Hunkering Down for Tropical Storm Lee

Over the summer I've been creating my own cyclone in the studio.

So with the arrival of Tropical Storm Lee 

I took it as a hint to tidy up.

Of course that didn't last long.

Funny how picking up a piece of cloth

brings to a halt any clean-up.

So off I went creating very small 5" squares.

Tough going that small for me

and I have to make 9 of them.

So on Sunday at the tail end of the storm

The studio was still a mess

BUT

I have 9 pieces nearly done.

Still liable to change

of course.

Rusty Pups snuggled and snoozed to pass the storm away.

And even as the evening lights came on

They still slept.

Despite Lee making land quite close to us

and the eye of the storm even closer....

We were lucky 

No power cuts

No downed trees

Not too much flooding.

Grateful

Steven's Day of Memory

It has been so many years now that our family has been incomplete

Torn asunder 

You were taken from us when you were 21

My goodness Steven....you would be 50 now

An old man!

For the rest of our days there will always be a hole in our family

An empty chair

But we hold you lovingly in our hearts.

There is a sacredness in tears.

They are not the mark of weakness, but of power.

They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues.

They are the messengers pf overwhelming grief, of deep contrition,

and of unspeakable love.

Washington Irving.

Walk Through of In the Middle of the World

 Judy Martin and I did a walk through and talked about our pieces 

hanging at The Muse Gallery in Kenora, Ontario.

Thank you Miranda Bouchard for recording the event with your Photographs.

'My Awakened Heart', 'Her Arms Wrapped Round' and 'My Heart'

Judy's three pieces in the foreground.

'Resting Between Night and Day', 'The Edge of the Woods', 'A Stream Runs Through it' and 'Woodpeckers Live Here'

My pieces on the wall.

As you walk into the gallery this is the beginning of what I think is an emotional experience.

Not to be sentimental but being surrounded by large stitchings have that effect on me!

 They create a welcoming and comforting environment.

Like old English houses where walls were hung with tapestries 

both to impress but also to help warm the place.

Like my grandmother's home where huge, heavy velvet curtains separated the living room from the dining room to keep us warm with a coal (yikes) fire burning.

Love this photo

'Beaver Moon Dreaming' My piece on the wall.

'Eternity', 'Flowers Bloomed' and 'The Forever' Judy's three pieces.

'Resting at Low Tide' My piece on the wall.

'The Forever' Side B Judy's piece in the foreground.

We are so different yet so alike!

Miranda, me, Dagmar Plenk and Judy

We had a surprise visitor, Dagmar who came up from the States to see the show.

We had met online but it is so much better getting to know someone in the flesh.

We had a lovely visit didn't we, Dagmar!

We all loved listening to Judy explaining each piece.

'The Forever' and 'Time Future' Judy's pieces in the foreground.

'Summer's Dance' my piece on the wall.

'Time Past' Judy's piece in the foreground.

'Woodland Berries' My piece on the wall.

'Woodland Berries' is a piece not only about the wild berries the float 

like waves through the woods in Autumn

 but it's also about the woodpeckers that lie in these woods

and the stoney ground that huge trees somehow manage to find nutrients in.

'Dancing in the Wind' and 'Follow the Moon' My pieces on the wall.

'Medicine Earth' Side B Judy's piece beyond the door.

My experience of someone's work is always enriched with their artist talk.

So I am always happy to share my thoughts and process with others.

Even if my throat goes dry and scratchy sometimes!

Some of my works had to be given a wall of their own.

Just too many of them!

Thank you to The Muse for giving them space.

We are delighted that

'In the Middle of the World'

A show of Judith E. Martin and Penny Berens's work

Curated by Miranda Bouchard

has been extended to hang in The Muse gallery,

Kenora, Ontario

Until July 4th, 2023.

Have a great day

We are enjoying a few days of rain here in Nova Scotia

 Hope it is enough to dampen all the wild fires.

  

A special Road trip through Northern Ontario

'In the Middle of the World' is hanging in the Muse Gallery in Kenora. Judy Martin, Miranda Bouchard and I had an appointment to spend time at the gallery on Mothers' Day weekend.

Judy and Miranda are Northern Ontario girls and they wanted to show me their part of the world.  Plus we wanted to spend as much time as we could together. So I flew into Sault Saint Marie and from there we drove two days to get to Kenora.

We had a lot of catching up to do. Covid wrecked any plans of getting together but we managed to continu meeting virtually.  It was always good to see them on screen but there is nothing like actually being together. The eleven hour drive to Thunder Bay and then another six hour day to Kenora were perfect for all the catching up and discussing our work and art and creativity. 

Throughout the years of this project Miranda has asked thought provoking questions and this trip was no exception.  They often reveal our differences but mostly our deep connections. 

So much fun.

Such a special trip.

I have always been drawn to the edges of things....particularly treelines.

The trees here are birch, sumac and black spruce. I was fascinated by the black spruce that seemed to have topknots with a smattering of branches beneath and perhaps thicker branches towards their base.

 I didn't get very good images of those topknots so as we drove a did a tiny little sketch to remind me.

Islands beyond the treeline ......a different kind of edge.

We stopped at Wawa. I needed a photo with their goose to send one of my boys. Many years ago he had a summer job somewhere even further north but Wawa was where he got off the train before the long drive north. Just to give you an idea of how big Ontario is the train took 36 hours from southern Ontario Wawa. Oh, yes, and I learnt that Wawa means snow goose in Ojibwe.

Of course we had to stop for stones….so the girls found Deadman’s cove and we had a wander!

It was special….all the stones so different to my Nova Scotian ones. That day it was stones covered in dots that caught my eye. Oh joy! And of course a few came home with me.

As we neared Thunder Bay we stopped at the Terry Fox memorial which I found deeply moving. I remember him running up Davis drive near our home in Newmarket, Ontario.

An inspiring, courageous and memorable young man.

A special time with Judy

And of course with Miranda too. 

And me too!

I don’t often include images of people but this time I really want to record and remember these two beloved women who are so important to me.

Hugs to you both.

Rusty Pups are Four Years Old Today....Already!

 

The day we brought them home they started chewing sticks

Today they prefer to chew or move much larger bits of fallen trees all over the garden!

Rusty Pup Brandy loves rolling all over her chosen stick of the day.

Strange 

Normal dogs prefer to roll in interesting dead things or animal droppings.

Not our Brandy

Rusty Pup Ginger is the explorer, our protector 

especially when I'm alone with them.

They bark at anything new like a fallen tree

or a recycling bin on the curb

or a lawn mower parked in a new spot.

But they are enthusiastic greeters of any human beings!

They would really like to be lap dogs but my old bones can't take their weight!

They have a friend called Michael who brings them toys

Needless to say....they adore him.

These are the first Rusty Pups we've adopted that are gentle with their toys

Previous Rusty Pups have eaten any toys offered them.

It is a great joy to have them in our lives

Happy Birthday girls!

Just Play or Perhaps Beginnings?

In my year of silence not knowing if I had anything worth saying

I filled my cup with play

mostly unsuccessful

but that's not the point is it.

Touching cloth keeps my tanks full!

Challenging myself to exploring colours I normally shy away from.

My hands often picked up greens.

It is easy to return to old favourites....

....easier still to come up with dismal choices!

All who know me know I cannot work with blue

Well, I probably can but I resist anything blue

And now I have to make a piece for a show called Blue!

Trouble is whatever I come up with must be nearly 100% blue.

Not be easy for me.

A couple of clever friends have suggested that I use my normal colour pallet and then dip the finished piece in an indigo vat.

Could be an interesting experiment

Using lots of different fabrics and threads

They would all take the dye differently.

Hmmm.

Pink...not my colour either

Back to the comfort of greys and browns

Working with new new colours hasn't been my only play.

Taking apart old work

Is a slow unpicking process

A meditation

 Wondering if they have a new story to tell.

Today my Little Brother Arrives from the UK

 

Malcolm is just a couple of years younger

But he’s catching up fast!

We both have grey hair and wrinkles now.

Seventy years ago swimming kept us cool in a hot clime.

Malcolm’s  life‘s ambition back then was to burp as long and loud as anyone else!

Mine was probably to be a princess or perhaps a mermaid.

As a teenager Malcolm became a rower…..I remember Henley Regattas.

I was more interested in art than sport.

For his gap year he travelled and worked his way across Australia

About that time I was already in love with Handy Hubby!

Our first baby boy arrived by the time Malcolm married Flick.

Funny that we had three handsome boys and they had three beautiful girls!

The Rusty Pups love visitors!

They understand family visits create important memories.