Karlene Harvey

UPDATE: Celebrating Vancouver 125

2011-09-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

In celebration of Vancouver's 125th birthday (on Coast Salish territories), the city has funded a video project to capture people talking about their life and experiences in Vancouver. I was asked to talk about my experience as a First Nations illustrator and artist. Here it is!

Check out their website post here:

http://vancouverstories125.blogspot.com/2011/09/finding-identity.html

UPDATE - Haida Gwaii

2011-09-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

JP and I went to Haida Gwaii for September Long Weekend.

‎"Don't step back; continue to look forward. It's just a matter of asking. Always remember, tough times don't last, tough people do: Gin sijiii guusu kwaangang nang xaadaduu dagwiiadgang."
- khlgulaa, William Ross Jr. (1926-2010)- Haida elder.

We stayed in Queen Charlotte Town the whole time. But we visited the Haida Gwaii Cultural Centre, and then we checked out "BALANCE ROCK". It's extra balance-y.

It was kind of lonely feeling up in Haida Gwaii, I'm not going to lie. It was rainy and quiet and I guess I'm a big city slicker when it comes down to it. But maybe not. I just like creature comforts. Had we rented a secluded cabin and I had endless amounts of art supplies and a stereo for music and things. It might have been the place of my dreams. I do love the ocean. Open ocean the most.

It rained most days, but one day it was mostly clear skies so we hiked (four hours) to the Pesuta ShipWreck. It was amazing and very strange...

We drove up to Masset, it was very quiet because it was a holiday and nearly everything was closed. We went to a bakery and these three wind-worn women were rolling a joint and sheepishly looked at us when we walked by. It was kind of adorable. There was no where to buy lunch, so I bought 2 chocolate cookies from this house that was converted into a tiny lil' bakery.

Past Masset, we went to North Beach. On clear days, you can see across the ocean and the tiny lights in the distance are from Alaska. It's the farthest North I've ever been.

FIVE by 15 (OCW anniversary celebration)

2011-09-07T07:56:00.000-07:00

I was invited to speak an event that OCW magazine organized. Here it is:

FIVE // Karlene Harvey from OCW Magazine on Vimeo.

RIP Jack Layton

2011-08-22T17:46:00.001-07:00

UPDATE - August already!

2011-08-04T17:52:00.000-07:00

I've created a google+ account. Feel free to google my name: Karlene Harvey and add me to 1 of your circles!

This summer I went to Chicago, it's a beautiful city (especially in the summer with the amazing weather they are having). JP was playing with the group Destroyer (www.myspace.com/destroyer) and I tagged along. It was a great trip, JP's been out of town a lot this year, touring with Destroyer, Fond of Tigers, Dan Mangan and soon his own solo tour will be coming up. It's difficult to stay in touch with the time-change, mostly when he goes to Europe. It's great to go on trips out of town, life is so hectic and when you leave your home-city (even if you're visiting another city), it seems a lot more laid-back and relaxed. Sounds strange, but it's true.

Here are some photos from Chicago:

Check out my flickr for more photos: www.flickr.com/kharvey (or in the right hand column of my blog-page).

The rest of this summer is filled with Rollerderby stuff. I have an upcoming bout on August 13th, in Richmond @ Minoru arena.

Here's the facebook invite:

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=198038236917178

JP and I will go to Haida Gwaii on September long weekend which is really exciting, I've always wanted to go there.

And most recently, I've been asked to "tell my story" for the Vancouver 125 storytelling project. I'm going to talk about the Native youth arts scene and what I do in Vancouver. It should be really interesting. If you want to view the other stories, check it out: http://vancouverstories125.blogspot.com/

Hope you're having a great summer! xox

UPDATE - thoughts for the day.

2011-07-06T20:53:00.000-07:00

"NOT A BORN LEADER,

BUT I'LL DIE TRYING."

ILLUSTRATIONS - JUNE

2011-06-27T20:08:00.001-07:00

What's up! Check out these drawings that I did in June! I'm really trying to keep up my illustrative work.

Update - Things i do

2011-04-20T19:37:00.000-07:00

Please come to OCW's 5th birthday party (Tuesday April 26th) and I'll tell you all about my art in less than 5 minutes.
No joke!

Click here for the Facebook Invite!

Illustration - ROLLERDERBY

2011-04-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

UPDATE - Taxes

2011-04-18T07:52:00.000-07:00

Find more artists like DOERS at Myspace Music

I listen to this song every year to remind myself why doing taxes is totally lame.

UPDATE - Things

2011-04-08T07:28:00.000-07:00

This week, I felt super stressed out due to the number of projects I'm taking on outside of work (and derby life, for that matter). I am already breaking my New Years Resolution of not taking on new work outside of my set goals for the year. Damn. The problem is one of them is a contract job and all I could think of was buying new leather skates with the money that I'd earn from them. <3 Riedells.

JP has been gone for nearly 3 weeks and will be back in 1 more week (and a bit).

For Easter Weekend, we're going to Portland and we're going to watch a roller-derby game (Rat-city [seattle] vs. Rose city [portland]). Super excited. Plus Portland is one of the prettiest towns ever. JPs been to Portland twice already this year but still really wants to go so that makes me think he's got some really awesome places to check out when we go there. This time, NOT staying at the ACE hotel, the epitome of a no substance purely aesthetically expensive hotel. For the price you pay for one of their rooms, you could have a giant hotel room at a place with a pool. Fool me, once, ACE hotel.

My bout is tomorrow! First big season opener! Here's an article of it in Vancouver is Awesome.

THE TERMINAL CITY ROLLER GIRLS ARE BACK

Really excited for the weekend. It's going to be amazing.

(Illustration taken from Pinterest, here's its caption: "Gorgeous landscape by Mountain Town on Poster Caberet")

shout-outs

2011-04-08T07:27:00.000-07:00

Hi Violet! 1 more sleep till bout day, eh? EH?????

UPDATE - Little Romantic

2011-03-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

Ah-a! My friend, Ayma Letang, has just left for the YUKON where she will be working on a play about the YUKON. It sounds very interesting and the day before she left she mentioned how the place that she'll be staying at, in town, is basically a tree-house. Of course, they didn't call it a tree-house, but from how it sounded over the telephone it has:

-a rope ladder

-there's no running water/toilet

-it's a significant distance from the ground (perhaps because it is in TREE? HRMM???)

In an event, she is video- blogging about her trip and it's very cute.

Follow her on Tumblr:

http://littleromantic.tumblr.com/

UPDATE - FOND OF TIGERS wins a juno!

2011-03-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

OMG FOND OF TIGERS!!!! I'm so proud of you guys for winning the Instrumental Album of the Year JUNO! www.myspace.com/fondoftigers

I'm so happy to hear this, and also to know that so many of you guys were able to make it out to the award show and dinner. Not pictured below is violinist Jesse Zubot and trumpet-player, Jp Carter (my favourite person in the world). Jp's on tour with the band Destroyer (http://www.mergerecords.com/artists/destroyer), they are currently making their way through the midwest, planning to play St. Louis either tonight or tomorrow, I imagine. If you haven't listened to Fond of Tigers before, I encourage you to go see them the next time they have a live performance. The albums are fantastic but you might not quite get the whole noise thing until you see them play live.

Good work, tigers, vancouver is very proud of you.

UPDATE - I'm a blog-slacker

2011-03-03T19:33:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! It's been a while. Let me tell you what I've been up to recently!

January!

- The Terminal City Roller Girls (www.tcrg.com) did their derby draft at the end of Jan! Over 30 girls were drafted to four different teams, and the best news is that every girl who took part in Fresh Meat (aka girls who were trying out/total rookies) found a spot on a team. I happened to make it on team PUBLIC FRENEMY, the newest team to join the TCRG league. I was super stoked to be on the new team and help be a part of building on Vancouver's TCRG league. Our first small bout is later this month (march 20th, i think) and the BIG SEASON KICK-OFF is in April! I'll let you know as it becomes closer to that date.

Derby practices have been awesome and fun and last week we played against "Tough Love", Bellingham's team. It was just an unofficial scrimmage and we didn't win (single tear-drop) but we played very well and I can just imagine what kind of great team we will be in the not so distant future. I was mentioning to our captains and coaches, how I can now see how our team is going to start working really well together, it's now in reach.

And that's pretty exciting.

-I've been working like crazy as part of the Communications team at First Nations Health Council (fnhc.ca). I've really helped amp up the social media aspect of that organization and I feel really proud about where it is going. I think it's given me a lot to think about...mostly, how strongly I feel about community members, or grass-roots citizens deserving the right to 1) understand complicated bureaucratic systems 2) have access to information they can use at a community level. I feel like this intent relates so closely to my philosophy about art, which is to always provide multiple points of access to complex thought, theory, politics and opinion. Art should be a vehicle for thought and dialogue, it should be used to convey something that can bring people together. That's how I feel about it, and while there are many different types of art out in the world, this is the kind that I feel most strongly about and I'm happy to find a position at an organization where I can use this similar intent in a different way.

Access, access to information, theory, ideas, thought. The more people feel that they deserve the right to know, the more you empower others. This seems basic, but it's a difficult thing to do.

-Other things:

I've been having an art break lately. The last part of 2010 was overwhelming and stressful and awesome and productive all balled into one chaotic mess. I'm finally done my grant project but am taking a time-out. I need to reconsider my approach to maintaining my art practice. Roller derby consumes a great deal of my social/art life. I can't keep everything propelling forward or it will get too crazy. I need to choose my interests. Right now, I feel like I'm trying to keep my head above the water. But eventually I want to commit to a couple projects.

1) I want to start illustrating drawings for my friend, Chris Eng and his punk rock YA novel (www.hoodieripper.com). I AM SO BEYOND EXCITED FOR THIS. I read his entire novel in 1 1/2 days. I have ideas, lots of them and want to do this. We're imagining one drawing per chapter, but we'll see. I can't wait to see where this goes.

2) I want/need to start my comic, it's ...complicated. It's a combination of a comic that I used to do called "Trapeze". My friend, Tim used to post this off his website for me, but eventually his website when under and all of it disappeared...oh yeah and the computer that i had saved it on ended up dying, so sad. Anyways, the premise is about this bad-ass Native girl who leaves rez school and goes on an adventure that is 1/2 aimless, a little vengeful and also a bit of a vision quest. She's basically the girl-hero that I've always dreamed about, that maybe, I've been looking for my whole life. And that if I was a young kid and had a character like this to relate to, maybe it would have changed my idea of Native pride at an earlier age. Maybe?

Anyways, that's pretty much it.

Hope you're doing super great, and if you're not doing anything this upcoming weekend, you should go to Signal Fest (cbc festival that focuses on Drip Audio).

xox

UPDATE - RollerDerby

2011-01-22T17:05:00.000-08:00

To be honest, I hurt my knee (scraped) and so I sat out on a few practices and I've been feeling a little out of shape since skating again. So I didn't do my best, but here's a video of me skating anyways. I'm wearing all black and break through the pack at the beginning of it. Exciting! I will find out what team I am drafted to by the beginning of Feb!
www.tcrg.ca

POEM - Henry Carry-On and the Spririts

2011-01-18T07:59:00.000-08:00

Henry Carry-On and the Spirits

On February 26th 1968, Henry Carry-On was hunting in the woods and came upon a white moose. The moose raised its head and stared at him. The fur was so bright it was almost like each strand of hair was illuminated from within. He put down his rifle and went home. He prayed. He went to church the next Sunday with his wife, Edith.

8 years later, Henry’s daughter Paula dreamed of a car accident on the highway. She was the most gifted in the family and it was not out of the ordinary for her to dream of things that eventually happened when she was awake. She didn’t read the newspapers for weeks. She had a bad feeling that made her skin crawl. She eventually stopped thinking about it after several months.

5 years went by and Henry’s oldest daughter, Catherine, gave birth to his second grandchild on December 25th. The nurses wanted to name her, Noelle or Holly. The babies’ skin was so white it looked like chalk. When Henry saw her for the first time, he thought to himself, she looks like a spirit. He never told his oldest daughter that.

9 years, 4 months and thirteen days from this thought, the second grandchild spotted a white crow in her front yard. No one believed her and they said it was probably a seagull. The second grandchild didn’t bother arguing that she was right. A week from the initial sighting, the white crow landed on her window sill. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that even its beak was white.

3 years later, Henry saw an owl from his living room window. It was around 1 pm in the afternoon. The owl sat on a branch and stared Henry in the eye. Henry went to see Julie, a local traditional woman on the reserve. She told Henry that the owl is the messenger between the living and the spirit world. She said to see an owl in the daytime was very unusual and symbolized death. Henry went home and prayed.

12 days after Henry saw the owl, he was driving from the reserve into town. He fell asleep at the wheel and his truck ran off the road. He died.

17 years had passed since Paula first dreamed of the car accident. When she heard how her father died, she drank herself into a stupor. She saw a counsellor for two years following his death. She did not tell her family about her dream or about the counsellor.

4 months after his funeral, the second grandchild had a dream of her grandfather, Henry. In the dream, she started crying and told him how much she missed him. Henry picked her up in his arms and told her not to worry. The second grandchild looked down from her grandfather’s arms and saw that she was in the air, far above the old house where Henry and Edith raised all of their children together. When the second grandchild woke up, she realized that she had fallen off the bed and was lying on the carpet floor. It was still night-time.

As she looked up at the ceiling of her bedroom, she thought about how safe she felt. She climbed back into bed and fell asleep. The next dream she had was about herself only she was much older; She was walking along a dirt road to a house that she could not yet see. She knew that house would one day be her home. That would be the place that she would die, she would be surrounded by all of her grandchildren. She would feel loved.

CRAFTS - Shadow boxes

2011-01-12T18:17:00.000-08:00

I made a bunch of these for Christmas presents, you can't see it properly but there are bunting flags in both of them. Shadow boxes is basically a cooler word for "dioramas", so don't worry, I'm not trying to fool myself into thinking these crafts are super cool. They are super nerdy and I am ok with that.

A-
O
K

ARTIST - Marianne Nicolson

2011-01-07T17:26:00.001-08:00

WHOOAAAAA!!!! IT'S 2011!!!!!!

Sorry for the lack of posty-posts.

This artist was shown to me at work today, her name is Marianne Nicolson. She's a First Nations artist, and I think (as you will read in her bio if you click the link) "PHD candidate" means that she's working at getting her PHD at UVIC in Linguistics and Anthropology. She created this cliff painting in her home territory. Cliff paintings were common in my territory as well, but they often get destroyed due to weather oriented activities or sometimes even vandalism. My uncle once said that sometimes people come in and literally chip out the rock with the cliff painting on it and sell it to art dealers. Which is super lame, but I guess that means that nations should work at developing some form of legal policy to prevent jerks doing things like that.

http://qmackie.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/cliff-painting-by-marianne-nicolson/

UPDATE - Qungh Natezesjah

2010-11-07T18:08:00.000-08:00

This was a video I created in Spring 2010.

UPDATE - neat things.

2010-11-07T17:58:00.000-08:00

http://www.shoplunaandcurious.com/

UPDATE - mini zine!

2010-11-04T07:51:00.000-07:00

I'm getting horrible at updating this thing! :(
if you truly follow this blog for post updates, I definitely suggest you follow me on twitter because I post links to much of my artwork and interesting stuff on there: my nickname's "seatyahstic" on there...

Here are some images from a mini-zine that I created. If anyone gets the lil' joke on the
mountain page, let me know...

You can view the other two images via flickr (right column of my blog).

Thanks, I hope you're well.

UPDATE - zines!

2010-10-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

Hey, everyone! I have a table at CanZine West next weekend (October 16th at W2; 1-7pm), so you should come by and say hello and pick up a zine or two. It would be great to see you there!

Here's a photo of 2 old zines that I've published, check out my flickr (side column) for a few more pictures...

RECIPE - Stuffed French Toast

2010-10-04T17:06:00.000-07:00

photo credit: Altaira Northe.

YUMMMM. Getting a little too obsessed with making Stuffed French Toast.

Here's my lackadaisical recipe instructions.

What do you need?
-bread (unsliced); i choose sourdough
-eggs
-vanilla extract
-cinnamon
-icing sugar
-maple syrup
-crushed walnuts, strawberries, bananas (anything as the filling).

How do you do it?
-Slice a piece of bread somewhat thickly.
-Down the middle of the bread slice it 1/2 way through.
-into this slice, stuff bananas, or whatever you happen to have for the filling.
-mix 2-3 eggs with vanilla extract, cinnamon and a bit of cream (or water).
-dip the bread in mixed eggs. The side where the filling is, is going to be fragile. Use a spoon to help the egg batter spread on that side evenly.
-Frying pan (on medium) cook it up!
-Leave the filling side up first, if you want. Once it's cooked, the filling will stay intact with the bread.
-heat maple syrup on the stove with some walnuts in it.

-sprinkle french toast with cinnamon/icing sugar/whatever.

Ta-da! The most breakfast-y dessert you'll ever desire.

Optional: Watch Empire Records over breakfast.

UPDATE - Dreamland.

2010-09-07T19:09:00.000-07:00

Aha, so you may recall the swimming photos I posted awhile ago. Well here are some photoshop sketches of what I was planning with those things. I'm not sure about them though. They look a little too much like they have that early 90s photoshoppy style. For example, The Sandman comic book covers (early 90s) ...
http://a3.vox.com/6a00c2251c610d604a00fa969511fb0002-500pi
http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/Absolute%20Sandman%202%20cover.jpg

The theme is obviously not as dark, though. Anyways. I wish the pictures that I think of in my head could translate better to art stuff in real life.

xox

UPDATE - Creative Inc. youtube

2010-08-29T21:20:00.000-07:00

how cute are these girls? Amazingly cute.

SUBMIT - UpperCase Magazine

2010-08-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

UpperCase is doing this project where you create a book cover based on yourself and submit it for their next issue! These are what I came up with...

http://www.uppercasegallery.ca/participate

UPDATE - self portrait

2010-08-18T22:08:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken during my trip to seattle.

Tonight I went to watch "Two Spirits" at Tinseltown, it was part of the OUTonSCREEN film festival (part of the Indigequeer aspect of it). It was great and sad and wonderful and I cried a lot. You can watch the trailer here...

PHOTO - Breakfast for Lovers

2010-08-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

UPDATE - what is happening these days.

2010-08-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

Thing things things.

This summer has been filled with weekend camping, late night beach hangouts, Vancouver walk arounds, rollerskating (try outs for roller derby is aug 28th, wish me luck!) and endless excuses to keep me outside and not indoors whenever possible. This weekend, JP and I are headed down to Seattle for the weekend. We’re finally going to check out that exhibition at SAM (seattle art museum) and get up to other fun stuff.

Projects on the go:

-still plugging away at that art installation (re: Tsilhqot’in language and territory http://karleneharvey.blogspot.com/2010/01/art-just-me-this-time.html). I’ve finally finished the text-based component and it is currently being translated by my mother’s cousin. I have been procrastinating the writing portion of this piece. I needed to get better at writing and learn how to say something meaningful in simple terms. I wanted it to be straight-forward and not weighed down by academia. I wanted the words to look right, just on their own. Anyways, I kept it simple, gave myself flexible guidelines as to length of the writing and came up with something I’m really pleased with. I can’t wait for everyone to see it at the eventual art exhibition (time and place still unknown)

-editing a promotional video for Fond of Tigers. Over a year ago, I met up with FOT while they were on tour back east and documented a few of their shows in the Ontario area. Not only was this an excuse to go visit JP but it was my first step in trying to document the work of my friends. It’s mind-blowing to me that JP has little to no documentation of all of the shows that happened at the Sugar Refinery. A few photos, that’s it. Also there was a music series hosted by the NOW orchestra at the Cellar on Mondays, and I regret not taking a bigger initiative in video-documenting the performances that happened there. Well anyways, I had all this FOT video footage and no project to put it towards until recently when Stephen Lyons asked if I could arrange a little video to use as promotion for the fall tour. Have not started this AT ALL, but plan to tonight and for the remainder of August. I’ll share it with you at a later date.

-I’m supposed to have another poem published in the magazine, Poetry is Dead (forthcoming www.poetryisdead.ca). I’m a little nervous that the editor will end up cutting out my piece of writing even though I was emailed and told it was going to be included in their next issue. Artist anxiety? nbd. When is this issue comes out? I do not know, they print 2 magazines a year. I’ll let you know if there is a launch party, it should be sometime this fall and I’m sure it will be really neat.

-just signed up for a table at CanZine West! (http://www.brokenpencil.com/news/view.php?id=749) I’m very excited to have 1) more incentive to reprint previous zines I’ve created 2) create (3, hopefully) new zines for this event 3) Publish a zine of short stories, something I have never done before. It should be great, the last time CanZine was in Vancouver was over three years ago and there were some really great micro-presses/artists/writers in attendance. This year the event will take place at W2 (old storyeum location in downtown Vancouver). Get stoked.

-I just took part in this recent project called, the 2011 Sketchbook Project, if you sign up for this, your sketchbooks will go on a huge tour and end up in the Brooklyn Art Library. I can’t wait to receive my moleskine sketchbook. I even signed up for having my work digitized so that it will be documented on the internetz.
(http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject)

-I’ve had a few drawings published in Discorder this year, if you’re interested in finding them I’m sure a simple search on their website will help you see what they might be (http://discorder.ca/discorder-magazine/).

Also, here are a few recent magazine call for submissions:

BRANCH Magazine
Photo: Call for submissions for Issue 3: Hunger Breakfast, lunch, dinner and the junksters’ inclination: sex,...
http://tumblr.com/xzwfigz5r

Word has it PRISM International is looking for more prose poetry submissions - deadline August 31.
http://prism.arts.ubc.ca

http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject

Also, do not forget this event! It’s happening NEXT WEEK Aug 19th (Thursday).

This is a toured walk up main st. to visit magazines such as: Ricepaper magazine, OCW, SubTerrain magazine and other great stuff happening right here in Vancouver. Meet at Rhizome by 6pm. It’s going to be rad.
http://www.bcmags.com/mainst

Anyways, I hope you’re doing well out there. Feel free to leave me a comment with anything new and exciting you’ve been up to these days too.

UPDATE - Camping in the Okanagan

2010-08-03T19:37:00.000-07:00

UPDATE - ART; DIVE DIVE DIVE

2010-07-26T21:37:00.000-07:00

JP and I went out to Langley the other day and that's where we took these pictures. The idea is to maybe try this again and get some photos that are more in focus because I'd like to use them in a project that would ultimately have them printed at an enlarged size...and these would get too blurry. I love how underwater photos look, they look so strange and whimsical. Also, maybe I will purposely wear clothing that contrast more to the blue of the pool because the yellow stands out well, so does the black. But my shirt and skin tone end up looking washed out with more of a blue tone. COLORS = INTERESTING.

PHOTO -collage from 5 years ago...

2010-07-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

UPDATE - summer parties, dinners and things.

2010-07-25T12:42:00.000-07:00

On Friday, I went out to White Rock for a family dinner at Jp's moms' house.

Appetizers -
Babaganoush
Hummus
Rice crackers
Spicy Beans
Assortment of Olives
Brie

Side dishes -
Spinach salad with balsamic dressing
Greek salad (with lots of feta)
Wild rice

Main course -
Salmon cut in half and stuffed with lemon and green onions.

Dessert -
Home-made apple pie
Vanilla Ice-cream
Blueberries

It was delicious! Also, her well decorated dinner table made me wish that I had more interior design skills. Basic understanding that I have right now, is I am too busy to spend too much time on my home-space. For better or for worse, but one day...My house will be amazing.

Inspiration for interior design and other party-related things, I tend to find here:

http://www.designspongeonline.com

Also look at this lil' summer cottage post at this blog:
http://www.sfgirlbybay.com/2010/07/22/a-room-with-a-view-2/

I hope you had a great weekend <3

UPDATE - Kurt smells like team spirit

2010-07-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

Our nearby sister-city SEATTLE has an art exhibition happening called KURT. It’s located at the Seattle Art Museum and will be running until Sept 15^th, I believe. Love or hate the grunge thing, the residual impact of this early 90s culture wave still clings to Seattle’s sidewalks, plaid shirts and dive-bars. Check out the below description for a little more insight on the show:

Grunge music is arguably Seattle’s greatest cultural export of the past 20 years, and Kurt Cobain was that movement’s central figure. The historical impact of Kurt Cobain cannot be denied or overestimated. During and after his brief career—which came to a premature end in 1994—his life and work have reverberated across the globe. Kurtcelebrates that influence, in particular the effect he had on the creative lives and thought processes of artists.

Kurt Cobain symbolized the ideals, aspirations and disappointments of the ’90s generation, and a diverse array of artists have incorporated his image into their work to comment on those issues. International in scope, the works on view in Kurt range from straightforward portraiture to pieces that show a more subtle assimilation of Cobain’s ethos and idealism in a broad range of media. With works from the early 1990s to the present, by artists such as Rodney Graham, Douglas Gordon and Elizabeth Peyton, among others, this exhibition will cause viewers to question why and how Kurt’s visage and his gestures came to mean so much to a generation.

–Michael Darling, Former Jon & Mary Shirley Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art

And if that description is not enough, what caught my interest is this really amazing image of a multi-media sculpture of lil’ Kurty Cobain’s head. Scroll down the page to see a more detailed snapshot of it.

http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/exhibit/interactives/kurt/default.asp

If you happen to live in Vancouver and want to stay over night, I definitely recommend the Moore Hotel. It’s comfortable and modestly furnished with a few beautiful, character-like details: clawfoot tubs, push-open windows, exposed furnaces, etc. Plus, it’s located right smack downtown, perfect for walking pretty much anywhere.

http://www.moorehotel.com/rates-1.html

(edit - July 25 ...I found this great video based on Scott Fife, the artist who created the Kurt-head sculpture)

UPDATE - Aboriginal, say what?

2010-07-13T15:05:00.001-07:00

Talkin’ about Aboriginal Tourism…

http://www.aboriginalbc.com/KlahowyaVillage

Well, wouldn’t you know? Recently I’ve come across a recent project that Aboriginal Tourism BC is working on, called, Klahowya Village. It will be located in Stanley Park and makes us of the well-known train (often dressed up for annual Halloween/Christmas events), re-naming it the “Spirit Catcher” Train. The Village incorporates local Aboriginal dancers, artists, storytellers and musicians in their events and hopes to give all visitors an authentic BC aboriginal experience.

I love authentic experiences.

In all seriousness, I think it’s a great idea. Recently, I’ve been wondering about what sort of Aboriginal experience is given to people visiting our region (read the below post for more background of where this interest derives from). A cute little restaurant has opened on Broadway called, Salmon n’ Bannock (http://dinehere.ca/vancouver/salmon-n-bannock) that offers authentic Aboriginal cuisine. It’s great to have a place to eat in the city that is motivated to serve local dishes. Now we have a tourist-driven place, created by Aboriginal Tourism that can provide curious local residents and tourists with a venue to display Aboriginal talent: Contemporary, traditional and a mix of both. It’s a step in the right direction, to say the least.

Some folks may have recently heard about this big hoopla in the media:http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2010/07/06/RenameStanleyPark/

There was an initiative to re-name Stanley Park to "Xwayxway”, which is the name of the Aboriginal village that initially resided in that location. Articles posted on the Tyee and elsewhere came from incredibly conservative writers who probably 1) actually sing “O Canada” on Canada day (nerds!) 2) were front and centre to kiss the queens’ shoes when she recently visited. 3) Honestly believe that Harper sits at the global cool kid table (he doesn’t, btw).

For some reason, people are really arguing that Lord Stanley is an amazing individual. I have nothing against him, sheesh, I hardly know the guy, but what apalls me is the slippery little racist comments that come out in scenarios such as these. O RLY? You think it would be SUCH a disaster to even think of changing it to an Aboriginal name? Not that the states are a glowing example of Aboriginal supporters but at the very least, half of their cities/regions are derived from Aboriginal languages (at least along the west coast). Did you know Langley is named after an HBC exec that didn’t even bother visiting Canada in his lifetime? (This is a great article from Geist Magazine, read it when you have a moment… http://www.geist.com/photo-essay/memory-and-valley?page=0,3)

At the very least, don’t you think it’s interesting to imagine how our geographic region used to have other cities/villages located on it before Vancouver was settled? I think it is. Reminders of the past and the people that have resided there help me develop a better understanding of the history of my city, my life, and how much everything has changed. In a subtle way, it encourages a relationship between the non-native mainstream and aboriginal people that is bound out of respect, understanding and old fashioned, plain interest.

At the end of the day, all of this has only motivated me to start referring to Stanley Park with both names…because, well, why not? The folks living up at Haida Gwaii had to consistently refer to it as its Aboriginal name for years until it was legally declared to finally change over from the Queen Charlotte Islands (that was confirmed during this year’s provincial throne speech, I should add). To be honest, I’m all for referring to Xwayxway/Stanley Park as a permanent dual-name because it makes for a good story and it indicates something about the sentiments of our present-day residents, native AND non-native.

Recently, this study was release, it’s the first statistics based study trying to capture information regarding Urban Aboriginal People (http://uaps.ca/). In the study, you will [thankfully] discover that the majority of Canadians do not share the views of the energetic (bored?) CBC/media commenter’s [that write such racist-hateful statements, they make me want to curl up and scream].

The study indicates that the Urban Aboriginal people are more likely to do better in terms of socio-economics when they are raised in an environment that encourages education of their culture and language. Isn’t that brilliant? A report that can significantly capture a purpose in teaching young Aboriginal children their culture because (and we know it always comes down to money as far as gov’t & policy goes), it will decrease the amount of downstream care/assistance needed for Aboriginal people if they put more funds into culturally-specific Early Childhood Education.

Anyways, that’s what I got from it. Who knows, it might just work, watch the headlines and the little stuff to see what comes of it….

(http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2009-2013/2010EDUC0075-000738.htm)

And by the way, the Okanagan meaning for the city “Kelowna” is Grizzly Bear. Now isn’t that cool?

UPDATE - eco-tourism and the Tsilhqot'in

2010-06-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

I’m currently trying to put together a narrative response to my trip to mexico. What I would like to write about is how cultures can create healthy, inclusive tourism versus the pitfalls and traps of how tourism can take the form of neo-colonialism. I think what I like about how I travelled was that we stayed in family hotels. My friends and I had a big debate about all-inclusive resorts. I’m still undecided.

Half of me believes that everyone should be capable of traveling within a culture, and to be respectful of the people who have resided there. Being respectful includes: recognizing a different language as the dominant one, understanding cultural differences/gender differences as not being negative but just a result of the history and people, and having a greater appreciation of the earth/natural environment and the impact traveling can have on it.

However, I also recognize that a great deal of the population is not this way, and would easily barge into a society demanding the culture to accommodate them. The influence this could have on cultures that pride themselves on their ability to survive on a small/local scale might be the loss of their language as they adapt to speaking English and adopting American/Canadian ways/traits/culture in order to ensure customers, tourists and monetary capital. In this case, I believe the resorts can protect culture by keeping people from becoming a negative impact on their society/communities.

But it’s not an easy solution. Especially, after my visit to Sayulita which was constantly referred to a “small, sleepy surf town”. My imaginings was that there would be many Mexican surfers, family-run restaurants and taco stands. But in addition to this there was a growing ex-patriot community from folks that have moved there from Canada and the USA. Many of these people opened restaurants, coffee shops, and art stores/galleries. Everyone spoke English in the main part of the town. The square was dominated by non-mexican tourists except for the weekend, where more mexican families were present. I don’t think any of the north-american residents had ill-intentions but I felt like there was less of an effort to immerse themselves with the already-existing Mexican culture. Instead they created a little English-speaking spot for themselves. I think this is damaging and can lead to ideas of entitlement and claiming of space/land. By this, I mean purely on a venture-capitalist scale, which is kind of like a new form of colonialism. The more land/businesses/homes you acquire the more you end up owning which allows you to convert territory, even if it not your actual country. This can be harmful to cultures.

I recall when Jp and I visited the Baja California, we met this man who had received his tourism license and his daughter was attending college to receive her license as well. He seemed like a regular guy who happened to live there long enough to truly know the ins and outs of his community. I met a Texan girl who was studying down there as a marine biologist and she revealed to me that because a great deal of the property in the baja region was being bought up by the US, that the Mexican people were making a bigger effort to get involved in tourism to ensure their culture wouldn’t be paved over by golf-courses, gringo clubs, dolphin aquariums and other white-collar tourist attractions. I thought of the man and his daughter and believed what they were doing was very important and honourable. Tourism is a way to educate people of culture and share an appreciation for the land with foreign visitors.

And seriously, don’t get me started on water-sucking, pesticide covered golf courses.

I think I’d like to relate this back to tourism in BC, now post-olympics, Canadians might have a greater appreciation for aboriginal people, but there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure that our culture is simply not used as a commodity or as a badge of authenticity to the outside world. I think if more Native/Metis/Inuit people made efforts to ensure they had representation of themselves in different aspects of the Tourism industry this could:

1) create a better understanding of what our land is and our history

2) have a more active/present role that shows the broad dynamics of our contemporary Aboriginal cultures.

As natural resource industry ends up seeping into many Aboriginal communities, I wonder what the options are for entire cities and reservations that have decreased employment.

(excuse this small rant on Taseko mines)

Even my relatives who work in Forestry, mining, drilling etc, agree that there are some forms of industry that will have an impact on the environment that is irreversible. For instance, in my home nation, Taseko mines are looking to drain Fish Lake to mine for copper beneath it. After a quick trip home for the weekend, I found lots of things to talk about with the family, and found out more complicated politics that would be to difficult to describe here. In short, the impact that the mining at Fish Lake will seriously affect the area around it and lead to destroying a natural salmon spawning area and decrease the amount of animals in the area, including hunting game which people still depend on for food every year.

Also, there was a lifted ban several years ago that allows tailing ponds (in mining and drilling, it’s where you dump waste from the mine-don’t quote me on this) to put excess waste into nearby rivers. And all of BC is wondering why there is a extreme decrease to salmon over the past few years, it’s not rocket science, is it?

It’s really sad. You can write to Taseko the Environment Minister and your MLA to tell them you are opposed to this mine at fish lake, there’s a letter template at this site to help you get you started (http://raventrust.com/).

(end of rant)

Anyways, it got me thinking, as Aboriginal/Indigenous people, can’t we think of ways to promote the value of our territories and use eco-tourism as an advocating platform? There are loads of tourists going through my own nation all the time, usually for hunting or fishing. Can you imagine if our community promoted the history of the land and showed visitors (for example, specific sites to Tsilhqot’in):

1) old sites of underground houses; a long time ago the Tsilhqot’in and Shuswap lived in pit houses, the pits were several meters across and underground to provide insulation against extreme heat and cold.

2) The dome- an old, unactive volcano that you can take a group of people there by 4-wheeler quads

3) Burial grounds and cemeteries

4) Different rock faces/cliffs

5) Healing stones

I think that one of the issues is people not realizing the value in natural land and they fail to see that there is a history to it. They don’t see the subtle markers that reference communities and nations of people residing within the area.

I know that it won’t create wide-spread employment like natural resources but it’s a step in the right direction. After looking at the impact of the oil spill and other environmental disasters it’s clear we have to start looking at other ways to create earth-friendly employment. Mining for copper or other resources/forms of industry has such a short-term vision in the long run. Our vision needs to be a lot bigger than what our generations have become accustomed to. It’s time for people to start appreciating the culture that presently exists and build from there.

UPDATE - shut up every now and then.

2010-06-10T22:24:00.001-07:00

I can't find information about it ANYWHERE. But tomorrow there's a big event in Lytton (actually at spences bridge) and playwright, Kevin Loring has created a 1 act play to commence 100 years since chiefs across BC met at Spences bridge to provide Sir Wilfred Laurier with their declaration.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_thompson_nicola/merrittherald/news/95372109.html

"A full day of events is being planned by event coordinator Nadine Spence, (Cook’s Ferry/ Nlaka’pamux) under the direction of a local planning committee and Chief David Walkem. Kevin Loring (Lytton First Nation / Nlaka’pamux), a recipient of the 2009 Governor General’s Award for Drama, has been commissioned to produce a one-act play for the official opening and for use for future performances at the site. Look for more information in the near future."

My sister, Kim Harvey, has travelled up there with fellow cast members (including Ron Dean Harris/Ostwelve). So it should be amazing. And I'm so sad that I will be missing it. I wish that I had known sooner so that I could have taken it off work. Anyways, Wounded Knee to all of them, they are great people creating beautiful and interesting stuff.

The production has caused Kim to mention her good work at our family Sunday dinners. Then my dad hunted down some crazy family history and basically told us how we were related to one of the chiefs that were at that event.

I'm beginning to realize that life is all about asking the right questions. Ask the right questions, and you'll find out stuff you never thought existed, hear stories you never thought could be told and find out really interesting stuff that you never knew had happened. The key is to shut up every now and then and actually hear what people have to say. If you listen well enough, the questions will come on their own. Or maybe the key is to develop the courage to listen.

UPDATE -language

2010-06-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

Last week, I was sent a package of Tsilhqot'in language resources/book by the wonderful, Helen Haig-Brown. She is great. She makes films, most recently a short film called the cave:

http://www.topten.ca/shortfilms/cave/default.aspx

I saw this film earlier this year at the cinematheque, it was really beautiful and eerie. It made me wish that she created a full-length. There's hear-say of the elders being uncomfortable about parts of the movie. But at the end of the day, I think it was respectful and thought-provoking. And it got the community talking about old stories, which is really the most powerful aspect of art: the instigation of dialogue. Not to mention that the cinematography was unique and really beautiful. A personality of Tsilhqot'in land was definitely captured in this film.

She encouraged me to enter a recent video I made to ImagiNATIVE film festival. I realized that I had accidentally shot the video on low-resolution and all the imagery became pixellated when it was translated to a larger screen. It's so unfortunate, but I'm going to try and re-shoot a different version of it the next time I go to williams lake. Something with more of a narrative.

Here's a photo of me with the language book she sent up. I was so happy when I received the package in the mail, I nearly cried.

PHOTO - 1067 & JP

2010-06-08T19:42:00.000-07:00

UPDATE- laughing; value; giving up; trying

2010-06-03T23:16:00.001-07:00

Yikes, had a children’s book writing class tonight. I don’t know, I wasn’t feeling it tonight. Sometimes I’m pretty good at pushing myself and sending my art out and just feeling motivated to go-Go-GO. But as much as I think the teacher is hilarious with his grumpy, jaded publisher schtick, I just feel like sometimes I’m too sensitive to share things I think are really special. I don’t think I have airs about myself, I think the real problem here is self-doubt. I keep telling myself, so what if one old man doesn’t like it? I can keep working on my manuscript; I can keep trying. But writing is difficult for me. It’s one of those challenges I haven’t pushed through to full-on confidence territory. Drawing, on the other hand, is at a pretty good place. I could care less if people don’t like my work, because I like my work. It’s not for everyone, but I think some of it is really great and I’m getting better at it all the time.

Sometimes when things seem really challenging, you just have to do them. Get over your anxiety and just try.

I know one of my weaknesses is taking myself too seriously sometimes. It’s pretty silly because art is so stupid at the end of the day. There’s no such thing as courage in art. It’s just a bunch of people grappling around in the dark, reaching out for something to connect with. It’s giving and giving and giving and hoping at some point, other people will find meaning in what you are showing to them. You hope it will communicate something, at least I do.

The best leaders in the world are able to laugh at themselves. They are able to admit when they are wrong and laugh at their mistakes. You don’t get anywhere in life if you don’t try to be inventive, test things out, and sometimes you’re going to fail. It’s all about the vision. Are you facing the right direction? Can you see where you’re going? If you have faith in your vision, you will always pick yourself up and keep at it. So I guess, I don’t have a lot of faith in my ability to write.

I wish I had a stronger vision. It seems strange to use my imagination so much to create these little worlds and ideas and people and emotions and not be able to apply this imagination towards envisioning a more creative future for my own life.

When I was younger, I created story-books all the time, stapling a few 8x11 pieces of paper that were folded over.

When I was in grade school, I won awards for a storytelling contest. I had to stand in front of my class and tell a story, then I had to stand in front of the whole school and tell a story and then I had to stand in front of 1 auditorium filled with 3 different school attendees and tell a story. I won 3^rd place one year, 2^nd place another time.

When I was in high school, my English teacher thought that I was going to get a degree in creative writing. She was so encouraging, but even still, I feel like she was just saying things to be nice.

In college, I wrote handfuls of zines and blogged like crazy. Every little inconsequential thought went somewhere. I found meaning in it and sometimes other people did too.

I'm not saying, I was ever a great writer. But something deep down made me want to keep doing it.

After awhile I wonder what happened.

I kind of stopped trying. Stopped writing. I felt embarrassed, I think? I don’t really know. I think I got sick of trying to document my life all the time. It seemed kind of obsessive and I wondered if it was narcissism.

It probably was.

Maybe I just need to learn how to laugh at myself. Try with all my might and if it rips at the seams, falls to pieces, crumples beneath me…I’ll just laugh and find my plans for the next idea. Nothing is precious; the only thing that is special is a quiet determination. It doesn’t matter who likes my writing, at the end of the day, I have to like it first. Giving up before getting started is a good way to go no where. How many artists had to continually send their writing and art in to different people before someone found value in it? They would have given up after the first try if they didn’t see value in it, in the first place.

Sounds simple, right?

ILLUSTRATION - little cold

2010-05-31T23:19:00.000-07:00

UPDATE- It is what it is.

2010-05-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

I'm not trying to be nostalgic or anything, but lately i've been thinking of friend situations in the past where I probably could have been a better friend. I think of why I probably wasn't as supportive as I could have been and there are a lot of reasons. I forgive myself for a lot of the things that prevented me from looking outward more. There are a few key friends that I don't talk to anymore, two from Langley, one from Missouri, and one who is moving to Victoria. I wonder whether we are still common enough to be friends. I wonder whether it's worth sending them a note to tell them that I wish I could have been there a bit more for them and at the end of the day, I hope that they're doing well. I don't think I would feel bad if they responded angrily or did not reply at all. But then again, I wonder whether I should let sleeping dogs lie. It is what it is. People move on. But where do thoughts go?

UPDATE - teenage fiction

2010-05-21T14:55:00.000-07:00

I’ve been taking a children’s book making workshop lately and it’s caused me to do certain amounts of self reflection. To be fair, I’ve readily accepted that the amount of self-reflection I typically grant myself on a daily basis is crudely indulgent and too often purposeless…nevertheless, this class caused me to wonder if my fiction writing would be most suitable for the 12-18 age genres? Then it made me wonder what I was like at those ages and what I wanted to read.

Quick tangent: A point was made by someone in our class, that often a sure sign of someone that gives away their age when writing in 1^st person narrative for teenagers is their inability to describe technology. He gave the following example of something he had read: “And then Robert booted up his mac.”

Yup, you can laugh, we all did. Because it’s true. Theirs is such a disconnect of understanding technology between different age generations. Laterally, I think most folks are on the same wave-length. This contributes to peer-driven communities/cultures rather than multi-generational communities/cultures. But that’s a topic for another post.

Anyways, my brain is funny and eventually I began thinking of what a simultaneous goody two-shoes/bitchy terror I was in high school and how I wonder how many other teenagers battle with this duality in their behaviour, personality and emotions. Probably lots. It made me think of how many books are made for young people are created that have an underlying theme of “Just be yourself”. I kept thinking about this while I was walking to work today. Be yourself…be yourself…Sure, to a certain extent, most people try to be truthful. But to BE yourself. What does that mean to a 15 year old kid? I’m 25 years old and this is the closest I’ve felt to actually knowing who the hell I am and what I’m supposed to do on this earth-rock for the next 45 years (give or take).

Think about it, you’re still pretty new to the world having lived only a short period of your life and then you’re radically thrown into psychological territory that you haven’t even seen or felt before. You have to adapt as quickly and with as much grace as possible to avoid appearing socially/physically inept. Sometimes you have to pretend that you know whatever sexual thing everyone is talking about before even hearing about it because there is no way you want to admit any shred of immaturity or naivety that might still be floating around in your chemically-bloated head. It’s crazy. No wonder so many people are traumatized by high school. So please, do not tell young people to be themselves, it doesn’t even make sense.

To be fair though, there is a special age where fearless confidence actually exists, specifically with girls around the age of 12. Maybe it has something to do with most girls being humongous, beautiful amazons in comparison to their short and gawky 6 or 7^th grade male class-mates. There’s a sense of courage, intelligence, beauty and physical/emotional maturity that overwhelms the male component of the class. Sometimes this fearless confidence manages to hang in there until the puberty years where, for the most part, the courage of girls falls to the wayside as they begin noticing all perceived flaws larger than a grain of sand.

I remember feeling really empowered at a certain point of high school. I turned down friendship invites by the popular kids because no matter how nice they tried to be, I knew they were viciously mean to other people, and I could never feel comfortable or confident around them. And I tried my hardest to defend any kid that was harassed by someone who thought they were better than them.

A couple of weeks ago, I was hanging out with some friends who had invited another part of their friend group out. I’m a pretty friendly person and usually try to make other people feel welcome. These friends (mostly dudes) were the epitome of people who were in their early 20s but still hadn’t transitioned out of that strange high-school psychological complex. Sometimes I wonder if peoples’ growth gets stunted upon graduation and they spend the following years desperate to recapture a portion of their youth that (they feel) wasn’t lived to the fullest. Who knows? That’s my theory.

Anyways, the amount of gay jokes they made just made my skin crawl. To be fair, I hang out with really liberally minded people who I recognize aren’t the majority of this country’s population. But I just had to say something, so I think I made some remark of how queer I am to get them to stop talking (note- the best part was how they said “Oh we didn’t mean THAT kind of gay…). But it worked. Last weekend, I ran into one of the guys making those homophobic jokes and at this point, I am beginning to think the guy is a bit of a idiot. Somehow we get in a conversation of how he believes I must think I’m better than everyone else, and how I’m judging him. It wasn’t malicious but the statement hung in the air because I didn’t really know what to say. And I’m trying to get in the habit that if I don’t truly believe in what I’m talking about, to not create some half-assed response. So I didn’t say anything.

But it got me thinking…was I judging him? Yes, I was and I can admit that. Do I think I’m “better” than him? Well, to be fair, I truly don’t think of people like that. People are people and everyone has the potential to exceed their peers’ expectations. Did I feel the need to put him in his place because some of the things offended me? Yes.

One regret that I thought I had is this: Was there a better way to respond to him that could’ve made him less defensive and help him think about things differently rather than simply shun him away?

And after some thinking, my answer to this was, I’m not here to “fix” anyone. And if I want to encourage people to change their perceptions of things? Well, that sort of effort is made for my friends and family. And if they fall out of that category, there has to be a gut-feeling that the person is worth the time and energy. Which I think is fair, and hopefully if I ever run into that guy again, I can shrug him off with no ill-feelings.

But I guess my final question is, how many people fail to grow out of that high school mentality anyways? Do our current cultures promote the continuation of the type of thinking created in high school? Is it because I’m moving on with life-stuff and I feel I’m at the last cusp of young adult thinking and behaviour? Does that last question sound age discriminatory? Whatever. It doesn’t matter.

At the end of the day, I don’t really know what all of these thoughts mean other than, I bet I could write some seriously awesome teen angst fiction.

UPDATE - children's books, weekends, deadlines

2010-05-17T07:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend was really amazing. On friday, I went to the cultch to watch JP play with Orkestra Futura. It was great, and I haven't seen Coat Cooke and all the rest of those guys from the NOW orchestra play in a while. Although, I did realize that afterwards, I prefer more informal shows especially on fridays. after sitting at desk all week, inside my head thinking and working the first thing I want to do on friday is go out and be social and talk to friends. But the show meant I ended up sitting for an additional three hours, pretty much on my own. too much thinking, not enough social. besides that, the cultch is a beautiful venue and their renovations made that place ridiculously more amazing.

More realizations!

Sad truth- I'm getting old, and I can't stay out as late as I used to.

Good truth- maybe I will feel more rested and be more productive upon realizing the former.

On Saturday, I woke up fairly early and worked on a video that was created by Elianna Lev and Ayma Letang. I shot the video and need to edit it so that it can be submitted to Music Waste. It's the first comedic video I've ever edited and the storyboards created by Eli and Ayma were pretty straight forward. Hopefully it works out, it will be finalized today.

Then JP and I walked up to main street along the sea wall and went to a house show at main and 16th. The Hermetic and Plus Perfect played. it was the best saturday night I've had in a while. hanging out in a backyard on a warm night listening to music. We ended up walking to the legion to grab a beer and listen to karaoke before the night was over.

Sunday, we went out to langley to visit my folks. a cousin that I haven't seen in years stopped by to visit which was nice. we ate supper in the backyard because the weather is amazing lately.

I'm getting some work done for some upcoming deadlines:

-creating an illustration for the next issue of Discorder

-editing a video for a deadline for film fest: ImagiNATIVE

-creating some illustrative work for the drawing festival happening in Vancouver this summer.

Also, I started a Children's Book-Making workshop last thursday. The first class went really well, the instructors owns TradeWind Books publishing company and they've printed lots of children's books. He's really funny and sarcastic and I think I'm going to get some really great feedback on some of my work. Exciting.

So things are good. Hope you are too.

WRITING- Aboriginal Learning Styles (or, I've got the spirit)

2010-05-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

“One of the traditional teachings of Aboriginal people is that the person is made up of four parts: the spirit, the heart (or emotion), the mind and the body. These four parts help the person to see, feel, know and do. In a holistic learning process, the person is encouraged to develop him/herself as a whole person…

The aboriginal cycle of learning often begins in the spiritual quadrant where one becomes aware of one’s needs in relation to self, family, communities, and finally one’s place in the greater universe. The second part of the cycle is within the emotional quadrant where the awareness of needs may cause a person to struggle with feelings and emotions. This struggle happens when there are contradictions to assumptions, beliefs and attitudes that were learned earlier in life. As the person works toward a resolution of the contradictions, she moves into the third stage. This is the mind stage in which she is able to build upon her newly-acquired knowledge to construct new patterns and gain more positive views of living. As the person integrates new knowledge and beliefs into her life she finds a new sense of self. She is then able to maintain the more positive patterns she has learned through the process. Humans follow this learning process throughout their lifespan. A person who has become self-aware, and has grown in understanding is able to teach others by sharing their knowledge. This is the responsibility that elders have worked towards.”

--taken from a newly developed resource called “Bringing Tradition Home- Aboriginal Parenting in Today’s World” by BC Aboriginal Child Care Society.

I relate so much to this description of learning, but from my personal experiences, there are challenges from that have occurred along the way.

For instance, in the first quadrant (the spiritual); this can be a huge under-taking. The realization of your needs can be perceived by some peers or people as selfish or irrational. Changes in thinking and behaviour can be surprising to people that know you well. The people who adapt to your changes, are those who can 1) see who you truly are 2) recognize that you are doing this to be a better person. In turn, your spiritual understanding helps focus who truly are a part of the community you need. Those who fail to support your needs to becoming a healthier person is most often people that cannot contribute positively to your life. That is not to say they cannot contribute positively to other people's lives, or perhaps the role they play in your life takes a different form and your reliance therefore shifts more to those within your inner social/family circle.

The second quadrant (the heart) is a difficult one too and overlaps with the former. Struggling with past assumptions, attitudes and beliefs will eventually lead to a change of behaviours/opinions. Sometimes, when figuring out where you need to go, you realize that some people in your life won’t be headed in the same direction as you. This is a tough situation. But I finally recognized that the more I understood my needs, the more supportive and friendly the people I encountered. Let’s assume this is not a coincidence.

The third quadrant (the mind) is almost part-planning. Although, I should mention that I think that none of these quadrants are stagnant, and often they are occurring simultaneously or have some sort of overlapping. This is the thinking stage. But let’s not over-analyze ourselves, as acting and behaviour are just as important as recognizing what your mind needs to focus on. I guess that literally leads to the fourth quadrant, a positive psychological understanding of yourself will exude physically. Whether it’s eating healthier, putting yourself in better social situations or surrounding yourself by people you love and trust.

Maybe a question could be, why so much a focus on the people around you and how your personal growth impacts them?

I think at the end of the day, we surround ourselves with different variations of families and friends. The selflessness takes place, in that you realize you can impact your surroundings by the choices and actions you take. This in turn affects the different supports you have in your life (your best friend, your partner, your family, your work-place, even). If we are working towards a personal balance and understanding, it’s not too far off to recognize there is a greater balance that takes place in your family, your community, your nation, etc. As much as we can impact our surroundings, our surroundings have the same ability to impact us; If we have strong foundation and understanding of our needs, it will impact us in a good way.

WRITING - Motorcycle Garden

2010-05-10T16:32:00.000-07:00

I wrote this a few months ago and I don't think I ever posted it on here. I really like this story. It's not perfect, if you think of parts to edit, let me know.

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MOTORCYCLE GARDEN

We sat in the neighbourhood garden after he showed me the motorcycle he recently bought. He told me that he rode his motorcycle during the summer months but now it was late into autumn. He said the word “autumn” like it was a problem or a reason to stop doing things. I guess the rain makes it more difficult to ride in but then I wondered if he was just more of a seasonal rider. Maybe it was like how I stopped drawing after I graduated from art school but every other Sunday or so I take out my supplies and try to make something that looks really good. The people at school had a word for that: “Sunday-painters”. It meant that you treated art like a hobby rather than a career.

I wish art felt the same way as it did when I was a little kid. When I would try to draw perfect green trees with my stubby, dirty, little crayons and the leaves ended up with streaks of orangey-red and brown in it. I used to try and scratch out the wrong colors with my fingernails. The picture would be smudged and ruined as far as I was concerned. My mom would see my drawings and say “Oh, look its fall-time!” as if all my mistakes made everything so much better.

His leather jacket squeaks when he moves, even just to brush some hair out of his eyes. I wonder how he gets around the city if he’s not riding his motorcycle anymore.
“Do you wear your motorcycle jacket on the bus?” I ask, but he doesn’t answer me so I ask him if he’s a seasonal rider. He looks a little irritated and then reveals that when he finally gets enough money together to put some winter tires on he will keep riding.

We sit quietly for a moment. Everything in the garden looks soggy and rotten; it reminds me that I should clean out the vegetable crisper in my fridge. I know that deep down there are a lot of squash and root vegetables growing healthily beneath the ground, but you wouldn’t know it by just looking at it. Then I notice that he ia talking again; he is telling me a story from the I-need-to-find-myself trip to Europe he took several years ago. He begins the story with a shrug but I can’t help but remember that was the first time we broke up.

He says there was this tiny coffee shop in a little French town that served the most delicious hot chocolate he had ever tasted. He describes it as a piece of melted chocolate stirred with whipped cream. I ask him the name of the town and he says he doesn’t remember, but that it’s written down in section R of his journals. The town itself, he adds, definitely does not start with the letter R.

He calls them journals, but I’ve seen them. They are cheap, plastic address books and instead of filling in each section from A-Z with contact information of different people he meets, he chooses a random letter to document his findings of every city he visits. Each address book is devoted to a different country; Most of them are ½ empty but he plans to go back and to visit all the cities and villages he missed the first time around.

“Use a different color pen when you go”, I tell him.

“Why?” He asks. It’s so obvious to me.

“So you know what writing is from the first trip and what is from the second trip!”

He rolls his eyes. Most people that roll their eyes at others are doing it because they don’t like what someone is saying or doing. But when he rolls his eyes at me it’s more like a one-armed hug. It’s like a cup of hot chocolate drawn with dirty crayons.

I keep wondering about those vegetables buried beneath the ground. Are people going to come back to pick them? Or do they just stay down there, continuously growing until spring? The ground is damp; the dirt is fresh-looking. Finally he tells me that he’s leaving the city again. I am surprised because he only just got back from New Orleans three months ago.

“I’m going to ride down the coast until I reach the Panama Canal.”

I check his face for a look of triumph, as if speaking his plans aloud will be one step toward an accomplishment. But his face is thoughtful and calm and still. I try not to say anything, because we’ve been through this before. This will be our fourth break-up and there are only so many variations you can make on words that mean:

-I wish you weren’t leaving

-I still care about you

-What am I going to do?

And,

-Ok, goodbye.

I concentrate on the splintered fence that divides the garden from just regular outdoor space. I wonder what vegetables will thrive under the ground from not being picked before winter. I imagine the dead leaves and rotting plants will disintegrate into the earth, filtering down like water through a colander.

He yanks my hand to get my attention. “Look, you can come too.”

I imagine myself riding a motorcycle and laugh, “I don’t think so.”

I say the words before taking enough time to truly picture what kind of experience it might be to travel with him through several countries. What it could be like to share a package for saltine crackers before falling asleep together in a saggy tent on the side of a highway. He has never asked me to come with him before. I wish I could have feigned some sort of elegant response that was both vague and decisive. My answer was like a heaving exhale from a punch to the gut.

“I know a person that has a side-car for sale. It’s rusty and old and needs some work, a few hundred dollars and a month’s worth of work. Basically, you could ride along with me and you wouldn’t have to ever drive the motorcycle. You could even read the entire way, if you wanted to.”

What would it be like to ride in a side-car all the way to South America? Who rides in side-cars? Side-kicks. Or would we by side-by-side? At the end of the day, who is more detrimental to making this trip happen? Who is indispensible? I wonder whether it would matter, once we drove through Big Sur together, would I be thinking of riding shotgun? As a friendly little subordinate? I mean, even Tonto had his own horse.

“I can’t.”

He’s so surprised he nearly scoffs. I wonder if he tried to imagine every single reaction I could have made to this offer; or whether he’s already bought the side-car.

“Why, what are you doing here that’s so important? I don’t get it.”

I try and think of what I’ve been doing lately but it doesn’t seem out of the ordinary. It’s not that I don’t want to have adventures either, or that I’m afraid of change. My job is pretty okay and I’ve been keeping to myself these days. My life reminds me of my favorite pair of summer shoes. They are like that pair of shoes that you’ve worn over three summers and maybe they weren’t your favorite pair of shoes the first two summers but finally they fit perfectly. They fit so perfect they almost seem new but they also feel familiar and comfortable; like those little shoes have been waiting for this very moment, to be the favorite kicks.

“I just feel like I need to stay here.”

“What for?”

He wants an argument, a discussion. He wants to create lists of pros and cons then write them all off with intuitive decision-making.

I look down at my feet and see them half buried within the earth. It’s dark and rich and even though everything in the garden looks like it’s dying, I imagine a quiet breathing. It is persistent, it whispers resilience and is filled with a patient strength. Even the twisted weeds that squirm its way in like a promise will die and become a part of the strength of what grows here.

I look up at him and smile.

WRITING - Social Decay

2010-04-29T16:47:00.001-07:00

Steps for repairing bouts of social decay

Helping owners fix broken links.

-term description: owners may or may not apply to individual who most recently bought the server being used. This reference induces all users who work and reside within the entitled space.

Tip: Outside programs can try and eliminate broken links but it is recommended that owners attempt to resolve these issues themselves.

open document and review commitments.
Ensure editing arrow is selected.
Select fill-can gradation, and then create transparent background.

Broken pixels may appear and it is recommended that these are simply repaired rather than removed.
If the office family program you are using is not responding please follow the following recovery steps:

Click restart application, or, if you want to close this situation, click End application
Report error when reopening application.
Recovered files contain more recent changes than originals.
Work with file open.
Ensure when you are finished working with document that you click save changes.

switch to resolution view
expand image, de-select monitor auto-confinements.

Open overlooking industrial neighborhood browser.

Switch to 840 x 1064 and rotate clockwise.
Select eyedropper tool and focus on areas that appear blurry and fragmented.
Apply lasso tool to areas that need focused concentration.

You may face an image that is beyond recognition.

Increase contrast until image is annihilated in White.

OR you may boost saturation.

TIP: creating layers aids in continuous editing and attention over time.

Throw color balance to opposite thresholds.
Select sharpen tool generously.

WRITING - NOTHING AFTERNOON -postcard story

2010-04-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

So I entered the Geist Postcard contest this winter and it turns out I did not win. sadface. But that's okay, I still really like the stories I wrote and will post them here. Enjoy.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The old man at the roadside restaurant had a chin that looked like rock-salt; withered rope hair frayed from his temples. He sat before a bowl of red clam chowder soup.

He had sat down next to us, despite the empty tables scattered across the room. The hour long drive before lunch was an angry one, a well-battled disagreement rattled between Charlie and I: Something about laundry or un-kept storage space. We were ignoring each other’s company, sitting in the restaurant completely silent towards one another. We pretended to keep looking at the stained plastic menus even after we ordered.

The old man suddenly said to us, “You seen those pelicans out there?”

Charlie didn’t say anything and neither did I, from the best of our knowledge we were in Squamish and there were no pelicans on the Northern coast.

“There’s pelican’s up here?” Asked Charlie.

“Yep, yep. This year at least. Weather’s warm enough; they came all the way up.”

Our table rocked unsteadily so I held it in place with the heel of my shoe. I waited for another question to be asked so that I could tell him one of my prepared answers. I’m so good at small chat, it’s like all my stories are stacked neatly in the sides of my mouth. Sometimes they unfold before a question even has time to unravel.

I waited for him to ask us where we were from but instead he said: “They say those pelicans…They are resurrectors.”

I held the salt and pepper shakers with both hands, lightly clinking them together. Clumps of salt stuck to the glass despite the few grains of yellowed rice that were buried within the shaker. Charlie nodded thoughtfully, “And why’s that?”

“Back in the old days, Christians believed the pelican was a symbol for Jesus. That’s ‘cause pelicans were said to pierce their own chests with those long beaks and blood-let for their young. The young would drink this blood to help them survive when close to death. “ He ate a spoonful of soup. “They are giving creatures, did you know that? Those old, old birds.”

The waitress delivered our order: Egg salad sandwich, french-fries, potato salad, turkey sandwich, side of gravy. Every mouthful was luke-warm to perfection. The argument Charlie and I had was slowly fading away, my temper fully subsided after accidentally dropping my paper napkin beneath the table and stepping on it. I didn’t pick it up because it was already wasted, rubbed with dirt.

The old man paused a while before telling us more about pelicans. He slowly guided spoonfuls of soup to his grey mouth; Drops of bright red fell down his hardened chin dripping slowly onto his shirt. He didn’t seem to notice. I looked away out the window, out to the parking lot.

“Ain’t gonna see a pelican out that way.” I heard him say.

“I know,” I said.

Trucks geared up the incline of the highway, they rumbled by like a passing storm.

WRITING - ON THE ROAD FROM ANAHAM -postcard story

2010-04-29T07:21:00.000-07:00

So I entered the Geist Postcard contest this winter and it turns out I did not win. sadface. But that's okay, I still really like the stories I wrote and will post them here. Enjoy.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I was riding in the pick-up with my uncle who was driving us to town from Anaham. The road ran along the cliffside, the canyon was cushioned with pine trees that made the descent appear less steep. I counted the run-away lanes that split from the road up into the mountain disappearing out of view with their dead-ends.

“There was this old woman”, my uncle told me, “We used to see her walking on the highway shoulder between Kamloops and 100 mile house. She was an old Native woman with no more family. She lived out in the woods all year round. Didn’t like to stay inside.”

We watched the road. In my mind, the old Native woman wears several layers of cotton skirts: Patterned floral or with stripes. Wool socks and Kmart sneakers. Her hair is held down with a paisley silk scarf. She looks like a version of my great-grandmother.

“How did she live outside? Did she have a tent?”

As we drive by Lee’s convenient store, I remembered how when I was younger that was the checkpoint to fall asleep out of boredom. But I had found a way to pass the time by looking out for things that changed over the seasons. The decrepit old shed with the rooftop full of dead weeds and limp flowers: The roof that bloomed bright in the summer and died in the winter. The long cross-hatched fence that ran parallel with the road, with one part that fell apart broken and stayed that way: wide open.

“In the winter, she dug out the earth. She built a fire to warm the ground and after putting out the flames, she’d climb in. Buried herself with dirt to keep the heat in.”

I remembered how icicles hung from the eaves of my grandma’s house on the rez.; they looked like jagged teeth. The water for the horses would freeze solid by December and so my uncle would have to bring the tea kettle out to pour hot water onto the water basin, to melt it down.

“Why’d she live out there?”

“Well, her old man was real mean. Beat her near to death. She ended up with a bad hip from all of it.”

The heater is blasting inside the truck but the cold still seeps through the window glass, cuts through my feather down jacket. We’re crossing the steel bridge that goes over the Chilcotin River and leads us into Williams Lake.

“She doesn’t go in doors anymore.”

I draw Christmas trees on the foggy window as the radio crackles with static. Before we reach the other side, I peer downwards.

Down there, the river is mean,

white water,

crazy.

POETRY - Knee-Tap Habit

2010-04-26T22:28:00.000-07:00

My mother’s side has the knee shake habit
That decaffeinated tip tapping
You look under the supper table and
We’ve got a rattle shiver at work.
My grandmothers’ knee jitters faster
Than a piston, more erratic than stirred sugar.
While she wrings her hands and hopes
For a deuce to flip a keen hand
And laugh five hundred on us.

When she tells stories
we let the spill,
It’s mid-dinner or commercial
She looks at her grandchild and sees a time and place
We’re shadows of someone she’s met
So that when she’s tearful we can hold her hand
so say, "I know you, I know you.”
Fierce with certainty
Before a vibrant shift
because we’re not just faded film
Or untaught politics
The counter shivers with a click click heel
A hand face-down, tallied points
and all a gathered coat means is: 
Grandma wants to go home.

Writing - Generations and generations.

2010-04-26T21:55:00.000-07:00

Part of an essay I might submit for this:

Mixed-Race Women Speak Out.

http://adebe.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/other-tongues-mixed-race-women-speak-out-open-call-for-submissions/

It wasn't that long ago when a friend of mine told me the average age of Aboriginal people is around the age of 27: At first I didn't believe it. It was my understanding that the baby-boomer (adults born following the end of World War II) generation had been outnumbering the rest of us for quite some time. Suddenly I am part of a growing population of people that is gaining an increasing amount of presence in today's society. In 2006, a national statistics survey took place in order to capture as much information about Aboriginal people (where we live, where we work, what our families are like) as possible to gain a better understanding of our current realities. This compiled data has shown that 48% of the Aboriginal population is under the age of 25 (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/01/15/aboriginal-stats.html).

So I think about our growing youth populations, I hear devastating statistics about Aboriginal Youth suicide rates (the leading cause of death among Aboriginal people under 44 years old http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/publications/factsheets/aboriginal), the amount of young people engaging in un-protected sex and drug-abuse, the young age of pregnant aboriginal women. I think about my cousins a lot, they are currently all under the age of 20 and most of them are in high school except for the youngest who will be entering grade five next year.

I get worried.

First, I want to say that I’ve met, worked, and laughed with many inspiring Aboriginal youth. Youth who are dedicated in building a better future for their peers, friends, cousins, brothers and sisters. Youth that have outstanding resiliency skills, prove a growing sense of confidence and passion towards learning every piece of traditional, culture and history that they can. Aboriginal Youth that know that something is not right in our contemporary society, that there needs to be changes in order for our families, communities and nations to thrive.

Today’s world is not creating healthy people, whether you are from Aboriginal background or not, mental health is an issue for many youth in this country. According to Here to Help, 1 in 7 kids in BC have at least one mental illness (140,000 children and teens http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/publications/factsheets/parents-kids-mi )

If half of our Aboriginal population is under the age of 25, and that on a whole, our communities are stricken with suicide rates, depression, all forms of abuse and other crippling social issues then that means our new and growing future is incredibly at-risk.

Huh.

Here’s what I believe, there’s a growing understanding that culture, history, tradition, and supportive inter-generational communication has positive impacts on Aboriginal youth, children and families. By inter-generational communication, I mean conversations, talks, and questions you can ask adults from all ages. Many of our current school systems are not providing Aboriginal children with the education they need to learn more about their history: current Aboriginal governments, our unique nations and traditions and finally, contemporary Aboriginal artists and writers who speak of the past and future. This is the content that provides Aboriginal children with a good foundation to help them know who they are and where they came from. Many of the resources and history components being used in our school systems are not written by Aboriginal people (I’ve joked to my cousins, I wonder whether they would teach a european history textbook that was written by an Aboriginal person?). It is important that in addition to the many history books written by understanding non-native folks like Dee Brown (Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee) or J.R. Miller (Shingwauk’s Vision: History of Residential Schools in Canada) are supplemented by knowledgeable educators that step forward from our Aboriginal communities.

Let’s try and remember a time before residential schools. Although formal schools systems may not have existed within our nations, our traditional cultures were a place of learning, history and oral storytelling. Our communities were built around family structures that ensured children had a space to learn, make mistakes, connect with parents, relatives and elders and most importantly, to be themselves. Children were watched over by everyone in their community; they were taught lessons, histories and entertained by stories. Only several weeks ago did I realize that my entire life, I have been telling friends, employers and teachers that I learn better from described examples when really I meant from storytelling.

There’s an important part of this community based education. We were known to protect our children from harm; keeping our children and youth within a place that was safe and closely-knit. Until residential schools came into the picture and legally had the right to extract children from their communities, families, nations and futures.

I’ve always believed that the worst part about Aboriginal Residential schools was that they caused the breakdown of our family structures: a crucial aspect of our spirit and purpose.

We know the challenges. Everything from young mothers from low-income environments, young people escaping abuse, parents with substance-abuse problems, best friends that have committed suicide. But we are surviving. We are growing. We are already a certain future.

The most important job you will ever do in your life is to ensure the children of your community is protected, encouraged and supported. If it seems like an over-whelming job, that’s because, it is. So let’s narrow our focus, let’s make this more reasonable. Let’s not feel over-whelmed before getting started.

Start with your family.

Some of us in the 25 and under age demographic of Aboriginal people are preparing for families of our own or they may have already begun. We have the opportunity to raise families that will become our future. We need to ensure our families are strong and built by healthy and nurturing aunties, uncles, mothers, fathers, grandparents, elders, best-friends, cousins, sisters and brothers; this includes Aboriginal children in care who need extra support and love from our communities. Let’s build homes that infuse learning, storytelling and a supportive foundation for our children. Remember, families create homes and home is not just a physical place, it's a feeling. If you work at creating a healthy family, you will feel the support of your family structure throughout your entire life.

There will be some young people that were raised in foster-care, and there will be other young parents that cannot turn to relatives for help. But let’s re-define what a family can be. We need to create groups of young adults who are reliable, who care about children, who want to create connections amongst other nurturing adults and elders so that we might provide spaces for our children to grow and thrive.

As Aboriginal youth, we need to develop our ability to empathize with one another: our parents, our elders, ourselves. On a whole, we need to develop the best nurturing skills; skills that you may have seen in an adult figure in your life at some point, skills that were the social-norm in our Aboriginal communities hundreds of years ago. We need to learn how to talk, to pull each other up together; we have to be the strongest people that our past has ever seen. We have to be strong because we have to fight for the most important people we will ever meet: our future generation, our children.

POETRY - Death Song

2010-04-16T07:38:00.000-07:00

Well, mom says she doesn’t think we had any songs

I ask her about clothes before rodeos

She shrugs and sighs

Dad turns back from the television

Says loudly:

“C’mon now.
every family

Who’s lost a loved one

A child, son or daughter

Or husband.

Any nation

Who’s lost someone

They’ve got at the very least

A death song

They’ve got a

Funeral drum.”

UPDATE- back from mexico

2010-04-14T18:52:00.000-07:00

I have been in Mexico for the last two weeks! It was a really amazing time and I enjoyed it so much. We went to Puerto Vallarta, Tepic and Sayulita. It was nice to travel into the mountains. I'm beginning to have a better understanding of Mexican history and am interested in learning about the 10 year revolution --also more about specific Indigenous cultures in that country.

I went surfing, and nobody ever warns you but you can get really intense surf burn. It's mucho painful but it was definitely worth it and I will surf again. Maybe in Oregon or Tofino.

I read the following books:

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

Jailbird by Kurt Vonnegut

[1/3 of] Rabbit Boss by Thomas Sanchez (But I find it really dense and difficult to read)

A Separate Reality by Carlos Casteneda

and I just started Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown

It's nice to get some reading done.

Last year, I had a some issues with dealing with Native Spirituality. I've been an atheist(for a pretty long time) supplemented by a lot of un-intentional Nihilist type thinking. I found it really challenging and began questioning important elements of what I understand living/death/mortality and connected-ness is. My dad bought me three books:

-Black Elk Speaks

-Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee

-Rabbit Boss

He said that after I finished reading them I would have a better understanding of what spirituality was and also a clearer picture of Indigenous connection to the land.

I think that there were a lot of changes in my life at that time and I feel really good about where it's taken me. One thing I've always been troubled with when trying to understand spirituality is these two types of thoughts that I've carried with me for years, "anti-hero-ism" and "nothing = equal". Too often, spirituality ends up emulating religion by emphasizing glitzy, one-person-shows and focusing too much on the masterful "SHAMAN" or "WIZARD" or "MAGIC-MAN" with all the answers. I think that's the wrong way too look at it. Just like how 1 elder is only 1 elder, and you should respect what they say because they've lived for so long but their answers need to connect to a community of thought for it to best influence my actions.

In a similar vein to the anti-hero-thinking, I don't like how people refer to "The creator" as if it is a person, gender-ized and that it might be singular.

I guess I was influenced by punk rock culture growing up (which probably explains the nihilism) as far as anti-hero type thinking goes. I just think that there's no point in putting people on pedestals and believing that:

1) one person can represent a community

2) that you should pay that person more respect/understanding then someone /not/on the pedestal.

Another issue was figuring out mortality. I don't believe anything out of the ordinary happens when you die. I think that people disintegrate over time and become part of the earth again. The fact that energy never dies and this energy will become a part of things that grow from your remains and interact with things in the environment is the closest we will get to an after-life. I know that type of thinking freaks most people out. But I'm not bothered by it.

I find the more people try to define that sort of thing, the weaker the understanding of connections between living beings and their environment is. That's just me though.

Anyways, I've got lots of thoughts that are going to be applying to the written piece of my art project. Can't wait to see how it forms and changes. Check out my flickr page for almost 100 photos from Mexico. Lots of colors, foods, beaches and brown faces.

PHOTO - Gastown Riots by Stan Douglas.

2010-03-22T08:06:00.001-07:00

I posted this over on my Flickr, but I think it should be re-posted here.

This photo installation is at the centre of the Woodward's 2 foyer. I think it's printed on glass, so that from either side you can see the image (obviously reverse on the opposite side) and it's gigantic (note-- there's a tiny plaque near the door that reads that it's inkjet printed on glass). My office just moved to the Woodwards 2 building which is really awesome and rad.

Read more about Vancouver's favorite photographer, Stan Douglas, here...
www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2009.07-profile-at-the-ga...

UPDATE - Sunny morning and not much boring.

2010-03-22T07:34:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the absolute non-updates.

I've been pretty busy with work. It's interesting having a job that you want to learn about and talk about on your own time. I think it's the first time I have found my position challenging in a positive way that required me to put my "proactiveness" to good use. So I'm going to Courtenay in a few hours to visit an Aboriginal HeadStart and that should be just a great experience as I've never been up that way before. I'll be returning by tomorrow night but it's a good amount of traveling time in one day and so I'm just trying to focus on everything that I want to get done.

April is going to be busy in terms of stuff that I need/want to do. I'm going to mexico with JP and friends at the beginning of April and besides learning how to surf and eating delicious food, I'm going to be reading/working on the writing component of my art project regarding language. I think it will be great to be in a space for me to reflect and really have time to think about things. It's difficult working a 9-5er and still try to make time for art. I understand the reason for university art instructors taking sabbaticals.

In case you're ever wondering about interesting things to do...or if you're a writer and think there's not much to do in Vancouver in terms of writing or poetry, I urge you to check out this site:

http://www.creativetechnology.org/events

the W2 Perel gallery has been working very hard at creating a space that unifies many different folks from different backgrounds but especially putting a physical location to the Kootenay School of Writing and where their writers come together to read for the public. I've attended a few readings there, and it's a really nice aversion to a loud/late friday night out. It's also got a good feeling there, a fairly good mix of people (mostly writer types, but some students, some curious friends) and it's great to hang out afterwards and ask these writers questions over a drink of whatever their tiny cash bar is serving.

My office has just moved to the W2 building so I'm feeling pretty fortunate because I will have the opportunity to become more involved with the weekday events held at W2 Perel and Centre A and many of the other artist-run centres in the DTES. My friend, Altaira and I will be moving into our space by mid-April which will be located at the new BLIM facilities near Pender and Main. Very stoked, it's a community waiting to happen, as I've already received excited emails from a friend who is also moving in there who wants to create collaborative projects amongst the artists there. This summer will be absolutely amazing.

I just helped video shoot a small short by Elianna Lev and Ayma Letang and their comedy project "Rape Whistle Fan Club" yesterday and am excited to edit it by the end of April. They were really well organized and even had a stickman storyboard which was surprisingly/hilariously helpful. The video will hopefully premiere at Music Waste or some sort of festival (maybe OLIO).

Elianna is also organizing a series of events called "The Raincity Chronicles", one of which is occurring Monday March 29th taking place at the western front at 7pm. Here's the event description:

"The Rain City Chronicles, Vancouver's newest live storytelling night, is having its second installment at The (lovely) Western Front. On the evening of March 29, a diverse roster of Vancouverites will share stories based around our spring theme: Luck. "

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=365937371842

ANNNNND... last summer I went to Toronto and tagged along with Fond of Tigers for the eastern portion of their tour and managed to take video footage from several different venues. So finalizing some sort of vision of that will take place over the next few months. I'm not really sure what Stephen Lyons (of FOT) has planned with it, but with any luck, and lots of consultation, it will turn into something great.

I think that's it? Post more stuff later. Also check out my Flickr account, as I've posted lots of new work on there recently.

xox

PHOTO - turns out vince lombardi is wrong and there is no such thing as failure.

2010-03-03T17:21:00.000-08:00

ART - Isabelle Hayeur's "Fire with Fire"

2010-03-02T22:47:00.000-08:00

http://artthreat.net/2010/02/fire-hayeur/

PHOTO - old photos from Toronto wanderings II

2010-03-02T22:42:00.000-08:00

PHOTO - old photos from Toronto wanderings

2010-03-02T22:41:00.001-08:00

ILLUSTRATION - Household head

2010-03-01T21:04:00.000-08:00

I drew the left hand on the right side. How to fix it? I do not know.

ARE YOU SPEAKIN' MY LANGUAGE? - the beginning

2010-02-21T13:30:00.000-08:00

I’ve been using First Voices (firstvoices.ca) as a resource to begin learning my language. I want to practice some of the common sounds that are specific to Tsilhqot’in/Chilcotin and Aboriginal languages. It’s a lot different than English sounding words, there are different types of intonations involved. Ideally, I want to begin recognizing patterns in my language before I start speaking with my mom, grandma and relatives. I know that as soon as I grasp some basic phrases, it will be easier for my mom to show me how to pronounce certain words.

I wasn’t sure how to approach learning a new language at first. A friend told me that one way to help your memory tackle a new language is to label items in your house with post-its that detail both the English translation/ phonetic break-down/Aboriginal word. This allows for these new words to interact with your every day habits and rituals. I initially thought, this is the way to go, this will be easy, I’ll be speakin’ Tsilhqot’in in no time.

But when I looked at the phrase book the website offered, I realized that the first things I wanted to learn were phrases about conversing with another person. What total rocket science, right?…You learn a new language and you want to figure out how to initiate dialogue with another person..Who’d have guess’d that?

So I started to read all the every day phrases that greeted people, that indicated speaking, or that asked questions about one’s health or wellbeing. But there weren’t exactly physical objects I could cover with post-its to help me with this type of learning. I spent a few weeks looking over the site every few days and practicing at home before I began making post-its and sticking them to my work computer. I end up reading these sentences over a hundred times a day, quietly saying them to myself as I wait for my computer to start up, when I'm taking a break, when I'm waiting for software to load.

The other day, I was practicing the phrase, Nents'in teẑinyah? (Where are you going?)

When I realized how much of this language is already a part of me already. I've always thought to myself, I don't know my language, I can't speak it, don't know anything. But then I realize that growing up with people occasionally speaking it around me, I do know some of these words. I might not have them memorized but I guess, Tsilhqot'in/Chilcotin words are not so far away from me as I might have thought. They are familiar sounds, they remind me of when I was younger, they remind me of my grandmother and listening to my mother talk to relatives on the telephone. I think of my mom laughing hard with her sisters and friends when we visited williams lake, I think about going to the Siwash gathering and all the elders that spoke Chilcotin no matter if you knew what they were saying or not.

It made me feel really happy and sad at the same time. Learning my language feels like I'm coming home.

Photo Documentation - 2010 protest; the aftermath

2010-02-13T14:11:00.001-08:00

This is more or less the aftermath of the protest turn violent that occurred earlier this morning in downtown Vancouver. I would guess there were probably 100 protesters playing music and dancing when I arrived and probably 150+ observers/media.

Click through my photo series for more information.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kharvey/sets/72157623428215122/

ART - personal arts

2010-02-03T18:44:00.000-08:00

Good news!

A poem I wrote "Little Sister" is getting published in Matrix Magazine (montreal publication) in their issue called "New Feminisms"; They are also printing one of my illustrations. It's amazing news, I feel very fortunate to be included in their next issue. They will also be web-publishing 2 more poems of mine and another illustration on their site. I really love magazines that choose to format the themes of their magazines in this way because it's a great way to involve more people.

I'm looking forward to seriously working at improving my writing, taking courses and becoming more involved with the writing culture in Vancouver. I feel good about it, like a step in the right direction.

I've also had one of my illustrations printed in Discorder this month, which is great. I was very nervous about sending it in, I'm not sure why. It was a difficult editorial drawing to create but I was happy with the end result. You can see it here:

http://discorder.ca/discorder-magazine/index.php/2010/02/01/film-stripped-5/

That's all for now!

ART - Vancouver Biennale - Public art in Vancover

2010-01-30T20:41:00.000-08:00

Today I woke up very early to go visit some of the public art that has been popping up in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland as part of the Vancouver Biennale. Specifically, I was able to visit the following artworks:

"Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenin's Head"-China-Gao Brothers
"Skin of time"- Korea- Choi Tae Hoon
"King and Queen" -China-Jianhua Liu

The first piece was located in Richmond and has probably received the most attention out of all the pieces: Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenin's Head. It's a gigantic sheet metal sculpture of Lenin's head. It's constructed in section-pieces that are stacked on top of one another. Atop his head is a tiny mao balancing with a long stick, and he has a female body. Both of these representations are very caricature-like and are notably sarcastic in the underlying message. The sections of Lenin's head are also skewed, pushed out from one another and not entirely lined up perfectly.

The piece itself appeared triumphant and made me laugh as soon as we saw it from a block away. You could see the garnered attention of this artwork in the community of Richmond had encouraged people to throw eggs and dirt/grass at it. Egg shells sat in the crevice of his right eye and dirt hung from the top of Lenin's left cheek. While we were hanging out at this piece, several different groups of people stopped by to check it out. I think what I liked most about it, is that these people who came out to see the artwork were just regular folks who had heard the political controversy of it all and wanted to see it in person.

I think the artwork has been misunderstood as being a positive tribute to both these figures. Which is kind of sad, because it's like misunderstanding a funny joke. But maybe it's indicative that we live in a society that doesn't exactly offer the regular public with opportunities to see artwork that could be political, challenging or controversial. Much of the public art in Vancouver seems to follow the glass building codes of fitting in with the landscape and appearance of a seamless, tidy, clean city. Other than the upside-down church that has since been moved to Calgary, a lot of the public art that I've seen is either somewhat banal or else fit a little too perfectly into the city setting.

Anyways, I really liked that artwork but wished that Richmond didn't place it so out of the way of pedestrian traffic and even road traffic. It almost seems like upon hearing that they were receiving a piece so political, they ensured that it was as unaccessible as possible. Possibly to keep it away from the public eye.

The other pieces that we managed to visit were interesting. I wasn't really into King and Queen, it was an artwork placed along the stretch of sea-wall along coal harbor on the way over to the Vancouver Convention Center. I think placement for the artworks involved with the Biennale could have been a little more interesting rather than stuffing a handful of art into a singular green space.

I really liked "Skin of Time", it was a fallen log made out of 10x10inch (approx.) sheets of metal that were bolted together. The metal had etchings marked into it, the sculpture actually almost looked like a crosshatched pencil drawing. It was very beautiful and the shape of it was very organic and looked, strangely natural. We visited this artwork during the day but at night, it is illuminated with messages/symbols chosen by the artist. The light pours out of these tiny pinholes that mark the entire artwork. The worst part of this artwork is that someone thought that it was a really good idea to put up some sort of structure to prevent people from climbing on it. So they chose four orange pylons and a long piece of yellow "Caution" tape that haphazardly looped around in a messy tangle. It literally that stole away so much attention from the work when we initially approached it, we spent nearly 10 minutes talking about how seriously shitty it was. How hard is it to buy four metal spikes and a length of wire to properly install around it to prevent people from getting too close? Like, that would cost probably like $20 in materials.

It was pretty cool to take some time to look at these artworks. I wish that Vancouver would encourage more Public Art in the future, but something tells me we're just trying to push the illusion of supporting culture and art in light of recent cuts to all of our hardworking artists/musicains/coordinators/organizations as of this year. Another complaint is the Art Biennel website, instead of creating a map to instruct viewers of where these artworks could be located, they simple direct you to the mainpage of google maps.

But overall, go check out these artworks. Write to your local political rep/mayor and tell them how awesome it is. Encourage them to keep supporting the arts. Trust me, it's worth it.

VIDEO- Crooked Letters

2010-01-26T07:38:00.001-08:00

This is a video I created back in 2006. I also created the music for it. It's pretty crazy sounding with "cuteness" as an anchor. Hah.

ART- just me this time.

2010-01-22T16:31:00.000-08:00

This has been an incredibly exciting week. Last weekend, my friend Altaira and I visited the new BLIM facility downtown (near pender and main). I imagine they received a grant to expand their facilities because it looks amazing and will be located in a more central area of Vancouver. I’ve been wanting a proper studio space these last few months. Let’s face it, seriously getting work done means getting serious about the space it’s done in. In other words, the partitioned space of my living room and kitchen isn’t working. The walls of this space still needed to be constructed but upon entering the 2nd floor and seeing what it was going to look like…it just felt right. And how lucky are we to be the first tenants of an entirely brand new facility? (VERY LUCKY).

So we submitted an application for one of the medium sized spaces and spent a few days telling everyone we knew how much we hoped we’d get the space then…ta-da! We heard back and have been notified that we can move our art stuffs in by April 1st. The timing couldn’t be more perfect and I am so stoked to be able to have the space to work on several projects at once and pursue art more seriously.So that’s the first of my good news.

I spent the summer explaining an art project to people that I wanted to develop and receive a grant for. I just kept telling people about it because I wanted to hear feedback and encourage more ideas and overall, the response I got from it was very positive. Mostly, “I can’t wait to see it!” Which is truly the best thing you can tell someone who is developing a project from it’s very beginning stages. So, I applied for a grant in October to The First Peoples’ Heritage, Language and Culture Council. No biggie, right?Let me tell you what I think about grants…I have been deathly afraid of writing art grants my entire life. The whole “submitting” process causes me extreme anxiety. I take myself way too seriously and I desperately need to come to terms with possible rejection letters not equating giving up entirely. I know. It’s a super immature thought process. I’d sooner write a grant for all my friends projects then write one for myself. So in an effort to spend less time “thinking about doing things” and more time “doing things and thinking about what to do next”, I have written several grants and project proposals over the last few months.

I’m learning how to “just keep applying myself” (thanks grade 12 CAPP teacher!).

So, that being said, I am very happy to announce that I’ve been awarded a project grant to create a multi-media installation that examines Tsilqhot’in territory and language. It is a project that involves the efforts of my family and friends and hopefully many other people. I’m thinking of creating a blog to document the process of this project coming together. It is so promising and exciting and I am so incredibly for this opportunity to spend time creating an art work that means so much to me.

Thank you thank you thank you. I cannot wait to see this project come together.

ILLUSTRATION - Audrey Kawasaki

2010-01-10T21:42:00.000-08:00

Just a lil' artist named Audrey Kawasaki. I like her more unfinished stuff. Like this one.

THEATRE - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf at the Cultch

2010-01-09T23:14:00.000-08:00

I read the play, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" a couple of years ago. I found a copy of it at a garage sale and bought it for my sister, Kim Harvey who is a theatre actress that is also working at writing her own screenplays/scripts. So when I heard that it was going to be running at The Cultch I was so excited to get tickets and finally see this production! I've never seen the adapted films or anything (although the lady next to me recommended that I watch the version with Elizabeth Taylor).

Blackbird Theatre is known for putting on some of the best productions in Vancouver (and most likely Canada). They often choose to do somewhat classic theatre pieces. For instance, in 2006 they were responsible for the production of Peer Gynt. Which was great because I was obsessed with Edvard Grieg's composition, "Hall of the Mountain King" for YEARS!!!! And finally I was going to have the opportunity to see the work (written by Henrik Ibsen) in a real theatre setting with live music accompaniment! Anyways, that was great and very well done. Simple sets, almost minimalist.

Well, Blackbird totally nailed this play. They put together a production that was both hilarious, hateful and downright tragic. Gabrielle Rose as Martha created such an amazing presence that was both frightening,beautiful and sad. She transitions between different moods and personalities with such ease...my imagination did not even manage to give Martha as much life as Gabrielle Rose did. The tension created by all four amazing actors was so thick, by the third act it was almost difficult to watch the wreck of an after-party spiral out of control.

The set-design and lighting was absolutely lovely. The set was exactly how I imagined their apartment. Set in the 60s, wood panel on the walls, shaded lamps, and filled with warm colors (olive green, gold, rose). According to my sister, Blackbird is known for their minimal set. However, this was filled to the brim with knick-knacks: tea trays, shaggy carpets, framed paintings, throw pillows, encyclopedia's and other household items that transformed the stage into a beautifully crafted living room. The lighting was well done but there was not much going on with it until the third act. That seemed to be when the lighting actually played a bigger part in constructing the scene.

Kevin McNulty, as George creates such a believable aging academic figure that entwines itself in brash intellect in an attempt to battle his wife, Martha. Craig Erickson did a perfect job of portraying the young prof that has just arrived on the job. But for some reason, I was just blown away by Meg Roe's performance as Honey. When reading the script, I had created a character that was nervous and pecked about with all of her daft thoughts and statements. But Meg Roe created this woman that was both bubbly and chirpy while equally, simple-minded and lost. Her nervous but warm laughter used to respond to George's commanding statements and inquiries was just spot-on. She managed to create a fuller character than I had originally understood Honey to be

Anyways, this play was amazing. It will have you crying with laughter during the first act before darkly descending into an outcome that is both cruel, tragic and heart-wrenchingly honest. Go see it while you can, it will be playing until Jan 16th.

POETRY - Charles Bernstein reading

2010-01-09T22:45:00.000-08:00

I attended the Charles Bernstein poetry reading at the W2 Perel gallery in Vancouver on Friday January 8th. The room was crowded, all seats taken, except for these two random chairs place at the back of the room that my friend and i had the good fortune of claiming. I received several notifications about this reading from the Kootney School of Writing and although I am not familiar with his work, I of course, internet searched poems authored by him. I read several before deciding that I would have to see what this guy was all about.

I should say, I'm normally not a fan of a lot of repetition in poetry. Being totally un-educated in the whole literature field, I'm not sure if that's something that people struggle with appreciating as well? Either way. Mister Bernstein managed to change my mind completely. I now can revisit some of the poems I didn't like as much and read it in a completely different way than I did before.

It's been a very long time since I've heard an author read their work. Bernstein read an array of poems from several collections produced over several decades (I believe?). The rhythm that he spoke at and the words he chose to emphasize created such impact with each line he read. One moment, a flash of a poem would cause the entire audience to burst into laughter then he would instantly work his way into a poem that was either tragic sounding or contemplative. It was remarkable. When it was over, the audience lingered for quite some time: comfortable and reflective in a space transformed by words spoken with certainty.

He ended the reading with , All the Whiskey in Heaven:

Not for all the whiskey in heaven
Not for all the flies in Vermont
Not for all the tears in the basement
Not for a million trips to Mars

Not if you paid me in diamonds
Not if you paid me in pearls
Not if you gave me your pinky ring
Not if you gave me your curls

Not for all the fire in hell
Not for all the blue in the sky
Not for an empire of my own
Not even for peace of mind

No, never, I'll never stop loving you
Not till my heart beats its last
And even then in my words and my songs
I will love you all over again

PHOTO POEM- Noble Extinction

2010-01-07T21:32:00.000-08:00

So, I've been writing a lot lately. But I'm not sure about how my writing should appear. It's strange to me. I don't think that it's weak writing that needs a distraction. I think that it's something to build one. text and images together. And shapes and how this can build on how words make people feel. Maybe? I don't know. /ramble.

ILLUSTRATION - bird people

2010-01-07T07:45:00.000-08:00

Writing- Little Sister

2010-01-01T19:28:00.000-08:00

Another poem/writing thing. My sister left today to go on tour with the play, Where The Blood Mixes. She will be very busy for the next four months and is currently residing in Victoria for a month or so before the play moves over to Vancouver. It will open at the Firehall theatre in Feb 2010. I'm really going to miss her. I feel a little empty just thinking about it.

_________________________________________________

Little Sister

Pedal pressed flat she smokes past horizons
pushing shirt cuffs past elbows and drawing
words to make an argument that
leans over slightly, looking to the left
aviators drop and a car freckled in dirt.
Swerving bits and pieces of
a likely understanding before wrecking
all the tidy promises that she was never
meant to keep but they say
be flexible
(Not unless you expect to live till eighty).

Another cigarette pulled back
a deck of cards sitting smug
gambling a way out of here
elbows empty of aces and a smile
worth convincing. It’s the perfume
that slipcovers a night of 3am
rock and roll stomping, boots
that slack-jaw open and
a shirt worn three days prior.

You wish she pet that pistol
to pieces her knuckles run raw
with a one-touch punch and a
jaw sore from clenching certainty.
Splintered blood and a white flag;
bravery smashed over glass.
This was the buckle ready head toss
of tattered hair and wide shouldered beliefs.

Closest to the forest was a tree shaped
freshener and a dedicated habit to overtake:
Like ivy like moss like pine beetles.
An organized break of order while a new
Understanding employs destruction,
a habitual breakdown of demanded respect.

Roll the window down before
passengers feel as though they might
drown beneath the haze of rat-tat-tat
explanations and well-played arguments
arcing like a halo; Surrounding glimpses
of a softer future. Round houses for families
instead of personal agendas and
a glued together dinner plate
intercepted expectations for every
Brown faced beautiful raw snicker that
you didn’t know.
That your kid-sister spent 10 years
learning what to dream of.

WRITING- Starving Rabbits

2010-01-01T19:25:00.000-08:00

Just some writing that I've been working on recently. I'm not sure if this is a poem. I'm not sure what my writing is like. I feel like I write for zines. There's always something informal or a little odd about it.
_____________________________________________________________________

Starving Rabbits

Wringing out the rattle
of words that hook ears
hanging from her head
a misdirected fax, a broken pencil
the bus gritty with soiled
escapes she climbed aboard
in sticky polyester and
a tiny thimble rocked
between her fingers
while she waited for the insides
of the glass to freeze over.

One stop till last she
Crumbled sugar cubes while
Chewing room-temperature
French fries and waiting
Another hour before heading
To the elderly bar where cowboys
Soaked pints and warbled
Cmon nows and where you froms

Rinsing her blouse in the
hotel room sink it hung from
the shower rod like a ghost
dripping transparent
upon linoleum that curled softly
as a dog-eared paperback.

She hummed herself to sleep
As flickered thoughts broke
Socket breakers and short circuits
behind eyelids
Sudden and siezure
A gasp of a girl
smothered in water.

Ditched the shirt the next morning
Bought discount denim, crayon blue
And set off along the shoulder
Near the woods and so she thought to herself:

Maybe I'll reach the house.
where my dad grew up
near the powerlines, in the mountains
off the rez, snug by the river
teach myself how to hunt rabbits
someone told me once you would starve
if all you ate were rabbits
I told them, yeah.
and I can't even run that fast.

WRITING- NYE

2009-12-31T09:48:00.000-08:00

As opposed to some people writing a re-cap of their crazy year and what they remember from it, I decided that I'm going to forgo a recollection of what has happened. The reason being is, last year my new years resolution was to feel healthy. I just wanted to be in the best shape for 2010: just recently I have turned 25 and believe that this is the age where you truly enter adulthood. You can't fake it away like age 23, the weird limbo year of the early 20's...it truly hits home that one half of your 20s is over and you're embarking on the later side of the decade. I am okay with this. But after spending the majority of my life feeling nervous and insecure and over-analyzing my decisions and past I needed to put an end to it. I didn't want to be 25 and still raking my mind over things that have happened much too long ago to care about. So because I have indulged myself way too often of remembering things from earlier in my life and spending the majority of my focus in that area... I decided I will make a conscious effort to stop doing that to myself.

For the rest of my life, I am going to put my much needed attention into my future, planning and all the decisions I am going to make. I will start thinking and wondering about next year, next week, tomorrow, the next hour. Instead of using my time thinking of everything that has just happened. It's like instead of using a hobo stick for ambition, I am going to be checking three sets of luggage and mailing it off for future landmarks in my year and life.

Exciting.

This will be a prelude. This will be a list of everything I want to do for next year and what I look forward to doing. Here we go...

ART GOALS
-Write and illustrate 3 Children's book.
(why so many? Because I've already drafted 2 stories and I know I can create more than 1 book in 1 year.)
-Edit current writing portfolio and send off writing for publicaiton
(I've recently spent the last few months working on short bits of writing and often it falls to the wayside because I'm horrible at editing).
-Apply for an Artist Residency at the BANFF CENTER.
-Build a website.
-Create a short film
(I've been working on a storyboard and a specific idea lately and have just recently been given a proper video editing program. I can do this. no problem).

WORK GOALS
-Find a job that is meaningful. Presently, it doesn't have to be my ultimate passion. Learn to be okay with this. But as long as I find meaning in it, it will help me with where I am going.
-Practice patience.
-Learn how co-workers deal with group situations and defuse stress. Adapt some of these qualities for future situations I might have to deal with.

FUTURE WORK GOALS
-Look into teaching program at SFU
-Research possible scholarships to help subsidize tuition
-Research Master's programs across Canada/USA

OTHER GOALS
-Start volunteering at a youth/women's DTES center
-Get my green card
-Learn how to garden
-Work with my dad to learn some of the crazy mechanic/carpentry/building skills he has. This is important.
-Go on vacation: Barcelona or Mexico (this is going to be a tough one. jokes)

2010 NEW YEARS RESOLUTION:

GET ORGANIZED

This has a number of meanings.
1) I have serious issues with keeping my work/living space tidy on a consistent basis
2) I want to stay on top of all paper work regarding receipts, contracts, etc...
3) I need to finalize illustration/art/writing portfolio's so they are ready to go.
4) I am going to make a greater effort to figure out my finances and find out better banking/saving options for myself
5) I need to make better decisions of what things I should participate in, and what things I do not have the time for. Being organized will prevent me from getting involved with things that will use up my time when I should be applying myself elsewhere.

If you're interested, let me know what your resolutions are for this upcoming year and why. You can post them in the comments or email them to me at, karlene.harvey@gmail.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!

xoxox Kar.

VIDEO- animation- "ALMA"

2009-12-31T09:43:00.000-08:00

Alma from Rodrigo Blaas on Vimeo.

I found this animation and it is very spooky.
http://almashortfilm.com/

ART- Oceans and Oceans

2009-12-16T22:17:00.003-08:00

ARTS & CRAFTS - La Boussole

2009-12-11T17:49:00.000-08:00

This is a posting my friend Alejandra sent to me this afternoon...Short notice but I'm sure it will be wonderful!

La Boussole - Francophone Community Center - would like to invite you to the
Multicultural Art-Crafts Market that will take place on Saturday December 12
from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Through the Craft Market, the artisan women have the possibility to exhibit,
sell their crafts and also share this experience with other artisan women.

Let’s celebrate diversity through art!

La Boussole is located at:
612, Broadway East, Vancouver (near Fraser Street)

VIDEO - Robson Square Outdoor Rink

2009-12-09T17:53:00.000-08:00

On Monday, some friends and I were able to meet up and go skating at the Robson Square Outdoor Rink. Skate rentals are only $3 and if you have skates, then it is absolutely FREE! It was so much fun and I can't wait till we get a chance to do it again!

ARTIST CALLS- The Cultch

2009-12-08T15:49:00.000-08:00

Okay friends, if you happen to be 24 or younger then you still qualify as a "youth" (Some organizations are so generous to refer to those 29 and under as "youth"). So if you are a "youth" and you happen to be involved with the performing arts and would like the chance to work on a project that you can't seem to make the time for; OR, need some help with creating your ideas then this is the opportunity for YOU.

http://www.assemblybcartscouncils.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=332:the-cultch-youth-mentorship-program-deadlines-vary&catid=3:arts-blog&Itemid=100

Not only is it a great way to work on a project that you’ve been thinking of but it also allows you to work with one of Vancouver's cultural cornerstones: The Cultch. Who knows what kind of contacts you might make that can help with your future artistic career, connections for future jobs and additional projects to add to your curriculum vitae/portfolio. I wish I took advantage of all the amazing programs Vancouver has to offer to people under the age of 25, so get to it and make some art.

ART - Carole Sawyer

2009-12-08T13:40:00.000-08:00

Carole Sawyer, visual artist/vocalist, has an exhibition up at the Republic Gallery. I first met Carole when I was working at the Jazz Cellar and I learned that she was instructing at Emily Carr at the same time I was attending. From what I remember, she was a term employee and I never did get a chance to take one of her courses. She began attending the Jazz Cellar during NOW Mondays (organized by Coat Cooke of the NOW Orchestra) and I believe that she was involved with the series of improvisational workshops that are offered every year (generally in the fall) at the Western Front. Forming the group called, Ion Zoo, I was able to catch one of her many performances while working my routine Monday evenings.

She held a show a few years ago called “Vacant Lot” that was a photo-based series of an empty parking-lot/field near her house. Due to the amount of development in Vancouver, Sawyer began capturing images of this lot in an attempt to map how it would change over time. There were several photos of scenes filled with tangled weeds, discarded building materials, broken cement surfaces and a single billboard. The photos were quiet and reflective and somewhat depressing. As if this space was forgotten about but would soon be reclaimed by the countless contractors who scavenge every inch of “un-used” space in the downtown area. Questions that spawned from this project were along the vein of, “Who uses these ‘vacant’ spaces?” and “How does the loss of a vacant lot impact the people who interact with this space every day?”

Which brings me to her most recent artistic endeavour, Proscenium.An article from the Georgia Straight concerning this exhibition can be found here:
http://straight.com/article-273124/vancouver/ghostly-ode-gilded-past

I am very excited to check out this recent project that Carole Sawyer is working on because I feel as though she working on an inherent theme of shifts and changes in the environment of our city. Maybe it’s a displaced sadness of the old disappearing away due to the new. And it makes me wonder, what will be the residual affect that the Olympics will have on many of our quiet, creative and cultural cornerstones? Will there be room for them amongst the blaring lights and sirens of festivities? Will they fall to the wayside due to the aftermath of increasing property value? Are all of us artists quietly being pulled off the stage by a long white cane?

Carole Sawyer’s exhibition will be up until Jan 16th, 2010 and I encourage everyone to take some time and see it.

EVENTS - all over rain-city

2009-12-04T15:24:00.000-08:00

I guess I shouldn't refer to Vancouver as rain-city when the weather has been incredibly amazing. Walking to work with the sun rising is beautifully refreshing (and brisk?) and I know that as soon as the rain comes I'll be remembering this week the most as the most "considerate" winter week out of the entire season. Tonight JP's group INHABITANTS play at ten-sixty-seven and there is also a show at GALLERY GACHET. I forget the title of the show but my friend, Lisa Walker (photographer) is presenting her work alongside another artist who I don't actually know. It should be great, doors open at six. I'll be "bartending/hanging out" at 1067, the band starts at 11pm and will most likely play for an hour. After undergoing recent fire regulations, this "venue" will be considered legal for small music-based gatherings. Which is absolutely great.

This weekend GOT CRAFT is happening on Saturday, I'm not entirely positive that I can make it but i'm sure it will be a great turn out (last year the line-up to get in went around the block).

Anyways..HOORAY! THE WEEKEND. Sigh.

VIDEO - EastSide Culture Crawl

2009-11-26T20:23:00.000-08:00

I've been so busy, it seems. This video is a compilation of art seen at the EastSide Culture Crawl in Vancouver this past Saturday. A coworker had enough foresight to recommend that it might rain this weekend and if so, the Parker street building that holds hundreds (it seemed like hundreds!) of small art spaces would be a good place to check out for an hour or two.

The song featured is called "Tear Tassle Ogre Heart" by Ghost Bees, an adorable duo (who are actually twin sisters) from Nova Scotia. I've seen them live only once at 1067 (http://www.myspace.com/1067granville) and it was one of the most endearing performances...until the bike-cops showed up. Hah, such is Vancouver and the use of creative spaces.

VIDEO - Sketch Flip #2

2009-11-24T23:06:00.000-08:00

VIDEO - Sketch Flip #1

2009-11-24T23:05:00.000-08:00

ILLUSTRATION- works in progress

2009-11-22T22:54:00.000-08:00

WRITING - poetry; Elizabeth Bachinsky

2009-11-22T11:27:00.000-08:00

So, there's this poet from Vancouver named Elizabet Bachinsky and even though i don't read a lot of poetry...I just really like reading everything I find that is written by her. She taught one of the Geist writing workshops back in September (that i missed) and spoke at that writing festival in September (that i also missed) which i mentioned on here a while back. Since I've seen her name all over the place I hunted down some internet examples of her work.

This poem is from her latest book called, "God of Missed Connections". Maybe it's just me... but her writing makes me want to read it outloud. Which I think is a good sign.

GODDESS OF BLISSFUL IGNORANCE

And now all the neighbourhood students are drinking

expensive-ish beer on their balconies thinking of the javelin

toss love can be ( at any age, but especially) when you’re

young and wearing carefully purchased footwear and

accessories. One girl thinks one day I won’t remember this

balcony…like tomorrow, while another’s sure she’s met

her future husband, an MBA from San Francisco and, dear

god, what’s he doing in Canada what a boon for the dating

community (he’s straight I mean thank god…) while the next-

door neighbours lay in bed and wonder if it isn’t time

to move out to the suburbs, maybe get a chunk of property,

have a kid. Trade one noise for another.

It’s not that living in a city seems superfluous when you’re

in it, but only that it is superfluous when you are out of it

and conversation’s lacking everywhere in the end. Consider

this cluster of stargazer lilies. Seven blossoms for two dollars

at a Chinese grocery, but their perfume’s too heady for such

a small room. It’s four a.m. and the clubs are turning out

their young. Shame to put the blossoms on the balcony.

(The following poem is not from the same collection...)

Hearsay in the valley of condominiums

for Sachiko Murakami

I am writing to tell you: that story
I'd overheard about those pygmy

remains? It ran as a practical joke on
the part of city planners or some

local newspaper flunky; I'm not
sure which. Bridge construction went

ahead as planned.
There were, and are, no pygmies on that land.

And, furthermore, that kids' water
park town council tore

down to replace with a yuppie gas station,
is not a gas station.

It is an improved playground.
I got confused when they tore the old

stuff out. For a while, it looked like they
were building a gas station. They

weren't. This "new" water park is, apparently,
more environmentally sound. Which is not to say

that yuppies aren't moving into the area.
Because they are.

And the new Mayor,
who is also a gangster,

plans to turn his offices into
a Starship Bingo.

EVENTS - East Van Culture Crawl

2009-11-19T21:29:00.001-08:00

HEY!!! I forgot about the EastSide Culture crawl this weekend. I am suuuuper busy but plan on trying to check it out on saturday.

site:
http://www.eastsideculturecrawl.com/
map of different spaces:
http://www.eastsideculturecrawl.com/map

Also, the design for this event is amazing. Lots of other festival/community type events should take note. Simple design, simple layout, and coherent direction to more information; Without weighing everything down with dense descriptions. It sells the actual venturing to many different studios rather than handpicking a few people to check out which is so great. If only Music Festivals could be just as flexible, because it seems like buying a wristband or passcard still leaves you waiting in line to check out three shows in one night.

Visual art is a win-win situation.

So go to it! Maybe i'll do another inter-vyoutube (aaannnnnd maybe i should come up with a better name to call those things).

EVENTS- PUSH Festival (I know it's early...)

2009-11-18T14:40:00.000-08:00

I know it's early to hype PUSH Festival (Vancouver's International Performing Arts Festival) but I've been checking out their schedules and I have 2 definite events that I am going to check out.

JAN 20th - FEB 6th 2010

One is: NEVERMORE
http://pushfestival.ca/index.php?mpage=shows&spage=main&id=99#show

(taken from website)
“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”

So wrote Edgar Allan Poe, the great master of the macabre, nearly 200 years ago. His lingering myths are the inspiration behind this enthralling musical fable for adults, offering a fantastical rendering of the Gothic dreamscape of Poe’s life. Equal parts whimsical, beautiful and delightfully dark, the tale reveals the psychology of a man whose haunting comic writings continue to resonate in each of our tell-tale hearts.

“With its unique visual language and disorientating sense of humour, Catalyst promises to rewrite the theatrical agenda for other companies straining to be original.” – The Independent, UK

Catalyst Theatre, creators of the 2008 PuSh Festival runaway hit Frankenstein, is an Edmonton-based theatre company that creates bold new productions. Catalyst’s award-winning work can be described as “small-scale spectacle”—big plays with big ideas, stunning, surreal designs, evocative musical scores, and a heightened approach to language, movement and performance style.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Jonathan Christenson and Design Collaborator Bretta Gerecke, the company has been recognized nationally and internationally for its unique theatrical vision. Nevermore received 7 Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards at the 2009 ceremonies.

http://www.catalysttheatre.ca/

Commissioned by the Magnetic North Theatre Festival. Co-commissioned by Luminato. Developed with the support of Keyano Theatre, Fort McMurray, and the Banff Centre for the Arts."

The other is: THE EDWARD CURTIS PROJECT
http://pushfestival.ca/index.php?mpage=shows&spage=main&id=102#show

(Taken from website)
The Edward Curtis Project is a modern-day picture story that creates an unlikely dialogue between Curtis and a Métis foreign correspondent named Angeline who fears she is slipping from existence—a situation mirrored in a turn-of-the-century book entitled The Vanishing Indian. In her journey to recover from post-traumatic stress disorder, she finds herself face-to-face with the controversial photographer who was obsessed with capturing the Indian way of life he thought was dying out. This photographic and spirit catching investigation looks at Curtis’s romanticized photos taken between 1900 and 1930 and juxtaposes them with today’s realistic renderings of a “vanishing race” that never actually vanished.

The Edward Curtis Project is a poignant and stirring multi-disciplinary work by Metis/Dene playwright Marie Clements and photojournalist Rita Leistner that blends theatre performance with photographic installation, exploring how historical photography and documentation continue to influence contemporary Aboriginal communities. The creators travelled across North America to conduct research, lead community workshops, record interviews, and take still photography as a means of building a dialogue between peoples, communities, perspectives, artistic forms and disciplines.

Commissioned by Presentation House Theatre with the assistance of Arts Partners in Creative Development.

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I'm sure there will be lots of other small shows to check out but these are the big ones that I want to see and since giftmas takes a toll on everyone's pocketbooks, it's good to plan ahead.

WRITING- Lee Henderson; The Man Game

2009-11-18T14:08:00.000-08:00

I'm not feeling 100% today so I'm staying home from work. Jp and came up with this tea remedy which is actually a re-appropriated version of a cleanse-concoction: cayenne, honey, lemon, hot water, shredded ginger. Whenever I drink this on the day I feel a cold coming on, I always /ALWAYS/ feel better by the next day.

Other news, one of the band's JP plays in, Aeroplane trio( http://www.myspace.com/aeroplanetrio) , is finishing up documentary they've spent the last year shooting. It's a project that came together during days of the Sugar Refinery. They are filming the credits tonight at Commodore Lanes, and they've asked friends to come join for a game or two. I'm going to pull myself together for this, I'm really looking forward to it.

This weekend, Dan Savage columnist for Savage Love (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/SavageLove?oid=2763502) is talking over at the Chan Centre at UBC. I've got tickets with a few friends and am totally stoked to hear him talk in person. If only he could rewrite the curriculum for highschool sex ed classes...I swear the world would be a better place.

The Man Game by Lee Henderson won this year's Vancouver Book award! Somewhere I read it described as Deadwood meets Vancouver so I read up a little about Lee Henderson. He teaches creative writing classes at UBC --good to know. I have yet to read this book but look forward to picking it up later this week.

((I've finally started a lil' graphic novel script that I've been meaning to work on for the past couple years but quite frankly, did not have the time or the knowledge to take on a project that would involve a lot of research, interviews, studying before I could go through with it. The time-frame and location of "The Man Game" fits in with what I'm trying to write about so it seems like a good place to start ...))

Here's a Q&A with Lee Henderson from Canadian magazine, The Walrus...
http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/10/03/a-conversation-with-lee-henderson/
http://themangame.org/

VIDEO - three-legged dog art show

2009-11-15T21:14:00.001-08:00

ILLUSTRATION- beard dude

2009-11-14T18:47:00.001-08:00

I'm posting some illustrations to my flickr these days --
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kharvey/

check it out! i'm trying to write children's stories (this is a character i might try and write about), it's really difficult to tell a story in so few words!!!

DRAW - one inch action show and my weekend

2009-11-08T12:03:00.000-08:00

WORDS - girl from the summer.

2009-11-07T19:22:00.000-08:00

See where the trees get dark?

I run there every morning.

The sun was hot and I ate pirate crackers.

She was sweating in the shade

of a stretched buck-skin hide.

There was nothing in the woods, only heat.

"I like your nail polish."

She looked up from her hands,

eyes squinted, her mouth a straight line.

She was looking at air-conditioned vehicles,

stuffed animal bed-spreads, bright new nikes every spring.

she smiled crooked.

I wished for broken glass, singed feathers,

torn jeans and always running.

ART- Julie Morstad

2009-10-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

http://www.juliemorstad.com/

I went to the Children's Writing Workshop that Geist organized and it was really helpful! it made me think of some of my favorite children's books. Julie Morstad illustrated the book called: "When You Were Small", here's an illustration she has on her website!

PHOTO- Home Again When

2009-10-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

Some people have been helpful letting me know about copyright laws concerning photography within public library archives and stuff. i'm looking forward to using these found images for future projects. this is an old photo from my mom's photo album, nobody knows who it is. photoshopped overlay.