Archive for November, 2008
Do Independents Matter?
November 15th 2008Today I’m giving space for Canadian Booksellers Association (CBA) to promote their new marketing program called Independents Matter. I have been writing for their association magazine for decades (yikes!) and I love books, so I’m happy to step back and let them take a posting on this blog. Here’s what they say:
Tapping into the growing localism movement, Canadian independent booksellers herald a new challenge:
Think Independent * Read Independent * Buy Independent
This season, invest in your community by running, not walking, to your local independent bricks and mortar bookstore for the ultimate shopping experience. For readers and buyers, independent bookstores are a bastion of ideas: informed staff who love and read books and know what to recommend.
Clearly, the time to buy books is right now. “In challenging economic times, books are always the best bang for your buck” says Nancy Frater, President of CBA and owner of Orangeville’s BookLore. “For the price of a movie, a book can open the door to another world of timeless comfort, entertainment and pleasure; for the gift giver, a book holds long-lasting value.”
Independents Matter champions the “shop local” credo: shopping at creative, convenient, one-of-a-kind stores supports the local economy and enriches the community. Save money, save fuel, save time. Reclaim your community and at the same time indulge yourself and your loved ones in good books.
Why? - Books Matter! Independents Matter! Communities Matter!
About Independents Matter
Independents Matter is a national grassroots campaign with a community focus created by Canadian Booksellers Association to encourage booksellers to celebrate their independence and promote the benefits of shopping locally at independently-owned stores. Independents Matter is part of a momentum-gaining movement in support of the idea that shopping locally offers the best value, the best retail experience and the best support for vibrant, vital and prosperous communities.
About CBA Independents’ Day
On November 15, 2008 independent booksellers all across the country will celebrate CBA Independents’ Day—a day designed to promote the importance of locally owned businesses to lively communities, which serves as the official launch date for CBA’s Independents Matter campaign.
About Canadian Booksellers Association
CBA is a not-for-profit trade association representing the interests of Canadian booksellers since 1952. Our members include independent, campus, specialty booksellers from coast to coast to coast.
What do you think? Do Independents matter?
Michael Dennis: My Lawn is Available for Your Sculpture
November 14th 2008
“Royal Couple” by Michael Dennis
Co-publisher Mike Davis and I were invited to the opening reception at Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) of their Winter Earth Art exhibition. Environmental art installations by international and Canadian artists are available to explore indoors in the RBG Centre until Jan. 18. The artists were also at the opening and big TV cameras were everywhere as the creators gave interviews.
I can easily get overwhelmed in an art gallery or exhibition, so what I find myself doing is taking a quick spin around the room to see what’s on display, and then choosing one piece to focus on. I also like to play the game “If you had to take one home, which would it be?” While many of the works at Winter Earth Art are intriguing, there was one that instantly drew a powerful response from me: “Royal Couple” by Michael Dennis of B.C.
Monumental, abstract and minimalist, this piece consists of two cedar carvings perhaps 10 feet tall, looming as female and male figures. Faceless, limbless, they are blank slates on which to project the viewer’s idea of majesty. Yet their round forms are inviting as well. They call out to be touched, patted, stroked and hugged.
Ross Halloran, RBG’s Director of Marketing, hooked me up with the artist. As Michael and I shook hands, I noticed he has the great paws of a woodworker, but his grasp was gentle. He was just as warm and welcoming to talk to.
Michael explained that the only wood he works with is cedar, although his Web site shows that he also works in bronze and mixed media. He was asked to create a piece for this RBG exhibit, and he thought “A pair would be good.” He works on Denman Island off Vancouver Island, and finds huge pieces of wood that have been left after loggers have clear cut. When he discovered the piece that would become the female, he said “I could see a skirt,” as he indicated the broad base of the log.
His process of sculpting is an intuitive communication with the wood. Instead of imposing his idea on the material, and instead of “just” carving away everything that doesn’t look like the figure he sees within it, he describes it as more of an organic revelation of what the shape should be. Michael also pointed out that positioning the two figures so that they lean toward each other gives a different message than having them lean away from each other.
I asked Michael if I could touch the figures. When he said yes, and that I could smell the cedar as well, I stroked them and pressed my nose against one. They felt fuzzy, not smooth, but not splintery. They even seemed to have muscle beneath the surface.
“Royal Couple” will stay at RBG as a permanent installation. It could be indoors or out in the elements, where it can be a roost for birds and change with the effects of weather. “It’s all part of the process,” said Michael. “I don’t want it to be too precious.”
Check out the other installations at the exhibit. Perhaps you’ll have a strong response to one of the other amazing works. And Michael, if you run out of space to store your pieces, I have a big yard that could hold one or two! Winter Earth Art is on until Jan. 18. Let us know what you think of it.
Sandra Shamas Still at her Wit’s End
November 10th 2008Yesterday Mike and I went with another couple to see Sandra Shama [Dec.5: my sister wants me to correct this typo in Shamas' name!] in a workshop production of her new show, “Wit’s End III: LOVE LIFE.” The audience was 95 per cent female, which made Mike and Steve nervous. “What are we getting into?” they worried.
It seems that every five years or so, Shamas gives an honest perspective to her life experiences in a way that women and even men can relate to and find humourous at the same time. Sharing the intimate secrets of plucking, shaving, bra fitting, monthly “sloughing,” and hot flashes, Shamas finds everything interesting or amazing, urging women to tell each other all the details so that young and old are no longer unaware of what to expect.
Shamas has a farm close to the Escarpment and she tells of her trials creating a vegetable garden. “The soil on the Escarpment consists of clay, rocks and thick quack grass,” she explains. The cute little red tractor and two-furrow plow she bought proved inadequate to dig up the turf she wanted to use for planting, so she had to hire someone with heavy machinery. With eventual success in the garden, she planned to sell produce at her farm gate, “but I found out I’m shy,” she said to the fully packed audience.
Whether you’re a country or a city dweller, living close to the Escarpment or not, you’ll enjoy your time with Shamas. We women laughed until tears came to our eyes; even the men grinned and chuckled.
What are your favourite moments from all of Shamas’s performances?
