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 →
Turning 65
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. Itβs solitude within the context of community. The geese have moved up the... Continue Reading →
Remember – A Poem
I go to cemeteries a lotIt doesnβt matter where Itβs not about the who(or mostly not) Itβs quietItβs reverent Squirrels aboundDogs exercisePeople 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 I... Continue Reading →
Being Met at the Well
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 →
Running with Scissors to Bolivia
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 βmission-mindedβ household we were encouraged to never waste anything. This included harvesting the prettiest pictures from our old Christmas cards... Continue Reading →
Why Gimli?
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 older brother build a cottage in Gimli sometime around 1912? Lake Winnipeg, the eleventh largest freshwater lake in the world, was a short trip... Continue Reading →
Evans Store
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 PercyΒ would give me a nickel or dime and... Continue Reading →
Ode to Saskatoons
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 →
Deep Woods Words Land Art Project
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 →
1 Year of Stitches – DONE
1 Year of Stitches 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... Continue Reading →
Autumn Contemplation on the Bruce Trail
I spent the weekend with these harmonious souls walking a wee part of the Bruce TrailΒ 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 →
Eye of the Storm – Land Art Project
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 →
Square Foot Art – Westland Gallery, London, Ontario
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 12β³ x 12.β That alone is... Continue Reading →
Gimli Yacht Club 50th Anniversary
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 lakeβs waters. This... Continue Reading →
How to Enjoy an Art Studio Tour
Art studio tour signs brighten my day. It is a treasure and honour to be able to see into an artist's space. If you have never done an art studio tour or wanted to but feel intimidated, here is my listicle: Find the website and print out the brochure. Or use the app. Check off... Continue Reading →
Thoughts on Grief
A year ago I drew this labyrinth in the sand on my favourite beach. DraggingΒ my fingersΒ 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
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 knewΒ which part... Continue Reading →
Walking the Mystical Path with Practical Feet – The Four-Fold Way
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) taughtΒ The Four-Fold Wayβ’Β ,Β emphasizing four major principles that integrate ancient cultural wisdoms into contemporary lifeΒ or as she interpreted it "walking the mystical path with practical feet": The Way of the... Continue Reading →
Under her Piano
"Music" by Anne Porter from Living Things: Collected Poems. Β© Steerforth Press, 2006. When I was a child I once sat sobbing on the floor Beside my motherβs piano As she played and sang For there was in her singing A shy yet solemn glory My smallness could not hold And when I was asked... Continue Reading →
Reflections on a Year Long One-a-Day Ephemeral Art Project
I spent all ofΒ 2016Β focused on an endeavour called One-a-Day Ephemeral Art Project*. Every day for a year I went outside and had a short conversation with nature. I made a piece of art with foraged objects and left it for someone to find (or not) celebrating whatever the environment offered me each day. Β I documented... Continue Reading →
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