A new Canadian film being aired on the eve of Remembrance Day — typically a time to recall soldiers’ sacrifices from the First and Second World Wars — is shedding new light on a much more recent and controversial chapter in the country’s military history: the 1992 Sarajevo airlift during the Bosnian War.

In the same Balkan capital where the 1914 assassination of an Austrian prince sparked the First World War, Canadian peacekeeping troops led by Maj.-Gen. Lewis MacKenzie were deployed in July 1992 to carry out what’s described in the film as a “harrowing” mission to secure the city’s airport and deliver supplies of food and medicine in the midst of a bloody civil war touched off by the fall of Communism in the former Yugoslavia.

And the new documentary by Toronto filmmakers Barry Stevens and David York, which premieres Sunday on the History channel, includes fresh accounts from MacKenzie and soldiers under his command about how the Canadians turned their “Chapter 6” UN mission — a pure peacekeeping assignment — into what the now-retired MacKenzie calls a “Chapter 6 and a half,” where tight restrictions on the use of deadly force were relaxed amid the chaos and violence of the Siege of Sarajevo to keep vital aid flowing and to protect the lives of both civilians and Canadian military personnel.

“I rewrote the rules,” the unapologetic MacKenzie says in the film.  “I said, ‘If the mission is threatened, if the planes are being interfered with coming in, if anybody is being shot at … you can use deadly force.’ And Canadians were able to do that better than anybody else.”

As other UN personnel did in Rwanda a few years later, the 800 Canadian peacekeepers in Sarajevo confronted what Stevens called a “genocidal civil war” while constrained by a UN mandate intended to ensure intervening foreign troops didn’t fuel the madness.

It was “very difficult for the Canadian soldiers involved,” he said in an interview. “They’re expected to behave under these United Nations peacekeeping rules in a hot war.  They were trying to be peacekeepers when there was no peace to keep.”

As the film, titled Sector Sarajevo, makes clear, MacKenzie himself orchestrated his own leadership of the airlift mission when he approached senior UN officials and claimed Canada wouldn’t support the dangerous deployment unless MacKenzie himself was put in charge — a somewhat “unethical” ploy, he admits, that nevertheless worked.

The situation encountered by the Canadian peacekeeping contingent was horrifying, the film recounts, as warring Serbs and Bosnian Muslims clashed in and around Sarajevo at the outset of a murderous, atrocity-filled conflict that would go on for three years.

The Canadians “did behave as well as they possibly could, but also suffered for having their hands tied in some senses and just being hugely understrength,” said Stevens. One of the peacekeepers interviewed in the film said the UN rules governing the mission “were asinine. The rules would get you killed.”

Stevens said the documentary is important because it’s “the most frank people have been about that mission” and highlights the almost impossible challenge that faced MacKenzie and the peacekeepers assigned to his UN Protection Force.

“They went way beyond their rules of engagement,” said Stevens. “They did counter-sniping. They took out mortar positions. And even though they couldn’t bring an end to the conflict, they at least did stop some of the evil acts that were going on. And Lew MacKenzie authorized that.”

MacKenzie’s role in leading the mission has been debated for years. Author and CBC broadcaster Carol Off investigated Canadians’ peacekeeping efforts in the former Yugoslavia and was critical of MacKenzie’s handling of the UN mandate in her 2000 book The Lion, the Fox & the Eagle, which also praised Canadian Lt-Gen. Roméo Dallaire’s actions as a UN commander in Rwanda and Canadian judge Louise Arbour’s pioneering role as an international war-crimes prosecutor in both the Rwandan and Bosnian conflicts.

As in his own writings, in the film MacKenzie defends his decision to place the welfare of his peacekeepers above strict adherence to UN rules about how the Sarajevo mission was to have been carried out.

Next year’s 100^th anniversary of the June 1914 assassination of Austro-Hungarian archduke Franz Ferdinand will put Sarajevo in a global spotlight and kickstart four years of centennial commemorations of the First World War.

But Stevens said reexamining the story of Canada’s pivotal role during another milestone moment in Sarajevo’s history illustrates the need for Remembrance Day commemorations to encompass a wider range of narratives from the country’s military past.

“On Remembrance Day we should be honouring peacekeeping and peacekeepers as well as war fighters,” said Stevens, who also produces the “War Story” series of documentaries that airs on History and focuses on the two world wars and the Korean War.

Canadians who served in the “ambiguous” moral circumstances that have characterized many post-Cold War conflicts, he added, “should also be recognized as contributing to Canada and serving honourably and with valour.”

rleighboswell@gmail.com

Francis Bacon’s painting “Three Studies of Lucian Freud” sold for a record $142,405,000 at Christie’s Auction House in New York on Tuesday. Christie’s says the work sold after six minutes of fierce bidding. Christie’s did not reveal the identity of the buyer.

The bacon piece is now officially the most expensive painting ever, taking the title from Edvard Munch’s “The Scream,” which sold for $120 million in 2012.

A journalist looks at Francis Bacon’s paintings ” Three Studies of Lucian Freud – 1969 ” during the opening of the exhibition ‘Caravaggio and Bacon’ at the Borghese museum in Rome on September 30, 2009. A triptych by British painter Francis Bacon — “Three Studies of Lucian Freud” — sold for $142.4 million on November 12, 2013 smashing the world record for the most expensive piece of art auctioned. The work by the 20th century figurative artist, who lived from 1909 to 1992, had never before been put under the hammer until Christie’s flagship evening sale. It was bought by a New York gallery. (AFP PHOTO / VINCENZO PINTO)

This undated photo provided by Christie’s shows “Three Studies of Lucian Freud,” a triptych by Francis Bacon of his friend and artist Lucian Freud. (AP Photo/Christie’s)

NEW YORK  — The former president of the United States galloped into the exhibition of painting, printmaking and sculpture, adjusted his pince-nez, and ejaculated, in his famous soprano yelp, “THAT’S NOT ART!”

But it WAS art, no matter what Theodore Roosevelt said. It was Matisse, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Degas, Cézanne, Rousseau, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, Brancusi, Munch, Duchamp, Braque, Kandinsky, and many more, some of them brandishing their heresies for the first time in the New World. It was Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Cubism, Modernism, Futurism and Fauvism, crazy lines and coloured squares and curlicues and naked babes with big balloony boobs. It was a blast.

It was the International Exhibition of Modern Art of 1913: the famous, notorious Armory Show. The most scandalous of the canvases and trunkless heads were shipped from Gay Paree on the cliff-face of the First World War and installed in a military field house in Manhattan, there to set off one of the noisiest cannonades of artistic insurgency ever fired at a prudish public.

It was “the total destruction of painting.”

It was “Freak Art.”

It was “the Chamber of Horrors.”

It was, wrote the patron-des-arts Mabel Dodge to Gertrude Stein, “The most important public event . . . since the Declaration of Independence. There will be a riot and a revolution and things will never be the same afterwards.”

It was 25 cents for admission.

“Nobody who has been drinking is let in to see this show,” jibed the New York World.

“Probably we err in treating most of these pictures seriously,” Teddy Roosevelt wrote in a magazine review, speaking for the average Joe.

“Take the picture which for some reason is called, A naked man going down stairs, the ex-chief executive, out of the White House since 1909 and bored to tears, continued. “There is in my bathroom a really good Navajo rug which, on any proper interpretation of the Cubist theory, is a far more satisfactory and decorative picture.”

Precisely a century later, I am standing before the very same painting – it is, properly,  Nude Descending A Staircase (No. 2)  by Marcel Duchamp – with Kimberly Orcutt, Curator of American Art of the New-York Historical Society on Central Park West, which has brought the big blowup of 1913 back to life in a delicious, irreverent retrospective featuring 100 of the original works. The centennial exhibition runs here until late February 2014.

To the virgin gallery-goer of 1913, Duchamp’s brown-and-gold rendering – to me, he looks like C-3PO from Star Wars — was the most unsettling and anarchic work of all. Bewildered critics called it “splinter salad” and “an explosion in a shingle factory.”

“Duchamp is creating an expectation with the title that most viewers did not know how to discern,” Dr. Orcutt is calmly telling me. “It asked the question: What is the relationship between the artist and the viewer? Does the artist have a responsibility to make his work understandable? Or does the viewer have the responsibility to learn this new landscape of art?”

Cubism in 1913 was as unanticipated as an overheated Miley Cyrus would have been in 2005. Nude Descending A Staircase was purchased by an interior designer from San Francisco for $324.

(Two Canadian-born artists who exhibited at the Armory are back in the Historical Society show: Ernest Lawson’s  Harlem River, Winter and Charles Henry White’s The Condemned Tenement.

Even Van Gogh, dead since 1890, was “new and very surprising,” Orcutt says. (The Dutchman’s suicide was seen by Futurism’s assailants as proof that the whole enterprise of Modern Art was the work of the insane.) But for the most part, the French Impressionists and their North American acolytes had, by 1913, been recognized as masters. This posed a hair-pulling conundrum for those who looked at the offerings of Duchamp, Braque, Picasso, Kandinsky, et al and wanted to throw up. Maybe those rebels would turn out to be Van Goghs, too.

“Is it that every artist who is attacked will turn out to be a genius?” writhed the promoter/painter/critic Walter Pach. “No, a thousand times no. That is bad logic.”

The subsequent century gave its answer: condemn the new at your peril. Picasso and the Cubists lived to be deified; so did the Abstract Expressionists, the loonies who flung paint at bare walls. “Art” expanded to include Banksy’s graffiti; Robert Mapplethorpe’s provocative photographs; Marina Abramovic, masturbating on stage.

“Can art still shock us the way this shocked our great-grandparents?” I wonder aloud as I stare at a Picasso head that looks like melting chocolate.

“That conversation about what is art and what is not is still with us,” Kimberly Orcutt smiles. “We are still asking: What constitutes art? And who gets to decide?”

Stories about art and the art world.

With the sweet scent of lavender welcoming travellers, the south of France is a welcome place to holiday in the summer months. It’s a destination where cuisine and wine is palate-pleasing, the past is celebrated alongside the present and the countryside is as picturesque as a postcard.

Roman style has modernized with this French interpretation of a lion’s head.

Three towns of the area – Aix-en-Provence, Salon-de-Provence and Arles – are worthy stops for those who like to roadtrip because of their historic ties to the Roman Empire as well as their unique offerings in French culture. The name Provence was chosen by Roman Julius Caesar because he described the area as a province of Rome, and despite the passage of time, the influences of the Roman Empire are easily discovered.

Aix-en-Provence – founded in 123 BC by the Romans, this town’s Cours Mirabeau divides the old town from the new town with its rows of

Contemporary art exhibits are found within the walls of 18th century Hotel de Gallifet.

trees and fountains (Aix is often referred to as the city of a thousand fountains.) Current excavations have revealed a Roman amphitheatre dating back to dating to 200 BC. Artist Paul Cezanne and writer Ernest Hemingway were famous former temporary residents, and would have felt at home at the Hotel de Gallifet, an 18^th century mansion now known for modern art and contemporary French cuisine. Make sure to buy a package of Calissons d’Aix, an almond candy made from the local almond groves.

Salon-de-Provence – a settlement founded in the Iron Age, this French town flourished over several centuries thanks to its unique location on the salt trade routes between the Adriatic, Mediterranean and the Atlantic. The Chateau de l’Emperi, the former residence of the Bishop of Arles during the Holy Roman Empire, now features art exhibitions and

A Roman-style angel watches over the employees of Savonnerie Marius Fabre, making genuine Marseille soap since 1900.

gardens within its walls. This city is also home to one of the prized creations of Provence – genuine Marseille olive oil soap – which has been made at family-owned Savonnerie Marius Fabre since 1900.

Arles – A Roman military city once boasted a circus and a theatre, but its Les Arenes d’Arles, a Roman amphitheatre and the cryptoporticus, an underground series of tunnels and rooms that have become UNESCO World Heritage sites. Dating back to the 1^st century BC, these Roman sites offer tours. This pretty city was also was the home of Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh from 1888-1889, encouraging him to create over 300 works of art and making a café (now known as Le Café La Nuit) famous in his painting “The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at night”.

Visiting Provence:

Travel: visitors can begin their roadtrip in the city of Marseille, which is easily accessed by airlines via Paris. Car rental is the best way to explore this region, and driving from Marseille to Aix-en-Provence, Salon de Provence, Arles and back to Marseille is just over 200

Artist Vincent van Gogh lived in the Roman town of Arles for two years, creating over 300 pieces of work influenced by the local sights, including this garden and cafe.

kilometres.

Travel Tips: make time to wander each city – its best to consider a series of day trips to each city to make the most of the local attractions, cafes and to wander the streets seeing the variety of historic architectural  influences on these French towns from street planning to churches. For those wanting to know more about the history of the region, The Roman Provence Guide by Edward Mullins offers an interesting mix of history and tips on finding Roman sites in Provence.

Weather: temperatures in Provence in July and August range from a sunny 27C to 30C.

- The author was a guest of Atout France, which neither viewed or approved this article before publication.

The city of Spokane lies on the route between the northern Idaho wilderness and coastal Washington. A popular choice for convention goers, it also gets its fair share of air traffic. So it should come as no surprise that the local amenities are a notch above your average inland destination. Following these must-see suggestions will help you make the most of your time there.

Art:

Those who enjoy the art scene will find a few gems in the city of Spokane. One of note is the Northwest Museum of Art and Culture on First Avenue. A three-story modern structure featuring photos, artifacts, film projects and children’s interactive spaces, it’s a nice indoor option when you want to get out of the sun or rain. Additionally, Gonzaga University is home to the Jundt Art Museum, which features a number of exhibit spaces suitable for exploration. Prefer to experience your art al fresco? Spokane has a sculpture stroll in Riverfront Park. Featuring anything from bronze statues to a two-story red wagon, it’s worth the itinerary time. Their giant alphabet blocks are large enough for adults to climb on and enjoy, providing a whimsical duck-watching spot.

Dogs:

If you’re traveling with your pooch, the stroll is also accessible canines, and part of the larger Centennial Trail. Just steps away from the pet-friendly Doubletree adjacent to the convention center, it makes a great walking or jogging option for those who want to exercise with Fido. Need a place to drop off the dog while you explore the city’s museum scene? Play and Stay offers supervised daycare for Spot at an affordable $20 per day.

Sipping:

Spokane lies smack-dab in the middle of the Inland Northwest Ale Trail, which features a multitude of breweries for those who prefer pairing their art strolls with some frosty suds. One venue of note in the city is No-Li Brewhouse. Featuring creative concoctions such as a coffee beer titled Rise and Grind and barrel-aged brews for artisanal enthusiasts, it’s definitely worth ordering a tasting sampler. The atmosphere is part warehouse loft and part converted barn, adding additional fun factor to the experience. The food selection is designed to appeal to a variety of tastes, including those who prefer cruelty-free dining. Of note are their vegetarian nachos with spicy aioli, and their homemade red lentil burgers. River City Brewing offers fun and affordable beer tasting options as well.

Whether you’re in Spokane for a week or a weekend, there is no shortage of places to explore with regards to dining, outdoor activities and other urban amenities. The beer scene alone can keep you entertained for quite some time.

Photo Credits: Myscha Theriault

Those interested in making their way south from British Columbia to explore the cultural offerings of Washington State will definitely want to make time for Tacoma’s museum scene along the revitalized waterfront area. Supported by a free light link rail system and a variety of shops and eateries, this cultural district can be accessed by those choosing the hotel option as well as by travelers visiting by boat via the downtown marina. Be sure to check out the following highlights during your visit.

Museums: While the Tacoma Art Museum has been a fixture in the area for some time, their nearly-complete expansion will add significant display space in the form of a new gallery featuring prominent Western art and a free creative space stocked with materials for spur-of-the-moment project ideas. America’s Car Museum is a unique venue featuring multiple floors of vintage vehicles and rotating theme exhibits to keep automotive enthusiasts coming back for more.

The most dominating structure in the entire museum district is arguably the Museum of Glass. With a giant cone-shaped hot shop and the Bridge of Glass extension offering walking access across the highway, visitors will be prepared to be impressed when they reach the waterfront entrance with multiple outdoor displays, nearby eateries and of course the impressive exhibits inside. Also of note are the Washington State History Museum and the combination zoo and aquarium at Point Defiance Park.

Munchies: If grabbing a coffee and checking email with free Wi-Fi is your idea of a great break in between museum visits, be sure to check out Anthem. Located next to the history museum at the drop off point by Union Station, it has great atmosphere, a variety of baked goods and easy access to the glass museum as well. For something more substantial, head to the Harmon Brewery further down the street. Their beer tasting flights are served on the tip of a ski, and they make a mean homemade chickpea burger and roasted red pepper bisque.

If Mediterranean is your cuisine of choice, Ammar’s near the Tacoma Dome is worth a visit. The staff is friendly and the falafel platter makes a great meatless meal that will stick to your ribs and satisfy for the long term. Gyros and stuffed grape leaves are also available.

Activities: The paved waterfront jogging trail is several miles long, and takes you past a variety of scenic spots and is suitable for dog walking, rollerblading and bike riding as well. It goes all the way down to the public beach, with public restrooms, sculptures and snack options along the way. The downtown museum district is a fun place to do a little shopping as well, with local clothing and jewelry shops offer plenty of temptation. And of course, there’s the Tacoma Dome which hosts big-name acts on a regular basis across multiple musical genres. For those who enjoy Mother Nature, Mount Rainier National Park is also an easy day drive from the city.

Photo Credits: Myscha Theriault

Theriault is a best-selling author and avid traveler who is currently touring the United States in a Jeep with her husband and 80 pound Labrador retriever. You can keep up with her adventures on Twitter by following @MyschaTheriault.

Calling all pop art fans! Toronto’s gallerywest will showcase local artist/director/writer Jeff Campagna‘s pop-art poetry beginning tonight, November 22nd. The gallery will display five art pieces that were derived from his first two paperback volumes of “A Writer Under the Influence.”

Campagna wrote, directed and produced the 2008 film, Six Reasons Why, which starred Colm Feore (The Borgias, 24, Thor) and is currently working on his full-length novel, The Money Machine.

A Writer Under The Influence runs until November 30th. The opening reception will take place this Thursday, November 24th (from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.) and will feature live music from The FranDiscos.

gallerywest is located at 1172 Queen Street West. For more information, click here.

Seen on the fence of a condo construction site on Sherbourne St. just south of Queen St. E. - Photo by R. Jeanette Martin

Move over, Rob Ford: The Opera. Toronto’s controversial mayor is inspiring a grittier kind of art.

On the day Ford raised the ire of critics by dismissing a transit report as biased “hogwash” before even reading it, it seems apt to share with you this kick ass album of Rob Ford inspired graffiti.

You’ve probably spotted some of these clever, irreverent and downright rude images of His Worship throughout the city. They certainly make more of a statement than the oh-so-boring tags that usually litter Toronto’s walls.

If you don’t have time hunt for these gems, Toronto photographer and blogger R. Jeanette Martin has you covered. She’s chronicled the Ford-tastic graffiti on her blog, Shutterjet.

Some might say that ‘Bad times inspire great art’, Martin writes.

…Rob Ford declared a ‘War on Graffiti’ and local graffitists and artists declared war back. The mayor and a lot of the decisions coming out of Toronto City Hall are now being satirized on our streets and in our back alleys….

Infamous Toronto graffitists Spud and Deadboy have also taken up the cause. Spud’s cackling Rob Ford heads adorn the city at every turn and Deadboy’s depiction of Ford and his brother, City Councillor Doug Ford, as Tweedledee and Tweedledum has become infamous.

Two Berlin art students have put the life of a lamb in the hands of the internet. At least that’s what their art statement says.

Iman Rezai and Rouven Materne, students at the Berlin University of the Arts, have created a site where users can vote on whether a lamb will live or die.

But will they really kill it if the votes tilt to yes?

A spokesperson for the university told Reuters that the art piece is all about “provocation” and that the artists have no plans to actually kill the lamb.

Rezai and Materne have assembled a brightly coloured guillotine and posted a video of its construction on YouTube.

In the video Materne says, “There were people who wanted to forbid us to do this. There were people who celebrated the idea from day one. And there were some people who were afraid of us.”

So far “No” is leading the poll with almost 600,000 votes.

Imagine this is your living room. Boring right? Okay, it’s a stock image, but it’s a good example of how soulless a space can be, even with nice furniture. When you’re decorating a space, much time is spent laboring over flooring choices, wall colour and big-ticket furnishings, like the sofa and coffee table. You might even spend a lot of time thinking about the orientation of the room – deciding whether to group seating around the fireplace, coffee table or TV…

Related: Gallery – Affordable artwork

All that might get you to the point of the image above. But that’s not yet a space most of us could feel warm and fuzzy about. The difference between this stock image and “home” is all the stuff that’s added after those bigger decorating decisions have been made. And because these are smaller decisions, smaller objects, they’re often overlooked.

When it comes to accessories, the sky is the limit. You can hit stores like HomeSense and do it on a dime. You can invest in top tier artwork. You may also already have sentimental pieces to incorporate. Most of us hit a mix of all of these. Low-end items are easily elevated when they’re put alongside pieces with more provenance. An affordable print can look a million bucks in the right frame.

Let’s focus on art – something this space is sorely missing. There are many options here. A salon style hanging always makes a place look instantly inhabited and creative. Etsy and sites like 20×200 and Mammoth & Company are a treasure trove of affordable prints. Find frames at Ikea, West Elm and Pottery Barn in standard widths (if your prints are limited editions, look for acid-free mats.) Selecting the same frame style for each artwork will unify the collection.

1. Salon-style

In terms of planning a salon style hanging, it takes a brave (or very experienced) soul to just start hammering nails into the wall. Some stores (like Pottery Barn) offer easy “Gallery in a Box” solutions you can fill with your own images. Alternatively, you could cut templates from kraft paper and tape them to the wall to see how your arrangement lines up. Also, consider using hooks like 3M’s Command Hooks which can be moved around without damaging your walls.

Artwork shown above: Assorted prints from 20×200 (specifically 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

2. Classic grouping

If you find a salon-style hanging too haphazard and chaotic, consider instead hanging a symmetrical grouping. Always go for odd numbers on the horizontal – 3 or five wide. Depending on the space you’re working with and the size, orientation of your images, you can have multiple rows. Symmetry always sets a classic, formal tone, so a trio of complementary prints really reinforces a formal living or dining space. Botanicals and architectural drawings always work well.

Artwork shown above: Botanical prints from the Royal Horticultural Society (specifically 1, 2, 3)

3. Large scale

A third choice would be a single large artwork. In art, for the most part, size really matters and the bigger the art the higher the price-tag. While smaller, standard sized art can easily be swapped around in frames, a large scale artwork really is a more permanent addition. That said, artwork can be a great investment and if there’s an artist you love, this is a true lifetime purchase. With large artwork comes large impact – people will really notice the image itself, not just the form. And so you can really set a tone, creating a mood that complements existing decor (as shown here) or, alternatively, adding a jarring but successful juxtaposition (like dramatic contemporary art hanging in a traditional home).

Artwork shown above: Lights from Capiz print by Aeropagita Prints on Etsy

From the Canadian Press today, we learn that a Kingston, Ontario artist has taken the bold move of painting our Prime Minister in the buff.

“Emperor Haute Couture” is the painting shown above, and it’s by artist Margaret Sutherland,  who has also painted a demonlike close-up of Pope Benedict’s face and a few other nude portraits besides this one.

With a dog at his heels and a supplicant offering him a cup of Tim Horton’s coffee, Sutherland’s Harper looks like something between a Roman emperor and Hedonism Bot from the television show Futurama.

The painting is currently displayed at the Kingston Library as part of an art competition until the end of the month. Chief Librarian Patricia Enright told the Canadian Press that some people find the portrait disrespectful, while others enjoy seeing it on display.

Gallery owner Mary Sue Rankin, meanwhile, says the painting is meant to suggest that Harper is not living up to his promises as prime minister.

Reaction across Canada has been swift, and sarcastic. Liberal MP Scott Brison told CBC that this is “one Conservative coverup” that we need, while Prime Minister’s Office spokesman Andrew MacDougall Tweeted as follows:

On the Sutherland painting: we're not impressed. Everyone knows the PM is a cat person.

—
Andrew MacDougall (@PMO_MacDougall) May 18, 2012

There’s no word yet from the prime minister himself, but it’s hard to believe he’ll ever look at a cup of Tim Horton’s coffee the same way.

With wedding season upon us, maybe you’re searching for the perfect gift idea. Or perhaps it’s not a wedding at all, but a house-warming present or birthday gift. Whatever the gift-giving occasion, something for the home is always a meaningful gift.

Some of our all time favourite gifts have been more special iterations of everyday objects. Think of a favourite mug made by a local potter. Or a wooden utensil hand-turned with care. Simple objects that elevate the every day. And when they’re made in Canada and you can tell a story about the artisan behind the product, that just adds another layer of special meaning. Here are some more ideas…

1. Artwork by Alanna Cavanagh
“An Empty Belly” ($125) by Toronto artist Alanna Cavanagh would make a fantastic piece for a kitchen or informal dining nook. Cavanagh’s clients include The New York Times, Penguin Books and The Hudson’s Bay Co. (where you can pick up one of her limited edition tea towels.)

2. Ceramics by Ceramik B.
Ceramik B. is a Montreal based ceramic studio that produces refined porcelain pieces. We love the modern lines, organic form and muted palette of their collection. Pieces start at $26.

3. Charcuterie board from On Our Table
Geoffrey Lilge’s charcuterie boards (from $150) are made in Canada from solid FSC-certified walnut. A beautiful alternative to a ceramic serving plate, these serving pieces are finished with a natural oil/beeswax mixture to show a rich patina. More shapes and sizes available here.

4. A set of table linens
Table linens are one of those things that are difficult to fork out on for yourself but a gorgeous thing to receive. There are many amazing options from Canadian designers, like Schoolyard Studio, Pehr Designs and, the ones shown here (set of 6, $75), from Freshly Printed.

5. Dalhaus Art striped bottle vase
How about a trio of these striped bottle vases ($44 each) by Vancouver’s Heather Braun-Dahl. We love the idea of mix-and-matching three complementary colours to display on a table or mantle.

6. MacCausland blanket
MacAusland’s Woollen Mills is the only mill in Atlantic Canada still producing traditional blankets ($88 for a Queen size) of 100% virgin wool. The Prince Edward Island mill still uses old fashioned machinery to produce a top quality product woven with old fashioned charm. Image via.

7. Berry Bowl by Kosoy & Bouchard
Toronto-based Kosoy & Bouchard‘s berry bowl ($120) is an ideal gift for a summer wedding. Who could resist a crop of local berries presented in this gorgeous and practical piece? The couple behind this creation were recently featured on a H&H TV video where you can see inside their studio and learn more about their processes and philosophy.

8. Brenda Watts rolling pin
Hand-turned in Prince Edward Island, Brenda Watts‘ rolling pins (from $50) are a must-have for an domestic god or goddess. Whether it’s a French pin or a classic old-fashioned, hers are those baking tools anybody will want to keep on proud display.

9. Nicole Tarasick Great Lakes pillow
For some modern Canadiana, check out Toronto-based Nicole Tarasick’s screenprinted pillows (from $45) – we love these graphic pillows… perfect for either modern condo or country cabin!

10. Pottery by JustWork
JustPotters is one of the innovative social enterprises of JustWork Economic Initiative. They employ individuals in our Vancouver Pottery studio who have barriers to traditional employment. An assortment of their beautiful pottery (honey pot $43, butter dish $43) would complement most informal dining sets.

A Canadian photographer with a unique style of fusing the faces of family members to highlight their shared traits and physical differences is taking his “Genetic Portraits” series to a Montreal gallery after gaining international attention via the Internet.

Quebec City artist Ulric Collette’s Photoshopped portraits, with half of each subject’s face contributing to the final composition, can be viewed at his own website — ulriccollette.com — and have also been featured on media sites around the world, most recently the Daily Mail newspaper in Britain.

The results of the blended pictures are sometimes startling, such as a mother-daughter amalgam that looks like one person. In another case, a father and son look vaguely alike, but the dad’s time-worn skin and dramatic differences in the two men’s hairstyles create a bizarre hybrid.

“The Genetic Portraits series started in 2008, and the first photograph was the one with me and my son Nathan,” Collette told Postmedia News. “At first I was trying something else in Photoshop with our two visages and I came up with this. I posted it online — on Flickr at the time — and it went viral in one night, so I started doing the same thing with other people in my family and the project has grown to become what it is today.”

A selection of Collette’s double portraits, many of the faces seamlessly merged through digital photo-editing, will be on display throughout October at Montreal’s Seagram Art Gallery.

“Collette’s photographs demonstrate the deep pleasure we take in looking at human faces and their variations,” the gallery stated ahead of Tuesday’s exhibition opening. “By splitting their faces in half and then blending them together in a single face, he highlights the mysteries of genetic resemblances and differences, and creates interesting new people that are sometimes quite normal looking and other times far from it.”

Collette, who also works as a graphic designer, said he’s always searching for clients interested in having a family member join them in posing for a genetic portrait.

“We all have a family member that we look like or that people say that we look alike,” Collette said. “Sometimes it’s our father or mother, in some other case a brother, sister or even cousins. And when we see the photograph it makes us (even me) wonder if it’s true when someone says, for example: ‘You look so much like you father!’ Or, ‘You have your mother’s eyes.’”

rboswell@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/randyboswell

Toronto is often labelled the centre of the universe and routinely mocked by its fellow Canadian cities as being stodgy and uptight.I’ve heard visitors complain about our traffic, antiquated drinking laws and that we’re no fun.

It’s just not true. Toronto is no longer the city 30 Rock called “…New York…without all the stuff.” We have all the right stuff – and it’s time to come visit.

For the over three million of us who live here in the Tdot, we’d like to extend the olive branch to our naysayers and give five reasons to come visit – here’s my suggestions what you need to experience in Toronto:

1. Film: Screening classic films and contemporary offerings as well as exhibits about the movies, the TIFF Bell Lightbox is a unique experience for those who love film.It’s become a permanent home not just for the annual Toronto International Film Festival, but for all things film year round – and snagged the North American premiere of Designing 007: 50 Years of Bond Style – with exhibition now open just before the debut of the next James Bond film, Skyfall.

2. Student life: Ryerson University’s expansion of its boundaries in the downtown continues to bring a youthful edge to the Yonge & Dundas neighbourhood. With the addition of the newly-opened Ryerson Image Centre in the heart of the campus, this gallery will showcase the Black Star Collection, representing over 60 years of photojournalism as well as exhibiting contemporary photography and related media.

3. Neighbourhoods: from Little Italy to Greektown to Little India  to Chinatown – Toronto is happily proud of its ethnic enclaves and all the shops and restaurants found in each one. But we’ve also got historical neighbourhoods like The Junction, Cabbagetown and  The Distillery Historic District, one of the few preserved examples of industrial Victorian architecture. It’s a growing community of condo dwellers living among art galleries, boutiques and restaurants in this unique district’s 19^th century cobblestone streets and buildings of the former Gooderham & Worts Distillery.

4. Cuisine: With the recent proclamation of the 200+ year old St. Lawrence Market as the best food market in the world by National Geographic Magazine, and with the big name chefs such as Scott Conant, Daniel Boulud and David Chang with restos here, Toronto’s dining culture has been getting bigger and better (note Toronto’s dominance in EnRoute Magazine’s Best New Restaurants 2012). Despite city rules making it difficult for food trucks, Toronto is blessed with the ingenuity of Suresh Doss and Food Truck Eats – making food trucks accessible to all through regular food truck festivals and the (hopefully) annual AwesTRUCK.

5. Hotels: our stalwart classics, such as the Fairmont Royal York, King Edward and the Windsor Arms Hotel are now joined by the newly-built Four Seasons Hotel, The Ritz Carlton, The Thompson and The Shangri-La hotels. But we’re also a city with The Drake and The Gladstone, an uber-cool mix of restoration, accommodation and culture, or the modern Hotel Le Germain Maple Leaf Square, the Quebec hotel chain’s second location in Toronto, and notably one of the best downtown perches for people-watching (or athlete-watching since its steps from the Air Canada Centre, home to the Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs).

So please ignore the continued reports about our Mayor, forget the old stories you’ve heard from friends and family and make your way to Toronto, no matter if its for 24 hours or a week, there’s plenty of lures to be found in the largest metropolis in Canada.

The Northern Ireland capital has taken its fair share of knocks – it’s been bombed and divided – but Belfast has survived, and is a welcoming city with unique architecture, museums and cuisine.

Downtown: First-time visitors should start their exploration at Belfast’s City Hall found at Donegall Square. This building is more than just administrative offices and is a grand example of early 20^th century Baroque architecture with extensive use of marble, stained glass windows and ceiling murals. There are two exhibition spaces within City Hall regularly  featuring past and present Belfast through photography and artefacts.

Its very easy to find a bookstore in the city of Belfast.

From Donegall Square, shoppers will be lured by the wide range of retail on the high streets, from bookstores to ‘pound’ shops (aka dollar stores)  as well as Victoria Square, a popular downtown shopping centre. But there’s another reason to visit this mall – take the elevator to the top floor to get a 360-degree view of the city from within a domed glass roof area. For a varied selection of Irish produce, souvenirs and crafts, take a free shuttle from the downtown to the St. George’s Market, open Friday-Sunday.

Port of Belfast: This city’s pride extends to its dockyards, which has been a major employer for decades. Two mainstays of the skyline are the dockyards’ two enormous yellow cranes, affectionately called Samson and Goliath, as well as the birthplace of the city’s most famous ship – the Titanic. Last year, which was 100 years after the famous ship was built here, the city opened Titanic Belfast, a museum dedicated to its construction, its ties to the city and its history from the sinking to its resurrection thanks to director James Cameron.

The Troubles: the political upheaval of the 1960s-1980s in Northern Ireland left its mark on Belfast and for visitors a tour of the city’s murals is one way to understand the history. A Value Cabs Taxi Tour  will reveal  numerous murals along the Falls Road and the Shankill Road showing political statements and memorials of different neighbourhoods. The peace walls, concrete walls erected to divide neighbourhoods, are also a unique view into the community of the past and present, with the combination of art, graffiti and political statements.

Visitors to Belfast’s dockyards can learn about its most famous creation – the Titanic.

Pubs – it wouldn’t be a complete visit to Belfast without taking time to visit a public house. Whether its a cold pint of beer or a glass of whiskey, there are many places to stat the sampling process. Belfast Pub Tours can help you get started, with a historical tour including some of the famous and notorious pubs such as the Crown Liquor Saloon, Bittles Bar, Kelly’s Cellars and White’s Tavern.

Visiting Belfast:

Hotel – The elegant Europa Hotel is located within easy walking access to the city’s downtown attractions and a popular choice with business travellers. One of the few hotels open during The Troubles, the hotel became famous when U.S. President Clinton and his wife stayed here in 1995. The trendy Fitzwilliam Hotel, is a modern yet cosy accommodation, perfect for a couple wanting to spend a weekend in Belfast.

Dining – Locally-sourced ingredients are in abundance at Belfast’s contemporary restaurants, such as Mourne Seafood Bar  with its subtle creations with fresh fish, scallops, oysters and mussels and at Made in Belfast, offering an Irish interpretation to classic European cuisine from Italy, Greece and Spain.

Attractions – for history or architecture buffs, take time to visit the Grand Opera House, Belfast’s parliamentary building Stormont, Belfast Castle and St. George’s Church.

Weather – average temperature in March/April is 10-12C

New York City and Chicago may grab a lot of attention in the art world, but for those who want to get a dose of all kinds of art, Philadelphia provides many offerings, from traditional to modern, for the art-obsessed.

For a quick taste of its arts scene, visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art, an amazing gallery of over 200,000 paintings and one of the largest collections of art in the United States.  The famous steps of the art gallery were solidified as a pop culture icon thanks to the 1970s film Rocky, but the collection’s pride comes from creations by Picasso, Brancusi, Duchamp as well as antiquities from medieval Europe, Asia and Africa and one of the world’s largest arrays of armour.

For art lovers, there’s no shortage of art – from galleries to gardens to public art – found within the boundaries of the city of brotherly love. Here are five options to get your art on:

A comment by artist Isaiah Zagar found within his unique mosaic installation the Magic Gardens.

The Barnes Foundation – the controversial collection of Dr. Albert C. Barnes has been housed in a modernist building in downtown Philadelphia since 2012. A plethora of well-known 19^th century artists such as Monet, Renoir, Matisse, Modigliani, Seurat, Cezanne, Degas and Gaugin are displayed in small, interconnected galleries resembling a home. Furniture, iron and metalwork objects, African art and other unique collectibles are displayed among the paintings and sketches. It’s all an overwhelming insight into the mind of Dr. Barnes.

Philadelphia Mural Arts Program – the largest mural arts program in the United States, the city decided to eradicate graffiti with community-based art celebrating the culture, history and people. Throughout the downtown, there are several two-, three- and four-storey high murals above parking lots and in between office buildings, created by artists with the help of local schools and community groups. Self-guided walking tour maps are easily found and make for a perfect afternoon adventure.

Rodin Museum – the second largest collection of Rodin sculpture outside of France, this tranquil museum’s collection is all related to its entrance, a sculpture by Rodin called the Gates of Hell. The manicured grounds are a lovely respite no matter what time of year, and home to Rodin’s Thinker. The collection within shows the sculptor’s technique in marble and bronze as well as provides an educational center to understand the creativity of Auguste Rodin.

The Magic Gardens – this visionary art installation is the mad genius of Isaiah Zagar, who took an ignored vacant lot and transformed it into a mosaic and sculpture creation of pathways, commentary, found objects and Latin American figurines. This contemporary manifestation of Zagar’s mind is intriguing, mind-boggling and definitely photo-worthy and, if you like this, wander the neighbourhood to see smaller installations by Zagar on residential front doors, garage doors, parks and a church.

Philadelphia public art – for those who want to explore while shopping or heading out on the town, the city’s downtown core has several sculptures – from a classic bronze of former Philaldelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo to favourite son Benjamin Franklin at his printing press to the famous Robert Indiana LOVE sculpture. There’s plenty of art to see while on the streets of Philadelphia.

The popular LOVE sculpture by Robert Indiana leads to museum row in Philadelphia.

Visiting Philadelphia:

Hotel: The Loews Philadelphia located on Market Street is found in the heart of downtown as well as close to the Reading Terminal Market. The Philadelphia Savings Fund Society (PSFS) building was the first skyscraper in the city and still has some of its former life’s Art Deco attributes, such as marble accents, the bank vault door, original Cartier clocks on each floor and the bank’s original neon sign. Guests should visit the 33^rd floor for its amazing views of the city.

Dining: Make a reservation at Rittenhouse Tavern, found within the Philadelphia Art Alliance. The chef’s dedication to local and seasonal ingredients results in a tasty and artfully displayed modern American cuisine ( i.e. Roasted Creekstone rib-eye with garlic chili spinach or Atlantic bouillabaisse with spinach gnocchi)  and perhaps inspired by the building’s longtime commitment as an exhibition space for contemporary craft and design.

Weather:  average temperature for March-April 16-20C

VANCOUVER – His uncle was the man behind the “I’m a Pepper, You’re a Pepper” ad campaign, but Jesse James Miller is likely to take everything with a grain of salt.

The Vancouver-based filmmaker is well seasoned and just a little bit fried at 42, having directed everything from shlock horror and serial TV to serious documentary, but the forthcoming theatrical premiere of his self-scripted feature Becoming Redwood is making the old-hand feel like a kid all over again.

Not surprising, considering Becoming Redwood stars a kid (Ryan Grantham) as the title character, and tracks a similar life course as Miller’s own oddball arc. But it’s that Becoming Redwood marks the realization of a long-gestating script, and represents years of dues-paid, that’s giving the two-time dad an expectant feeling.

“Redwood was such a creative bliss for me,” he says. “Honestly, I had just been studying and working on my craft so long, that I felt I was ready … And it flowed so well, the casting was right and the crew was right. Of course, everyone would want more money …”

A standard Canadian independent feature financed in part through government agencies and broadcast licensing, Becoming Redwood was what could be called a “micro-budget” movie in the U.S. But in Canada, it’s par for the course, and Miller was under no misconceptions about how the local cookie crumbles.

He was just wrapping up his new documentary about Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, The Good Son, when he got the happy news he’d received production financing based on his script for Redwood, a piece of personal work he’s been crafting in the proverbial basement since 1998.

Loosely inspired by memory, the story follows Redwood Forest Hanson, the child of draft-dodging parents who develops a particular gift for golf. Redwood dreams of becoming the next Jack Nicklaus, believing success could be the magic elixir that will bring his estranged parents back together.

It’s all bittersweet and vaguely surreal — because that’s the way most childhoods seem to be remembered — but it’s also a map of personal waypoints for Miller, who quit golfing at the age of 22 after spending most of his youth on the links.

“From the time I was 11 or 12 years old, I was on the golf course as a kid, by myself, for 11 or 12 hours a day, and it’s all about learning to be mentally strong and fighting your battles,” he says.

“But as soon as I quit, I quit. And I quit because I just was not doing what I was supposed to be doing in my life and I knew it. I had written scripts in my teens and I was fighting against the whole thing,” he says.

“I don’t think I realized that being an artist wasn’t a choice. When you are a kid you think you can do anything, and I couldn’t do anything. And it was a hard pill to swallow.”

Miller grew up in Canada, but studied in San Diego and eventually moved to Los Angeles in the hopes of kick-starting his film career, without a whole lot of success. After six years, he returned to Vancouver with his wife, local actor Jennifer Copping and started working in earnest as an editor to really focus on the craft of filmmaking after having had some “hard times in the edit suite.”

“I’m a late bloomer,” says Miller.

“I went though every phase of life later than everyone else.”

Along the way, Miller had the chance to direct the slasher piece, The Seamstress, which went straight to DVD and sold around the world, but got scorched by critics.

“I had a hard time with it at first. But I came to the Sidney Lumet way of thinking, which was to just take it, learn, and keep making movies to get better. It got terrible reviews, but it was the right thing to do.”

It’s all about taking the risks, says Miller, who carefully avoids all the easy golf metaphors and seems to naturally stay away from words such as “swing” and “hazard.”

Instead, he prefers to quote his grandparents, who he describes as a “strange artists.”

“My grandparents would always tell me ‘Jesse! It’s showbiz. It’s biz. Get over it!”

But Miller says sacrificing your creative ideals for commerce is never an easy point of passage, especially if you come from a family of true idealists.

“My mom and my uncle are true artists. It’s hard for them to live in society. I’m the least of the artists in the group, really. But I grew up in that fold, and it took me a while to realize that I can’t just make films for my friends in the basement,” he says.

“At some point in your career, you learn the lesson that your film won’t go anywhere unless you appease to something.”

Miller stops for a second: “That may not be true all the time, but it’s a hard lesson for independent filmmakers to learn all the same.”

Besides, Miller doesn’t feel like he was forced to compromise any part of his vision for Redwood. “I fought battles for things,” he says. “But really, I felt the script was ready and I was ready. I wrote what I knew, and I got the chance to get it out.”

Becoming Redwood opens in select markets across Canada this month.

Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman’s huge inflatable sculpture, called Rubber Duck, officially debuted in Hong Kong today. Hofman’s sculpture is the world’s largest rubber duck and has previously terrified and delighted people in cities around the world including Sydney, Amsterdam and Sao Paolo.

It’s cute as hell but Hofman, being an artist, has to wrap the whole thing in pretentiousness.

“The Rubber Duck knows no frontiers, it doesn’t discriminate people and doesn’t have a political connotation,” he writes on his website. “The friendly, floating Rubber Duck has healing properties: It can relieve mondial tensions as well as define them.”

[photos via Florentijn Hofman/Facebook]

And don’t forget to watch the video of the thing floating into Sydney harbour.