The Eastside Culture Crawl (November 18, 19, 20) is hands-down one of the best things about Vancouver during November. It’s the time of year when painters, sculpters, jewellery designers, carvers, photographers, potters, furniture designers, glass blowers and printmakers open their eastside studios to the public. The resulting nightly vibe of the already cool-as-hell neighbourhood rises to awesome levels. The Crawl covers the area between Terminal Avenue to Burrard Inlet between Main Street and Victoria Drive (handy map). This year there will be over 300 artists participating. That’s a lot of ground to cover, and a lot of artists to meet, so we figure it’s a good idea to meet a few of them in advance so as to better familiarise ourselves (and yourselves) with what to expect. Meet Kerensa Haynes.

“I explore expressionism, impressionism, realism and abstraction in my art.  When painting I let my intuitive mind reveal itself, the layers of oil represent my different emotions.  I am interested in perception, how we all perceive life from our own personal experience.  The subject matter in the painting is somewhat secondary.  My work challenges the way everyday images are perceived, so, for example, a pear is not simply just a pear but it becomes the state of mind of the audience.”

Three things about Mount Pleasant that make you want to live there: Biltmore Cabaret, The Lee Building (c1912), and the fact that most of my good friends live nearby.

How many years have you participated in the Eastside Culture Crawl? This will be my third year in the Crawl. I’m at 1000 Parker Street, Studio 350.

Three words you would use to describe the ECC to someone who had never attended: Explosive. Intimate. Original.

A one sentence artist’s statement to describe your work: The possibilities of an everyday object are explored visually and psychologically . You can see this here.

What are you most excited to be working on right now? Why? Landscapes. They took a while to ‘come’ to me.

What inspires you? Just about everything that I come in contact with.

What sort of music do you listen to when you work? Mostly electronic. Pole Folder, Lemon8, Dead Can Dance, etc.

Why is Vancouver a good city for art? Lots of cheap art, good and not so good.

Is there a local designer or artist that you admire above all others? Why? My studio neighbour Fiona Ackerman because she pushes her art and it’s fantastic where she goes visually.

Best Vancouver place to be inspired by emerging artistic talent: In Vancouver, emerging talent is found mostly in local stores and cafes. Kafka on Main has some very good talent on it’s walls.

Three places you like to take out of town guests to show off the art scene in Vancouver: Eastside Culture Crawl. And the alleyways, local galleries and cafes.

One thing you would like to change about the arts scene in Vancouver: More venues for independent artists to showcase their work. It would be good to have an art fair in this city.

If you were going to recommend a Vancouver artist/designer/musician/personality for Scout to interview, who would it be? Elsa Smith of Elsa Smith Jewelry Designs.

You can visit Kerensa’s blog at www.visuallyspeaking-k.blogspot.com.

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