A New Development in the Neighbourhood

 

How I Did This

1. I found a box and made adjustments to make a roof. 

2. Then I made a vestibule from a flat piece of cardboard, incising the places where it needed to be folded. I taped everything together with packing tape.

3.  I took it outside to do some shaping to the back so that this little house will fit up against the tree. 

4. Then things got really fun. I could think of some materials that I would have liked to use to cover the house, but my operating rule is to use what I have on hand. This house was covered with camel hair. A little grand, for sure, but I only needed a small amount. A glue gun was involved. 

5. I had some sticks that I have used in outdoor arrangements in the winter. I broke them and  hot glued them to the roof areas. I may have burnt my fingers a few times. 

6. I hot glued some leaves on and stuck a few sticks here and there. 

7. I had made some tabs on the back of the house to give me something to attach the house to the tree. I covered the tabs with leaves. When installing, I could nail through the tab to the tree. It is reasonable secure and inconspicuous.

8. Once installed, I did a little landscaping. I think it is possible that a few more things might accrue over time.

Animation and Birthday Number: 63

 

(There are 21 threes)

Summer Passports

 I renovated 2 old passport books for my grandchildren to use this summer on their trips around Manitoba and to Alberta (fingers crossed). The idea is that when they see things I have listed, they take the 'stamp'  from the back and stick it on a page. I made the stamps on clear mactac (I think it might be called something different now?). I hope it will be fun for the kids and keep them interested on the road, and not too much of a nightmare for the parents who will have to peel the backing off the mactac. 😬

This opens up inside the back cover.

Birthday Number: 6

 

The Legacy of Residential Schools: Thinking about the 215 Lost Children in Kamloops

In 2016 there was a horrific shooting in La Loche, Saskatchewan. A 17 year old shot several people, 4 of whom died. In a 2009 blog post by Stephen King, then the principal of La Loche Community School and quoted in the Edmonton Journal (Douglas Quan) on January 29, 2016, he wrote, "It is too simplistic to just blame it on adolescence because there are teens who remain focused and who do want to pursue a good education. I wonder what kills the dreams of childhood of those who get lost on the journey?"

This painting was my response to the events of 2016. It feels right to me to present it again, in recognition of the destruction brought upon Indigenous people in residential schools; the kind of destruction that produced a legacy of struggles and inherited trauma.  

The child on the swing is a bit ethereal and timeless. Around the child there are layers of drawings, aspirations, and creations of the imagination. The top layers of white obscure the dreams in a sort of mist. 

Where Do Their Dreams Go?

Keys Wind Chime

 This is a wind chime that won't keep the neighbours awake at night. It is made from the several small collections of keys I found in my Dad's things. First I hung on to them just incase they opened something, then.....well, they waited for a new purpose. Not glamorous, and not complicated. 

 

Animation: Going for a Walk 2: Environmental Appropriating Fashion