MAKING STUFF
and writing about it
A record of the making and the learning along the way: process, material, and the social side of hand-making.
Mar 13, 2015
One bit, two bits, green bits, black bits
This may be the third or fourth column/post I've written that could come under the headline, 'Overthinking will be the death of me.' There is definitely a book in there somewhere about the power of...
Mar 6, 2015
Laying doilies on devastated gardens: a bit of sublime madness?
When the white RCMP SUV was spotted cruising around the Maple Street section of the community gardens early Monday morning, it was clear that the chainsaws and earth-movers were next.
Feb 27, 2015
Exhibit of a great mistake was just the push I needed
Last week Monte Clark gave four of us some insight into how an experiment by Omer Arbel went awry and ended up as a dazzling installation in his newish Monte Clark Gallery . The heavy,...
Feb 20, 2015
3 artworks a day for 5 days — and an extra challenge
Vancouver artist Connie Sabo threw the current Facebook challenge (three artworks a day for five days) to me this week. I'm taking on the challenge for the chance to create three art experimentations...
Feb 13, 2015
Hand-working my way out of a future life in a glass box
A couple of weeks back in this space I was musing about the fusing of crocheted granny squares and the ubiquitous breeze-wall bricks of my East Van youth.
Feb 6, 2015
Everything I know about design I learned in newspapers
One of the biggest lessons learned from a career in newspaper journalism was, surprisingly, the difference between decoration and design. It began when I built up basic layout skills using paper...
Jan 30, 2015
A visual antidote for this flatulent football weekend
As we approach what is arguably the year's most gaseous weekend otherwise known as the SuperBowl, with overfed folks lumbering around downtown in painted faces of lurid blue and green, I have just...
Jan 23, 2015
Defending the doily in 20 images, 20 seconds each
This just uploaded... Six and a half minutes devoted to that question I get a lot: "What's up with the doilies?" (Video courtesy of Terry Fox Theatre's PechaKucha program . More info on the...
Jan 16, 2015
Shab-fab granny squares cover it all
Maybe it's the chilly monochromatic climate at work here, but I'm suddenly wrapping myself up granny squares. The more I think about them, the more potential I see. There's a lot of culture woven...
Jan 9, 2015
Oh the irony: freedom of expression in a corporate media world
I'm writing this as the radio airs a live report of gunfire . The French police have just killed the two brothers who hunted down particular editorial workers at the satirical Paris magazine two days...
