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MOTIF OF ONE AND MANY – installation nearly complete
Installation of Motif of One and Many at the Richmond City Centre Community Centre.
Motif of One And Many is nearing final completion at the Richmond City Community Centre. Many thanks to everyone involved – the floor looks amazing! The City Centre Community Centre in Richmond, BC. is due to open in September 2015.
STORYTELLING – mini maquette looking good
IMu Chan holding the MDF Mini Maquette
Rebecca and IMu made this mini maquette of one of the “Two Sisters” before STORYTELLING goes to final production. It is exciting to see a 3D preview! The finished STORYTELLING sculptures will be 62″ tall and fabricated from cut aluminum.
WHERENESS – erratic movement
Five thousand years ago a huge glacier, a mile thick covered what is now Vancouver, BC.
As this massive ice sheet flowed down the Fraser Valley and across the Lower Mainland, it pushed and crushed mountains of rock in its path. When the giant ice sheet receded back up into the mountains at the end of the last Ice Age it deposited millions of large boulders in its wake.
These glacial erratics remain scattered all over Vancouver, usually buried below the city. As Vancouver grows and the land is developed and redeveloped these ancient boulders are exposed by excavation and removed, once again setting them in motion.
Wikipedia: Cairn
On 01, Nov 2014 | In Inspiration, Place, Research | By Admin
A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones. The word cairn comes from the Scottish Gaelic: càrn (plural càirn).
Inuksuit in northern Canada were markers used for wayfinding and to locate caches of food or other stores.
A cairn to mark a mountain summit in Graubünden, Switzerland.
Cairns are used as trail markers in many parts of the world, in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, as well as in barren deserts and tundra. They vary in size from small stone markers to entire artificial hills, and in complexity from loose conical rock piles to delicately balanced sculptures and elaborate feats of megalithic engineering. Cairns may be painted or otherwise decorated, whether for increased visibility or for religious reasons. An ancient example is the inuksuk (plural inuksuit), used by the Inuit, Inupiat, Kalaallit, Yupik, and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America. These structures are found from Alaska to Greenland. This region, above the Arctic Circle, is dominated by the tundra biome and has areas with few natural landmarks.
In modern times, cairns are often erected as landmarks, a use they have had since ancient times; but, since prehistory, they have also been built for a variety of other reasons, such as burial monuments and for defence and hunting, as well as ceremonial, astronomical, and other purposes.
Cantharellus formosus – a social network
On 01, Sep 2014 | In Inspiration, Place, Research | By Admin
Pacific Chanterelle Mushrooms
Cantharellus formosus is a mycelium commonly known as the Pacific Golden Chanterelle mushroom and is native to the Pacific Northwest. The popular edible mushrooms are the fruiting bodies that form on nodes of much larger mycelium organisms that live in the soil and criss-cross the region in vast networks.
The Pacific Golden Chanterelle, like other fungi, are ancient forms of life. Pacific Golden Chanterelle share an intimate and symbiotic relationship with the West Coast’s conifer forests and especially the mighty Western Cedar. These two very different species support each other in a mutually beneficial way at a cellular level, giving and taking important resources that lie beyond each other’s reach.
Symbiotic relationship between conifer trees and Cantharellus formosus
The Pacific Golden Chanterelle is fed by, and in return feeds, the conifers while actively supporting its community, helping to support soil structure, regulate moisture content and recover nutrients from decomposition. The Pacific Golden Chanterelle lives off the land with its amazing web of branching, connecting hyphae and in doing so strengthens the surrounding landscape.
Conifer forests once fully covered Burnaby, BC and as early as 5000 years ago this area was the foraging and hunting territory for native aboriginal societies. The Pacific Golden Chanterelle featured in the diets of Coastal First Nations and they remain popular delicacies in locally sourced cuisine today.
Pacific Golden Chanterelle mushrooms still appear in local forests from July to December and are identified by their orangy-yellow colour, meaty texture and funnel-shape. On the underside of the smooth cap, the mushroom has gill-like ridges that run down onto its stipe, which tapers down seamlessly from the cap. The false gills often have a pinkish hue. Chanterelles have a mild, sweet odor, are very high in Vitamin D, Iron, Copper, and Niacin. It is interesting to note that Vitamin D is especially important to humans who live in places that can have low-light conditions.
Vancouver Networks
Since Settler times the landscape around Burnaby’s Metrotown has been transformed and today it is a busy urban centre and hub for transit and retail. Maps of Metrotown show how it is connected to its neighboring cities and communities by a network of roads, including the historic Kingsway, the Skytrain as well as many bus routes and cycle networks. More detailed maps indicate an additionally complex web of power lines, water lines, and communication networks that interconnect and support city life like a giant hidden organism.
Each pathway and connection provides an opportunity for social interaction and the sharing of ideas. Mycelium like Cantharellus formosus can be understood as an organic metaphor for the interconnected social networks that bind modern urban communities such as Burnaby’s Metrotown area together – each part connected to the next.
Lost Salmon Streams of Vancouver
On 01, Aug 2014 | In Inspiration, Place, Research | By Admin
Pacific Salmon once thrived in the many creeks and streams that flow through the area now known as Vancouver. This iconic species connects the land, water, people and animals and has always been an integral part of the life and culture of the people of Canada’s West Coast. Legends tell us of the determination and persistence of the Salmon and how they serve as symbols of abundance, wealth, prosperity, dependability and renewal. Facing the threat of extinction the Pacific Salmon were formally designated BC’s official fish in 2013.
Pacific Salmon – Official Fish of British Columbia
Brewery Creek, one of Vancouver’s most important creeks, once flowed openly from what is now 41st Avenue down St. George Street and into False Creek along with dozens of other nearby creeks and streams. It was named Brewery Creek by settlers because it provided water and energy to a number of small breweries established along its banks around the turn of the 20th century.
Waterfall on Heather St at 9th Avenue c.1909
A working-class neighbourhood grew around these breweries and factories at Main St and Kingsway. Connected to downtown Vancouver by new streetcar routes, ‘Mount Pleasant’ became Vancouver’s first suburb. By the 1950s many of the smaller breweries along Brewery Creek had been bought out by larger companies and relocated elsewhere. The creek, and many others like it, were thought to be no longer important and as the area developed for residential and commercial use the creeks and streams were covered or filled and eventually built on top of.
View of Vancouver from Mt. Pleasant c.1892
Vancouver’s impressive annual rainfall (1153.1 mm) however, still drains through this entire watershed. Although the ‘lost’ streams are mostly hidden from view, they are definitely still present, diverted below the surface of the city in culverts and pipes, many of which follow the course of the original streams.
‘Daylighted’ stream at Ontario Street and 1st Avenue
Richmond Barn Owl Nestboxes
On 01, Jul 2014 | In Inspiration, Place, Research | By Admin
Garden City Lands. Richmond, BC.
The 55.2 hectares (136.5 acres) Garden City Lands, located between Westminster Highway, Alderbridge Way, Garden City Way and No. 4 Road, is within Vancouver’s protected Agricultural Land Reserve and plays a crucial role as a wildlife refuge in the City of Richmond. The green spaces like is an incredible amenity for the people of Richmond and is also a vital habitat and hunting ground for several rare or threatened species including the Barn Owl.
Barn Owl
Barn Owls can and will cohabit with other owls, bats and small birds like doves and sparrows. Barn Owls prefer quiet cavities to nest or roost either in trees or tall structures with multiple openings. They easily take to nest boxes placed on poles or mounted on modern barns as long as the box is at least 3-4 m above the ground and safely out of reach from raccoons and other predators. Once Barn Owls discover a nest box it will normally be used every year.
spacemakeplace – concept rendering
Research shows that even a single nest box can mean survival for local Barn Owls and can help increase threatened populations significantly. The Richmond Nature Park, located only a short distance from the Garden City Lands, manages a Barn Owl nest box program with seven nest boxes installed around Richmond on behalf of the City. The three nest boxes located at Terra Nova Rural Park all reared young in 2014!
There is potential for at least one more Barn Owl nest box at Terra Nova and several other suitable locations have been identified around Richmond and earmarked for funding when it becomes available.
The Two Sisters
On 25, May 2014 | In Inspiration, Place, Research | By Admin
Chief Mathias Joe Capilano
Chief Mathias Joe (1854 – 1910) was a great Squamish chief who was known as a powerful orator and renowned storyteller who fought hard to defend the legacy of his people and culture.
Ch’ich’iyúy Elxwíkn’
Like many of his stories, the tale of ‘The Two Sisters’ is deeply rooted in the local land of North Vancouver and the Capliano area and has an important message of reconciliation, sharing and peace. ‘The Two Sisters’ tells of how the two iconic peaks, now known as ‘The Lions’ came to stand over the what has become Vancouver.
E. Pauline Johnson
Also known as Chief Joe and Capiliano Joe, this incredible man once travelled all the way to London, England to address King Edward directly about settling land claims in British Columbia. It was while he was in England that he met the Canadian writer Pauline Johnson. Johnson, of Mowhawk and English decent, spent her last years living in Vancouver and recording the amazing tales told by her friend Chief Mathias Joe.
Legends of Vancouver
In 1911 some of these stories, including ‘The Two Sisters’ were published in her book Legends of Vancouver. Johnson helped share these local legends with the English speaking public and now serve to remind Vancouver’s newer inhabitants of the area’s long and proud history.
According to the legend, Vancouver’s twin peaks, now commonly known as ‘The Lions’ were originally named Ch’ich’iyúy Elxwíkn’ (the Twin Sisters) long ago by a very powerful man known as the Great Tyee of the Caplianos. The Great Tyee ruled over the Capilano Canyon area and was a formidable warrior leader who prided himself on always winning battles against the neighbouring tribes. He had two beautiful daughters who were reaching the age at which it was customary to hold a great celebration in honour of their womanhood. The Great Tyee loved his daughters very much and upon their birthday he told them they could have anything that they wished for. The girls gave the offer careful consideration and decided to ask their father to invite the all the tribes that he was presently at war with to attend the upcoming celebration as a gift of peace. Because the Great Tyee was a man of his word he sent out an invitation across the land and sea to welcome all local tribes to a fabulous feast and joyous celebration. Vast quantities of salmon and olallieberries were served and there were many days and nights of happy singing and dancing.
The Two Sisters
After the celebration was over, hostile war songs ceased and a great and lasting brotherhood was sealed between the warring tribes. The daughters brought long-lasting peace to the area and the Great Tyee made them immortal by setting their memory forever in a high place in the mountains to watch over the Pacific Coast and the Caplilano Canyon.
Frei Otto – form follows nature
On 25, Feb 2014 | In Inspiration | By Admin
The article “Frei Otto – form follows nature” was published in the online version of the German DETAIL magazine to announce an exhibition held in Innsbruck from Jan-Mar 2013.
„Das ästhetische Element kann man nicht direkt planen. Eine ästhetische Form steht am Ende eines Prozesses. Allein mit dem Willen zur Schönheit wird man sie nicht erreichen. Wenn wir ehrlich gearbeitet haben, bekommen wir sie manchmal geschenkt.“ (Frei Otto)
Translated by Google:
“The aesthetic element cannot be planned directly. An aesthetic is at the end of a process. Alone with the desire for beauty you will not reach them. If we have worked honestly, we get them sometimes bestowed.” ( Frei Otto )
KIOSK: Launch Thursday July 11 6-8pm
The Burnaby Art Gallery is pleased to announce KIOSK, an installation at Civic Square, Bob Prittie Library, Metrotown that will play host to a series of unique public art projects this summer. Designed by artist/designer Rebecca Bayer to evoke the form of an information booth, the structure will be the base for a series of projects that launch from the form and function of a kiosk.
Hadden Park Field House
Location: Hadden Park. Kitsilano, Vancouver, BC.
Before the Vancouver Parks Board converted the Hadden Park Field House into an artist studio we had the opportunity to photograph the abandoned residence of the former grounds keeper.
After a three month renovation the Hadden Park Field House will be home to the Ten Fifteen Maple artist collective. For the next two years Ten Fifteen Maple will use the space for public events and activities
