I’ve heard that I now qualify for a free fishing license in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario… sashimi days lie ahead.

Cheers!

Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba

As had been predicted by some weather prognosticators, the past four months have proved to be an exceptionally cold, harsh winter. At Christmas, Ev and I discussed how to make the best of this challenge — and a decision to focus on creating new work in her ceramic/sculpture studio ‘What? Clay Art & Curios’ offered the solution. (The door to the studio is less than 20 meters from the front door of the house, so, no worries about debilitating wind-chills…).

Ev and I collaborate on many of her pieces, with me acting as studio assistant — my background in painting and illustration is put to use (e.g. on cold-finishes) and I particularly enjoy the aspect of multi-media assemblage (combining and joining diverse materials in innovative ways), up-cycling antique and “scrap” elements, and mounting her sculptures to bases, etc. We have a lot of fun together.

Shown above is a sampling of the pieces created in Ev’s studio so far this year (some have sold, some are in galleries) — more complete postings on these pieces (including titles, dimensions, technical descriptions, and “artist’s statements)” can be viewed on her website here.

Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba

My partner Evelin recently took a year’s sabbatical from making sculpture, but says “It’s gratifying to know that there’s still ‘an appetite’ for my work.” Four of her figurative pieces have sold in the past few months — some through the Pulse Gallery (at The Forks, Winnipeg), and some directly to collectors who contacted her through her studio. She’s now back in the atelier sculpting away… timely, as the autumn seems to be turning less favourable for “playing outside.”

Sculptures recently sold: ‘Deep Within‘ (which went to Paris); ‘Carrot & Ginger‘; ‘Believe,’ my homage to aviator Amelia Earhart; and ‘Third Time Lucky,’ the metaphoric piece depicting a stressed, myopic lifeguard.

Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba

I am overwhelmed with gratitude, and thankful for the hundreds of friends, colleagues, and family members (around the world) who have held me in their thoughts and prayers during my recent health ordeal. I am also grateful beyond words to the specialists, doctors, nurses(!), nursing assistants, technicians, orderlies, physiotherapists and other vital hospital personnel who have helped me through one of the greatest trials of my life. It goes without saying that I am also incredibly thankful to live in Canada, where citizens are provided with universal healthcare!

I have happily returned with Evelin to her home, after spending the past seven weeks in four different hospitals (Selkirk, HSC in Winnipeg, Arborg, and then Gimli). I am weak, but recovering. Evelin stayed by my side throughout the 51 days in hospitals, sleeping watchfully along side me every night — what a love! I am now learning to walk again, and with the help of canes, am beginning to climb stairs as well.

What exactly transpired at Easter is still somewhat unclear (to the experts, as well as to me). What we do know is that I had a severe case of sepsis, which triggered a serious cardiac event and then an explosive series of strokes. I was heavily medicated with opiates for the first month, while doctors struggled to stabilize me and the various bodily functions that had been impacted. I’m very fortunate that, as MRIs are showing, the brain damage I suffered was only on the right side — not affecting my ability to remember, to speak, etc.

My focus over the next months (perhaps years) will be to heal, quietly and steadily, and regain whatever semblance of “normal” is available to me.

Again, a huge “Thank You!” for the love, prayers, encouragement and “light” that so many sent to me.

Evelin and I have just returned from a wonderful (laid-back, serendipitous) and highly enjoyable three weeks in Portugal, touring around with abandon (with my brother Jim and his wife Bonny). This was my third visit to this great little country, and we were blessed to meet up with a number of designer colleagues and educators as we toured.

A fuel-efficient, diesel-engined Opel Astra carried the four of us and our modest baggage comfortably, allowing travel to wherever we wanted whenever we wanted. Airbnb accommodations worked out great, and were very affordable — we only booked “5-star” rated places, often just the night before… Baleal (3 nights), Arcozelo (2 nights, close to Porto and Braga), Tomar (2 nights), Melides (2 nights), Aljezur (2 nights), Vila do Bispo (1 night), Porches (4 nights, with an Algarve beach practically to ourselves), Lisbon (1 night), and Cascais (3 nights, close to Lisbon and Sintra).

Due to my food alergies I did the cooking daily, and Jim took on the facility-booking and driving responsibility (he’s an excellent driver). We truly enjoyed each others’ company, the fine people and hospitality we encountered, the spectacular scenery, the seafood, and of course the wine… 

Below is a small sampling of the many photos I took. More can be viewed in a Facebook gallery, here.

Guest Blog by Dr. Derek Kornelsen

Recently, terms like decolonization and community engagement have become buzzwords in popular discourses about Indigenous health research. But what does decolonization actually mean? How can we really try to decolonize community engagement? If this is to make any sense, and provide any kind of realistic guide for action, we need to start by gaining some sense of how colonization has impacted — and continues to impact — Indigenous communities and Western academic/research institutions. Only then can we consider why community engagement matters and what a decolonized form of community engagement might look like.

Settler Colonialism in Canada

A good starting point for understanding colonialism in Canada is to recognize that there is a distinct form of colonialism at work here — both past and present. This form is called settler colonialism. Typical understandings of colonialism usually refer to a situation where a colonial entity oppresses and manipulates foreign peoples in order to extract wealth and resources — India and South Africa are key examples. In these cases, there is a point at which we see the colonial power officially leaving, and the colonized peoples achieving some level of independence. On the other hand, in cases of settler colonialism, the colonial entity doesn’t leave, but continues to bring in more and more settlers in order to reproduce itself in the colonized space — Canada, USA, Australia, and New Zealand are the usual suspects here. The particularly horrifying aspect of this practice — as scholars like Patrick Wolfe have discussed in depth — is that, in order to reproduce itself in a given place, the settler colonial entity must ‘destroy to replace’. In Canada, we’ve seen this through overt genocidal acts that morphed into the kinds of cultural genocide that have occured throughout the residential school era.

Read more here…

Dr. Derek Kornelsen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. His research focuses on examining/contrasting Western and Indigenous philosophies and institutional frameworks, with a particular emphasis on developing a theoretical framework grounded in an understanding of the dynamics and impacts of Settler Colonialism. This theoretical framework enables a sensitivity to 2 key under-researched areas in Indigenous health and wellness research: the impacts of the disruption of Indigenous peoples’ relationships with land and environment; and strategies for decolonizing key institutions that Indigenous peoples must access (health as well as political, legal, educational, economic institutions). Broadly speaking, this theoretical frame contributes to the development of robust Indigenous determinants of health and wellness. He is currently involved in developing a number of local, national, and international research projects and partnerships in areas of environmental health and Indigenous health and wellness.

Winnipeg, Canada

It’s been a difficult week — three days ago, Ev’s father Walter Richter passed into the next realm. The obituary (below) was penned by Ev’s two daughters, Jen and Nicki.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

WALTER RICHTER

3 June 1935 – 15 July 2015

Eighty years ago in Bremen, Germany, Max Walter Richter opened his sparkly eyes to become Max and Charlotte Richter’s first-born son. At age 20, he married the love of his life, Elfriede, and they completed their family with the birth of their cherished daughter Evelin (Robert). In 1957, Opa got off the train in Winnipeg while en route to Vancouver, concerned that the weather seemed to get colder and colder the farther west he traveled. Thank goodness for that, he always said, because it was here that his granddaughters Jennifer (Derek) and Nicki (Jayson) were born. Opa and Oma bought their first house on Sark Crescent in 1966. We had so many good times there hearing him singing his silly German songs with his cousins Heinz (Christa) and Fritz (Anne) and, later, with the great grandkids playing with Opa’s train set. Opa and his brother Kurt (Erna) started their woodworking business, Richter’s Woodcraft, in 1984. A skilled cabinetmaker, Opa lovingly crafted our beds, tables, desks, shelves, toys and treehouses. Most impressive, in the 1960s he built our cottage at Hillside Beach by hand. So many good memories were made at Hillside Beach with Opi and Omi, Kurt’s family, the cousins and nieces and nephews. Retiring at age 61, Opa had all his time for his family. Whether travelling to Banff, Hawaii, and Germany, or to Tim Horton’s for coffee and chili, Opa and Oma were rarely seen apart. Opa was so proud of his Evi – he loved going to Winnipeg Beach to pop into her studio to see what she was creating, going to her art shows, and puttering around her yard. He was always there to take Jayden and Sam to Tinkertown and on the Prairie Dog, Haylee to her dance classes, and to joke around with his Maxi-million and Maci. Opa was a kid at heart; he was always getting us in trouble with Oma. Leading us in games of “jumping off the fence into Oma’s snow-covered hedges,” “flipping the kids in the hammock,” “jumping off the boat with our umbrellas,” “treehouse ziplining”… Opa spent his last 24 hours surrounded by his loved ones. For the last time, we marveled at the strength of his heart, we played that game where we count how long he can hold his breath, and we held the hands that had so lovingly built our homes. Ach-ja, Opa. Sleep well. Love Jenny and Nicki.

As published in the Winnipeg Free Press on July 18, 2015

Winnipeg, Canada

We live in stories… is Ev’s latest piece. It incorporates impressions of wood letterpress type from my collection. As of yesterday this sculptural piece is on exhibit at the Pulse Gallery (The Forks, Winnipeg). This hand-built kiln-fired clay figure is partially glazed, along with oxide stains and cold finishes, on a stained wooden base (old-growth fir).