Sunday, January 21, 2018

Time's Up, Women's March, Vancouver 2018

IT WAS cold and raining off and on during the second Women's March in Vancouver, Canada, post the 2017 US election. My friend and I eagerly joined the throng at Jack Poole Plaza where people were gathering. There were impactful speeches that went on for some time prior to the March.

Two hours in the wet and cold for people of all ages, including children and the elderly, was a bit much so many left before the March actually started. Nonetheless, there were plenty remaining and ready to stroll. Thousands of us took to the streets holding signs and chanting slogans like Time's Up.

Umbrellas abounded. Most marchers had a camera in hand to record the event.

Some signage could be seen on windows of buildings where we walked.

The mood was friendly and the atmosphere peaceful.

There were some boos .....

when we reached the downtown building people love to hate.

Mostly there was a feeling that the world needs more dignity and love for all.

A powerful poem was written and read at the rally earlier by teenager Noor Fadel. Harrassed on a Skytrain in Vancouver last December, she was grateful that one person came to her aide at the time. Her poem is called I Forgive You.

To me the March felt a touch more somber and I thought there was a greater sense of urgency in the air this year. You can check out last year's March HERE.

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Monday, January 8, 2018

A Painterly Eye On The Wall

WHIMSY is to the imagination what an irrepressible giggle is to the soul. Whimsical, or any, interesting art on the wall gives us something to ponder on days when the landscape is a blank canvas of gray or when it's too damp and cold outdoors to feast on Mother Nature's beauty. Recently I visited a local library where I found work by IRENA SHKLOVER displayed. With her permission I've posted segments of those pieces.

Irena is a prolific artist. My photos, and the camera's flash, didn't do her work justice but I like the snap (above) of patterns I captured that, to me, look like floating wildflowers.

Irena's painting of a man holding a balloon (above) as he flies over a mythical city makes my heart soar. Her painting (below) of someone standing in the rain alongside a cat that perhaps is trying to get some benefit from the umbrella ... well, I can easily imagine that person is me walking in the wet wonderland that is so typical of wintry weather in southwest BC.

Below is a different style of painting by an unknown artist. It's not whimsical but the melancholy landscape brings out the whimsy in me. My parents, who since passed away, included art work in their luggage when they traveled by ship from Europe to Canada decades ago. The painter of the piece was their friend, his name inconveniently buried beneath the frame.

That was so very long ago. Perhaps he never knew the power of his work. Artists bravely cast their passions to the wind like fairy dust, not knowing who, if anyone, will be touched by their creations.

The painting (above) on my wall at home is by an artist who signed her work only with one name. Lenore was a White Rock artist who passed away several years ago. She left an indelible impression on me and the community that she memorialized with paints and brushes and her painterly eye ... she examined life thoughtfully and creatively the way artists have done throughout time.

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Monday, January 1, 2018

A Kurios End To A Curious Year

WE WERE in luck despite dire warnings from the weatherman. Not a single flake fell during our drive to Vancouver to cash in on our Christmas gift, prime seats at the Cirque du Soleil. The sun shone and excitement built as we waited to see what was inside the trademark blue and yellow striped tent.

The show succeeded in crafting a world of wonders. The costumed characters were sublime in a topsy-turvy dream-like atmosphere where life fell between the cracks of the imagination and was upside down at times. What would one find in a mechanical nautical world of a different era where talented people wearing strange makeup and odd masks performed improbable physical tasks? Although pictures were not allowed, the images will linger in my mind.

The show was a fittingly curious end to a curiously confusing year, particularly on the political scene where the world was turned upside down and inside out.

Since reality is, indeed, in some ways relative and perception plays a role, perhaps the chaotic past year will one day be seen as a death-defying circus act that in the end had a safety net to bounce reality into a better place. Wiser kinder actions in the world. Those are the feats I'll look for in the New Year.


Visit Postcards From Penelope Puddle to view more BC scenes.

See OUR WORLD to explore sights from around the globe.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms