I call her BABY when she is running well and BITCH when she isn't. I lived in this 1977 VW van on the farm and during my travels this summer.

This summer I spent 30 days working at Fraser Farm Co-op and for their food company called Glorious Organics.  Everyday I worked the gardens from weeding, to transplanting, to garlic braiding. I learned so much about how vegetables grow and how to keep chickens happy.  I now have a better understanding of the harvest season and the slow, self-determined way plants grow and change during this season. This season also gave me a glimpse into the next season where the seeds from harvest will be used to spur on the new growth of early spring.  Many textures, colours and patterns will make their way into my art this year. The beans in particular are vivid in colour and linework. I expect them to influence my upcoming textile studies.  Take a look at their beautiful colour and pattern in the pictures below.  This fall I am working on a new line of fabrics coloured with natural dyes and inspired by the people, animals and plants of Fraser Farm Co-op. 

Let me tell you about this COB bench being built for a community park by community members.  This is one of two benches that easily fits 5 to 7 bums. Butts. Behinds. Scott is a volunteer leader of this site who is very passionate about making his community a better place to live. His vision of this abandoned corner lot was inspiring enough for many people to want to join in on his adventure. For the main bench-building day he hired two skilled labourers.  One carpenter and one natural builder, the rest of the labourer was made up of volunteers.  Food and drinks were provided along with all the necessary materials.  A call to action was distributed throughout the immediate community and also in the greater city of Portland.  Many hands would be needed if these benches were going to get built in reasonable time.  Over the course of 5 days many different people contributed. Everyone made new friends, built connections, had a lot of silly fun and felt like a valued citizen who was contributing to the well-being of their community.  

These 'barn raising' events happened at different sites throughout Portland during the Village Convergence. Ovens, benches, sanctuaries and houses all got built with some paid skilled labour and a lot of volunteers.  Here in Calgary our permitting may be different, but can our city accomodate some natural building with just a bit of tweaking to the current system? Can we take baby steps without all freaking out?  I will be doing some investigating and would love some help if this is your area of expertise - PLEASE CONTACT ME.

In the meantime, Southwood Community Garden is going to explore building a fancy COB Bench on their site and I have offered my skills as a facilitator.  We hope to be hosting our own 'Barn Raising' event later this summer or fall, but I will let you know.  In the meantime - dream up different ways to bring more village to your city.

Author: Jacqulynn Mulyk

I have never been subject to so many conversations about the NFL before in my life. Jon used sports talk as a way to break the ice with people and he is right, it works almost every time.  With one comment about ‘x’ team the conversation was off to a roaring start.  Both men and women from the U.S. embrace their teams and are fierce defendants of said team. Jon shook hands and struck up conversations right left and centre. I on the other hand tried to entertain with bad jokes and it usually resulted in an odd look rather than a laugh. I was acutely aware of how little I had in common with cruisers (to which they referred to themselves as) when the question was asked, “So where will your next cruise be?” and I would reply, “In hell.”  Definitely a conversation stopper. 

The Windjammer Buffet with its large variety of semi-healthy food, is where we had most of our meals. You could eat as much as you wanted and as often as you could drag your lard-ass to the table.  I once saw this woman shovel a plateful of bacon onto her plate and then change her mind by slowly putting fistfuls of it back into the tray.  I am glad to say, I never did eat the bacon. 

One day I resolved to only eat watermelon but the 4pm gin-and-tonic broke down my reserve.  We went to the dinning room that night and half-way through our meal we were put through a regimented ‘Macarena line dance’, where no one was allowed to stay seated.  Resonating from the drop-down pressboard ceiling were dozens of old crackly speakers spitting out a loud fuzzy version of the Macarena song.  The waiters came over to our table with a grimacing smile and said, “Get up! Time to dance!”  So we danced and I made sure to smile, less I send everyone into some kind of obsequious act of rescue.  Don’t mess with the regimented fun! An undertone to the entire vacation.

Shuffle shuffle, step.  Shuffle, shuffle, step, hip switch, hip switch, shuffle shuffle step.  No, not the moves to the latest dance craze, although there were many a line dance happening on the boat; these are the moves we made many times while waiting in line-ups.  There are cues for everything and this was taken as normal and perfectly acceptable.  No one likes to wait around, but it is taken as something necessary when one is going to have fun. A bigger line-up indicates a possibility of more fun and so all move like steel dust flakes to a magnet. Cruisers follow each other, something like safety in numbers I think.

There were about four different bars plus pool deck casino.  All had the same chairs, light fixtures and rugs but each had their own name. ‘Bolaros’ was the Spanish bar, ‘Spectrum’ the disco bar, ‘Schooner Bar, is for sing-a-long piano and sports. The ‘Viking Bar’ was a quiet bar for sophisticates and the casino and pool deck bar are self-explanatory.  I felt like drinking all the time.  I just wanted to wake up and dive into my first frozen daiquiri, but I restrained until after lunch, usually.  Diving in early just meant I had nothing to look forward to later.  I was usually tired of drinking by 7pm if I started before 4pm.  It was also not cheap to drink on the boat, this is where they make most of their money.  On the pool deck there was a calypso-reggae band usually playing.  Well they would play in between poolside bingo, sexiest man contest, belly flop contest and other P.A assisted games. It all resembled a Gladiator-set with the different decks, announcements and the gathered ‘players’ jammed together in their blue lounge chairs. 

One day I managed to squeeze in a workout at the fitness centre and a run around the ship. That was the day I was only going to eat watermelon. I was motivated by yesterday’s salt laden meal from Jonny Rockets.  I was starting to bloat up like a big balloon.  Everyday I was in the mirror examining my red skinned face and my expanding waist line.  I imagined not fitting into any of my jeans back home and wondered if I could live on gin-and-tonic for the next 4 days.  I  found myself overly concerned about my appearance on the boat.  What to wear to this occasion, not having the right accessories and don’t let me get into the shoes.

There are three important questions to ask yourself on board, what are you going to eat, where are you going to eat, and how are you going to look eating it? That’s it.  Ok maybe you might throw in another question here and there like, “Where did I put my pool towel down? Or should I have a blended ice drink or just a beer?” but overall the whole idea of the cruise is to eliminate all questions from your mind.  This is what cruisers love and is what keeps them coming back. “Hell, I won’t get a drunk driving ticket here” and “I never have to think about anything on the boat, no decisions,” all comments from the defendants of crusing life.  Everything is right here, entertainment, food, trips into town, shopping. “Why would anyone do anything else than cruising!?” is what Jeannie in her high pitched voice said to us one night at her celebratory 240^th cruiseship dinner.  I couldn’t give her an answer, she was just so out of my league. 

There was a beautiful theatre on board with upper balconies.  We sat in the upper seats one night and felt like we were getting a very good deal. We saw a few good shows on board and I have to say this is the room where I had the most fun.  There was some excellent dancers, a couple of good comedians and an entertaining magician.  The cruise director, Ricki from Jamica was the coordinator of all entertainment on board and we happened to be on his last cruise before a long 2-month break.  That is how it works with most staff on board.  Four months working and two months off.  Though, as Ned the guitar player explained, if they call you before your two months are finished and you don’t take up the ‘offer’ of early work, then you may as well count yourself unemployed.  Not technically unemployed, but definitely on the shit list.  The staff on board were all amazingly friendly and very good at their jobs.  Every time you walked by one of the staff you were greeted with a cordial ‘good morning’ or good evening and a how are you sir or madam?”  This was part of their job.  Every afternoon or evening when we made it back to the room there was a cute towel animal hanging around.  You see the statesman (your personal room attendant) is trained in fancy towel folding; a talent I have not had the privilege of witnessing before. 

We got to know Ned the guitar player and Jon sat down with the musicians to play a few tunes one of the nights in the Schooner Bar. “This is a gift that you need to share with people!” one of the mid-40 year old lady from Alabama on a company excursion, expressed to Jon in between songs.  You see I had explained that Jon generally only plays in our living room and they thought this was a terrible waste.  Needless to say, Jon was having the time of his life.

On the second cruise many of the passengers were wearing bright orange t-shirts that said ‘Florida Primative Babtists’. There were many large black people on this trip, considerably more than the first cruise.  I think this made things more interesting.  Let’s just say, the windjammer was decidedly busier.  I met a large, handsome black woman in the bolero lounge and she shared one of her Newport cigarettes with me.  She worked at a police station in the Bronx and was happy to get away from the snow.  She was traveling with her best friend.  That was the other thing, they allowed smoking on the ship in designated areas like the casino and one half of the Bolaros lounge.  I don’t smoke very often but I thought it went well with the gin and tonic and my laptop.  It was a novelty to smoke inside again.

There were a lot of young couples and families on the ship and this had surprised me.  Don’t get me wrong, there were also many diamond plus travelers working towards their 300^th cruise, but they did not dominate the guest list.  I think the age group might have influenced the never ending train of fun on the ship, but what do I know. The P.A announcements were especially present when, because of weather, the ship was not able to dock in CocoKay.  That meant everyone had to stay on board rather than experiencing the Royal Caribbean owned island.  That’s right, an entire island owned by a cruise ship company.  I think you can guess what that island must be like – buffet eating was the main activity for both cruisers and seagulls alike.  Only Royal Caribbean can dock on this island and RC crew actually live out there providing the ‘island’ experience.  There are large blue deck loungers by the hundreds scattered all over the island, along with workout stations and garbage cans. You could pay for many excursions and of course there is the ever present grass huts ready to sell you cheap made in China souvenirs. 

No matter where you go as a cruiser, you are always within 20ft of shopping.  Ship and ports are all catered to mass movement of the money welding, entertainment seeking cruiser.  They make it really easy for you.  No cash or credit card is required, just a room card.  No age or spending limit to hamper your fun, just show your room card and all needs, wants and desires will be placated. And if you gave them your credit card at the time of booking you won’t even see a sign of the bill until you are safely at home and hopefully seated when you open your credit card bill. 

Another port we docked was in Nassau, Bahamas.  I have to say I just about lost it here.  My images of beautiful paradise beaches were bulldozed by streets and shopping malls.  We walked like lemmings off the ship and onto another ferry boat.  This ferry boat was taking us to Paradise Island. “Yes! Sounds exactly like what I had in mind!” so on we went.  The tour guide was shouting made-up history at us and then demanded a tip before we left the small boat.  Off we went, towels in hand and flip-flops on feet in search of our own spot on Paradise beach. We were directed and misdirected again and again by the local workers.  I started to believe there was some conspiracy to keep us cruisers, a.k.a bottom feeders and free loaders, off the public beach.  We kept winding our way through shopping center after shopping center while the precious hours off the boat dwindled away. I had this nightmare feeling of being trapped and laughed at by the locals.  I seriously went into some kind of anxiety attack, it freaked Jon out.  I took many breaths and followed Jon in some zombie state while he walked ahead of me shaking his head at my outburst.  Eventually we actually found the beach.  We had a precious two hours left and the sun was already starting to make its way behind the trees.  I won’t even explain the ridiculous journey I had to make for a bloody drink, at which point I needed desperately.  Even on the beach bahamians dressed in their winter clothes, were trying to sell us cheap necklaces and wooden flutes.  “Sorry man, I don’t have any cash” seemed to be all we needed to say to make them walk on, but not without cursing us under their breath.  I did get to swim in the blue Caribbean waters which was oh-so sweet; I just had to keep my head-up to watch for speeding jet-skis. 

Thanks to our host we were able to miss some of the line-ups upon exiting and he was ever so gracious to offer us a free room on the boat.  I am grateful for this and in a weird way, value the experience.  I hope I haven’t offended any cruise loving tourists out there, I will admit I am not a traveler in love with the resort either.  My ideal vacation is in a kayak with my tent in tow.  I will hopefully be able to write the story to that one soon, in which I am sure there will be different challenges to overcome. 

Mind exploding!  Life changing!   Soul recharging!  Empowering and engaging. That is permaculture.  I spent the last month on Vancouver Island studying permaculture.  It is a whole new way to examine our place in the world. Once you learn it, you can't go back.  The only way is forward.  Here are some people who explain it a whole lot better than I do. There are a couple of places to study permaculture within Calgary.  Green Calgary also has a lot of workshops.

Edible forest landscapes are life filled places that not only provide food for humans, they are habitats for wildlife, carbon sequestering, biodiversity, natural soil building gardens of fruit and nuts, perennial and annual veggies and flowers.  These many-layered gardens are beautiful, resilient and self-renewing. With the emphasis on the whole system as an interrelated organism, interconnectedness is the key to a healthy, dynamic garden. Let nature be the model we use to design landscape.

- Permaculture Power blog 

I engaged on my first wwoofing experience in Nelson, BC.  It was my first time to Nelson and it was a super way to hang out there for a week.  I spent about 6 hours of my day helping with the garden and the rest of the time exploring the countryside, sitting in cafes and painting.  Woofing isn't for everyone, but if you are into alternative methods of seeing the world, this is a good place to start. Here I am doing some landscape work in the garden.

I stayed with two wonderful artists: Fiona Brown who creates the most exquisite ceramic pieces.  We ate out of her colourful bowls, her tiles covered the walls and her studio was so inspiring.  Here is a picture of my adventures in tile building and a small sample of her brilliant artwork.

Fiona Brown and Brian McGlachlan both open their house to the the COLUMBIA BASIN CULTURAL TOUR, which happens August 14th & 15th, 2010.  Go to Nelson and check out:

Stanley Street Studios - you will fall in love with their home, the artwork and the artists.

What do we really, really want?

Jacqulynn Mulyk's art exhibit starts the discussion

Yvonne Jeffery, Calgary Herald

Our city is taking a few knocks these days. We're accused of getting too big, too quickly. Our environmental footprint is the largest in the country, we rely on cars instead of walking, and even our homes are growing instead of downsizing as they're beginning to in other major markets.

But Jacqulynn Mulyk isn't buying into these generalizations. The 34-year-old artist has stood on the streets of New York City and Vancouver to paint the streetscapes there, and now she's done the same thing for her adopted hometown. The result is Big City Living -- from the eyes of a downtown resident, an exhibit currently at Inglewood's Artpoint Gallery.

 "When I moved to Mission, the buildings around there and the businesses really affected me," Mulyk says. "I believe they gave me a sense of peace and excitement. Then, as I spent more time there, I realized it wasn't just the buildings. There are a number of things that contribute to your sense of place, and that's where this series of paintings came from -- from trying to communicate those different elements."

Her paintings -- collages of paint, photos and even fabric -- provide glimpses of the cities: vibrant splashes of colour and movement in New York, flowing expanses of blues and greens in Vancouver, and in Calgary, a sense of space, set against a framework of skyscrapers and rivers.

"I love architecture," she says. "I think it plays an important role in our lives, and (the art) puts that into context with the other things around it, like the trees on the street, the river, the natural spaces, the air quality, the energy."

That last element is one of the most important.

 "We all contribute to that sense of energy," she says. "How we drive, what we drive, which businesses we support, which kinds of activities we do or don't do outside, our arts and culture, diversity, clubs -- everything contributes to the energy in a city."

 She's concerned that many of those energy sources can be overlooked in new developments, particularly given that most people have -- or at least contribute -- little or no influence over what gets built in particular spaces. She hopes her exhibit, with its paintings, journals and video of downtown streets and construction gets people talking about where the city -- which she likens to a pre-teen -- is going.

 "We're still a young city and we've grown so much so quickly -- you get all kinds of growing pains," she explains.

"We all, as citizens of Calgary, influence the way Calgary is going to grow and what type of adult it will one day become."

 She mentions walking down a Vancouver street that boasts lots of small shops, markets and people. "It has a very rhythmic energy to it, a low but steady rhythm of people. In Calgary, you get quite a bit of dead space, I find, or you get jolted."

 To boost the flow of energy on our streets, she'd like us to think about what we want to surround us.

 "That's why I have a number of elements in the exhibit," she says. "I want people to look at them, study them and explore them . . . but beyond that, I want people to think about the story and formulate their own stories and add to it."

 She suggests that starting the discussion at home by surrounding yourself with ideas is one step.

 "You create energy in your home by the way you bring things in, by what you surround yourself with, just like on the street. The energy I like to have in my home is one of ideas, one of openness and excitement.

 "For me, when I have original work on my walls, I feel like anything can happen in this space."

 yjeffery@theherald.canwest.com



The painting workshop was lead by Michele Cassou, the same artist I studied from in San Francisco. Her methods are about getting down to the core of what you are and this connection we have to the universe through the painting process.  It isn't about painting really pretty pictures or learning brush techniques or how to paint mountains realisticly.  It is about opening yourself up with the 'jaws of life' to reach the core - which is hot and bubbling like molten.

The ZCLA: http://www.zcla.org/index.php

Here are some pictures

Zendo Centre

One of the beautiful gardens at the ZCLA

A few of us set out easels up outside