Animation film fest

It's the time of year for the Spike & Mike's animation film festival here in Vancouver. I found some of the best ones also on Youtube etc, so if you need an animation pick-you-up-giggle, take a peek at some of these.

Going West - for paper-cutting inspiration
For Sock's Sake - Clothes with personality
Stranded - I have no idea how to describe this
Western Spaghetti - my favourite all time image; post-it note butter!
A town called Panic - i like particulary that the horse has a yorkshire accent
Love & Theft - no need to take drugs kids!

WAM@MOA

The World Art Market at the Musum of Anthroplogy, the first of its kind, was held last weekend. A very inspiring gathering of artists from all over the world and from different traditions were present to not only sell their work, but also to demonstrate and discuss their craft.

There was a Japanese potter, who not only was making pots, but giving them out free as souvenirs! The photo is of the one that was given to me.






There were some artists from Mexico, from a region where the traditional is a form of painting created from yarn. A board is covered with beeswax and then individual threads are pressed on to the surface to build up incredibly bright, multi-coloured pictures with traditional symbols and motifs.

The closing ceremony for the fair was a show of traditional dances from the First Nation people of Haida Gwaii. They bought out a great variety of masks worn during the dances, which I believe we were very privileged to see, including a transformation mask which I had never seen actually being used in its proper context. The effect of seeing the mask being worn for the dance and then opened for the transformation at the end is spectacular.

Local Wildlife

I found this very impressive snail attempting a hazardous crossing of the courtyard. I bought him inside for a brief photoshoot in the kitchen and then set him back somewhere less likely to get stomped on and hopefully on something tasty to eat.

Saltspring

Saltspring Island is an hour and half ferry ride across the Georgia Strait from Vancouver. The ferry ride is worth doing alone, as you cut through narrow waters between the Gulf Islands. The islands rising out of the sea either side feel almost reachable from the ferry deck.




My landlady invited me to spend the weekend at her lake-side cabin on Saltspring.
We had an entirely pleasant time looking round the farmer's market, beach-combing and lake swimming.

Breakfast at Volunteer Park

I took my coffee for a walk through the park this morning; this was the view!

Sunset

Kitsilano Doggies

Here are Max and Spike, my companions and reluctant park walkers for the next 3 months.

Salmon for Seals

Down at Granille Island, the fishing boats are coming in and some people are cleaning their fish at the dock. This is attracting the seals in, who are begging for the heads and fins being thrown to them.

Salmon Pot Luck

The largest Sockeye salmon run in nearly a century is currently happening in the Fraser River near Vancouver. It is estimated that 25 million salmon are returning to the river this year after many years of very low stocks. So this year fishing is being allowed, both by commerical fisheries and also by the Native fisheries. I was lucky enough to be invited to a friend's BBQ last weekend when his friends from the Stó:lō band came by to sell some of the fish they had caught.



Apparently they would usually keep their catch for themselves, but numbers are so high they are able to sell them and for the ridiculously reasonable price of $15 per fish. I came home with two enormous fish which I made into steaks and fillets and are now taking up a substantial amount of space in the freezer. I have enough salmon till last till Christmas I think!



Some of the fish was also filleted on site by Kerry-Ann who had been fishing it out of the Fraser at 4am that morning. Alongside that on the BBQ we had the salmon roe cooked in a skillet, traditional style. And the recipe advice from Kerry-Ann for cooking salmon is to make a paste of mayonnaise, worcestershire sauce and garlic, smear it over the fish and bake.