ARIST AT HOME: Victoria

March 18,2012

Week 11

Sunny, but still cool.

Last night Vanessa and I went to the UWC Pearson College production of One World 2012 at the Royal theatre.The cast was made up of the entire student body of 200 young men and women (16 to 17 year olds) from all over the world. I was charmed by the spirited Ukrainian Dances with a fantastic mixture of youthful faces from China,Brazil, Zambia and Switzerland, the  Vietnamese Hat Dance with girls from Alberta,Venezuela,Hong Kong and U.S.A.and then just when you think it can’t get any better the  amazing LOUD Gumboot Dance, 200 dancers filling the stage with  in your face exuberant,enthusiastic, slap, jump, jive, style of line dancing in …yes gumboots. The Royal Theatre was packed with an eclectic audience and from where we sat the young faces and bodies just became shapes and the colourful national costumes became patterns, all blending together to become a tapestry  of united people. We left feeling very good about the world.They have a great web sight http://www.pearsoncollege.ca.

ARTIST AT HOME: Victoria

March 11, 2012

Week 10

Sunny,cold and still very windy.

There are a few brave daffodils popping up in the yard, tucked in sunny sheltered spots,the splashes of brilliant yellow gladden my heart when I pass by them, really spring has to be just around the corner.David and I went to Robert Youds  opening at Deluge Contemporary Art Gallery Friday night. As we opened the street level gallery door we could see  glowing  light coming from the top of the narrow stair case, by the time we had climbed up to the second floor we were surrounded  by a brilliant white light. The show is a combination of translucent jewel colour glass  sheets behind large and small structures and stark white neon tube lights arranged close to a cedar shingle wall. The colours were very retro and made me wistful for  the glow of the long gone neon signs that would  light up the dark and rainy streets of  Victoria and Vancouver. The distorted reflections of the neon signs on the wet slick winter streets, glistening in vivid colours was mesmerizing and comforting.

ARTIST AT HOME: Victoria

March 4, 2012

Week 9

Dull gray light with rain,very low cloud cover..very west coast.

This week it felt as if I was in one of the old National Film Board 1960s movies that they would show during the science block in  school, every thing was speeded up, sun, snow,rain,wind,and then the whole shebang was repeated. Biking to school I was either under dressed or over dressed and I only go about 15 blocks. I am not sure if it is the particular gray light that we are exposed to this winter but I keep noticing an eye popping kind of nasty, vivid shade of blue on everything,cars,trucks,new dumpsters, spandex jogging jackets,running shoes,hockey sticks…. the colour is sort of sapphire,kind of cobalt,with perhaps a dab of french ultra marine all mixed with lots of metallic. I am calling it “in your face blue”. I don’t know who they are but I am pretty sure our choices of colour on consumer goods is controlled by a few large conglomerates. Just try to find a dusty pink something,or match up your off white circa 1995 soup bowls. Obviously blue is the colour for 2012.