North snore LIFE Green ___ ONSCFeen First annual film festival’s focus on how extreme sporis affect the environment By Deana Lancaster Contributing Writer A desire to combine his love for the outdoors and his the- atrica] background Ied Jason Rody to launch the first-ever Green Extreme Festival of Environmental and Sport Films. The North Vancouver man is enrolled in the Outdoor Recreation Management program at Capilano College and the festival is his practicum. Many of his classmates are gaining experience as adventure sport guides, bur he wanted to do something a little different. Rody and fellow organizers screened more than 50 films, with subject matter ranging trom extreme snowboarding, mountain biking and rock-climbing to forest protection. They chose the best of them for the festival. “Our motto is to connect our activities with the place in which we're active,” says the 25-year-old. He’s hoping to attract all ages to the event, but especially young peo- ple, because they’re out there, riding the slopes and trails and climbing the rocks. “We want to say to them ‘Yeah, it’s awesome, go out and have a great time. Snowboard aff you want but be aware of what’s happening to these places.’ It’s a good time to do this because these types of activities are hot now, they attract attention.” Rody believes part of the artrac- tion is spiritual: “A lotet people are trving to find a religious spirituality. —~ it’s directly linked to individual collec- tivim. Doing these activities vou're ina vroup but you're doing, pour own thing.” As well as the films, Rody hopes the festival will include discussion about some of the issues: presented on-screen. Tt will also feature intor- mational booths and displays by local environmental groups. ‘The best films of the festival wl win awards designed by Trevor Guernsey of Renaissance Metahworks, and Kerri Read, both of whom are also helping to organize the festival. Rody savs he came up with the concept as a way to combine eight years of theatre study and playwsiang with an outdoor recreation program. “I come from a very theatrical family — I have grandparents on both sides who were entertainers, my mom was a dancer, and my dad was a rock “n roll musician. Now he owns a music store.” The festival takes place on April 5 and 6 at the H.R. MacMillan Planetarium, 1100 Chestnut St., Vancouver. Passes will be avaiable ar the door and cost $15 for one day, $25 tor the weekend, students and seniors get a $3 discount. For more information, call Rody at 929-9498. JASON Redy demonstrates his enthusiam for outdoor activities. Rody is the founder of the Green Extreme Festival cf Environmental and Adventure-Sports Films. NEWS Cindy Goodman Designer finds form in the unconventional Jolanda Waskitc Contributing Writer Danielle Amit’s job is turning the functional into art. Stcp into the inte- rior designer’s home-based studio in Deep Cove and it becomes clear why people are seeking her services. Her curtains are not conventional rectangular drapes that hang off a rod; rather they can be tri- angular, billowy, peach-colored silk weighed with sea shells that delicately hang on string. A pillow is a handmade patchwork of bright reddish col- ors and textures ranging from cotton to needle- point to buttons — all forming a picture with nature as a theme. A simple blouse is contoured to form the shape of two huge golden leaves. Instead of standard home decorations pur- chased at Home Depot or any other warehouse outlet, each of Amit’s home-made window cur- tains, wall hangings, and clothing is one of a kind. “Tm aiming at people who are looking for something different, tor people who want to own something special and unique,” Amit said. “The designs are part problem solving of the function- al situation and partly what the feeling [each client) wants to express.” The challenge is part of the reason why Aniit says she loves her job. “Each project is different,” she said. “] enjoy interaction with my clients and most of the time you form a close relationship.” One project she enjoyed was decorating a bathroom in a North Shere house. The owner wanted an “Arabian” look so Amit draped light, cream-colored cotton into a tent shape and as. NEWS photo Mike Waketteld DEEP COVE'S Danielle Amit displays a hand-made silk wall-hanging. Her home- based business, in Residence Designs, specializes in one-of-a-kind creations. adjusted the lighting to a warm glow. She said everyone wanted to sit on the toilet just to stare at the decor. In her newly painted studio/shop, Amit’s colorful designs beg for attention. There are wall hangings, ties, vests, hats, scarves, pillows and curtains. Most are made of silk. She considers her clothing wearable art, unaffected, she said by sea- son or tend. The designer herself, though, is affected by the seasons. Amit said she gets too tired in hor countries like her native Isracl and in Australia, where she lived for two years. She would rather live in a cooler climate par- ticularly here, in Deep Cove, which she calls “the most beauaful place on earth.” And she should know. She’s travelled the world since she was an infant. “My dad was a ship captain and our family would travel with him. I always found it stimu- lating.” Amit would take in the scenery and art in the countries she visited, the landscapes especially etched in her memory. . As she moved from country to country, the coloring in her designs changed. “In Australia it’s very reddish and brown, in Isracl the green is greyish and light. Here the . green is really green and I’m using pink and reds which Pve never used before.” The irony to her dazzling use of color is that Amir’s husband is color-blind. But that doesn’t bother him too much, she said. Besides being a landscape and interior design- er, 47-year-old Amit is artist, wife and mother of three. . She’s had run ber own home-based business since 1979 and it suits her: It means freedom to work as hard as she wants. It means more time with her teenagers -—~ owe sons and a daughter, and only a set of stairs to get to her studio. Ten months after she arrived in Canada in 1994, she had her first client, “the hardest part,” Amit said, Word of ber exquisite work spread. “Ie's hard getting enough flow of people,” she said as a downside to having a home-based business. “Bur if you decide you have a product and like what you're doing, vou can always find a niche.” Amit’s grand opening of her business “In Residence,” is on May 3. Yuu can reach her on the Internet oat http: //www.vancouver- be.con/InResidence.