PROGRESS... from pennies to palms

There are a lot of materials that get embedded in a project.   Of course, there are the traditional things like wires, pipes and insulation that go in a build but what about the personal secret things; things that tell a story.   Project 851 has many stories as you'll find under the Big House section.  The history of the people posted May 16, 2016 onward give a glimpse into all those shades of telling and unlimited story possibilities.   Honouring those before also made me think of what is being carried forward so when putting the love into this project we added a few secrets right into the build. What would your quiet secrets be; the one's embedded in your home?

Pennies went into the foundation.  One beautiful sunny day my Mom and I went to the house and placed them into the freshly poured concrete.  We talked about the loss of the penny and also all the hard work and penny pinching things that brought us to a place where Project 851 could happen.  I also love the penny as a symbol of copper and all it represents. 

Growing up as a child of immigrants we learnt that saving your hard earned money was a positive pattern of behaviour.  Even if you had the money didn't mean you bought what you wanted because it was more important to save for a "rainy day".  Vancouver has a lot of those but  as I've told my Mother "it's raining now".  Those pennies have come in handy and are at the base of these structures. Here's to hoping they stay put!!

Another secret embedding went into the project; okay,  not so secret now that I'm writing about it.  As a child we were told that we must remember Palm Sunday and as a family we always went to mass on that day.  I was not the biggest fan of attending church but understood this was a significant day, not because we received something; the palm, but because of my Dad's story. 

During the war, that would be WW II, he had a very close call and was almost killed.  He told us that planes were flying overhead and they all thought they were "theirs" but soon they realized that was not the case.  He was wearing a heavy cavalry coat and as the bullets were flying he hit the ground and his coat spread out as he went horizontal.  The bullets came down and went through the coat not even a foot away from his body:  that happened on Palm Sunday.  As a nod to his life, palms are now in the wall at the Big House.

When I talk to others about their family traditions and cultural building stories there are so many interesting discoveries.  One I like also came to me this week by Lucas, one of the guys working on site.  He told me that in his country, the Czech  Republic, they burry a glass bottle with a story of the family and names of people who built the house in the ground.  How perfect!  Here's a bottle I have that was in the foundation of the property that came my way some months ago -- it will be going back to hence where it came!

(as you can see, I'm not afraid to get my hands a little dirty)

ART - the line keeps giving

As mentioned in past posts, looking at the lines of construction are fascinating, beautiful and interesting.  One could do a whole series of images just on cords.  There are basics as well as layered levels to art  and when on the project site it's easy for the eye to look at things in the same way.  If you were going to have an exhibition focusing on construction site lines, what would you pick?

Making a choice of focus on "the line" can be more complex than one might think.   Do you focus on the pipes, the tubes, the color of silver, the cords, the exterior mains, the waterlines, the gas lines, the wires, the tools of the trade, the wood, the nails, the power lines, the foundation ...?  Toss shapes into the selection criteria and imagine all the possibilities if you restrict the choice  to either the circle or the triangle.  Oh and what about adding materials to the selection process: will it be concrete, wood, plastic, metal?  It's still limitless.

When deciding to select images for this post, I could hear my niece's voice in my head saying "Focus, Teta Mia! Foooooccccuuuss.".  It's often her call to the Teta when we're on site and my mind wonders off regarding the endless decisions that need to be made.  So, in honour of my lovely niece the choice has been made, and "LINE: the art of the cord" has been selected for this weeks focus.

It's quite extraordinary how many images  of cords I found while narrowing down the selection. It got me thinking about the purpose of the cord and how we take reaching something for granted. The cord is defined as  a long slender flexible material usually consisting of several strands (as of thread or yarn) woven or twisted together.  The strands and being woven or twisted together appeals to me, along with the the idea of : a moral, spiritual, or emotional bond, which is also a definition for cord.  When selecting images I kept those 2 references in mind -- What is being brought together? What are the natural twists that take place?  What results from human intervention with a cord and how does it effect the line?  Where are the traces of the human bond that we don't see but have left a mark? (the kinks and twists of the cord reveal something about those questions). 

So let's begin our journey.

Cords at one's feet:

Cords and color:

Cords on green:

Cords and wood: (as seen by the shadow who creeps into a couple of the images)

Interior cords:

Have to say I'm drawn to the loops and twists these cords randomly find themselves in.

Following the cord:  (through water, rocks and wrap up...)

Shape of cords (ok maybe some rope squeezed in here):

Arghhh, I hear my niece's voice again "Focus, Teta Mia... Foooooccusss".  Best we call this post a wrap, "That's all folks!"

PEOPLE, PLACES, THINGS...day after the Juno's!

Vancouver has grown since 2009, the last time the Juno awards were hosted here. Roger's Arena 2018 was an awesome show for anyone wanting to share in a top notch celebration. Music was happening around this city for anyone looking, to say nothing of all the party's -- the Warner's After Party was just a stone's throw from the hood.  Like any major event,  it takes people coming together in a place to make things happen.  I was lucky to have a dear friend scored tickets to the show so I had the good fortunate to be there. Other friends told me about and/or scored music, dance, and art events all weekend so to say the least I was one happy camper!

Here are a few images of the results:

1. A show during the day @ Carnegie community centre on Hastings -- thanks Rika for letting me know.  Two local musicians played a medley of Canadian folk songs and were followed by Juno nominees Autorickshaw!    2 - 4. Micheal Buble hosting the show    5. Great lightshow -- I'm all over those triangles.     6. Tribute to Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip     7 & 8.  Things I'm hoping to put into the 851 Project -- Love and If I won a million dollars...

As I celebrate the music of our talented Canadian's, in true construction honour I've decided to add a few select shots from the project that reflect the spirit of joy.

Cheers to love and music being apart of this project (homes) now and forever!!

COMMUNITY -- the commonalities...

We  live in the Technological age (or Information age) and should note it's only through the past and reflecting from that place that a more clear understanding of an age has encompassing meaning.  While living in that age it's difficult to fully comprehend it's consequences .  A Futurists, a person who studies the future and makes predictions about it based on current trends, can try to understand that direction.  Does intuition play a role in the evolution of taking matters in a direction that is unpredictable? 

If one considers and observes art and culture as a community there are some interesting global shifts that can be tracked.  Looking at creativity through an educated eye and understanding of the field one can look for that unpredictable direction..  Look to the Murakami exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery for instance, where lines of disciplines are shifting.  Where does art enter design, and where does design enter art and how does it interact with commercialism and pure artistic progress?  How does technology come into play with all of this?  

Here are images from that show. The one thing I believe to be our most precious commodity in this Technological age is "time".  That's a conversation I'm always happy to have, just be prepared to pay me for those precious moments.

Should you have a chance to go in person, which I would recommend,  make sure to take time and fully read this one...(what can happen over time and in a community)