600/onlyoneblade.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="656" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoO8b0VVrM-aLSib73hLKnCit_E1i6xUeSnxGNY6N6bBDbZx2Wpk7snTYOuuxBXQstofXuwpZ5hABp0EfZoBH0xiKkEi0m_OijCKVWly4lsG7NuS6JMvarHEZ4_P4h5rTl3KFeRCIWBSWd/s320/onlyoneblade.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p3">
<br /></div>
<br />gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-23378093302377263572018-02-05T13:23:00.000-08:002018-02-05T13:24:46.342-08:00Canada 150 From an Atlantic Perspective<div class="p1">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj573Jx_zUhhIl8ip6-sUOzuxO4i0Q4gU2dceHJIbIplW19yGRxOGjJZm-hSgeHVjXL-0g7Wq-ffoQV_Hq4mDYBMlZCLMxTMCoiCEVH-eIbpDMJZiHU1DUYKr6wNNwb9pVrfEsFSubOWy2u/s1600/billie+winter+2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="342" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj573Jx_zUhhIl8ip6-sUOzuxO4i0Q4gU2dceHJIbIplW19yGRxOGjJZm-hSgeHVjXL-0g7Wq-ffoQV_Hq4mDYBMlZCLMxTMCoiCEVH-eIbpDMJZiHU1DUYKr6wNNwb9pVrfEsFSubOWy2u/s320/billie+winter+2017.jpg" width="273" /></a>Late last week my copies of the winter 2017 issue of Billie magazine arrived in the snail mail.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This issue focuses on the Atlantic perspective on the art-related 150 celebrations of Canada’s Confederation. It is much more than a reporting of events or a string of reviews. Editor Terry Graff really pulled this one off and the result is an unusually cohesive and nuanced interpretation–well worth a read.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
The cover aptly presents a close up of Alan Sylboy’s <i>Mi’Kmaq Signposts</i> (Our Common Woods project) and Syliboy is interviewed by Managing Editor Cheryl Bell about his entire career.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The Indigenous perspective is felt through out the issue.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
I have an article in this issue about the Bonavista Biennale, which was a month-long event that stretched over 55 kilometres and 22 exhibits and countless events.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>One of the difficulties of writing an overview is that you cannot possibly cover everything within your word budget.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Not to mention, that a writer worth her salt knows that you have to ferret out what is meaningful and enduring beyond the who, what, where, when and why reportage.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
What I decided to pull out of the dazzling array of exhibits was the curatorial match-making of artist to site and the relationship of the local people in the rural communities to the art.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I was especially interested in the art as a form of intervention.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
It was genuinely rewarding to see so much good art in nontraditional venues and to see nonart professionals taking pride and ownership as animators, interpreters and hosts.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Here is a taste of some of what I wrote:</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCi5byAXBQT6G_GStdz31wJ0iwNWUT3uExTyW2H66c-TNl3zsKimPPCiYBuAMUS4W3pQABOxhuZzVxZ3xmaVZwbTBwWbzWJQAHaUgKXrR2TPuMlII-hOPzNvPrVffBt1WauNyA63x3STgK/s1600/pam-hall-bonavista-biennale-devils-cove-2018-photo-brian-ricks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="1000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCi5byAXBQT6G_GStdz31wJ0iwNWUT3uExTyW2H66c-TNl3zsKimPPCiYBuAMUS4W3pQABOxhuZzVxZ3xmaVZwbTBwWbzWJQAHaUgKXrR2TPuMlII-hOPzNvPrVffBt1WauNyA63x3STgK/s320/pam-hall-bonavista-biennale-devils-cove-2018-photo-brian-ricks.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pam Hall, Re-Seeding the Dream East, 2017 site-specific commission</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Many of the artists were represented by two bodies of work displayed on separate sites.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Pam Hall’s…At Doran’s Meadow, a large school of cod, fashioned out of flour sacks, flew like kits against an ocean blue sky.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The textile art installation with its fish motif was effective because it was socially relevant to its site but universally accessible at the same time.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The elusive cod resource had meaning to local fishers and art lovers alike.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95HMnlyku9EozLGjVy8SQIKX-fGqYlBiID8WM1PSjfIAtbpsKLmAwwVxjzNzhJfrbuFZqz_rJ809ggDcDDUdR2PrpOsLNmsb0tE7SZw6D201IuN_4MoTdJJ5VRI0h2m_JtiipqYDGFg1F/s1600/Gill+chair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95HMnlyku9EozLGjVy8SQIKX-fGqYlBiID8WM1PSjfIAtbpsKLmAwwVxjzNzhJfrbuFZqz_rJ809ggDcDDUdR2PrpOsLNmsb0tE7SZw6D201IuN_4MoTdJJ5VRI0h2m_JtiipqYDGFg1F/s320/Gill+chair.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Will Gill, The Green Chair, 2017 site-specific commission, fabricated steel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
A few of the outdoor installations were intended to be permanent and were commissioned,…Will Gill’s metal chair, which was perched on a wave-washed rock ledge of Maberly Lookout.…domestic in reference, it is also a collaboration with the elemental forces of the ocean that provides and takes away life.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>These sculptures bring up the bittersweet lifestyle of “around the bay” that is characterized by beauty and vulnerability.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
Catherine Blackburn’s indigenous stitched art was used as a quiet “art bomb” amid the educational display detailing John Cabot’s “discovery” of Newfoundland and as an exhibition with its own dedicated room.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Our Mother(s) Tongue traced the painful loss of the Dene language and culture through images of a human tongue pricked with sewing pins and alternatively adorned with golden syllabics.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Both kinds of images were seductively beautiful and masterfully crafted, lending a subtlety that kept the exhibition from being strident protest art–an accomplishment, particularly during the 150th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikHmbco_uuPHM0SnOMTsqmn3wc0FOWVTMu3j5BVfzF7_9GFRmeR5R7uktmfaH1OHAUp51Ev95r9Js5fqCRXgUWI3E1NpykOdsjXDa3iTLcgD0YuBA6qoG92Nl6RxoFEx3R82c99a1x8FVD/s1600/catherine-blackburn-at-ye-olde-matthew-bonavista-biennale-photo-leah-sandals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikHmbco_uuPHM0SnOMTsqmn3wc0FOWVTMu3j5BVfzF7_9GFRmeR5R7uktmfaH1OHAUp51Ev95r9Js5fqCRXgUWI3E1NpykOdsjXDa3iTLcgD0YuBA6qoG92Nl6RxoFEx3R82c99a1x8FVD/s320/catherine-blackburn-at-ye-olde-matthew-bonavista-biennale-photo-leah-sandals.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Catherine Blackburn's Our Mother(s) Tongue amid didatic display at Ye Olde Matthew.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-51366976477480616302018-01-23T07:23:00.000-08:002018-01-23T07:24:14.835-08:00How Art Sugar Coats the Pill<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVAQnrREf-uETocqKnL0_mlEL4QksMsJkXTncm6LBOfoLpbbMzxcY1YINPb7Jm_V2MgMUeuKJT1Y14d_SK-JJpqFbDveWzkLWsykepv7PghMMKiK8H0V3YJhBlerrJO2zzZy5CrsHF6QKr/s1600/DSCF0244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVAQnrREf-uETocqKnL0_mlEL4QksMsJkXTncm6LBOfoLpbbMzxcY1YINPb7Jm_V2MgMUeuKJT1Y14d_SK-JJpqFbDveWzkLWsykepv7PghMMKiK8H0V3YJhBlerrJO2zzZy5CrsHF6QKr/s400/DSCF0244.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A mixed media extravaganza by Tracey Robinson, which I purchased in 2016.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am currently reading Jodi Picoult's The Tenth Circle,
which has at its centre a teenage rape.
I have been looking and thinking about visual art that deals with the
uncomfortable truths of colonialism and racism. And even the last piece of art that I purchased was about
something distressing– the death of the artist's sister. All of this, plus the daily news
headlines, have provoked my wondering about the best way for art to deal with
difficult topics.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Clearly, artists feel a need to respond to the ugly facts of
life and not just the decorative ones.
Art is basically about communication but it is not enough to simply
share pain. I believe that art of
that order may need to be made but it does not need to be put on display. I'd like to think that is the
difference between art and art therapy, which is a kind of exorcism. If you want me to get in the trenches
with you please keep in mind that we also need a way to get out of that dark
place.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Humans, unlike animals, are attracted to what we are afraid
of–the things that threaten our sense of control. Art is one way we have of taming the wild forces that we are
subject to. I think that is part
of the appeal of pattern, which is based on rhythm and repetition. I suspect that much of so-called
primitive art is about taming natural events like lightening, drought or
fire. The flash of lightening
becomes the diagonal slash of a v-pattern on a ceramic vessel. It is akin to sympathetic magic. We turn the unruly path of nature into
the rows of a garden.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie-o1oMNxdW9JyU_XyC63B0IxYOHf_Pc6s34n1wOh3wDyYSGYvA9HOnE5A00urozcPzK9foZL-Q8-Bzsux3ON7cZhi3DtT62CzlSSJTOcyr9SRI65sRmIDKO4weEYqKj8qUSYvXSOhoyH9/s1600/hansel-and-gretel-witch-brothers-grimm-19th-century-germany-B0P2R1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1300" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie-o1oMNxdW9JyU_XyC63B0IxYOHf_Pc6s34n1wOh3wDyYSGYvA9HOnE5A00urozcPzK9foZL-Q8-Bzsux3ON7cZhi3DtT62CzlSSJTOcyr9SRI65sRmIDKO4weEYqKj8qUSYvXSOhoyH9/s320/hansel-and-gretel-witch-brothers-grimm-19th-century-germany-B0P2R1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stranger danger and Hansel & Gretel.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Storytelling has magical abilities too. It is an empowering ritual, a way of
making the unsafe safe. Perhaps
that is what is behind the power of Grimm's fairy tales. It was a way of taking the frightening
and the cruel and putting it in a way that was safe for childhood
consumption. This was history's
alternative to bubble-wrapping your kid.
Cautionary tales whether they are about climate change or hungry crones
are essentially lessons that we don't want to learn. Suspense and the possibility of heroism, however, lure us
on. Narrative is as seductive as
the come-hither charms of formalism.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Humour is a potent method for deflating demons or diverting
us long enough to hold on until better times. Gallows humour allows us to laugh at trying or dire
events. It shows us that even in
our darkest moments there is a possibility of light. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pattern, narrative and humour are tools at the artist's hand
that attract us and hold our attention long enough to consider the unsavoury
and hopefully allow us to tap into some much needed resourcefulness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-58487215277353696742018-01-16T13:35:00.000-08:002018-01-17T10:31:18.692-08:00Top 5 of 2017 in the world of Craft & Design<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Bbcsz0twPO4p8QjI7LN47QcTL5gZfm1r1M5NKnb0LbzSKcSpkfs9oisndU0JnTlxbAMhhCEY2e06mHUtjLl0J1hDQXJIepY0WaQC23pZ7EwqVUP2m9_ogumNZSJ6dYm-07yTgpljz67Z/s1600/AGB_CanadianCraftBiennialCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="660" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Bbcsz0twPO4p8QjI7LN47QcTL5gZfm1r1M5NKnb0LbzSKcSpkfs9oisndU0JnTlxbAMhhCEY2e06mHUtjLl0J1hDQXJIepY0WaQC23pZ7EwqVUP2m9_ogumNZSJ6dYm-07yTgpljz67Z/s320/AGB_CanadianCraftBiennialCover.jpg" width="243" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The conclusion of one year and the start of another is the
time of year for "best of" lists and awards. The world of craft is no different and
2017 was something of a bumper crop for publications across Canada. Galleries West, an Alberta-based
digital art publication, which started as a print magazine in 2002 and went
digital in 2016, put out their list of publications to check out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you are not familiar with Galleries West, here is their
link: <a href="http://www.gallerieswest.ca/">http://www.gallerieswest.ca/</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was very happy to see the Canadian Craft Biennial
publication make it onto the list but I was gob-smacked to see my essay, which
was one of nine by some of my most esteemed colleagues, recognized:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>In a broader context, the best observation comes from
independent curator and writer Gloria Hickey, who considers craft’s deep
engagement with object making. She argues that conceptualism in the visual arts
in the 1960s and 1970s “created a vacuum where material-based practices (i.e.,
studio craft) could flourish.” And thrive, I might add, because nothing beats
relating to something tactile.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3s1NMHGG42x1mPeHLuKLE2iOK0ZwwidUS6vhTZTcyvxZJym9maiQYYEGFlSUSe_MzMg84LddKqspiFjDSFqENAHw5xM6nuQqwI0AS5-NlFJGkLBPn1qftTTUx1vAW9FG4kbKKiFQOV8ud/s1600/Janet+Macpherson+Catalogue-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="660" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3s1NMHGG42x1mPeHLuKLE2iOK0ZwwidUS6vhTZTcyvxZJym9maiQYYEGFlSUSe_MzMg84LddKqspiFjDSFqENAHw5xM6nuQqwI0AS5-NlFJGkLBPn1qftTTUx1vAW9FG4kbKKiFQOV8ud/s320/Janet+Macpherson+Catalogue-1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This title also made the list. MacPherson's creatures<br />
have long fascinated me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is gratifying to see that Galleries West understood that
exhibition catalogues, which often weigh in at over a 100 pages, can compete
with books and take a comparable amount of money and human resources to
produce. My hat goes off to Denis
Longchamps and Emma Quin for finding the resources and passion to make the
publication that accompanied the Canadian Craft Biennial exhibit and symposium
happen–and in French and English!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All of the titles on the Galleries West list are definitely worth
considering and are on now on my "to read" list for 2018. Check it out for yourself:<a href="http://www.gallerieswest.ca/art-reviews/books/craft-and-design-five-to-check-out/">http://www.gallerieswest.ca/art-reviews/books/craft-and-design-five-to-check-out/</a></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-55765141339336779942018-01-08T12:49:00.001-08:002018-01-08T12:52:33.423-08:00Falling Down the Rabbit Hole of Indigeneity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-PEvicoTRspBhXM382NVjglMDwlyzJNNlaceNB7yXrGjOJZjOJFuEpxCG4HPxObOpHHgdI0TxY32FWVVU5qR8WPllinNu42tFA_IGyqgYVSLppFHJPEKk42-OKmyZOlz-u1G4UKbNuQ4O/s1600/Lay+of+the+Land+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1038" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-PEvicoTRspBhXM382NVjglMDwlyzJNNlaceNB7yXrGjOJZjOJFuEpxCG4HPxObOpHHgdI0TxY32FWVVU5qR8WPllinNu42tFA_IGyqgYVSLppFHJPEKk42-OKmyZOlz-u1G4UKbNuQ4O/s320/Lay+of+the+Land+1.jpg" width="259" /></a></div>
One of my projects this past week has been writing a review
of Logan MacDonald's <i>Lay of the Land</i> for
C magazine. It would be
unprofessional for me to share what is in that article of a 1,000 words before
publication but I would like to share some thoughts about the reviewing process
in general and Indigenous Art in specific.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In terms of a review, timing is crucial. Publications have schedules that must
be maintained whether they are a daily newspaper, a monthly magazine or a
quarterly journal. So, the first
hurdle to clear is whether a show dovetails with the publishing cycle. After that, it helps if someone–other
than the artist and their mother– is interested. Personally, I gravitate towards shows that have themes that
I want to think about, something for me to sink my teeth into, as a
writer. I check out any number of
shows but recommend a small handful to publications for review. As a rule of thumb, if there is the
potential for a negative review I usually decline but offer to talk with the
artist face to face. This way we
hopefully both learn something.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And then there is the issue of whether I am qualified to
offer a useful commentary on the show.
I have written about Indigenous Art since the early nineties but have
stepped away from the topic for several years. The reason was that I wanted to encourage indigenous writers
and curators to fill that role.
There has been a huge ground swell in scholarship on the topic and the
issue of indigenous identity is highly contested. I have stayed abreast of the production of Indigenous Art
but I cannot claim to be fluent in the lingo and its subtle nuances. I am dating myself (deliberately) when
I say that I can remember when the term First Peoples was introduced to art
history. All I can do is to
promise to keep learning.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the terms that intrigued me in Logan MacDonald's
lexicon was that he identifies as a queer visual artist with settler/Mi'kmaq
ancestry. What I've seen in the community
is the evolution from European ancestry to settler ancestry. Given the politics of colonialism, more
neutral terms are falling away.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVUs4S6oaTw2eIEnG8Zq3kwP1Fz8Gg2hSo5L2T_m-DcxS6myOmTL7C_G3ntQs3foPf_zmncPa5iMnAly_Q23_ZyYU_ywF7TTtRk01gP3x-qB2hyphenhyphenzorNynuEE09_S7pzqaCEXuJ4Ew8FBPi/s1600/boyden-joseph-file.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="620" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVUs4S6oaTw2eIEnG8Zq3kwP1Fz8Gg2hSo5L2T_m-DcxS6myOmTL7C_G3ntQs3foPf_zmncPa5iMnAly_Q23_ZyYU_ywF7TTtRk01gP3x-qB2hyphenhyphenzorNynuEE09_S7pzqaCEXuJ4Ew8FBPi/s320/boyden-joseph-file.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Novelist Joseph Boyden</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Terms are also getting more precise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The novelist Joseph Boyden made
Maclean's, the Globe & Mail and CBC not for his excellent writing but for
the charge that he was misrepresenting his indigenous ancestry. "While the
majority of my blood comes from Europe and the Celtic region," Boyden said
in a statement to APTN, "there is Nipmuc ancestry on my father's side, and
Ojibwe ancestry on my mother's [sic]."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that wasn't enough to satisfy his critics. Boyden
apologized to the Métis of Red River because he had supposedly referred to
himself as Métis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even in recent memory,
Métis was an acceptable term to convey someone of settler and indigenous
ancestry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it seems that is
like confusing sparkling wine for Champagne. <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday-edition-1.3914159/joseph-boyden-must-take-responsibility-for-misrepresenting-heritage-says-indigenous-writer-1.3907253">http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday-edition-1.3914159/joseph-boyden-must-take-responsibility-for-misrepresenting-heritage-says-indigenous-writer-1.3907253</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday-edition-1.3914159/joseph-boyden-must-take-responsibility-for-misrepresenting-heritage-says-indigenous-writer-1.3907253"></a>APTN has gone so far as to call Joseph
Boyden a shapeshifter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All I'm
qualified to say is that Boyden writes good fiction and I am grateful to
MacDonald's art for introducing me to it.<o:p></o:p></div>
gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-52382063209613006912017-12-25T12:41:00.002-08:002017-12-25T12:42:04.964-08:00The Naughty and Nice of Christmas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZGjqED9bTSodDPt3yFHHo6KthjZwCV5f0Mm56Kekjf1B09hMgIqPnzdZ-L3CoIg-3Z-Cr_YQplbJ8CT7t3MXNwAyDjbsRu6QCrURK78EXv7lMuJI1JSvLSZmU240muOoUEE98R9z1Ue-2/s1600/merrykrampus-t-shirt-black-750x750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZGjqED9bTSodDPt3yFHHo6KthjZwCV5f0Mm56Kekjf1B09hMgIqPnzdZ-L3CoIg-3Z-Cr_YQplbJ8CT7t3MXNwAyDjbsRu6QCrURK78EXv7lMuJI1JSvLSZmU240muOoUEE98R9z1Ue-2/s320/merrykrampus-t-shirt-black-750x750.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The very first Christmas present that I ever bought was a
tree-topper angel ornament for my mother, a ceramic cherub of sorts holding a
banner that said "Gloria".
Christmas for children is often about trying to be good, to produce a
present-winning performance. I was
never very good at "normal".
I did not play house or want to get married and my Barbie doll was a spy
named Honey West whose cover story was that she was a bartender. A fur toy, an octopus that I dubbed
"Alaska", was her assistant who ran the bar when she went off on
adventure-filled missions. Those
pose-able eight arms came in handy.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Growing up with an Austrian mother I was told tales of the
Grampus, who left coal in your shoes and a switch with which your parents were
to beat you. Now, doesn't that
smack of Grimm's fairy tales?
Curiously, this year I noticed Krampus sweaters and other devilish gear
turning up at one of my favourite gift retailers, Posie Row. The Internet, of course, was brimming
with extreme versions of Krampus fashion.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Having your own children is supposedly the time to return to
sugar plum wishes. What happened
in my case is that I ended up with the toddler that asked, "Why doesn't
Santa give poor children presents?"
This question stung me as the social cliché between poverty and bad behaviour loomed large. Remember that lump of
coal that was said to appear in the stockings of "naughty"
children? </div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjK9NiryeQYqFMNj4_oo8OgizRu1imo3e-SeczQ3DZ6lLnqqa_41xE4gh-ejFM_Ep7EMkv2VSWnxnqyBPl0Dcdz6z2QbLDEhPjpGEZM3REnsUIAfUiQYeCLgULQYa6oWkpqsPjS5XMVYGu/s1600/gloria+with+elf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjK9NiryeQYqFMNj4_oo8OgizRu1imo3e-SeczQ3DZ6lLnqqa_41xE4gh-ejFM_Ep7EMkv2VSWnxnqyBPl0Dcdz6z2QbLDEhPjpGEZM3REnsUIAfUiQYeCLgULQYa6oWkpqsPjS5XMVYGu/s320/gloria+with+elf.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Bernard Stanley Gastropub for Project Kindness.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps because of my child's early social conscience I have
been possessed with alternative ways of Christmas cheer. We worked on a series of toy drives
over the years for a variety of causes.
The one that was the most bittersweet was the drive for gifts to
children who had a parent incarcerated. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This Friday past, I stopped into the Bernard Stanley Gastro
pub for a quick bite before attending Mary Barry's early set at The Black
Sheep. Friday night during the
holiday season can be a difficult time to score a table without a reservation,
so I offered to sit at the bar.
And boy was I glad I did. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No sooner had I finished my scallops with watermelon salsa
than Hasan Hai appeared at the invisible line at the entrance where you stand
and wait to be greeted. I flashed
him a smile and a two thumbs up.
He responded with a point and grin. In short time we were seated beside each other except that
Hasan sat <i>on</i> the bar. I stashed his jacket on my lap. The cameras came out and I was told to
keep a straight face.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, I should probably point out that Hasan has more than
one persona with a social conscience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He started the Newfoundland Beard and Moustache club and donned a
merb'ys tail to help raise funds for Spirit Horse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Friday night he was "the dark elf on the shelf"
with Project Kindness and was raising money for the Food Sharing Network.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The money goes directly to the charity
as Hasan pointed out to me, "my elf leggings don't have any
pockets."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dark elf has
appeared at a variety of St. John's locations and this season netted $3,831.35,
which will leverage much more–the gift that keeps giving.</div>
gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664140114641279718.post-81739627790132510102017-12-18T06:59:00.000-08:002017-12-18T07:02:32.921-08:00How Do You Like Your Mermen?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmvVXDhssTjFghntSIn3wDGsB-bCUhN86GFLnr4XO6Wt9oQtxRlmhkxmRIUQNQJdW9OPCUANwBVIiGQVy1rVzrq4AxmNLv98348UsrbrZobqM-qE2saSljhiiQTk4EpYbThviTDBDhs4G/s1600/NL+logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmvVXDhssTjFghntSIn3wDGsB-bCUhN86GFLnr4XO6Wt9oQtxRlmhkxmRIUQNQJdW9OPCUANwBVIiGQVy1rVzrq4AxmNLv98348UsrbrZobqM-qE2saSljhiiQTk4EpYbThviTDBDhs4G/s1600/NL+logo.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
St. John's is something of a Mecca for facial hair. Far beyond the annual sprouting of
moustaches for Movember, which raises funds for men's health issues, we now
have a Newfoundland and Labrador Beard & Moustache Club. This is a social club that is
interested in promoting a positive image for facial hair but you don't need a
beard to be a member. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hasan Hai had been a member of the Saskatchewan branch of
the club and when he moved back home to Newfoundland our local club sprang up
in January 2017–this is neither your usual stuffy men's club nor a rowdy
fraternity. Its members have an
endearing way of laughing at themselves and a willingness to help out with charitable
projects. What intrigued me about the organization was its goal of challenging
stereotypes and particularly what "men are supposed to look
like". They recognize
diversity and the NL Beard & Moustache Club's first project is evidence of
that belief.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMLrnwys89sKz_GpL6mnyxYXxEcATspLcz06vGnbf5WgbZJKaTTlTL-eeesMqJF9h52m5Kl2BWwowNdCz3UI7uhi7PPWgHoffff-CC2zWEkyp8iJYp6OqGhyhbIx_YxbmkC205DJ3rs3aa/s1600/flip+those+tails.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="357" data-original-width="635" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMLrnwys89sKz_GpL6mnyxYXxEcATspLcz06vGnbf5WgbZJKaTTlTL-eeesMqJF9h52m5Kl2BWwowNdCz3UI7uhi7PPWgHoffff-CC2zWEkyp8iJYp6OqGhyhbIx_YxbmkC205DJ3rs3aa/s400/flip+those+tails.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just in time for Christmas (and I know I am putting at least
one in the mail) is the 2018 Merb'ys Calendar. In their own words, this is what they set out to achieve
with the calendar:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
•First, raise money and bring awareness to a local
non-profit organization Spirit Horse.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
•Second, challenging out-dated views of what masculinity and
beauty look like by featuring a diverse group of bearded humans.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
•Third, an opportunity to toss our shirts, put on a tail,
and laugh harder than we've ever laughed before.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Each month of the calendar is illustrated by full-colour
photographs of the Merb'ys–in all their body type splendour– posing at
recognizable Newfoundland locations.
At the ocean side on cliffs and beaches, tossing snow balls at the
Spirit Horse property, at the Quidi Vidi Plantation, and even being dangled
upside from a dock like some prize catch.
The calendar dates recognize Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian
celebrations as well as those dates more associated with social justice than
religion, like International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and
Biphobia. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatLu-ziw7MLMTk5JrwWsI0ItLaTax9ItOnULORP7kjhDscgeWinIvP-uVADTbZ251jNB88V8y2NkU4KO007CPVtKoHjMUBu0cGNIDymjdTlwnJt1_7po9QQehw7qSTJDl9AmqNGhFqBN8/s1600/LifestyleSmithMerbyCalendarNov14PhotoGreg-Noel-Credit-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1543" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatLu-ziw7MLMTk5JrwWsI0ItLaTax9ItOnULORP7kjhDscgeWinIvP-uVADTbZ251jNB88V8y2NkU4KO007CPVtKoHjMUBu0cGNIDymjdTlwnJt1_7po9QQehw7qSTJDl9AmqNGhFqBN8/s400/LifestyleSmithMerbyCalendarNov14PhotoGreg-Noel-Credit-1.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Spirit Horse NL is a therapeutic service that aims to
enhance the mental health and life skills of youth, adults, families and groups
through interaction with horses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This non-profit group pairs peers with clients, who have shared many of
the same life challenges. Spirit Horse NL programs are facilitated by Erin
Gallant – a graduate of Therapeutic Recreation, an Equestrian Canada Coach
Specialist, a Trained Mental Health Peer Supporter and a Level 3 Healing Touch
Energy Work student.<o:p></o:p></div>
gloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09724220513064175480noreply@blogger.com2