This was part of my Christmas gift/thank you to my Mother for taking me to The Keys last February. I had just purchased the Lumix GF1 and was ready to take it out for a test drive. I’m pretty happy with the video quality for a camera I can keep in my pocket, it is great for location scouting. Thanks for Nancy and Lee for Lady Bird.

Well the fourth episode was published last month, featuring my old boss Paul Bright. I went down to NY for this one and spent an afternoon with Paul as he joked around his shop, took me for a Canadian lunch and sat down in his home for an interview. When talking about his shop, the future plans he has envisioned, what led him to where he is now, Paul becomes a very serious man. Always concerned with money, but never seeming to let that interfere with his decisions, to me Paul is a constant risk taker, a positive trait for a business owner even if it is stress inducing. Paul’s love for furniture I believe sprouts from the stories that belong to each piece, he is always quick to talk about the studio environment of the designer, the social dilemmas they faced, the history of the design. Perhaps Paul sees a a shop filled with stories rather then old furniture and art.  It is my pleasure to take you into his world, I hope you learn something new.

It always feels so good to put another year to rest. The transition from 11 to 12 was minute almost as if it did not happen, but it is important to distinguish the small change and reflect on the year past. I’m off to the country this week to do some of that reflection and much needed relaxation. I would like to start this year off right, get in a good mental space, work on a game plan and get ready to kick some ass. I hope you are all doing the same.

I spent last week in New York. The initial purpose of the trip was to spend some quality time with a few close friends who live in Brooklyn and to film the next episode of my series (WTOS). The week before leaving I got some terrible news. My friends ex-husband was ridding his bike  home in Brooklyn after a late night at his studio and was hit by a truck and killed. My trip coincided with his funeral and I was lucky enough to be there for my friend in a time of great need for every one close to Matt. As far as funerals go on the terrible scale, this one was down right sad. To be sitting in a room full of 30 year old’s grieving their loss of a dear friend is something I hope most of you never have to do. That being said, it was one of the most spectacular days I spent in Brooklyn. The energy that Matt left behind could be felt all day long as we guzzled his favorite beer and retold stories about his life.

Mid week my sister Meg and Sebastian arrived and all I wanted was for Meg to see what I love about New York since she has not been back since we were 16. Meg is applying for school in the city and this trip was the deal breaker to see where her future could lie. Needless to say her meeting with the school and  re-acquaintance with the city went off swimmingly (except for the part where we all got sick) and it looks like my sister may be living abroad next year.

The fourth subject of the WTOS series is Paul Bright, my former boss and expat Canadian living and working in Boerem Hill, Bk. One of his larger projects is a store that sells a melange of used modern furniture, design finds and contemporary art. As a boss he is very much a jokester and I never knew where a day of work would take me. During the sit down portion of the interview Paul showed me his serious side and I think there will be some great footage to work with. We went out for some “Canadian” lunch  together and Paul shared with me one of his signature meals, the “Thunderbolt.” This meal original consisted of a McD’s Fillet-O-Fish, poutine, and a blue. We had an up scale of version in a Montreal owned restaurant aptly named Mile End.

The end of my week there I spent most of my time with my good friend Leigh. Leigh is an artist working mostly with photography and installation. She has always been the person I go to for advice with my work because I know she will be brutally honest, making me look at a project from a different angle.  It had been over three years since we last got to spend time together in her home town so it was a big pleasure to see her studio and hangout  in her hood. Leigh, being a good host, let me be a guest critic for the class she teaches at Parsons, took me out for Halloween, brought me to one of the best panel discussions I’ve been to in ages and even got me guest status at her elite food co-op for the day!

That last week felt like a month. I was happy to be home and see Walter. Toronto will always be home to me, but for the first time in along time I felt akin to a city so much so that the thought of making it home away from home, does not leave my mind.

I got to work with another close friend for this third installment, Celia. I met her in my first year at Concordia and we managed to be in the same photo class every subsequent year.  It is a pleasure to watch someones work grow with them right from the first day of undergrad. Before leaving Toronto to film Celia at her opening in Quebec city and then again at her studio in Montreal, I was concerned that our history would get in the way of the interview process. Some times knowing someone so well can make things more of a challenge then expected. As we sat in one of my favorite fields (adjacent to her studio) and I bombarded her with questions, Celia continuously impressed me with the strength and depth of her responses. I think a common misjudgment placed on artists is perhaps the level of commitment they put into creating their work.  Research, development, trials, failures, all of these are few of the many aspects a professional artist must participate in order to create.  Being an artist is a career path and some of us are crazy enough to do it.

On a side note, feed back on the series is always welcome! Some times it feels as if I am sending out this work to a black hole.

Proud to announce the second episode of We Tell Ourselves Stories featuring my brother Alex Durlak. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he is one of the hardest working people I know. The source of his happiness comes from the mass amount of work that he accomplishes daily. Alex is one of the lucky who knows what they want to do with their lives even if that comes with really hard and trying days. I cant help it, sorry if I sound a bit over the top BUT he is truly an inspiration. I am very happy to share his story with you.

Celia had her first big solo show and there was no way I could miss it (and not get it all on video!) So I hopped on a plane to Quebec city with all my gear and last minute installation supplies for some of the 5o odd images to be presented at Vu Photo. The gallery is located in the Meduse center, a building straddling the hill that once separated the city and is very much an architectural mind game. In the next two weeks I will be editing together the footage for the third installment of We Tell Ourselves Stories!

Enjoy!

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