Fresh Roots Dig It

In our daughter's School's exploration of adding value to the educational experience, we've had a discussion with Fresh Roots.



On their website they say that they "transform underutilized spaces into thriving gathering places through urban agriculture. More than growing a garden, we grow community."



A quick visit to one of their locations in Vancouver allowed me to get an impression of what that transformation could look like.



In Norquay School, there is a nice play area, a few planting beds and vast gravel surfaces where kids roam in breaks and after school hours.



What my crappy phone-camera managed to capture is a compelling proposition for at least some of our school's yard.



Some of the photos are not that bad actually and of course that's not the point of teaming up with Fresh Roots.



Urban societies today are in a fascinating crossroads of defining many of their habits, including the act of farming their own produce.



Exposing kids to the possibilities at school age seems like a healthy way of keeping them connected to their source of life and hands on understanding of what sustainability could mean.



Farming is a labor intensive engagement. The friendly people at Fresh Roots may encourage more of us to reclaim the fun that is also part of it.



This Back Yard farming operation is located at the Vancouver Technical Secondary.

The making of Drop Shadow - First Stages

In July of 2014, my acrylics will be displayed in Bean Around The World coffee shop on Main street in Vancouver. Following a process of restructuring and re-purposing a set of pieces that were stored in my basement, the show I call Drop Shadow will go through what might be considered a resurrection.

After moving from Israel to Canada in 2002 I decided to explore in more detail the process of painting and dealing with artistic expression. My first encounter with canvas and acrylics had happened just a year or so before. That explosion of color and emotions had stayed with my friends Yoav and Michal. In Canada, instead of canvas, plywood, which was readily available to me, was selected as my surface of choice. Another item from the past has been, in general terms, the three dimensional nature of the result. I am used to looking for the relationships between elements in space. Some of my previous dealings with acrylics involved found objects that I had attached to the surface as part of the composition.

Metal and wooden frames; wire and mesh hanging systems

My process has yielded two types of framing: metal and wood. The frames, being part of the composition, were used as the structure that holds the plywood pieces suspended in the air. Here too, I came up with two versions:  wires intersecting each other to form a 3 x 3 grid and a mesh stretched between the members of the frame.

Conceptually I considered the plywood pieces to be placed in any of the locations available within the composition and any orientation. Eventually they were attached rigidly to the mesh or grid from behind. I didn't worry with this too much but knew I would come back to that issue sometime later.

Ground floor in Cuppa Joe coffee shop (2003)

Eight items hung on the walls of Cuppa Joe on 4th Avenue West for the month of April 2003. A gallery in Gastown was next to host my art. Unfortunately it shut down just before my turn came up for display. In August of the same year one of my pieces was juried into a group show on Granville Island. After that I was already busy developing my ceramic designs so the art stayed mostly in storage until September 2004.

Wave participated in the juried show Painting On The Edge

When my ceramic pieces were displayed for sale in a gallery in Steveston, Tamaka, the owner invited me to have my acrylics there as well. She had called me to pick up my paintings after about a year of moving around the walls of the gallery without a buyer. A day after that call, a woman from Germany came by and paid Tamaka for one item to be shipped abroad. Suddenly I could use the term "sold internationally". However, I was focused more on my design interests and kept my art stored for another few years.

Daubs was the first to be sold.

In the next post I will go through the process of reviving Drop Shadow: Resurrection.

How do you get to 2013 from here?

Well, take a right where they're going to tear down the viaducts.

Go straight past where they're going to put in the hi-rize.

Take a left at what was going to be the new community center.

And keep going until you hit the place where they're thinking of building that cycle-in bank.

You can't miss it.
(Paraphrasing on Laurie Anderson’s Big Science - 1982)

The street grid here shows Kingsway between Victoria Dr. and Rupert St. in Vancouver, BC. The background image shows part of the planting around our sidewalk tree.

In the past year I've been involved in a variety of meetings and discussions relating to urban and other issues. My fascination with urban life gradually brought me to realize how much I enjoy dealing with the massive challenges that urban planning imposes. The coming year is going to be another step in my constant exploration, exposure, planning, building and connection with the subject matter I am so engaged in.

Best wishes for a graceful move from one year to another, from day to day, from one thought to the next. Some steps are bigger than others. All are important.

stepping-stones

The block on Kingsway between Wales and Rhodes streets has light pedestrian traffic. As we are installing the last mosaic pieces in the two entries to the park the protective fence is still there. Norquay Park has been a construction zone since July of last year. The few people that pass by either slow down beside us or stop.

They are all curious as to when the park will be open again. They also notice the mosaic pieces and seem impressed with their beauty. Along the progress with installation we’ve gradually been able to get the sense of significance this project has in the upgraded park. The entry pieces have a good impact as gate decorations.

The history of Still Creek is one in many similar stories of urban industrialization, reflection and rehabilitation. Today the Vancouver part of the creek is still mostly hidden in underground pipes or behind chain link fences. From its designation as the most polluted stream in BC in the 1980s, much progress has been made and much more is required. Serious work has been taken to bring it back to a liveable natural element in urban space. The Norquay Park 2010 Clean Water Mosaic project is one stepping stone in a long educational journey.

Funding for our part of the journey came from the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, the Vancouver Neighborhood Matching Fund and Collingwood Neighborhood House. The intention of this collaboration between budgetary resources is to facilitate community interaction. Participation in the building process of the park enhances the sense of ownership over the neighbourhood.

Members in the community were brought together to create a visual reminder for all to enjoy. Twenty pieces were created in this process and are now integrated in the concrete sections of the paths in the park. After entering either from its west or east entries you are welcome to explore the park and find the other mosaic pieces. All of them are a result of many hours shared by community members who participated in our workshops. It is our pleasure to thank them all, seniors, adults and youth for their contribution.

Installing our mosaics provided us with the opportunity to work closely with the architects and builders who were responsible for the function of the park. The result of their work is a fabulous space with a great sense of place.

The conclusion of this project brings me back to its starting point. In the research for mosaic making we met Liz Calvin and Bruce Walther. These two mosaic artists’ work can be seen in many places around and out of town. Without their generosity this project would have looked completely different. A sample of their collaboration can be seen in Downtown Vancouver where a set of eighteen pieces are placed.

Many more contacts were made throughout the process. Yoko and I are grateful to all who helped us get to this stage. Our own collaboration started with mutual interest in this experience and ends with excitement over the accomplishment. Just like the small pieces of a mosaic tile tell a story, the whole set of twenty expands this into space and time. This is a reflection on industrialization and rehabilitation.

are we there yet?

The park is slowly being completed. We’ve been away for the cold and wet winter. The forecast for excessive snow was mostly true for regions north of Vancouver. A few days after starting with the first piece though it did snow and from then on the weather kept playing between low temperatures and wet days.

A night walk in December. There wasn’t a lot of

snow this year but it was cold enough to prevent installation.

Yoko and I tried to stick to working together so that we learn from each other as much as possible. Until now it worked vey well. This week Yoko flied to Japan for a family visit. It is too early to conclude the degree of destruction following the earth quake a week ago. Nevertheless this is a moment in history that puts our lives into a grim perspective.

An aerial view of tsunami damage in the Tōhoku region.

From the first tile installed in October of last year we saw that the stained mortar band needs to be applied differently. If any of it rubs out onto the path surrounding the recess we are bound to spend more time and effort cleaning the mess. The solution is quite easy in theory: apply the paste carefully. In reality it was relatively easy but still challenging. A combination of cold weather, wet concrete path and crouching down to work were found to be a nice workout.

Into a one inch wide gap the mortar is applied in small amounts to

gradually create our desired band.

There is no way we can rush things even though we want to. As we move into spring more days are available to work on installation. The world around us is shaking in multiple directions. I think it’s a matter of re-imagining the excitement from last year that will help us shift gears. This is still a celebration of life.

Even with this impressive display of process the

grouting stage is still ahead of us.

always longer than you expect

The concrete was hard enough to step and jump on three days after it was poured. What you don’t see at that stage is the process of curing it goes though that takes about a month. Within that time it’s better not to lay our mosaic tiles in their recesses. Waiting for the concrete slab to cure allows adhesion with the mortar for the mosaic tiles to build up properly.

The plywood board is easily extracted from the recess.
An unwelcome puddle of water is exposed underneath.

By the time we could start it was already the end of October. A day or two of rain, and we need to wait. A few days of sunshine and it becomes colder. Proper setting of our mortar is sensitive to moisture and low temperatures. With the first tile we had started laying we realized that the opportunity was slipping away. The rest of the job will have to wait until spring.

A peanut buttery feel to the mix feels good
and is a suitable consistency.

Each tile will have a stained concrete band that is our choice for transition between the mosaic image and its surrounding gray paving. In order to achieve a clean line we need to fine tune our method of applying the stained concrete into the gap.

We surround the mosaic tile with a strip of masking taped cardboard
to leave room for the grout between the tile and the concrete band.

When we grout this piece we will also have a chance to see what other techniques we have to implement. This is a technically easy stage but it needs the same attention to details as we’ve invested in the process up to now. Grouting can drastically alter the appearance of a mosaic tile. If that happens we’d like it to be for the better. This is why I always tell people and try to remember myself: It always takes longer than you expect.

weather or not

Looking back at the process we went through I see that I can now afford to be a bit more personal. This month felt like a marathon. Giora and Irit, Anat's parents, my in-laws, were with us for two weeks on a visit from Israel. I was interested in reaching the final mosaic making session with as many of the tiles we needed finished. There was also an application package I was working on that needed to be sent. I had two weekends of this month dedicated to the Urban Design classes in SFU. In normal conditions this would have been busy but manageable. Even the weekend in Silverdale, near Seattle was a welcome break from routine.

Great sunny days on the weekend in Silverdale

At the end of that weekend we drove back to Vancouver to start the week. Anat's parents stayed in Washington for a few more days before joining us and leaving back to Israel. I had a few last touches on the mosaic pieces to make them ready for installation. The whole visit was turning into a great familial update with Inbal, our daughter, getting a lot of attention from her gramps.

Inbal enjoying the play, Saba enjoying his grand daughter
and the Richmond ice rink

On the first day of gramps enjoying the scenery of Mount Rainier, Irit broke her knee cap . This is one of those minor injuries that change your life in an instant and not for the better. In normal conditions she would have been operated in Washington and started rehabilitation. Being visitors in Canada with a flight back to Israel scheduled just a few days later introduced a whole set of considerations into the matter.

A short while before the accident as shot by Giora

As soon as Saba and Savta (Grandpa and Grandma) were back in Vancouver we started preparing for their flight to Israel. Rehabilitation is the most intensive component of treatment for this type of injury. An operation can be delayed for a few days without harm. Tickets needed to be changed, insurance issues were resolved and an operation had to be scheduled as soon as they landed in Israel.

Inspired by the occasion

At dinner of their last evening with us we raised glasses of wine for the admirable way Giora has managed the faxes, emails and phone calls. I complained that my desire to help wasn't fulfilled. To be honest, my in-law's independence allowed me to continue my daily activities with very little if any disruptions. No one wishes to enhance their lives with accidents and hardship. Still, whatever happens to you is part of your life. A day after landing in Israel Irit's knee cap was restructured. A day later she started walking again.

A short while before the concrete was poured

Our mosaics are waiting for a few days without rain to be laid and grouted. Vancouver weather is part of our life...

the best you can

Urban design might sound like a field that deals with inanimate components of the city: spaces, buildings, roads and other built environments. One of the reasons I've joined the certificate program in SFU is my perception of the urban as an extension of the human, physically and socially. I'm happy to find the SFU Urban Design program delivering an approach that runs along a similar line.

The plywood board is later taken away and leaves a recess
where the tile will be installed

The mosaic workshops are wrapping up to their final days of fabricating pieces. Soon we will start installing them in Norquay Park. Most of the concrete that will house our tiles has recently been poured. Each mosaic piece, as an inanimate illustration of water related creatures, is also a reflection of a person or people who created it. We've had school kids, teenagers, adults and seniors participating in this project. I've had the fortune of following some of them go through an inspiring creative process.

The story behind each tile is personal as well as artistic

There are many ways to work on the things you are currently busy with. There is only one way that I can consider to be right: doing the best you can. This is a decision that is inherently an attitude. As soon as you reach that decision, your work is pretty easy. From there you can only improve.

Some of the more compelling results come from challenges
like this somewhat messy start

Guiding people to embrace this attitude is a challenge I wasn't fully aware of getting into before joining this project. I am now looking at our finished mosaics and can't wait to see them in place. Whether it was an hour that some spent with us or a few months that others labored, each brought a piece of their own life into this. The story of each tile starts with an image anyone can see and extends to the world of the people who created it.

Grouting will probably bring this tile
to an even better expression of art.

Urban design deals with the built world and is concerned with us, living its story.

commitment

My perception of the urban environment as a tool for the use of human society brought me to engage with this project. Eighteen water drop shaped pieces are planned for the pathways and two circular mosaic pieces will mark the entry to the park. The collaboration between planning parties is the driving force behind proper urban management. The result can turn into great living conditions.

How does this relate to making mosaics with the public? When we work on laying each small piece of broken ceramic onto the surface of our concrete base, a personal story unfolds. That story will be viewed by other people who visit the park. They will have a chance to go through a journey into their imagination while walking along the pathways. Already I've had the opportunity to notice the many interpretations some of our finished pieces excite.

The light gray areas mark the surfaces where the mosaic tiles
will be placed. Click the image to zoom in
and see the placements for the mosaic tiles.

The architects have a job to do in designing this park. The builders are in charge of putting it in place. When construction is done, it is the public that will be there to live with the results. Having members of the community participate in putting a piece of their lives into the park is a neat way of tying the ends. Our taxes go into paying for this development. Our hands are still there to be part of building it. It's like baking your own cake instead of buying it in the grocery store.

These forms will be sunk flush into the concrete surface.
The resulting recesses will house the mosaic tiles.

As simple as making mosaics can be, the fact that they are going to be part of public space requires a degree of coordination that I find intriguing. Each party has a role to perform. By working together the process promotes an opportunity to make the most out of collaboration. Having a community arts project as part of this maintains a balance between the professional and the personal.

making sense of it all.

community-art

When we will look at the process we are going through these days in twenty years, what we will see is a result. The beauty of a fine process is that it can be seen in a result you enjoy looking at many years later. Our ingredients for this are planning, right team and leadership. From how things look up to now we are on the right track.

This week the two first mosaic pieces were completed. Finishing a high quality 1 square foot tile requires more than a two hour workshop session that we schedule weekly for our groups. Instead of waiting with each tile to be completed by the same person who started it, we moved some of them between groups to add pieces to the partially laid surface. This helped in two fronts: finishing tiles quickly without haste and generating a true sense of communal collaboration. 

We got to a point where one of our biggest challenges is people getting excited and engaged. Usually they just put too little mortar on a tile or lay them so that nothing seems to resemble the intended image. Add genuine interest and you can end up with a bunch of small disasters that no one knows exactly what to do with. This is where leadership comes in handy. We have great leaders helping us in guiding youth in one group. The group of adults seems to understand the need to consult our guidance. Our own leadership is then a matter of balancing between keeping a sense of interest in the work and sensitivity to each person contributing their time and energy to this project.

The demolition of the park that started a short while ago is now transitioning into pockets of construction. By the end of this month we might even see some concrete paths being poured. In those paths we will have recesses to accommodate our tiles. Although there's still a lot of work ahead of us, completion feels very close. 

learning is one thing. implementing is another.

Facilitating a Matching Fund workshop is a constant process of learning. Whoever joins us for an hour or a few sessions has unique skills, expectations and interests. For us that means we need to be many things to many people. How to do this changes from day to day. 

Yoko on the left with
the Renfrew Community Center youth group

Yoko and I are working as a team since we met less than two months ago. I'm really happy with how well we get along. Each of us learns from the other and we both manage to review our process and make decisions following each discussion. Whatever we go through in a workshop generates insights into the steps ahead. This is how we find ways of transferring our knowledge and experience to our audience.

Placing tile fragments on paper is a quick way
to feel the process of mosaic creation

The differences between kids and adults are noticeable in terms of ability to concentrate, understanding of language and amount of energy. What I've noticed as similarities is a generality that I'm taking as fact and nothing more. It is an impression that is followed by change that brings me at the end of a process to re-assess my own perception: Most of our visitors start with hardly any ability to imagine what they'd like to create. Through our guidance and leadership a gradual change is taking place in front of our eyes.

One person creates a design. Another lays tiles.
Some of our results are thoroughly collaborative

We need that change to happen if we want to generate results that reflect our capabilities. There is no question in our own ability to produce mosaic tiles that people can appreciate. The challenge is in helping our audience succeed in making similar, high quality results we would like to see in the renovated Norquay Park. In itself, this aspiration raises questions over issues relating to art, quality, and authority. It also raises questions over how far we can go within the structure of the Matching Fund.

From a crude freestyle laying start,
we moved on to fine details and attentive focus

To judge by where we are at in this collaboration, we have gone very far. We intend to continue improving on that.