Deryk Houston - Canadian Artist for Peace

Recorded my memoir, "It's East to make a Ghost". Neil , at Burning Rainbow Studio, showed patience & professionalism in stepping me through the very interesting process. Available in about a week on my web site etc. derykhouston.com
Amy added to the soundtrack, Gabriel Foure, Sicilienne.
#audiobook

My labyrinth helped built a bridge to the surrounding community.
My wife Elizabeth and I, feel the land is in good hands, and we hold onto the idea that first nations people are benefiting from the land which is once again acting as a therapeutic community.

I received a call from Wayne Sawchuk, an amazing human being & photographer, dedicated to preserving the Muskwa Kechika wilderness in the northeast of BC., Canada.
I was ready to find a place where I could think straight & join a small group of other artists.

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The little Iraqi boy was obviously in sad shape. I mixed up the plaster and took his little hand in mine, and was shocked at how hot his skin was. His mother’s face told me everything.
Along with several other children's hand prints, his were incorporated into the sculptures surfaces as well.

Baghdad foundry: There were three rock like shapes representing family. You can see the steel rebar, that forms the rough shape. Paper is dipped in plaster. Then layers of plaster. Another tall section fits on top of the one in the foreground. (24 feet tall completed)
Molds made and bronze cast.

I created this mother and child image on top of a mountain.
Sense of scale? See the surrounding forest in the top right hand corner.
The process was captured by the NFB documentary, "From Baghdad to Peace Country", which featured my work for peace. You can view it at www.nfb.ca/film/from_ba...

Field art project in support of children's rights in Iraq.
The simple, primitive design was created in a large hay field.
National film board of Canada. "From Baghdad to Peace Country".
lnkd.in/gkjJ7wHH
"It's Easy to make a Ghost" - memoir www.derykhouston.com

Governments should employ several tools to increase the supply of housing.
There could also be tax incentives to encourage people to downsize.
Encourage people to work from home. Less demand in the cities as people move outward.
With a solid supply - then the other questions drop away.

"Military Intelligence" - sculpture.
( 3feet X 5feet X 8inches deep.)
Permanent collection - Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, recommended by the National Gallery of Canada.
The world is what we make it.
Let's turn our back on preparing for war and learn to respect those we don't trust or agree with.

The first casualty of war is the truth.
The general population soaks the disinformation up every time.The taxpayers willingly fork out their money to feed the industrial war complex. I've came to the conclusion that this is because people just don't have the capacity to understand what is going on.

her flowing red & orange gown sweeps over thee green forest floor, beside white stream water; behind her her maid all in red plays with a dancing greyhound painting

I would like to watch you sleeping

I would like to give you the silver
branch, the small white flower, the one
word that will protect you

I would like to be the air
that inhabits you

I would like to be that unnoticed
& that necessary.

#poem excerpt: Margaret Atwood
#art Georges de Feure

#resist

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One of the greatest photographers of our time looks back on his body of work

BOMB Magazine BOMB Magazine has been publishing conversations between artists of all disciplines since 1981.

An exhibition that investigates the magic of looking is at Menil Collection. Owen Duffy interviews the artist.

“I think in remaking I reiterate something for us to consider more deeply.” —Francesca Fuchs

tinyurl.com/4zbnaakk

I'd suggest a Peace Garden featuring a massive Labyrinth filled with lavender.
Labyrinths are places where people gather. If you follow the path, you will get to the center. (Unlike a Maze, where you can get blocked or lost.)
Add a few "temporary" small sculptures every year.
I created this one.

Three weeks is the <p>Industry advocate Bo Chen from ABLE BC talks the lingering impact of the public employees strike on hospitality and cannabis with Ryan. </p>

Three weeks is the "fairly ambitious" benchmark goal for retail cannabis and liquor to get back to business as usual: industry advocate #yyj #BCnews www.iheart.com/podcast/962-...

"Greenhouse at Gonzalez Bay" mixed media - hay, seeds, several fertility figures, tiny clocks. Greenhouse in center of the painting.
Inspired by my life altering journey into the bombed out interior of the Ameriyah bomb shelter in Baghdad, where hundreds of innocent people were turned into ghosts.

I have a very bad feeling about this...

Oh My GOD . . . 😳

Look👇

Thank you 🙏 @markhamillofficial.bsky.social

"Cat on Your Back" 36"X36"
I'm not sure if the horse and the cat are a team or if the horse is running in fright, But I like the wild ride!
Art Works Gallery in Vancouver BC A “Master Class” exhibition. – Saturday, Nov. 22nd. & Nov. 23rd.
"Cat on your back" acrylic on canvas.
#ART #VancouverBC

Farage: epic grifter

"It's Easy to Make a Ghost" - a memoir of my life as an artist.
Art has provided me with a refuge from a world on the edge, and it constantly reminds me of the beauty that surrounds us.

"It's Easy to Make a Ghost" - A memoir that I hope it will be useful to my fellow artists and for those who have collected my work over all these years.
Art has provided a refuge, as well as a reminder of how much beauty there is in our world.

Available at: www.derykhouston.com

The far side was such a great series!
So nice to balance our lives in a complicated and difficult world.
Thank you.

Far Side cartoon. From his ark high above, Noah addresses the animals assembled in the shore: “Now listen up! We’re going to do this alphabetically!” The two zebras both think, Damn.

Forgive me. I have shared this Far Side before, but it is a personal favorite.

"LOVE" - acrylic on canvas. 36"X36"
I want to create a piece like this one that is at least 72"X72". When I paint on a larger scale the experience surrounds me and the colors and the shapes feels so succulent and overwhelming to the senses.
#Art #collectors #artists #love

derykhouston
"Laundry" - acrylic on canvas
Based on my trip up to Haida Gwaii. First steps towards understanding why I was drawn to things fertile such as apples and seeds. Layers of beauty offering glimpses of the unknown, mixed with our imagination and distorted reality.

www.derykhouston.com

It was a time when life passed slowly and farmers tended the landscape with love and respect. Living among such tremendous beauty as a young boy helped set the stage for my future interest in becoming a full time artist.
#Art 🎨 #war

Tulip Wind Turbines by Samuel Houston and Deryk Houston
$400,000.00 approximately. (Stainless steel and mixed media)
Approximately 22feet tall.

From Baghdad to Peace Country This documentary is about Canadian artist Deryk Houston, who in 1999, had a life-altering journey to Baghdad. Unable to remain an outside observer of the crisis in Iraq, …

"Peace Sanctuary" - 1000 foot diameter earthenwork art project by artist Deryk Houston
The National film board of Canada featured the project in the documentary "From Baghdad to Peace Country",
www.nfb.ca/film/from_ba...

www.derykhouston.com