Through Black Spruce

I started reading Through Black Spruce amidst my other load of school readings. Though I'm barely halfway,I'm finding author Joseph Boyden's writing captivating and I'm finding his style somewhat of a vortex, one which is hard to look directly at but sucks you in at the same time. Reading a few chapters transports me into the body of a fifty-year-old Cree man with a drinking habit- shoes which I are foreign andslightly uncomfortable to travel in. Boyden's writing brings to life what common Canadians do not know about life in Northern Ontario. The characters have a raw connectedness with nature amidst the ever-trickling-in of urbanization. Modernity seems to take its negative toll on the youth of the small town of Moose Factory as the American construct of gangs inflicts violence on the seemingly innocent nature of the protagonist. Boyden's middle-aged protagonist, Will, seems to embody the last whisperings of an ancient culture and the youth are victim to hollow destiny's indicative of a media and consumer-driven society. Will's merited fear of the adolescent gang is Boyden's proselytization of a distant pure way of life soon to be usurped by one of hatred and violence.

Predictions:
-Willwill come out of his with a new found appreciation for life?
-Annie finds Suzanne in Toronto and tries to take her home but Suzanne has succumbed to a life of drug use and sex slavery?
-Will and Dorothy get it on?

Acrylic Gel Transfer

I've been submersed in the academic realm which is the U of A but not deep enough to hinder my love of, what I call, time maximization. I'm not quite a hedonist, but like to maximize the positive output of my time here on earth. Although this is a 'lit' blog, I'm changing the tune slightly today by talking about my new love, the gel transfer. 'twas only four score and ten months ago when I learned about the process at a dear friend's house in Montreal. Basically, a gel transfer is a process which transfers an image from one medium to another. Usually the initial image surface is paper and the second is canvas, word or for my friend Dan (http://touristiko.com/), an orange tool box. For images I've been using photographs I've taken in the recent past. And lately I've been taking pictures of things that would be particularly striking for a gel transfer. I've been taking a lot of colourful birds in bushes lately especially because I love the texture of the wood and the captured moment of life on camera. So, I upload my photos to a usb and go to my neighbourhood printers who print my photograph onto computer paper. I'm not sure if the ink needs toner in order for the transfer to work, but I know that the transfer did not work when I photocopied it.

1)The first step to is to choose a surface which you want the image on. I generally stick with canvas but have been experimenting with wooden surfaces as well.

2)Next, you take the acrylic medium, I find gel works best, and you coat the surface with the brush strokes going which ever way you like. Then you place the image face down onto the gelled surface,ensure that you've rubbed out all the air pockets,and allow it dry. I have waited only 10 minutes and it has worked but I find the results are generally better when you allow the acrylic medium to completely dry, which usually takes about 24 hours.

3)The best part of the process is removing the paper so only the mirrored image remains on the surface. In order to do this, just take a bowl of luke warm water and dip your index and middle finger into it. With your fingers rub the paper gently in a circular fashion until the paper starts to rub away. Be careful not to rub too hard because you will wipe away your image too! I've been there many times! This is a bit of a lengthy process depending on the size of the paper but I find it quite therapeutic.

4)Once all the paper has been rubbed away, allow for the image to dry. You might see that once it's dry that there is still some paper that needs to be rubbed away. When the paper is completely discarded, the image will look quite dull and washed out.

5)A good way to brighten your picture is to go over it with an acrylic gloss. And that's that!