We have all heard birds singing sweetly in the trees. Their beautiful voices touch various strings in our heart, especially when the timing is right. It is easy to think about the voices of birds that we hear in our everyday life, but there are other birds that can really stun you with their voices, however unfortunately you can’t find them in the city. You will have to go towards the wild or to the farmlands to hear some of the greatest and longest bird songs.
Whilst it is unlikely to come as a surprise to residents in either country, it may surprise others that the countries of Canada and Scotland have been closely linked for centuries. Many of the early settlers in Canada came from Scotland, and nowadays just over 15% of Canadians claim a Scottish background. The first wave of Scottish immigrants began arriving as early as the 17th Century, even going so far as to name part of Canada Nova Scotia (which translates from the Latin as ’New Scotland’.) There are suggestions that some Scottish settlers even arrived several centuries earlier, transported by Viking travellers.
A more substantial number of immigrants began arriving in the 18th and 19th centuries. This trans-atlantic movement of people continued until the early 20th century, as political or religious upheaval, poverty and famine encouraged them to seek new lives abroad. Culturally Canada still has a strong Scottish influence. Scottish place names and surnames abound and there are estimated to be several thousand Gaelic speakers in the country. Scottish dancing, the music of the bagpipes and Highland Games are popular amongst much of the Canadian population. Other sports like rugby and curling are also of Scottish import.
Many Scottish Canadians are very proud of their heritage and like to celebrate it, not only with their culture, but also with their regional tartans (Regions of Canada started adopting tartans from the 1950s.) There are Scottish-Canadian freemasonry lodges and societies. Traditional Scottish crafts are popular, such as Ortak Jewellery from Orkney. Famous Scottish Canadians include many politicians, musicians, actors and influential figures. Notables include the Sutherland acting clan, Kim Campbell (first woman Prime Minister of Canada) and Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. Bizarrely, for a sport considered the world over to be quintessentially American, the list also includes James Naismith, the inventor of basketball!
When governments start dishing out titles, ranks and awards to artists, the very essence of creativity is lost. Egos come into play. Artists who feel slighted start behind the scenes manipulation and pulling strings to get themselves nominated or selected for one of these awards. Needless to add, these are the same people who do not have any juice left in them and know that there is no other way that they will ever get into that elite lot. Their More
For years, artists have been using their work to make political points, ranging from Picasso’s criticism of the Franco government in his painting Guernica to Banksy’s graffitti middle finger to the UK police. Now one Canadian artist has accused the government of withdrawing funding from her own political piece, “What Would the Planet Do” which was supposed to have its first major European exhibition in Croatia later this month.
At first glance, it seems like the bad guys are pretty More
The 2011 Craft Show Brampton is considered by many as the top handicraft and decorative trade fair in Canada. The event will concentrate on the handicraft, gift and fashion sectors, textiles, house ware and furnishings, jewellery bags and many more items that can be shown off using window cable displays.
This event will be held in Brampton Shoppers World in Brampton, Canada on November 7, 2011 and will run until November 11, 2011.
An artist finds beauty in everything. In fact, a true artist will create something awe inspiring from even the everyday things in life that we tend to ignore. Art is not restricted to paint brushes and canvases. It goes way beyond, to art in paper, in wood or even in metal packaging and sculpting. Metal sculpting is an ancient form of art that involves creating statues and figurines by molding metal. In modern times, however, sculptors have given new meaning More
Born in Haiti, Leonel Jules is known for his contemporary art work, having graduated in Fine Arts from the University of Quebec, a university which also teaches dress fabrics. He was received a number of prestigious awards and has devoted his life to his painting and art work. He works for the Art-Media TV show where his primary purpose is to provide education to aspiring contemporary artists.
Jules has a unique approach to the world of art, having created More
I know it’s tough for governments at the moment. They have a lot of financial pressures to deal with and they have to find money from somewhere to pay for vital services like healthcare, education and law enforcement. But the idea that they can sacrifice important cultural and artistic projects is very disheartening. After all, a world without paintings, poetry or Puccini operas would be a very sad world indeed. What would we talk about at dinner parties? Sports teams? More
When it comes to office supplies UK designers are welcome to consider themselves the best in the world; we Canadians are quite happy let them have that crown as long as we can claim the greatest living architect. A lot of people don’t realise that Frank Gehry is Canadian, as he has spent a lot of his illustrious career working out of his current home in Los Angeles, but he was born in Toronto in 1929 and has always spoken More
I always hated those people at school who were good at everything. I was only ever good at two things; maths, which I hated, and English, which I loved. Which is why I write a blog instead of sitting around doing equations!
There is one Canadian icon who is the very definition of multi-talent. Not only is he a best selling author, a man who has defined an entire generation and sparked cultural movements, but he’s also an amazing artist. More
