PROJECT

FEATURE ARTICLE

SID DICKENS

Memory Blocks

 

– ABOUT THE PROJECT

Vancouver artist Sid Dickens has been creating his collectable wall plaques, called Memory Blocks. since 1994 and his products are featured in over 1000 carefully-curated stores worldwide. Still, the early years of his creative efforts and fledgling business were a hard challenge as Dickens established his artistic voice and creative direction. For a commissioned piece of writing about the artist’s early efforts and growing artistic confidence, I had the privilege to discuss with Sid how that initial period in his career came to matter so much to his later international success.

 “After completing the first batches of tiles, close friends took notice and encouraged him to pursue their possible sale. But artists are rarely showmen. Artwork is often left to speak for itself as if some wind-up toy that can make its own pitch. Dickens is quietly reserved and remains reluctant to be a high-profile artist. It took years before the courage to sell his work equaled his interest in making it. ” 

– Barry Dumka  

EXCERPT

SID DICKENS

Memory Blocks

Sid Dickens’ artistic tiles – called Memory Blocks – are now sold world-wide and regularly turn up in fashionable magazine photo spreads but the story of the tiles begins with the artist weighted down by 100 pound bags of plaster and spurred on by a bold idea.

 

In the early 1980s, Dickens spent a year at Vancouver’s prestigious Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design but quickly realised his inspiration wouldn’t be found in a textbook. Dickens then spent several years travelling through old Europe cultivating his interest in history and ancient ruins. Eventually, he anchored himself in San Miguel de Allende – Mexico’s cultural hotspot – where Dickens apprenticed with a master sculptor.

 

Once back in Canada, the idea and identity of the Memory Blocks were shaped over an extended period, particularly the work’s suggestive use of iconic imagery from the past. Dickens was interested in how the visual fragments of earlier cultures – from old manuscripts to architectural details to renaissance portraiture – could be used to express a language of memory. Dickens was curious to find a means of communicating something essential through something apparently ephemeral. But he had to make the work first to prove the idea. And that required a lot of bags of plaster.

 

— (end of excerpt)

 

© Barry Dumka/BCREATIVE CONSULTING

Our Services

Copywriting + Ghost Writing

What you say matters.
BCreative Consulting provides our clients a wide range of written and ghostwritten material to achieve their messaging goals. The key is to write with an audience in mind. Emotion, authenticity and storytelling all play a part in capturing the attention and loyalty of others.
For artists, personal brands and small businesses, the story of their creative individuality - the vital core of their identity - is a powerful opportunity to connect what they do with others. Your audience wants to be informed and inspired. Go at it with gusto.

Content Creation + Marketing

What you share matters.
BCreative Consulting works with our clients to shape the image and stories they share in this social media-fuelled marketing age. Digital storytelling - involving written and visual content - is one of the most effective methods for growing audience engagement, developing your brand presence and driving sales. Compelling content earns you stature, inspires trust and stokes curiosity and loyalty. But you have to think about your audience as much as yourself. Still, even the most personal stories can have universal appeal. Be relatable and be inspiring.

Art Consulting + Event Curation

What others experience matters.
BCreative provides art consulting and event curation services for select projects to create aesthetically appealing and client-focused experiences.
With extensive art consulting and project management experience for residential, commercial and hospitality projects throughout North America, we know the vision and strategic choices necessary to create exceptional art collections.
Sales-focused creative events also require strategic planning and a purposeful vision. To create lasting value, it's essential to make a beautiful first impression.

QUESTIONS?

As a freelance creative consultancy, BCreative Consulting gets involved in many unique projects specific to the needs of our clients. We enjoy insightful conversations, positive client relationships and heralding the authentic meaning and value at the core of all creative efforts. It’s a powerful opportunity – and a great challenge – to inspire an audience. And we love being part of that process. 


Do you have a project that needs some strategic help?  Or a good story?