Writing about books, visual culture, plants, animals, places, ideas and other fun stuff.
Outdoor planting is still a few weeks away, but I’ve been busy with some new potting projects indoors.
Some basil and chives I bought at the Niagara College Greenhouse yesterday:
An avocado seed that I’m hoping will sprout roots soon:
I’ve planted some organic herb seeds in these fun little pots
( Orange = Chives, Green = Sweet Basil, Yellow = Thyme):
So far it looks like Thyme is winning!
This weekend I attended the NeMLA conference in Buffalo. The panel I presented on was sponsored by the Association for the Study of Literature & Environment, and was a wonderful change to see some ASLE folks in the off-year (ASLE conferences are every 2 years — the next one will be in 2009 in the beautiful city of Victoria, B.C.). Our panel was very interdisciplinary (by design), and we had some wonderful discussions. After the panel I spent much time scribbling down ideas and thoughts I wanted to follow up on. I love how conference sessions can sometimes spark new ideas and new directions for collaboration and research. While I wasn’t able to take in the entire conference, I was glad I attended. I also very much enjoyed walking around the Allentown district of Buffalo. The architecture is so interesting, and the two restaurants I tried (Fiddleheads and Betty’s) were fantastic!
I had planned to go over to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery on Saturday, but last week I heard about the 2008 Niagara Social Justice Forum, so decided to head back to St. Catharines early to take that in instead. It was such a wonderful event! I was especially inspired by the “Hungry For Change” session which included presentations by Linda Krago of Twig & Tree Gardens and Kevin Hamilton, an organic farmer and food activist based out of the Hamilton region. It was wonderful to see such a great turnout for the event, as we gathered to enjoy a delicious vegetarian/vegan-friendly lunch (provided by Strega) I noticed that there was hardly an empty chair in the place.
The two events have left me energized and inspired — inspired to do more writing, inspired to get involved with local groups in the Niagara region, inspired to start thinking about the veggies I’m going to plant this spring. After a kind of gloomy and tiring winter, this was just what I needed!
The other night we went to hear Roch Carrier speak. I have been a fan of “The Hockey Sweater” since I was a kid, but this was the first time I had heard him give a presentation. It was a great evening — Mr. Carrier is such an interesting and engaging person, and I really enjoyed listening to him talk about his career as a writer. He also read some of his short stories to us, including one about how he learned to read. I was particularly touched by this story, given how the words he has written have undoubtedly inspired many other young Canadians to fall in love with reading. I know I certainly remember how I enjoyed reading excerpts of his stories in our grade school readers.
I have some recollection of when I first learned to read. My mom tells me that I taught myself, but I’m sure that isn’t entirely true given how frequently we were read to. I do remember wanting so desperately to be able to read like the grown-ups around me, and I’d often sit with a book open in my lap, staring at the pages in the hopes that something magical would happen and I’d start to comprehend what I was seeing in front of me. My aunt Irene bought me a book at a garage sale to practice with. I don’t recall what book it was, but I do remember it was a green hard-backed book and I remember sitting with her, circling in pencil the words I knew how to sound out. After that the details get a bit blurry, but I know that once I figured it out I wanted to read any books I could get my hands on. Ramona Quimby, Laura Ingalls and Nancy Drew soon became close, personal friends. Trips to the public library were much anticipated, and to this day the crinkly sound of a laminated library book cover makes me smile.
Of course I continue to read a lot now, but the majority of the reading I do for work is non-fiction. I love the subjects I teach and research, so I do very much enjoy reading books on the history of art, visual culture, botanical illustration, etc., however Mr. Carrier’s talk made me realize how much I miss the pleasure of being carried away by a good story. This summer I’m going to be sure to add some fiction to my reading list!
William Brymner, The Picture Book [1898]
Image Source: National Gallery of Canada/CyberMuse
Eduardo Srur has just installed an interesting piece along the Tietê River in São Paulo. This piece is made up of 30 inflatable bottles, each about 40 feet in length. The brightly coloured bottles along the shore are meant to draw attention to the pollution in the river as well as the need for all of us to think about the lasting environmental impacts of our commodity culture. What I find particularly striking about this installation is the juxtaposition of the all-too-familiar shape of the plastic beverage bottle with the polluted river water which is, of course, unsafe to drink.
My favourite Father Ted episode ever!! (YouTube has it in 3 parts)
“You don’t remember, you were wearing your blue jumper?!?”
Now that spring is here and the term is winding down, my thoughts are starting to turn to the research and writing I want to get done this summer. I was away quite a bit last summer and, although it was wonderful, I want to try and be a little closer to home this year so I can spend more time writing. I do, however, plan to head to the UK in June. There are a number of things on my list of things to do while in London, but at the top of the list is the soon-to-be-opened Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens. This will be right next to the Marianne North gallery, one of my favourite galleries of all time! Katherine Tyrrell over at Making a Mark has a wonderful post about these two spaces as well as the two remarkable women behind them, and reading that post got me even more excited about going back to Kew this June.
It is snowing like crazy here today! The forecast is calling for something like 50cm of snow in the Niagara region. I’m in hibernation mode today. It is nearly noon and I’m still in my PJs and am working on my 2nd mug of tea. I suppose I could be doing something a little more productive with my Saturday morning, but I’ve taken this opportunity to check out some new (to me!) websites and blogs.
Scott sent me the link to Vegan YumYum, a blog dedicated to vegan cooking. There are many great recipe ideas on here, and the photographs are simply stunning! This is too good not to share!
I also came upon Crafters for Critters through a link on Subversive Cross Stitch. Now I’m wishing I had thought to get some crafting supplies to play with as we wait out this storm. Oh well, I guess seeing pictures of other people’s creations is almost as much fun as making things!
The birds were enjoying the little ‘islands’ of ice that remain on the lake. They seemed to be using them as resting points in between diving for food.
I especially like how the sign says it is “unsafe” for swimming.
My class is participating in this — fun times!!
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The Great Canadian Surreal Beaver Ball
Refuse Locale: An Evening of Surrealism in St. Catharines
Join us on Wed., Mar. 5, 2008, for a very special evening celebrating the ongoing legacy of surrealism in Canada at the Niagara Artists’ Centre at 7 p.m.
The Department of English features readings by contemporary surrealist poets Stuart Ross and Beatriz Hausner, and acclaimed Automatist scholar Ray Ellenwood reading from his recent translation of Thérèse Renaud’s /The Sands of Dream/ (the first book of Canadian surrealist poetry), the evening will also include surrealist games, films, art, and activities.
From the Department of Visual Arts, the evening will see the launch of the Great Canadian Beaver Balls Multiples installation. Great Canadian Beaver Balls is an exhibition of 1600 artist multiples created by 120 Brock University students from five different classes, representing three disciplines in the Humanities department: English, Art History and Studio Art. Encapsulated in plastic balls and sold from a classic Northern Beaver Vending machine, artworks include: miniature bookworks, temporary tattoos of concrete poetry and sculptural explorations in a wide range of media. Beaver Balls will be available from vending machines for $2 each during gallery hours. The Multiples exhibit will run at the NAC until Mar. 15, 2008. Visit NAC’s website for gallery hours.
To cap off the evening, theatre company Suitcase in Point, will stage an original theatrical production of Claude Gauvreau’s remarkable “In the Heart of the Bulrushes.”
Join us for an evening of Canadian Surrealism on Wed., Mar. 5, 2008 at 7 p.m. at the Niagara Artists’ Centre, 354 St. Paul St., St. Catharines, ON. Tickets available at the door: $8 adults | $5 students/seniors/artists.
