Creative Art from Recycled Materials

The new buzz word - upcycling!

At the Fine Arts Festival in Tarpon Springs, it was apparent that the selection committee was impressed by artists using recycled materials. Upcycling was the aim of many participants; silver spoons appeared in jewellery, driftwood in carvings, barnboard in framing for stained glass, lake glass shards in pendants, and on it went.

The miniature creatures created Melissa Menzer were intriguing. She uses pieces of jewelry from the 1920's and 1930's, wiring them onto each bird or animal by hand.

For a truly whimsical use of recycled paper, bottles and cans, check out Joyce Curvin's website at www.joycecurvin.com. Her collection of almost life-size dogs, cats and birds are adorable. All in bright colours, they amuse and remind us the cartoons of our childhood. Somehow she makes the paper mâché exteriors look like clay.

A nice way to browse a way a warm Sunday morning in Florida.

A Closer Look at Tarpon Springs
By Jacky Crawford

Tarpon Springs still bills it seek as the "Sponge Capital of the World), although the heyday of the sponge industry was in the thirties and the forties. The Greeks, arriving in the early days of the twentieth century, came in droves to bring their diving skills to their new land. But a red tide, fatal for the sponges, wiped out many of the beds. The industry did not restart until the sixties. By that time there was fierce competition from man made sponges. Today there are still some sponge boats with plucky divers who plunge one hundred and fifty feet to the ocean floor to harvest sponges. Other Greeks now run interesting shops selling these sponges, sea shells and olive oil soaps. Perhaps the first tourist spot selling more sponges than t-shirts!

Of course, there are more bakeries and restaurants with Greek fare. Just walk along Dodecanese Boulevard across from the docks; pick one and dig into some amazing moussaka, gyros, baklava, etc.

If you want to delve into Greek culture, there are many options. Visit the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral fashioned with some sixty tons of marble in the Byzantine style. The Epiphany Celebration is in early January. some 30,000 people come to watch young boys dive into the chilly Spring Bayou in pursuit of the Greek Cross thrown in by the Bishop.

Any visitor will easily find the two beaches, Sunset and Fred Howard Park which come complete with - sand! No ring of condos and large hotels, minimal commercial activity at Sunset Beach.

Biking has to be the best way to see the interesting architectural mix around Tarpon Springs. There are many grand Victorian homes around the five sapphire blue bayous to gape out, but if you go into the surrounding residential streets, attractive examples of the twentieth century homes with tropical landscaping around every corner.

Tarpon Springs has many festivals through out the year, as do the surrounding towns. Truly, a spot of Florida not too be missed.

Winter Getaways      Part Two of My Singapore Fling

The Streets of Singapore

Arab Street is the centre of the Muslim community, Kampong Glam. It really consists of many streets and alleys surrounding a mosque. When we finally stumbled into the area, the maharaja den was wailing the call to prayers, setting the atmosphere for us. Many of the shops here are devoted to exquisite fabrics. They will also custom make women's outfits very inexpensively. Other stores boasted an incredible amount of trims, notions and beads.


This photo of Arab Street is courtesy of TripAdvisor


 Little India was a mass of teeming people. I have never understood their art, with its improbable portrayals of intertwined bodies in bright colours. Now their art was coming to life in front of my startled eyes. Women in beautiful saris, men dressed in pants not informally in jeans or shorts, and children laughing and running around, always less than a foot away from another person. Even though a green area was just across the road, everyone obviously wanted to be on the street. We walked through an almost unbroken chain of shops. There was a garage where a mechanic was going about his work oblivious to the melee close by and a fellow repairing bikes nearly on top of the curb. The wares offered were everything from the familiar dollar store items to the bright rich 22kt. Gold jewellery. I found it impossible to purchase anything with all my senses under assault. It took a second visit, when we were ducking the monsoon rains one afternoon, to come away with any Indian souvenirs. Those we found in a huge store that been labelled Little India's Walmart, real name, The Mustafa  Centre. Five floors with an advertised 10,000 items awaited our perusal. Much of the merchandise is not Western tastes, but there are brand names to be had. These are the real McCoy, as Singapore does not allow knock-offs. Beautiful linens and many women's blouses and tops were eye catching. We purchases spices from an unbelievable selection, some of course, completely foreign to us. The food section seemed to have better prices than the mainstream supermarkets. Also more candy and cookies - but the Indian population is heavier that the tiny Asian men and women! Corrupted by the Brits, no doubt!

Chinatown
Having seen Chinatowns in many big cities, we didn't think this area would be as interesting as our other haunts. However, when you arrive by subway, it is suddenly in front of you as you mount the last few steps. At first a jumble of colours hits you after the sterile atmosphere of the MRT station. Then your eye sorts out the red lanterns, awnings, and umbrellas. There are lots of bright souvenirs for you to sort through, all quite inexpensive. Table runners, pillow covers, purses, traditional clothing and lingerie, all made of silky fabrics. Occasional jewellery stores have masses of the very bright gold, jade, and pearls of grey and pink. The more exclusive shops have home decor items that look like they came from the pages of our Canadian decorating magazines.


If you are not too tired you can also explore the three floors of the Chinatown Heritage Centre!

A Winter Get Away

Winter Get- Aways

Two part Series by Jacky Crawford

Our Singapore Fling

It was hot and steamy. I should also add, exotic.

We might live in the southern most part of Canada, but January holds only coldand windy days topped with grey skies. Stepping out of the Singapore airport is to be instantly transported into another world. Lush and verdant vegetation greets you: trees in unusual shapes and warm air folds around you like a velvet cloak.

Acting as my own travel agent, I had messed up on only one detail, but it was a whopper – I though we were arriving as seven in the evening, but we got in at seven am. Having been assured that we could easily use the ATMs and credit cards, we were bereft of even a Singapore dime to use the public phone. I missed my cell already!

An Avis salesperson gave us a dime and welcomed us to Singapore. He was to be the first of many helpful locals that gave us directions, advice and smiles. Adding to the fact that this city state is extremely clean, graffiti-free and safe, you have a worry free springboard to your introduction to Asia.

We had travelled Singapore Air. They are somewhat of a legend in the service they provide. The quality of the meals, served with very little in the way of plastic utensils or dishes, was superb and the attentative stewards (women coiffed and groomed as for a catwalk) was reminiscent of the days of BOAC.

However, the effects of a twenty-one hour flight is still a major case of jet lag. We kept our first days low key. Our initial outing was to the peaceful Botanical Gardens. It was filled with families strolling the many paths and gazing at the flowers and birds. This little oasis has many sculptures and all the unusual plantings are labelled. The food court was a noisy shock – we had to settle for strawberry smoothies, as we didn't have enough energy to decipher the menu, even with the pictures!

A few days later we were ready to do some serious sight-seeing. We had already found the taxis to be inexpensive. The bus and subway system is cheaper and almost as convenient. Arming ourselves with an e-z link card, we just swiped and took a seat, often on a double-decker that afforded great views.

We visited each ethnic section of Singapore in turn. Each was like entering a different country, Singaporeans have a great street life. People are to be found eating outside, shopping and bar-hopping almost twenty-four hours a day. It is not only the tourists that jam the many small streets, walking around and choosing a cafe', snapping pictures and then deciding to get one more drink before calling a cab, but the locals too. It leaves inside activities quite flat. The Museum of Civilization, interesting and beautifully presented, was quite empty, even though it was Saturday and there were areas set up to children to experiment with hands on materials.

Return to this site to read about Singapore's Streets!