I love old scissors. Especially ones used by women doing needlework. Touched by women's hands. I think the one set in the middle are candle wick trimmers. Am I correct?
Thrift Shopping – Paint by Number
Paint by number art has been around since the 1920's but the was all the rage as a hobby in the 1950-60s. Talk about colouring inside the lines! And of course the instructions never encouraged you to everย signย your painting. So these paintings remain anonymous. In 1953 alone the paint-by-number craze reachedย $80 million in sales. I... Continue Reading →
Lake Winnipeg Soundscape
On a very windy dayย Lake Winnipeg kicks up a significant surf. I wanted to record this in the background while I sang my invented words or 'vocables'.
Heather Lair – Celestial Body
Heather Lair (1956 - 2013), Gimli, MB, Canada, was an amazing artist. Her passion, amongst other things, was textiles. I will miss her beautiful smile, piercing eyes, lilting voice, nimble fingers, generosity of spirit and positive attitude. Our brief friendship was treasured. We feel privileged to have one of her quilts gracing our abode. Every... Continue Reading →
Lake Superior Sunset Lullaby
Last week we had the joy of being on Lake Superior for sunset. On a very rocky beach.
Ann Beam – The Woman Who Never Sits
I was browsing through the tourist brochures while recently onย the lounge deck ofย the MS Chi Cheemaunย ferry to Manitoulin Island. ย "The Art Map: Year Round Trail Guide to Galleries, Art Studios and Events"ย popped out at me.ย I'm the type of person who is willing to step out of my comfort zone if I sense that I might... Continue Reading →
Sonic Meditation in Linda’s Garden
"The vowels carry the emotion, consonants carry the thought." - Louise Petrie
Translating Fabric & Thread into Story: The Quilts of Linda Bar-On
Ailsa Craig is a tiny little town in South Western Ontario, Canada. It was there that I was immersed in quilts from Israel! My daughter and I went to see the annualย Ailsa Craig Community Quilt Festival. Each year a group of committed volunteers mount an amazing display of quilts from other lands. My absolute favourite... Continue Reading →
Being in Community
Today was a good day to hang out a wash.ย The table cloths washed from use at a 4-day personal growth retreat on which I served as the cook. Living in that community is an 'inspiriting' experience. Being in community fills a hole, a hole that has allowed breath to leak out. Breath is Spirit. Breath... Continue Reading →
Fancy Sandwiches
When I was a kid I loved when my mother had to take fancy sandwiches to the church for some function or another, mostly funerals. First, days in advance, she had to special order the bread, an LARGE unsliced loaf. Then have them put it through the mechanical slicer sideways. ย Then she cut off all... Continue Reading →
Deanna Durbin
Veteran Canadian actress/singer Deanna Durbin died last week at the age of 91. By age 21 she was the most highly paid female star in the world. She was a few years older than my mother. Why is this important to me, you ask? She was born in Winnipeg which means we had a few... Continue Reading →
Frog
Waiting for me today is this beautiful frog. On the edge of my pond. In the soft green moss. How lovely a sight. How lovely a site.
Thrift Shopping – Embrace the Polarities
Oh yah, did I mention that I love thrift shopping? ย It's not so much for the buying. It's the hunting! And the thrill of the find is a bit of an adrenaline rush. As an artist I'm bombarded by ideas of what I could be doing with up-cycling just about anything that's cast off. But... Continue Reading →
Threadworks 2013
Sunday April 28th was the wonderful day I received my award at the Threadworks 2013 exhibit of needlework at theย Wellington County Museum and Archives in Fergus, ON, Canada.ย You can read about my entry here,ย But Will It Hold Water. The quality and creativity of the needlework was outstanding. And the show was beautifully hung in a... Continue Reading →
Upcycling Grade 2 Artwork
It started with this.I uncovered this painting my daughter did in Grade Two. I guess it was after we had gone on an airplane ride, her first. I admit that I have trouble throwing some things away. I figured I could use the old schoolwork in a piece of art. So I cut it up.... Continue Reading →
Red Fabric Baskets
These are coiled fabric baskets or bowls which I have sewn using strips of recycled women's clothing over a jute rope core. Each can be used as a beautiful home decor piece for storing just about anything (other than liquids!). But I have particularly designed these baskets to be purchased as Menses Rite of Passage... Continue Reading →
But Will It Hold Water
For about a year I've been on a little journey which began when I picked up a brochure (can't even recall where I got it), a call for entry forย Threadworks:ย A Juried Exhibition of Needle Arts.ย This is an exhibition, organized every three years by theย Ontario Network of Needleworkers'ย (ONN)ย an amazing group of dedicated people, mostly women.ย Their mandate... Continue Reading →
Portable Labyrinth
This is a Santa Rosa Labyrinth. ย It is a seven circuit modified Medieval labyrinth, modelled after the 12th Century one laid in the floor of Chartres Cathedral. This one was designed in 1997ย by Lea Goode-Harris. Labyrinths are used today as a meditational tool;ย walking to calm the spirit and seek guidance. "The heart-space on the fourth... Continue Reading →
Coiled Paper Basket
My husband owns a neatย software company. They were cleaning out the cupboard last week and decided to recycle a boxful of out-of-date brochures.I love paper so I rescued a few and this is what they morphed into. Strips of ripped paper wrapped over jute rope in a traditional coiling method. I like the chinking sound... Continue Reading →
Today was a Good Friday
Today is a good Friday. Today is Good Friday. I didn't wake up this morning knowing that I was going to deconstruct my little backyard labyrinth on this sunny day. It came about during a leisurely conversation with my husband after attending the morning Good Friday service at our church and eatingย lunch on our back... Continue Reading →
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