Contemplative Musician, Soundwork Practitioner, Music Facilitator & Mixed Media Artist
by Mary Ann Pocock (1957-2006) just as there is pain with loss so we find it in the search for the very celebrations that come by chance from our grieving 'til one is inextricably linked to the other and we cannot tell where the dying begins and the living ends so the very things which... Continue Reading →
Sometimes I just sit on a park bench to read instead of reading in my living room. I watch squirrels, listen to birds and the breeze in the leaves, listen to people walking and talking, see dogs of all shapes and sizes. It’s solitude within the context of community. The geese have moved up the... Continue Reading →
I go to cemeteries a lotIt doesn’t matter where It’s not about the who(or mostly not) It’s quietIt’s reverent Squirrels aboundDogs exercise People walk and talk I mostly come to listenTo the birdsTo the breezeTo the voices of ancestorsTheir inscriptions, storiesTheir bones, a witnessTheir songs, a whisperTheir presence a comfort Places set apart to remember So... Continue Reading →
Drop the bucket into the well of grief again?Is the water table lower than the last time?The bucket has to go deeper to find the water it seems. Each grief attack seems to require more effort. Yet now there is more time between trips to the well perhaps the water filling my bucket contains more... Continue Reading →
Today I was rereading and putting away the Christmas cards that I received this season. My mind immediately turns to childhood, scissors and paper cutting which I loved to do. Growing up in a Christian ‘mission-minded’ household we were encouraged to never waste anything. This included harvesting the prettiest pictures from our old Christmas cards... Continue Reading →
Updates on the Woven Tree.
The reason my maternal grandparents built their cottage in 1938 in South Beach, Gimli, Manitoba was because my grandmother Winifred's older brother Percy Harris built there first. So why did her brother build a cottage in Gimli sometime before 1912? Lake Winnipeg, the world's eleventh largest freshwater lake, was a short trip away from the... Continue Reading →
Evans Store on Hansson Ave, at the corner of Anna, was a fixture to every kid in South Beach, Gimli. Forever. Evans Store Building in 2017. Put out to pasture behind 15 Hansson Avenue, Gimli. My first memory of spending money was at Evans Store. My grandpa Percy would give me a nickel or dime and... Continue Reading →
I only had to look up. They were there all along. The ripe and ripening fruit. Yummy morsels. Dark purple. I go out and harvest my breakfast from my own bushes, nay trees now. When did the fruit grow out of reach? How can I harvest? The tree, if carefully handled, will bend. Gracefully bowing... Continue Reading →
It all started at a used book sale when I saw a pile of Reader's Digest Condensed Books sitting in a pile. Some of them had a bit of mould. I asked the organizers if I could just make a wee donation and take the whole lot off their hands. I have been inspired to... Continue Reading →
One year ago my friend Lou Anne Sybenga and I started a project called #1yearofstitches or #onestitchaday. This challenge was begun by Hannah Claire Somerville. When I saw this project on Instagram it took my fancy. I had just finished a year long one-a-day project which required me to go outside everyday and make ephemeral art.... Continue Reading →
I spent the weekend with these harmonious souls walking a wee part of the Bruce Trail on an Autumn Retreat with the theme, Letting Go. The trail was quite difficult in parts and because of the drizzle, it was also slippery. This meant that I needed to pay attention to where my feet landed. This part... Continue Reading →
Another offering in the woods. I found some nice green grapevine. Green vine is easy to weave, leaves and all. When I find a pile of grapevine I interpret it as a free art supply, just waiting for a challenge. I featured an old clock, minus the mechanical parts, in this weaving. It has metal... Continue Reading →
Westland Gallery is an amazing place for art. In the heart of London, Ontario's Wortley Village the Westland hosts new, original art shows each month. Their biggest show of the year is undoubtedly The Square Foot Show, opening July 12th, where you will see over 500 pieces all measuring 12″ x 12.” That alone is... Continue Reading →
I wrote this in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Gimli Yacht Club, July 1, 2017 (tune: This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land) This Club is your boat, this Club is my boat From speedy cruisers to anything that will float From the harbour mouth To this great lake’s waters. This... Continue Reading →
Art studio tour signs brighten my day. For an artist to let you into their private space is a treasure and an honour. If you have never 'done' a Studio Tour or wanted to do one but not known 'how to', here is my listicle: Get the brochure ahead of time and circle your... Continue Reading →
A year ago I drew this labyrinth in the sand on my favourite beach. Dragging my fingers in the barely-warm April sand felt wonderful after having spent three days in a nursing home. My mother was struggling so overwhelmingly. The only thing I really knew how to do was play the piano for her and sing the... Continue Reading →
Turner 8 - 1471. That's the way we used to say it over 50 years ago. It's a telephone number. "Turner" was the exchange; a telephone number from Winnipeg. "Turner" was the exchange for the suburb of St. James. All my friends had 888 as the first part of their phone number. Everyone knew which part... Continue Reading →
Being a mystic is one thing. But showing up for everyday life is another ball of wax. Angeles Arrien, Ph.D., an American cultural anthropologist (d. 2014) taught The Four-Fold Way™ , emphasizing four major principles that integrate ancient cultural wisdoms into contemporary life or as she interpreted it "walking the mystical path with practical feet": The Way of the... Continue Reading →
Evelyn Ward de Roo 