crafty party

On Sunday, December 5, Studio Dawson hosted its first-ever crafty party.
One of the many exciting results of this event is a pair of sexy handsocks lovingly crafted by Ean using one of Brigitte's cushion sweaters.

news from the west, no. 3: Beautiful Bee Cee

On Tuesday I bid farewell to my dear Jenn and jumped on a plane to the town I like to call Vangroovy. Since my arrival I have viewed and been viewed by various family members (including my now 95-year-old Grandma!), ate some yummy foodstuffs (including the very essential White Spot Legendary Burger) and checked out the new Canada Line skytrain. Cool. Very cool.

Now I'm in Mission, yukking it up with Maia, Tim, Lucas and sweet lil' Jubilee. Awww.

news from the west, no. 2: I love the ocean

Sunday was beach day! I hadn't been to the ocean since last summer in Maine, and lovely though it was, it wasn't the same as my old friend the Pacific. Again, I don't want to diss the east coast, which does of course have its charms, but there just isn't anything like the west coast.

We went to Manzanita and Cannon Beach. GORGEOUS.

Jellyfish of various sizes and scarinesses, big waves, cold water, soft sand, elaborate castles, warm tidepools, amazing ice cream. Gotsta go back.

news from the west, no. 1: Passionate about Portland

Heya. I'm in Portland with my old pal Jen. I really like this city. Lots of great shopping and food, excellent for cyclists, laid back atmosphere, plenty of green space. And it kinda looks like Seattle.


Upon arrival: Upon escaping heavy airport traffic we headed out for some tasty food (triscuit nachos yum!) and drinks at The Liberty Glass. Friendly joint in a beautiful old house. Love it.


First day: Shopping! Jen is the most amazing shopper. In fact she's a bit too good. If I want to still have money in my account when I get to Vancouver I'll have to start averting my eyes.

This first day in Portland also featured a top-notch caffe latte, tasty bar snacks and... wait for it.... the Grilled Cheese Grill!!! We ate our fabulicious sandwiches with Cherry Coke (they still have it here!) in an old school bus. Awwww.

Today we're off to the farmers' market and the Alberta Street Fair. Yay!

that's it! I'm outta here.

My adoring fans on the west coast will be happy to hear that I'll be embarking on a four-city tour of the Pacific Northwest (and Canadian Southwest) starting next week!

First stop: Portland, OR to visit my pal, the lovely and enchanting Jen McCabe. I believe a visit to the *real* ocean is on the agenda. With some great foodstuffs. As is a massive overload of pretty.

Then I'm off to Vancouver, BC to see family and friends.

Mission, BC is not to be missed, for an action-packed stop at the Coen-Ablers.

And last but most definitely not least, the tour will be wrapping up in Seattle, WA, the place where I was born and raised. There will be fish and chips. I have timed my visit to include a day at Bumbershoot, one of my fave events ever!

the pieces

Canapé Series #4

Canapé Series #1

Canapé Series #2

Canapés

Sushi

The first-ever vernissage went fabuliciously! Twenty-five of Montréal's finest crowded into Studio Dawson to ponder the thingies. I tried my hand at fancy cocktails (relatively successful!) and DJ Sophia kept us happy with the tunes. All in all a success! Now I've got to finish all my works in progress and make a bunch more canapés. At the next vernissage I'll give them all away. Heh.

Dimanche après-midi

Sweet Sixteen

Girls' Night

Head Room, or Brain Storm, or Diorama Lama Ding Dong (work in progress)

Take Me Away

Untitled (work in progress)

Detail from Head Room, or Brain Storm, or Diorama Lama Ding Dong (work in progress)

vernissage

Narrowly renowned for her small-scale assemblages, Eva Dawson is inviting influential members of Montréal's tiny-things-glued-together appreciation world for the very first time into her home/studio.

Event may or may not include edible treats, rustic colourful cocktails, live music, poetry readings and spontaneous group dance scenes from 80's music videos.

What the critics have said about artists other than Eva:
...
"... has a poignancy, humour and ability to transform intense subject matters into an aesthetic and visceral language all her own"

"Seriousness and flippancy, rigour and self-deprecation, turn at the heart of ... work, and the staging of this, the largest-ever retrospective ... is rich with institutional irony and critical self-consciousness."

"... subverts collective history through recourse to individual experience, blurs boundaries ... skilfully balances aesthetic composure with the indeterminacies of time and memory."

Take me away!

Julio allows himself one last luxury before devoting himself entirely to winning the World Cup for his country.

my kind of thing

Went down to Burlington, Vermont last weekend, and viewed one of VT's finest monuments:

THE WORLD'S TALLEST FILING CABINET!!

I was thrilled. Truly thrilled. Isn't it fabulous? You can find it and many other wonderful attractions on Roadside America. An essential reference for any roadtrip!

slice of life

So the power went out in our Lévis office, and a whole slew of people could no longer work, and so they left. Everything at work is dependent on electricity.

Except our most important tool, our

ever-powerful brains

Wouldn't it be cool to try and avoid using electricity for a full day? I think I might try it.

More on that later.

new!! fun photos from last year!

Have a look at this exciting blow-by-blow photoreportage of my experience on the Great Waterfront Trail Adventure last July.

http://deactivatedsludge.blogspot.com/2009/09/great-waterfront-trail.html

slice of life

The fridge is full but I don't know what to eat.

Better Late Than Never Not Much News from Havana, Part 1

As I may have mentioned in a previous post, the Cuban Internet is an ever-elusive beast. That is why I chose to defy tradition and not post news while in Cuba. While you're waiting impatiently for me to expose my thoughts, here are some photos for you:

http://picasaweb.google.com/posamari/HAVANAJanuary#

Havana!

So anyhoo, I couldn't do my usual updates with the Cuban Internet situation as it is. So I'll write an after-the-fact bulletin or two, for the stuff I can remember. Bear with me.