Break I am watching a glass break I am thinking how cliches are so often true how time really does slow down after our mistakes I am watching a glass bounce Slow motion and unbroken on the counter like a miracle I sigh relief and then behold my reason to renounce
Liquor store, Saturday night At the end of a long good day filled with family and food screeching kids and barking dogs and endless pots of coffee making conversation from the full caf morning into decaf evening where the leftovers are grazed and then divided Searching for common threads and never straying far from
The question Why is it called Good Friday? my daughter asks over newly baptized Cheerios I want to answer but realize the question is too big I leave it on the table It becomes a mirror turned back upon me Reflecting Reversing Refracting A small mirror with an ornate silver handle and
Double decker Lucie tells me she wishes she could ride in a double decker bus We are driving a familiar route from home to spring break camp not a double decker in sight My daughter is dreaming past sight I want to tell her I’ve been on a double decker bus
Tummy Rub If everything is Metaphor For everything Then what of this puppy sprawled on his back Voluntary helplessness Wanting nothing more than a tummy rub from the Master
Let's Make an EP Together! I did a foolish thing last January. I set a goal. I made it public. I made myself accountable. The goal? Record a 6 Song EP. The deadline? Year end. The time left? A month and a half. The good news is, I have enough material to work with, and
We Are Dust: Writing A Song for Justice This August I was asked to bring an arts experience to Justice Camp, a Canada-wide social justice conference from the Anglican Church. I was honoured, but before this was over there would be other feelings, too. I wound up a little embarrassed. Originally, I had agreed to lead an ‘immersion
Two New Songs for the Fall In the past week, I’ve written and recorded two new songs. Perhaps the prospect of a trip to Europe has got me all prolific? Enjoy – and please let me know what you think!
Ferris Bueller's Vest Sometimes I get to do some fantastically-fun side projects. Many of those projects involve Frank Zotter – the man behind the curtain at the Avenue Drive In events. There’s another Drive In coming up, and I got to make the poster. It incorporated a drawing of Ferris Bueller’s wild
The Milk Truck Back to School We must all find a way to get our kids to class on time (This essay was written for the Rat Creek Press and will appear in the September 2014 issue. Reposted here with permission. Image from http://www.freeimages.com/). Come September, kids will be driven, walked and bussed
An Oldie But a Goodie This week, Shawn Birss made use of one of my older songs, Miracle, on YouTube (he did ask permission – such a gentleman). I’m honoured!
When Denominations Dance: Sacred Space in Review I’m sitting across from Rev. Travis Enright at the Popular Bakery. At this favourite community haunt, we are reviewing last Sunday’s Sacred Space gathering at St.Faith’s, led by The Bleeding Heart. And we are eating some of the city’s best sandwiches. I have the sandwich
Studio Time Tomorrow I head into the studio with Tim LaRiviere to lay down some guitar and vocals for two upcoming Bridge Songs tracks – Dear City and City of Champions. I’m looking forward to pushing myself again creatively, and the accountability a project like this brings to my creative process. Projects
Remember: Working on a New Song I signed up for The Grow Your Art Challenge from The Bleeding Heart Art Space. Which makes sense, because I started it. But then I had to make the work. And it got hard. But this week I had a breakthrough. Here are the results – headway on a new song
Tiny Gold Squares: A Post from 2011 This post was originally written in 2011. As I face new projects and challenges today, it’s good to remember where I’ve been. Tiny Gold Squares, Mission Accomplished I am pleased to report that my quixotic home renovation project, the gold wall, is finished. For those who don’t
Playing with Logic Pro X I got a new piece of software this week, as part of my Grow Your Art Challenge project. I decide to try some electronic music with it. This sample is short, but I like it.
I Want to Grow My Art I am between two walls, and the walls are closing in. Slowly, but surely, the space between shrinks. One wall is the forward momentum of the new year. Resolutions. Plans. Goals and Dreams. The other wall is frustration and stagnation. The inability to step forward into the great unknown into
Warm Up to the City of Seasons Winter is not always a joy . . . but it is the balance of seasons that makes Edmonton radiant. It’s January of 2013 and I am worlds away from an Edmonton winter. Aboard a sweaty bus in sweltering sunshine, a guitarist bellows in Spanish several rows up. Soon we laze by
Risk Your Heart “Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won’t either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You
Creativity = Critics Great, great video on how to handle critics. http://vimeo.com/78769611 Discovered thanks to 99u.com here … http://99u.com/videos/20052/brene-brown-stop-focusing-on-your-critics
Thinking Back on #JusticeYEG A call for submissions is always a terrifying leap into the unknown. Especially when the deadline fast approaches. Especially when the theme is difficult or narrow. How would artists respond to issues of justice – especially local justice. What type of work would emerge? Would it be strong work? Would submissions
