The first time I saw a “dry landscape” Zen garden in one of the hundreds of temples in Kyoto, my brain sort of short-circuited. This was the mid-’80s, and here was a Zen Buddhist priest meticulously…

Now that we’re all carrying around the equivalent of movie cameras and photo-editing studios in our pockets and purses we are each potential blockbuster or documentary filmmakers, iMovie-ing and…

A big shout-out to the recycling staffer at my local Return-It depot who painstakingly went through a bin full of snarls of computer cables to select the ones with the most colourful clusters of wire…

These are the glory days for the accidental or occasional artist in all of us. The combination of long, light days and ( hopefully) open time sets the stage for some great making moments. These were…

On one rambling two-hour bike tour of False Creek Sunday, a friend and I cruised by the Dragonboat festival, the jazz festival and the food truck festival. Granville Island was foody festive. Kits…

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with South Granville , the shopping strip between 6th and 16th Avenues. This was the neighbourhood of my first apartment, a $350-per-month studio in the old…

Remember when you were a kid you knew you could give a drawing as a present to any adult and that adult would love it, even though you would definitely not like a drawing-present yourself? It’s one…

To me, the easiest part about carving out a place in the visual arts world is writing something about it. Yet most of my artist colleagues don’t know how I make myself do it on a weekly basis. Easy….

I would rather watch the little kids in my life play than watch the best TV.  But it’s tricky because they don’t like to be observed and if they feel I’m too interested, they are on to me and it all…

I’ve blown valuable vacation days at one all-inclusive Cancun resort and on one gargantuan cruise ship and I can safely say as long as I can stand upright and feed myself I will not endure either…