Where Do You Create? (#ArtsTalkTuesday)

photo from Unspash.com

Some artists get to work at their craft, full time, in a dedicated studio space. A massive old barn. A converted garage. A loft downtown. Others of us, well, we make do.

Just last night I seized a 45 minute family absence to write a song in my living room. I did a rough recording on my iPad, because I have no permanent recording space set up at home. Or anywhere. I make space where I can find it. Writing is the same. This post is taking shape at my kitchen table. I'd be reclining on the couch but feel it's bad for my posture (and perhaps my work ethic).

As we look to launch our new space, we're hoping for some creative co-working spaces in the back. Likely four stations where you can bring a laptop, sit in community and work away, far from the distractions of the floor that needs to be vacuumed and kids that need to be entertained. This has got me thinking a lot about the spaces where we work. The spaces where we make. The ways those spaces affect our work.

I've even read about someone who covered a van into a mobile workspace!

So, where do you work? Where do you get your creative projects done? Are you happy with that space?

Please answer in the comments below, or on social media with the hashtag #artsTalkTuesday. 

Grow Your Art Challenge Check-In: October

It's time to take stock, friends. Time to look at what we've accomplished this year and say 'that's good', or 'I need to push through a little harder now'.

I need to push through a little harder now.

In January I made a commitment. I wanted to record a 6 song EP this year. I started with a whole album, then pared that back. I thought 6 songs was doable. Perhaps even easy. It has not been easy.

The sand is nearly drained. There is just one piece of pie left. I want to savour it. I want to make good on my commitment, for my sake and yours. I want to show us both that goals can mean something - that they can pull us forwards to unexpected and joyous destinations.

Many of you began this journey with me in January. Many of you said, 'yes, I'm going to complete an art project this year.' We set goals, and I promised you a party to celebrate and share. Regardless of how we've done, there will indeed be a party.

A Winding Road

Since January, a lot has happened. While I've picked away, more slowly than intended, on my EP, I've traveled and written much more than in the past. I've been part of great projects like Bridge Songs. My church has moved homes. The Bleeding Heart Art Space has found a home of its own. Between these exciting events, in the tight spaces, my art is still breathing, if sometimes just barely.

Finishing Well

Today I am taking a hard look at my progress and deciding whether I can make that goal or not. I am going over what I've done. I am being realistic and giving myself heaps of grace. I am checking in with the rest of you.

So, is your project coming along? Please share by answering the following questions ...

1. What have you accomplished so far?
2. Do you think you can make your goal, or do you need to adjust it?
3. What is the biggest obstacle you face to complete your project in the next 2 months?
4. How can we as a community help you reach your goal (this is the time to help each other out with that final push friends!)

The outlook may be sunny or gloomy as today's October skies, but either way, don't give up. Don't be hard on yourself. Heads up and all that.

We can do this. Together.

13 European Art Experiences I'll Never Forget

This fall’s trip to Europe was full of inspiration. Last week I took you to the Tempelhof Airport Garden in 13 photos. This week I have 13 more moments to share, this time spread across Munich, Berlin and Paris. 

Looking back on those days filled with art and culture, these are 13 scenes that will stay with me a very long time. 13 moments when I felt lucky to be alive, in that place, at that time. 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so let’s get on with those pictures. 

1. Iceland Air In-Flight Media

The inspiration actually begins in the cabin of our Iceland Air plane to Europe. Iceland Air is working hard to convey Iceland as little island with a big culture. They succeed, and I hope to return there for more than a 45 minute layover sometime soon.

It doesn’t take long to see there is something creative and beautiful about Icelandic people. It is clear right from the in-flight safety video. These are usually forgettable, but this whimsical piece includes animation and a clever juxtaposition of Icelandic adventures with the various safety instructions. 

See for yourself.  

While we wait for takeoff Icelandic music pumps through the speakers, and it is great. They even sell CD’s, one of which you can stream online at http://www.icelandicmusic.com/MusicNews/1122/hot_spring_stream_the_album_for_free/.

2. Gilching Square Sculpture 

From the serenity of our Iceland Air flight, we are plunged into the confusion of the large and foreign Munich airport. Thankfully, it is midday and we had plenty of time to get to our Air BnB accommodations. 

Our basement suite is tucked into a lovely little suburb on the outskirts of Munich, called Gilching. We get off the S-Bahn (train) and walk a kilometer or so. Nearing the house, unsure of ourselves, our host calls to my wife from across the street. ‘Are you Christie?’ We sigh with relief. What a miracle, to be found by a stranger across the world. Such a warm welcome!

Settled in, we head for a walk and dinner in a quiet public square. This kind of square stands out in Canada, but can be found all over Europe. In its centre stands the first of many impressive pieces of public art we’ll see over the next two weeks. A massive globe, made of wood-grained panels with bright coloured squares strewn throughout. The globe is split down the middle. 

Closer inspection reveals the two halves connected by a series of life-size bronze arms, linking hands. It is a beautiful piece thanks speaks to connection and unity. That same connection we felt when our host yelled hello across the German street. The same connection we will feel many times on our trip.

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3. Classical Violinist Busker

Walking through downtown Munich days later, we are in a crowded shopping district filled with pedestrian-only cobblestone streets. We pass under an archway, and there in the shadows is a familiar sight. A busker. What is unfamiliar is the busker’s music. He plays a violin and plays it well. Exquisite classical music fills the stone archway. In Edmonton this would be a Neil Young cover on a detuned pawnshop guitar.

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On the bottom right you can see the archway. He was somewhere in there.

Definitely not the violinist, but another fine specimen of Munich Street Performer I will refer to as the Munich Munchkin.

4. Paper Crane Church Installation

Just down the road, we enter an open church. I try and stop into any churches that look open, if only for a moment, to take in the breathtaking architecture. These old buildings are so ornate – so full of care and attention to detail – that they would be major tourist attractions in young Canada. Here in old Europe, they are commonplace. But not this church. This church houses an art installation.

Looking up, we see hundreds of origami cranes hung by wire from the ceiling, flying in formation toward the altar. The light from the an open window sets the white paper aglow. Dozens of us are looking but no one speaks. Thinking back now, I’m reminded of Dayton Casteleman’s windmills, but as striking as his piece is, he had no space so beautiful to set it within. Ancient and modern form a chord of resonant awe here. I try and capture it.

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5. Bavarian Cuckoo Clocks

Ducking into a tourist shop, we discover a room full of cuckoo clocks. Clocks like I’ve never seen, made from intricately carved wooden pieces and costing thousands of dollars. They are set differently so that one goes off every few moments. We watch wooden couples dance round and round. We hear the classic cuckoo chime. Not sure this is my taste, but you can’t help but marvel at such care and craftsmanship.

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6. Berlin Street Art

Care and craftsmanship are not words I would use when describing Berlin. Except for the food. Berlin is brazen with youth and defiance. She is punk rock to Munich’s classical. And she is sexy.

Everywhere you go in Berlin–aside from the sterilized tourist core–surfaces are covered in graffiti. Some of it is incredible. Some of it is just graffiti. But even that, taken together en masse, is an inspiring kaleidoscope of shape and colour.

If creativity was a genie, his bottle shattered in Berlin, and you’re not getting him back in there.

A large section of the Berlin Wall remains as the Eastside Gallery.

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'Berlin is Poor, But Sexy'. This is not actually their city slogan, but it could be.

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This place is just so broke-down-beautiful.

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Sections of the Berlin Wall, preserved as canvases. 'Every Wall is a Challenge'.

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Just a wall like so many others.

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So .... this is a Berlin playground. 

7. Tempelhof Garden

I won’t speak much of the garden at Berlin’s abandoned Tempelhof Airport, because I wrote an entire piece on it last week. But I will tell you one story. 

I am filming a short video clip to try an capture this place, and just before I hit STOP I am interrupted by a roving poet. He looks wild. A little mad perhaps. Homeless, maybe. He offers me beauty for a mere 0.50 Euro. How can I say no?

I pay him and he recites a poem, first in German and then, sensing I do not understand, translated to English. I’ll never know if something has been lost in translation, but the poem doesn’t make a lot of sense. He then writes it down and gives me this paper. 

It feels like a sacred moment with some fairy in the forest. Before I leave he makes sure I hear his final advice. 

‘Always loud! The instrument will function well.’

I take so many pictures here that my camera battery finally dies, and so I will hand photographic duties over to my wife’s camera from here on out.

8. Urban Spree Gallery

We spend most of our Berlin days in Friedrichshain, a neighbourhood like Whyte Ave on a good drug trip. Not that I’d know. 

Specifically, I’m drawn to a derelict train yard, housing at least one nightclub, a skatepark, a climbing wall, a restaurant or two and a vintage furniture store. 

It’s in that furniture store, housed in old work-camp trailers, I learn we are just a block from the Urban Spree Gallery. This free art gallery is an altar to Street Art, complete with great outdoor couches to relax in the gritty sunshine with a biere.

We’ve made it for Dubl Trubl, a collaborative Street Art show. This is the street art version of a rap battle – the pieces attributed as ‘artist X vs. artist Y’. It’s totally awesome.

You just have to check out their website and their photos of this show at http://urbanspree.com/blog/gallery/. 

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They actually seem to repaint the building to match the show.

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Here is that furniture store. Those containers can grow and shrink to meet the need. This parking lot is a park. Sort of.

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Climb this!

9. Quay Along the Seine

After checking into our apartment in Paris (and with no small amount of trouble but that’s another story), we decide to take a nap, then head for an exploratory walk. 

Our wandering will eventually lead us to the Eiffel Tower, but we get there via the Seine River. 

Along the Seine Quay there are food stalls, giant board games, hopscotch, a play structure for kids, sculptures and so much more. A woman guides kids through a string art workshop. The pieces look so cool but we’re too old to take part. 

Walking along the Seine we stumble upon a disco under a bridge. A mirrorball spins between mirrored walls and a wooden DJ booth structure. We get to be the DJs! I read a sign and discover that I can control the music from my mobile device via Bluetooth. I pull out my iPod Touch and cue up the perfect song. Afterlife, by Arade Fire, from their latest album, Reflektor. It’s a song we’ve heard played in stores here, so I know people know it. Arcade Fire is from Montreal, about as close to Paris as some good Can-Con can get. And it’s got a beat you can dance to.

In a moment of spontaneous romance I cue up Glen Hansard and invite my wife to dance with me. A few steps in the music cuts out. Our time is up. 

Thankfully, there is still plenty to inspire along the recently revitalized Quay.

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This is how they do street art in Paris.

10. Madeline Church Concert

In a moment of intention-keeping I am very proud of, we make it to the gorgeous Madeline Church in time for a free choral concert. Or, in time enough.

The music is beautiful, more modern than I expect and performed by what looks like a choir of teens and young adults. The melodies reverberate throughout the massive hall like magic. I don’t think there are any microphones.

For the first time, but not the last, I am enthralled by music I cannot understand, forced to dig beneath the lyrics for deeper treasures. 

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I have no photo of the Madeline, but Notre Dame should do in a pinch.

11. Espace Dali

A few days into Paris we visit Monmarte–the oldest part and the highest point atop a hill. Here is where the great artists lived. Here is where they philosophized at the Cafè de Flore. Here is where you find Espace Dali.

This gallery, dedicated to the work of Salvador Dali, is small but full of wonders. It focusses mainly on Dali’s sculptures, but has many paintings, too. I never knew Dali made sculptures, but there are many. Some are bronze versions of his most famous images. Bronze clocks melt. Bronze drawers sit open from the torso of a bronze woman. 

It seems we’ve lucked out again, as the current show places street artists inspired by Dali among his own works. In one cathedral-like space there are religious images from Dali. A bronze version of his floating Crucifixion. A Christ face painted from a splatter caused by Dali’s ‘bulletism’ technique. Among these, a punching bag with Christ’s face on it. It is a striking work created by a contemporary artist that plays nicely off of Dali’s own religious iconography. 

I learn here just how talented, and how wild, Dali was. I also learn the magnetic pull that Christian faith had on him. His fascination and dedication toward the Biblical story. 

I leave with much to think about, and an incredible desire to grow a moustache.

12. Centre Pompidou 

Where Espace Dali is small and focussed, the Centre Pompidou is sprawling and comprehensive. Among other things, Centre Pompidou houses France’s National Museum of Modern Art. I race through my three hours here, taking in what I can and trying to pay homage to the greats. Picasso. Miro. Bacon. Duchamp. Frank Gehry. 

There is so much to see in a building that is, itself, so much to see. We ascend clear tubes like hamsters, trying to find the open exhibits without wasting time walking. I get a brief glimpse of the Paris rooftops from the top floor. It is one of the best views anywhere.

Unfortunately, I did not have a camera along. I relied only on my wits and my wristwatch. But you can find out all about the Centre Pompidou on their website.

And maybe I can make it up to you with a view from another high spot in Paris - the Eiffel Tower?

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No Pompidou pics, so how about this one from another famous platform - Eiffel Tower?

13. Au Lapine Agile

Nearing our final evening in Paris, we’ve made reservations at the mysterious and fabled Au Lapine Agile. The nimble rabbit is shown on a painted sign, jumping from a cooking pan. Inside, nightly, a Parisian Cabaret takes place, and has for decades. Toulouse Lautrec still haunts this dark little room. Picasso Painted. Steve Martin wrote a play about it. 

It was too dark to get a good photo, but a picture could never convey the hobbit-hole warmth, deep lamplit reds or trunk-like wooden tables that fill every precious inch of this tiny space.

We wait outside in the rain until precisely 9 when, as promised, the doors open. We are ushered in by people who speak apparently little English, into a room we know nothing about. Cabaret can mean many things. Here is what it means at Au Lapine Agile.

We sit around the edges of the room, leaving an open table in the centre. A man plays a piano against the rear wall. There is no stage. A small curtain opens and 8 or so men and women, each in their own way looking very French indeed, sit around a table and get jovial in a language I don’t understand. They launch into rousing song. Without fanfare, our four hour evening has begun.

Song after song enthrals with the mystique of an ancient sea shanty, which I am told some of these are. A server brings us the house drink - some brandy with cherries inside. It is good but small and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to order anything else for the rest of the night. My wife, always prepared, has brought a bottle of water.

In a few spots we are helped to sing along and it is magic. ‘Oui, oui, oui!’ I sing. The voices of strangers join together just like those linked arms back in Munich. The pure beauty of music unites us, beyond language and distance, for a night. 

Some performers leave and each takes their turn in solo or pair to entertain us. In the end, past midnight, four of us remain while a lone singer croons over a strummed guitar. As intimate as it gets, this is simply like no other night I’ve ever had, and the perfect cork on an already beautiful European adventure. 

Jesus at the Cabaret.

Beauty in Our Backyard

I’m back home now, still on the lookout for beauty, and still finding plenty of it. Just a day or so after returning I was sent this video. You’ve likely seen it already, but its worth another watch. We don’t need to visit the places I’ve mentioned to open our eyes in wonder. Just go for a brisk fall walk with your heart wide open.

Sell Your Wares at The Carrot Christmas Arts Bazaar

The Carrot is hosting a Christmas Arts Bazaar and you could sell your wares right here in Alberta Ave.

Here are the deets straight from the fine folks at Arts On The Ave ...

"On Friday November 28th and Saturday November 29th the Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse will be hosting the 2014 Carrot Christmas Arts Bazaar in conjunction with Just Christmas, a Christmas craft fair at the Alberta Ave Community League. 
 
This year we will feature 6 indoor artisan spaces inside the Carrot and 6 outdoor artisan spaces in heated winter huts outside the Carrot.
 
Venue: The Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse (9351-118 Ave)
Dates: Friday November 28 (7:00PM-9:00PM) & Saturday November 29 (10:00AM-4:00PM)
Cost: $80 per table (for both days)
 
To apply for a table at this year’s Christmas Arts Bazaar please fill out the attached form and return it to carrotassist@gmail.com or drop it at the Carrot (9351-118 Ave) by Friday November 7th, 2014."

And that form? That's right here.

10 Minutes In Trello Changes Everything Today

Are creative people swamped in constant chaos, unable to keep an ordered life or make a deadline? Do you feel in control of your hours, or at the mercy of every notification and undone job?

Where you end up has a lot to do with where, and how, you begin.

I've found this especially true in the way I spend the 24 hours I'm given, fresh every day.

I used to spend many days frustrated, distracted and unsure of what I accomplished. Then, I came across some great articles online that suggested I may be able to fix things in just 10 minutes. Now, by taking 10 minutes to plan each morning, I know exactly what I need to do and whether I have time to get it done or not. I also know that I have time to relax, without guilt.

Just 10 minutes in Trello, an online planning tool is making all the difference.

Here's how I start every day.

I Respect My Body

I know my body has some serious limitations. When I wake up, I work out first thing.

It seems I can fool my body into thinking it can work out, long enough to get the workout done. Having this completed not only makes me feel accomplished the rest of the day, but it also gives me energy to get through what I need to do. There's not much sense planning for tasks I have no energy to tackle. Exercise especially helps me with my 'siesta-time' lull – a period between 1:30 and 3:30 that used to nearly paralyze me. It is at this time I am most likely to lose focus and start clicking random links to take me anywhere but the task at hand. Early morning exercise helps with this, hours later.

Of course, to get up and exercise at 6:30, I need to have gone to bed by 10:30 the night before. So today starts yesterday.

Prayer. Scripture. Coffee.

Now for some caffeine and centering. To be honest, most mornings this is a brief time - just 10 or 15 minutes. I'd like ot make more time for prayer and contemplation. I need to make that choice, and as you'll read below, I can.

I try to read a Bible passage from the Revised Common Lectionary and think about what it means for my life. I will sometimes pray through the Lord's Prayer, or think about any needs in my world. Oftentimes, my prayer will blur into the next part of my day: planning.

I Plan With Trello Today

'Today' is a special Board I use in Trello, an online project management tool you can use for free.

Think of Trello as a series of bulletin boards, each representing a specific project or sphere of responsibilities. I have Boards set up for breaking large projects down into smaller chunks. I have a Board set up just for books I want to read and have read. And I have a Board set up for Today.

Within each Trello Board you create Lists of Cards. I think of the Cards as little pieces of paper I pin onto the Board–each representing a small piece of the whole project. These Cards can be grouped into Lists within the Board. I love this system for two reasons; it is visual and it is flexible.

Moving the Cards around the screen is a visual, nearly tactile, experience. It's the closest I've come to using a pin-board or sticking Post-Its to the wall (something I do often in creative meetings). Trello's flexibility makes it adaptable to any circumstance. Planning out your day, for example.

Here's how my Today Board is set up. Within the Board, I have the following Lists.

To Do

This List holds Cards for tasks I want to achieve today. Writing this article is one of today's Cards. I want to rake up 2 bags of leaves from the front lawn. I need to mail in a cheque for our tree pruning. These are all Cards under my To Do List. The bulk of my time in Trello this morning involved dragging cards into this To Do List, or creating new cards here.

I put fun items on this List, too. Reading a book. Taking a bath. Going for a walk. Visiting a vintage furniture store. Playing a game. Make sure you plan for leisure. When I don't, I either don't get leisure, or spend it guilty, assuming I don't have the time.

Doing

I don't always use this List, but it feeds my obsessive need to feel I'm accomplishing something. If I'm in the middle of a longer activity, like installing a new operating system on my computer, I'll drag that Card into this List while things are happening.

Right now, "Write Trello Today piece" is sitting in my Doing List. Soon, I'll move it to Done.

Done

As tasks are done Today, I'll drag them into this List, from my To Do or Doing Lists. It just feels so good.

One of the best parts of this system is that at the end of each day, and the start of the next day, I can see what I achieved. I know exactly where my time went. Each morning I review this List and then archive all the Cards in it. I clear it out. I start fresh.

Future - Important

This List holds Cards for things I want to get done, but don't need to do, or don't have time to do, today. This is how I make sure I don't miss important tasks that are due in the next few weeks.

At the start of each day, I review this List, and try to drag at least one Card from it onto my To Do List. I pick away at these important tasks as I can.

Future - Not Important

Things are things I want to do, but don't have to do. Checking out new features on a website might go here. Drawing a picture. Finishing staining our picnic table. I'd like to do these things, and don't want to forget about them, but if they don't happen soon, my world will remain pretty much intact.

Abandoned Tasks

These are Cards that I have decided I'm not going to do. I didn't start with this List, and I'm not sure I need it. It likely only exists because Trello doesn't actually let you delete Cards. This is frustrating to me, so I created a 'trash bin' of my own here. Maybe Trash would be an even better name for it. I just didn't want to put these tasks into 'Done' and pretend, because, well, I have issues. Let's just leave it there, okay?

My Bonus Lists

I have a couple of extra Lists here. One is for albums I have heard about and want to buy at some point. The other is for movies I'd like to watch at some point. These Lists may not belong here, but I didn't want to make a whole new Trello Board for them, so here they are. Trello can flex like that.

I Try to Be Realistic With My Time

I'm still working on this one, but it's important to know how long things are going to take. Do I really have time to get those 14 things done today? I think three major tasks is enough for any one day, with some smaller tasks peppered between.

I use the Pomodoro Technique to track my time, which calls for 25 minute blocks of work broken up by 5 minute breaks. Yes, I use a timer. So when I plan my day I think to myself 'how many Pomodoros is this going to take'? Because I'm a nerd.

Here's what's awesome about planning in chunks of time. You know if something is actually possible. If you are a 'Quantum Time' obsessive, like me, this also stops you from working for four hours with no breaks, or water, or snacks. If you get a link to an awesome YouTube video, you can park it for your 5 minute break, then watch it guilt free. Hey, this is your break! Social media addicts can try reserving Facebook check-ins for these 5 minute breaks, too. No checking for 25 minutes, then run wild for 5. It works really well, and it is freeing.

Your Mileage May Vary: What Matters and What Doesn't

You can sign up for Trello free at http://www.trello.com. I recommend Trello as a way to break large projects down into bite-sized pieces. It even lets you collaborate in teams.

But it may not work for you. A paper Today list may be all you need. You may prefer a system like Wunderlist, that lets you check boxes rather than dragging Cards. But I like dragging Cards.

What matters is this: plan you day . Take stock. Consider how you spend your time. Schedule as a spiritual discipline.

Don't complain about how busy you are–do something about it.

We creatives get a bad rap for disorganization. I do find it easier to chase distractions and new ideas than to focus and commit. I'm thankful to have tools, like Trello, to help me.

You know that dream project you just haven't found time for? Make time. That novel? Plan to write 500 words today.

Last year I struggled to write a blog post once a week and send out a newsletter every once in a while. Now I blog at least three times a week. I post to Facebook and Twitter regularly. I write monthly articles for the Rat Creek Press, I send out weekly emails. I'm working on an EP. I'm about to open an art space. I work part time at another job, cook great meals from scratch and exercise. I get to bed on time, and I don't feel busy.

Most of the time. 

I can tell you this. We all get 24 hours. Every single day.

You choose to give those hours to work or family or sport or play. You choose to binge-watch Orange Is The New Black or read Moby Dick. You. Choose.

Choose well and use every tool at your disposal. Take your time back.

Why is Beauty?

Why do we eat?

We eat to keep ourselves alive. More specifically, to keep our bodies alive. To nourish.

There is a spectrum, from fasting to feasting. We may fast for forty days and live, I am told. Once I fasted three days only to get so weak I had to get off the ETS bus and buy an apple from 7-Eleven. I could feel the sugar surge through my veins, reviving me. Science tells me I could have held out longer, but I'm a small man.

We are fresh from Thanksgiving feasts, when family gathers around a special meal to eat more and better than we need. There is no practical purpose for gravy.

We fast sometimes and we feast sometimes and both are good.

But we do need to eat. The most basic food will sustain us. Mush. Gruel. Insects and leaves on desert islands. Rice and beans for a third world lifetime.

To survive we don't need flavour, but we do need food.

Why do we sleep?

The science of sleep seems to be a confounding conundrum, but I can tell you one thing for certain. I need sleep.

Shortly after returning from Europe, I awake in a half-dream state. Blurred vision. Disoriented stagger towards the bathroom. I've been away for two weeks in three different bedrooms and already I am losing my way in the darkness of home. Back in bed I lie half-awake for two hours. I move ever so slowly in and out of sanity. My vision is liquid – dancing in blurred shapes of light. This feels close to fainting. I wonder if I am going a little crazy. Or having a near-death experience. I check my pulse.

As I lay awake–and more awake each moment–I inch towards the light of reason. My mind clears its clouded waters until I can see bottom.

I was not crazy, after all. Only very, very tired. Jetlagged.

I eat to sustain my body. I sleep, I think, to sustain my mind.

But what of my spirit?

A few months back good friends shared good drinks and asked a good question: What is beauty?

We never got our definitive, move-forward-answer.

There were clues. We got peeks through the windows. Parts to make something of the Whole. But the whole remains obscured.

What is beauty? They still write books about this question.

But what if it is the wrong question? Often, questions matter more than answers.

We were asking 'What is Beauty?'. What we should have asked is this: Why is beauty?

This is perhaps the great forgotten question of our time. The walked-over-on-the-way-to-work-question. The question left behind on a rush through the Louvre to check the Mona Lisa off an itinerary.

Why is beauty?

Our bodies can go without food for 40 days and will let us know they need their hunger. By 40 days will theyever let us know. They have pain at the ready. Our minds can last a while without sleep before they slip. But anyone who has felt that slip start will tell you it is a long way down and that you'd better stay here and lie down a while at the top.

So what of our spirits? What food for them? What rest?

This is why beauty.

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Last week my wife and I are reclining on the Parisian grass. We close our eyes, and when we open them, the Eiffel Tower is there. Just right there, and way up into the sky she reaches. She dances with light. We are drinking French champagne. We close our eyes again and when we open them, the Eiffel Tower is still there. And we are still here, on the Champ de Mars, like millions before us, feasting on beauty. We lie down and sigh. And then my wife is crying. Not sobs and not much, but a tear or two.

The spirit leaks in this way, sometimes. When jabbed with the sharp spear of beauty, a little hard and a little fast and a little too far in.

Somewhere on our trip, from some mouth or some wall's graffiti came words something like this; 'Beauty is the glow of Truth'.

My God, that is beautiful. And the best answer to our wrong-headed question I've heard so far. It might be just another peek through a window, but it's a mighty large window.

We need beauty. Our spirits need beauty, in the same way that our bodies need food and our minds need sleep.

But we have a problem–a fatal flaw in our design that I cannot understand. When we lack beauty, it is so hard to tell. Our spirits are so quiet. The body will cry out with pain. The lens of the mind becomes so foggy without sleep that we cannot walk a straight line. But what cry does the spirit make?

Depression. Boredom. Anxiety. Fear. Hatred. Hopelessness. Abandonment. Loneliness.

These are good warnings. When the needle is on empty, these will tell you. Unless you are not listening. Unless you drown the warnings out.

Entertainment will do the job.

Perhaps the ugliest thing I saw in Europe was a group of actors screaming for my attention at a dungeon-themed amusement park in Berlin. It was one of the most expensive mistakes of the trip. And the longest wait in line. The sets were elaborate and immersive. The actors were passable through thick German accents. The ghoulish special effects and suspenseful scares entertained, but none of it was beautiful. My spirit left hungry.

Entertainment is no stand in for beauty.

Let me repeat that, oh screen-sapped and weary generation of mine. ENTERTAINMENT IS NO STAND IN FOR BEAUTY.

Don't settle for entertainment. Seek out beauty. You won't have to look far. You don't need to travel. Beauty is just around the corner.

The most beautiful song is the song written just for you. The most radiant beauty is steeped in the context of home. The beauty of my own wife in a fancy dress. The beauty of Alberta Avenue on a sunny Kaleido Saturday.

Festivals and holidays are feasts, but our spirits need meals and snacks, too. Tiny beauty. The Sacred Small. We have to take time, and purpose, to stop and eat.

To look. To listen. To pay attention.

If I bring back one thing from two weeks in Europe it is the reminder to nourish my hungry spirit. To find the beauty of home and daily life. To grow stronger and healthier as I do.

I bring back answers to a good question. Why beauty?

13 Moments From the Tempelhof Airport Garden

I've been back from Europe nearly a week and I'm just now getting settled. I return refreshed, with a full memory, and a fuller memory card. I am seeking ways to unpack it all.

There was champagne at the Eifel Tower. The massive treasure chest of modern art that is the Pompidou Centre. The Salvador Dali Gallery. The old rail yards of Berlin. The midnight bike-ride through a pitch dark drug park. The beer steins and lederhosen of Munich. There was just so much. 

When I feel this sort of overwhelm, I know I need to focus–to zoom in on just one moment. So let me take you to Berlin's abandoned Tempelhof Airport.

I am wandering, jaw dropped and wide-eyed, through the most wild and beautiful garden I've ever seen. The Tempelhof Airport is an abandoned city-centre airport, like our own. It was slated for redevelopment, like our own. Unlike Edmonton's Municipal Airport, Tempelhof is a war hero. It was here that the US would drop off supplies and aid. This patch of grass and concrete and asphalt has worked its way into Berlin's heart. They love it here.

Tempelhof is now many things to many people. It is a sprawling runway for bicycles and skateboards, rollerblades and scooters. It is a place for children to race on foot, with start and finish lines painted out. It is hopscotch and chalk drawing. It is a place to picnic by the little old airplane. A spot to play baseball. A place to watch and learn about birds. A dance school. A bike-repair training centre. A refreshing hand-in-hand walk. A community garden.

In middle of this public park, now reclaimed by Berlin's citizens (I am told they will never develop it now), there is a community garden.

And I am wandering through this garden, taking photos. The first visit I just gawked and wondered aloud how this could happen. There are, seemingly, no rules at the Tempelhof garden. Respect your neighbours, of course, but build what you wish with whatever you wish. A pile of trash waits just at the edge to be transformed into the waking dreams of gardeners. I am back today to capture this–to feed my lens a kaleidoscope of imagination. To try and bring some of Tempelhof back, for you.

I need to try, because this remains my favourite memory of Europe. There is something about such ragged beauty–it's absolute freedom granted to the human spirit–that is a pure joy. This place, so far from perfect, is just perfict. 

Here. Let me show you as best I can in thirteen images.

Be sure to click each image for a description, my thoughts, and a larger version.

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Our New Home on Alberta Avenue!

Starting November 1, The Bleeding Heart Art Space will actually be ... a space.

Until now, we've done well incarnating space wherever and whenever we are able. Living rooms. Wood-lined and incense-infused church sanctuaries. Coffee shops. Art galleries. Community halls. We may still visit such spaces from time to time. But we have a home now.

Our new home is a space shared with Elm Catering, right on 118th Avenue, next door to the only place I know to get some of the best authentic Latin ingredients in town. If you drive by you'll see the Elm building getting a facelift as we speak.

This new home will provide us with permanent gallery space, so watch for a schedule of shows coming up. We hope to have our first show this December. 

This home will also provide us with a flexible shared creative work space.

We will open that space up to those of you in the neighbourhood who need somewhere to work away from dishes and laundry and kids. We'll be creating the coolest little shared workspace we can dream up, most likely ready for you to rent out at a low rate early 2015. Interested? Fire me an email.

For me, the schedule for the next few months looks like this. Take possession. Move in. Decorate. Make it homey. Invite friends over. Hospitality is central to the Bleeding Heart vision. We're all very excited to share our home with you.

So, when can you visit? 

Thursday, November 13, 2014, we host our first Arts Potluck in the new space. I hope you can make it out, whether you have art to bring or not. I can't wait to give you a tour.

How will we pay for all this? 

I was hoping you'd ask that.

I'm also hoping you are excited as I am about the prospects of a space dedication to art, faith and community in our city. A place where art, faith, hope and love can flourish. A place for questions and conversations. I'm hoping you are excited enough to support this space financially. I am. 

As we are a project of Urban Bridge Church, we are able to issue tax receipts for your giving. We are so grateful to be a small part of a larger family like Urban Bridge, and they have a lot of faith in us. The Urban Bridge community and a few others have already helped us raise enough for our first year in the space. My hope is to spend that year gathering enough monthly supporters to keep us in our new home for the long haul. 

I'm looking for two main groups of monthly donors. 

The Daring Dozen will be 12 organizations, businesses or individuals willing to give $100 a month to support the space. This is our rent money. This keeps our lights on. We have our first 2 already. Just 10 more to go. 

The Hundred Heartbeats will give $20 a month to power our programming. We need 100 of you who are willing to give at this level, so please consider what a project like this is worth to you. I have no doubts there are 100 people in Edmonton who will support a space like this. And because you do, we'll be able to host shows, put on Bridge Songs every year, pay artists appropriate exhibit fees, etc. Th more programming money we raise, the more we can do. 

That's all I can say for now. Except for this – thank you.

I am so blessed to make an announcement like this. So blessed to be on the cusp of dreams realized. So blessed to share this with you. Without you, the Bleeding Heart team and I would be just a handful of lonely, crazy people ranting about our dreams. But we're not. We are a community about to set out a welcome mat in Edmonton's most exciting neighbourhood.

Knock knock.

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Of course, you knew this already, because you are on our super-special email list, right? Right?

We Invite You to Make it Perfict: Bridge Songs 2015 Call is Open

We want to hear your songs. We want to see your art. We want to watch your words come to life. Don't let something as small as perfection stop you. 

Musicians, artists and writers are invited to submit original works for Bridge 
Songs: PERFICT.

Bridge Songs, an annual event in its ninth year, combines live music, poetry, spoken word 
and art around a central theme. Songs are also recorded and released as an album. Bridge 
Songs: PERFICT takes place Saturday, June 13, 2015 on Alberta Avenue. It is produced by 
The Bleeding Heart Art Space.

This year’s theme, PERFICT, asks artists to explore our striving for perfection. Artists may 
examine the effects of that pursuit, and whether perfection is attainable. Artists may also 
explore the idea of societal utopias and personal perfection.

We are seeking visual art in all forms for the gallery, songs for the album and performance, 
and written work, short films and performance pieces for our evening show.

Song submissions are due January 11. 

Artwork, films and written submissions are due April 19.

Visit the website and download the Call for Submissions here.

Oh, and please do spread the word.

Volunteer for the Nina Haggerty Centre

The Nina Haggerty Centre for the arts does great work in our community, providing opportunities for people with disabilities to make art. I've volunteered with them myself, and it was an enriching experience meeting some great people. I even learned a bit about working with clay! 

The Nina needs volunteers this fall. 

There are many ways to contribute to the centre and anything you might do will be appreciated.  Here are the main, current possibilities—but if you have another way of being part of the centre, they are open to new ideas!

If you are interested, please reply to Jocelyn, who will contact you about possible dates and times.  

Current Opportunities

• Special events volunteer: 
  • November 4: Here’s Nina (Annual fundraiser at Chateau Lacombe)
  • December 13: Behold: Nina’s year-end show and sale
• Gallery assistant (Thursdays 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. or Saturdays 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.)
• Studio assistant (Studio is open Monday – Friday 10:00 – 2:00)
• Mentor to individual artist
• Animation helper (knows or has zeal for learning AfterEffects)                          
• Archive assistant (photographing and storing art)
• Administrative help (keeping chaos at bay)

Contact

Jocelyn Brown / Community Liaison

Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts

9225-118 Avenue

Edmonton, AB  T5G OK6

780.474.7611

volunteer@thenina.ca