PEOPLE, PLACES, THINGS...a wall?

April 23, 2018

Heading on site everyday with a brain full of questions and eyes wide open looking for opportunities and details that come into play with decision making. This has been my life. My rectangle (cel phone), the external hard drive of my brain and eyes, is constantly in action. One decision has been made -- the wall of memory has been picked. This will be the place where a nod to the past will be exhibited.

Here are some images of the people, places an things that will be incorporated onto that wall.

Photo credit for Mrs. Lau on the back porch: Esther Rausenberg

How all these elements will come together on the wall (last image of a wall in the making) are yet to be determined. Ideas welcome! ...but at least one more decision has been made.

COMMUNITY -- it takes a village to deal with a window

April 16, 2018

Actually it takes a village to do a lot of things these days. This week the exciting things that have come into play involve our everyday viewing place, perhaps the place we take for granted. Next time you look out a window here's a little something to think about:

Courage

by Robert William Service

 Today I opened wide my eyes,
And stared with wonder and surprise,
To see beneath November skies
An apple blossom peer;
Upon a branch as bleak as night
It gleamed exultant on my sight,
A fairy beacon burning bright
Of hope and cheer.


"Alas!" said I, "poor foolish thing,
Have you mistaken this for Spring?
Behold, the thrush has taken wing,
And Winter's near.
"
Serene it seemed to lift its head:
"The Winter's wrath I do not dread,
Because I am," it proudly said,
"A Pioneer.


"Some apple blossom must be first,
With beauty's urgency to burst
Into a world for joy athirst,
And so I dare;
And I shall see what none shall see -
December skies gloom over me,
And mock them with my April glee,
And fearless fare.


"And I shall hear what none shall hear -
The hardy robin piping clear,
The Storm King gallop dark and drear
Across the sky;
And I shall know what none shall know -
The silent kisses of the snow,
The Christmas candles' silver glow,
Before I die.


"Then from your frost-gemmed window pane
One morning you will look in vain,
My smile of delicate disdain
No more to see;
But though I pass before my time,
And perish in the grale and grime,
Maybe you'll have a little rhyme
To spare for me.
"

Poem by Robert William Service

I like this poem for many reasons, but mostly for the things I've learnt through the process of bringing Project 851 into reality. To be a risk taker rather than a developer takes a toll on one's energy in this town, and possibly globally now, so to take moments of joy are more important than ever. Another reason to appreciate poetry is to reflect on the history of the people, not only who lived in 851, but in this community. There have been many that have had the courage to look out their windows and see what is the right thing to do. These are a few of my favourite things.

Windows going in!!

PROGRESS... from pennies to palms

April 9, 2018

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

April 2, 2018

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: