Tuesday 30 June 2015

Shoreline Shapes


Many mornings
I trot (slight exaggeration!) along behind the RP's
mind wandering
trance-like
and then all of a sudden
something snaps me back to the present.
Today it was this shape at water's edge....


....and right next to that another one.
Eroded marks
Tidal shapes
reflected.
Think I need to work out how I would stitch these.


Then the black ducks appeared
and reminded me of how my mother
tried in vain to keep the family together as we walked.
She always complained that we looked like a line of ducks.


They made a right turn
and headed straight for us
but it was the ripples in the water
I had to record for stitching's sake.


Monday 29 June 2015

Scratchings Interrupted


Ripped strips of cloth
couched down
around and around in circles
took over my life
last week
because
there is always a point
after months of work
when I simply can't wait to see 
what the finished piece looks like.


So my plan for the daily scratchings was
to keep it simple
with anything but couching!
However....


In a midweek FT session
we watched in amazement
as our Baby Grand....
took her first steps.
Precious moments recorded

Thursday 25 June 2015

If You Live in the Maritimes


If you live in the Maritimes


You know that Summer is around the corner


When the lupins bloom.


If you live in the Maritimes
You know you will find
churches with turrets


and churches with pointed steeples
lining the shoreline.


Wednesday 24 June 2015

Daily Encounters


 The Black Ducks are getting used to seeing us every morning.


The fox is usually around that early


He waits to see how close we will come.


Back at the house our fiery azalia is in glorious full bloom.

Tuesday 23 June 2015

The Ebb and Flow of Daily Stitching


Sometimes the wrong side
the shadow side
is more than the front


Sometimes the right side
and the wrong side
compete


Like the ebb and flow
of daily life...


...the ebb and flow of daily stitching.

Monday 22 June 2015

A Fortnight Scratched


Scratching time


A week


My least favourite stitch
Lazy daisy ticks
marching across the land
but I didn't give them legs.


RP Kayla is doing very well
after being discharged from the vets
thus discharged stitching.


We attacked the front flower bed
Grasses and suchlike have invaded
Drastic digging going on!

Sunday 14 June 2015

Rusty Pups


It has been quite a week
Our morning walk along the dike
is such a relief and a comfort.


So lucky to be able to walk with my two RP companions.
Whilst I was off hosting our workshop
RP Kayla was in fact fighting for her life
(it was only at the end of the week that
Handy Hubby and our vet told me how severe it had been).
RP Kayla has Lyme disease
she has just started seven weeks of antibiotics.
Amazing that she nearly died at the beginning of the week
and by the end of the week she was comfortable enough
to try a walk along the dike.
We made it short.
We used to be told our region was Lyme free
but not any more
The tick population is exploding.
We walked trying to keep away from the grass and trees
not an easy thing.


How nice to be back with the black ducks,
seagulls, Canada geese, cormorants,
loons, eagles and osprey.


The air was fresh
and the mist was rising
the start of another sunshiny day.
I hope RP Kayla enjoyed her walk.
By the way
I call them pups
but they are in fact 75 years old!

Saturday 13 June 2015

The Tactile Notebook


Twelve of us gathered in ARCAC's beautiful new room
to a classroom filled to the brim with inspiration.
Inspiration on clotheslines
inspiration in piles on tables.
It had taken Sandra many hours to arrange the room
and all her materials.
She is a generous and caring teacher.


So many wise words
were dotted about the room


to inspire us in our personal journeys with words


Diane and Chris mixing paint for all of us.


Anything can make the word


 Linda, Karen, Diane, Celeste, Ilga, Sandra 
and Val with her back to us
sharing pages from her notebook.



Jamie showing
Val, Karen and Kathryn her handmade notebook.


I think we all have magical memories of our three days with Sandra.
As I said
Sandra is a warm and inspirational teacher.
Just two things Sandra reminded me of...
the importance of 
ritual in our creative lives
and
the equally important daily recording
of our very personal reaction to the words
and experiences of our daily lives. 

Wish it had been much longer.

Though we are complete novices at this
Diane and I hope to continue bringing inspirational
teachers to our region.
In fact the next one is 
Dorothy Caldwell in September.
Can't wait!


Friday 12 June 2015

Scratching Into June


At last....we can begin to live outside


June started with a flight back home
reluctantly leaving my beautiful baby grand!
Home to days and days of rain.


As the skies cleared we began to notice
that Rusty Pup Kayla was not feeling her best
and getting worse as the week went on.


I had to leave my poorly RP in the capable hands of Handy Hubby
for a very important three days with Sandra Brownlee
and her wonderful workshop
"The Tactile Notebook and the Written Word".
A year ago my friend Diane and I decided we simply had to
take a workshop with Sandra.
We had been unable to attend her workshops in other 
parts of the world
and for goodness sake she was from Nova Scotia!
Sandra is also the recipient of the 2014 
Governor General's Award
for
Visual and Media Arts.
So together with the Annapolis Region Community Art Centre (ARCAC)
we invited her to come....and she did!
More tomorrow

Thursday 4 June 2015

Three Weeks Scratching Catchup


Just took a few scraps of cloth with me
and a knotted bundle of left over threads.
Knew I wouldn't have much time to stitch.


Kept it simple


Stitched with my scrappy threads


Coloured in squares


with simple, simple stitches


crosses and squares


squares
 circles
 crosses
dots and dashes


diagonals
vertigals

and now it is June already.

Wednesday 3 June 2015

Been Away....


....being a Grandma to this little munchkin


 who wanted to join in on the guitar playing


made a mad dash for the computer every time it appeared


discovered full length mirrors


started to feel around her mouth for those teeth coming in


loved music class!


but most of all just loved to stand.

So much happens in three weeks of the life of an eight month old!