In Strathcona, expect the unexpected.

Post #4 of Culture Crawl, 2009 series. (#1, #2, #3)


I'm still working my way through the photos of the Culture Crawl a week ago. These are details noticed along the way; in Strathcona, even the ordinary folk have quirky ideas and don't mind sharing them:

Incense sticks in a holder on the front wall of a house

Christmas lights  in a box

Buddha among the rocks

Stained-glass fish in a window

So don't bother checking.

Snake on the front steps. Not poisonous, though.

Painted pink plug

Old pushbuttons, new paint job.

Greeter

Cosmic egg

Coffee and comfy chairs. At the Gem & I studio, a Crawl first-timer. Laurie bought a few stones here.

Inside the Gem & I, a worried guardian.

A pair of dogs on the street

This big white sheepdog reminded me of the garage sale dog I wished that I had bought in Campbell River. Just as bouncy, just as foolish. He was thrilled to have a friend to play with; he bounced and flopped about, grinning from ear to ear. We stood in the middle of the street and laughed out loud.

Just one thing, and I'll be quiet

Post #3 of Culture Crawl, 2009 series. (#1, #2)

I don't believe in artist's statements. Oh, I read them all, carefully. I think they're important, giving an insight into the background, values, and aims of the artists. But I don't believe them.

The thing is, the writer of the statement is trying to express in words what he has already said in his most powerful language; his artistic creations, the melding of his talent, his feeling, his skill, his determination. The written statement is a pale shadow only, a second-best.

It follows that anything I can say about someone else's work is a ghost of a reflection of a shadow. So here is a sampling of work we saw in this year's Crawl, with as few words of mine as possible:

Angel in a cage? Paneficio Studios

ALL SEEING, Valerie Arntzen. Wood box, found wood, fridge cores, spring, wood ball, acrylic rod, map. 

Sandra Bilawich. Vase, stone and barnacles

Arnt Arntzen, bowls

Arnt Arntzen, airplane wing bench

101 ladles.

I've been watching this room develop for some time. The artist wasn't in; Crawlers examined it from the outside.

101 ladles and a row of blue houses, three Crawlers, reflected

The only explanation. On the door.

Kathleen Barrett. Untitled. Root, box, stones.

Kathleen Barrett. Wire, iron ball, rusty pipes, root, board

Bamboo art. Rob Thomson

Crib board, bracelet, candle holders. Bamboo art, Rob Thomson

Chain and crystal lampshade. Artist unidentified.

Hard-hat table, clock. Noah Goodis, Ironside Metalworks.

Noah, with his chair storage solution.

Louise Francis-Smith. Wall of her reflected photos in the glass of another. Views of Strathcona, people of Chinatown.

'nuff said.

"Mythic and mundane"; the Eastside crows

Post #2 on the 2009 Culture Crawl.



The header of the Culture Crawl website features crows. Crows carrying a red-tipped paintbrush perch above the doors of Crawl artists.

A logical choice. Crows are the predominant birds of the Strathcona area. No house, no alley, no post, no green spot is long without its black-clad company.

Strathcona crows, beginning of November

Richard Tetrault, whose studio fills the central part of the Paneficio*, paints crows. He writes,

"Crows activate the urban environment with a presence that is both mythic and mundane. Omnipresent in my part of the city, the crow has a tenacity, adaptability and social quality that demand both respect and space. I have given them a special place in my work, in particular, as communicators and symbols of survivors of displacement and urbanization."

One of Richard Tetrault's many crows. This one is above a door in the very back of his studio.

He does woodcuts, linocuts, murals, and more, in strong, fluid strokes, vibrant colours. My favourites, after the crows (Go see some!), are the urban landscapes. One we saw on this visit is an old house, supported by and supporting flights of rickety wooden steps, almost ladder-like. Clearly Strathcona.

And here's a corner of his studio:

Creativity thrives on a diet of order scrambled with chaos.

The crow, up close, guarding a pile of sketches and books.

*I missed him, two years ago, writing about the Paneficio. I don't know why; I saw and appreciated his work then, too.

Doing the Crawl, 2009

This last weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the annual Eastside Culture Crawl was underway in Strathcona. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain the first two days, so we stayed home and did a much-abbreviated Crawl on Sunday. Still, we met new artists, old friends, a variety of dogs; we bought a few items and wished we could afford many more; we had a good meal at the Wilder Snail and coffee at my daughter's house after dusk. A great day!

From the Crawl website:

The Eastside Culture Crawl is an annual 3-day November event that involves artists who live in Vancouver's Eastside in an area bounded by Main St., 1st Ave., Commercial Drive, and the Waterfront. Painters, jewelers, sculptors, furniture makers, musicians, weavers, potters, writers, printmakers, photographers, glassblowers; from emerging artists to those of international fame... these are just a sampling of the exciting talents featured during this unique chance to meet local artists in their studios.

Purchase something that strikes your fancy, commission something to be uniquely yours, or just browse through the studios and meet the artists, learning about their specific works of art, materials and tools, approaches and techniques. This is a once a year opportunity to meet many diversely talented artists and view their creations in the studios where they work. Be part of this exciting event, which brings people from all over the Lower Mainland, and share in the imaginations that enrich our neighbourhood and lives.

Where to start, where to start? On the street, of course; every jewel needs a setting. So, here's Strathcona on a grey November day:

At Koo's Corner, Hawks Avenue. Yellow leaves.

Keefer Street. Great flocks of Cedar Waxwings filled all the trees. This old magnolia is so covered with creamy buds for next spring's flowers that it looks snowy.

Cedar Waxwings in a tangle of bare branches

More waxwings

Sometimes, when a photo is too far away, too monotone, I play around with colour saturation and the sharpening tool. I liked this result.

Smiling squirrel

One rosebud, still planning to bloom

Berry bush. I have no idea what kind it is. I don't think it's native.

The fruits come in beautiful candy colours; cherry red, tangerine, lime green. They're about the size of a huckleberry.

And they're spotted.

Veggie garden along the walk to a front door

Trees like candles to light a dull day