leather based concrete

This week marked a shift in the process of creating mosaics with our community. Technically, we learned how to lay tiles in a way that is both simple and insightful. Socially, this method allows us to better engage with our public. It all started with what looked like a brief encounter with two local mosaic artists, Liz Calvin and Bruce Walther. They are both separately making mosaic pieces and have collaborated in a Downtown Vancouver project.


Concrete on mesh can be cut with sissors

Colored concrete is a world of exploration

Soon to be seen in Norquay Park, Vancouver BC

Both were friendly on the phone and provided valuable information that seemed quite a lot and sufficient for any good start of mosaic tile creation. This was a few weeks ago when Yoko and I were experimenting with methods to teach at our workshops. After quickly meeting with Bruce at the New Westminster Fraser Festival I went on to meet Liz in her studio.

My own joy of sharing information comes from practical realization that this is one of the stepping stones for our shared success as a society. What I've experienced in my meeting with Liz was something like a hurricane of generosity. Not only did she share information but she also provided us with tiles, materials and tools that are probably equal to doubling our budget for this part of the project. Not enough thanks can be expressed for such an attitude.

Meanwhile, in our workshops we gradually feel the growing interest among our visitors, who step into the room and around the tables with curiosity. They start with struggling to fit broken tiles side by side. As Yoko and I guide them through the process, their results begin to show nice little expressions of art. Some of them already show the glimmer of enthusiasm at the side of their eyes. They end their session with an eagerness do to more. I'm looking forward to the tiles we are about to create in the next little while.

mind off; hands on. community building

You can be done with laying tiles for a small mosaic in a short one hour and a half session. When it comes to working with the community this is what most people want on the one hand. On the other, the promise to have them learn is greatly compromised this way.

The hands-on approach allows for a fulfilling experience. The trick is to turn this into a rhythmic succession of learning waves. People can then both make something with their own hands and gain pieces of knowledge through their hands. The opportunity starts with a simple "I don't know how to draw". You never know immediately what makes people say that but with patience and persistence I usually find out that the person had something else on their mind. It could be the task that wasn't to their liking or simply a way to get some attention.

It's hard to predict exactly how a broken tiles mosaic will look like. The hammer strokes randomly produce pieces that are then placed on the design in a process similar to solving a puzzle. Playing with tiles before drawing a design on paper, helps in envisioning a style. This can later on be reproduced with realistic expectations. It would be interesting to see how the image above translates into a mosaic with the broken tiles system.

The same can be said about this drawing. Two variants are the main influence upon the quality of the final piece: the skill level of your audience and each of the participants' degree of engagement.

The sense of ownership that evolves through the process is present within the group no matter what age they are. The real benefit though of this project is getting people to interact in a way that is both fun and educational. A city needs this type of community building to really serve its purpose.

what people will understand

The design process takes us through steps of exploring options before we start fabricating. We'd like to check grout color, both within the tile and surrounding it; seeing the proportion of a tile on site can give a sense of its impact; understanding what to expect is also helpful when working in a team with a wide variety of skill levels. The Norquay Park mosaic project is a Matching Fund operation. Anyone from the community is invited to participate in workshops designed to facilitate the fabrication of mosaic tiles. Yoko and I will later on install them on site.

The color of grout greatly affects the way a mosaic looks. In this example the exact same design of tiles is completely transformed when illustrated with three different shades of grout.

It's also useful to get a sense of how a piece might look as its surroundings age. A quick test can let us make decisions relating to priorities ranging from choice of tiles to selection of colors. Three sidewalks of different degrees of wear were shot for this spread. The image of the tile was gently manipulated to illustrate a similar process of aging.

As we are making progress with the workshops, it's useful to continue exploring some of the techniques we will be using with the public. Some would step into work without hesitation. Others will express difficulties with unexpected issues. "I'm too lazy today" I've heard on the first session. Another one can't draw. The fact that they come to this workshop by their own choice puts things in an interesting perspective. The challenge in education is in what others will understand, not what they don't.

Other tests are made on the way. Some are merely illustrations done on the computer. But it's always working with the real materials when results start to give you a tangible sense of what things will actually look like. Even then, the tools we have on the computer help in saving time, money, and resources.

Then it's time to interact with our artists - the kids and other men and women from the community. They come to have fun, but are about to create a legacy for their own neighborhood.

mosaic-art

These days I'm working with Yoko Tomita, a community artist, on the design and delegation of making mosaics for a City of Vancouver park. We started by discussing techniques and researching possibilities.

Around forty grade six kids from a local school have already created drawings of creatures related to water. The theme we are addressing is 'clean water'. We are going to create 18 mosaic pieces of a square foot surface area where tiles will be laid based on the designs we got from the school kids.

After testing with tiles and materials the first workshop will start Wednesday this week. Collingwood Neighborhood House together with a Parks Board matching fund are sponsoring this project. The plans are posted on the Vancouver website. The most prominent features of the renovated park will be a new water spray area and a basketball field.

We are also about to work on two larger mosaic pieces that will become feature decorations located at the entry to the park. Resources on the web for making mosaics are limitless. Still, as you start working on a piece, every detail involved in the creation of this form of art influences the style and quality of the finished tile. It is fascinating to see this collaboration come to life. I'm looking forward to go through the rest of the project.

tag lines

This week I was asked: If you could be teleported to anywhere for one night and one day where would it be and why? On a drive home before I've seen this question I had been listening to a few words on the radio that dealt with religion. My response was inspired by that radio talk: "I'd be thrilled to sit beside God and get a sense of what it's like to manage a world inhabited by atheists like me".

It is a daily fascination for me to think of what makes people behave the way they do. Very few people I know seem to balance between their perception of life and reality in a way that satisfies them. Somehow they make connections between events that have no functional relation. Based on their conclusions they become frustrated by the lack of results they get from their honest efforts.

God in that sense is the big question mark we are all trying to find the answer to.

helping communications last

Every now and then we get to a point where communication doesn’t work. Our interaction becomes contaminated. Language is a virus says  Laurie Anderson in Home of the brave. This rings a bell to our own experiences.

In communications we want to maintain a positive flow. Our interaction involves triggers and reactions. Let’s look at them as a mechanism. Just like my hand is a tool that helps me along the day, I want my communications with others to work for me.

I need to know my tools and remember to use them. Three simple words and one expression that we often use: Listen, Ask, Suggest and Take action. They crystallize a set of ideas. As we interact, they serve as our tool.

Assuming we understand each other’s words, we need to let them into our brains. We need to Listen. When is it that we usually find it easiest to listen? For most of us I dare to assume it would be music. When you are listening to someone else, it could be an interesting experiment to listen to the music in the words you hear.

Ask. Showing the fact that you are listening has many forms. The question moves the conversation forward whether by establishing a sense of mutual understanding or even making progress with ideas. Rephrasing your companion’s words is also a sort of question: “did I hear you OK?”

Questions can be tricky though. You don’t want to give the impression of doubt when the intention is to build trust.

Sometimes the question itself promotes an idea that both of you are interested in exploring. Our interaction involves a form of negotiation. Suggest

After gaining information by going back and forth with the conversation, ideas that come up inform our progress.

These ideas are like roads that lead to various destinations. You reach an intersection and make a choice. You know what needs to be done: Take action. If you need to do it yourself this is almost easy. If you want someone else to act for you, you’ve come full circle.

Our goal is to nurture communications that last. Take the first letters of each of the four steps we’ve just gone through and this is what you get: L - A – S - T. It always seems simple as an idea. But as we go through the day we want to remember, to listen, to ask, to suggest and eventually, to take action.   

time is money

The concept of time has always interested me. The way we use it, the devices we create to measure time, document it and display it are a product of years of development.

Cartier

In 1748 Benjamin Franklin published a letter of advice to a young tradesman. It is intriguing to see the words that became one of the most used phrases related to business appear at the very beginning of that letter. I’m sure this is not the only reason his figure adorns the US$100 bill. Nevertheless, the concept is worth appreciating.

Tag-Heuer

The research that went into getting this information was not paid for. For my second Toastmasters speech I wanted to talk about wrist watches. Time is Money seemed to me like an appropriate opening, especially for the group I am meeting with, mostly employees of PHN, a Canadian investment management firm.

Tudor

The main body of my research concentrated on the watches though. Today, a wristwatch is considered as much of a status symbol as a device to tell time. Clock and watch makers have always taken it as a challenge to introduce new engineering advances into movements. Not all of them necessary for daily time keeping. This is how we end up with mechanical watches that provide an accurate display of time of sunset, phase of the moon and so on. Features responsible for the display of info other than hours, minutes, and seconds are referred to as complications.

Panerai

Components of the wristwatch can be numerous: The common hands for showing the hour, minute and second; Other hands in watches with complications; the dial; divisions of the hour; case; winder/button; wrist band. Each of these makes a difference when it comes to designing a timepiece. You might get confused when looking for a watch. When in a shop showing hundreds of watches, concentrate on one feature at a time. Go over the watches and focus your attention on the minutes hands. Then, look at how the hour 12 is represented. After that, sweep through the winders. With this exercise you can now approach your next browsing in open eyes and possibly make a selection that satisfies you.

Xetum

In an age when cell phones and digital accessories display time accurately and reliably, the mechanical wristwatch has slowly become less of an object of function and more a piece of modern culture. Go into any of the sites of watch making companies and you’d be amazed by the amount of attention given to the experience of browsing through the variety of products on offer. If you think no one buys those things anymore, think again. It took some time for the manufacture of watches to become relatively affordable for the masses. Never the less, whether cheap or expensive, for many, one of life’s more exciting rites of passage is a child getting their first wrist watch. It is also one of the most advanced pieces of technology people had before electronic gadgets evolved.

Ebel

Money facilitates our journey through time. In order to gain that money – controlled use of time is required. Throughout history humanity strived to perfect time keeping devices. A wrist watch on your hand is still one of the most convenient. It shows your understanding and appreciation of time, money and culture.

fundraising, volunteering, marketing

Supporting MACHiNENOiSY in their efforts to create art performances in the form of dance, is an intriguing experience for me. As board member of their non profit society I am learning a thing or two about what it's like to be a "starving" artist.

MACHiNENOiSY is a contemporary dance company based in Vancouver under the artistic direction of Delia Brett and Daelik. In the past three years the company has performed in Greece, France, Berlin, Vienna, Vancouver and Victoria, collaborating with some of Europe's finest dancers and choreographers, and steadily building a portfolio of cutting-edge dance.

The company's mandate is to foster the research and creation of innovative performances that transcend the traditional notions of dance and theatre. Delia and Daelik are dedicated to the investigation of movement as an expressive art form and to the creative exchange of ideas. To these ends they actively strive to collaborate with other artistic mediums and interact with the international dance community. Above all, they are dedicated to creating work that possesses physical clarity and emotional truth. See www.machinenoisy.com for more information.
On Saturday, November 28th, MACHiNENOiSY are having their 4th annual wine raffle/house party fundraiser. 2009 was a wonderful year for the company, and 2010 is set to be even more exciting. For this event I have volunteered to design an invitation that was circulated among our group of friends and board members. We are hoping to Raise $2000. If you read this and would like to join, please don't hesitate to get in touch: info@machinenoisy.com.
If you decide you want to buy a ticket, your online option to do this would be to get into the website http://www.machinenoisy.com/. Click the DONATE title to make a $20 donation per ticket through PayPal and click on the "donate" button. Please send MN a quick note letting us know you've done so and we'll set aside the ticket(s) for you; unfortunately, it's not tax-deductible, MACHiNENOiSY doesn't have charitable status yet.
Please be advised, the first prize can only be dlivered within BC Canada

bed time stories

Despite the inefficiency of reading in bed, I somehow managed to go through some intriguing books lately. When I come across a book that interests me, it feels like a conversation. Sometimes I wish I could write as well as the person talking to me from the pages. Sometimes I disagree with the ideas expressed. Every reading turns into a point of reference.
To Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point I got after hearing him interviewed on CBC Radio. He sounded like such a nice guy from nowhere as far as I could tell. Ah! I only turned on the radio after the interview had started. So he's a pretty well known New Yorker Magazine writer. Well, I liked the way he spoke. He says things in a pretty much similar way to what I think. Then I saw him lecturing through poptech. No, I once fantasized having hair like his. I had started balding when I was 19. I've been shaving my head almost ever since then. We're definitely not the same person.
The scope of information available in today's communications is also part of the intrigue. A quick research into your subject of interest makes it feel like you own it. Malcolm is a household friend. Jared (Diamond) is patiently waiting for me to read him after Anat hands him over to me when she's finished. Guns, Germs and Steel is a bit thicker than The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. It always wakes Anat for a few more lines of reading as she struggles through the paragraphs that gently fall on her nose as she drifts to sleep. One of the print industry's most useful accessories comes in handy on such occasions.
Only after browsing with Netscape for a few years did I realize where the expression Bookmark had come from. Having worked many years with Explorer now, the habit of reading books is still one of my Favourites.

visit to israel

Aya died (30^th of March 2009). From the stories of her diabetes, the infection in her leg, her hospitalization, it seemed to me that her days were numbered. Maybe it was easy for me to feel that way because I am away, in Canada, while they are back in Israel. When Aya died there was wonder as to what had killed her. 65 is not considered old age these days. A day or two before her death she was diagnosed with cancer.

Death is a straightforward reminder of the insignificance of our existence. 'How we die' by Sherwin Nuland describes the six most common processes that bring our bodies to the moment of death. A fascinating book that shows how boring and predictable death is. The author's intention in writing this book came from the realization that lack of information is at the base of the emotions surrounding death. My grandfather, who I have never met, died at 56. Before my father turned 56 he seemed to have been counting the days.

When I was riding my motorcycle a few years earlier, at 29, I was hit by a car. This near death experience was more frightening to everyone around than to me. For the first week, although regarded conscious, I was completely disoriented. I have virtually no memory of that time. If anything stays with me from that time it's the fear of injury and not the fear of death. So what makes so many of us cling to life so badly?

Before we die we want to leave a mark, to create meaning. In death our value can be calculated. Initially that value is described in terms of loss. Eventually memory is gathered to become a legacy. Aya's legacy is hard to describe in elaborate words. It's one that is less of her own life yet belongs to her life.

She really liked us, her nephews. We made her happy and she wanted us to be happy.

In her death, I remember her fondly.

silicone valley

Yaron David, a friend who lives in Amsterdam, is now working on putting up a line of pastries for sale through restaurants and other venues.

I wish him luck. There are many occasions where my own pastries got rave reviews. One of the best recipes comes from my grandmother who remembered it from her childhood in Czechoslovakia and passed it on to us, her grandchildren. Somehow I turned out to be the master in our family for this one. Some other recipes, I've picked through the years and turned them into signature masterpieces of my household. This hobby-on-the-verge-of-obsession is as far as I'm willing to go with cooking for others.

Food is such a treacherous field. We all need it. "Anyone can cook" as Chef Gusteau testifies. Not everyone wants to bother making the effort. (for those of you who haven't seen the movie, please do yourselves a favour: Ratatouille). So when you want to turn food making into a business, you deal with satisfying no other than the human mouth. When I make a good cake and serve it to friends, they usually feel obliged to compliment. When you make a good cake and sell it to people, they expect to be entertained. My brother, Erez, seems to have struck the right balance between fine cooking and amiable entertaining. His home based dining service has been steadily gaining more clients since opening his business a few years back.

My own cooking stays non business oriented with an appetite for fun and playfulness. A while ago I came across a bunch of silicone muffin pans with various simple shapes. They reminded me that our pan at home was becoming a little rusty and needed to be phased out. The thought of using a muffin pan is not a compelling one to say the least. Therefore, when I saw the silicone pans, they looked like the perfect toy to inject some fun into the muffin making chore. Since then it seems like the market for silicone baking products has expanded considerably. On my recent visit to Israel I came across a shop (4 chef) that holds a nice variety of Silikomarts. Initially it was hard to choose between them but I could't take them all. I still haven't used the two new pans I had bought but they already make me smile whenever I see them waiting patiently on the shelf.

This is probably the right time to get into the kitchen and work.

Bon apetit!

somewhere-over-there

Jet lag could be considered a side effect of disorientation. Of course your body tells you it's tired. But what about the place you've just left, the people you've just met, the language(s) you've been speaking.

In 1987 I got back from India to Israel. On the bus from the airport near Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, it felt like everyone was speaking to me. After a year and a half of staying around mostly English speaking people, Hebrew became like a secret language. I could walk along the streets of Melbourne, Delhi or Singapore with an Israeli acquaintance and talk about things, knowing hardly anyone around would understand. It was and still is the feeling of privacy in the public domain. Since then computers got into almost anyone's lives, the internet exploded from there shortly after and cellphones followed the same path. With technology comes the need to acquire new literacies. Eventually we keep on using language almost in the same way and for the same purpose. We communicate. We exchange information, insights, emotions.

Getting back from Israel to Vancouver recently, brought up the notion of disorientation. After a week's visit to family and friends, I am back home with my Hebrew speaking wife and daughter in a mostly English speaking society. It feels home. It feels detached. Did I say everything I had to say to the people I have just left behind? Am I talking to Anat, my wife, about what I experienced in Israel or about my plans for the future? Did I leave anything behind? Am I worried about the future?

These days I am working on re-establishing my design business after two years in a landscape architecture office. In those two years the idea of becoming a professional landscape architect was a tangible prospect. I am interested in urban design. My training is industrial design. Whatever I did in my life can be seen as designing stuff. But my attitude, it seems, has also been managing stuff. Mostly what I've done was manage myself. This time around I am about to find myself managing others as well.

Would that be a result of my jet lag or my disorientation?