Steinbach, Manitoba
Our Peters family got together at my brother Jim’s place in Steinbach (about an hour SE of Winnipeg) for a love-filled family Christmas celebration yesterday. This photo of my older and younger brothers book-ending my ex-missionary octogenarian dad (at Falcon Lake in 2005) surfaced in the process… admittedly I suffered from being the middle child, but what might their excuse be?… :-)
New York, New York
A show of works by the ubiquitous Banksy, anarchist artist extraordinaire (aka “the invisible man of graffiti art”) is scheduled to open at the Vanina Holasek Gallery in New York on 2 December… no doubt to be accompanied by impromptu creative iterations around the city. I’ve admired Banksy’s work for years, particularly with respect to his evocative anti-war, anti-capitalist, and pro-freedom statements.
A “best and brightest” piece in Esquire describes him as: “A phantom with a stencil and a can of spray paint, maybe the premier ‘Guerrilla Street Artist’ in the world, Banksy is almost impossible to find, but his work is everywhere. And he makes people very, very happy.”
Wanganui, New Zealand
I’ve spent the past five days here in and around the far-flung, remarkable community of Wanganui (or Whanganui, as preferred by the local Maori), acting as an external moderator (re: graduating Masters and Bachelors students, along with Sherry Blankenship from VCU/Qatar and Rex Turnbull of Lino magazine, Australia) at the Wanganui School of Design. This remarkable school punches far above its weight (consistently out-pacing other NZ design programs re: student awards won, etc.) thanks in no small part to the inimitably dynamic Hazel Gamec (an ex-pat U.S. citizen from Minneapolis who jump-started the program here 20 years ago).
Aside from reviewing student work (very talented, very intelligent), I was able to take in a day of New Zealand farm-life with Hazel’s guy (tough ex-Navy Seal, diver, ardent hard-man hunter, deer expert), and I spent a day “up the river with Riki,” a cool Maori artist dude (working at the school) who took me to his ancestral land, introduced me to some of his relatives, welcomed me to his marae, and gave me some insight into the fascinating cultural milieu of the Maori (and the polemic relationship between these native peoples and the pakeha, or white folks). Fascinating, and something I’ll be looking into further…
A hearty “kia ora” and thank you(!) to everyone at the school who made me feel so welcome!
Photos above: The design school; awesome Hazel; tattoo-specialist Riki; a cool vernacular sign on the edge of town; freshly ironic graffiti (Maori accused of being “terrorists” headlined in daily news…); and sheep-herding Harvey’s way.
Toronto, Canada
In the category of ‘strange but true,’ my old school chum Gary Ludwig (now Creative Director at Interbrand in Toronto), has “officially retired his beard… after 33 years of faithful service” and offered a ‘before & after’ shot to “help identify him, should you run into him without warning.” If you do, let me know…
Winnipeg, Canada
I’ve just agreed to formally serve as a member of Geez magazine’s editorial advisory group (I’ve supported Geez unofficially since it’s start two years ago). If you’re interested in “…a place for wannabe contemplatives, front-line world-changers and restless cranks…”and feel that it’s time to “…untangle the narrative of faith from the fundamentalists, pious self-helpers and religio-profiteers…” then Geez may be for you.
Do you see this dancer spinning clockwise, or counter-clockwise? If clockwise, you tend to use more of the right side of your brain. If counter-clockwise, you tend to use more of the left side (like the majority of people). Most designers travel easily from left to right and back… in fact, it’s this (relatively) unique disposition and ability that helps us guide our (mostly) left-brain clients to creative solutions while maintaining affinity with our (often) right-brain artist kin.
At Circle, we consciously practice “whole-brain thinking” by combining left-brain traits (analytical, logical, functional, focused, strategic) with right-brain traits (creative, intuitive, perceptive, passionate, tactical).
(Image source: The Courier Mail, Australia [thanks to Guy Schockaert])
Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba
I’ve had fun building some bird houses this summer, using recycled pallet wood combined with found objects. The “urban aviary” shown here is designed for 8 pairs of Tree Swallows, (desirable in this region thanks to their prolific diet of mosquitoes) and features an “ethnic enclave” (intentional irony), copper-clad roofs (one with a sculptural rooftop garden replete with copper trees), and various brass findings. Perches are made of brass rifle shells… yes, more irony.
Brno, Czech Republic
At a recent dinner meeting of the boards of the “three sisters” of design—Icograda (International Council of Graphic Design Associations), IFI (International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers), and ICSID (International Council of Societies of Industrial Design), and following a historic two-day joint board meeting to discuss the potential formation of a multi-disciplinary alliance—architect and designer Olle Anderson (president of IFI) drew this insightful napkin sketch… His point was that as designers get older, we engage in ever more “dinners” and less and less professional output. Though I hope this isn’t the case, it seemed to have enough truth to it that I felt obliged to share. (After weeks of volunteer NGO activity away from the studio, it’s easy to begin to question one’s very raison d’être…).
