Monthly Archives: February 2016

Finding some advice along life’s highway

23 Tuesday Feb 2016

Posted by in Book Review

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , ,

A Traveler's Advisory - coverIn the early 1990s, Canadian singer/songwriter Tom Cochrane said “Life is a Highway.” In Marcia Laycock’s latest book A Traveler’s Advisory: Stories of God’s Grace Along the Way she notes that even when the highway becomes a little bumpy, God is there to either smooth the way or get us through the rough patches.

The pocket-sized A Traveler’s Advisory (124-page, 8″ x 5″ book) packs more depth than it’s size would suggest. Laycock, an award-winning author, uses her experiences as a pastor’s wife, missionary and traveler as she looks at the highway of life in sections titled “In the Air,” “On the Road,” “On Vacation” and “Far Away Places.”

One of the strengths of the book is Laycock’s folksy writing style. Having met her at a number of writers’ conferences and interviewed her for Arts Connection, reading through A Traveler’s Advisory was like listening to her tell the stories in person.

Laycock weaves the memory and spiritual lesson into a seamless fabric

Take, for instance, this excerpt from her story “A Mini Parked Between Semis”:

I gripped the wheel of my Austin Mini and concentrated on the flow of traffic around me. I had never driven through this area before but I knew the route I had to follow would take me through the heart of a large city. There was no bypass to avoid the downtown traffic. I stayed in the middle lane to avoid vehicles turning left and right. As the city began to close around me, so did the traffic. I was already feeling a bit claustrophobic when a huge semi pulled up to my right. We both stopped at a red light.

Then another semi pulled up on my left. The two trucks effectively blocked out the sun. I glanced in my rear-view mirror just as a third semi pulled in behind me, stopping inches from my tiny bumper….”

The book’s other strength is the ease with which Laycock blends spiritual lessons into the narrative. I’ve read similar books where the lessons seem to be tacked on at the last moment as if to say: here’s the lesson, in case you didn’t get it.

Laycock weaves the memory and spiritual lesson into a seamless fabric. Again I turn to “A Mini Parked Between Semis”:

“I remembered looking into the rear-view mirror of my Austin Mini and seeing nothing but bumper. I remembered how those semis had blocked out the sun. And I remembered focusing on that stop-light, knowing that it would eventually turn green and let me get out of there. Sometimes life puts us in a box of pain and confusion. The only way to survive is to hang on to the One you know will get you out.”

A Traveler’s Advisory is a quick read, but a deep read. And a book that you’ll return to again and again because you’ll discover a new truth each time you read it.

***********************************

For more about Marcia Laycock and A Traveler’s Advisory: Stories of God’s Grace Along the Way go to http://marcialeelaycock.com/

Artist’s book a visual look at her inspirations

17 Wednesday Feb 2016

Posted by in Book Review

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

Art begets Art - coverWhen interviewing artists for the Arts Connection radio show, I usually ask them “where do you get the inspiration for your art?”

Winnipeg-based artist Faye Hall’s new book ART begets ART is a 40-page answer to that question.

As a child, one of Hall’s teachers recognized her artistic ability and suggested Hall’s parents encourage her. Which they did, leading her to a 20-year career in advertising design. Eventually, for various reasons that she mentions in the book, Hall turned to other pursuits – which included putting paintbrush to canvas.

Hall’s art is visually stunning. And when you begin to look at the details – the use of colour and meticulous brush strokes –  you’ll marvel at the amount of time and effort Hall must spend on each painting. Some of them are so realistic, they could be mistaken for the photographs which originally inspired the art.Art begets Art - Sunglasses

Which brings me to the book’s subtitle: “One Artist’s Inspiration.” Accompanying many of her paintings are the stories behind the art.

Sometimes, in the case of the image to the right, titled “Steve’s Sunglasses,” it’s a photo. In this case, one taken by singer/songwriter Steve Bell on a Canadian Foodgrains Bank-sponsored trip to Ethiopia.

Inspiration, Hall writes, “is like the presence of God. It can manifest in the texture of a tangle of branches in the woods, it can be an image that appears in my mind upon hearing the words of a poet or pastor – it can be the dapple of light reflected in the eyes of a loved child.”

Art begets Art - GuiteIn the case of “In Coleridge’s Wake” (left), inspiration came from a photo on social media of U.K. songwriter/poet/vicar Malcom Guite, which grabbed her attention.

“The image hit me like a pail of lake water thrown in my face – here was my next painting – and I was helpless to resist,” writes Hall of an image which has become one of my favourites in the book.

Each story, helps readers delve deeper into the heart and mind of an artist. The reader of ART begets ART comes away with a greater appreciation for the art Hall has crafted from her varied inspirations.

ART begets ART is a short book, but it’s a full book. Hall’s art and the reflections on her inspirations will keep readers coming back to the book again and again. I know that each time I’ve looked through it, I’ve come away with a new insight from her stories of inspiration or a new appreciation for one of her paintings.

*******************************

For more information about Faye Hall, check http://fayehall.com/.

For information on ART begets ART check http://www.friesenpress.com/bookstore/title/119734000022127417

Watch for details about an upcoming Arts Connection interview with Faye Hall

More “Hot Apple Cider” to warm the soul

09 Tuesday Feb 2016

Posted by in Book Review

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

Hot Apple Cider with Cinnamon - coverLike a cup of hot apple cider warming the body on a cold day, the Hot Apple Cider with Cinnamon anthology will warm the soul.

The fourth in the Hot Apple Cider series, the latest volume contains 67 stories – some true, some fiction and a few are poems – all based around the theme, and subtitle, of “finding love in unexpected places.

In the foreward, author and speaker Sheila Wray Gregoire explains the theme: “Real love is seeing your neighbour, your family and your friends with new eyes. It’s deciding to laugh, to love, to live in the knowledge that pain in the world is inevitable, but love is a choice.”

For those unfamiliar with the series, it started in 2008 as a partnership between World Vision Canada, The Word Guild and That’s Life! Communications. The Hot Apple Cider anthology featured the work of 30 Canadian writers who are Christian and was, initially, part of a package of gifts given to those attending a World Vision Canada-sponsored event – as well as being distributed through traditional channels eventually reaching best-seller status. This success spawned A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider and the shorter anthology A Taste of Hot Apple Cider.

Hot Apple Cider with Cinnamon is as comforting as an old quilt

With the format set – think of a Christian version of Chicken Soup for the Soul – readers will find Hot Apple Cider with Cinnamon as comforting as an old quilt. There are stories that will make you laugh like “The ‘Other’ First Prize” by Martin Smith or “Kosovo Canteen Concert” by Adele Simmons. There are stories that will make you cry like “Mother, Go Gently” a poem by L. June Stevenson and “Until Death Do Us Part” by Ray Wiseman. And a few that will make you laugh and cry like “Champ!” by David Kitz and “The Cat We Didn’t Need” by Ruth Ann Adams.

There are a couple of significant strengths Hot Apple Cider with Cinnamon. The first is the richness created by the variety of voices used and tales told. The second is the rigorous selection and editing process which has honed the stories into polished gems.

So grab a cup of your favourite warm beverage (hot apple cider preferred) and curl up with Hot Apple Cider with Cinnamon: Stories of Finding Love in Unexpected Places and prepare to have your body and soul warmed.

************************************

For more information on Hot Apple Cider with Cinnamon or any of the other Hot Apple Cider anthologies go to http://thatslifecommunications.com/hot-apple-cider-books/

To listen to an Arts Connection interview with That’s Life! Communication’s (and Hot Apple Cider co-publisher) Les Lindquist go to http://tinyurl.com/j7ml3dx

Spend some quality time listening to “Nudging Forever”

03 Wednesday Feb 2016

Posted by in CD/Music Review

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

Mike Janzen - Nudging Forever coverI’ve been listening to Mike  Janzen’s Nudging Forever CD fairly steadily since getting a review copy about a month ago. And much of that time has been spent figuring out how to review it.

Because it’s been a challenge to find a way to describe something I find is indescribable.

Nudging Forever combines the beauty of a classical string orchestra with the excitement of the Mike Janzen Trio (Janzen on piano, George Koller on bass and Larnell Lewis on drums), with the occasional mellow tones of Kevin Turcotte’s flugelhorn added in. All of which creates an aural delight for music fans of all genres.

The concept of Nudging Forever took root after a “season of tremendous busyness” says Janzen in the CD’s liner notes. A line from Mark Buchanan’s The Rest of God – “when we play we nudge the border of forever” – stuck with Janzen, as did the dream of a collaboration between a jazz trio and string orchestra.

Nudging Forever is an aural delight for music fans of all genres

The CD has been built around the liturgy of hours used in Benedictine monasteries during the 12th and 13th centuries: Vigil (night watch), Matins (morning prayer), Prime (first hour or around 6 a.m.), Terce (third hour or 9 a.m.), Sext (sixth hour or 12 noon), None (ninth hour or 3 p.m.), Vespers (evening prayer or 6 p.m.) and Compline (night prayer around 9 p.m.).

This seems to have given Janzen a framework with which to compose the songs on Nudging Forever. The pianissimo piano and strings depict the quietness of the night watch found in the opening track of “Vigil” while a livelier pace is set with “Time Painting,” the CD’s sixth track built around the activity of Sext.

Perhaps my personal favorite is “Matins” which starts with the sound of rousing strings before slowing to a more settled pace set by Janzen’s piano – similar to someone waking up and settling into their daily routine. As would be expected in following the liturgy of hours, the last song “Devotion” strikes a meditative tone in completion to the day and the CD.

In the liner notes, Janzen notes the difference between two Greek words used to define time: chronos, or measured time, and kairos, or the quality of time. I suggest you take the chronos time to listen to Nudging Forever because, in the end, it will prove to be well-spent kairos time.

**************************

For more information on Mike Janzen and Nudging Forever check https://mike-janzen.squarespace.com/

To listen to the Arts Connection interview where Mike talks about the Nudging Forever project, check: http://tinyurl.com/zldjat7