Jul26
This year, the Vancouver BIA decided to change things up by rebranding Kitsilano’s popular Hippy Daze street festival into Khatsahlano! Music + Art Festival. Saturday’s event seemed much better organized and left me wanting more, compared with the less populated Hippy Daze events I’d been to in previous years.
Jun23
[André Masson, Ophelia. © Estate of André Masson]
This week, I visited the Vancouver Art Gallery’s The Colour of My Dreams exhibit. Throughout the ground floor exhibition, rooms are divided into various themes, holding a total of 350 works, making this the largest and most comprehensive Surrealism show ever mounted in Canada!
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May3
Bhangra’s history may be deeply rooted in Vancouver, but it’s one that hasn’t been that well known outside the South Asian community. Opening May 5th (with an opening party on May 4th), the Museum of Vancouver proudly presents Bhangra.me, an interactive exhibition of Bhangra’s identity, politics, diaspora and life in Vancouver. Bhangra.me will run until October 23, 2011.
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Mar1
Click, capture, marvel.
OLYMPUS will again head the Pro Photographer Showdown at the 2011 Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival, taking place in Whistler from April 15 to 24. The Showdown is the world’s preeminent action sports photography competition.
[Photo courtesy of Mike Crane Photography]
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Dec10
*The following post is a contest entry for the YaletownBlog, who together with the Yaletown Business Improvement Association are working to raise awareness in Yaletown’s unique business and culture scene.
Yaletown was intriguing to me right from the start. My husband and I emigrated to Canada from Western Europe in mid-2005. We’d settled into another fantastic neighbourhood, Kitsilano, however each time we headed over the Granville Bridge towards downtown, we couldn’t help but notice the collection of tall, sleek glass structures made famous by Douglas Coupland’s read, City of Glass.
[photo credit: Duane Storey]
When we were finally settled into our digs, we ventured out one evening and discovered a cobble-stoned, cozy atmosphere reminiscent of many European cities. The restaurants had patios! The streets weren’t filled with two-way congestion-inducing traffic.
We admired its well-dressed locals shopping with their well-dressed small dogs or sipping coffee at street corner cafés.
My favourite Yaletown dining destination? There are many. It’s probably a toss-up between Goldfish Pacific Kitchen and the Blue Water Café, both worthy of either a special night out or of showing off to visitors. Growing up, my family would often vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts. We grew to appreciate seafood there and when I think of Goldfish Pacific Kitchen’s seared Qualicum Bay scallops or the Blue Water Café’s infamous Seafood Tower, my mouth begins to water!
[photo credit: Sifu Renka]
It’s been a handful of years since then, and a wealth of events have taken place in this vibrant community.
I particularly enjoyed the events that took place during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
Yaletown has also been host to a Best of Yaletown Burger competition on Canada Day,
World Cup soccer events,
and one of my husband’s favourite activities, road cycling races.
Just a few of the many great reasons to ♥ Yaletown!
Nov20
Challenge
A benefit was organized in support of Dan Grice, the Vancouver Quadra Green Party’s 2008 by-election candidate. The event was to include a silent auction, buffet, no host bar and cabaret show. Their team came to my studio in need of a series of deliverables to include a flyer, tickets, and a social media campaign design.
Background
Vancouver Quadra is a federal electoral district in British Columbia that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1949. Within the boundaries of this riding are the University of British Columbia and the western portions of the affluent Vancouver Westside. At the time, Dan Grice was the Vancouver-Quadra candidate for the Green Party of Canada. A UBC graduate, he has played a leadership role in BC’s electoral reform movement.
Process
I designed the flyer, tickets, and Facebook event page banner to reflect a classic speakeasy atmosphere, utilizing a sepia toned photograph of an old-fashioned microphone.
The Green Party logo contrasted nicely with the earthy sepia colour.
Result
The event was a success and raised both funds and awareness for Dan Grice and the Green Party of Canada.
Aug25
“A sustainable agriculture is one which depletes neither the people nor the land.”
- Wendell Berry
This statement perfectly captures the essence of the new Museum of Vancouver exhibit entitled Home Grown: Local Sustainable Food, which opens tonight at the museum. MOV has teamed up with FarmFolkCityFolk to bring together communities and their passion for sustainable agriculture.
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Aug12
Are you a closet shutterbug? Grab your analog SLR camera and register for the second annual 12×12 Photo Marathon, coming September 12th to Vancouver.
One roll of 12 exposure 35 mm film, one theme to challenge your creative mind per hour, and off you go, interpreting each hour’s theme to your individual taste. No Photoshop allowed! I read about this event as it unfolded last year and got a ticket in time to partake in the creative brainstorming and socializing that will inevitably unfold during the event’s 12 hour duration.
The brainchild of Morten Rand-Hendriksen, a team of six creative photographers have helped to shape the event and I’m sure it will get a lot of attention. The event has already caught the eye of Vancouver Sun’s Gillian Shaw, who’s posted a story on her weekly tech blog, Digital Life.
Tickets will likely go fast are now sold out, as only 60 entrants are allowed to participate. Blenz Coffee on Helmcken will serve as base for the day. This is where the participants will meet up once an hour to get each new theme assignment.
May26
Millions of Adobe fans tuned in anxiously to the CS5 Launch event, and I was no exception. Having watched the multitude of new features across the suite packages that promise to make our creative lives more fun, easy, and productive, I thought it best to focus this review on the “big three” apps for designers: Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator.
Part 1: Photoshop
I still can’t believe Photoshop turns 20 this year! Here are a few of the major Photoshop enhancement tools for CS5.
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Apr26
Sometimes you’ve just got to get away and get into new surroundings, if even for a day. This past weekend presented itself with just the opportunity, as my husband and I opted for a lazy Sunday drive down to the States.
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