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 7, 2014
Granville Island needs an injection of innovation
When finally — yet suddenly — I graduated from Emily Carr University of Art and Design, I was done, done, done, exhausted after four intense years of input. Now I needed space for four more years...
Feb 28, 2014
Bees and bubble tea straws inspire new work
My mind has been buzzing with thoughts of legendary environmentalist-artist Joseph Beuys as I've been hatching an idea for a public artwork that is not so much intrusive as inclusive, especially if...
Feb 21, 2014
Duct-taping a torso just the ticket
Everything I need to know I learn on blogs , at least when it comes to making stuff. Most recently, I needed to display a knitted artwork for an upcoming show this weekend but I did not want a...
Feb 14, 2014
Some powerful signs at Sochi
The signs, they are a-changing . But to see them you have to look past the visual bombardment of dead-eyed-Kardashian-object images, pop-up balloon-boob ads, and the opening scenes of violence...
Feb 7, 2014
Something potent in unapproved public art
It's official: the Dude Chilling Park sign, a guerrilla-art installation by recent Emily Carr industrial design grad Viktor Briestensky, has been reinstated, with full approval by the city's parks...
Jan 30, 2014
Designs on the halter dress-tool belt combo
Most people will admit that their everyday clothes are a sort of uniform. We need to keep it pretty simple because we're likely dressing in the dim of the still-dark morning when we'd rather spend...
Jan 24, 2014
procraftination spikes when math hits
I was told there would be no math. Turns out there’s nothing but math in making things, and all kinds of math in packaging it all up for clients and justifying it all to Revenue Canada. I love to...
Jan 16, 2014
Innovation can be a risky business
Coming up with new ideas is not without its hazards. The world-renowned Noma restaurant is a case in point. Chef-patron Rene Redzepi uses what grows in the area, innovating astounding food...
Jan 10, 2014
A time-based dwelling-sculpture called home
This is clearly not a staged photo. Pretty much every rule of home decor is ignored here in this old East Van house. And that's why I love it. Maybe it's the weather but I've just about had enough of...
Jan 3, 2014
Of portraits and the patriarchy
When my brother showed me his inherited oil painting of a senior citizen , my first thought was: Yeesh. No wonder the young nudes endure. They may not be remembered by history, like this unfamiliar...
