Vegetation

August, 2011 - Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Meeting

August 2011 - Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Emily Carr's "Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky"

Hello all. Today, I finished reading Lewis DeSoto's entry in Penguin's Extraordinary Canadians series, which focuses on the life and work of Western Canadian artist Emily Carr. Take a gander at what it's about here; I'd recommend it to anyone interested in this remarkable woman, Canadian art history or that elusive thing known as the creative process in general, as it provides an incredibly refreshing look at her passion for nature, animals and artistic expression (which she mainly tapped through painting and writing).

To celebrate Emily and DeSoto's book about her, I give you her 1935 painting Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky, which DeSoto exalts with the following words: 

"The emotional and symbolic content affects us in an almost physical manner. The power of the painting is undeniable. It is beyond design and decoration; no longer a depiction of something that is meant to represent rapture, it is rapture, the very embodiment and expression of ecstatic liberation."

Emily II

December, 2010 - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Emily I

January, 2011 - Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Green III

This picture and the other nature shots I've been posting over the past few days were all taken this past January in Victoria, British Columbia around Durrance Lake. Stay tuned here for more shots that I've gathered over time.

Green II

A Three Colors Celebration!

Today marks the arrival of a pretty big home video release for many film fans: the Criterion Collection Blu-ray and DVD sets of Krzysztof Kieślowski's fabulous Three Colors trilogy. The good folks over at thesubstream.com asked me to help them talk about the set for their DVD/Blu-ray Shed feature - check out my brief blurb here (presented along with links to my Row Three reviews for each of the three films - thanks guys!).

And to help get you further in the mood to re-visit these great films, I've included below the cool Three Reasons videos put out by Criterion to help promote this release:

Green

Mirror

Tangled Morning IV

Tangled Morning III

Tangled Morning II

Tangled Morning I

Help Support the 4th Shinsedai Cinema Festival!

Hello, all. This past July, the Shinsedai Cinema Festival was held for the third time in Toronto at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, showcasing an impressive array of independent short and feature films from Japan's independent film community. Next year will mark a new chapter in the fest's still-young history, as it will be moving to a brand new venue in the city: the Revue Cinema. With this change, however, comes some new financial responsibilities for the festival's organizers, leading them to branch out to the greater online community for help.

Thus, they have begun a fundraising campaign at IndieGoGo to help cover the costs of transporting and accommodating the Japanese filmmakers who will be arriving from overseas to promote their film and enjoy the festival. The goal is to raise $7000 in a little under 60 days - something that, with enough people, can be easily accomplished. Even a small donation would be greatly appreciated, and on the right side of the campaign page, you will find a listing of rewards for specific donation amounts.

So, if you feel like helping out, just check out the campaign at the above link to see your options and more info on the impact your donation will make. Also, if you wish, you can check out the main page for the Shinsedai Cinema Festival. Many thanks in advance!