The horror… the horror…
There’s still time to re-think toxic and tasteless Halloween decor I am harnessing both my irrational and quite-reasonable fears of two looming nail-biter elections — one provincial within days…
A material love-hate relationship
Masks keep our germs to ourselves but I don’t have to like them People ! Am I going to have to bring out my Social Distancing Hat again? Everyone I know is either in the grips of one plague or…
No use fretting over earthquakes
Hand-makers will be the change when or if ‘The Big One’ hits Of all the things I fret over — a neighbourhood arsonist, identity theft, Trump burning it all down, an all-out war in the Middle…
From mind-numbing to mindful
Dropping out is easy. This art practice is about tuning in Flat on my back in the chair last week, the dentist had just plunged the second needle into my eroded molar area and her assistant was…
Repairing is caring
Making things better requires thinking creatively, not throwing it all away Can you do me a favour, a neighbour-friend asked, and I knew his sweet, destructive dog had done it again. The pup, bred to…
Home isn’t someone else’s investment unit
New modular building blocks create a visual for more humane density I blame my dream-home fantasies on that OG influencer Martha Stewart. When the thick, slick Martha Stewart Living was…
End of an era for Vancouver makers
The one great store that fuels textile dreams is closing due to small-business struggles Judging by the early deluge of reactions on Reddit last week, we Vancouver makers are stunned to learn…
Pushing all the right buttons
Picture a nine-year-old and her little brother singing, There once was a union maid who never was afraid of goons and ginks and company finks… and you’ll have a snapshot of our 1970s…
I’d rather be at craft camp
Vacationing with extended family or acquaintances at the campground can be awkward for those makers who devote a good portion of our waking hours to making artwork. Unless you’re cranking out…
Fun fodder for politically engaged hand-makers
I am beyond excited at the prospect of a former prosecutor debating a current felon on Sept. 10, if Trump doesn’t wuss out . Kamala Harris has said she thinks “the voters deserve to see the split…
Cyber snafu? There’s an art for that
Utopic dream work is now an unwieldy mass As soon as my coffee arrived in bed early Friday morning (don’t hate me) I jumped on Reddit to try to find news of the latest cyber snafu, because…
Awkward family moment informs art-making aesthetic
When I first started out as a suburban-newspaper reporter I had a single original artwork tacked to the wall in my basement suite. It was a life-sized acrylic-on-paper, a nude holding her…
Needling at patriotism and protest
We all sort of forgot about celebrating Canada Day last weekend, up north, on a farm. No fireworks, no flags, no impressive array of themed party foods in the American way. That doesn’t make…
Drawing on our true colours, for social change
Two years ago to the day of this writing, my sweetie and I arrived in downtown San Francisco the day before the Pride parade and the day after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. By…
Just a reflection, of a reflection, of a reflection, of a reflection
I have my share of obtrusive thoughts but this week it’s an ear-worm: Arcade Fire’s “Reflektor.” It jumped into my head while on a brilliant morning bike ride this week, after passing someone…
Stitching a story of a final send-off
This one’s for my brother, on his second memorial Father’s Day. I started the artwork just after returning from his ashes-scattering ceremony on one of the Gulf Islands, as he requested in…
Faith is key when you’re cutting up family heirlooms
Is it easy to cut up hand-embroidered linen tablecloths, runners, pillowcases? It is not. As an adequate hand-stitcher I understand the skill, labour, time and patience that goes into each linen. I…
Circular thinking can be a flow state too
I opened up my studio yesterday to the public to get some general feedback on a new series of paintings. Because even though I’m compelled to keep working on it and even though I’m enjoying a…
Halloween a reminder of fiery end to a neighbourhood hub
Just a week before Halloween — prime creative costume time — we in these parts are again reminded of the tragic, toxic end to our local Value Village. The general love-hate relationship came to a…
work-in-progress ‘Unbridled’ stitches up pain and pleasure
Thirty years ago this month I floated down the aisle in a pearly silk dress. Recently I pulled this relic out of deep storage to give it new life. It is a ballerina-length A-line number, a fitted…
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