A day before the official first day of spring, my friend and I sat down on a Coal Harbour bench after a refreshing, sunlit bike ride around the seawall. He pulled out a sketchbook and pen and started sketching out as many sights as possible, as quickly as possible. That strategy, while energizing and capable of branding more visual memories, is not one I frequently employ. In fact, I hadn’t done any kind of artistic sketching for months — not since the fall when my visiting nieces, who are nuts about drawing, inspired participation. So when he tore a sheet from his sketchbook and handed it to me with a pen and a book for my lap, I felt a blushing hesitation, a brief resistance. An unfamiliarity with the drawing tool. Overcome that I was left just with deciding what to draw.
There was a large holly with yellow berries just ahead of me that provided the detail to which I’m addicted. I like to draw subjects as close to their form as possible, so botanical drawings are quite ideal, providing intricate and random shapes. I had forgotten this pleasure, as I had forgotten how much I enjoy capturing light and shadow (as much as I do looking at it). It took me a minute to get back into the swing of it, to have some patience and see it as a relaxing exercise with a tangible outcome. It’s so easy to just take photographs and yet if I remember anything vividly it’s the image of that holly, in full colour, not the pansies and daffodils I photographed two days later. That sure makes one think about the media we use to write memories.
Digital scan converted to greyscale from original blue ink.
The colour-themed window display changed from blue to a startling black. This was no longer the time for a cheery yellow, or a come hither violet which announced itself in beautifully intricate illustrations. No, it was a display that suggested mourning: Kitsilano’s Duthie Books is closing at the end of February.
It is my daily dose of design inspiration on my way to work. The highlight of my short walk after a long bus ride. The surprise, the freshness — what will they think up next? or ooh, they are incredibly clever/thoughtful/creative! and gosh, that must be fun! (Perhaps I’ll take a page from their book — no pun intended — and rearrange my own every so often. But I will need more first.) I have enjoyed it day after day for over a year. I have even sometimes wondered if others watch me staring at the covers intently and ask themselves what could be so fascinating. And, as if they knew who was walking by twice a day, the staff put up design books one week and I felt giddy. I cannot think of anywhere else that has helped me discover so many interesting book covers — and potential reads. Design love aside, however, the rotating display is a highlight for many of my colleagues who are as heartbroken as I am to see it go.
Continue reading Duthie Books closing after 53 years »
I could write about how fantastic last year was for me… or I could just show you. Through my lens, last year looked, and felt, like this.
January
In January, I wrote about what I missed when I did not bring my camera, accompanied by photos taken the next day when I did. Of course, the scenery was altogether different, but no less remarkable. There was still evidence of the bewildering snowfall that lingered an unusually long time.
February must have been particularly grim as I only have blurry shots of a crescent moon riding beneath a star or planet.
March
Continue reading A year in photos: 2009 »
If you’re reading this you might be as last-minute with your holiday shopping as I tend to be. Admittedly my post itself is last-minute. I’ve done half my shopping and, this year, with each item I’ve put more thought than ever into what effect each will have on this finite planet. If you’re the kind of giver that prefers to give an item rather than an experience, make it meaningful not just as a useful object but as one with the smallest environmental impact possible.
Before I tell you how easy it is to be eco-conscious at Christmas, you might want to know why you should:
* according to Statistics Canada, 900,000 tonnes of garbage is produced between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year
* transportion of gifts that are produced a great distance away, whether it’s Califonia or China, emits greenhouse gases that pollute our air and contribute to climate change
* logging of old-growth forests to produce “virgin” paper products releases CO2 into the atmosphere and threatens animal habitat (think of the caribou and the owls!)
* conventional plastic is a petroleum-based product, which carries a triple-threat carbon footprint
* it takes resources and produces waste to make something new and to recycle or dispose of it at the end of its life cycle (which, these days, is often pretty short!)
* that regiftable stuff is better off loved by someone else than being a guilt trip in your closet for you or your kids!
* buying local supports the local economy and friends of your friends
* and more environmental, ethical and health-related reasons…
h3. Ok, I get it. I’ll be good this year. How easy is it?
Got a bookstore nearby? A Choices/Capers/Whole Foods? MEC? Independent coffee shop? Granville Island? Main St or Commercial Drive? You can make smart choices anywhere — that includes IKEA. I did not have to go out of my way to get smart gifts for my family. A bit of thoughtfulness and planning is all it takes. And do I ever feel good about it!
Here are some suggestions and tips!
Continue reading I’m dreaming of a Green Christmas… gift, that is »
Our team at DSF has been working steadily for months to bring you a new website that lets you — people who care about environmental issues, sustainability, and health — share your ideas, questions, and stories about how we can all make a difference. The site also makes it easy to learn about relevant issues and take action in meaningful ways, big and small.
The design is a significant departure from our old site, which is cluttered and inconsistent. We’ve taken on a new strategy as well: most content is written to fit into either the Learn, Do or Share category, then pulled into project pages where relevant. This allows content to fit into two projects without duplicating pages, gives us flexibility when projects come to an end, and helps you get the freshest content. It’s a more accessible approach than organizing content around our programs, and avoids dividing complex topics like climate change into single issues. Everything is interconnected.
Continue reading David Suzuki Foundation launches new website, blog share »
I was criticized once by someone who didn’t believe that my choice to not buy broccoli from China and peppers from California in the wintertime would make any difference. I would indeed be acting alone and in vain if everyone lacked faith in the power of the collective. After all, revolutions and rallies are composed of individual people sharing a common purpose. My argument was that if enough of us did not buy Californian peppers in December, it would affect the amount purchased by the store that carried it, impacting up the chain and so forth. It seems like a naive thought but the popularity of eating local has been growing, and with good reason. Eating local and in season offers many benefits including support of small-scale agriculture and healthier, more flavourful food. In terms of climate change, supporting local agriculture and in tandem avoiding foods — especially processed and pre-packaged foods — that have travelled a long distance make a huge impact. Agriculture is as responsible for greenhouse gas emissions as is transportation, based on a system designed around accessing foods year-round and producing these foods in large quantities to be shipped long distances.
Continue reading Start small, dream big for climate change »
I hope my lack of writing lately is a sign of a good social life rather than exhaustion. Here is finally my experience at the recent slow food cycle.
The gems are often tucked away at the end of a road. Like last year’s treasures in Pemberton, the most wonderful spots in Agassiz’s slow food cycle route lay a ways down a road or off a nondescript path you only just had to trust would lead somewhere.
At one end of the self-guided, circuitous route through Agassiz’s sprawling farmland and country houses was a paradise I could not have expected. The Back Porch seemed to suggest with its name a rustic and romantic place. Greeted by dozens of bikes, we found ourselves on a farm that could have been transplanted from the artsy, organic culture of BC’s Gulf Islands. A pottery studio and coffee grinding shop occupied the first outbuilding, a unique combination that was at once odd and harmonious. Antique coffee grinders (ca. 1919) sat among vintage graphic design pieces which tickled my design nerd fancy!
Continue reading I was a country bumpkin »
Update August 8th
Well, my post was unfortunately premature… by a year, now, in fact, as this year’s Slow Food Cycle Sunday has been cancelled due to the forest fires. The 5th annual event will occur August 15th, 2010. I’m very disappointed, but all is not lost as on the 22nd and 23rd there are cycle farm tours in Agassiz and Chilliwack by Slow Food Vancouver, although these require advanced registration and cost $10 — $20. I’m going to get on that and invite the folks who were planning to attend the Pemberton event. Too bad! If you still want the amazing potatoes, however, visit a Vancouver Farmers Market and look for Helmer’s.
On Sunday, August 16th, we’re celebrating the 5th annual Slow Food Cycle Sunday in scenic Pemberton, BC.* The flat, paved road through the farming valley is perfect for cyclists of any age and skill level. And of course, what we’re ultimately drawn together here for is the food! After my first trip last year, which was capped by a traffic jam on the way home that had us moving slower than a kid on a bicycle, I felt the potatoes alone were SO worth the 50 km ride and the road trip. They are phenomenal.
Continue reading Cancelled: Slow Food Cycle Sunday in Pemberton. Instead: Agassiz & Chilliwack Aug 22 & 23 »
On June 14, I volunteered at Car-Free Day Vancouver on Main Street and had the opportunity to also check out the festivals in the West End and on Commercial Drive. The vibe between the three was distinctly different, but without a doubt everyone was having a good time and we couldn’t have asked for better weather. I wound up the evening back at Main where I got to witness the last hour of the car-free street til close to 10pm when it was opened back up to cars. I think co-organizer Shannon described it as “tragic.” The transformation in the morning, and back again in the evening was interesting to witness. Fortunately, it will be happening again several more times over the summer, though on a smaller scale, as different chunks of Main St participate in the “Summer Spaces” program. (Yay!)
Car-Free Day on Main Street
Continue reading Car-Free Day, Critical Mass and other street fun »
If there’s any band out there that reminds people that music is an art form, it’s Coldplay, four British boys that never fail to knock all the socks off 16,000 people in an arena.
It should have come as no surprise to me, given the use of a famous Delacroix painting on the cover of last year’s stellar Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends and the painterly design of their promo, but I was pleasantly surprised and had perhaps forgotten the level of their artistry.
My face brimmed with a smile and my eyes nearly welled up the moment they bounced onstage with sparklers, behind a sheer black screen that then created a layered shadow show. I felt a bit like a Beatles fan overcome with emotion as my hands clasped my face but it wasn’t because it was Coldplay as much as because it was just incredibly beautiful. And that beauty would not cease the rest of the evening.
Continue reading And Coldplay makes me deliriously happy »
