Octopus Studios and Soigne at Source

Interview with Tanouja Narraidoo from Source.

Breakfast TV at Octopus Studios

Thank you BT TV for visting Octopus Studios. http://www.btvancouver.ca/videos/2838613446001/

Octopus Studios in Province with Suzy Arbor

http://www.theprovince.com/life/Suzy+Arbor+painter/9148882/story.html

Octopus Studios (393 Powell St.) suzyarbor.com "People want to know a bit about your life and who you are," said painter Suzy Arbor about the Eastside Culture Crawl experience. "It's fun. It's an informal way to talk to people about the work you are doing." Because she is a representational painter - meaning that her work depicts things that are easily recognized - Arbor's work often strikes a chord with the viewer. "It is really fun when people recognize the space and have a relationship to it," said Arbor, who is entering her fourth Crawl. "I think painting representationally is kind of translating something. So I am translating this visual space through my own personal experience and relationship with it. And sometimes people will come in and they will have a different relationship with that space." Her ongoing series, set in the basement of the University of B.C'. s main library, definitely connects people with a space. "You could tell right away who had been in those book stacks at UBC's main library, which have been torn down and replaced with an automated retrieval system," said Arbor, who works for the Vancouver Public Library. "It was really interesting because people had different relationships with what that space was. And that usually led to me talking about being a librarian and why I was inspired by that. I also got to hear about people's lives and when they were at UBC and spent time in there. Some people had very negative feelings about the space and some people had very positive feelings." Another series that will churn up emotions is her moody, earlymorning Vancouver street series. "I worked to find these little moments of beauty in an onerous journey," said Arbor, who was inspired by a daily commute from the Sunshine Coast. "I was inspired to do a lot of painting of the city, especially when the light was changing, because I was up at such ridiculous hours. I saw all these beautiful sunrises."