BC Transit - Transit Future Bus - a set on Flickr

Our latest unique project has just been completed. We designed and fabricated a traveling exhibit in the interior of a decommissioned transit bus in only 6 weeks! Although the whole team pitched in for the installation, extra congratulations go out to our Designer Amy Willson for meeting a truly heroic deadline and to Bianca whose Project Management ensured the job was on time and on-budget.

A huge thanks also to the BC Transit team for all their hard work. There's too many people to list everyone, but we couldn't have done it without Anita and Fred and their respective teams!

Check out our Flickr photostream for shots of the installation and completed bus.

BC Transit - Transit Future Bus - a set on Flickr

Art Show Closes but Comments Keep Coming

Hi All,

I got out to see the art show today with four kids in tow (two extra for a week). It was beautiful.  Bill your pieces were really impressive, honestly. I loved the self potrait, and completely interesting shapes of the human figures. The caged bird/human life cycle, piece was really smart, and it was fun to hear the kids version of what they saw...they said elementary school, high school, then your free after college. I saw birth, learning to crawl then learning to fly and freedom..you could see a lot in that piece..arms stretched out and raised upward, full, experienced, energized. Anyway...I saw a lot. The recycled piece was fun and clever.

J.J.'s photography was startling. I wanted to know what he saw in the killing fields piece...i did not know this part of his history and it is important to speak it so that we don't repeat it. I could have seen a whole art show of his stuff. I wanted to interview him, talk after seeing his pieces...I was left uncomplete...I needed to know more. I looked at the details, felt the pain, read the message...but looked for more in the photo and I couldn't find the answers, just the reality of the cold hard deathly truth of human kind.

Joan has made me a peotry fan. She truely spoke for us, both poems were gorgeous...is the next book ready? She made me feel like I could have said that...but I couldn't...the words fit perfectly for our generation..she said it. Where are the painters the writers, the time to dedicate our talents in expression...every artist has another career...and art is not as important today for the masses as it was when pieces were commissioned in an era of statues and buildings being created to celebrate and gather in. We can barely pull off a bbq to meet once and a while...life has moved away from gathering around beauty and chatting about ones experiences, thoughts, concerns, challenges....the stress and busyness of this generation and our challenges are going to sound silly without representation....or maybe we are silly. They may say...why did they give up gathering for dinner parties, or meet on Sundays? Wasn't family the most important thing? The other poem I read to the children and got choked up near the end, it was beautiful, powerful. I do want the next book.

Yvette's piece was fun for the children...they liked that they could touch the piece...in fact Nazareth thought it said we were not permitted to touch the piece...they are so used to rules...and when I told him to re-read the sign he was surprized. My boys loved recognizing Dante in the painting...Sebastian asked if he was in Dan's movie (because my friend Stanya has given us cd's with us in them) I said no, but we watched together the bicycle show and he got it, except he asked why Dante fell down so much (he learned on a grass hill and got it in one hour)...I explained for most of us, falling down and getting hurt a little is normal, but we keep on trying and then you have that great feeling of success when you finally get it. I must admit the only thing I didn't get to do was to hear the second show of Dan's, as when the bicycle show was on we put the ear phones on and it was just music, so I thought the same was for the second show. I kept putting them on and didn't catch that there were words until the kids wanted to go...so I missed the message in the second Dan movie. I would have gone back for a second look if i had time, but i'm going away to Sorrento for a week on Monday. I had to catch this show before I went and I'm soooo glad I did. Oh also, on Yvette's piece the 9 year old girl that was with me...was studying all the written messages carefully...and really looking at the details and pointing them out to me. The one thing that made me think was Dante's picture looked like other paintings of Christ, and I wondered if I was missing a statement...like our children are pure and full of God...until the world changes them...I'm far to artsy to just walk through these things...I make my own stories and feel my own fears and pain. Was this another way to look at what God is? The piece was whimsical and femmine, and scrolling pretty writing...it could have held jewelry and treasures and been an art piece. So pretty. I feel i know Yvette a little more. The female in hope.

Jac...political, a moment to think...a reflection of our ugly side. Luxury in North America at what cost? God loving people.....greedy, over processed, over eaters...I saw our ridiculous excess and extremes we take to keep our comforts...pollution, war, ...other countries suffer, North Americans have cars to drive, homes heated, and a lifestyle of kings while others experience war. Ridiculous imbalance. I needed to go home and read more about the politics, understand the cost...it was thought provoking...and made me realize I knew too little...something is going on in the world and I don't think about it in my day to day life. There it was though...a gas can and "God bless America"....I felt embarrased and even more so because I didn't grasp the depths of the politics involved. It left me with my butt kicked to go learn. Ignorance is not bliss. Thanks Jac.

The other art pieces..I didn't simmer over because I was there to see what my friends had done...I saw colour and I saw metal work that I liked...the ocean piece was nice, the mole was fun,...but I had a short time and just wanted to drool and aborb the works of my talented friends.

It was a taste of good things to come. I also was interested in the Rock piece in the middle of the room untitled...and thought it was also beatiful, but unamed. Relaxing...sauna, water....and place to unwind...taken out of the woods or by the sea and borrowed for the art show.

Thank you...and thank you for the people behind the show, set up, vision and for making it happen....that in itself...the "overseer" is a talent. I understand now....how important art is....it leaves our mark, represents our thoughts and issues and struggles....it is our voice...I was really moved and It has taken me until this time to understand. The art I saw at 20 in Europe...was not felt as deeply as this little show.

Thanks...and keep it upxoxoxo
Stella xo

Scenes from the move... (Part 1)

Boxes, endless boxes...

Rolls of drawings bundled up for the archives

Lots of windows to clean...

...and vacuuming to do

Farewell 560 Johnson St.

We've Moved!

After 15 years of creating and telling people's stories from our offices in Market Square we are thrilled to announce that we have officially moved to 1183 Fort Street!

Our new space is located near the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and has a wonderful tranquil feeling about it—it exudes creativity!

Working on projects while packing could have been a real challenge if it were not for additional help we received from family and friends to help us paint our new space and pack up our old!

Huge thanks to Yvette and Karen for their help painting, and to Alison for her help packing our entire finishes library plus numerous other files!  Also big thanks to Danté for his help moving boxes and painting, and Dan for your help moving some boxes too!  Irma jumped in and packed, cleaned and helped load boxes—Thank you Irma!  Laura, thank you for helping set up each workstation and clean furniture over the weekend!  You are wonderful!  Owen, thank you for doing your programming guru thang and setting up our admin computer to run more efficiently! Thank you to our founders, Jean Jacques and Joan, for all their support and words of wisdom through the move—you are both inspirational! ...and Bill, thank you SO much for your steadfast encouragement, hauling, moving, archiving, guiding, and cleaning.  You are simply incredible!

I have to say I was so impressed with how efficiently our team executed the move.  Ashley coordinated all legal and infrastructure details superbly.  Amy kept her cheerful encouraging demeanor no matter how tough it got... all the while making sure her project work was done!  Michael was the packing ring-leader, encouraging us to pack a little each day for the last few months—also amidst his project work.  Tom was wonderful to make special trips to drop off artwork and return a special piece while ensuring he kept on top of marketing when the rest of us couldn't. Thank you Andy for your dedication in working over the long weekend and setting up ALL our workstations so that we are fully operational by Tuesday!  Outstanding!

Together we embrace these exciting days that lay ahead as we continue to help people tell their stories from our new location and around the world!