So very true

 

Thinking of getting back to painting

 Arlene, a member in the Brockhouse Bookclub, mentioned she would like to learn to draw. Donna gave her the name of someone she knew who is a very good teacher. I hope it works out for her. It made me think of getting back into painting again and thinking about my first teacher of drawing in Victoria who was just perfect for me. 

She began by saying that some of you are very nervous and have already made up an excuse to leave and probably think you are going to be asked to draw something difficult. Yep, that was me. She began the class by giving us this very simple exercise. We had to copy what was in the squares. The first was a dot and the next was a circle and the rest you can see. It gave us all a lot of confidence! And then she gave out the "Popular Drawing Myths".

It started it all off for me. I was very lucky to have such a gifted teacher. My experience of doing art could have been five minutes in the class before my excuse to leave.

Federal proof of vaccine

 I decided to phone (1-833-838-2323) while I was doing it online and got through within minutes and both Jim and I have them arriving in the mail within five business days. It seemed to be a rather long process doing them both online. I didn't spend much time on the phone.

More art from the conference

 

I just love the Tate Modern in London and "the wobbly bridge".

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/10/29/climate-crisis-warnings-from-david-attenborough-and-greta-thunberg-beamed-onto-tate-moderns-tower-by-artist-jenny-holzer?utm_source=The+Art+Newspaper+Newsletters&utm_campaign=536870e8b3-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_10_28_09_42&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c459f924d0-536870e8b3-62269122

Eco artworks popping up for the Glasgow Climate Change conference

I loved this artwork and so pleased that it will end up in a place quite close to us.

Salmon School, Joseph Rossano

A sculpture made of 350 mirrored hand-blown glass forms is located at the heart of Cop26 in the Blue Zone area of the summit. Salmon School, a sculpture created by Joseph Rossano, reflects a basic imperative for healthy living on earth. “Cold, clean water is critical for wild salmon survival and is vanishing due to rising global temperatures, pollution, deforestation, and damming, all caused by humans,” according to a project statement.

Rossano commissioned artists and makers from across the Pacific Northwest, and in Norway, Japan, and the UK, to craft the glass objects that make up Salmon School. The piece is backed by the Missing Salmon Alliance, a group of UK-based conservation-focused organisations. The fish-based work will go on show next year at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington.

It looks like there are a lot of interesting glass works in the area:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_of_Glass

Mussel Mania

 They don't have Mussel Mania at The Sandbar anymore and Granville Island isn't that close to us anymore either. It was great to take the little ferry across. This was a review in TripAdvisor. I think it was initially $10 but didn't include fries but great bread.

You can't get a better deal anywhere and such great atmosphere and service in Vancouver. this special is available Mon-Fri, 3-6 pm in the bar over-looking the harbour. A bucket of mussels, beer, and fries, for 12.00. We had three choices of sauces. four of us had the Thai and one the tomato and sausage. both very good, the Thai was incredible. Great cheap eats in a first-class destination. A real treat!

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g154943-d710048-r250718291-The_Sandbar_Seafood_Restaurant-Vancouver_British_Columbia.html#

I picked these up at Safeway during our steak run. It won't be the same but we can dream about the Granville Island experience.while eating them.

Did a steak run yesterday

 We only buy Sterling Silver Strip Loin from Safeway so that means lunch at Las Margaritas. I think it just might have been the best tortilla soup ever. Jim got soup this time too then our usuals for the main course...chile reneno for me and shredded beef tortilla for Jim.

Always a cosy place in the rain.

I found it interesting that they called 3 portions "family size". We bought 6 steaks. Nicely marbled and not too thick...perfect.

The "Daily Hive" had its yearly article on where to see the best turning leaves in Vancouver

I would love to see what Susan K. would do with some of these as sketches. I had some difficulty uploading the photos and giving proper credit. This one is credited to The Daily Hive". Link for them all is included below.

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/best-streets-fall-leaves-vancouver

I just love the colours of the leaves turning

 No paintings but some of my photos taken from the balcony the other day.

Gastown in the rain

I loved this painting. Goodness, we haven't been to Gastown for a long time.We almost always went to The Water Street Cafe across from the Steam Clock and sat outside in the sunshine. Well, I guess we've missed that opportunity for this year. I usually got their Calamari Caesar. I also think I got their carpaccio the odd time and I see they have crab cakes. Crab cakes usually disappoint me and lately I've been trying to remember where I had some fabulous ones. Probably  not here as I think I would have ordered them a lot. Jim got some kind of pasta...surprise, surprise :)

http://www.waterstreetcafe.ca/menus/

From:

 I grew up in Vancouver BC

Mark Art Prosser  · 20h  · 

Wanted to share this painting of 'Gastown in the Rain' Its the first one of Vancouver I tried in this style back in December. I used to work in an office just down this street at 375 Landing. You will never find a place like this anywhere here, cobblestone streets and old fashioned lampposts from the 1800s. This used to be the center of everything in Vancouver.

And yesterday this memory on FB came up from 9 years ago...quite a coincidence!

 Alice Munro's "Dear Life" just arrived...now, to sit down with a cup of Chai Tea and read.

Just finished the first story in the "Dear Life" collection, "To Reach Japan"....amazing...wow...how does she do it!

Another wonderful presentation yesterday at Brock House by Alix Ohlin

I'm participating via Zoom but there were a couple of people actually at Brock House. It's much easier to not have to rush out for a 10:30 meeting and now register, wear a mask, etc.

Well, she began talking about how wonderful Alice Munro was...how could I not love this! I now have one of her collections of short stories called "Dual Citizens" on my Kobo. It was available at the library. 

I haven't read a short story for quite a while and was thinking of reading some Alice Munro. 

Well, I'll read this instead. And since I can make the print bigger it's easier on my eyes. Just an update on my eyes. No irritation but it looks like I'll be seeing rather weirdly until the other one is done. Linda mentioned she was also hopeless getting the eyedrops in and got Cec to do it. Now Jim is doing mine. Thanks, Linda!

What can the short story tell us about life? In the space of just a few pages, a great deal. As a lifelong reader of stories, I'll talk about what I think is so exciting about the short story, why I'm drawn to it in my own work, and how a new generation of writers in Canada and beyond is reinventing this age-old genre.

Alix Ohlin is the author of six books, most recently WE WANT WHAT WE WANT, a collection of short stories. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Walrus, and many other places. She is the Director of the UBC School of Creative Writing.

More virtual travel...

 Susan K. took me to Prague the other day. Thanks, Susan!

I've never been to Prague, but @kimyest on Instagram made it possible with this photo.

I got out the pencil crayons to work in a sketchbook that doesn't love wet media.

Huxley Symposium in the south of France

 When this was first proposed we thought we would make an extended trip visiting our old haunts in the south of France. It was to take place in April 2021 but postponed to October, 2021 because of COVID. 

It would have been a hassle cancelling everything then rebooking but fortunately we had both decided we weren't up to another transatlantic flight. And I don't think we would have been comfortable flying with all this pandemic stuff still going on now.

Jim was a keynote speaker and Zoom allowed him to tape his presentation and it was very well received. Of course he missed seeing old Huxley friends in person but it worked out well for us in the end. I think we'll see more of Zoom presentations at conferences. But, then again, we all might be so Zoomed out we'll be glad to travel to conferences!

* Correction. Jim tells me it wasn't Zoom he did it on. He used his own camera on his computer and uploaded it.

The organizer of the conference sent Jim this email:

"Your keynote went well and was received with a big applause -- your (and of course Huxley's) knowledge of French literature obviously surprised even our French co-convenors, and it was a real pity that you weren't with us to enjoy your deserved success.

Thank you very much again for sending us this video recording, which acted as a highlight at the opening of the conference."

Ah...our beloved south of France. I looked up my blog in 2005 and it was really fun to see these paintings again. I still have them but they are stored away. There is just so much wall space. I also did them on watercolour paper so harder to hang up than the canvases.

Travelling virtually these days

Well, getting to interesting places has always been a hassle but more so now, of course. So it's just wonderful to view Brock House Monday morning travel series on Zoom. Before COVID they were in-house at 10:30 and I just enjoy reading my newspaper and drinking coffee. I'm sure I've posted about this series before but thought I would post the current schedule. 

I will be interested to see the one on Chile since my brother worked as a geologist there for a while.

Some photos of the Atacama Desert, Chile.

Sep. 13, 2021:    "So, you want to go cruising? Ocean Cruising 101: based on the experience of 20 cruises on 7 cruise lines, here are some things you might want to consider when planning a cruise. Lavishly illustrated with photos of interiors of various ships and their destinations." with Doug Davidson

Sep. 20, 2021:    The Glory that was Syria with Nancy Marchant

Sep. 27, 2021:    Two Samoas with Sheila Page

Oct. 4, 2021:      A Road, Rail & Boat Trip to Haida Gwaii, Exploring North-Western BC with Graham Baldwin

Oct. 11, 2021:    Thanksgiving Day. No Presentation

Oct. 18, 2021:   Egypt - History and Culture with Donna Hogge

Oct. 25, 2021:    Atacama Desert, Chile - The Driest Place in the World with Betty Andres

Nov. 1, 2021:     Rivers of Southern France, the Rhône and the Dordogne. Cruising the Rhône and the Saône from Avignon to Chalon, with a Visit to Beynac and the Sarlat Area, Where Mary-Ellen’s Sister Lived for Almost Ten Years. with Mary-Ellen Flynn

Nov. 8, 2021:     Outback Travels from Broome to Darwin in Northern Australia. 2008 with Ian and Barbara Paterson

Nov. 15, 2021:   My Week on the Falkland Islands with Maxine Slade 

Nov. 22, 2021:   Sailing and Painting down the Croatian Coast from Split to Dubrovnik with Adrian Gatrill

Nov. 29, 2021:   People of New York with Kit Griffin 

Dec. 6, 2021:     Antigua Guatemala, the Historic UNESCO City. Their Colorful Celebration of Easter with Flower Carpets on the Streets, Pageants and Processions Night and Day. Plus, we Visit the Outlying Villages and Markets, Dine with Mayan Locals and Celebrate the Colour that is so much GUATEMALA with Diane Reesor

Dec. 13, 2021:    A Coastal Journey Around the Pacific, Visiting the Coastal Areas of North and South America, New Zealand, Taiwan and Japan. with Stuart Miles

Dec. 20, 2021:    2nd Annual Christmas Special.

---

Note: If you don't have access to the Zoom application on a computer, tablet or smart phone, Zoom presentations are also available by dialing in using a landline or cellphone. On the day and time of the course, call 778-907-2071 (within Metro Vancouver) and enter the Meeting ID and Passcode that were given after registering for the course. If you live outside of metro Vancouver, please look up the local phone number for your locationat https://zoom.us/u/akJIpJnoy (The calls are muted when you join the meeting, to unmute yourself, please press *6 (as per instructions on the phone).  

Learned a new word the other day "turntablism"

Images and text from Wiki:

 Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer.^[1] The mixer is plugged into a PA system for live events and/or broadcasting equipment (if the DJ is performing on radio, TV or Internet radio) so that a wider audience can hear the turntablist's music. Turntablists manipulate records on a turntable by moving the record with their hand to cue the stylus to exact points on a record, and by touching or moving the platter or record to stop, slow down, speed up or, spin the record backwards, or moving the turntable platter back and forth (the popular rhythmic "scratching" effect which is a key part of hip hop music),^[2] all while using a DJ mixer's crossfader control and the mixer's gain and equalization controls to adjust the sound and level of each turntable. Turntablists typically use two or more turntables and headphones to cue up desired start points on different records (Greasley & Prior, 2013).

Turntablists, who are often called DJs (or "deejays"), generally prefer direct-drive turntables over belt-driven or other types, because the belt can be stretched or damaged by "scratching" and other turntable manipulation such as slowing down a record, whereas a direct drive turntable can be stopped, slowed down, or spun backwards without damaging the electric motor. The word turntablist was originated by Luis "DJ Disk" Quintanilla (Primus, Herbie Hancock, Invisibl Skratch Piklz).^[3]After a phone conversation with Disk, it was later popularised in 1995 by DJ Babu^[4]to describe the difference between a DJ who simply plays and mixes records and one who performs by physically manipulating the records, stylus, turntables, turntable speed controls and mixer to produce new sounds. The new term coincided with the resurgence of hip-hop DJing in the 1990s.

John Oswald described the art: "A phonograph in the hands of a 'hiphop/scratch' artist who plays a record like an electronic washboard with a phonographic needleas a plectrum, produces sounds which are unique and not reproduced—the record player becomes a musical instrument."^[5] Some turntablists use turntable techniques like beat mixing/matching, scratching, and beat juggling. Some turntablists seek to have themselves recognized as traditional musicians capable of interacting and improvising with other performers. Depending on the records and tracks selected by the DJ and their turntablist style (e.g., hip hop music), a turntablist can create rhythmic accompaniment, percussion breaks, basslines or beat loops, atmospheric "pads", "stabs" of sudden chords or interwoven melodic lines.

Happy Birthday, Richard!

 My mother was born on Oct 17 as well.  Quite a nice birthday present to have her first grandchild born on her birthday. Richard turned out to be the only grandchild she had.

Goodness, you are turning 44 this year! I hope you're still enjoying the icing on the cake:)

It's funny to think I've been blogging for so long. You got me going on it and I haven't stopped.

Love,

Mom and Dad

https://janicesextonart.blogspot.com/2005/10/yummgreat-icing.html

I might not be blogging for a bit

 I got my cataract surgery yesterday and I find working on the computer pretty bright for my eyes. Things seem to have gone well. Still pretty blurry vision as I posted this last night.

I seem to be able to watch the baseball on TV, though:)

Peco Gallery...art from waste plastic

I loved the idea of this....what an innovative way to  help reduce plastic in the world! From "Vancouver is Awesome"

"One Metro Vancouver man is making it happen.

Roger Brenninkmeyer is the founder and creative director of PECO (Plastic Essence Collaborative).

His Burnaby-based company creates art from unrecycled plastic household waste. Customers purchase designs from PECO's website and are sent an empty box. They fill the box with plastics which are used to complete their finished work of art. PECO also collaborates with corporate partners for larger items.

The assortment of plastic is melted, pressed, polished, buffed, and cleaned with a coating of essential oils. The artwork is then framed and shipped to the buyer. Local customers can also arrange for pick-up or drop-off.

"We transform their trash into a little bit of treasure," says Brenninkmeyer.

Flexible plastics, such as shopping and bread bags, are currently only accepted at depot facilities in the province, not through curbside collection. According to Recycle BC, just over 20 per cent of these types of plastics are recovered annually.  

Brenninkmeyer says the key is looking at plastic through a different lens.

"We use it every day, it's a wonderful resource. Would it be perfect not to have in the world? Absolutely. But, think of all the things that you use it for; [we've] got to start thinking in kind of a different way about plastic," he explains."

It was a little hard to get images to post but it's really worth looking at the website.

 https://peco-fab.com/pages/the-plastics-crisis

Ah....the privileged world we live in

 When I saw a CNN headline on food supply chain problems I thought it would be a good idea to see what staples I should try to stock up on. It focuses almost entirely on snack food and treats for kids and gourmet spices for. I did like that food makers are telling grocers to cancel promotions on these items. I don't like seeing people load their grocery cart with a particular product but I shouldn't really judge that as perhaps they're buying for a group. Once, someone did comment, "Leave some for the rest of us!"

"If you hoped grocery stores this fall and winter would look like they did in the Before Times, with limitless options stretching out before you in the snack, drink, candy and frozen foods aisles, get ready for some disappointing news.

Many of the country's biggest food makers are telling grocers that they will have limited quantities of a number of their products, including items such as Rice Krispies Treats, Sour Patch Kids, some Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavors, McCormick gourmet spices and Marie Callender's pot pies because of labor, commodity and transportation constraints throttling supply chains, according to emails viewed by CNN and interviews with grocers. Some suppliers are also telling grocers to cancel their promotions of these items and more over the holidays so products won't disappear from store shelves as quickly."

Full article here:

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/09/business/grocery-stores-food-supply-chain/index.html?utm_term=1633870297372c79ee14a292a&utm_source=cnn_Five+Things+for+Sunday%2C+October+10%2C+2021&utm_medium=email&bt_ee=xvoP%2FBfWcp%2F9LwUW6qgUY0rezAL7ueTkzDxW3ijnEV4cdieORhzq34LBWIqW3tX4&bt_ts=1633870297375

The Dominion Building is being sold

 I figured it would be protected by heitage status and it is. I've always loved it!

Learn more about it here:

https://www.insidevancouver.ca/2013/06/20/history-of-the-vancouvers-dominion-building/

What we missed most about traveling to the US

 

Trad

Can you guess,,,Trader Joe's for sure  and the sunshine and so many other things like Bill's pizza

We just might get there...who knows?

From "The Art Newspaper" ...

The article was casting some doubt on his suicide. I hadn't heard of this German Expressionist before and just loved this painting that was reproduced for the article so googled a few more.

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s Sertig Valley in the Fall (1925/26), one of the panoramic Alpine views the artist completed during his years in Davos.

I didn't have much success getting images that I could download but I thought this one was very interesting. 

Almost makes me feel like fiddling about with painting again. I haven't used much  purple or pink in my paintings (although looking around I see I've used them quite a bit after all) but I'm very attracted to those colours and how they're used in this paintings.

From: "For Reading Addicts"

 Now this is a great staircase but wouldn't have been too safe for Richard to crawl up and down. 

A wonderful Thanksgiving...thank you so much Naomi and Ray and Grace and Richard!

 We had a wonderful evening together and so nice to be together after not being able to be together last year. The food was delicious and great conversation.

Grace, Richard and Naomi all working hard in the kitchen.

The turkey was fabulous.  Richard took charge of the cooking and carving. Grace made her fabulous sourdough bread.

Naomi, Ray, and Grace