by Michelle Sproule | The Eastside Culture Crawl (November 16, 17, 18) is hands-down one of the greatest things about Vancouver during November. It’s the time of year when artists open their studios to the public so we can admire their work, ask questions and get a feel for their individual creative processes. 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 400 artists participating (and over 10,000 crawling). That’s a lot of ground to cover and a lot of artists to meet, so each year we figure it’s a good idea to say hi to a few of them in advance.

To start, let us introduce you to Carla Tak, a painter who works out of a studio at 1000 Parker Street. She’ll be there during the Crawl and we think her large, bright canvases and her awesome personality are two fantastic reasons to drop in…

What do you do?  I paint 6 days a week in my studio at Parker Street, which equates to: “Do what you love and the rest will follow.”

Where do you live and what makes you love your neighbourhood? I live on the border of Vancouver and East Van overlooking Chinatown. It’s colourful, edgy and independent.

How many years have you participated in the Eastside Culture Crawl? Nine.

Why is the Eastside of Vancouver a good place for art? Because in a small, concentrated area you can have a “Granville Street Gallery Row” experience with 80% more artists.

What are you most excited to be working on right now? I’m always excited to be painting, period. Why? Because for years I didn’t follow my heart.

If you were to describe the ECC to someone who had never attended, what would you say? It’s an “art happening”, something you would expect to experience in New York but not in Vancouver. Guess what? It is happening here. Go!

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