Tag Archive for: Saskatchewan

The Wolf Clan Mother Mosaic is Installed

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Well, the ceramic tile mosaic of the Wolf Clan Mother is installed on Muskoday First Nation.

But, it never would have happened without the help and endurance of Jay Kimball and Shannon Smith.

Shannon spent two days inserting all the necessary tiny tile pieces into the spots that were missing tile–a job coveted by very few. Plus, she helped polish for the better part of an afternoon. Additionally, Jay Kimball agreed to a very long day of travelling, grouting, polishing, and installing on the powwow grounds.

The mosaic will be celebrated with a ceremony on the Saturday of Culture Days Weekend.  But, in truth, the mosaic will  be celebrated for years to come when people gather for ceremony and tradition on Muskoday First Nation’s Powwow Grounds.

 

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Making Mixed Media Sculpture at the SCC

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Typically, when I facilitate a workshop there is some structure. There is an example of what we are going to make. There are pre made parts.  There are steps to the process that I go through (one by one)…. There is an end goal.

But, this time, at the Saskatchewan Craft Council’s Mixed Media Sculpture Workshop, which was held in conjunction with the Broadway Street Festival on September 6, there was none of that.

When people entered the Affinity Gallery and approached the table, they were invited to create whatever they liked.  I would list all the fun materials they could play with (beads, wire, yarn, feathers, etc.), and I would list some potential possibilities (jewellery, architectural sculptures, wall hangings, etc.).  But, in the end people were encourage to “just create.”

And what a success that was.  People did just that.  They created.

Perhaps it was the inspirational artwork in the gallery, or the excitement of the festival, or maybe it was just people’s inherent creative nature that came through, but I didn’t hear once (out of approximately 120 participants) “I don’t know what to make.”

Considering that creativity is one of the ‘tag lines’ of Culture Days (“Create, Participate, & Celebrate”) I think more credence needs to be given to this type of ‘creation.’  True, it’s comfortable to go to a workshop where there is structure and an expected end result.  But, it is also extremely important to “Create for Creation’s Sake.”  It’s important to trust the process of uninhibited creativity.  Some of the most important inventions have come out of this kind of play and experimentation.  So I was happy to see us engage in and practice this type of creativity. photo-83 photo-84 photo-85 photo-80 photo-81

Knittin’ in the Mall

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Another group that is using knitting as a means of participating in Culture Days is a collective in North Battleford.

There are several ‘Knitting Circles’ scheduled during the month of September in various public locations around the city.  One such locale is the Co-Op Mall.  A group of 13 knitters gathered on September 4th for a couple hours and began their knitting contribution. Like the Waldheim Knitters (mentioned in the previous post), this group of knitters plans on meeting in Central Park on Saturday, September 27 to yarn bomb some trees and lamp posts.

But, before the big installation the group will meet several times, as they did on September 4th, and prepare their knitted pieces.

I have to admit, there was something amusing and inspiring about walking into a mall and seeing a group of knitters creating and visiting.  It was such a juxtaposition between what I consider a domestic, cozy, intimate, solitary practice and the sterile, public environment of a mall.  When I came around the corner and saw the group of knitters the space was instantly transformed.  It changed from a place of business and aloof transaction into a warm, friendly place.  Further, it morphed from a space of commerce and consumption to a giving place of hand-made production.

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SaskScapes – Whirls & Twirls

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Who knew that the secret to longevity could be found through square dancing! Join me, and 16 members of Kindersley, Saskatchewan’s “Whirls & Twirls” as we do-sa-do through their stories of Saskatchewan, and their love of square dancing.

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! 

GRILLEDCHEESA

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

Entre Saskatoon et Vancouver by Cindy

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Cindy’s digital story is about a trip she took by train from Saskatoon to Vancouver. This story was produced in my digital storytelling workshop in Ponteix, which was held at the Centre Culturel Royer, where Cindy works. Cindy hosted the workshop, while working at the Centre. She answered the phone and greeted visitors and also participated in the workshop. She even made us all a delicious lunch. Merci, Cindy!

Ponteix is home to a large Fransaskois community to which Cindy belongs. Her digital story is in French with English subtitles.

 

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.