A Victoria Curiosity

Unveiled October 13, 2010

Emily Carr - a Victoria born, Canadian icon of the art world. A massive amount of information about artist and writer Emily Carr can be found on the internet, in libraries, museums and art galleries. In the confines of this small blog, I really cannot do this justice. A bit of my knowledge about Emily Carr is that she would not likely be found on a busy city street corner but out with her cherished Indigenous people, in the old growth forests or inspiring mountains with her Javanese monkey ‘Woo’, her dog ‘Billie’ and her paintbrushes. 

Frequently going to and coming from my pool exercises I take the opportunity to pass by ‘Miss Em’s’ (my name for her) bronze statue on the corner of Government St. and Belleville St. here  in Victoria. I greet her with a brief hello and pat her on the arm. On my return trip from the pool, I often will sit for a moment to watch and listen to comments from passersby. I am curious about what general knowledge is. There are those who have never heard of her. Some have been to Emily Carr University. Some have just a passing interest on their vacation. And then there are the little ones who really just want to pet ‘Billie’ and would like to climb the statue to pet ‘Woo’. To me, this statue, unveiled  October 13, 2010, creates an aura of calm on this busy corner by the Empress Hotel.

The day I took this photo in the bright sunshine, I had tried to capture the bouquet of flowers, rather unsuccessfully, someone had set in the crook of her arm. One more bit of very lovely curiosity. I wonder if she is given flowers often? 

“The spirit must be felt so intensely that it has power to call 

others in passing, for it must pass, not stop in pictures…”

~ Emily Carr, December 13, 1871 - March 2, 194

Hidden In Plain Sight ~ 2

I have never been curious about what kind of bird makes such a raucous, insistent cry - crows really do give themselves away when they screech and scream at anyone for reasons that only they would know. But they do hide well in the trees. This time, with most of the leaves gone, this crow’s hiding spot was fairly easily found. I mean, really - black against orange and blue?

“There is a bird who by his coat, 

and by the hoarseness of his note, 

might be supposed a crow.”

~ William Cowper

Colour Drops

Cloudless, blue background

highlights crisp curls 

pausing 

then floating to curb and sidewalk ~

I am curious about their fall timing.

“Let the leaves fall where they may ~ 

Welcome October ~ Autumn is here.”

~ Charmaine J. Forde

Simple Strength

Fall's darkened and drying hydrangeas banked against bush and shrub ~ curiously straight, tall and full ~ 

       gracefully unapologetic.

“Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.”

~ Maya Angelou

Crumpled Beauty

The crumpled beauty of this dying dahlia letting go of youthful splendour is too often ignored by my curiosity. A flower only to be dead-headed and tossed aside into golden leaves and grass clippings mulching below. 

“Flowers grow out of dark moments.”

~ Corita Kent

The Basics of Curiosity

No-knead whole wheat bread - 1st attempt - delicious!

My curiosity rises like bread dough set aside with just a whiff of yeast mixed with flour, water and salt.

Left alone it grows soft and round, bubbling through my brain until, fully formed, I have another question.

Tiny changes to basic ingredients

can grow into more questions 

until it’s time to find more answers.

Punching into the air bubbles,

baking it in the heat of creativity

my curiosity, like bread, yields more questions. 

“Your mind will answer most questions 

if you learn to relax and wait for the answer.”

~ William S. Burroughs

Barring Meaning

I’m curious. 

Curious about retirement.

So I looked up it’s etymology

‘1530 - of armies’ -

Nurses stepping out of

the line of fiery health care.

‘1530 - to withdraw especially

for the sake of privacy’

when a public face has slowly crumpled.

‘1540s - to withdraw, 

lead back troops’ -  when 

mixing generations is too noisy.

‘1640s - sense of “leave an occupation”’ -

with the challenge

to learn a new way of living.

‘1660s - to leave company and go to bed’ -

with no alarm clock or calendar,

no schedule to march to.

‘1680s - to remove from service’ -

An unpleasant image of being plucked away

with all sense of choice removed!

‘1874 - baseball sense of “to put out”’ -

that suggests it’s all been a game

and now it’s time to set up a new game!

My curiosity has been satisfied - sort of.

What games will I play - 

and who will I be playing with?!

“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, 

you’re at the beginning of something else.”

~ Fred Rogers