The Giant Sparrows

One of the best things about Vancouver recently have been the public art that have popped up as a result of the Olympics. One such piece that has captured the imagination are the giant sparrows in False Creek by artist Myfanwy MacLeod. They are really astonishing. Seeing them tower above you is quite the experience.

There is a great write up about the project from the City of Vancouver here.

Aren't they just the most wonderful things?

Introducing Mr. Sexsmith

Anyone love Ron Sexsmith? If not, you should. He is probably one of the most talented contemporary singer-songwriters out there. His songs are sensitive, subtle, and all about the complexities of emotion. Plus, he is Canadian and has a wonderful, clear, sincere voice and delivery.

This weekend we saw the documentary 'Love Shines.', which had its premiere at the VIFF on Friday. Apparently the filmmakers followed Ron for seven years and this is the result. The film is fantastic - you get a real sense of Ron, and you glimpse into the artistic process and recording process quite a bit. It's really, really good, even for people who have never heard of Ron Sexsmith, I expect. The last showing is on October 15, and then it will be doing rounds on the film festival circuit before appearing on TV.

The wonderful thing about the show is that Ron and Douglas Arrowsmith, the filmmaker, appeared at the end of the screening for a Q&A. I was a little giddy!

Here are a couple of really bad shots from the balcony, where we were sitting. (Douglas Arrowsmith is on the left and Ron Sexsmith is in the centre.)

Art of the Everyday: Song Dong & Robert Adrian

Last week we went downtown and renewed our membership to the Vancouver Art Gallery. Then, we took a look at a few of the exhibitions that were currently on: Song Dong's 'Waste Not' and a group exhibit called 'Everything Everyday'. Exhibits at the VAG are usually hit or miss for me, but these group of exhibits made it the most wonderful Vancouver gallery day. A lot of the pieces resonated, and there were moments where you connect with the art, which is a feeling that's out of this world.

Song Dong's exhibit was an installation of all the objects that his mother collected over the years. We may understand her compulsion as 'hoarding', but it seems much more complicated than that. It speaks to the values of previous generations, cultural history, mourning, and the value of things. Ultimately, the art shows the relationship between mother and artist son. The exhibit is huge, and very impressive, just in terms of size. The detail and immensity are astounding.

On the same floor, there was a group exhibit of everyday objects transformed into art. Like a lot of group shows, there are things that stand out and things that would make you shake your head. But probably my favourite piece was Robert Adrian's 'dictionnaire par images', made in 1979. He took out pages from a picture dictionary and created tiny clay sculptures of the object as they were on the page. Perhaps it is my love of miniatures, but I found this piece to be charming and poignant, considering these objects are more than 30 years old!

The other exhibit that blew me away that's at the VAG right now is the American artist Kerry James Marshall's first solo exhibit in Canada. His paintings are amazing and tell stories of the African American experience. He draws from religious icon imagery, pop art, Basquiat, advertising, Naive Art....

The canvases are just beautiful and reflects on the history of African Americans, especially during the Civil Rights era. Although he's a past recipient of the MacArthur 'genius' grant and quite well-known in the US, I'd never heard of him before. What a discovery.

A Peek

This is a little glimpse that a project I've been working on. These are a couple of lino cuts that I carved. I'm pretty used to carving rubber blocks, but this was the first time I've returned to lino since high school. The texture of the lino these days is so much better, so much easier to cut.

You'll see prints and/or the final product sometime in the future, I assure you. For the moment, the end product is a little under wraps.

For those of you who recognize the subject of the carvings, I tip my hat to you.

Mystical Boat

Odilon Redon is one of those artists I've loved for a long time. I used to hang out in the the art section of the library at university, just randomly browsing through books, and it was there that came across Odilon Redon. His paintings, charcoals and pastels are very dreamlike (some are even quite scary, Goya-like), and he addresses the internal mind and emotion in a most beautiful and intimate way.

This pastel image, "La Barque Mystique" (which I found here) seems to incapsulate where I am at the moment. It's a lovely image, quite optimistic in its golden sails and bright blue boat. The boat seems to be sailing sturdily on the sea--or is it resting, nestled by the meadow and green grass? Both seem to be true.

Last week I quit my job with a big company and accepted another job at a non-profit. It's something I've been contemplating for a while, but the opportunity never came up until now. I liked my old job (and loved my co-workers), but I feel I'm moving closer to 'rightness', that elusive feeling where you feel aligned with who you are....

Such a mysterious blue boat.

North Road Art

Along Lougheed Highway and North Road in my neighborhood, there are these metal electrical boxes which was one of those things in your vision that you never really see, because it becomes just part of the urban landscape. Well, a year or so ago, they covered these green boxes with this rather interesting historical photo collage. It makes me think about the rather young history of BC, and really how much has changed.

For something I see everyday, it definitely brings a smile to my face.

Crochet Taxidermy!

You know when sometimes you are met with something so unexpected and astonishing that it blows your world? Well, few days ago I ran across this article on Dazed Digital about this amazing crochet artist named Shauna Richardson. She crochets these amazing life-sized animals, and mounts them like taxidermy animals. These creatures are unbelievably life like and so beautiful. In closeups, you can see each stitch that went into the work.

I'd never think of this idea, but it is so dang brilliant! For more of her work visit her site here.

The Wonderful Art of Alex Gross

from Alex Gross' website

You know how sometimes you suddenly stumble upon an image that grabs you, that some how seems utterly familiar and fitting to you? And how suddenly you wonder how this artist has never been part of your life before? Well, this was what happened to me on Saturday.

We were browsing in one of Vancouver's excellent art book stores, Oscar's Art Books, and what did I see on the sale table, but the the most fascinating looking book, The Art of Alex Gross. I took a look through his paintings in the book, which are full of anachronisms, Japanese pop art, vintage images, and art history references. The faces were distant but full of feeling, and the colours reminded you both of commercial art and really old paintings. This guy's got skills.

The book was on sale, which is another bonus. It's quite a big, heavy book, so the only downside to purchasing it was having to lug it around all over Granville Island and Vancouver.

Don't you love it when you find an artist you like? It's like finding a soul mate or something.

For more about Alex Gross, visit his website here.

Freedom to Lead

A few weeks ago the Shepard Fairey poster of Aug San Suu Kyi arrived. It is quite big, and to our delight the artist even signed the bottom corner of the poster. We haven't had a chance to frame it nicely, so it had just been sitting around rolled up in our living room.

But it is hung! It’s not framed yet, but it still looks pretty good on the wall, next to the painting of the monk and monster by my brother (a reference to the September 2007 monk uprising in Burma).

Charley Harper

"Puffins Passing"

One of my favorite craft blogs is called Purl Bee. There are numerous knitting, sewing, crochet and needlecraft projects to explore, and beautifully illustrated tutorials for the beginner. The blog recently featured the arrival of Charley Harper needlepoints in their store, and I was utterly blown away. It made me want to do these needle point projects so much! I could already imagine it hanging on our apartment walls. But then I realized that the canvas would be about $95, and I’d have to buy the yarn, plus it would take a really, really long time and I’m not so interested in needlepoint….and then it dawned on me that I was actually in love with the pictures, not the idea of needlepoint itself.

"Limp on a Limb"

How have I not heard of Charley Harper? How have I lived without knowing he ever existed? He was an American commercial illustrator and artist (1922-2007), who did both commercial work (“The Golden Book of Biology”, “Betty Crocker’s Dinner for Two”, “Ford Times”) and nature-based work (National Park Service, Michigan Audubon Society, Cincinnati Zoo). His pictures are colourful, graphic, stylized, and with a unique point of view. I also really dig the names of his illustrations.

"Birdfeeders"

The book featuring his work, Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life, is at the top of my wish list. It’s a definitive 400 page compilation of his work, written by designer Todd Oldham, and listed for only $37.77. However, this edition is not yet released. A hardcover version is currently available for around $150.

For an amazing plethora of information about Charley Harper, go here. You can purchase books and prints, but I mainly visit for the pictures.

They certainly are beautiful.

Thank you, Charley Harper!

It Would Look Awesome on Your Wall

Check out Shepard Fairey’s new print for the Nobel Peace Prize Winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who is still under house arrest in Burma. ALL of the proceeds go to the Human Rights Action Centre and the US Campaign for Burma. There is a limited print run of 450 copies and the each print is only $35 dollars each.

Buy a print and help fight for democracy.