Tag Archive for: iheartculture

SaskScapes – Grilledcheesapolooza

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From humble beginnings in 2010 with a single metal band called Quetzalcoatl performing a backyard show and barbecuing grilled cheeses with friends in Kindersley, SK. Ever since this original backyard show, attendees and the number of grilled cheese sandwiches consumed at the Kindersley based festival have been doubling each year. With two stages, over twenty musical acts and a large art exhibition, the festival is now expecting attendance in the thousands.  In the coming years Grilledcheesapolooza will strive to grow and achieve its mission while staying true to the roots and core philosophies that gave birth to this festival. ALL HAIL THE CHEESE! 

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Trip to Moose Jaw by Samantha

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Samantha and her family live on a family farm near Ponteix, SK. Recently, they took a road trip to Moose Jaw. Samantha came to my digital storytelling workshop in Ponteix with the photos that she took from her family trip and produced this digital story.

 

Intergenerational Collage

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The Care Home in Paradise Hill invited me to facilitate an activity that would involve the Residents as well as a family member (preferably a Grandchild, since Grandparents Day is just around the corner).

I suggested we do a collage using various mediums as well as at least one family photo.

Not only did the Residents supply more than one photo, many of them had more than one Grandchild in attendance.  And some had a Great-Grandchild to assist in our endeavour.

After a brief demonstration on how they could incorporate meaningful text from books, pressed flowers, fabric, and photos into their collage the participants of the workshop quickly got to work.

As I went around to visit, offer assistance, and admire their creativity, it was clear the activity was bringing to the foreground many stories that may have been dormant. For instance, in one collage I noticed the duo had placed a page from the dictionary in the background and then layered many cut out images of cowboys over top.  When I enquired about it, the Resident’s Great-Granddaughter explained me to that they had chosen the word ‘challenge’ on that page as their theme.  When I asked, “why?” she further explained that her Great-Grandfather had told her he found it a great challenge to get on his horse at 93, but he did it anyways…..  And there was the photo (in the foreground of the collage) to prove it.

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SaskScapes – Remembering Alvin

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A moving tribute to Alvin Cote who lived much of his life on the streets. He touched the lives of many in Saskatoon, including my two guests, who share their memories of the life of a man who continues to have an impact many, even after his passing.

 

Alvin Cote painting       photo taken by Cst. Chris Martin

The Philosophical Aspects of a Fabric Mosaic

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On August 23 I facilitated a Kids Craft for St. Walburg’s Blueberry Festival.

I had prepared the ingredients for a blue fabric mosaic and set up as a drop-in activity at the four corner stop on Main Street.

There’s something about these community based art activities that reminds me of Confucian sayings about society and self-governance or the Taoist concept of wu wei.  They remind me of sayings like, “the less the king does, the more gets done.”

What I mean by this is that there is a place and need for all types of workers, artists, at such endeavours.  If you provide the supplies and give a brief instruction (or better yet, show by example) kids of various ages come up and participate in their own way.  Some will come and sit down and focus on an entire section until it’s complete, regardless of the time it takes to finish the task. They like to having a designated and working alone. There are those who don’t like to start the project but like to follow behind the steadfast starters and fix.  They will (in this case) remove excess glue, trim fabric, straighten pieces.  There are rogues, of course.  Those that come in all jacked up on festival sugars, who are loud and obnoxious and don’t follow any of the rules.  And while I used be bothered by the drive-by contributors, I have (with time) come to understand their place too.  Now I see that if I just calmly bide my time, the rogues never last longer than five minutes, their errors ignite the fixers enthusiasm, and they break the monotony of the steadfast starters pace.

I have come to understand on a visceral level that indeed if there is a calm center around which kids of all ages can come and work in their own way (without being told how to operate) there is some sort of organic governance that occurs and everything functions smoothly.  The project gets done because everyone works in their own inherent fashion, and naturally there is a worker for every job and job for every worker.

Basically, these community based art projects are indicative of the idioms regarding the significance of the individual parts contributing to thephoto-56 photo-57 photo-58 photo-59 whole.

 

SaskScapes – with guest Sherron Burns

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Sherron Burns’ artistry weaves its way through theatre, dance, mask work, and puppetry.  She shares the work she is doing through collaborations, arts education, and her involvement in the newly formed Artist Run Centre (ARC) in North Battleford, SK.

Canadian Camping Adventure for Newcomer Youth by Allie

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Allie Steinley is one of the kindest women I’ve had the pleasure of meeting during my travels in Saskatchewan this summer. She genuinely cares about helping people, and I loved listening to her stories about her volunteer work overseas while we had lunch at the Ponteix Bakery and Restaurant—which makes the best long john donuts, by the way!

Not only did Allie help organize the digital storytelling workshop in Ponteix, she also participated in it. Allie wanted to share the story of what happened when she and one of her co-workers at the Southwest Newcomer Welcome Centre went on two camping adventures this summer with more than 30 newcomer youth living in Saskatchewan. During the workshop, she wrote and produced this touching digital story.

 

 

Working on Farm by Ashley

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Ashley took my digital storytelling workshop in Ponteix with her mother and two sisters. She wanted to tell a story about working on the farm with her family and how everyone helps one another. She produced this lovely digital story that gives a glimpse of what life on a farm is like from a young girl’s perspective. This workshop was hosted by the Southwest Newcomer Welcome Centre and the Cultural Centre Royer.

Stories from Southwest Saskatchewan

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I am staying at a beautiful bed and breakfast on a farm near Wymark, SK, which is about 20 kilometres south of Swift Current.

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When I pulled up to the house last night, three (of nine) farm cats and two dogs greeted me.

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Just outside the patio doors to my bedroom are pigs, horses and a chicken coop. Right now, I can hear sheep having a conversation with the cows from my window.

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I grew up in Saskatoon and have not had much experience with farm life. It’s fitting that I’m staying here, since I’m facilitating a digital storytelling workshop in Ponteix, SK and several of the participants are doing their stories on the family farm. The workshop is organized by the Southwest Welcome Newcomer Centre and is being held at the Cultural Centre in Ponteix, or perhaps more commonly known to the locals as Le Centre Culturel Royer.

Just a few weeks ago, Ponteix celebrated its 100th anniversary. It’s a town of about 600 people with a lively Francophone community. In the early 20th century, Ponteix was founded by a priest from France and became a French settlement. Father Albert Marie Royer named the town Ponteix after the church he served in France. This afternoon I wandered through the cemetery and noticed that many of the surnames on the graves were indeed French.

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One woman in the workshop is doing her digital story in French with English subtitles. Another young girl is working on a story about moving to Saskatchewan from the Philippines. And one participant’s story is on cross-cultural friendships formed among young people at a leadership camp.

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I’m looking forward to watching these digital narratives from Southwest Saskatchewan and sharing them with you.

 

 

SaskScapes – with guest Flo Frank

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Flo Frank shares stories of her global “from-ness”, and her passion for indigenous cultures.  Stories from her travels, her love of Saskatchewan, cooking, and more. Flo’s work across Canada and around the world has made, and continues to make, a positive difference on the planet. Sage advice from her Grandmother!