Creativity in Kids: Caine’s Arcade

As soon as I saw the You Tube video “Caine’s Arcade” (thanks Astrid for the link) I knew I had to post a link on my website. I have to admit Nirvan’s movie brought a tear to my eye because I see so many children that are forgetting how to play on their own, creatively like we used to years ago. I used to grab old telephone parts and light switches and set them up underneath our picnic table, imagining it to be a spaceship, or boat, that would manoeuvre across the backyard lawn to new worlds in my mind.

Caine has taken the “lemonade stand” to a new level. Nirvan Mullick’s movies, and the Imagination Foundation, have helped create a cardboard wave of creativity around the world. Watch the second movie here and then check out  the original on You Tube. Then go grab some cardboard and make something, no matter what your age is!

 

2011 in Review

Happy New Year everyone!   Best wishes for a happy, healthy, and creative 2012 ~ Tiana

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,000 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 17 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Scavenger Hunt for a Bunny

Can you find this Bunny in the bush?

     The holidays are upon us, and no doubt you have a few days off. If you’re not busy enough how about some outdoor activity to fill your time? How would you like to find my bunny? I like creating treasure hunts, or scavenger hunts, games to play and  to puzzle over. No GPS is needed, just ask me some questions and I will supply you with the answers. Those that know me can phone me, others can email me, or write me a comment here. All hints will be shared with everyone.

     Some history – This is an old bunny I once received for Easter. I was moving and had to get rid of some things. I decided to let Bunny go free into the wild, but she’s a city girl at heart and stayed near the action instead of heading off into the mountians. I last saw her in her new home near a higher place of learning. It was the summer and I wonder if Bunny is still there. Can you help me find her? Ask me a question and I’ll tell you a clue.

     If you actually find the Bunny take a picture and send it to me and I will reward you with a prize of my art.  Happy Holidays!

To Be More Creative Try Not Reading

I’m 3/4 through a week of reading deprivation. According to Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way reading can often clog or block your own creative output. Stop reading and what else is there to do but listen to your own thoughts and create new art, inventions, philosophies….

Have you ever tried to function in our society without reading? It’s not easy, and I haven’t been 100% successful this week. I have slipped by checking email a few times (I need to for jobs that come up), reading a couple paragraphs of my bike’s manual, reading descriptions at the Emily Carr University grad show, and oddly enough when I see the newspaper my parents read sitting on the table I catch myself reading a couple headlines. It’s like a person trying to quite smoking but taking a couple drags off their friend’s cigarette.

Self imposed no reading has made me realize how frustrating it must be for people who can’t read at all, like my father who suffered a stroke and lost his ability to read and write. It has been easy to take a break from reading novels or the newspaper or online articles, but there are other things in life that require reading such as recipies, instructions, explanations, that if we weren’t able to read it would be difficult to function.

I look forward to getting back to reading next week. However I think I will cut back on some of the newspaper and online articles that really don’t contribute to my well being or creative output. What do you think? Have you ever tried not reading for awhile? I would love to hear your ideas. Please take a minute and send me a comment. Oh, and have I been more creative this week? Yes! More drawing, more music, more gardening, and more cooking.

Olympics Become An Inspirational Event

I have been won over by the Olympics. Not by the politicians and business people, but by the tenacious athletes, gifted artists, and happy crowds who have shown in their performances on the slopes, rinks, stages, and streets, that dreams can come true. With passion and determination lives can be changed from ordinary to extraordinary.

At a time in my own life when I am looking for a spark to ignite me onto my next creative path, the Olympic athletes and cultural artists have shown their strengths and talents and given me hope for my future endeavors. More than once I have had tears in my eyes after seeing the exuberant faces of athletes who find themselves standing on the top of a peak, surprised at reaching such a height after what often has been a difficult climb. Their achievements inspire me to follow my own passions.

Like many people I had ambivalent feelings about the Olympics. I wonder if the millions of dollars spent on staging this colossal event could have been better allocated to healthcare, poverty reduction, or education. I am angry at the news of more school closures, and the possibility of me finding employment as a teacher in the BC school system looking less hopeful. I wonder if this is partly caused by money going towards the Olympics.

Perhaps B.C. went overboard on the spending and could have produced a wonderful event without such things as lavish new venues. After seeing how the Olympics changed the mood of this nation though I no longer question the basic money needed to organized the 2010 Olympics. I believe people need to have balance in their lives and this cannot be achieved by providing only the basic necessities of life. What is life without art? Without the exaltation of winning a competition, or even just bettering results from a previous attempt? And for those who are spectators, our happiness grows too, and our lives are richer, and we are fueled to go out and do great things with our own talents. As Clara Hughes said, we must rise to the occasion and be the person who we truly are.

Life is more than food in our stomachs and a roof over our head. I do not diminish the importance of these basic needs, as seen in the recent disasters in Chile and Haiti. But I also believe we need time to play, to create, to party, to sing, and to know that dreams can become reality when we try our very best. I thank the athletes and artists for reminding me of this.

Government Cuts Hurt Our Future.

Recent events in British Columbia’s political landscape confirm my belief that we should be increasing education, not cutting it. Numerous organizations will be receiving less, or no money this year.  Parent advisory councils are getting $8.5 million less. BC sports will be without $14 million. At first glance it looked like arts and culture groups were getting more, but of the $23 million given for grants $10.9 is marked for the BC Arts Council which last year received it’s money from a different source. So my calculations say that the arts are actually getting about $5 million less. The craziest cut seems to be the $130,000 to fund BC school sports. This miniscule amount could surely be taken from elsewhere.  Those in power just do not seem to understand that arts and sports offer so much more to individual lives and society than just a pretty picture or a fun game. It is ironic that a government that strongly supports the big business of the Olympics does not support the encouragement and training of future atheletes and sports fans. Or that they are willing to give approximately $12,000 to any school that wants to organize an event around the Olympic Torch Relay, but if a school wants to produce a play, or fix a leaky roof, or hold a music performance that does not connect to the Torch relay there will have to be numerous bake sales, raffles, and door to door chocolate almond sales.

Perhaps the government is hoping for more volunteers and donations to fill the gaps left by this decrease in funding. Lately I have had no trouble finding places to donate my time and expertise.  But volunteering does not pay for my living expenses. And anyone who knows me knows my needs and wants are small. It just doesn’t seem fair that I gave up a full time teaching job so I could move back to the Lower Mainland to help by parents get through some major health problems, and now I cannot find similar work here. But these recent cuts are more than just a personal gripe I have with the government because my chance of finding a job has just been made harder. I believe our society as a whole is being hurt. The test for a good government is how it manages the sick, the young, and the poor. They do not have the energy, the voting power or knowledge, or the money to help themselves through all the trials of life and thus those in power must help them.

It can’t be easy balancing the government’s budget, but I know from balancing my personal budget that I can’t spend money on a party if my rent isn’t paid, and paying for a college course today is an investment for my future. My decisions are based on knowledge I’ve gained through the people in my life and the well rounded education I have received, and continue to pursue. Perhaps if our elected officials were more knowledgable in the area they are governing, and those at the top had a more well rounded education, then budgets would be better administered.

Below is a letter by Julie McIntyre, Artist, President, CARFAC BC. People are encouraged to use it as an example for what they can write to their MLA. Raise your voice, because a province without art, and sports, and schools, and the environment, will be a province with a dismal future.

To the Honorable Kevin Kruegar, Premier Gordon Campbell and Honorable Dr. Margaret MacDiarmid,

How do we get the Liberal government to recognize that with arts funding we are not talking subsidy, but deep and enduring investment? We’re speaking about protecting jobs and raising tax revenue in an unlimited growth potential market currently estimated at 80 billion dollars a year. The true investors of the arts are the artists themselves who have always subsidize their work, but that passion and commitment should raise the value of art, not diminish it. Our major municipal governments, all other provincial governments in Canada and even the Federal Conservative government are maintaining or increasing their arts budget funding during this recessionary year, because they understand the measurable and incalculable benefits of the cultural sector. What will it take to get this Liberal government to build on past funding and let the creative sector build a new, sustainable economy? One word: Vision.

New Year, and New Song soon!

Hello everyone. Getting snowed in here on the westcoast has been beautiful, but my contact with the outside world has been limited. However, time at home is allowing me to master a song which I wrote last year and you will soon be able to download as my New Year’s present to you. I have also been organizing the 480 student drawings from James Whiteside Elementary. I am so excited to see all their wonderful ideas, and I look forward to painting them onto the eagle sculpture.
Happy New Year from Tiana Kaczor Fine Arts!

Let’s Begin. 1,2,3…GO!

The road to fame begins, the quest has started, we’ve unleashed the hounds, the horses are out of the gate,  the countdown has commenced, I’ve started the engine, now give it some gas, and we’ll be off and running!

Welcome to Tiana Kaczor Fine Arts

This is a place to connect to the creativity that flows out of me. Whether you have come by just to observe, or you plan to purchase, all are welcome. Without you I would be nothing. Well, not nothing, but a lot less. I tend to feed off of others. That’s often where the best creations start. So inspire me with your comments, your project ideas, your links to others. In return I promise to give you the best that I’ve got. Let us learn from one another, create together, and build a path to … well I’m not sure, because we haven’t got there yet, but let’s hope it’s a fun journey.

Artists draw from all areas of life to find inspiration for their creations. In this blog you will not only find information about my specific creative activities in visual art and music, but you will also find comments about anything in my life that I feel will be of interest to others. Politics, literature, entertainment, anything that I come across is fair game.

Every week something new to exhibit, share, sell, or discuss. I hope you will visit me often, and tell your friends! To start off I’ll give you a maze. It seems fitting now to go back to mazes. I have drawn them during times of change in my life. Perhaps I am looking for a new direction, a new path. I have a feeling this will be an exciting one. Am I ready? You bet! 1, 2, 3 . . . GO!

Stars and the City 10"x16" ink on paper, 1993