Wabi Sabi Pottery: an exercise in letting go!

I beat the winter blues this year by signing up for the first pottery class at the newly built Trout Lake Community Center. I was reluctant to join for different reasons; partly because I'm pretty tired in the evenings, plus it lasted past my usual bedtime of 9:00 pm and I usually get that art buzz of ideas and can't get to sleep. But I decided to join anyway. 

What a fascinating mix of people! We were mostly beginners who had never sat at a wheel before and were anxious to get started. Since I was my quieter self, due to being tired, I listened more than usual. It seemed difficult for some to relax and simply enjoy playing. I heard a lot of: "Am I doing this right?","Is this how it's supposed to work?", " I can't get mine to work.".

 If you've ever taken a pottery class, especially if you have ever tried to throw anything on a wheel before, you know how patient and accepting you have to be of anything that might have some use. You may have the intention of making a beautiful platter or pasta bowl or even a simple cereal bowl, but soon enough, as the clay whips around the wheel and you desperately try to control it, you learn to love your warped, dented soy sauce plate. At every stage; throwing, trimming, firing, and glazing, you must relinquish your idea of what your piece will be like. So long my beautiful set of matching cups! Yay to my new soap dish, coin bowl and pencil holder!

As in the ancient Japanese aesthetic of Wabi Sabi which describes a certain beauty as "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete", it also acknowledges three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect. Pottery allows you enjoy this aesthetic by forcing you to let go of perfectionism and control and rejoice in dents, cracks, unevenness, and unpredicted colors.

I did get home late, and I did have trouble getting to sleep, but one thing I can say is that, there is nothing like eating breakfast out of a bowl you made yourself! You do get better at it. Promise. But even our teacher who could throw a perfectly symmetrical piece, was still surprised to see the final outcomes!

Zumba at the Masoniac Hall on Victoria

If you are looking for something super fun to do on a rainy winter night, come check out Zumba at the Masonic Hall on Victoria Street near Kingsway. Magdalena Lima is a Capoeira player, samba dancer and Zuma instructor extraordinaire! She leads us through a variety of latin and world music choreography with easy to follow moves and lots of sweating! Just when you think your legs are going to give out, her contagious smile gives you that extra kick (no pun intended)to keep you going. Call the Trout Lake Community Center to find out about the next free demonstration class, to sign up for a series of 5 classes or for drop-ins. You can look at Zumba on youtube, but don't be dissuaded by the cheesy clips, it's just plain fun! The ladies in our class are of all ages and I think the best thing about the Masonic Hall is that there are no mirrors, so you can dance away and always feel like you look fantastic! Yay for Zumba!

Trout Lake Ice Rink

Grandma came to babysit on Sunday and my husband and I tried out the Trout Lake Community Center Ice Rink! I forget about skating here in Vancouver mostly because I don't see much ice and my husband, being from Brazil is not one to remind me. After a few encouraging words and making friends with a cone, my husband took a deep breath and shuffled himself along the ice. It was hard to put myself in his shoes since I love skating; the cold air, the speed and the scrunch of the ice, but I could see that it took him some courage to keep a smile on while trying this out for the first time!

Opened in September 2009, this green and sustainable facility hosted the Vancouver Olympic ice skating competition. It is beautifully constructed with an arched wood ceiling with windows which allows natural light in. Apparently, the wood in the lobby and corridor ceilings is Douglas fir milled from trees downed during the 2006 Stanley Park windstorm. Enjoying this rink is definitely an activity worth trying out as a family! You can even bring your stroller onto the ice, as long as baby is wearing a helmet! Cool eh?

Trout Lake

One of the reasons I agreed to move to the East Side was the proximity to Trout Lake.  I often take Baby around it, we stop at the swings, and say hello to the ducks. I've been noticing playgrounds way more since having a baby, knowing that I will probably spend a lot of time on them soon, and man, there are quite a few old, and rotten playgrounds around the city. Kids love these so much, it's sad to see how lame some are. I'm 37, and I can still remember my favorite childhood playgrounds. With the near completion of the new Trout Lake Community Center in 2012, I was hoping I could see a bit of the $22 Million allotted to a new playground. I don't see it anywhere on the plans..... hum.... I was fishing around on the Vancouver Park Board project website, and it looks like there are no plans for it in the near future. The new playground at Kits Beach cost 1/2 million dollars. HALF a MILLION dollars! I guess that's what it costs these days. AND it's really, really fun! You can tell the community loves it when you see 30 parents chatting with lattes in their hands and 40 kids freaking out on the new swings and spinning climbing ropes.  My only other hope so far is that Lord Selkirk School up the street will win the Aviva Community Fund and get a new playground! We find out on January 25th, 2011 if we win!! Cross my fingers! I want a new swing for Baby! (and me!)