Art for art's sake

Yesterday was supposed to be a trip up to Grouse Mountain to go downhill (as opposed to cross-country) skiing but Beautiful British Columbia has reverted back to normal winter weather (ie raining/sleeting) and since I refuse to ski in anything that resembles traditional Scottish skiing conditions, we had to find something else to do instead.

And that something else was visiting Vancouver Art Gallery. It's somewhere I've been meaning to visit for the last few times I've been over here but the closest big sis and I had got before yesterday was a yummy lunch in the cafe.  We did that again yesterday but we also managed to get into the exhibitions as well. There were 2 amazing ones in particular - a massive one detailing the work of photographer Robert Adams, with over 300 of his photographs, the main theme of which seemed to be the interplay between man and the environment - with the environment not really coming out on top; and a deeply disturbing piece of conceptual art called Waste Not, which involved the artist laying out the entire contents of his mother's pack-rat collection of junk and ephemera for the world to see. Definitely not one for the faint-hearted or the neat freaks, although it was all very neatly arranged. There was also an exhibition of art featuring Everyday Objects but by that time I'd overloaded on modern art and it was time to go.

To be fair, if I'd wanted just to see art I wouldn't have needed to leave the house. My sister is a very talented jewellery and fibre artist in her own right. Currently she's preparing for 2 exhibitions - a group one (Roots) starting later this month and then a solo exhibition at Port Moody Art Gallery in April.

She's also just gone back to school after (hem, hem) 20+ years to try to meld her more recently acquired skills and interests with her former/formal scientific training. Her first day was on Tuesday and she looked quite the part, even if she wasn't quite sure if she felt it or not.

On top of all of this, she's also a Mum to a Little Person. Personally, I don't know how she does it. I have enough trouble getting my shit life together and it's just me!! Oh, and she has a PhD as well. As you might have gathered, I'm pretty proud of my big sister.

As for today, well it's raining again, big sis is back at school, I head back to the UK tomorrow so for now I'm just mooching around Newport Village and Suter Brook, browsing the shops and testing the free WiFi spots. A last relax before the return journey to reality - and my 2011 missions.

Meanwhile, I mustn't forget the eggs!