Bare Market, Beverage Intrigue?
The Pensive Egg Ensign's Alternative Origins
Summer 2015: Suspended Sustenance and Distilled Life
Within this first segment of the travels with the carving Pensive Egg Ensign, K.P. documents the life of a Métis university student and some of the places reknowned for food and beverages in the Edmonton area in 2015. The vignettes found in this section were definitely shaped by the experience of Summer and Spring sessions and will likely ring familiar to anyone who has taken classes at a post-secondary institution during "intersessional periods", irrespective of ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. Meanwhile, the first vignette recalls the end of one important and inspirational source of food in Edmonton called Mother's Farmers Market. At the time of the following ePublic History in 2015, K.P. was a judicious student of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and the experiences captured below foreshadowed a triumphal march toward graduation in 2017.
Mother's Market
Afternoon, May 3, 2015. Not as cold as the video link found below.
Established in August 2014, Mother’s Market was created initially as a multi-day farmer’s market in Edmonton by a local bison rancher who thought it would be a good idea. Situated on the 109st “eastern border” of downtown, the market was close to the post-secondary institutions Norquest College and MacEwan University and certainly well within a comfortable walking distance of several senior residences. Thus, was geographically posed to succeed. However, in mid July 2015 the market closed. Many of us hope that it will re-open.
Links:
For a brief video history of the closed market, please see: “Mother's Market"
Sherlock Holmes (Near Campus)
6:00PM MDT, July 21, 2015. Comfortable indoor weather.
Sherlock Holmes Pubs was established in Edmonton in 1984 and the “on-Campus” location has been open since 2013. Owners of Sherlock Holmes Pubs must live within the Edmonton region. Tonight, the pub was the scene of an “end of session class outing involving pints” and conversations about post secondary education and other concerns students frequently articulate. While the Pensive Egg Ensign was a silent witness helping to mark the festivities, she also facilitated thoughts into different scholarly paths waiting to be traversed outside of the Ivory Tower.
Remedy - 8631 109 Street
4:01 PM MST, August 4, 2015 18° Celsius
Remedy on 109 Street, the progenitor of all “Remedies for Edmonton", began about twenty years ago. Today, it is a refuge for many of the academics and students engaged in scholarly pursuits from the Universities found on either side of the North Saskatchewan River (with MacEwan University on the north side and the University of Alberta on the south side), who need some kind of refreshment or perking up between classes. On a rather gloomy, chilly day the Pensive Egg Ensign watches over some courageous students valiantly trying to end their summer sessions on a high note whilst they carefully tap out “the right words” on their keyboards.
Links:
The Remedy Cafe
Summer 2015 2.0: In Memoriam
While the closing days of the summer may have meant the end of classes for K.P., they also witnessed the sad passing of a very dear friend. Along with another close companion, K.P. and the Pensive Egg Ensign became party to an impromptu two-person wake held at another worthwhile Edmonton estabilshment. Once the three images found in this vignette are spliced together with the associate narrative, insight into an inseperable, memorable bond between three friends is revealed, and invaribably, better appreciated.
In Memoriam, The Denizen Hall Edition
The Denizen Hall, located in Edmonton's historic Boardwalk District (now renamed the Ice District), is one of the most unique bar experiences that can be found in and around the downtown area. On the Friday before the Labour Day weekend, we ducked in to have some lunch and mark the passing of a dear friend with our collective memories. Nested within the surroundings of grizzled, stuffed animal heads decorating the walls, a thoughtful ceiling mural, and the backdrop of old arcade games, the Pensive Egg Ensign undoubtedly felt there was something amiss after listening to the stories which recalled the boy who left too early. Mugs of beer on sale and cutlery soon arrived, allowing for an impromptu photo shoot. The brief portrait session was a vivid, collective moment, one which provided the opportunity to admit that grief is more akin to a scar than an open wound, and the Pensive Egg Ensign acted as an observer to the ritual ridiculousness and laughter shared between two close friends brought together by the trauma of personal loss.
Links:
For further information and another bar story, please see The Denizen Hall
About the Pensive Ensign
This piece is closely linked to the “Ms. Hoody Stacks”, “Gracious Bookworm”, and the “Creek Bed Cerebrito” series of carvings since it integrates the School of One’s original design known as “the Face of Light”. Consistent with the other three carvings, the Pensive Egg Ensign is guided by a comparative reading of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican and Andean interpretations regarding the intricate relationship between the arc of the horizon and the spiraling movement of light, sound and water, as well as complimentary Eurasian insights regarding physical balance and a “cosmic egg” (as exemplified by the natural design of an egg found piece’s back). When gently nudged in either direction the Pensive Egg Ensign will neatly rotate and too much force will produce an unhappy result. Meanwhile, when we the carving clockwise on its back it will “rattle and hum como un terremoto”. The unpretentious rock for the piece was also quarried from in and around the vicinity of the Henry Marshal Tory Building at the University of Alberta. The name Pensive Egg Ensign pays homage to the famous monja alférez, Catalina de Erauso, and was presented to K.P. in recognition of a commitment to original thought, and, most definitely, because of K.P.'s inspirational, critical, and fervent passion for alternative perspectives into History and Gender.
