Q: Why practice creativity?

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September 2, 2012
art, photography, why make art?
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ANSWER: to transform old structures including:    local and global over-production and resource use     the illusion of separateness within our skin / sense of encapsulated and isolated selves     individual habit-patterns + responses     also     alienation / isolation

I said something similar here

old reused local from a time before vinyl or aluminum when someone got out the brush and made efforts to help the wood last longer.   in my neighbourhood the housingstock decays in mouldy raincoast winter. Nothing on the northside dries nothing on the southside stays fresh

sometimes it’s hard for me to see the links between the intention of my art work   and what is the outcome?   yet ripples expand outwards even if today this work does not feel important
how will the effects of my actions surely carry on with or without me in this life and beyond? this is an important and central question.
this is also a helpful long time     non-linear view of creative practice.

i’ve also said before that PRACTICE:    to repeat and renew effort regularly is important.    with practice my creative muscles gets stronger.    i see opportunities. i feel braver to grab hold of them.

Yar this is the mighty power of transformation.

THANKS and i miss my homies

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August 31, 2012
nature, photography
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jenna lives with me at the Beehive Collective House. She runs a school called Soaring Eagle Nature School. Ya she does!

She asked me to help create a thank you card for her to give to her summer students and campers. She provided the cool stuff (buckskin, baby bird of prey skull, handmade nettle fiber cordage, owl leg, awesome feather, arrowhead) and i provided the design and photography skills.

Looks exciting if you were a kid in nature school learning cool stuff like tracking and harvesting wild foods. later, i arrived home after a trip to find a finished card on my desk, signed with love from jenna. A good collab.

Speaking of the Beehive, I miss my homies! We are: Collective House, 6 people, 3 cats, guests, we share food and cook for each other too. (east)Vancouver, BC, Coast Salish Territory.

velodeco : make something from nothing

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August 31, 2012
art, sharing, why make art?
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for the last three years i’ve had the great pleasure to create and provide the decorations for a kids bike parade. I hand-make streamers out of used plastic bags + salvaged veggie twist ties.

HOW i ride my bike all over town visiting various large-chain grocery stores where people ‘recycle’ their disposable plastic bags    i don my gloves and dig through the bags of bags    searching for beautiful colours    most bags are not desirable: thin white safeway beige yellow buy-low grey home depot yuck.

A gem would be solid red or blue sears, multicoloured record store, white and pink hello-kitty! I’ll post instructions sometime.

here’s the thing with this work. it’s not collectable. it doesn’t hang on your wall. it’s not new. is it even art? just because some kid hung my quote work on their bike for a few days and rode in a parade… i suppose the kids feel validated for loving their bikes for fun and freedom, parade viewers see the bikes and feel hopeful for the future. i feel good too. okay.