Out and about: Fine Art, design, & dining in Vancouver, BC.

Last week, I took a trip to British Columbia to visit friends, see some art, go to the season opening of the Symphony and eat. Seems like ages since I stayed in downtown Vancouver and was curious to see how it has fared over the pandemic.

First I had to get into the country. At the time of my trip, U.S. citizens were allowed to cross the border by car or flight. I used the ArriveCAN app to make sure I had the current travel information. I chose to drive, allowing me to take too many clothes, coats, computer and work equipment, and shoes. I never know what I will need, so I've taken my mother's advice and pack everything over the years.

Canada requires a passport, vaccine card, and a negative COVID-19 test to enter the country. The test needed to be taken no more than 72 hours before crossing. Providence in Walla Walla did a great job providing the test and getting my results emailed within 24 hours.

I have crossed the border many times over the last 20 years and am proud of my skill to choose the best time to hit the border. This time there was no need for superpowers since there were no lines all day. The lonely border guard passed me through, and I made it into the city before the afternoon traffic picked up.

The hotel limited the number of guests, had all the standard COVID-19 safety protocols in place, including requiring a vaccine card at the front desk and the restaurants and bar. This turned out to be the standard at all the restaurants, museums, and venues in BC. The precautions have allowed downtown to return to near everyday bustle.

Lots of people on the street, most masked outside, all masked inside. There are excellent food trucks offering cuisine from all over the world. My favorite truck offered Katsu-sandos, a Japanese street food. Sando is Japanese slang for sandwich, katsu means cutlet. The cutlets are made from a variety of proteins. Tenderloin beef, breaded pork, chicken, and shrimp are sandwiched between two pieces of fluffy shokupan, a less processed tender version of Wonder Bread. The steak sando was rare and had the tonkatsu sauce inside the cutlet. It made the sando easy to eat and perfectly seasoned. It is all I wanted for lunch for the rest of the trip.

On Saturday night, I attended the season-opening concert for the Vancouver Symphony. This was the first time the Symphony has played to a live audience since the pandemic lockdown. The orchestra played pieces by Beethoven, Berlioz, Dvorak, and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.5. The highlight of the evening for me was a piece by Odawa First Nation composer Barbara Assiginaak. Innenohr (Inner Ear) is a companion piece to Beethoven's 2nd Symphony, written when the composer was going deaf. Assiginaak's concept was to create music as it would sound to a fly in Beethoven's ear. It was stunning. It was restrained, unexpected, and witty. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a recording of the piece, so it has gone from Beethoven's ear to my spotty memory.

No trip to Vancouver is complete without a stop at the Fluevog shoe store in Gas Town. John Fluevog has been designing shoes in Vancouver for fifty years. Over the years, his eclectic designs have been inspired by art deco to Seattle grunge. I found a pair of winter boots with translucent, neon orange soles. I can't wait for the rain to begin.

With new shoes, it was time to hit the Vancouver Art Gallery. Once again, Covid-19 protocols were observed by the staff and patrons, making the visit safe and comfortable.

The exhibit I came to see was Edith Heath and Emily Carr: From the Earth. Both artists made work influenced by the landscapes around them. They used similar colors and developed unique materials to create modernist images. A collection of oil paintings by West Coast artist Emily Carr (1871-1945) portray the density, colors, and textures of the forest she loved. Her brushstrokes and marks are a complete vocabulary giving depth to the work. In her drawing, she uses materials including oil and gasoline, white house paint, and charcoal. They allowed her to be spontaneous and capture images quickly while in the forest.

Paired with Carr's paintings was work by ceramicist Edith Heath.

Edith Heath (1911-2005) studied ceramics at the California School of Fine Arts. She focused her work on finding ways to use clays, glazes, and their chemistry to create work that defines her sense of the California landscape. There were many examples of her innovative process that shaped much of what became mass-produced mid-century dinnerware.

The most artistic event of my trip was meeting one of the pioneers of Pacific Northwest cuisine, John Bishop. I was lucky to have had two dinners in his intimate and elegant restaurant, Bishop's. As a painter I try to create work that is perfect in its world. Matching materials with specific content, using scale and shape to anchor paintings.

Bishop's is an artistic expression that uses subtle but well-designed architectural elements to create a space to hold the experience. The space is split level, creating an airy, modern, and chic feel. The walls hold a mix of Bishop's own art and art curated by a local gallery. Large arrangements of flowers break up the rooms, silver candlesticks and candlelight create shapes and shadows, and everywhere your eye rests is charming.

John Bishop described his restaurant as a dinner party. He is the best of hosts, coming out to welcome his guests. He seems completely unaware of the effect his presence has when he enters the room. The diners love to interact with him, hoping for their moment to chat. His staff move through the space much as he does, quietly and engaged. You are not forgotten or pestered; you feel cared for.

This is all before you get to the menu. The restaurant is known for West Coast continental cuisine, emphasizing seasonal, organic, and locally sourced produce and seafood. There are several excellent cookbooks of John's recipes from the restaurant as well as from his home. This is who he is. Making a reservation at Bishop's is all the reason you need to visit Vancouver.