Algonquin

Kim and I just got back from Algonquin. We saw 4 otters, an osprey, a beaver, loons, and more in the wild. Kim and I also saw moose tracks, and owl pellets. I think I'd like to try back-packing in next summer. Kim has all the pictures.

My weekends start on Tuesdays

Today I rode my bike to the Mansion House to clean, then I went to the store to return a mismatched car adapter I bought for charging my new GPS unit. I bought the unit to help navigate the South Western Niagara Peninsula, with which I am less familiar. I did a 2 hour drive to get to Delhi this past Saturday, and was almost late because I mis-read my directions.

I went to the Strega to get lunch, and during tea Sophie from the Raging Grannies came in with a friend. We chatted for a while and her friend paid for everyone's lunch. Then we were off to the market and City Hall to see Rod Dowling's sculpture officially received by the Arts Committee and City Council.

September

Tuesday I went with Kim to Kleinburg to see Mary Pratt and Robert Bateman, who were both at the McMichael at the same time. I had no idea that Bateman had been to Tibet. In one of his books he also mentions using Zen in his art classes. I wonder if he is a Buddhist... He certainly exhibits (!) a lot of compassion for animals. Mary Pratt didn't have many paintings, but a Japanese artist had made numerous woodcuts of her paintings. This artist using so many blocks to make the pictures that from across the gallery, you might have mistaken the prints for real paintings.

Last night I saw some poetry at the Strega, the new home of the Grey Border series. I may need to find a new hangout, as I spend so much time at the Strega now. I got 2 CDs, including a new Fave: "Sarasvati Scapes, a Sound Opera" by Penn Kemp and Angela Hryniuk. There are a few tracks that feature Kiran Ahluwalia vocals. It's basically a travelogue told in verse form with chanting, music and sounds added. I stayed up late listening to it all the way through, and then again this morning getting ready for work.

Payment due

It's been two weeks since I finished my Art Camp at Brock, and they haven't sent me my pay yet, only money for art supplies. Tomorrow the money is due. Let's see what happens.

Another Elbows ?!?

An 8 year girl in my art class told me today (in a kid style helium voice) - "I was at a birthday party and there was a Mad Scientist who looked just like you and he had the same name as you." She was deadly serious. She didn't think we were the same person. In her world I bet there are loads of Elbowses who entertain children for a living.

Some pics of Ottawa

The bookstore that was open at 10 at night.
The Zen Meditation Centre on Brad's street.

My visit to Ottawa

My barely planned trip to Ottawa was better than I had expected.

It took a little planning to ensure my numerous employers all could do without me at the same time. The Mansion House is easy enough to clean in the summer, as most people go to Port Dalhousie to drink in the summer. However, after I'd scheduled time off at the Mansion, the S. C. E. N. E. Music Festival switched its schedule to coincide with my time off. The owners said "No problem" as I'd given them lots of notice. Good thing too, what with their new sponsor M-frikkin-TV!

My art camps and Mad Science were easy enough to schedule, so all I had to do was decide where to go. I chose to get round-trip VIA tickets to Ottawa.
I left the day after my birthday. There was a bit of tension the week before I left because the C. A. W. proposed a strike for the week I would be away, but they all came to some sort of agreement.

Kim had made macaroni and cheese for my birthday dinner, and she packed some leftovers for the trip. Major points scored there. I also brought my single cup drip coffee maker and a bag of coffee, as well as a thermos of cold mint tea, and a hot thermos of green tea with honey. I also packed fresh vegetables in wee plastic containers. My plan was to keep costs down. Some folks asked me if it wouldn't have been cheaper to drive - but you can't snack and read Harry Potter while driving on the 401. I drive all the time for Mad Science anyway.
I brought 4 bottles of vegan wine for my host as well. Brad is an old roommate, who now owns a mobile vegan cookie bakery in Ottawa. He paid for 2 bottles as an anniversary present for his girtlfriend. I got 2 varities they couldn't get in the liquor store. That's a bonus of living in the Wine Country.

Kim drove me in the morning after taking her daughter to rowing practice. The train ride was so smooth. I was shown how to operate the emergency exits in case of an emergency. You may now consider me an expert on the matter. Three quarters of the people on the train were also reading, but only 2 others were reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

The train arrived in Ottawa after stopping for an hour in Union Station. (I was shown how to operate the emergency exits a second time.) Brad was waiting at the station and took me for a ride in the van! He lives at the end of Daly near the river, so after taking the wine and luggage up to his apartment, we walked to Downtown ottawa.

One of the first things I noticed was a Zen Meditation Centre on the way. That boded well.
Brad walked me through the Market and the Arts Centres. He raises money for Arts Centres with an organization he created called World Beats and Eats. Everywhere was "Hey Brad". After a little walking tour he and I met up with Mike, another old roommie and after a beer, Brad had to bail. Something about getting up in the morning to bake cookies. Mike walked me to his apartment to meet Kayla, his lady, and then I walked back to Brad's. On the way, I found a bookstore on Rideau that was still open at 10 in the evening. I picked up 2 books, one on Basho and Zen, the other on Zen sesshin. I was totally impressed.


Thursday was all about walking to the Rideau locks under the Parliament Buildings, and the National Gallery. I bought a disposable camera at the Canal, so hopefully some of the pics turn out. The Gallery took hours as well. I have to go back. Dinner was at an Indian restaurant, and soooo good.

Friday I shopped the market for souvenirs, and then walked over the bridge to Gatineau and the Museum of Civilization. This time I had a vegetarian pizza and saw a display of slow motion martial arts called Dendo. The group clapped hands and chanted while the leader played a single string bow guitar thingy. Pairs of students would spar in the centre, doing rolling handstands, attempting to occupy their partners space. They passed the bowl around once while I was there.
I got some great stuff at the market - one stall was selling homemade funny fridge magnets, another was selling little sakyamuni statues, and another had fair trade goods from the Himalayas. I spent a good three hours there.

The trip home will be memorable if only for the other people on the trains. The seats in front of me were filled with a family from Northern Alberta. A young girl, nine-ish, was playing cat's cradle and decided that another young girl, nine-ish, and down the aisle also needed to learn. That family seemed to be Lebanese. The Lebanese mother seemed so thrilled to have this to do with her daughter. Even the father got involved. When we had the stopover at Union Station, the Alberta Family had continued on their journey, but the Lebanese family stayed in my line. The Lebanese daughter was working on teaching her 6-7 year old brother to play.

New Chalk Drawings

Now at the Mansion House

Ottawa, here I come

I bought train tickets today. I leave St. Catharines at 7 am on July 25, (the day after my birthday), and arrive in Ottawa 13:59. I leave Ottawa on July 28 at 12:30, and will be back in St. Catharines at 19:19. The plan is to crash at Brad's.
I hope to see the National Gallery, and maybe the Museum of Civilization. I'd also like to just wander around Hull and Ottawa to see where the good bookstores are. Any hints would be appreciated.

Summer camp

Cartoon Capers was perfect. The kids love their quills - I let the student helper hand them out. Every quill was taped to the wall next to the kids' cartoons on the walls, so when the parents came to see the show, they could tell what the kids used to make their images. That was the kids' idea. The kids were so obviously cherishing them. It was like they were holding teddy bears.

I got a treasure as a parting gift from one young lady, a drinking glass she had etched herself, with my name, and the date in Chinese. Not my real name, but Elbows. I am still thrilled.

All the comic books went home with them. We came up with a few new ideas which worked well, and I will be integrating them into future classes. The kids and parents got tips for maintaining and repairing their quills. I even made them copy a diagram into their folders so they wouldn't forget.

I'm getting a lot of gifts lately.

Kim gave me a CD today - "Kerouac - kicks joy darkness" a compilation from 1997 I never knew existed. I haven't listened to it yet, but it looks like Kerouac's words performed by the likes of Warren Zevon, Lydia Lunch, Michael Stipe, Hunter S. Thompson, Joe Strummer, Allen Ginsberg, Steven Tyler, Johnny Depp, patti Smith, Jeff Buckley, Eddie Vedder, Juliana Hatfield and John Cale, and more. Yumpin' Yiminy! What a collection of people. Lots of points for Kim!

We were at the Merchant Ale House to meet Pascal just before the Grey Borders Poetry night (and $5 dinner). Kim left to pick up a daughter, and Pascal left to go see "Sicko" - very worthy endeavors, of course. However, I got to see Max Middle perform some soundscape poetry. They're a trio from Ottawa that compose poetry both as individuals as well as for group performance. The three read some works simultaneously. I hadn't seen anything like it until now. And I am also proud to say I have seen my first performance of 3:44 - they did it right there beside the beer vats. My John Cage cherry is busted. I'd go see Max Middle again. I'll look for them in Ottawa when I get there in 2 weeks.

I've just realized that I can listen to my new CD while I type.

The insert contains a pile of Kerouac's actual texts, as well as a few images. The 1st track is a tribute to Jack Kerouac, by a band called Morphine. There's unpublished stuff here too by J. K.

The kids in my class at Rodman Hall today were working hardest and happiest with the goose quill pens I made for them. I am so happy about that, I'll be making pens like that every year.

Niagara Magazine

I'm in an article by Niagara Magazine that includes people like Richard B. Wright and Walter Ostanek! That's a picture of me at the Strega with some pictures I drew for the Colouring Books for Seniors, for Bill Liddell.

Does this guy ever work?

This morning I met with the Community Liaison Officers from the Niagara Regional Police, to talk about their new colouring book. I made 2 offers. One is based on me doing the drawings, composing them with text, formatting them for the page, and finally turning them into electronic files. The other was based on me just doing the drawings. They'll get back to me.

I took all the Mad Science gear back to the lab after a coffee, and hung out there for a bit. It's nice to hang out with April. I brought her some bean salad from Wright Brothers Market. I told her about my nightmare birthday party. I also found my new book of Zen poetry that had been lost in the car(nage) seats under all the Mad Science gear.

On Sunday, Kim took me to find a place she new where the Canada Geese go to molt, so I could get loads of feathers to make quills for summer cartooning camp. We watched a movie at her place while the feathers soaked in some bleach. I picked up a collection of short stories by Roauld Dahl for her daughters - not kid stories, but not adult stories either. Today, I walked from my house to meet Kim at the Fine Grind, but stopped at Serendipity on Duke on the way picked up some turquoise beads to string into a mala. (Tomorrow is the Karmapa's birthday.)

Tonight I went to the NAC for a Selections Committee meeting. That is the way to see all the proposal submissions from all the artists that want to have a show in the Main Space. Now, even the Members' Space requires approval from a Selections Committee. So many people were getting memberships for the sole purpose of having a show that the NAC said "enough!" From 15 - 20 submissions. Perhaps only 1 - 3 proposals might be selected, and those selected depend quite a bit on the people that show up at the meeting. A different group may end up selecting a completely different artist. That's why I like to go. I know there are lots of magazine articles, and websites, and galleries, but the Selection Process is different; it feels vital.

Quill Pen

Today I made a quill pen out of one of the goose feathers I found on the Niagara River on Sunday. I carved the tip into a nib. The curve of the feather points upwards, and the quill is used in a way that looks upside-down for someone like me who is used to a steel nib. I tried it out, and I can make italic lettering with it, just fine, thank you! Here is a poem, (from a book I just bought today from Hannelore Headley's): The Poetry of Zen, translated and edited by Sam Hamill &
J. P. Seaton.

With a bit more practice, I may have to use this quill more often!

Weekend review

I saw the Cuds on Friday night. Dan Brown from my University painting classes was there. So was a young lady with tattoos who told me she had seen me on the CBC. She pretended to measure my arms for shirt sleeves for a while while talking to me. I forgot to tell her I was going to be in a magazine article soon too. For their last set, the band left the stage and played sotto for us right next to the serving area. What a treat!

The Art of Peace Festival on Saturday was a success. Lots of people were in the audience to see Crooked Trail, a band from Ridgeway. They were a family for the most part, and I liked seeing people having fun like that on stage. I'd go see them again. Anthony Sweet filled in for a Speak Your Peace segment. I noticed right away that he was singing into mthe mike rather than shouting into it, and when he was done I told him I appreciated it. He handed me a CD. His myspace is: http://www.myspace.com/anthonybesweet . He has a bit of a Radiohead thing going; it's good. Another art instructor from Rodman Hall was in the white tent making a quilt with the kids, but the sheet I was reading said she was making a mural with bells and whistles. I got the gears from her for a while. She even called me her nemesis. I tried to explain but she would have none of it. I may be having an interesting summer.

June-Etta Chenard was there with the Quakers making T-shirts with people that read: War is not the answer. Mine is orange. I feel happy every time I see June-Etta.

Sunday I met with my teaching partner at the Strega (which was closed for Fathers' day) to plan out 1st week of camp at Carousel Players. Our theme is going to be boats! We've both lived in Winnipeg, and we both loved going to the Museum of Man and Nature. One of our inspirations is going to be the Nonesuch - a replica of a sailing ship in a harbout built right in the museum that made a big impression on both of us.

Sunday night was BBQ burgers at dad's with the brothers. Dad passed around some of gramps' fishing lures, then I drove Darcy and Danny out to a possible new location for a geo-cache. Darcy seems to like my suggestion. I won't spoil his fun by giving it away here. Then I had a horrible sleep. I'm blaming the burgers. There was nothing wrong with them, but I hadn't eaten any meat for a month.

Colouring book news

Niagara Magazine took my picture today at the Strega. I put a few of my colouring book pictures on the table. The photographer brought his kids, and they were playing with the 2 balloons by the counter that had been there since the 6th anniversary party in April. I told the kids they could take the balloons with them.
Yesterday I bought a laundry basket full of vintage magazines for $20 at the flea market. I'll use them for subject material for the colouring books for seniors. Last week I found a 1959 Fort Lauderdale High School year book. It has great images for the colouring book as well.

Art of Peace Festival

I met with Elizabeth Chitty today for the Art of Peace Festival. There will be bands, art activities and speeches, all about art. Elizabeth asked me to emcee 2 years ago and I've been doing it ever since.

Steve Saturn set off a smoke alarm in Port Colborne today, using the cotton candy machine. What an albatross that thing is. Every one of us dreads carrying the thing up the stairs to classrooms because there are so many large pieces. The thing sends wisps of sugar into the air, and sometimes the smoke detectors can't distinguish sugar from smoke. All the kids and all the staff had to leave the building until the firemen let us back in. Then I had to finish off my class with indoor fireworks!

Normally on Monday nights I would have been meditating with my kagyu group. We have switched to Sundays now, so Fred can continue teaching without being miserable right after a chemo session. Pascal and his daughter came out for the first time yesterday. Pascal has a wee bag of sand from a Tibetan mandala made in Buffalo during the Dalai Lama's last visit, and he was looking for a group to share with him when he releases it's blessing into some running water. We might try to get some people together at the end of the Peace Festival. Or, not.

I've included a couple of pen drawings I did last night in Port Dalhouisie. Ron and I got caught up over a couple of pints. I kind of like the inky blots. So much visual culture is so slick lately. I really like the proof of a thing being made by a hand. There were drawn on the inside of a beer ad thingy that I had to open up to scan. It was a challenge to draw on the inside of this triangle table display thing. The humidity in the air made the glue come apart easily for scanning.

Ephemera

cricket chirping sound?
cloudless starless night-time sky
change in my pocket!

I sat with George Langbroek, June-Etta Chenard, and 2 guys named Mike at the Open Mic at Strega. We discussed how it felt like a party in Quebec, with young ladies playing HeadBanz, variously aged musicians on stage, a chatting couple in the back with a baby (guess who!), and a single fellow having dinner and a cookie, the staff behind scenes, and ourselves. The cross generational party is rare around here it seems. Folks like to sort themselves out according to age, class, gender, and hobbies. There was a familial mix at the Strega, and it was comfortable for us. Like at the cottage, no one really felt it was necessary to impose ourselves on each others' fun, but everyone acknowledged each other throughout the evening with smiles. Not flirty - just pleasantly.

Tomorrow, Suitcase In Point will install their work for the Art Under Glass at the Strega. I'm excited. I'm hoping for old posters, handbills, programs, photos, whatever ephemera they've generated as a theatre company over the years. I used to skip NAC events to go see SIP Cabarets at the Merchant Ale House (when I was el Presidente no less).

Colouring books

I've just finished the artwork for a special colouring book commission. The focus is pretty much on nostalgia, and I had a lot of fun doing the work. People who've known me for a while may have had a chance to go out to Port Colborne to see my Grandmother. (That's where I got my cat, Punk Rock Girl.) My grandmother was a collector to put other pack rats to shame. So I was very comfortable looking at lots of the old imagery I needed to assemble the book. I tried to capture an old-timey feel to the works as well, by using brush and ink, rather than markers or pens. The cool thing is, I had just received the smaller brushes I used so extensively from Virginia. She'd just returned from Korea, so these things were the real deal. When I had brought the work to the Strega for my meeting with my client, June-Etta spotted me, and gave me some similar brushes from her own collection. I have also been using some of these brushes lately in my Wednesday night art classes. These gifts are truly appreciated. I may also be getting another commission soon from another client. Let's all cross ourfingers and eat our vegetables folks!

On another note, I was on CBC on the 14th! I've heard about it from someone different every day since then exccept for Sunday, when I went into hiding to work on the colouring book pictures! Sometime around the 9th, a very busy day, I had fired off an email to the CBC about the 7 Wonders of Canada, and they liked my idea enough to send out a camera crew to film me quoting myself. My brother taped it, but I doubt I can post video tape at this point.

Tomorrow I am supposed to be photographed for an article in Niagara Magazine regarding the Art Under Glass series. Let's hope I don't melt in the heat before the cameras arrive. I got a decent sunburn out in the cornfield for the CBC, but I've recovered. One of Ann's cold iced teas ought to take care of me.

Piles of Art

Art jobs done today

1. Old style hockey goalie making a skate save on the chalkboard at the Mansion House
2. Found 1961 Amy Vanderbilt cookbook illustrated by Andrew Warhol
3. Pcked up drawing pads, India Ink, and block printing ink
4. Corresponded with Colouring Book Producer
5. Picked up lead for Police colouring book
6. Described summer courses at Rodman Hall
7. Updated Art Under Glass listing with the Arts Council
8. Taught drawing class at Strega using Korean ink brushes given to me by Virginia Parker
9. Wrote renku with Stacey

spring haiku

dandelion smell
I never noticed before
thirty seven years

pear blossoms smell like dead fish
Hannah is wasting the soap

soap to wash my hands
covered in India Ink
after my art class

ink covered Hannah body
read the writing on your wall

high school hallway wall
stink covered teenage bodies
don't let them moon you

remembering my first drink
Greg T.'s dad's peppermint schnapps

let me smell your breath
when you try to sneak in late
sweeping the sidewalk

climbing to my bedroom sill
but the front door was unlocked

this invitation
disregarded by my cat
astonishes me

you should rub it in catnip
growing in my mother's yard

leaping from windows
a privilige she has lost
catnip and birds gone

L. Boese & Stacey Gray

Start-up Show

The kids were so loud today at the Mad Science start-up show I ended up miming part of the show for 10 minutes!

Chalk Drawings

The boys at the Mansion House have asked me to do some chalk drawings for them on the walls. I've added some bubble hockey tips, and a few bad jokes. One of my favourites is "Tip Bartenders, Not Cows!" I am also fond of "The 5 second rule doesn't apply to beer, so learn how to hold your liquor!" Today I drew a picture of Erick Von Erick and the Raving Psychos in the back bar. If anyone gets a decent picture of any of these, I'd appreciate it, and I will post them, if you send them to me!

Living Things Lesson Plan Proposal

First visit:

Science, Living Things

Prior to 1st visit, students will learn about eggs

1st visit - Larva

materials: Plasticine, maybe some pipe cleaners, digestible cookies

warm up
-students will be led in a physical warm up, on the floor.
-Students will crawl around on the floor, without using hands or feet, just wiggling
-students will attempt to eat digestible cookies without their fingers or hands or teeth!
(I will bring digestible cookies, and we can place them on the students' desks for them)
-students will make larva from plasticine to be wrapped with paper mache in the following week
The larvae will be built around a pipe cleaner so we can hang the pupae from a branch for a week.
students will store the larva for a week

2nd visit

materials: paper mache, leaves, maybe paint
vocabulary: camouflage, larvae, pupae, chrysalis

- we will coat the larva with a mixture of glue and paper mush, and let dry over the week. We may even be able to hang them like ornaments from a tree branch if I can find one. We can colour the paper mash, or the kids can include a layer of leaves on the outer coating. we can collect the leaves before I arrive.

3rd week

making the butterflies

materials: paper, crayons, pencils
we will do a wax transfer to ensure symmetry
each student will draw half a butterfly on a page, designed to be camouflaged in the room.
for instance, a butterfly may have book titles as its pattern. then the opposite side of the page will be covered in wax crayon. Fold the paper in half and trace the pattern to get the symmetrical pattern. Colour in. We can pull the pipe cleaners from the dried up chrysalis and attach the wings to them, and attach the butterflies to the branch.

earth day

Went down into the Niagara Gorge with Stacey Gray today, all loaded up with lots of plastic bags so we could collect garbage. The place was infested with rock climbers, everywhere. We got a fullish bag to take out, but were trumped by a couple who were leaving just as we were arriving, with 2 ginormous clear plastic bags stuffed like cannoli with trash. I guess they didn't know we were coming. On our way out we passes a unicyclist (!) on his way down. He wasn't carrying the unicycle. He was riding it.
Then we went to a cooking class led by Greg Willis at the Superstore. We didn't learn much but ate some great food made by a young lady preparing for some sort of competition on Tuesday. One of the other guests, John, a jazz pianist, had just been in the gorge while we were there, and saw the same stuff we did! He also knows the fellow I'd met at Christina's yesterday: John Paytash, the photographer.

Another busy day

I started the day off with blueberry pancakes and an egg at Christina's. The fellow at the next booth over was reading an interesting looking book about nutrition, so I asked if I could look at it when his order came. Then George Doros walked in and we yakked a bit. the fellow in the next booth heard all the art talk and told me that he is a professional photographer, and that his son wants to go to OCAD, and we had the same high school art teachers, and he is a vegetarian. I'm kinda glad to be so gregarious! I told him to go check out the NAC Garage sale.

The kids in my painting class at Rodman have one week left. I told them that they were making grisaille, and what that meant. They also started a new colour exercise. Several of the girls' parents are teachers, and the girls were surprised to hear that I am a 'teacher' as well. Apparantly I am not like a real teacher to them. I'll be processing that for a while.

I got some pics posted on the facebook site from the Rodman Hall March Break Art Camp, and there are 2 or 3 here now too.

The Mansion House has asked me to fill up some of their chalk boards, so I have been putting illustrated advice up for the bubble hockey game, and a few bad jokes. For instance, there's a picture of a spilled beer with the caption : "The 5 second rule doesn't count for beer, so learn how to hold your liquor!" And my fave: "Tip bartenders, not cows!" There's a drawing of a toppled Holstein next to it. I'll post a pic or two as they show up.

"You did all that?"

The girls in my art class at Rodman are making some great pictures, but it always feels like they have to pack up and leave just as soon as they get started. One girl came late because she had been to a birthday party - she didn't want to miss the last half hour of class if she didn't have to! They are making monochrome still life pictures of my knick-knacks. When they are done they will test by cutting holes into the centres of the squares in their scales, and match up the tones to see if they have at least 8 different values. Afterwards, as a surprise, I'm going to let them put a colour wash over the monochrome to give their pictures a full rainbow of hues.
Then it was off to April's birthday. I think the best way to describe her would be my long lost niece. I had my mom meet me there, and we had a big reunion with Barb and Jen and Roger. What a treat! I'm sure there will be pictures. I understand faces were hurting from laughing so much at my show.
Then dinner at Strega with mom, and off to see the Niagara Dance Company perform at the Old Courthouse Theatre. Saw Kim's Chair dance and liked it a lot. All the performances were good. I really felt good seeing an artform that hadn't been mediated by a glowing bluish square screen.
Afterwards I talked with Anita about the upcoming Thinner Smarter Younger Show at the Fine Grind.

Learning Through The Arts

Grade 3 students are studying math, language, and social studies. For math they are studying geometry: flips, turns and rotations. For language: retelling stories and distinguishing between nouns and verbs. For Social Studies: pioneers.
Today I brought in a set of steer horns from my Grandmother, a couple of books, and some of my stone carvings. I told them a little about growing up on a farm, and how my grand parents and great grandparents had to do lots of things for themselves. "There was no Avondale or Giant Tiger around if you ran out of stuff!"
I had found a book about pioneers at the Lock 3 Museum. All the library had were books about contemporary farmers and Inuit. I imagine everyone had scooped up the books about pioneers. The museum was very gracious and had pre-selected a story book with loads of nouns, as per my request. The kids listened for nouns and yelled 'Ding!' whenever they heard a noun, which the teacher wrote on a small piece of paper to be put in a hat for later.
Then after pulling nouns from the tuque the students began drawing their pictures. Next week the plan is to start arranging the pictures on a large cloth sheet, to form patterns for a 'quilt'. The students' pictures will be flipped and turned to make a complex symmetrical pattern which they can colour in later.

haiku

My face is aching
Like winter in spring damn it
Gone to blow my nose

wet tissue trails behind me
tomorrow I'll taste my soup

I'm trying to think
as easy as drying rain
make it go away

drowning worms slither away
dewy writing on sidewalks

had a bath alone
I'd rather it a river
clean and smelling good

moonlight rinsing across me
go to sleep little bay bee

lullaby sweet dreams
twinkle twinkle little star
ever wonder why

from so far away star light
to see you to see me, comes

dreams of you so clear
dusty remains still decay
particles settle

not remembered in morning
nor forgotten when written

L. Boese & Stacey Gray

Haiku

moon flat as a plate
potatoes and tomatoes
from the fridge to stove

fresh ground pepper mill
by the garlic and noodles
my senses accute

downstairs water runs
music to accompany
two more senses left

sounds like John Coltrane
smells like skafrocubanjazz
no more senses left

L. Boese and Stacey Gray

Linda and Clint

Linda is installed in the Fine Grind, and Clint is in the Strega. I can't wait to hear what people think of Clint's watercolours and portraits. Actually, both shows are portraiture based. I never saw that coming! Below is a newsletter from Linda, and one of her paintings she made at one of the classes she teaches.


Paint in Newfoundland
with Linda Hankin who loves to paint the spirit of the land, sea, air, the night sky, fauna, floral, portraits and design elements of houses, shops and more!
for an art and outdoor holiday experience in Newfoundland
July 15-20, 2007
Join us in
an instructional on location painting experience.

You can meet Linda Hankin in Trinity, Newfoundland or book your flight and accommodations with Linda Hankin in co-operation with Travelwise.
“Art/Vacation Experience : July 15-20 2007
Plein Air” French means Open Air
We are taking registrations now for a seven day Plein Air Painting Course in Trinity, Newfoundland with Linda Hankin from the School of Ideas. Call for brochure at 905/382-3450 or e-mail schoolofideas@on.aibn.com. The painting workshop is for the artist who is willing to devote him or herself to a creative experience with other artists of similar intent. There is no regimentation. The workshop is conducted in an informal manner, as a group of friends, painting and sharing experiences in a supportive environment. We meet together as a group on a regular basis--two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon and then consultation during the day or discussion at night about work. Linda Hankin will be painting along side you and will be available on a one-to-one basis to any participants who desire further instruction or a consultation on the progress of their painting. Participants are free to work in any medium of their choosing, however careful consideration should be given to the medium’s portability and practicality.
based on 3 students $675. each
based on 4 students $500. each
based on 5 students $400. each
based on 6 students $335. each
based on 7 students $290. Each
Four star B&B, Campbell House, Trinity, Newfoundland:
tgow@trinity vacations.com



Air Fare:
WestJet $576.08
Jul 15 Dep Toronto 7:30 am Arr St. John's 11:59 am
Jul 22 Dep St. John's 12:40 pm Arr Toronto 2:37 pm

Westjet $554.88
Jul 15 Dep Toronto 7:30 am Arr St. John's 11:59 am
Jul 23 Dep St. John's 12:40 pm Arr Toronto 2:37 pm

Westjet $597.28
Jul 15 Dep Toronto 7:30 am Arr St. John's 11:59 am
Jul 20 Dep St. John's 12:40 pm Arr Toronto 2:37 pm

Westjet $543.22
Jul 15 Dep Hamilton 1:10 pm Arr Halifax 4:08 pm
Jul 15 Dep Hamilton 8:45 pm Arr St. John's 10:41 pm
Jul 20 Dep St. John's 1:40 pm Arr Halifax 2:47 pm
Jul 20 Dep Halifax 4:45 pm Arr Hamilton 5:58 pm

Westjet $543.22
Jul 15 Dep Hamilton 1:10 pm Arr Halifax 4:08 pm
Jul 15 Dep Hamilton 8:45 pm Arr St. John's 10:41 pm
Jul 23 Dep St. John's 1:40 pm Arr Halifax 2:47 pm
Jul 23 Dep Halifax 4:45 pm Arr Hamilton 5:58 pm

Accommodation:
www.trinityvacations.com

Still available 2 Bedroom – 2 Bathroom Vacation Home: Gover House. Sleeps 2, (3 or 4 double occupancy) Rate $1350.00 plus tax for 6 days. A full breakfast is included.
Additional accommodation nearby is available. Cost varies between $75 and $125 dollars per room/night Please, call or email for information.

Meals:
Lunch and Dinner is served daily in the Twine Loft and can be reserved on a daily basis.
Packed lunches can be ordered the night before.

Participants not staying at Campbell House, Gover House, Artisan Inn or Lighthouse View can purchase breakfast in the Twine Loft if they wish. Cost is $12.00 (This is a full breakfast).

The Cost of a 4-Course Dinner is $29.00 –$30.00. Reservations preferable.
A 4-night Dinner Package can be purchased by participants at a cost of $99.00 plus tax per person. This does not include alcohol, tax or gratuity. (July 17, 18, 19, 20).

Entertainment:
Monday July 16: “Mondays with Morgan”. Dinner and a show @ $45.00 Workshop Participants 20% discount.




Other Events and Entertainment in Trinity:

See events calendar http://www.trinityvacations.com/trinity/activities/eventscalendar.asp


Vehicle:
If you are traveling with Linda Hankin, the charge for the vehicle will be shared. A vehicle will be waiting for us at the St. John’s, Newfoundland airport.

Medical and Cancellation Insurance Extra.


You should take out comprehensive insurance so that you are covered not just for medical expenses, in case of sickness or accidents, but also for travel delays, loss of cash or personal items. This expense is extra.

I cannot accept responsibility for any aspect of your stay which I have no control.

All other trips within Newfoundland are extra.

Please sign




Director, Linda Hankin, School of Ideas
www.artschoolofideas.com
E-Mail: schoolofideas@on.aibn.com
Tel. #: 905-382-3450 (Canada)
Home address: 7378 Durliat Road, R.R.#4
Welland, Ontario. L3B 5N7



Call for more information at 905-382-3450

Circle Route

Walked from Port Robinson to Downtown Welland along the Circle Route Trail. Weather was bee-yoo-tee-full. Saw a flock of red winged blackbirds, a calling heron, a rabbit, gaggles of geese, and roosting turkeys in the tops of trees! Asked several people on the trail if this was the way to Volcano's Pizza. They all said "yes" and smiled. Tested my brother's GPS unit so I can feel comfortable with it on my trip to Teeterville Friday. (Snow Day. Any non-Canadians out there need a translation for 'snow day'?)

Got home and listened to the Great Lake Swimmers new CD Ongiara. New Favourite.

This is the best website I've found yet for cooking with wheat gluten:
http://www.vrg.org/recipes/vjseitan.htm

M*A*S*H

Maybe I've been watching too many episodes of M*A*S*H this week, but it is nice to having a working DVD player in the house again. Whatever happened to "That's Our Bush"?
The classes at Rodman Hall got off to a good start. All girls, not one of them expressed concerns over what tunes I had going on the radio. CBC2 or Ryerson I suspect, but all world music for the hour and a half. The young ladies painted Do Ra Mi fa So La Ti Do in colour for me, and then moved on to a simple still life, which I called a song using their new notes. When that's done they can move on to a still life based on a simple brass object I'll let them select from my collection. Thank you, Madame Cavé.
Kevin Richardson played music at the Strega on Friday. He remembered to artwork I bought from his show a few years back with a smile. His CD was only $5 so I got one and played it when I got home. Bluesy, kinda like when the Kids In The Hall play.
Did I mention I signed up for a graffiti clean-up the Downtown Association is having in April? I can work right until painting class starts, and I won't have to change clothes.
I did a fantastic Mad Science birthday party in Welland today, and I think I finally figured out how to get onto the walking trail you can see that runs parallel to the Welland River under the 406.

Pysanky

I finally finished my LTTA obligation to the St. Michael's grade 2 classes by showing them how to make easter eggs in the Ukrainian tradition. I grew up making them like that back in Manitoba. The best part for me was boiling up 7 dozen eggs.

Realizations

1. I love living here and I love what I do. Tonight I just got home from doing Mad Science shows at the Seaway Mall in Welland. There, I got to ignite flammable gases in small containers, I got to give a big shock to my supervisor with a Tesla Coil in front of an audience, and I got to tell my new knock-knock joke to about a dozen strangers.
   Then I ran around town getting art supplies for art classes at Rodman Hall tomorrow. The kids are going to make dinosaur and animal skeletons from pool noodles. We'll also do some Zoom drawings as well, inspired by a favourite set of books written and drawn by Istvan Banyai. My lunch is already prepared: leftover home-made (not homestyle, you marketing fiends!) roadhouse style seitan sandwiches.
   Then I went to the Strega, and Kelly gave me leftover chunks of wood from her basement renovations. I'll let the kids use those for sculpture bases.
   Then! I went to the Merchant Ale House and saw Maja Bannerman perform. Jordan Fry introduced her, and compared her favourably to an orgasm. Here, we'll just say it was a very colourful and deserved description. Maja brings so much life to her performances, I think I'll start looking for more of them. Nothing on TV that can't be taped. Terrance Cox read as well.
2. My most durable relationship with an unrelated female has been with Punk-Rock-Girl, my cat.

From my mail

Told S. the joke this am. Had to explain it, but she was vastly amused. She then launched into a lengthy analysis and discourse about the phenomenon of running two words together to make different words. She promised to tell it at daycare (where she will be full-time this week because of the school break ? which probably means you are busy this week as well, come to
think of it.) Anyway, the joke could go viral. I suggest watching for it on Letterman in about 10 days. Or more likely, Leno.

S. G.

Knock Knock

I got to be a score-keeper for the Crystal Beach Comets today! They were playing the Jokers and Trevor asked me to help him as he was busy with the scoreboard and the music. All I did was write down the number of shots on goal for each team, and who got the goals. It was fun - but the hour goes by so much faster. Usually, I feel I can relax and just enjoy the rhythm of the game. Oh! And i almost forgot! The drummer for the Barenaked ladies was playing for the Jokers! Afterwards, I gave a Crystal Beach Comets book-bag filled with a copy of Logan in Overtime by Paul Quarrington to Joe Lapinski, who is also on the team. I found the bag at the Value Village, something made for an elementary school down there. The book is one of my favourites. I was inspired to do a painting after reading it, but the images I made of it were all on a zombified hard drive.

Later at the Strega, a wee Mad Scientist and I made up a new Knock Knock joke. Here's how it goes:

Knock knock
Who's there?
Europe
Europe who?
How rude!
(Try it on your friends! She couldn't stop telling it for half an hour!)

Seitan is simmering...

Mmmmmm - the seitan is simmering, awaiting the sizzle of my saucepan.

March break approaches, and art classes have gone all higgledy piggledy. I'll be covering for someone at Rodman Hall on Wednesday but don't have any other information yet. A young lady has been consulting with me about drawing her portrait. Very spiritual, she is investigating many paths right now, including New York City's best seller, The Secret.

I purchased a small bust of a Roman centurion made from resin and alabaster dust. His nose and one eye are chipped, but it still catches the light really well for portrait classes. Why should a modern portrait of a Roman be any different from the ancient Mediterranean ones? I think the damage will add character to all the drawings made using it as a model, not to mention giving those same drawings a pedigree.

Time to watch Mork and Mindy

Saturday I gave myself permission to teach 5 year old art students how to make their own spray paint devices. My caveat is that I imagine they won't be able to remember how to assemble the straws due to their distraction at how COOL spraying the paint on the paper can be. Most of the fluid has dissolved the glue in the tape by the time they were done, as most of them leave their tools in the paint dishes when not being used. Science and Art meet again! Mwah ha ha!

On Sunday, the band Oliver Black was booked in to film a music video at the Mansion House. I arrived at 6:30 a. m. to prepare the space and let the crew in. They were using real 35mm film, not video.The lead guitarist, Nicolas Lesyk, told me that while the band was writing their album down in Texas, he learned a few cooking tricks using habanero peppers. You pierce the pepper pod a few times before cooking it with your rice. This allows the pepper flavour to infuse the rice without overpowering the rice's natural graces with all the heat. The pod can be cut up later and added to another dish. This is the kind of information that makes an 18 hour workday worth the effort. The band and film crew were both remarkably gracious and professional at the end of the day. I was thanked personally by every single one of them. I really appreciate that. Sometimes i find that element of professionalism lacking in the Board of education system. (Not St. Michael's Grade 1 classes with Mrs. Billard and Mrs. Boutin!).

Tonight, I am skipping group meditation to take a cooking course: Beans, Greens and Grains.

Before going to bed last night, I watched a few episodes of Mork and Mindy on DVD, before going to bed, and I decided that Mork/Robin Williams may have invented a precursor to the emoticon, with spoken phrases like: "Heavy sigh" interjected into his dialogue. And how come I couldn't remember Mork saying "Sit on my face" to Mindy back in the day? Was I too young? Her facial expression showed a lot of surprise!

Arts Council AGM

Scurrying to the St. Catharines and Area Arts Council Annual General meeting was an adventure. News reports of icy rain and freezing snow had been terrifying drivers for hours. Today was the last day of Mad Science in Fonthill, and we exchanged a number of kits by strategically storing them directly in the Mad Science van. Steve Saturn and I will be needing 4 of them for our adventures in Teeterville tomorrow. All day people have been asking me where that is, and I haven't got a clue.

The Office (restaurant with a clever name: "Honey? I'm at the Office. Can I call you back?") supplied the nosh: Pineapple cream dip, baked potato medallions with roast pork and cramalized onions, prusciutto thingys, and more. I met a new downtown Councillor, Heather Foss. I liked her.

Kim has taken her stuff out of the Fine Grind, and Vincent Verboncouer has his stuff in. I'll put up a poster or an invite as soon as I can find one.

I'm listening to a spoken word CD. Liao-Fan's Four Lessons. It seems to have a tenuous connection to Buddhism.

"Let me grab my shovel."

One of my favourite companies is moving. Are See Aye is a fantasy company for me: they make giant dinosaurs for museums around the world. I would very much love to work for them, and I have a lot of skills they could use. Years ago, I visited the company's building, once or twice, while I worked at a pottery in Beamsville. Not all of their employees want to go to the new town, so I imagine they may be hiring new artistans to replace them. This week I have been evaluating what keeps me in St. Catharines, when so many people my age and in my field have flown the coop. In case I want to apply for a job....
I love what I do. This week I realised that at the end of every day I am tired, but if I got the call at 5 pm to go out and do it some more for a few hours, I would say 'yes' without whining, complaining or batting an eye. Like the time I called my Grandma and asked if she'd like to get some wild roses; first thing out of her mouth was: "Let me grab my shovel."
People regularly tell me that I am lucky to be doing what I do. (Personally? Luck plus the hours I put into what I do, are actually what lets me do what I do.)
Art Under glass at the 2 cafes is just interesting enough to keep me meeting new artists every month. I am even building a small collection of artwork by other people that I like. I used to say, "Why would I buy art when I could make it myself?"
I also say: "It's not the place, it's the people."
Who and where are the people who are important to me? Would I actually see them less if I moved 4 hours away?
Rent wouldn't ever be an issue if I worked for Are See Eye. But would I be able to scour used book stores on a whim? Shop for groceries at a Phillipine grocery? A Chinese grocery? A Polish deli? Would I have a place to grow my peppers?
Art classes are fun to teach, but I could easily set new classes up in any town I moved to. And I am used to making my own art supplies if I need to, so I wouldn't feel tied to a town with a Curry's. Besides, the most glorious pair of words in the world are still "Road Trip!"
I'm not sure how much time I can even afford to daydream about this, but I am enjoying contemplating both sides of the issue.

orphan bird aware

icy sheet between us

sunrise through the snow

Haiku Hoover

2 Art Openings tonight: one for the art teachers at Ridley College, and another for Kim at the Fine Grind, and they are both scheduled for the exact same time! So what am I doing at home? Listening to my $34 after tax DVD Player repeat the same tunes because for some reason my remote control won't work after a week of semi-weekly use. Laugh if you like.

The Grade 2 kids from my school gave me a stack of thank-you cards for letting them make 3D shapes in the snow! My throat is closing up like an allergic reaction! The cards have little diagrams of rectangular prisms, cylinders and everything.

My quest for books about haiku or containing haiku is being thwarted across the Peninsula by a fellow teacher, unnamed, who hoovers them up regularly from the used bookstores. I am lucky to have found the ones I did. These things truly are gems; portable, precious, oiling up in someones else's house. It's even harder to track down renga, renku or such. If anyone ever comes across "The Monkey's Cloak" in English, I'd pay for a copy.

Here's a sneak preview of a possible poster for local artist and Niagara River hero, Matt Vizbulis!

Blogging in my jammies

The students had a lot of fun today. According to the schedule, we were to follow up our lesson on 3D shapes by building structures from the local community. Grade 2 students need to learn about different structures, and were were going to build them with plasticine. However, when I got to the school, and stepped out of my car... the snow was packing snow! I got permission from the principal to take the students outside, and she said "yes!" A short discussion with the teachers, a short presentation to the students, and we were out there. Even the substitute teacher loved it. The teachers from my other grades were asking me in the hall if I could adapt their lessons to snow sculptures. We'll see. I'm still rearranging my schedule after the snowstorm and Valentine's Day and Rosary day. I'll try to post pictures as the teachers send them to me. Oh, and there were pancakes for everyone today, even me. No classes for me tomorrow as the kids will be too busy with Ash Wednesday.

le weekend

Friday was filled with stress inducing elements. My car's battery died, and I needed to get a boost fast because I had a class scheduled in an hour. my dad came through. When I got to the school, both of my teachers were absent due to illness, and the Board had scheduled an introduction to using the rosary for every student in every school across the Region, starting at 11 a. m. The substitute told me it was supposed to last about 15 minutes, so I decided to stay and finish the program. From 10:30 to 11:00 we did plasticine shapes, then washed all the hands, because students in Grade 2 would have ended up with plasticine stained Rosaries to take home.

Saturday Ron and I went to Chris and Joy's Stag and Doe. Joy asked if I remembered working wiyth her at the Museum one summer. (?) I wish I did. She was in the gift shop and I was teaching, so i don't really remember. 20 years of teaching, and only the problem children really leave an impression on me. I got lucky at the door prize table though. Look for me at Shaw Festival this summer.

I brought some wheat gluten powder to a Mad Science party on Sunday as an example of a polymer. The kids liked it. Sunday night I went to see Suitcase in Point perform "Cabaret Global Warming" at the Merchant Ale House. Cole Lewis performed a beautiful projection piece with birds drawn on overhead sheets. She did some spoken word while manipulating several images, and Joe lapinski played a gentle progrssion on his guitar. Maja Bannerman did some music as well, on her guitar. I was under the impression she just did story-telling. Edwin was funny as usual. Lesley and I discussed whether he reminded us more of Duke from Doonesbury, or The Gonzo Reporter. Matt Vizbulis brought be a tube with samples of his artwork in it. He'd like me to scan them and make it available on the artunderglass.blogspot.com to promote his show next month.

reading list

Here's a list of books I'm reading now, when I'm waiting in line at the bank, in a staff room before classes, before falling asleep, or waiting for a floor to dry.

1. The Artist's Complete Guide to Figure Drawing, A Contemporary Perspective on the Classical tradition, by Anthony Ryder
2. Underground to Canada, by Barbara Tucker
3. Awakening The Buddha Within, Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World, by Lama Surya Das
4. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, Informal talks on Zen meditation and practice, by Shunryu Suzuki
5. Haiku in English, by Harold G. Henderson
6. Galatea 2.2, a novel, by Richard Powers
7. Sixty Songs of Milarepa, translated by C. C. Chang
8. Tales from the Arabian Nights, Reader's Digest version (sigh)
9. Gödel, Escher, Bach, a metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll, by Douglas R. Hofstadter
10. Palm-of-the-Hand Stories, by Yasunari Kawabata, translated by Lane Dunlop and J. Martin Holman

Both school boards are closed today, and there's no Mad Science. The Mansion House is shovelled, but I had to turn customers away because none of the other staff or owners showed up until 12:15. Lesson planning time!

discipline-deficit disorder ?

Attention teachers! New terminology heard today on CBC Radio One: discipline-deficit disorder

Yesterday my brother and I checked out a used bookstore and I found 2 books about Haiku:

1. Haiku in English by Harold G. Henderson
2. the gathering wave by alvaro cardona-hine

Tonight, I plan to hop over to the Merchant Ale house for the Grey Borders readings by a couple of authors.

1. http://www.wier.ca/mchristakos.html
2. http://www.timconley.ca/

There might not be too many people because they've been predicting a double-whammy of winter storms. Ron is on his way from Wainfleet. My cousin was 'released' from Meaford for the funeral. I imagine the army likes the idea of a guy in uniform acting as a pall-bearer. Worked for us. He may come out as well.

My art classes tomorrow are cancelled, not due to weather, but to Valentine's day bingo for the kiddies in Grade 2. Can't say I blame them. Be a good time to start the lino cuts, if all my lesson plans are in order. In the evening the local secular humanist society is planning to celebrate Darwin's birthday at a Chinese buffet restaurant, next to a Wal-mart. My mind is reeling.

Sad news

I have just found out that my grandfather passed away this morning. My father has selected me to be a pall bearer on Monday. Other than that, I will also have to help remove my Gramps' stuff from the nursing home Friday or else they will be charging our family over $300 a day.

I may need to skip the Mad Science party. I did not know I would be needed to help my dad empty out my Gramps' room so soon.

I will be cleaning the Mansion in the morning, and then teaching at St. Michaels in NOTL from 10 a. m. until 2 pm. Please do not phone me until these classes are over. The teachers and I are prepared for lessons on 2D shapes.

I will have to miss the regularly scheduled meeting at Mad Science, but I should be able to pick up the materials necessary for the birthday party in the evening, including bubble solution, dish soap, t-shirts, PVA, Sodium Borate solution, cups, stir sticks, and whatever else. I would appreciate it if someone could pick up the dry ice for me. I will go directly from St. Michaels on Highway 55 to the Mad Science lab. I currently have a birthday kit in my living room. If I put it in the car in the morning it will be with me all day. There is nothing in the kit that would freeze.
As far as I understand, the party is in St. Catharines, and starts at 5:45 p.m. and will continue for approximately one hour.

After the party is over I will be going to meet my dad.

I will need Monday off in order to be a pall-bearer and be with my family.

Laurie Boese

Still cold - 15 degrees

Found a great old book yesterday by the kinetic sculpture maker, Alexander Calder. I knew about his sculpture work from school, and from the Albright Knox, but had no idea he drew. His drawings remind me of oriental brush painting, the way they carry the life of the animals into the vigor of the brush stroke.

Lesley Finds has an opening tonight! Great stuff!

The kids at school started their chess pieces today. The principal looked thrilled. She even suggested some great stuff (which we all know I've been raving about already for years), that the kids could apply this lesson to language as well as math, and more! I can't wait to add some pictures. The kids brough in really colourful salt doughs. One kid was a class hero for his kool-aid coloured clay. Usually I dedicate 5 full days to this project, and it's heart breaking to squeeze it into 3 one hour visits.

On a side note, I am probably MUCH better at Free Cell than I need to be..

C-C-Cold!

I'm sorting and packaging the Mad Science paintings today.

Leftovers freezing,
Clean dishes dried and away.
Whole moon in puddle!

The day off

I have a sketch-pad reserved now for adding pictures to some selected haiku. So far I have a picture sketched of a cat peering over a window sill for a poem by Shiki:

A bird sang,
knocking down
a red berry

You can see I am not planning to illustrate the poems, but respond to them.

I am restringing my mala beads with ribbon. Speaker wire wasn't cutting it.

I've also mixed up a couple of batches of seitan: Cajun flavor and Greek sausage. The Cajun has pepper seeds from the front yard, a touch of liquid smoke, and store bought cajun seasoning. The Greek is more natural, with olive paste, garlic, crushed black peppercorns, yeast extract, and fennel seeds. After mixing these with water and boiling the dumplings, I rolled the lumps in wax paper and froze them in long sausage shapes. When I need sausage, I'll remove a length from the freezer bag, defrost it a bit, slice it up and fry it like a sausage. Mwah hah hah! (Seitan-ic laugh)

Now back to work. I have about 15 garbage bags to throw out at the Mansion. And I need to do it before the Superbowl party gets going. Ooof.

Haiku

curmudgeon alert:
price tags on clothes and cups
left on as badges.

roller coaster thrill in my throat

Lesley has installed her work at the Strega and it looks amazing. I am going to get one for myself. Her premise is brilliant as well: Combining text from a dating website and Victorian Valentine's cards. They are so well thought through and elegantly composed. The contrasts in style between the text from so long ago mingled with the grunts and sparkles from what I still consider "the future" and very engaging.
Jeffrey picked up a bit o' cash from Ron, who loves the idea of hanging a photograph of an abandoned decrepit "Sony" billboard in his recording studio.
Kim's framed photographs are on the wall of the Fine Grind. Rob's GF brought flowers in for tomorrow.
Classes today were overwhelmingly pleasant. I got the roller coaster thrill in my throat twice today: once while the kids were working so hard on their chess boards, and again while Lesley was installling her art.

haiku

Musician missing;
Song started but not finished;
Dance class left reeling!

Brian Froude

Anyone who'd like to join me for a toast on Wednesday, January 31, would be more than welcome. My best friend passed away 10 years ago on that date in 1997. He was funny, generous, and talented. Not too many people from that circle of friends are around any more. Most have moved to other cities, looking for work.

I found some wheat gluten flour at the Bulk Barn today. I've been looking ever since reading how easy it is to make seitan, a meat substitute. I had no idea what the stuff was made of until I read an article on the NY Times about a pair of post-punk vegan cooks: We put the F. U. in tofu! We had a power failure a few years ago and I lost some meat in my freezer to the thaw, so I've always appreciated being able to keep various proteins around the house that won't spoil.

I also got a call from another one of the local papers. Looks like we'll be having another article for J's show at Art Under Glass! Woot!

Curmudgeon report

Another sign that I am becoming a curmudgeon: I bought a carton of eggs at the Farmers' Market, and as soon as I got home started to boil the whole dozen to make easy breakfasts all week. Set in my ways, I am not even considering the possibility of using even one of the eggs for any other purpose.
Jeffrey Rossetto got a decent article from The Standard for his Art Under Glass show at the Strega. They haven't put it on-line, so I may consider scanning a portion of it for the blog. Kim's work is all set up at the Fine Grind. It looks great. Rob didn't discourage her from including the spider photos- he encouraged her!
Last night I retrieved one of my sculptures from TuTuTango. Wolfgang Puck will be expanding into the space, so all the artists' work needs to go. J will have my paintings ready to pick up on Tuesday.
Today I start teaching again at Rodman Hall. Good-bye Saturdays. The kids get to make things from salt dough today. I have a big bag o' flour, and all kinds of salt.

Regna2 (Elbows N' Spittle)

salt covered sidewalks
walking home alone again
with salt covered cheeks

my shoes grind what my fists can't
my tongue touches what none can

salt dissolves the white
step by step past others' tracks
footprints vanishing

my feet follow others steps
my mind wanders to the Spring

mud slippery path
"Please don't let go of my hand!"
roses bloom, on cheeks

Walpola Rahula

I found 2 identical books today at the Value Village: "What The Buddha Taught" by Walpola Rahula. I will release them soon with a Bookcrossing ID # somewhere in my travels. Both books have been underlined, or highlighted, but differently. The irony hasn't escaped me, that 2 individuals have found it necessary to emphasize different elements in the dharma. The book is already a selection of writings from the Dhammapada and various Suttas. So many of the teachings are still untranslated into English. When I ponder how much of the knowledge in the world will always escape me for whatever reason, I feel like I am shopping in a grocery store, but only allowed to purchase items from a single aisle. Then that turns in on iteself, and I appreciate the wonders of the small experiences I do have. Like Thoreau in Walden, I have travelled a great deal in Niagara.On taht note, does anyone have any idea what books Thoreau read to inspire him? Besides Emerson? I'm certain he read some sort of Eastern philosophical texts; maybe Hindu, maybe Buddhist.

Winter Renga col·lab·o·ra·tion

Wind to bare in mind.
Earth to move, fire to quench;
all these, Winter does.

elements gathering here
out of the cold, creation

The seeds lie dormant, quiet
a ghostly form leaves my mouth

warm moist air sculpture fleeting
silent january voice

Dylan returns!

I just realized now that Christmas is over, I can post the image June Etta sent me! The gift has been given! I don't have to hide the painting from the fellow who was to have received it as a gift any longer, and now that I can modify the thing, I can get it to fit properly.

Here's the maze, inspired by the cover for Tarantula, Bob Dylan's first novel. Try to follow the maze from Duluth to Greenwich Village, and get Bob Zimmerman to turn into Bob Dylan. I've simplified the colour scheme for the web, and shrank the thing so we on dial-up can save a nickle or two for the future. I figure people can use their mouse to solve the maze. Or not.

Renga

I bumped into an artist/friend at the mall today. We talked about how the mere fact of having booked yourself for a gallery show sets a fire under your tuckus, and encourages you to make art. She had an artist/designer friend with her. We chatted about booking a show, and the creative process, and in doing so, my best idea yet came to me.

I've already booked myself for July, and I know I want to do lino cuts, but use composite vinyl tiles (CVT). While blabbing about lesson planning, I remembered the Haiku stuff I taught at Mary Ward School in the Falls. Here's some background: Haiku started off like a rap battle - the first three lines are meant to start it off, and the second person needs to respond with more lines.

Here's a paragraph from Wikipedia:
Renga is a form of Japanese collaborative poetry. A renga consists of at least two ku or stanzas, often many more. The opening stanza of the renga chain, called the hokku, later became the basis for the modern haiku style of poetry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renga

Well, I now intend to find haiku on the web, likely from blog sources, and respond to them with images. I do not intend to illustrate these poems, but go to a next step in some way. Then the CVT cuts will be printed and displayed at the Strega.
It is nice to talk with other artists.

Rebecca Horn

Hey Kyle, this is Rebecca Horn, the kinetic sculpture artist I was telling you about at the NAC. She is the one that opened my eyes as to what art could actually be. I know there are other conceptual artists out there, like Beuys and others, but this is the one I saw first.

I broke my car twice yesterday.

The ice is still covering lots of the landscape around here, making trees seem crystalline. I had to remove ice from my sideview mirroron my car, and it wouldn't scrape away. My car is not as pretty covered in ice as the local flora. Thinking only of tapping the ice away with my snow brush, I broke it. At first the surface looked like a large spiderweb. The ice held fast, so I tapped it again. This time the foil on the mirror broke away from the glass underneath the ice, and the reflected image scattered in every direction. The mirror was broken. Later that day, i also managed to close my door too hard and knock the hook out from the latch on my door. My mechanic got it all fixed though. Now my mirror is blue, while my car is gold.

I drove to my school to meet with the teachers for Learning Through The Arts. One teacher remembered me from a class I had designed for a summer camp years ago at the Pumphouse in Niagara-on-the-Lake. She wanted to adapt the idea for her Grade 3 class. Her children still have the project around the house. Who am I to argue? The project is a bit of a pet for me, so I agreed. Here it is: The students design their own chess set! I will add details later, so I don't just waste time typing while I'm online. (I still use dial-up!)

Today I met with a photographer who wants to show at the Art Under Glass. He brought a selection from his portfolio, and we narrowed it down to a series he shot of blues musicians from Kansas City. We'll set his show up to coincide with the Grape & Wine Festival in September. (Only real old-timers and locals will call it Grape & Wine Festival. That's how you can tell us apart from new people.) He'll play some blues on guitar at some point as well. I'm looking forward to it. He also has some cool shots of ships and boats in the canals.

Books books books

On Thursday night someone finally snagged the Leonard Cohen. Let's hope they get a posting into the Bookcrossing website, and not leave us hanging.

Yesterday I picked up a 1st edition Out of This World by Lowell Thomas Jr. at an antique store for $5. Published in 1950, it tells the story of 2 Americans going to Tibet before the Chinese invasion, just before. The book has a gazillion pictures, including some nice ones of the Dalai Lama before he left for India. I've already read Forbidden Journey by Ella K. Maillart, so it will be nice to compare the two.

My brother dropped off a brand new copy of The Practice of Vajrakilaya by Khenpo Namdrol, now that I've received the empowerment.

And! To top it off, Value Village had an odd book - The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ, by Levi. Looks like Jesus went to Tibet in the missing years. Who knew? There's a whole chapter telling about Him in India. Anyone else notice how much the word "Brahma" looks like "Abraham"? I've always thought that the baptism by dunking looked like the dunking in the Ganges you see in India. Maybe John the Baptist was a transplanted Hindu?
I also snagged a couple of old cookbooks from the 50s for my mom. One has some seafood recipes from Maine. Cheese on your fish, anyone?

I'm still reading Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das.
Scored a $10 tip at today's birthday party. I'd like to thank April or Kyle for putting the space on the form marked "Tip?" because it gives the clients the hint in a subtle but not too subtle manner.

Disease-free at last

Back to work and the snow is almost gone again. Last night I taught someone new how to draw. This woman has some interest in Toltec spiritual practise, and works for an interesting agency: Katimivik (sp?) Very good energy. Kelly has also booked a collegue from the LTTA to have a show at the Strega. Welcome Kathy! Rumour has it we'll be seeing some architectural renderings. Kim's flyers are living up to their name - flying off the shelf at the Fine Grind.

Stayed home all day, sick

My brother stayed over last night to get away from all the dust from my mother cleaning at their house. I'm still sick - folding laundry made me tired and made my heart pound. We both pretty much read all day, drank tea and ate soup.

TuTuTango sent out an email yesterday telling the artists about the impending closure of the restaurant. I sent out a 'reply to all' email to the TuTuTango artists inviting them to submit to the Art Under Glass, and I got a reply within hours! There are some motivated artists out there. I did enjoy meeting the artists from TuTuTango. I made it to a wedding for one of them this summer, and at least 3 of them have become Art Under Glass artists. Looks like all my Saturday nights are going to be free for a while. Just in time for me to focus my 'group dynamic' energies into the Thinner Smarter Younger Collective, I guess.

I seem to have really just discovered 'blogs' and can't believe what is out there! This is a complex literary format! I'd love to see what professors have to say about it in an English class, never mind a Pop Culture class. I may be browsing blogs for entertainment for a few weeks.

No Lost, No Found

All day I thought I had lost my mala beads, the ones that had been blessed by Lama Namse. I had looked for half an hour this morning before going to clean the Mansion House. Turns out I had left them in a shirt pocket during some kind of cold/medication/exhaustion delirium. By the way, no one has found the Leonard Cohen novel yet. I may have to re-release it if nobody snags it inside a week. I wonder if Bookcrossing has some kind of protocol on that?

Conveyor Belt paintings

Jeffrey got his work installed at the Strega last night. There a couple of pieces I like.
I just finished hanging 80 paintings at the Niagara Artists' Company. I painted 78 little canvases with sunsets and birds for Mad Science. The technique was partly inspired by the one used to make those cheap canvases people buy at the mall: those $20 paintings were done on conveyor belts, people! 39 of my sunsets are 'fakes' and will be paired up with their 'originals' when they are delivered to the various Mad Science franchises across North America. I also added two paintings on rubber, depicting the day after a blizzard several years ago. The rubber was used to print up ads for Jack Astor's. I've added images of fire hydrants surrounded by snow banks. To me, they look like little saints in their little cubby holes.
My arms are sore, my legs are sore, my head is sore, my back is sore. I can't wait to get into bed. Every one at the bar is sick.
I've just released a book at the NAC with bookcrossing dot com.

Need a Band-Aid

I picked up some stone to carve today - and sliced a good two inch gash into my thumb, right down to the meat. Good, flat, green Virginia slate is easy for me to put pictures and text on. There's a carving of the Dalai Lama I did on my website made from the same stone. The lighting is pretty dramatic because I took the photo at TuTuTango.

I'm releasing "Beatiful Losers" by Leonard Cohen tomorrow at the Mansion House. I've read it already, and since I only paid 69 cents for it at the Value Village, it seems like the thing to do.

Art Under Glass needs better coverage on the Arts Council website, but I can't seem to email them right now. And one of the artists is still in Toronto from the long weekend!