1. The bit on Dragon's Den last week about how one of the Dragons is saving an iconic Toronto music venue, as described in this article: El Mocambo saved by Dragon's Den star Michaele Wekerle
2. The Minions (animated movie)
3. This youtube YouAreCreators video about the universal (Hermetic or spiritual) law of reaping and sowing
4. This youtube cartoon, "The Headless Horseman by Bing Crosby (1949) Vintage Halloween" early for Halloween stuff but I'd never seen this before I don't think and stumbled across it listening to Bing's Song of Freedom some more.
5. Natural Society article: Here is How Candida May Actually Cause Cancer.
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
This Week's Favourite Things! Monday January 9th - Sunday January 15th, 2017
1. Every live music venue managing to stay open these days, and their owners, staff, musicians and landlords. Here's a cbc article about some iconic venues that have shut recently including The Railway Club in Vancouver and The Carleton in Halifax. RIP and thanks for the good times. The comments on the article are interesting too, as it seems there are a lot of other economic factors keeping people home.
2. Louis CK "Oh My God" (2013) at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix
3. Cilantro stalks. Up until last week I'd always spend a lot of time picking leaves off the stalks, but realized the stalks are good blended into smoothies and salad dressing. Not sure if the stalks have as many health benefits as the leaves but is way less work.
4. A couple of visual artists, and their websites: Eli Halpin and Jennifer Lommers stumbled across while finally looking into what wayfair.ca is - it's some big online decor retailer. But what is interesting is the artists who have apparently decided to embrace the internet and all these different platforms of getting their art out there, such as Society 6 and other companies that do prints on canvas. Not that many people can afford a $4,000 painting so I find the whole concept of replicating 2D art this way interesting as a way to make art more affordable and accessible while supporting the artists.
5. Pottery. I was thinking this week about how long pottery can last, and the answer is 10s of thousands of years potentially. Eg, here's the wiki page for Venus of Dolni Vestonice, one of the oldest pottery figures dated to 29,000 - 25,000 BCE. That's a long time! and more reason to try to make better stuff.
6. Bing Crosby's Song of Freedom (link to a youtube recording) from the movie Holiday Inn.
7. Stephen Fearing's 'Between the Hurricanes' album especially "As the Crow Flies" and "These Golden Days"
8. This article about January's Wolf Moon and Awolnation's album Run
9. Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers youtube clips, Swing Time and Bouncing the Blues
10. A couple of trippy Higher Self youtube videos: 12 Methods to Unplug from the Matrix, and Your Soul's Journey, A Message From Your Spirit Guides.
2. Louis CK "Oh My God" (2013) at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix
3. Cilantro stalks. Up until last week I'd always spend a lot of time picking leaves off the stalks, but realized the stalks are good blended into smoothies and salad dressing. Not sure if the stalks have as many health benefits as the leaves but is way less work.
4. A couple of visual artists, and their websites: Eli Halpin and Jennifer Lommers stumbled across while finally looking into what wayfair.ca is - it's some big online decor retailer. But what is interesting is the artists who have apparently decided to embrace the internet and all these different platforms of getting their art out there, such as Society 6 and other companies that do prints on canvas. Not that many people can afford a $4,000 painting so I find the whole concept of replicating 2D art this way interesting as a way to make art more affordable and accessible while supporting the artists.
5. Pottery. I was thinking this week about how long pottery can last, and the answer is 10s of thousands of years potentially. Eg, here's the wiki page for Venus of Dolni Vestonice, one of the oldest pottery figures dated to 29,000 - 25,000 BCE. That's a long time! and more reason to try to make better stuff.
6. Bing Crosby's Song of Freedom (link to a youtube recording) from the movie Holiday Inn.
7. Stephen Fearing's 'Between the Hurricanes' album especially "As the Crow Flies" and "These Golden Days"
8. This article about January's Wolf Moon and Awolnation's album Run
9. Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers youtube clips, Swing Time and Bouncing the Blues
10. A couple of trippy Higher Self youtube videos: 12 Methods to Unplug from the Matrix, and Your Soul's Journey, A Message From Your Spirit Guides.
Monday, January 9, 2017
This Week's Favourite Things! Monday January 2nd - Sunday January 8th, 2017
1. Raw vegan green smoothies, eg avocado, celery, cucumber, lemon, spinach, ginger, pineapple and a spoon of chia and hemp seeds is nice. Here is a very comprehensive, thoughtful list with links to all sorts of recipes that sound good: 70 Detox Smoothies for Cleansing and Weight Loss
2. Ella Fitzgerald with the Chick Webb Orchestra, especially this song: T'aint what you do it's the way that you do it. (link to recording on youtube).
3. Electric Spoonful. wow what a great band, and good to see The Seahorse Tavern's new location/venue in the basement of The Marquee is as great as the old one despite moving from their iconic Argyle Street spot.
4. This wiki page about Italy - Poland relations
5. This article about the rags to riches story of Luigi Aquilini, an understated Italian immigrant turned Canadian I hadn't heard of before despite the fact that he grew an empire from nothing to billions. He looks very young for someone in his 80's! Bet it has something to do with all the cranberry and blueberry farms he's invested in!
6. This Buzzbuzz News Design article: The number of sustainable features in this mixed-use development will blow your mind. Apparently this impressive structure will actually be built in India.
7. A nice quote from A Course in Miracles: "To have, give all to all."
2. Ella Fitzgerald with the Chick Webb Orchestra, especially this song: T'aint what you do it's the way that you do it. (link to recording on youtube).
3. Electric Spoonful. wow what a great band, and good to see The Seahorse Tavern's new location/venue in the basement of The Marquee is as great as the old one despite moving from their iconic Argyle Street spot.
4. This wiki page about Italy - Poland relations
5. This article about the rags to riches story of Luigi Aquilini, an understated Italian immigrant turned Canadian I hadn't heard of before despite the fact that he grew an empire from nothing to billions. He looks very young for someone in his 80's! Bet it has something to do with all the cranberry and blueberry farms he's invested in!
6. This Buzzbuzz News Design article: The number of sustainable features in this mixed-use development will blow your mind. Apparently this impressive structure will actually be built in India.
7. A nice quote from A Course in Miracles: "To have, give all to all."
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Works in Progress: Pendants, Ring Caddies and an Orca Platter
On the list of New Years Resolutions for 2017 - post progress pics more often!
Last firing, as an extension of the new flatter ornaments, I experimented with a few stoneware pendants and managed to finish one prototype turtle pendant which sold before I thought to photograph it. I'm hoping this is a sign that my 'make stoneware jewelry' resolution for this year will make sense.
Here is a pic of more pendants in progress, waiting for underglaze and glaze. Most have a ring for a cord built into the sculpture, some have a hole for a cord or chain to pass through.
Designs so far include turtles, doves, crows, bears, bunnies, flowers, hearts, peace signs, stars, starfish, dolphins, orcas, various other birds, Christmas trees (getting a head start this year) and more. Whether these are pendant sized or ornament sized, and how best to turn them into necklaces will require field testing, but they will be small, light, handsculpted, and quicker to make than figurines, so therefore, reasonably priced - good for visitors and locals I think.
This finished sleeping fox "pendant" prototype from the last firing doesn't work because the ring in the back means it can't hang properly. Oops, learning experience. However it led to the decision that I want to start making brooches as well this year.
Here is the same piece in my hand for scale:
As a teenager in Richmond there was a cool little antique shop that had all sorts of pretty vintage brooches for cheap, I ended up with a small collection. Most were metal but I'm thinking stoneware brooches are going to be a lot of fun.
Speaking of jewelry, here are my first ever "ring caddies", animals holding flowers where a person could leave their "precious" for safe keeping. There's a bunny and a mousie, I'm so excited to see these finished that if the weather stays relatively mild I could actually get a firing done this month.
Bunny ring caddy in my hand for scale.
And finally for this post, this large Orca platter in progress, shown atop my pottery wheel for scale.
When finished it will be able to hang on the wall with wire, when not in service. I imagine it as a good serving dish for sushi, smoked salmon or other seafood treats.
Last firing, as an extension of the new flatter ornaments, I experimented with a few stoneware pendants and managed to finish one prototype turtle pendant which sold before I thought to photograph it. I'm hoping this is a sign that my 'make stoneware jewelry' resolution for this year will make sense.
Here is a pic of more pendants in progress, waiting for underglaze and glaze. Most have a ring for a cord built into the sculpture, some have a hole for a cord or chain to pass through.
Designs so far include turtles, doves, crows, bears, bunnies, flowers, hearts, peace signs, stars, starfish, dolphins, orcas, various other birds, Christmas trees (getting a head start this year) and more. Whether these are pendant sized or ornament sized, and how best to turn them into necklaces will require field testing, but they will be small, light, handsculpted, and quicker to make than figurines, so therefore, reasonably priced - good for visitors and locals I think.
This finished sleeping fox "pendant" prototype from the last firing doesn't work because the ring in the back means it can't hang properly. Oops, learning experience. However it led to the decision that I want to start making brooches as well this year.
Here is the same piece in my hand for scale:
As a teenager in Richmond there was a cool little antique shop that had all sorts of pretty vintage brooches for cheap, I ended up with a small collection. Most were metal but I'm thinking stoneware brooches are going to be a lot of fun.
Speaking of jewelry, here are my first ever "ring caddies", animals holding flowers where a person could leave their "precious" for safe keeping. There's a bunny and a mousie, I'm so excited to see these finished that if the weather stays relatively mild I could actually get a firing done this month.
Bunny ring caddy in my hand for scale.
And finally for this post, this large Orca platter in progress, shown atop my pottery wheel for scale.
When finished it will be able to hang on the wall with wire, when not in service. I imagine it as a good serving dish for sushi, smoked salmon or other seafood treats.
This (past three) week's Favourite Things! Monday December 12th 2016 - Sunday January 1st 2017.
Happy New Year! And a massive thank you to the venues, their helpers and clients who supported my art practice last year, very much appreciated - pics of some works in progress coming up later this evening.
1. The Academy in Annapolis Royal. I drove by this new condo development in Annapolis Royal's old high school and thought it looked nice. Turns out it is a cool example of how a public/private partnership can work to both preserve a historic building while providing affordable housing and public amenities.
From their website's Pricing page: "The condos are priced much lower than one would expect for a brand new condo. This is due to the fact that the town is providing the property and there is a lot of structure in the school that will be saved. This of course lowers the total cost of development and everyone who buys will be able to take advantage of this opportunity."
Hats off to the developer, Tim Tanner of Jacob Tanner Developments Inc, who has done similar projects in other rural towns in Nova Scotia including another one under construction in New Glasgow.
2. The Real Story of Christmas - History Channel documentary on youtube explaining the origins of various Christmas traditions.
3. Mr. Poppers Penguins (movie, link to imdb page).
4. New research topic, as 'tis the season for cleansing: cell biology, specifically how does the body store fat and handle toxins. This also led to some googling about metabolism and inflammation:
The Incredible Shrinking Fat Cell, What Really Happens When Body Fat is Burned. Fitwatch article
How (and Where) Your Body Stores Toxins. Curebiome article.
A No Nonsense Look At Toxins and How Your Body Deals With Them. Dr. Ben Kim
This informative Dr. Mark Hyman article on how common food allergies, such as to dairy and gluten, cause inflammation and can affect ones ability to lose weight: Are Your Food Allergies Making You Fat?
5. How To Repair A Damaged Metabolism. Fitwatch Article.
6. Oregano Oil. Here's an informative link listing off its health benefits from the Mercola website: Help Ward Off Infections and Improve Your Immune System With Oregano Oil. Various articles and commentors online have vouched for this herb as a treatment for Candida overgrowth, eg. from Dr. Axe's site: 4 Oregano Oil Uses For Healing.
7. From a Forbes quote of the day - "If your heart sets out to do good things, things will only get better". Sheng-Lin Andrew Tseng (heir of Taiwan's energy drink company 'Grape King').
8. A Course in Miracles. This is a book by Helen Schucman that I'd heard about and started reading, albeit critically as it understandably has its critics; it's long, and pretty trippy but so far so good, I like how it is making a case against fear.
9. How To Raise Your Frequency and Increase Your Vibration. Infinite Waters youtube video.
10. Abraham Hicks youtube video - Do This to expect correctly, one million dollars
1. The Academy in Annapolis Royal. I drove by this new condo development in Annapolis Royal's old high school and thought it looked nice. Turns out it is a cool example of how a public/private partnership can work to both preserve a historic building while providing affordable housing and public amenities.
From their website's Pricing page: "The condos are priced much lower than one would expect for a brand new condo. This is due to the fact that the town is providing the property and there is a lot of structure in the school that will be saved. This of course lowers the total cost of development and everyone who buys will be able to take advantage of this opportunity."
Hats off to the developer, Tim Tanner of Jacob Tanner Developments Inc, who has done similar projects in other rural towns in Nova Scotia including another one under construction in New Glasgow.
2. The Real Story of Christmas - History Channel documentary on youtube explaining the origins of various Christmas traditions.
3. Mr. Poppers Penguins (movie, link to imdb page).
4. New research topic, as 'tis the season for cleansing: cell biology, specifically how does the body store fat and handle toxins. This also led to some googling about metabolism and inflammation:
The Incredible Shrinking Fat Cell, What Really Happens When Body Fat is Burned. Fitwatch article
How (and Where) Your Body Stores Toxins. Curebiome article.
A No Nonsense Look At Toxins and How Your Body Deals With Them. Dr. Ben Kim
This informative Dr. Mark Hyman article on how common food allergies, such as to dairy and gluten, cause inflammation and can affect ones ability to lose weight: Are Your Food Allergies Making You Fat?
5. How To Repair A Damaged Metabolism. Fitwatch Article.
6. Oregano Oil. Here's an informative link listing off its health benefits from the Mercola website: Help Ward Off Infections and Improve Your Immune System With Oregano Oil. Various articles and commentors online have vouched for this herb as a treatment for Candida overgrowth, eg. from Dr. Axe's site: 4 Oregano Oil Uses For Healing.
7. From a Forbes quote of the day - "If your heart sets out to do good things, things will only get better". Sheng-Lin Andrew Tseng (heir of Taiwan's energy drink company 'Grape King').
8. A Course in Miracles. This is a book by Helen Schucman that I'd heard about and started reading, albeit critically as it understandably has its critics; it's long, and pretty trippy but so far so good, I like how it is making a case against fear.
9. How To Raise Your Frequency and Increase Your Vibration. Infinite Waters youtube video.
10. Abraham Hicks youtube video - Do This to expect correctly, one million dollars
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