Sunday, 13 September 2009
Friday, 11 September 2009
The Wonky Women have walked away!
The wonky women chairs (the mermaid and the Russian/ Oma/Mongolian reaching for the moon) have both sold. Their new home is The Well/La Source Women's Day Centre! And ... they will likely be ordering a third wonky woman that will incorporate their logo in in some way!
That means that all my chairs except the last cat chair have been sold!!! I had better start looking for more chairs! I have a lead on some that I will call this evening.
I didn't get the cradle finished today because Sarah, Lucas and Remi arrived and stayed for most of the day. We had a good long walk and lots of time to visit. The dogs were delighted to have each other for the whole day, and Lucas is perfectly comfortable being mobbed by licking dogs so he was happy too.
We met Tom and he said that Claire doesn't have much time left. I will get in to see her tomorrow. I hope she will know that I was there to say good bye.
That means that all my chairs except the last cat chair have been sold!!! I had better start looking for more chairs! I have a lead on some that I will call this evening.
I didn't get the cradle finished today because Sarah, Lucas and Remi arrived and stayed for most of the day. We had a good long walk and lots of time to visit. The dogs were delighted to have each other for the whole day, and Lucas is perfectly comfortable being mobbed by licking dogs so he was happy too.
We met Tom and he said that Claire doesn't have much time left. I will get in to see her tomorrow. I hope she will know that I was there to say good bye.
Lita Belle's Hope Chest
Lita Belle has a hope chest ... not one filled with linens and silver for her eventual marriage ... more like a safe place her mother will store mementoes as she grows from babyhood through childhood until she reaches an age when her mother will pass these precious memories onto her. The letter I wrote to accompany her chair is in there. I was touched ... and it gave me an idea.
All the pieces I make come with a short description ... a history. I looked at the little cradle that is still a work in progress and decided to take a break from painting to write the history. It turned into a story ... one that I hope some parent or grandparent will treasure and save for another little Lita Belle. Here it is.
This cradle came via friends from a garage sale in Old Hull ... one of those places that have sales every weekend. It is made of plywood and I imagine that some father or grandfather made this for a treasured child for her birthday or Christmas many years ago. It was stained dark and was quite rough around the edges. I decided that it needed to be lightened up. It needed a story.
I prepared the surfaces and painted on two coats of periwinkle blue. Then I began to think about the images. I wanted it to be a story for a little girl who resisted sleep, one that would encourage her to welcome bedtime.
Here is my story, but of course images create many stories, not just one. I imagined a little girl tucking her doll babies in before slipping into her own bed for the night. I hoped that this would become part of her own bedtime ritual, and that she would delve into the stories she heard and into her own imagination to create her own stories, ones that would help her to have sweet dreams.
Once, not so long ago, there lived three little sisters who hated to end their play when night fell. Daisy was six, Mandy was five, and Sam was four. Every night they talked and played (and sometime fought) long after their mother turned out the light. Their parents wondered how they could get them to go to sleep earlier.
They tried putting a night light in the room, but Sam said the light kept her awake.
They told the girls to count sheep till they fell asleep, but Sam was not very good at counting so that didn't work.
They tried giving the girls Hobbit tea with creamy dandelion honey in it before bed, but Sam didn't like the taste.
They tried putting them in separate rooms, but Mandy and Sam always found their way back to Daisy because they missed her. Even though they sometimes fought because they were so tired, they still wanted to snuggle up together at bedtime.
Then things changed. Daisy learned to read. She began to bring home wonderful books from the library, and every night, at bedtime, she read a story to Mandy and Sam. Sometimes, if their parents were tired too, everyone climbed into the big bed to read their bedtime stories.
Once in a while they still needed to count sheep, but not very often.
Now that they were hearing bedtime stories every evening, the girls were anxious to get to sleep so that the next adventure could begin, and it almost always did.
As soon as their eyes closed and their breathing slowed, the three little sisters would climb on the back of a beautiful white horse that visited almost every night. He would spread his wings and carry them as softly as a cloud out, out, off into the night sky. They saw wondrous sights as they skimmed the rooftops and floated over the church steeples of the towns on their way to the magic of Dreamland.
Sometimes the white horse would fly low enough for them to peek into the lighted windows of houses. Once they flew over the forest where Goldilocks and the Three Bears lived, and the horse swooped down low enough for them to see inside a little cottage.
Sam said, "Look! There's Papa Bear in his night cap."
Daisy said, "He must have fallen asleep reading."
And Mandy said, "I think his Hobbit tea put him to sleep."
Another time they flew up through dense clouds and discovered a whole other world they had not known existed ... and what do you think they saw there?
I hope that your little girl will enjoy playing with this doll cradle as much as I enjoyed creating it.
All the pieces I make come with a short description ... a history. I looked at the little cradle that is still a work in progress and decided to take a break from painting to write the history. It turned into a story ... one that I hope some parent or grandparent will treasure and save for another little Lita Belle. Here it is.
The Story of the Sleepytime Cradle
This cradle came via friends from a garage sale in Old Hull ... one of those places that have sales every weekend. It is made of plywood and I imagine that some father or grandfather made this for a treasured child for her birthday or Christmas many years ago. It was stained dark and was quite rough around the edges. I decided that it needed to be lightened up. It needed a story.
I prepared the surfaces and painted on two coats of periwinkle blue. Then I began to think about the images. I wanted it to be a story for a little girl who resisted sleep, one that would encourage her to welcome bedtime.
Here is my story, but of course images create many stories, not just one. I imagined a little girl tucking her doll babies in before slipping into her own bed for the night. I hoped that this would become part of her own bedtime ritual, and that she would delve into the stories she heard and into her own imagination to create her own stories, ones that would help her to have sweet dreams.
The Bedtime Story
Once, not so long ago, there lived three little sisters who hated to end their play when night fell. Daisy was six, Mandy was five, and Sam was four. Every night they talked and played (and sometime fought) long after their mother turned out the light. Their parents wondered how they could get them to go to sleep earlier.
They tried putting a night light in the room, but Sam said the light kept her awake.
They told the girls to count sheep till they fell asleep, but Sam was not very good at counting so that didn't work.
They tried giving the girls Hobbit tea with creamy dandelion honey in it before bed, but Sam didn't like the taste.
They tried putting them in separate rooms, but Mandy and Sam always found their way back to Daisy because they missed her. Even though they sometimes fought because they were so tired, they still wanted to snuggle up together at bedtime.
Then things changed. Daisy learned to read. She began to bring home wonderful books from the library, and every night, at bedtime, she read a story to Mandy and Sam. Sometimes, if their parents were tired too, everyone climbed into the big bed to read their bedtime stories.
Once in a while they still needed to count sheep, but not very often.
Now that they were hearing bedtime stories every evening, the girls were anxious to get to sleep so that the next adventure could begin, and it almost always did.
As soon as their eyes closed and their breathing slowed, the three little sisters would climb on the back of a beautiful white horse that visited almost every night. He would spread his wings and carry them as softly as a cloud out, out, off into the night sky. They saw wondrous sights as they skimmed the rooftops and floated over the church steeples of the towns on their way to the magic of Dreamland.
Sometimes the white horse would fly low enough for them to peek into the lighted windows of houses. Once they flew over the forest where Goldilocks and the Three Bears lived, and the horse swooped down low enough for them to see inside a little cottage.
Sam said, "Look! There's Papa Bear in his night cap."
Daisy said, "He must have fallen asleep reading."
And Mandy said, "I think his Hobbit tea put him to sleep."
Another time they flew up through dense clouds and discovered a whole other world they had not known existed ... and what do you think they saw there?
*****************
I hope that your little girl will enjoy playing with this doll cradle as much as I enjoyed creating it.
Oma at the Happy Hermitage, Pike Lake, Wakefield, Quebec.
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Good News
Whoopee!! Kelly just called and asked me to paint faster please. The wonky house with sheep just walked out of the shop! That makes two adult chairs and two children's rocking chairs that have sold so far!
I still have to finish the cradle but maybe I will start preparing a couple of chairs for painting today.
Kenya and I just spent an hour out on the lake ... me in the kayak, Kenya swimming back and forth across the lake and then coming out to check on Tanya and me as we floated around.
The other good news ... I have two places on the lake to stay next summer while Orley has my house ... Tanya needs a house and cat sitter when she goes to Scotland ... and Barry has a sleeping shack I can camp in when necessary ...
Life is good.
I still have to finish the cradle but maybe I will start preparing a couple of chairs for painting today.
Kenya and I just spent an hour out on the lake ... me in the kayak, Kenya swimming back and forth across the lake and then coming out to check on Tanya and me as we floated around.
The other good news ... I have two places on the lake to stay next summer while Orley has my house ... Tanya needs a house and cat sitter when she goes to Scotland ... and Barry has a sleeping shack I can camp in when necessary ...
Life is good.
Monday, 7 September 2009
Tid Bits on Labour Day
On my way home from garage saling on Saturday morning (I spent $2 and got two great gourds, a picture frame and a display shelf for painting) I saw three deer. The two young ones were very curious ... too curious ... and their mother had to return mid-flight to remind them to get off the road. After telling them, she leapt over the fence into the safety of the field. The little ones did what little ones often do ... started after her (under the fence) but then came back out onto the road for one last look. I wonder if they will survive the next year.
Still on the subject of very relaxed wildlife: a black bear and her cub came to my neighbour's yard to eat apples. The sow reared up and pulled the branches down to mouth level and ate till satisfied. Then ... she lay down on the ground under the tree and fell asleep while her cub played nearby. That is very odd behaviour for a black bear when people are nearby.
Corey, the very sad Golden, was picked up on Saturday afternoon, and changed from depressive, near suicidal state into bouncy happy dog as soon as he laid eyes on his daddy. He shed five years in an instant. That is the first time I have seen that but I seldom look after Golden Retrievers who are said to be the most loyal dogs anywhere.
Zeke left the following day at noon. I will miss his warm little body snuggled into bed with me at night, but I won't miss the alarm barking that kept me awake most of the three nights he was here.
The corn roast: The horseshoe tournament was almost interminable, and as a result, I drank too much before the food finally arrived, but I arranged to have the siding installed by the carpenter who installed our pine floors (and a good friend of Erin's), I met a couple of people I didn't know before, and our old next door neighbours arrived to chat for a few minutes ... so I had a good time.
I finished the pair of adult socks in Congo colours I have been working on. I measured the last sock in movies: it took 71/2 movies to knit it. Quick reviews: The White Countess VG;Captain Corelli's Mandolin VVG; Pretty Woman S(sucky but satisfying for someone who wants happy endings);Sylvia VG but depressing; The Hours Excellent but also depressing;Paper Moon Affair VG; The Squid and the Whale VG; Shall We Dance (the Japanese version) VVG. That is 810 minutes per sock ... or 1620 minutes for a pair. So ... 27 hours to knit a pair of adult's fine wool socks. The wool cost me about $10. I will receive $28 if they sell, so I will receive $18 for 27 hours of knitting. Hmmmn! 66 cents per hour ... maybe I should start wearing the socks I am making!
After Zeke left, I resumed work on the cradle. It is always scary for me to take the first step drawing something, especially something new. My first thought is that I don't know how to draw so I will screw up. Then I have to keep on reassuring myself that no screw-up is irrevocable; that there is always sandpaper and more paint for repair jobs. Only then (and it often takes days) will I pick up the chalk and begin. Anyway I have now done the drawing of the main image: a horse with three children on his back flying through the sky to dreamland. The other images will be of counting sheep and of animals snuggled into bed reading their bedtime stories.
This morning I received word that an old friend and colleague had died. She was my age. I seem to be hearing about far too many deaths or impending deaths lately. I guess it is inevitable at my age, but I am reminded of a poem about a single leaf hanging on at the end of fall. "He" was feeling bereft but was still unable to let go and join "his" fellows.
Still on the subject of very relaxed wildlife: a black bear and her cub came to my neighbour's yard to eat apples. The sow reared up and pulled the branches down to mouth level and ate till satisfied. Then ... she lay down on the ground under the tree and fell asleep while her cub played nearby. That is very odd behaviour for a black bear when people are nearby.
Corey, the very sad Golden, was picked up on Saturday afternoon, and changed from depressive, near suicidal state into bouncy happy dog as soon as he laid eyes on his daddy. He shed five years in an instant. That is the first time I have seen that but I seldom look after Golden Retrievers who are said to be the most loyal dogs anywhere.
Zeke left the following day at noon. I will miss his warm little body snuggled into bed with me at night, but I won't miss the alarm barking that kept me awake most of the three nights he was here.
The corn roast: The horseshoe tournament was almost interminable, and as a result, I drank too much before the food finally arrived, but I arranged to have the siding installed by the carpenter who installed our pine floors (and a good friend of Erin's), I met a couple of people I didn't know before, and our old next door neighbours arrived to chat for a few minutes ... so I had a good time.
I finished the pair of adult socks in Congo colours I have been working on. I measured the last sock in movies: it took 71/2 movies to knit it. Quick reviews: The White Countess VG;Captain Corelli's Mandolin VVG; Pretty Woman S(sucky but satisfying for someone who wants happy endings);Sylvia VG but depressing; The Hours Excellent but also depressing;Paper Moon Affair VG; The Squid and the Whale VG; Shall We Dance (the Japanese version) VVG. That is 810 minutes per sock ... or 1620 minutes for a pair. So ... 27 hours to knit a pair of adult's fine wool socks. The wool cost me about $10. I will receive $28 if they sell, so I will receive $18 for 27 hours of knitting. Hmmmn! 66 cents per hour ... maybe I should start wearing the socks I am making!
After Zeke left, I resumed work on the cradle. It is always scary for me to take the first step drawing something, especially something new. My first thought is that I don't know how to draw so I will screw up. Then I have to keep on reassuring myself that no screw-up is irrevocable; that there is always sandpaper and more paint for repair jobs. Only then (and it often takes days) will I pick up the chalk and begin. Anyway I have now done the drawing of the main image: a horse with three children on his back flying through the sky to dreamland. The other images will be of counting sheep and of animals snuggled into bed reading their bedtime stories.
This morning I received word that an old friend and colleague had died. She was my age. I seem to be hearing about far too many deaths or impending deaths lately. I guess it is inevitable at my age, but I am reminded of a poem about a single leaf hanging on at the end of fall. "He" was feeling bereft but was still unable to let go and join "his" fellows.
Saturday, 5 September 2009
Neurotic Dogs and Drug-induced Madness
One of my dog guests this weekend has never in the seven years of his life been away from his home and family. That wouldn't be completely unheard of but he has also led a life quite secluded from other dogs, I think ... and he's never seen a collar or leash till this weekend. It has presented quite a challenge.
He can't be allowed to run off-leash here because he heads straight down the road in pursuit of his daddy's car. I use Kenya's leather collar and leash, but when I try to get him in the house he can be very stubborn ... appearing to attack me and then stiffening up and refusing to move. Kenya gets really ticked off when this happens ... and that is not a pretty sight ( all noise but nasty).
He is terrified every time Kenya yells at him and I have been spending a good bit of time reassuring him that he is just fine, and keeping him separated from the other dogs ... even taking him with me in the car when possible. But he is not happy.
Yesterday I took the three dogs for a long walk. Zeke, who has been remarkably well behaved this time (except for barking all night the first night he was here), walked between Kenya and Corey. When Zeke made friendly overtures to Corey, Corey just didn't get it. He got quite huffy.
Corey's dad called yesterday and said he was coming home early ... likely by five today ... and I breathed a great sigh of relief.
This has not been an easy job ... and I have put in all that time, worry and energy for about $35! Good grief! That's even less pay than knitting socks!
I visited Claire yesterday. Her mind has been dramatically affected by the drugs she is taking. Yesterday she spoke nothing but French and I asked her daughter whether French was her first language. No ... but Claire believes that she once spoke French in a former life. Her son said he believed she had once been the Queen of France, and Claire smiled as beatifically as she had during my last visit when she told me that a world renowned conductor and the best musicians in the world were performing a symphony just for her. I see only the happy moments of her madness ... but those who love her best have to deal with her irrational anger as well. I wish I could do more than bring chocolate cookies.
He can't be allowed to run off-leash here because he heads straight down the road in pursuit of his daddy's car. I use Kenya's leather collar and leash, but when I try to get him in the house he can be very stubborn ... appearing to attack me and then stiffening up and refusing to move. Kenya gets really ticked off when this happens ... and that is not a pretty sight ( all noise but nasty).
He is terrified every time Kenya yells at him and I have been spending a good bit of time reassuring him that he is just fine, and keeping him separated from the other dogs ... even taking him with me in the car when possible. But he is not happy.
Yesterday I took the three dogs for a long walk. Zeke, who has been remarkably well behaved this time (except for barking all night the first night he was here), walked between Kenya and Corey. When Zeke made friendly overtures to Corey, Corey just didn't get it. He got quite huffy.
Corey's dad called yesterday and said he was coming home early ... likely by five today ... and I breathed a great sigh of relief.
This has not been an easy job ... and I have put in all that time, worry and energy for about $35! Good grief! That's even less pay than knitting socks!
I visited Claire yesterday. Her mind has been dramatically affected by the drugs she is taking. Yesterday she spoke nothing but French and I asked her daughter whether French was her first language. No ... but Claire believes that she once spoke French in a former life. Her son said he believed she had once been the Queen of France, and Claire smiled as beatifically as she had during my last visit when she told me that a world renowned conductor and the best musicians in the world were performing a symphony just for her. I see only the happy moments of her madness ... but those who love her best have to deal with her irrational anger as well. I wish I could do more than bring chocolate cookies.
Friday, 4 September 2009
First Cheque
I just received my very first cheque for my folk art chairs and my hand knit socks. I have spent about $2500 getting ready for this ... books, brushes, paint, cleaners, furniture and yarn ... OMG ... the price of yarn! And the temptation of it.
I have learned NOT to buy too many new books and patterns. I only purchase what is necessary for the painting, but I have gone way overboard on the patterns and yarn.
I have placed in the shop, Marche des Artisans: UPDATED LIST
4 normal sized chairs
2 children's rocking chairs
1 child's straight backed chair
1 doll crib
several pairs of children's socks
2 pairs of adult socks
FORGOT THE TWO CAROUSELS, THE APPLE BOWL, AND THE QUILT PATTERNED BOX ... LIKELY ADDS UP TO ANOTHER WEEK OR SO OF PAINTING.
That is about 7 weeks of painting and 160 hours of knitting.
I have sold 1 adult-sized chair, 2 children's rockers, and 1 pair of adult sized socks.
My cheque was for $234.25. Maybe 80 hours of work? About $3 an hour. But of course I also worked on all those that did not sell!
But then I think ... I was enjoying myself. At least most of the time. Sometimes I was just challenging myself. But that also reaped benefits. And ... if I compare it to some other non- saleable hobbies like reading or writing or watching good films where I spend money and never retrieve any of it ... I've done pretty well this month, haven't I?
Right now I have two new projects underway ... the periwinkle cradle that I have a good idea for ... and the little bedside table I primed this morning ... not sure whether to put the black hinges etc. back on or start fresh with something else. The black limits my colour choices and the style ... on the other hand those black bits of metal create a different kind of challenge.
Lita Belle's mom loved the new chair ... better than the frog pond chair!
And now I am going back out to visit Claire ... last trip I had to take Corey with me because he was too afraid to stay with the other dogs. And it was too warm today to leave him in a car. In seven years he has never been babysat by anyone!
I have learned NOT to buy too many new books and patterns. I only purchase what is necessary for the painting, but I have gone way overboard on the patterns and yarn.
I have placed in the shop, Marche des Artisans: UPDATED LIST
4 normal sized chairs
2 children's rocking chairs
1 child's straight backed chair
1 doll crib
several pairs of children's socks
2 pairs of adult socks
FORGOT THE TWO CAROUSELS, THE APPLE BOWL, AND THE QUILT PATTERNED BOX ... LIKELY ADDS UP TO ANOTHER WEEK OR SO OF PAINTING.
That is about 7 weeks of painting and 160 hours of knitting.
I have sold 1 adult-sized chair, 2 children's rockers, and 1 pair of adult sized socks.
My cheque was for $234.25. Maybe 80 hours of work? About $3 an hour. But of course I also worked on all those that did not sell!
But then I think ... I was enjoying myself. At least most of the time. Sometimes I was just challenging myself. But that also reaped benefits. And ... if I compare it to some other non- saleable hobbies like reading or writing or watching good films where I spend money and never retrieve any of it ... I've done pretty well this month, haven't I?
Right now I have two new projects underway ... the periwinkle cradle that I have a good idea for ... and the little bedside table I primed this morning ... not sure whether to put the black hinges etc. back on or start fresh with something else. The black limits my colour choices and the style ... on the other hand those black bits of metal create a different kind of challenge.
Lita Belle's mom loved the new chair ... better than the frog pond chair!
And now I am going back out to visit Claire ... last trip I had to take Corey with me because he was too afraid to stay with the other dogs. And it was too warm today to leave him in a car. In seven years he has never been babysat by anyone!
Thursday, 3 September 2009
Lita Belle's Happy Chair
Lita Belle's Happy Chair
I hope you like your happy chair, Lita. It came from my daughter,Susan, who got it from her next door neighbours who had five children under five years of age! I tried to make this chair all about you by making it contain as many words that start with L as I could think of.
You can hunt for all the things that start with the same letter as your name, L.
L is for Lita and ...
lambs
laughter
lions with curly manes
leaves
letters
loops
laundry
lizards
lightning
ladders in apple trees
lines
links
lakes where ducks swim
lads
lassies
love symbols like hearts and hugs and kisses
lucky symbols like 4 leaf clovers and elephants with their trunks held high
I hope that you will be happy as you
live, love, laugh
and rock your way through childhood in this little chair.
with love and laughter,
Oma at the Happy Hermitage
lambs
laughter
lions with curly manes
leaves
letters
loops
laundry
lizards
lightning
ladders in apple trees
lines
links
lakes where ducks swim
lads
lassies
love symbols like hearts and hugs and kisses
lucky symbols like 4 leaf clovers and elephants with their trunks held high
I hope that you will be happy as you
live, love, laugh
and rock your way through childhood in this little chair.
with love and laughter,
Oma at the Happy Hermitage
Catch-up Time
I have been working on Lida's rocker and am finally beginning to like it, despite a few false starts and cover-ups.
The weather is glorious and I will take Kenya out in a few minutes for exercise and to get the mail ... likely by kayak.
Not a lot of news ... I spent Monday cleaning the porch so that there will be access to chairs and room to store firewood ... Tuesday and Wednesday sweeping and mopping up dog hair, painting and knitting ... and this morning, before resuming painting, I sorted out all my different needles by size and put them into labeled jars which are now sitting innocuously and tidily on a shelf in my den closet instead of tangled together in the livingroom.
I have to make some phone calls today ... I hope I get to them.
My first dog boarder will arrive this evening and the second tomorrow at noon.
After they are both settled in, I will deliver more socks and the little rocking chair, and pick up my first pay cheque at the shop. I will also stop in to visit Claire at the hospital.
And then it will be the Labour day weekend ... we will have a horseshoe tournament on Saturday afternoon, and a wiener and corn roast in the evening. I am looking forward to it this year.
Have a great weekend whatever you do to celebrate the end of the shortest summer on record!
The weather is glorious and I will take Kenya out in a few minutes for exercise and to get the mail ... likely by kayak.
Not a lot of news ... I spent Monday cleaning the porch so that there will be access to chairs and room to store firewood ... Tuesday and Wednesday sweeping and mopping up dog hair, painting and knitting ... and this morning, before resuming painting, I sorted out all my different needles by size and put them into labeled jars which are now sitting innocuously and tidily on a shelf in my den closet instead of tangled together in the livingroom.
I have to make some phone calls today ... I hope I get to them.
My first dog boarder will arrive this evening and the second tomorrow at noon.
After they are both settled in, I will deliver more socks and the little rocking chair, and pick up my first pay cheque at the shop. I will also stop in to visit Claire at the hospital.
And then it will be the Labour day weekend ... we will have a horseshoe tournament on Saturday afternoon, and a wiener and corn roast in the evening. I am looking forward to it this year.
Have a great weekend whatever you do to celebrate the end of the shortest summer on record!
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
Barbara Carlson's Homemade Highrise
Here is the photo of the front of Barbara Carlson's homemade highrise ... I am having trouble with the back view but will post it separately if I can. it is easier to show than to tell ... Thanks, Barbara for sending them to me.
A perfectly loverly time ...
Yesterday I had an appointment for a mammogram at 1:20. I was not anticipating a sociable day filled with good things. I would have considered it a good day if the mammogram machine did not squish me too brutally. Instead I was treated to a lovely series of things.
I stopped at Thyme and Time Again, an eclectic shop on Beechwood, to see the children's chairs. They were, as Barbara had said, expensive, too expensive for me to consider, but I ended up having a delightful conversation with the owner of the shop, and I enjoyed my brief time poking about among her treasures.
Next stop, the Montfort. Then tea with Barbara.
Barbara Carlson has some new work ... The Secret Garden ... and some great house interiors, including a doll house and a wonky house. Barbara photographs objects and then manipulates them on her computer to use as elements in her pictures. In the garden, the pieces from a friend's garden were layered to create the scene. It is meticulous work and I love the art that emerges. I have a print of the rear view of her high rise created from photographs of houses with character. I wish that architects creating their concrete monstrosities would learn about what home means to real people. Barbara could teach them a great deal.
On my way home I took a detour so that I could stop at my favourite thrift shop where I bought two sturdy wooden boxes for $5 total ... and then I came home through the traffic to Kenya.
I have a week of sunshine and warm days to look forward to ... and the only times I intend to leave home are to walk the three dogs I will have here this coming weekend (Corey, a big Golden, Zeke, the Nova Scotia Duck Toller, and Kenya of course). I will also make a couple of trips in to Wakefield to visit Claire, buy groceries, and deliver finished pieces to the shop, and I will likely attend the annual Horseshoe Tournament and Corn Roast that the Pike Lake association puts on every Labour Day weekend.
The rest of the week I just want to paint ... and play with images ... and perhaps try out some experiments with writing style as suggested by Brian Doyle, and reiterated by Robert Genn in this week's art letter. He mentioned a book I want to buy: Exercises in Style by Raymond Queneau written in 1947.
I hope we all enjoy this second short burst of summer.
I stopped at Thyme and Time Again, an eclectic shop on Beechwood, to see the children's chairs. They were, as Barbara had said, expensive, too expensive for me to consider, but I ended up having a delightful conversation with the owner of the shop, and I enjoyed my brief time poking about among her treasures.
Next stop, the Montfort. Then tea with Barbara.
Barbara Carlson has some new work ... The Secret Garden ... and some great house interiors, including a doll house and a wonky house. Barbara photographs objects and then manipulates them on her computer to use as elements in her pictures. In the garden, the pieces from a friend's garden were layered to create the scene. It is meticulous work and I love the art that emerges. I have a print of the rear view of her high rise created from photographs of houses with character. I wish that architects creating their concrete monstrosities would learn about what home means to real people. Barbara could teach them a great deal.
On my way home I took a detour so that I could stop at my favourite thrift shop where I bought two sturdy wooden boxes for $5 total ... and then I came home through the traffic to Kenya.
I have a week of sunshine and warm days to look forward to ... and the only times I intend to leave home are to walk the three dogs I will have here this coming weekend (Corey, a big Golden, Zeke, the Nova Scotia Duck Toller, and Kenya of course). I will also make a couple of trips in to Wakefield to visit Claire, buy groceries, and deliver finished pieces to the shop, and I will likely attend the annual Horseshoe Tournament and Corn Roast that the Pike Lake association puts on every Labour Day weekend.
The rest of the week I just want to paint ... and play with images ... and perhaps try out some experiments with writing style as suggested by Brian Doyle, and reiterated by Robert Genn in this week's art letter. He mentioned a book I want to buy: Exercises in Style by Raymond Queneau written in 1947.
I hope we all enjoy this second short burst of summer.
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