May 14, 2011 | Latest Art Projects, To Market To Market |
the painting and collage-making studio- prepared for production
After nearly 9 months of blogging, I’m taking a break for awhile. It’s a lot of time to post 2 or 3 topics per week. I will not make that kind of time until a few things pass, including: wedding preps to attend to, family matters of life and death, a Chilkat robe to complete, and create stock for two upcoming markets (one in Seattle, the other in Santa Fe); and not to mention other odd jobs I have to do in order to pay for immediate bills and art supplies. So something had to give, something had to be eliminated in order for me to complete these things…so blogging was it.
I’m still capturing photos of various events. I’ll post them when I can. Thank you for visiting.
May 6, 2011 | Acting Out and Musical Chairs, Poetry Alaskan |
10am Saturday - let the fair begin...! (High school art teacher, Miah Lager's "collage poetry" booth) Notice the banners, they are made of collage materials
The Canvas Community Art Studio and Gallery hosted the first “Poetry Block Party” street fair last Saturday, April 30th beginning at 10am to 3pm. They received permission from the City & Borough of Juneau to close off Seward Street between 2nd and 3rd Street (which is where The Canvas is located). The theme of this year’s block party (as they may continue as an annual event), was the writing of poetry through artistic means, whether it be the written word, visual arts, or performing arts.
Miah demonstrates the collage-making "poetry"
Most of the businesses within 2nd/3rd Street block (and 2 blocks down or around the corner) participated in the event. They include Silverbow Bakery where you could participate in the “Baking” Haiku Contest; Big Brothers/Big Sisters poetry chain; Nana’s Estates theme hats; Capital City Weekly’s found poetry; The Plant People poet tree; Copy Express fill in the blank poems; Juneau Public Library Haikubes (“Scrabble” poetry), poetry books, library card registration and prize raffle; The Canvas word necklaces, mixed media poetry paintings, window word painting and crazy quills; Art Photography write photo-inspired poetry; Memuluck Furs beading and sewing; CHOCO in the REACH window “Tailored Words” poetry through fashion; Nail Jazz airbrushed temporary tattoos; Wells Fargo coin toss poetry; Nana’s Attic decorate hats and visors with the Hat Lady; K3Radio/UAS Media Club record poems to be read on the radio and turn in Scavenger Hunt cards for prizes; Juneau Arts & Humanities Council sidewalk chalk art contest; Hearthside Books receive 15% off all Poetry Books during the Block Party; Jewel Box drop off a “proposal poem” by 3:00pm for a chance to win a Jewel Box gift certificate; and DJ Manuel music all day, freestyle session.
Sidewalk/street art
Creating poetry writing wands
Love and friendship bubbles
The DJ played awesome tunes...especially for hula hooping
The street fair also included activities for adults...!
Performances throughout the day included the Hula Hoop Collective, Free-style Session with DJ Manuel, Spirit Lodge Drumming, The Kinetics (hip hop dance group), and Open Mic hosted by Woosh Kinaadeiyi Poetry Slam.
There were a few food vendors including the "Urban Eskimos" Gallery selling Kettle Korn and the classic Cotton Candy
Restaurants and food vendors included: Silverbow Bakery’s beer garden; Chef Stef word cookies; Lola’s Filipino BBQ and desserts; Wild Oven organic artisan bread; Glory Hole alphabet soup; Pie in the Sky trade an original poem about pie for a free cookie; and Urban Eskimo kettle korn.
Painting body poetry
"Scrabble" poetry - roll the words and create a line of poetry (as seen in the photo below), then write your line down on a paper "leaf" and tie it to the tree for everyone to read...
An example of a line created from Scrabble poetry...
For more information on the Canvas Community Art Studio & Gallery in Juneau, visit their website at: http://www.canvasarts.org/
May 3, 2011 | Health and Wellness, Honoring Others, Tlingit Culture Accentuated |
Baskets waiting to be filled with treasures from the Easter egg hunt...
SikiKwaan with a filled basket in front of the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church
I’ve taken our church for granted; that’s a normal thing they say cuz I grew up with this church and we all take things for granted that are a part of our everyday experience. Even so, that’s no excuse.
I had not ever really appreciated the full beauty of our Russian Orthodox Church (http://stnicholasjuneau.org) in Juneau until a friend, who was brought up in the Catholic Church across the street, had attended my brother’s memorial service a few weeks ago, commented on the beauty of the ceremony. “So I got to thinking about it…” (A statement that our elders would say when they contemplated…) The following are some of my thoughts on the subject of our unique beauty of our church:
Inside the church - view left
What church in Juneau is over 100 years old, and was built at the request of the Tlingit people in this area who helped actually design and build their church? What other church in Juneau has this kind of history combined with the elegance of the original paintings on canvas of those over 100 years old along side recent modern ones? Who else in town has a round church? Who else still burns untainted incense and burns hand-dipped beeswax candles during every service? Who else wears the traditional embroidered garments and robes during every service and wear crowns during significant ceremonies? Who else decorates their alter with satin cloths and real flowers? Who else serves actual wine and fresh-baked unleavened bread for communion? Who else has the congregation stand during the entire service of 2 hours? (Actually, there are chairs for those who need to sit.) What other church in Juneau has respected the Tlingit traditions for over 100 years and continues to integrate some of those traditions with the Russian Orthodox ways of doing things? AND who else sings traditional chants in 3 languages of Slavonic, Tlingit and English!?
Holy! After I got to thinking about all these things, I realized we’ve got one heck of a church that stands out amongst all of them in this community!
Inside the church - view right, where the choir stands
You would think that this being a unique church just in its visual richness and cross-cultural integrations, there would be more folks attending. Yet, not. As the elderly Native folks who were baptized many years ago pass away, and technology has shaped us over the years to have an attention span that requires more “entertainment” as long as it is short-lived, most folks do not have the patience to stand for almost 2 hours during a ceremony. If so, we have been conditioned into being “rewarded” with something if we are going to “suffer” through 2 hours of standing! Holy!
SikiKwaan finds another treasure!
Tichnon has filled his basket he handmade himself!
Directly after the Easter Sunday services, the church shared a potluck meal with traditional foods of Russia and Alaska Native - we've got the best of both worlds for more than one hundred years! -- Father Simeon cuts the roast lamb
Our traditionally-favorite Easter bread "kulich" - this loaf was made by Nora Dauenhauer - she has one of the best recipes!
Come visit our church; open your mind to another experience unique to this area. Stand for yourself and with all those around you. Show yourself that you have the discipline to stand and can pay attention and be alert to the life and love around us. It is true not all in life is rosy; not all is comfortable. However, when we stand up for ourselves, we gain an inner and outer strength; if you need a “reward”, let this be enough reason. Here’s an open invitation to come stand with us and share an inner and outer elegance.
