by Sally Hansen

As far as he knows, Bob Kerr of Smiths Falls is the only wood sculptor who has carved wooden miniatures of all the waterfowl of the world. That’s 192 pairs of all the known species of ducks, geese and swans from all around the globe. Each one is hand-carved from hard maple wood and hand-painted in acrylic. Each one is a visual delight and a pleasure to pick up and hold.

The collection is the culmination of a thirty-year friendship between Kerr and an American art dealer, collector and fellow bird hunter, Russell Fink. The miniatures are the subject of a gorgeous new art book produced by Fink, beautifully printed in Argentina, and titled Robert G. Kerr – Waterfowl of the World in Miniature.

A Rare Sighting

On Saturday, February 17 from 1–2:30PM, Bob Kerr will be at Read’s Book Shop at 130 Lansdowne Ave., Heritage Walk Plaza, in Carleton Place to sign copies of his new book and to demonstrate and discuss his carving. Examples of his sculptures will be on display at the shop throughout the month. A map is available at the Read’s website, and the phone number is 257–READ (7323).

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Posted on January 29, 2007 3:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

by Sally Hansen

Three-year-old boys pose the biggest delight and challenge for studio portrait photographer Robin Andrew. The name of her portrait photography business is “Unposed”, and it underlines her signature approach to capturing people’s stories. Robin gets terrific shots of highly energetic three-year-olds by focusing on them rather than trying to make them pose for her.

It doesn’t hurt that she has done the photography for the Canadian Toy Testing Council for the past three years. She is up on her playthings. When Robin shows me her studio, she reveals her competitive secret. Rudy is a bright green inflated dragon. If the kid doesn’t want to ride Rudy, Robin or the kid’s parents can beguile a smile by mounting this cooperative prop and galloping around the studio.

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Posted on January 16, 2007 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Reviewed by Cathy Younger-Lewis

Talking Tea: “I love it when you talk tea” — so begins this wonderful new CD of poetry. This is poetry as it should be experienced — live, in front of an audience, performed by the poets. This is “slam” poetry (not to be confused with break dancing, violence or swearing!). This is poetry that transforms the simple listing of names like “Darjeeling” and “Lady Grey” into words of high romance and eroticism. This is poetry that is competitive, teasing, heartbreaking, reflective, political. This is poetry that should always be taped live, as was done for this CD. Even though the listener cannot see the poet, you can share the poem with the audience — laughing at DJ Morales’ unique take on nametags, cheering on Jim Thomas as he confesses to being an android, hushed while listening to Festrell’s poem give voice to an abused woman.

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Posted on January 15, 2007 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)