PEOPLE...the Chinese curse

There is a Chinese curse which says “May he live in interesting times.” Like it or not, we live in interesting times. They are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also the most creative of any time in the history of mankind. Once you look at the link to this quote I think you’ll have a better understanding as to why it’s being posted this week. Ie. where did this quote actually come from? was it actually an ancient Chinese curse? who has been quoting it and why?

As we travel through time and look at where we stand at this moment we realize things get skewed, twisted and sometimes perverted, which leads to tension and conflict. Getting an upfront agreement to be respectful and bring things back to the basics of moving forward with reason based in positive interaction seems to be critical during these interesting times. While I’ve spent a week trying to listen with my heart and head about issues of Racism while refraining from posting it has been most moving. There is an underlying constant heavy sadness to the world. Moving forward with a focus on human evolution to positive humanity is the goal, yet is it attainable? I could philosophize on this all day , everyday and as a start for this post here are some of the moments I caught while listening and not posting last week.

Here is the most important thought, ironically from a pillbox, for this moment:

COMMUNITY... in these difficult times or extreme racism

There are no words that can be spoken to justify the horrific racial atrocities happening presently in America specifically at this moment in history. It is a time where I am lost for words to even know where to begin explaining how WRONG things are.

All I could do to cope with it all was to go for a bike ride and look at something else until things could be processed. This is where we went and what we saw.

A strange juxtaposition of industry and elegance? A drop, maybe 10 feet?, lights turn on and then it spins. Did Rodney Graham, the artist, ever fathom that in a time of madness this piece would be an odd symbol of the contrasting strangeness of life at this moment in time? The scale and position so odd yet fits in a space that equally is completely out of context and imbalanced. It leaves you staring yet at the same time wondering how it works in the space it inhabits: it does and it doesn’t.

I am left looking over my shoulder trying to make sense of it all.

Sending heartfelt love and kindness to all humanity during these in human times.

PROGRESS...food and flowers

Is all the gardening complete you ask? Well the only thing outstanding from last year, is the corsican mint, aka Mentha requienii, along the side of Mom’s unit (857). The back has a lovely beginning of the corsican mint and it’s intended to go all along the path to the front between the stones. It will look stunning when its done. It’s been so pleasing to watch thus far, the vibrant lime green color and the slight mint fragrance that stands up to human and animal traffic. As we wait, 2 weeks or so I’m told, for the plants to arrive and be planted I’ve been enjoying food and flowers.

Staying on the theme of green I decided to try this fab. recipe for “french peas”!! So what do you think?

I think it’s fabulous and perfect for lunch. or of course, as a last at your next dinner party. My dear friend Bryan came over for a visit and picked up the ingredients from the wonderful Union Market just down the street and shared the recipe with me. All you need is:

Chicken stock & a little flour Mint Celery (from my garden) Peas Romaine lettuce

owwwww, and of course BUTTER!!! Would it be French without butter? owww la la!

This was what was up for lunch with Mom today thanks to Bryan’s share. It was yummy, so fun and quick too boot.

Besides celery from the garden which just keeps giving, from last year, there is surprise spinach that also came back. All this without even dropping a seed into the dirt and speaking of seeds, the pink forget me nots I got at the Butchard Gardens went like gang busters in bloom this year. It’s the spot where the new white carpet roses that have been planted ; right among the pink delights. Fingers crossed those white roses bloom this year will be as exciting as all the roses were last year.

Reflecting on last years plantings I often think of the rose bushes on the top tear of gardening space. To my dismay they have had a great deal of black spot which has caused me to be out there regularly tackling that darn fungal disease. Those roses have been so beautiful and I’ll be damned if blackspot will get the best of them. Some of the bloom is now coming back and are being shared with Dad at the cemetery and the rest here with me in the pink house.

They really are so pretty. Wish me luck on the battle of blackspot!

ART... choices choices

Hmmmm, do we look at the work of Anida Yoeu Ali, Connie Sabo, Jerry Whitehead or maybe Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun? Ya, let’s look at Lawrence Paul’s work. Yuxweluptun, a mouthful of a last name, and hardly anyone pronounces it correctly is a masterful painter and an exciting contemporary artist. He busted the glass ceiling for young first nations artists to play in the field of contemporary art: ie. Sonny Assu, Brian Jungen, Charlene Vickers etc. Here are a few photos of the drawings collected over the years — couldn’t afford his paintings for sure but delighted to have these ink and pen drawings. True hand of the artist!!

The above catalogs and images are part of the story of this artist’s work entering my life. The catalogs are worth the read to get insight into LPY’s work and the Salmon Head is one of the first pieces that came into my collection; it was a post-Grunt Gallery sell out fundraiser work commissioned. The last piece is a forest spirit that is one of the later pieces that entered my world.

LPY, when I first learnt about him, was being referred to as “The Angry Inidan” so immediately I was intrigued. Hmmm, who is this artist and what is he angry about? I am indebted to my time at the Vancouver Art Gallery for this is where I learnt, what I should have in school. It was at the VAG that I learnt of the atrocities endured by the first nation people here in Canada and began to understand why LPY was angry.

Fortunate enough to hear him speak I found I was not offended by what was often perceived as very direct unapologetic harsh language directed at the English, the colonizers and pretty much any one none Indigenous. My Croatian background prepared me for direct harsh language so I looked beyond that to try to understand what he was saying. I figured it was kind of a performance piece that went with his work. LPY bravely paved the way for contemporary artists who were using their Indigenous vocabulary and cohort experience to blast the world with reality. Wow, this guy is for me!!

I did not anticipate ever being able to afford his work until I met Chantelle from Frame of Mind, next to the Grunt Gallery. She showed me a drawing by LPY, she had suggested he do to make his work more accessible to the everyman, it was exquisite. I was with Mom at her framing shop when she showed me a tree he had drawn. I loved it and so did Mom — when I looked at it the thought crossed my mind that the tree was pregnant, little did I know that later I would discover sure enough his partner was actually pregnant with their to be daughter. It was expensive, as a new collector I thought it was at any rate. To purchase it for myself was “too much” BUT to buy it as a gift for my mother, well that was a different story. hahaha I was going down the collecting rabbit hole. Long story short I bought it and after that felt well if Mom has one well then I should too. That just grew and here are the results.

As you can see the Pregnant tree is not in this mix, if you ask real nice I might just give you a personal tour to see her. However, here you have Porcupine trees, Salomon eye divided tree, Old growth mama tree and Presence among the shadow and cloud tree — these are all named by me. My plan has been to drag Lawrence over to ask for his insight into the drawings but it just hasn’t happened yet so you’ll have to settle for my titles until then.

I’m grateful to have them and share them with you. These trees, like ones in nature, just keep giving!! Please look up Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun and broaden your world. I look forward to your sharing what you’ve found fascinating about him and/or his work. To a gem of a human being living on the planet with us!! Cheers!!