Category: Research

Maple Ridge Community Mosaic: Design Process

1/23/2020

Following the public pattern making workshop series held across the City of Maple Ridge during February 2019 we returned to our studio to work on the next stage of the Maple Ridge Community Mosaic, the Design Phase.

We had collected and documented approximately 540 unique triangular patterns during the public workshops and now it was time to study them all and consider ways in which we could blend as many of them together to form a cohesive whole.

During the workshops we had encouraged participants to use groups of themed colours that represented the seasons and this helped us arrange different patterns together. Over a six week period we tested hundreds of combinations of patterns and colour combinations before we settled on the final design.

Once the final design was approved by the City of Maple Ridge we were ready to begin the next phase: fabrication…almost!

All of the tiles for the Maple Ridge Community Mosaic need to be custom made for this project. To make sure we ordered the correct numbers of coloured tiles to cover the 410 SF wall spaces inside the Maple Ridge Leisure Centre each of the 14,000+ tiles in the mosaic had to be counted first!

Maple Ridge Community Mosaic: Community Engagement

10/22/2019

The Maple Ridge Leisure Centre is an important hub for the neighbourhoods it serves. Our new artwork intends to reaffirm the Maple Ridge Leisure Centre as a shared place where the wider community interacts daily.

The Maple Ridge Community Mosaic is created from content gathered from artist-run community workshops. Our role, as lead artists, is one of interpreters of the research and to create a new patterned design that represents the unique fabric of the local Maple Ridge community. Traditional and contemporary patterns and motifs created by local people have been woven together and combined to form the final artwork.

In February 2019 we held community pattern making workshops with local groups at:
● Saturday 9 February
○ Maple Ridge Public Library (Repair Cafe)

● Wednesday 13 February
○ Maple Ridge Leisure Centre (Parents and Child Playtime)

○ Harry Hooge Elementary School

● Thursday 14 February
○ Chartwell Willow Manor

○ Maple Ridge Public Library

● Monday 18 February
○ ACT Arts Centre (Family Day)

● Tuesday 19 February
○ Kanaka Elementary School

○ Maple Ridge Public Library

● Thursday 21 February
○ Kanaka Elementary School
○ Thomas Haney High School

During these public workshops we collected and documented approximately 540 unique patterns. We had a wonderful turn out and we collected amazing patterns from local people of all ages. For more information and images about the workshops and the project see our Facebook page.

CBC Vancouver’s Hidden Streams

5/1/2019

Spacemakeplace is very interested in Vancouver’s hidden streams. Check out this short video article by CBC’s Uytae Lee about the history of some Vancouver’s urban streams and daylighting initiatives around the world. For more information about Vancouver’s streams see our blog post Lost Streams of Vancouver.

Vancouver's hidden streams

"Streams are nature's way of handling rain. About 50 of them used to run through Vancouver, but most were considered a nuisance and buried underground.It might be time to bring them back, says CBC Early Edition columnist Uytae Lee.More: www.cbc.ca/1.5111383Video: Uytae Lee/CBC Creator Network"

Posted by CBC Vancouver on Thursday, April 25, 2019

TTC Sherbourne: Tom Thomson Colour Palette

6/13/2018

The Sherbourne Station Community Mosaic will use a set of 12 colours that are inspired by the palette of iconic Canadian painter, Tom Thomson.

Colour testing by Interstyle Ceramic & Glass of the twelve colours chosen for the TTC Sherbourne Community MosaicThomas John Thomson, painter (born 5 August 1877 in Claremont, ON; died 8 July 1917 in Algonquin Provincial Park, ON). An early inspiration for what became The Group of Seven, Tom Thomson was one of the most influential and enduringly popular Canadian artists of the early part of the twentieth century. His paintings The West Wind (1917) and Jack Pine (1916-1917) are familiar Canadian icons. Thomson was a master colourist.

TTC Sherbourne: Community Workshops

5/9/2018

Over three weeks in March and April, 2018, we led 24 community pattern-making workshops at seven different venues located within a 5-10 min walking radius of TTC Sherbourne Station. We met with approximately 450 local community members, from kindergarten children to senior citizens, who contributed over 700 unique triangle patterns to this public art project. We are amazed!

Check out all of the pattern design galleries on the Sherbourne Station Community Mosaic Facebook page!

After a brief introduction to the project, participants were invited to create their own triangular patterns by arranging colourful cardboard tiles on special templates. Twelve different colours reference the bold palette of Tom Thomson, a famous Canadian painter who once had a studio in the nearby Rosedale Ravine. When completed, every pattern was photographed and catalogued, and the individual or group of artists were given the opportunity to provide their name to be included on the public artwork plaque as a contributor.

Later this year, ceramic tile mosaics will be installed at multiple locations around TTC Sherbourne Station. The mosaics will be assembled from custom-made tiles, manufactured in Canada from recycled glass. Each tile will be twice as large as the cardboard tiles used in the workshops.

The final mosaic pieces will be inspired by the patterns collected from community members. Parts of individual patterns will be woven together to form new and complex patterns representing the creativity and interconnectivity of the local community.

We greatly appreciate the hospitality, enthusiasm and support that we have received. We would like to give special thanks to those who assisted in hosting the workshops: David Crichton, Rose Avenue Junior Public School; Shabana Sohail, Community Matters Toronto; Simon Storey, Rosedale Junior Public School; Allyson Payne, Branksome Hall School; Suja Selvaraj, St. James Town Community Corner; Suzanne Fernando, Toronto Public Library – St James Town Branch; Rick Lee, Wellesley Community Centre; Jaymie Sampa, 519 Space for Change. Individual pattern-making participants will be acknowledged on a plaque that will be located near the station entrance.

The Sherbourne Station Community Mosaic public artwork has been commissioned by the Toronto Transit Commission as part of the Easier Access and Second Exit Program.

Livable Cities 2017: Sensing the City

4/13/2017

Livable Cities 2017 – 2nd Annual Symposium

April 13, 2017

Anvil Centre. New Westminster, BC.

Thanks to Livable Cities 2017 for inviting Rebecca to talk about her practice and to give a presention on how our surroundings can stimulate our senses and help inform how we identify with a particular place.

“Livable Cities” brings together interdisciplinary research, creative inquiry and city planning methods to explore current city development through sound, smell and other embodied perspectives. Presented by Simon Fraser University and hosted by the City of New Westminster, this one-day symposium will take up various disciplinary approaches, including architecture, community development, and socio-cultural issues.

The event will include panels and talks, sensory workshops and sound art presentations. Communities in flux across the Lower Mainland present unique opportunities to engage with city planning strategies, urban densification, and the impact of soundscapes, smellscapes and mobilities on local urban environments.

Calder Community Pattern Making Workshops

8/16/2016

Post-Workshops Update:
11×17 tile photo documentation – compilation of 137 Calder Community Patterns

Inspiration for Calder Community Patterns

7/9/2015

We’re excited about the new Calder Library mosaic project. The mosaic will be inspired by some of the patterns from the different groups of people who make up this Edmonton community.

Census data shows that the people of Calder originate from countries and cultures from all over the world, and that there is a large Aboriginal population.

Plains First Nations

Ukraine

England

Fillipino

Mexico

China

Middle East

Africa

CITY FABRIC – coming soon

7/4/2015

It’s been several years in the works but CITY FABRIC is now underway and due for installation under the south end of Vancouver’s Burrard Bridge this Summer. Rebecca (spacemakeplace) and Matthew Soules (MSA) have recently been material testing. More to come soon…

Matthew, Rebecca, Jeff and Cam testing the rigging system for CITY FABRIC

BOUNTY – public art proposal

6/30/2015

“The [Burrard] Inlet and Indian Arm have been a source of sustenance for the Tsleil-Waututh people since time out of mind. Our Elders taught us that when the tide went out, the table was set. Industrial development over the past 75 years has made it impossible for our children to enjoy the natural resources that our grandmothers and grandfathers enjoyed.” – Chief Leah George-Wilson of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation

Native B.C. Little Neck Clam

BOUNTY is a public art proposal by spacemakeplace inspired by a quote from Chief Leah George-Wilson of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. Her people have lived on the shores around Burrard Inlet for millennia. BOUNTY is intended to honor the commitment and spirit of many local communities situated in Vancouver, especially around Burrard Inlet, who are stewards of our waters, air and land.

BOUNTY Concept Image

BOUNTY abstracts a Littleneck Clam, native to Burrard Inlet, by enlarging it to the size of seating and then casting it in white Ductal®, an ultra-high performance concrete. Ductal® has a fine, shell-like finish and can render realistic detail but is incredibly resilient to hostile environments and so is a perfect material for use in public art where tactility and durability are important.

BOUNTY Concept Layout

The outsize proportion of the clam sculpture signifies the abundance, or BOUNTY of seafood that a clean and healthy Burrard Inlet can provide. Three clams are proposed to be clustered in a public plaza in Port Moody, BC. as a monument to this important body of water.

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