Ground Zero Printmakers Society

The Bean Around the World Cafe is one of those places that I go to when I am in extreme need of good coffee. It's also a place I go to when I feel insecure and am in need of some comforting. Maybe it's the aroma of organic fair trade coffee combined with a bohemian atmosphere and soft mood lighting. The place feels young and old at the same time - young because there are always students nursing coffee with their books and/or laptops; old - because it's one of the original buildings built in the oldest Chinatown in Canada.


I decided to join an artist run printmakers studio called Ground Zero Printmakers Society. It is run by Alain and Victoria from their own artist studio in Chinatown. The Bean asked if Ground Zero would be able to provide some work to substitute for a lastminute cancellation. Ground Zero said yes and I was fortunate enough to have been able to submit a monoprint that I did a few weeks ago inspired by my cat.

Dugnad - Departure Point

When I was in Bergen, Norway in September 2009 I met Annette, a fellow Couchsurfer and her friend Camilla. Whilst we were having a conversation over dinner in Annette's tiny little flat she mentioned a word in Norwegian. I asked her what it meant - she said that as far as she knew there wasn't a word in english that meant the same thing as "dugnad"

Wikipedia defines it as thus:

Dugnad is a Norwegian word for voluntary work done together with other people. In a tradition similar to that of barn raising, community members meet to help an individual, or club members meet to build a clubhouse, arrange a flea market and so on. Participation in a dugnad most often involves a common meal, served by the host.

I was fascinated as the proverbial lightbulb went off in my head and commented to Annette and Camilla, " That would be a fantastic name for an arts collective "

And so, here I am. " I " being emphasized because I am only one for the moment. I would like to use this blog as a platform to explore some questions that I hope to pursue in my post-graduate work surrounding sustainable design and cross-discipline research/development.