Wednesday 27 February 2013

Walking the Woods Under a Clear Blue Sky


Jan and me and the Rusty Pups
walked the woods


with eyes following our every step!


we spied crystals on the stream


frozen pillars


and bubbling waters.


Right at the end of our walk
to our surprise
we spied
the old maple tree preparing to burst into life.
Spring might not be too far away.


Tuesday 26 February 2013

Starting points


A small group of eight artists
(mostly painters but also a writer, a photographer
and a couple of us fibre folk)
Will be having a show in July which we have decided to call
Quotes, Quirks and Quiddity.
Each of us has been given a piece of sheer fabric about 7ft long
on which we have to put our body!
So Handy Hubby and I tried to photograph my body
which was soon obliterated by two Rusty Pups.


After banishing RP's from the room
we finally got a snapshot
which I then played around with on my hand dandy ipad.


We printed it HUGE
and now I have drawn myself onto my fabric.
My intent is to simply stitch it in black thread to make it look like a sketch
but
my glasses will be stitched red.
That is my plan
but I've already had two false starts!
Things might change again.

Monday 25 February 2013

Scratch Crazy


Wind
Blizzard
Sunshine
Sleet
All in one week


Staying indoors as the wind and snow whoosh around the house


The sun made an appearance
a weak sun
but the sun nonetheless


Feeling closed in
by sleet this time


Finally a wonderful day out making marks with Diane and Jan


Haven't a clue!
Some days you doodle and it just doesn't look good
even though it was a good day!
Finally on Sunday was feeling delicate after a Saturday evening of instant theatre.

Thursday 21 February 2013

Stormy Weather


Some days Winter returns with a vengeance
that knocks out power
and covers Rusty pups in snow that gets walked into the house


A windswept storm
makes scratched woods.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

The Ebb and Flow of Winter


Redpolls are darting here and there gathering seeds


My favourite rocks have been covered all winter
but sometimes the snow melts
uncovering my favourite rocks


and moss covered bits of rotten wood


And some days the ice covering the stream
starts to melt
only to refreeze again at night.

Monday 18 February 2013

Three Bears


It;s amazing what you'll find when you go rummaging around in boxes.
Some of you might recognize these from years ago.


Bears adorned in stitches


glittery things


and silk ribbon


with feet that wouldn't set foot on the ground!


Sometimes I preferred unadorned.
Along with the bears I found the boys' baby memories
school homework
and sports paraphernalia.
So much fun rummaging around in the basement!


Scratching Snow and Rain


A week captured and scratched


Snow, snow everywhere/


Rain, rain go away
It ran down our windows all day long


A really ugly experiment!
I was attempting to colour with pencils and stitch over that


Two days of  working in the studio
working at starting a new piece
No time to be creative with daily scratchings.


Happy Birthday Brett!



I wanted to record that the Redpolls were back
but then it started to rain
and a blizzard followed soon after.

Tuesday 12 February 2013

Bark Marks


You might remember my sketchbook work on tree bark


Finally working on a small piece
testing out ideas


Natural dyed silk Dupione beneath a layer of silk chiffon.
I'm thinking more of graffiti or marks
rather than trying to replicate bark.
Next time I think I'll use fewer thread colours
more subtle.


Monday 11 February 2013

Scratched


Haven't been on my walk at sunrise all week
not getting enough exercise!


There was a time I used to teach a lot of fabric manipulation.
With nothing but snow and more snow to scratch about
my mind is wandering!


Thank goodness for Tuesday
Four of us gathered and made marks
then our handy hubby's joined us
and we sipped wine
and munched on black beans and salad.
A lovely, lovely day.


I wonder if the squirrels have been raising families in the snow this winter
there are SO many of them stealing from the bird feeders!


Strange that I decided to stitch a cruciform design.
Late that evening
Handy Hubby got sad news of a lifelong friend's passing.


On Saturday we huddled by the fire with no electricity
as the wind howled
blowing snow around the house.
Sunday was calmer revealing beautiful windswept snow piles.



Sunday 10 February 2013

We Were Lucky


We got off lightly
Not the snow we were warned of
but boy, the wind was mighty...
It created lovely snow lines around the house.
Of course the power was out most of the day.
That's why a wood fire is so important in these parts.


On snowy, windy days my mind always goes to the first settlers
and even the war brides.
no electricity
no automatic heating systems
no pumped water
no four wheel drive cars to pop down to a grocery store
Needle and thread would have been a luxury
and books too.
Women had no time for embroidery or reading
their days must have been spent just focussing on survival.
and survive they did
Women are amazing!
Roar!




Friday 8 February 2013

There is Something About Standing on Top of a Mountain


Middle son, Brett, is skiing at Mont Tremblant this weekend.
We get to enjoy his travels along with him
thanks to the iphone!

Tuesday 5 February 2013

When The Winds Came From the South


The wind said
I'll huff and I'll puff
and I'll blow your tree down


just as if it were a twig


So easily twisted and broken.

Monday 4 February 2013

Scratching Time and Circles


A Birthday week scratched.
Days fly
Weeks swoosh by
and years zoom by!


On Monday I suddenly remembered
my licence had to be renewed by Tuesday.
So we made tracks down to the nearest motor vehicle office.
For Tuesday I had to fit sixty six candles
into one day's scratchings...that was hard!
On Wednesday I recorded the moon against that purple sky.


Boy, was Thursday windy...
I returned home after a day away
to find the driveway blocked by a fallen beauty.
The wind was from the south
it melted away all our snow.


A circle filled to the brim


Then a circle filled with a cross.
The snow returned.


Perhaps I'll fill more circles.