Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic! Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm"
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ottawa Riverbank rich in inukshuks and fossils

What an incredible shoreline the Ottawa River has. How ironic that it's lined with fossilized patterns and creatures of older river beds. Every year in September, artists flock to the shore to make inukshuks with this fossilized rock. From what I can tell, the artists challenge themselves to choose oddly-shaped/weighted and fine-pointed rocks. In some close-ups, you can see that they've used tiny rocks to wedge/shimmy things into place.

On this visit, many of the inukshuks have fallen victim to wind and rising water. Unfortunately, I didn't think to bring my camera on my first visit and so aren't able to show you some of the more impressive ones that were such bold balancing acts that I was afraid my simple act of observing might cause them to collapse.
Millions of years from now, will paleontologists find these odd, anachronistic configurations of fossil and wonder what happened?
• Wikipedia "Inukshuk"

Canada Council for the Arts - 5-yr Plan

Toronto, October 20, 2010 – The Canada Council for the Arts outlined today its priorities for the next five years with the release of Strengthening Connections: Strategic Plan 2011-16.

Donation of Artwork

*****Update: Nov 18, 2010: SOLD! This artwork sold and has netted $45 for the Constance Creek Wildlife Refuge.

The goals of a local wildlife refuge caught my attention and so I'm donating some "wildlife" of my own. "Dragonfly Reflecting" will be one of the 15 artworks on display and for sale at their upcoming fundraiser.
"Dragonfly Reflecting"
mirror, japanese paper, gold acrylic
10 " X 10 " (25 X 25 cm)

Where the Wild Things Are — Fundraiser for Constance Creek Wildlife Refuge
• November 6th, 6 pm
• Sandy Hill Community Centre, downtown Ottawa
• Tickets: $40
• www.ccwr.ca
• Cash bar, live band, dance, and vegetarian dinner catered by The Green Door restaurant. Silent Art Auction. Sponsorship and straight donation opportunity with tax receipt in return.

The goal? To raise desperately needed funds to complete qualifying projects to gain them government accreditation to take in orphaned wildlife. Did you know that the Ottawa area has the most collisions with deer in all of Ontario, and the closest place that takes in orphaned fawns is Napanee? CCWR is a haven for many abandoned or abused domesticated farm animals and pets already. With your help, we can give injured and orphaned wildlife the local care that they need. For more information, visit www.ccwr.ca.

Marketing Monday

Trilo"bike" stand
This Summer I visited the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Anyone who reads my blog knows that I love this museum. Even on walking to the museum you know you're in for a treat when you come across bike stands shaped like trilobites! This ancient arthropod is just one of the fossils that you'll encounter in the Paleozoic Era displays inside. I think it's brilliant to, 1. encourage bicycling to the museum, and, 2. show walkers-by a hint of what they're in for. It's a very smart way to lure visitors. Kudos!

Marketing Monday is a column devoted to innovation in the world of commerce. It celebrates companies, products, packaging and campaigns that swim against the current and find creative ways to stand out. Got a suggestion for the column? Send me a comment.

Marketing Monday

'Passion' for Selling Soap
In the mall recently, my niece needed to make an emergency pit stop. As the devoted Auntie, I made the obligatory overtures to my sister who was more than busy enough with my nephew, then hurriedly carried the leg-pinched little lady to the potty.

With great relief that the timing worked out (anyone who's ever rushed a kid to the bathroom knows what that means), but a new anxiety to complete our shopping before our window of opportunity was lost (anyone who's ever shopped with a kid knows what that means) we exited the stall for a quick hand-washing at the sink. Here's what we found there...

Brilliant! Fruits & Passion had filled the soap dispenser with lovely, fruity suds that made all my worries wash away.

I was so impressed that I sought out the Fruits and Passion store in the mall, let them know how much I liked their idea and left the store with their product as a reward (for me as much as them). This is smart marketing: their product in a room that almost every shopper is going to visit and they didn't even have to pay rent for the space. Kick-ass idea.

Marketing Monday is a column devoted to innovation in the world of commerce. It celebrates companies, products, packaging and campaigns that swim against the current and find creative ways to stand out. Got a suggestion for the column? Send me a comment.