Eco Workshop

(this piece is called “The Heart is Everywhere”)

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Join me for an “Eco Workshop” – I’m giving a Glass-on-glass mosaic demo
Monday April 29 7 – 8:30 p.m. $18
Register April 2 at Monterey Rec Centre. http://oakbay.ca/parks-recreation/facilities-rentals/recreation-centres/monterey-recreation-centre

More info about my process is here:
http://glass-on-glass.ning.com

Elizabeth at Point no Point

Deryk’s new painting.

I love how he has captured the way the indoors and the outdoors can sometimes blend into one and I also love how he has shown how comfy it can be on a crisp winter day to sit near the fire and read.

See his website:
http://www.derykhouston.com

The Children’s International Peace and Harmony Statue

The Children’s International Peace and Harmony Statue

Finally – a bit of clear time to write a final post about the 2012 road trip that took us from Nova Scotia through to New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec, and then through about 20 states (Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon and Washington.) I said it in my first posting when I returned home, but I need to say it again: It Was The Trip Of A Lifetime! So many wonderful people….

Now — the thing that (perhaps) sums it all up….

We had long dreamed of a road trip across rural parts of America, but what made it a reality for us was the opportunity to personally collect a piece of sculpture that had been generously donated to Deryk’s Peace Sanctuary Sculpture Park in Northern BC. http://peacesanctuarysculpturepark.org/

The trip gave us a chance for both new learning and closure — things that would have been missed had we done the more obvious thing and had the work professionally shipped to its destination. We are extremely glad that we made the trip. Over the years we had made connections with people through email and phone calls, and this was our chance to meet them in person.

So, my earlier posting about our car – which took a lighthearted view at what was involved in getting the sculpture from Indiana to our home (it isn’t at its final location yet) – tells a bit of the story of just how we approached the physical part of the process.

But this posting (much more difficult to write) is to talk about the significance of art we encountered on our trip, especially the sculpture that we will eventually take to the northern part of BC.

How, you might ask, did a large bronze sculpture come to be donated from Laconia Indiana to eventually end up near Fort St John BC? It’s a long, complicated story that started well over ten years ago and began with our children’s book about peace (Echoes from the Square), a story that took place in the then war-devastated city of Sarajevo and featured a cellist whose music gave hope to that city. Our book connected us to a boy named Jason Crowe in Indiana whose journey throughout the project has been truly amazing. Jason worked to raise funds for a sculpture to be created by David Kocka – an artist he greatly admired and whose work, as you’ll see in these photos, has a very special spiritual, inspiring quality.

Jason and David visualized a bronze cellist playing in the square of a peaceful Sarajevo. Part of that dream came true – Sarajevo is now free from war. But there were roadblocks that prevented the sculpture from being realized in the form that Jason had originally wanted. So the sculpture was revisualized as a group of children, playing harmoniously and reaching to each other — “The Children’s International Peace and Harmony Statue”. Ultimately it was decided that the sculpture should stay in North America. It will be on display at the Prince George Art Gallery (BC) and then will eventually be installed at Deryk’s Peace Sanctuary Sculpture Park.

We feel privileged to have had the chance to get to know these people.

Jason is now a young man, and we know that the experience of promoting peace in this way has shown him many aspects of how people interact with each other. We are certain that a love of the arts will continue to be an important part of his life.

We are thrilled that the Peace Sanctuary Sculpture Park will be a showcase for the final result of Jason’s vision. I know that this post doesn’t convey the depth of effort here — the evolving ideas, conversations, challenges, love, frustration and the many many people involved over the years. Hopefully, the sculpture itself contains all of those things and when people see it, they will be able to form an understanding of what it represents.

Sculpture on roof, ready to drive home

David and his work

On David’s property

sculpture on David’s property

detail of a David Kocka sculpture (not sure of the title of this)

David Kocka sculpture: The Children’s International Peace and Harmony Statue

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October 24 – adding a quote I had forgotten to include in this post. When the conversation about art came round to the topic of fame, David Kocka said a wonderful thing — that he wanted to be a “celebrant, not a celebrity.”

I love that idea as the reason for making art. Art is a way to share the things we believe are worth celebrating about. I see that in David’s work and thank him for it.

Amy’s Goddess Beads

Tutorial Video (Amy making her Goddess beads)

Watch for her book “The Goddess Journey” – soon to be available via Blurb.

Vedran performs again in Sarajevo

Vedran Smailovic had not performed in his hometown of Sarajevo for twenty years.

Yesterday, April 5, marked the 20th anniversary of the shelling of that city and Vedran returned to play his cello again.

Cellist of Sarajevo, Vedran Smailović from Marcel van der Steen on Vimeo.

Here’s a news article about the event.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/cellist-sarajevo-plays-again-mark-anniversary-shelling-city-172552540–spt.html

I have always viewed Vedran’s actions during the siege as an example of the power of the arts to give people hope. It’s about picking up the pieces and rebuilding and it’s a perfect message to think of once again at Easter. Springtime is a new beginning.

(Above is a video of me reading my book about Vedran Smailovic: “Echoes from the Square” with artwork by my husband, Deryk Houston)

Deryk Houston’s Art Exhibition

My husband, Deryk Houston, is an artist.  At the moment he has an exhibition of paintings at Eclectic Gallery on Oak Bay Avenue in Victoria, BC. You can view the work at the gallery till April 7, 2012.

Muskwa Kechika - a painting by Deryk Houston

The exhibition is full of colour and strong images, with paintings of local scenes, northern wilderness and memories from Deryk’s childhood. For me, these paintings speak of the joy of daily life. The beauty depicted in these works is why we strive for a world of peace — to allow the fields to continue to sustain us and the wilderness to continue to flourish.

Deryk is blogging with stories related to some of the paintings in the show. Here is a link to his first posting in that series, about his trip to the Muskwa Kechika (depicted in the painting above) in the BC’s North East: http://www.derykhouston.com/?p=1814

As of March 16, 2012, there are eight more stories to share:
http://www.derykhouston.com/?p=1886 Crows among the Seeds
http://www.derykhouston.com/?p=1875 Cider Apples
http://www.derykhouston.com/?p=1867 Next Generation
http://www.derykhouston.com/?p=1865 Beautiful Soft Folds
http://www.derykhouston.com/?p=1857 Gonzales Bay
http://www.derykhouston.com/?p=1847 Springtime Renewal
http://www.derykhouston.com/?p=1840 Shadows and Light
http://www.derykhouston.com/?p=1836 Blackbirds and Prayers

And a new story, guest blogged by me on March 25:
http://www.derykhouston.com/?p=1953 Blackbirds Rise Across the Fields

And here’s a little video I made showing Deryk painting at a nearby beach called Point no Point.

Just pictures

Eventually I’m going to post some detail about yesterday and last night’s session — but for now I’ll just post the highlights of week one pictures. I need to edit the order of these pictures and add captions. Maybe later

Sunday is a nice day to rest.

Here are the main themes of my week one photos:

The beauty of Pilchuck
Shops at Pilchuck
My cut-glue-and-coldwork fireplace
My casting project

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Oh, and here is a poem I found on my first day here:

Yoko Ono’s poem (found in a magazine in the amazing Pilchuck library)

“Spring passes
And one remembers one’s innocence
Summer passes
And one remembers one’s exuberance
Autumn passes
and one remembers one’s reverence
Winter passes
And one remembers one’s perseverance
There is a season that never passes
And that is the season of glass.”

Glass art and authentic learning

I had the opportunity to visit the Tacoma Museum of Glass (MOG) recently, and saw, among other wonderful things, a stunning exhibit called the Kids Design Glass Collection.  Young children (some as young as 5 years old) had been invited to submit drawings which were then transformed into exquisite glass art pieces by the professionals in the MOG hot shop. The kids were able to watch the production process and have input to the final product. A quote from the museum website: “As the designer, the child directs the artists as they make two sculptures—one for the child to take home and the other for MOG”. 

This is a real-life experience – one that I would consider to be authentic learning. Although hot glass is too dangerous for kids to work with directly, the kids were in control of how their designs were interpreted and they worked with the artists to solve design problems. The artists learned from the kids and the kids learned from the artists and they discovered new ideas together.

It was obviously a tremendous experience for the kids – the museum has documented the joy of kids and artists working together and there is an account by a child psychologist (Susan Linn) that describes how this project worked for the kids to build self-esteem as well as an interest in the arts. Dr. Linn is known for her work related to imaginative play in childhood (something she sees as having been  diminished in a commercialized era) and since this project is clearly based on the imagination of kids she is very supportive of it.

I believe technology (and glassmaking is a technology, just like computers, smartphones, videogames etc.) can either encourage or inhibit imagination/creativity. It all depends on how that technology is used. And an education system open to creativity is healthier than one that focuses on rote learning/standardized testing.

Educators can point to the Tacoma Glass project as an example of exploring boundaries of authentic learning. I’m guessing that the pairing kids and professionals in many domains could lead to equally fruitful results. How about having kids design outdoor sculptures to be built with local welders? Or park benches to be built in a nearby woodworking shop? Or a set design for the next professional theatre production in your community?

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news.newsmain/article/0/1/1591537/KPLU.Local.News/Kids.Design.Glass.Outside-the-Lines.Wil

http://blog.glassquarterly.com/2009/07/31/kids-take-over-the-tacoma-museum-of-glass-in-new-exhibit/

http://museumofglass.org/page.aspx?pid=445

and…..

I think the kid's work is influencing my own!

Artsurge – social media for exchange between artists and donors

Artsurge (on twitter as @artsurge) describes itself as “promoting philanthropic & creative exchange between artists and donors”. It’s an example of how social media can create productive connections between people who might never have found each other. In this case, those-in-the-arts-with-ideas-that-need-funding can make a presentation to be seen by those-who-have-resources-and-want-to-support-ideas-they-believe-in. It looks like some very fruitful alliances could emerge from this.

The concept has some elements of microlending http://wp.me/ptZn3-7L and there’s a directness that is very appealing. I’m sure many donors would prefer to support a specific project rather than a vague “arts organization”. And artists almost certainly prefer to know that a bureaucratic layer has been eliminated in making decisions about how donor dollars are spent.

Here’s the link:
http://www.artsurge.org/

If you know of similar projects, please share them with me.

One more post about the exhibition

Click on the image to see a slide show of work on display at Qualicum for the month of April 2011. The set up went very well

All That Heaven Allows (detail)

This glass-on-glass mosaic work incorporates recycled, slumped glass objects and will be on display at The Old School House in Qualicum BC (Canada) for the rest of April 2011.

The opening reception is April 6 starting at 7:00 pm.

http://www.theoldschoolhouse.org/