This research journal is part of the creation process for Nisidotan project through Zakide. Working with Eddie Jeanveau and Edgardo Moreno, I explore the qualities of water, snow and ice in relation to human beings and our interactions. My goal with this research is to empower my fellow artists and their creation projects while developing a better working understanding of my own environment. Lake Nipssing and other surrounding bodies of water sustain life in this region of the world. Knowing them allows me to know my land and inform other areas of my practice.

January 6th, 2016: Fall down in snow and clean the H4N. Injured my knee so headed back to studio for the day. Still recorded the whole experience so you can hear me limping through the heavy snow. Recording 03:05.

January 8th, 2016: From my car on the side of the road beside Lake Nipssing. Traffic sounds as car drive by. Lindsay Sarazin pulls up and walks to Big Medicine Studio. The wind picks up while the melting snow and ice walls from a nearby tree landing on the hood of my car. Recording 1:00:00.

January 9th, 2016: Walked from mouth of river to Big Medicine Studio. Ice had layers of slush on surface and crust with 2 inches of ice underneath. Went out to about 15 feet depth and when ice cracked louder, decided to head back to shore until tow line and assistance can be secured. A dog ran out and barked loudly at me. There was a small amount of rain. Recording 23:45.

January 10th, 2016: Walking through the swamp near my home following a big thaw. Recorder missed my entrance. Temperature has turned very cold and part way through the swamp I lose the feeling in my legs. I travel back through the ditch walking in knee deep water and slush until exiting the water near my house. Recording 03:11.

January 10th, 2016: The evening gets very cold with 90km wilds. Temperatures drop sharply to -20*C with the aid chill making it far worse. The rain from the previous day has now turned to flurries. I record the sound of the wind blowing snow on my front porch including any cars that dare to attempt the roads during a storm like this. I can tell that school will be cancelled for students tomorrow. The light from a street lamp becomes obscured by the blizzard. Recording 58:47.

January 11th, 2016: The storm ended during the night leaving a very cold and sunny day. The buses are cancelled for school and my youngest daughter Clara accompanies me with my wife Tara to the Fire Hall in Garden Village where we normally go swimming during the summer. The ice on Lake Nipissing has flash frozen and become brittle. The rocks that line the shore here are covered in snow drifts. The wind stings my face as I walk and at parts lose my standing. The ice here is hard and slippery. If I walk out into an area where it is deep, I may go through the ice. Until I have a tow line attached, I dare not travel further out yet. Recording 13:00.

This project was supported by the Canada Council for the Arts New Music projects.