100 drawings and a plane ticket

I've had a fondness for Calgary which has been what has held me here for so many years. It's necessary for me to clarify that my fondness is not for Calgary in general, but for Inglewood. It's my home, more than any other place on the planet. The proximity of the zoo, bike path, bird sanctuary and wildlands has been a huge influence on my life and why I delight in nature. But the ninth avenue shopping strip is the only strip I really look forward to shopping along. The buildings are the oldest in the city because before downtown moved to where it is now, 9th Avenue was downtown. I accompanied my parents to Christmas in Inglewood, a yearly event held along 9th Avenue.

I'm as familiar with the store fronts as I am with my own front door. But that's not to say I've always gone inside. During the Christmas in Inglewood event most shops stay open until 9:00pm. My parents and I began at the intersection of 13th street. The first store we visited has a selection of fantastic furniture and statues from Africa and Asia. I've often admired the giant driftwood benches when driving by, but had never actually taken a close look until last night. There were other fabulous and extravagant items, like a giant concrete Buddha statue. I admit a part of me thought it would be really lovely to have my own meditation space, decorated with ivy and a little fountain with a giant Buddha to join me as I sit quietly.

Our next stop was a relatively new store to the 9th avenue strip. I found myself captivated by the art on the walls more than the knick-knacks and jewellery, which my mum was enthralled with. Most of the art was done by local artists, including one piece done by a man who lives two blocks from the store. I adore that close-knit community aspect of Inglewood, which was a reoccurring theme as the evening progressed. The fifth stop on the 'shopping' adventure was at Catherine Studio, where I met David, a local artist who works primarily with oils. The first thing to hit me upon entering his studio was the smell of paint. A row of fedora's hung from hooks right inside the door but the rest of the walls were hung with canvases in all sizes and shapes. My eyes were instantly drawn to the movement captured on a white canvas painted with a black figure. The style reminded me of a Bill Plympton cartoon and I was captivated by the bright shock of red and the stark contrast. David began talking to me about his work and our conversation followed all manner of routes. My dad joined me in the studio and the three of us talked for ages. I think, of all the stops on my journey that evening, meeting David was the highlight. We spoke about Hazel Dooney and the success of her career as she's gone forward doing what she loves, doing it well and doing it for herself. He also told me a story about a teacher he'd had who'd walked into the class and said their assignment was to submit 100 drawings by the next day. Then he walked out. Panic ensued! But a drawing can be anything. A scribble. A thought. A quick doodle or an elaborately detailed sketch.

Eventually my mum called, trying to locate my dad and I. She had moved on to Suzie Q. Beads, another amazing success story. I bid Dave farewell, but not before grabbing his business card.

In Suzie Q. my mum was most exuberant as she showed my dad every bead she possibly could. As I said to David, Suzie Q. is a testament to the truth behind doing what you're good at, doing it well and being successful in it. From teaching people how to make jewellery out of her home, Suzie has now had to move twice to upgrade the size of her shop in order to accommodate the interest of so many people. When business is booming in a recession one must be doing something very right.

As is so often the case with events like this, eventually you run into someone you know. I found two friends I met through MYN, who greeted me with hugs and asked about my ten day adventure in London. One mentioned that she'd been reading about it on my Blog. I was chuffed about that since I have sometimes wondered if the only readers I have are the ten people Blogger allows me to e-mail upon posting.

They recommended we get drinking chocolate from Choklat, so we did. My mum declined but my dad and I each got a cup, unable to resist the delightfully thick drink topped with whipped cream.

Drinks in hand, we continued along, eventually crossing the street and finding another Art Gallery. This one was full of collected works of several artists across many mediums and the variety was enough to keep one browsing for ages. Whilst commenting on photographs of what was obviously Irish and Scottish countryside, one of the gallery staff approached and we began to talk. We had a lovely conversation about all the museums and art that await me when I go to London. I let her know about some of the opportunities I was looking into, including a residency. An interesting point of amusement was when I told her I had no formal schooling. With a skeptical tone in her voice she said, "And you got a residency?"

I let her know I was applying for it, but that they didn't ask about schooling in the application. One merely required a portfolio and an explanation as to why it would be beneficial. She accepted that, but I can't help thinking how interesting it is that there is an expectation one must go to school for everything and anything in order to achieve success. Again, school does have it's benefits, but going to school for art is not a guarantee one will become a successful artist. This has been a reason for several of my friends dropping out of school and making their own way.

By the time we left Arts on Atlantic it was pushing nine and most of the shops were closed. Not everyone was so eager to lock their doors and due to our mutual love of shiny things, my parents and I found ourselves in Circa, ogling chandeliers and vases. Glass is an art form I simply adore, though have no desire to do myself. I leave it to the likes of Chihuly.

Utterly tired, the very last stop we made was into Nectar, if only to look at the menu and delight over the fabulous flavours of ice cream and sorbet they carry. Not only do they have Green Tea Ice cream, but there's Chai and London Fog. I admit, I was tempted to spend money I don't have if only to have one small tub of the stuff.

So all in all it was an amazing art filled evening and has left me all the more excited for London and creating new and lovely things of my own. I'm going to venture into oils after the conversation with David, but more immediately, I will be doing 100 drawings. Today, as I go buy my plane ticket and visit with my High School art teacher, I'll have my journal in hand, ready for 100 drawings, as they come.

(photo courtesy of Flickr)