I am currently struggling to learn the Japanese language. Some people say it’s easy, but I am finding it quite difficult. Maybe I am just not that bright. In these struggles I was thinking of all the stupid things languages do, like gender everything, have words that are unnecessary, or …
Everything you need to know about life can be found in pottery and in the act of making pottery. It’s hard to not get philosophical when talking about pottery because so much of it is in the head and the heart, not just the hands. Here are some of the …
At Eternity’s Gate I love watching Van Gogh films; Loving Vincent, Lust for Life, The Yellow House, The Life of Vincent. Van Gogh is the archetype for the suffering artist and the more you learn about him, the more incredible his work becomes. Best known for the exorbitant sums his …
Sometimes you just need to watch something that doesn’t make you think. A movie that just makes you fell good, entertains you or is just silly. These are my go to films that are fun and enjoyable. Fifth Element The Fifth Element stars Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Mila Jovovich, Ian …
“Surprise and delight” is a phrase often tossed around in business meetings. “We need to surprise and delight our customers!” senior managers cry out! “We need to provide them with unexpected rewards and promote customer loyalty!” No. You don’t. You need to solve a problem for your customer. That’s it. …
I grew up in a border town in the Okanagan valley just North of Washington state called Osoyoos. One big advantage of living in a border town was that you could go down into the US for cheap groceries and gas. We used to wear our old shoes down, buy …
When I first became a member of Mountain Equipment Co-op, I was in first year university (30 years ago). Everyone I knew on campus was a member. I joined because I was going to UVIC and that is what you did (it’s a very outdoorsy school), plus they had good …
This showed up on my Reddit feed and it reminded me that love songs, like pottery and dumplings, are universal. Especially love songs where it’s a guy trying to convince a girl she should be with him. I think this does a great job of breaking down the stereotype we …
I came across an article in my news feed from artnet.com regarding artist’s contracts and resale royalties. In it it describes how an artist added a clause to the sale of his art that stated royalties were to be paid to a charity if the work was resold. It also …
So another “masterpiece” was restored by an amateur and ruined. I wrote about Elias Garcia’s “Ecce Homo” in a previous post. This time a copy of the “The Immaculate Conception of El Escorial” by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo was cleaned by a furniture restorer. “Ottomans, chaise, masterpieces, whatever! We do it …