Text by Raffi Wineburg Photos by Gabriel Pliska A woman lies with her eyes closed in a half-filled bathtub. Copper-veined leaves hide her breasts. A flash bursts from a camera. Then many more. Of these photos, one will be developed, framed and finally hung in the same bathroom where it was taken. This happens in each room of a large house. A model posing,  a photographer taking pictures. There is probably some deep artistic meaning behind this. Or maybe it’s just a rich man’s vanity, redecorating his home with photos of his own home. Either way, it’s compelling, creative — much like the photographer himself: Lewis Evans. Lewis has lived his life this way — not photographing models in rich men’s houses, but by being creative, by stretching the boundaries of what he knows he can do. Along with the photo decorations, Lewis’ commissioner requested shots of his two Great Danes. The dogs wanted no such thing. So Lewis tried his hands at something new. He immortalized the two beasts in an oil painting — his very first. It must have turned it okay; it’s still hanging today. Sitting under the sun on the back porch of his Kitsilano home, Lewis and I are just beginning to sweat. He tugs at his collared shirt to cool off before launching into the details of a life of creativity. Born in England, Lewis made the “sensible” decision to enroll in engineering school. He quickly dropped out (“I should have been an artist from the get-go”). He began work as a graphic designer, and a photographer. From this, he transitioned to marketing communications, working for the U.N. around HIV AIDS. He’s an inventor. An artist. A creative business consultant. He teaches courses on creativity. He just published his...

Life in Asheville, North Carolina For over 15 years, Joanne Chan worked as a professional photographer in New York City. Her clients included The New York Times, Random House Publishings, JCrew and Harry Winston Inc. She has photographed CEO of Louis Vuitton, the mayor of NY Rudy Guiliani, film director John Waters. Her work has also been published in numerous countries. Then after the birth of her child Lulu, she decided to switch her life 180.She moved to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. Along with her happy go lucky attitude, she is determined to live outside the box and live off the land a little more than she did in NY.Only in the short time of 2 years in North Carolina, Joanne has acquired the skills of butchering a road kill rabbit, dress a chicken, play the violin, learn to identify edible wild plants and even turn chicken feathers into hair accessories. Joanne knows that her change in life direction is not for everyone.  She is grateful that she has the mental support from her family to make the drastic transition. Joanne recently visited Vancouver and loved the Vancouver’s mellow yet enthusiastic vibe about the people she met. Who knows Vancouver might be her regular destination for her family!   ~~~~~~~~~~~ Hair fascinator made from collected feathers and prom dress One of a kind handmade doll Handbags made of repurposed fabric In front of local super market, selling arts and crafts. Paintings of her daughter inspired by nature in Asheville Black ear mushroom and mountain mint, collected in the forest. To see her photography, please visit: Jchanphoto.com To support Joanne through her arts and...

An Interview with Cameron Cartiere: The Dean of Graduate Studies at Emily Carr University of Art & Design By Brandy Baek   When people talk about their experience of first making their decision to choose a career path, they typically talk of this pivotal moment in which an experience sparked their passion. Cameron is no exception to this story. She narrates her story of being 11 years old and attending the first retrospective exhibition of Dr. Seuss in San Diego. In this exhibition, Cameron recalls walking under a Seuss designed moose head and looking at various drawings, sculptures, and paintings which Dr. Seuss has created. At a certain point, she asked her mother who did this, at which her mother replied, “Dr. Seuss”. Then, Cameron asked once again to make her question clear, “Who made all this happen?” Her mother replied that the curator was responsible for it and that was the moment Cameron thought to herself that she wanted to be a curator in the future. Eventually, this dream she had as a child came true, and she currently works as both a public art curator and the Dean of Graduate Studies at Emily Carr University of Art & Design. Ever since she started her curatorial practice, Cameron recalls instances in which her mother had difficulty explaining to others what her daughter did as a curator. To put it simply, her mother often explained, “My daughter hangs pictures on the wall.” This is now the title of one of Cameron’s lectures. But her mother’s perception of curatorial work changed when she visited an exhibition Cameron was preparing with fellow graduate students. While like many people, her mother knew what a curator was, she wasn’t aware of  how complex the job could be and...

The Okanagan – More than Peaches and Beaches By Katja De Bock Kerrisdale Playbook Contributing Writer When Kerrisdale Playbook editor-in-chief Keiko Honda suggested an article about my summer stay in the Okanagan, I found myself in a dilemma. The Kerrisdale Playbook is a local blog, and its readers are people who live in, and love Kerrisdale. Would they be interested in reading a piece about peaches and beaches, glowing hills covered by orchards and cool, but never cold lakes? Would they be offended by the revelation that my summer in the Okanagan was the best Canadian summer I’ve had, so far –incomparable to overcast, rainy summers in Dunbar-Southlands and Kerrisdale? I was relieved to hear that Vancouver was blessed with a wonderful summer this year, so there is no need for me to be smug and for you to feel rejected. And I bet most of you who have visited the Okanagan are equally enchanted as I was. After graduation from journalism school earlier this year, I decided to find a summer internship at a media outlet in the Okanagan, to try and find out if I would like living there. I grew up in a small town, but I have lived in large cities for most of my life. I was lucky to find a niche publication, which suited me perfectly. Mokeham Publishing Inc. in Penticton serves Dutch expats and their descendants in North America with two remarkable publications: bimonthly, English-language Dutch the magazine and a monthly Dutch-language newspaper De Krant. Finding a place to stay during the peak of summer was more challenging. Pentictonites are not ashamed to ask for $400 a day (!) for an apartment and at least $100 and up for a B&B room. Thanks to Castanet, I found a wonderful and affordable attic apartment right...

“He Got a Real Solution!” An Interview with Jerry Ewen by Brandy Beak Photos by Noriko Nasu-Tidball A huge chunk of living in the 21st century means to be swarmed up in competition your entire life and be always subjected to a ranking system. Jerry, a president of Playfair Canada and the founder of U-Win Institute, acknowledges this reality, but is proactive in changing this current social trend. Being grown up in a large family with abundant love and support is what motivated Jerry to work towards the goal of building a cooperative society. 37 years ago when Playfair first got started in Berkeley California, Jerry’s friend persuaded him to be involved in Playfair. The name “Playfair” comes from the notion of playing “fair”, a term arguing against finding the faults of others. The intention of first opening Playfair was to bring back the joy that is innately in all human beings, which gradually disappears after childhood.  Although he believes that it is never too late to re-experience childhood, he states that joy becomes a privilege only reserved for children, because it is expected for adults to “suppress it because you want to have business and be serious and get on with life.” He explains that like an adult protecting a child, adults define safety as trusting nobody. As a result of this, individuals are disconnected with each other. This phenomenon is what Playfair aims to scrape off. Playfair’s clientele are 1st year university students. The reason why the clientele is so specific is because new students are not yet affected by the culture of post-secondary schools. Thus, the 1st year students are easiest to change. At the same time, Jerry expects these students who participate in programs offered by Playfair to later create a...

The Nectarines and Plums in Glass Bowl (Photo courtesy of Winsor Gallery) By Katja De Bock Photos by Noriko Nasu-Tidball For a few moments, Ann Goldberg forgets about her fancy, but uncomfortable high heels as she stands on a podium, presenting her paintings to an audience of over 80 art pundits. Quite an accomplishment for a woman who considers herself a hermit. Goldberg, a photo-realist painter, held a preview for her upcoming exhibition “Eden” at her Vancouver home on April 24. The artist spoke with Kerrisdale Playbook Editor-in-Chief Keiko Honda and journalistKatja De Bock about the show, which can be seen from June 13 till July 12 at Winsor Gallery on East 1st Ave. “Personally, I don’t need a lot of attention. When I have a show, I find it a bit overwhelming,” Goldberg says. “I am happiest when I am in my studio, working. In the flow, I am the happiest person in the world.” The flow is something that Goldberg can’t easily explain. It seems to be a matter of getting into a mind space of being able to focus on one activity, excluding what is going on outside, while combining the scientific and artistic parts of her brain in the act of creation. Artistic inspiration in Edmonton Goldberg was raised in Edmonton. Her father was a pharmacist, her mother a sewer. She was inspired by her grandmother, a weaver who dyed and spun her own wool, and by her mother, who would enroll her in art classes and take her to the Edmonton Art Gallery. Because her older siblings and parents frequently spent evenings away from home, Goldberg found herself often alone, with her German shepherd, listening to music and drawing a world of monsters. “I was a bit of a hermit,” she says, adding that after a degree in...

A conversation with Monica McGarry   A watercolour portrait by Monica   Interviewed by Joyce Tam   Why does art matter? There is always a romantic view of artists sitting by themselves and being eccentric. This is false. Nowadays these passive images of artists and art do not exist anymore. In today’s art world, art becomes an active agent that bridges with other neighbors within communities.   Monica McGarry is our special guest who speaks about how arts could promote a strong sense of community through connection, experimentation and interaction. She was graduated from University of British Columbia with an education degree, and is now an artist specializing in painting and drawing. She is also a photographer and an educator in art. Through educating young audiences from age two to eighteen, she is passionate towards educating people about art. In this process, she uses her own knowledge and gives it back to the community in Vancouver. Being an artist, she also takes this knowledge that she gains, assimilating and expressing these ideas back into her artwork. Art is no longer a one-way communication, it is an interaction between the public and the art world. To achieve this goal, Monica has been involved in various events and workshops. Using her life story as a role model, I hope this article would encourage readers in all age groups to recognize the importance of art and community involvements. “Art is something that brings communities together,” Monica said. She has participated in the Vancouver Draw Down project held in May 2012. This event included people from all age groups to make art collectively on the street, and thus to openly create art and connect with other people that share the same goal. Some venues were community centers, galleries with different drawing activities or in other schools. “It is free and that was a very good channel to engage with public,” Monica said. From this activity, participants could enjoy the pleasure of making art in any...

  By Germaine Koh Photographed by Noriko Nasu-Tidball Hello, Kerrisdale! My name is Germaine Koh. I’m the artist you’ve been seeing at work in and around the Elm Park field house, and one of the people you may have noticed running around the park wielding rope, frisbees, mops, beanbags, lumber, and an old couch. The Elm Park field house is one of seven new artist residencies launched in late 2012 within the Vancouver Park Board Field House Studio Residency Project. The goal of that program is to enliven previously-vacant field houses, using them as catalysts for community-building (read about the program and residencies here:http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/field-house-studio-residencies-in-parks.aspx). From an open competitive call for proposals, artists were selected to use these field houses as studios for two years, in exchange for community-based art activity. In my case, the project I proposed is closely tied to other aspects of my art practice, and one which puts the task of innovation into the hands — and legs, and minds — of community members. The project, League, is an open weekly gathering for the purpose of playing sports and games invented by participants. Each game, its playing field and its strategies evolve through trial and improvisation, and new and unusual equipment may be invented. League aims to inspire residents of diverse backgrounds and generations to come together to play, think imaginatively, and act collaboratively, in response to challenges posed by different situations. Everyone is welcome, whether they identify as athletes, creative people, both, or neither. The project is based in a belief that play is an essential human tendency that is related on one hand to problem-solving and negotiation skills and on another to a pure pursuit of joy. League participants are encouraged to tweak established structures and rules, to bring...

A Q&A WITH ROBIN CLARK by Lauren MacFarland Photographed by Noriko Nasu-Tid-Ball British Columbia is easily one of the most beautiful places on earth, due largely in part to our abundance of forestry, giving our province a rich and diverse ecosystem.  Robin Clark, principal and team leader of Robin B. Clark Inc. works with local industry all over the province to ensure all forestry projects are done with sustainability in mind, preserving our natural wonders for generations to come.  The Tree of Life, an ebook inspired by his work with nature explores the connection between people and the earth, a connection that proves that “there is a beautiful blue print for life.”  1 )How did you get involved in ecological preservation? My parents, grandparents and even the great grandparents I never met, lived and worked in in rural areas and loved nature. Growing up our family spent weekends and holidays camping all over BC. 2) The Tree of Life reminds us that all people are connected to nature, do you believe that in our high-tech world, they have forgotten that? Why is it so important to remember this connection? The connection to nature has definitely been forgotten. I work mostly in rural communities where I would expect the situation to be different, but it”s not. It’s important to remember the connection to reduce stress and recharge ones batteries. 3) What does it mean to be a “steward to all of creation”? How can one participate in active stewardship? A “steward to all creation” is a tall order but bring ones attention to a small niche that calls you is a great place to begin. Small efforts by myself and many others are making a difference and moving stewardship from a concept to reality. There are hundreds...

Interviewed By Aryan Etesami Photographed by Noriko Nasu-Tidball   Born and raised in Prince Edward Island, Darrin McCloskeyis a successful local author with a mind full of imagination and creativity. Darrin obtained his Bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of Prince Edward Island in 1992, after which he decided to go on an adventurous odyssey to Europe. Following his passion for books and writing, Darrin spent a year working at the Dillon’s, The  Bookstore in Cambridge, England, and decided to travel around Europe. After returning to Prince Edward Island and being struck by the reality of the industrialized twenty-first century life, he found employment at a local gas station and later made the choice to move to beautiful British Columbia in 1995. Having arrived in BC, Darrin started a job as a dishwasher in Harrison Hot Springs and has taken on nearly a dozen of different jobs until 2001, when he started teaching ESL (English as a Second Language). Besides writing, he has been an ESL teacher, and has travelled to many different places around the world to teach English. Currently, Darrin runs his own publishing press named, ‘Black Ice Press’ and has already published two books:“Li’l Story: the true story of the rise and fall of the Great Canadian Novel” and “Garden of da Gulf”. Some random fact about Darrin: He is the youngest of six children (four sisters and one brother) and has run a half-marathon in 1:16:51!  Here is an interview I recently did with Darrin where he shared  some very interesting information about himself and his work: –       You have been in Vancouver since 1995, so would you now consider yourself a Vancouverite? A: I’ve been here since ’95, leaving my job as a gas jockey to find another out here as...

Synn Kune Loh a poet and visual artist Born in China, Synn Kune grew up in Hong Kong. He completed a BA in Psychology from the University of Bridgeport in the USA before his graduate study in Cultural Psychology at Queen’s University, in Kingston, Ontaria. An accomplished painter, he studied experimental art at the Ontario College of Art in Tronto. In addition, Synn Kune holds a Master degree in Therapeutic Counseling from the International College of Spiritual and Psychic Science in Montreal, Quebec. Synn Kune found his inspiration through the abstraction of forms and ideas. What makes his paintings unique is the metaphysical content, which explores the relaity of the ideal. The artist steps outside of representation to create a visual language using dots, lines, circles, triangles, squares, color and form. The result is a vision of ecstatic wonder and astonishment. “These paintings are about nothing. Therefore they are about everything.”  Synn Kune The Reality of The Ideal  Paintings are all acrylic on canvas.   The sky is never empty, 2012   The Tipping point, 2012   Fascination, 2012   Assumption, 2012   Entering the Memory Field, 2012   In the not too distant future, 2012   How to watch the sky, 2012   Pushing the boundary, 2012   One Day You May Find This Useful, 2012   Day of Departure, 2012   The earth is always full, 2012   These paintings are accompanied by his own ‘haiku’ poems.  Collections of his verse continue in popularity, with a book available today; ” A Journey to Camatkara”, Alpha Glyph Publication,...

Born on February 12, 1949 in Vancouver BC, Peter Ladner is a scholar, author, journalist, environmentalist, businessman and former politician. As a former Vancouver City councilor and Metro Vancouver vice-chair, Peter ran for the 2008 Vancouver mayoral election in which he competed against Gregor Robertson, the current mayor of Vancouver.

Trina Moran UBC Faculty of Arts Interns A Staff Writer for Kerrisdale Playbook   As a fourth year Arts student, I decided to take on an internship to utilize the skills and experiences I have gained from my years as a UBC undergraduate. As a staff writer intern for the KCC, I have been given the task of creating a platform for the stories of the beacons of the Kerrisdale community. Everyone that I have the pleasure of interviewing is enlightening with their pride of their community, their role in it, and how their work and role impacts others. Hailing from New Westminster, BC, I appreciate the firm presence of community within Kerrisdale and believe that it is quality that sets it apart from other communities in Vancouver. Being a theatre major, I realize the importance of everyone’s role in a community and how they are like the pieces of a puzzle. Every piece is unique, but it is as a whole do we see the true image. When Trina is not writing articles for the KCC e-Newsletter or doing UBC student related things she is an avid theatre attendee, actor, playwright, director, actor, bartender, coffee drinker, delicious food enthusiast, yogi, dinosaur impersonator, and amateur...

“An action-packed year has taken Creativity and Innovation Expert, LINDA NAIMAN aroud the globe consulting key business leaders. Using art-based learning and coaching, her insights and methodologies are drawn from the multi-disciplinary perspectives of business management, art, design, and social science research. Here, an acoount of her last 20+ years. When people do something for a long time, there’s reason.”  ~ Editor-in-Chief~ Linda Naiman is a long-time resident in the Kerrisdale community and founder of CreativityatWork.com and co-author of Orchestrating Collaboration at Work. She has been featured in theGlobe and Mail, Vancouver Sun, and Canadian Business Magazine. To find out more about coaching for creativity and innovation: visit Creativity at...

About Paul Toolan I first got bitten by the acting bug when I was in secondary school in England.  The school put on a yearly production of a Shakespeare play and of course at first I was cast in supporting roles which gradually grew in size until I was cast as hylock in The Merchant of Venice.  I attended university where I became a very active member of the dramatic society. The society put on at leastone production a year and took a play and a late night revue to the Edinburgh Festival fringe. I particularly enjoyed one year at the fringe when I played a sizeable cameo in the play Antigone  by Jean Anouilh and then took part in the late night revue which had been written by a very talented graduate who was trying to make his way in the show business scene in London. For a while after I graduated I combined teaching and acting at The Mountview theatre club in north London which put on amateur theatre of a high quality. After I emigrated to Canada I continued to teach and took part in the amateur theatre scene in Winnipeg. Then I married and had a family and decided to commit myself fully to teaching. Only recently since I came to Vancouver as a retired teacher have I revisited my theatrical self. I¹ve taken part in several productions over the last few years and finally decided to put together a one person show which explores Shakespeare¹s life and times and how they are reflected in his plays. A Short Story by Paul Toolan Mrs. T It was the voice that struck him at first, high pitched and at the upper end of the register just a little quivery. Reminded him of...