Finally carved some stamps
I say finally because I've had a couple "speedball speedy cut" medium squares for several months!Actually, the reason I carved the stamps is now that I've organised somewhat straightened up the studio, I actually found where I stashed them.Carving into this medium was an absolute dream. (Ok, but, I have to admit I have a hand full of proper lino cutting tools now...although the exacto-knife was super easy to use too)I chose a simple seaweed design and set to it. I found out that it's really simple to draw your design on paper and then transfer the pencil carbon onto the block by rubbing the back of the paper with something solid, like the handle of my art knife, then I traced over the pencil lines with a ball point pen. (Artist ink pens don't seem to mark the material.)
When I thought I finished I inked it up with a regular stamp pad to see how I did.
Success!!! :D Also, it was easy to see where I wanted to trim a little more.
I carved a second stamp with the left-over corner, and then a third one.
Then I took a small piece of watercolour paper, watercolours and my printing inks, and drew and stamped myself a little underwater scene.
Complete with a shy little clown fish. :D
Oh I foresee a sizable stockpile of hand carved stamps in my future...lol.
Hello from Sunday night
Looking back, you know, it feels like this weekend has been such a little relief from the overworked and sad week. The weather has been lovely in Vancouver and I wanted to be anywhere but home.Do you get those feelings ever? I mean, I love my home, but some days I'd do anything to get out of here for the day and forget about everything.My Saturday's "get out of town" mood took me to the river for a long walk and some lunch.
I love it out here.I love the eagles and sea birds and fishing boats and the long, muddy stretches of marsh.
I met this little guy on a fishing boat. He's called Skipper, but his man told me that he's the real captain of the ship.He certainly was on the lookout.
The museum was open and I had a good look around.
I took some photos for R of some of the machinery and tools. Fascinating how fishing boats used to be made.
On the way back to the car, I passed a little garden with this spectacular rose. Have you ever seen anything so luminous?
Today I couldn't stop thinking about the river rose and so grabbed C and decided to drive out to the specialty rose growers, Select Roses, for a good mooch around.I can't believe the huge variety of roses available now. It's absolutely mind-boggling. And everyone at Select is dedicated to growing the best, healthiest and most wonderful roses possible.Actually, that's the brilliant thing about visiting a specialist, you can describe your situation and your preferences, and they will find you the perfect rose.
As soon as we stepped out of the car C disappeared behind a stone bench and I though, "Yup, it's going to be a cat."
Yup.This is Thelma. Isn't she beautiful? (I did check the car for a smuggled cat before we left.)
I really meant only to look. Really I did. But there are just so many glorious roses there! Plus, there was a lovely lady clipping off the blossoms, (she claimed they were spent, but actually I think they had at least a day or two left in them). You should have seen her "waste" basket. It looked like something left over from a rose parade float. We couldn't resist grabbing a few blossoms just to hold or to wear for as long as they would last.
Honestly, I wanted them all! But in the end I couldn't resist this one.It's the Twilight Rose! It's an old world grandiflora in the most beautiful, deepest amethyst colour. I'm sure I have room in the garden for yet one more rose...somewhere... :D
Sharing with Dwellings and Little Red House and Inspire me Monday
Patrice's wonderful drawing challenge: Upside down
As you all know, my life has been a bit upside down this week. So you can imagine that I was incredibly grateful for the distraction of art. When I asked Nadine for info about any upcoming drawing challenges, she sent me to Patrice, who so very kindly invited me.Here's my contribution to the challenge: Cedar waxwings and rowan berries on Beethoven. :)
Another kind of upside down happened yesterday in the studio. My studio is in the loft of my 1920 Craftsman cottage. Although it runs the whole length of the house, it has a pitched roof line with a limited amount of wall space for furniture.My art table gets very crowded with supplies and half the time I spend more time looking for something, or tripping over piles of books and papers than actually painting. So I decided to build some simple pine shelves to organise some of my supplies. (The upside down part was screwing the brackets to the underneath of the pine boards)I'm thrilled with the results!
Now I'm so super organised that I painted a second little upside down image. Chickadees on Mozart.
I can't thank you enough, you sweet friends, for taking the time to wish us well yesterday. Robert's and my hearts are broken but you have all lifted us up in ways you can't imagine. We've taken great comfort in your words and send you so much love in return.We're going to be OK.
Theo died
The truth about love is that it's a beast with sharp razor blades for teeth. It must be. How else do you explain the pain in my heart and these burning tears?Robbie was with him in the end. Robbie brought him home and dug a hole under the roses in our Oxfordshire garden and laid Theo to rest wrapped in his turquoise blanket.And we cried together. And we talked for hours and remembered him.In our life together with his and her's houses and his and her's countries, he was something we truly shared. Our little shining light. A spirited little boy, full of personality. He found us four years ago. He was sickly and emaciated and we nursed him back to health. We never knew how old he was or how long we got to have him, but we needed him as much as he needed us.
Market morning
Chloe and I took the morning off.I had an appointment downtown first thing this morning and, after it, we went for a little breakfast and a good mooch just over the water at the public market.We walked around the stalls and I found some beautiful black/purple figs I really felt like having. Isn't it wonderful to walk around so many yummy options and pick out exactly what you feel like eating? How often do we get a chance to do that? We all should once in a while; so good for the soul.
Let me show you some of our favourite finds at the market.There is a little store at the market selling hand crafted, natural, local and organic soaps.
C loved these ice lolly ones.
And I loved this solid shampoo. The smell was wonderful. I wonder if it works. Anyone have experience with solid shampoos? I know Lush makes some.
We walked across the street to find a busker singing You Are My Sunshine with the cutest little tyke holding a ukulele.
Then we had a good mooch in one of our favourite stores Paper Ya.
There is very little I love more than paper and pens and lovely stationery products. How about these writing pads for brilliant ideas and laundry lists! :D
I love that people are making old fashioned paper weights again. This one with this little golden bird in a peacock hat is the one I'd have on my desk.
C loved these crowned owls. Aren't they great?
We found a store which had tiled an entire wall with Sid Dickens tiles. Do you know these tiles? Maybe not. Sid Dickens is a Vancouver based artist and manufacturer of these 3D tiles. They're just beautiful to look at. C has the horse tile.
Just across from that store is Maiwa Handprints. I love this store because it's full of fair trade, organic, cotton materials, hand blocked and dyed.
They also sell some of the blocks.
I was just thinking that a lovely design, which I could print from one of these blocks, might make a fantastic background design on a piece of paper for one of my lino cuts.
Or maybe I could carve one to look like this funky cow/armadillo creature. :D
The last store we went into is a new store called Hang Out, where we were invited to...er...hang out! Loved it! Loved these chair hammocks. The most comfy, wonderful way to relax in the world. Now were trying to figure out just where and how we can hang a couple. Lol.
Hello from Sunday night...which is turning into a Monday morning post again!
Boy oh boy what a glorious, heart-warming, soul affirming weekend I've had.I must say that I'm on top of the world! :DAnd wish to send out a great big THANK YOU to the almost 500 visitors to my garden.After this weekend, each and every one of the 500 wonderful, gentle, garden and art loving souls I chatted with, my fellow artist assigned to show in my garden - the talented Jackie Miller, the incredibly talented musicians - The Land Of Deborah (Saturday) and Justin O'Donohue's Jazz Trio (Sunday) - who entertained, the volunteers who sat curbside for five hours each day and explained the lay of the garden, my wonderful neighbours who not only showed up early to help me set up and lent me tables and chairs, but also came by both days to chat and support me, and of course, The North Vancouver Community Arts Council who judged my garden and then my art worthy of being seen, will stay in my heart for ever.And an extremely warm and grateful THANK YOU to all the people who bought my paintings and my photo greeting cards. Thank you for claiming the paintings as your own thru heartfelt memories and experiences. I hope they continue to bring you joy and brighten your lives for many years, and I hope my greeting cards bring smiles to everyone they are sent to.
My natural predisposition is to be nervous about my artistic talent and my mood spectrum is usually full of misty skies and churning seas, but having strangers...now friends...exploring the garden, marvelling at my crazy planting schemes, laughing at the corkscrew hazel branches as cat deterrent and seedling protectors, asking for eventual cuttings, taking hundreds of photographs, exploring my paintings, asking for painting technique related tips and how-tos, saying such lovely things about my art, stopping with cups of green tea and amaretto or coconut cookie in hand and, in one case, sitting cross legged on the brick circle under the saved apple tree and meditating for 30 minutes, was the greatest personal gift for my heart, which stayed sunny and warm all weekend.
I met so many like-minded people. I was paired with two other artists, (one of whom couldn't show at the last minute), so the weekend became a two woman show! But the lovely Jackie Miller, who I only just met but am sure to adore forever, brought a great amount of paintings and colourful flags to the show and we were just fine. I also feel in love with Deborah, who was slated to entertain on Saturday. I took a video of her performing Skyfall for me as a request. (Linking you up at the end of the post). You must have a listen to her soft, perfect voice, and she has some downloadable music on her website!!Go grab it...I'll wait.
You all know how lucky I am to have Chloe by now, but I have to tell you that that sweet child of mine stuck with me for the whole weekend, being cup washer and cookie plate refiller, banker, manager, supporter, promoter and, in two cases, publicity spokesperson for a taped interview and the local newspaper.How much do we love her?
She did get a second or two to smell the roses too.
I couldn't believe when I looked over the garden on Sunday morning and found a new saved iris had opened and it was completely different from the other five saved varieties. This one is pure, clear amethyst!Oh, and I have to tell you that game after game of tic tac toe was played. That game board was a big hit.
Here's C posing for the newspaper photographer.
Sunday's entertainer was Justin O'Donohue and his jazz trio. They were absolutely wonderful.
I found out that Morgan, while she loved being underfoot or stretching out in the garden, absolutely hates the sound of the big base. What's up with that?
But when the band took a break and went into the garden for some tea and cookies, Morgan skulked around the instruments and devised a plan to take back her patio!
But finally she settled on the warm pebbles behind the chives and went to sleep.
So then, by 8pm, after treating ourselves to a sushi supper and after washing the tea cups and tea pots, I walked into my silent garden, thanked all my plants, watered the poor, hardworking lawn, and cut a fragrant rose bloom for my bedside table.
And Morgan curled up on the patio basket and went to sleep in the last of the evening sun.
Here is a link to Deborah singing "Skyfall" for me, (which I was dying to hear again because I was engaged with some people when she sang it first). I put it on YouTube and Vimeo to make sure you there are plenty of options for you to hear her lovely voice:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaA_Z_JNtVU&feature=youtu.behttps://vimeo.com/97090306
Here we go!
Woke up this morning all excited. It's the day of the garden show.Some of the paintings are all lined up on my dining room table, while the big oils are stacked against the glass door.
Here are some early morning shots of the garden.
I'm off to set everything up.So excited, wish me luck. :D
Split-second story and movement
The two photo challenges Wordpress and Photo Friday this week seemed miles apart and then I looked thru my last few files and found this:
I remember standing there on the dock and looking down at the swaying boats and then those buoys suddenly turned into giant salmon roe.It made me smile. :D
Playing games, (when I should be working)
The other day, when C and I were at the beach, we collected some beach wood and pebbles.I had it in mind to make a tic tac toe game for the garden with one of the driftwood and the pebbles.This beautiful piece had three ginormous nails stuck thru it, but I liked the nail heads and so decided to be brave and use my angle grinder to cut the sharp ends off and leave the rest of the metal in the wood.Boy, you should have seen how brave I was. There were sparks all over the place and burning wood and melting, red hot metal!!! Angle grinders are not for the weak hearted!
Then I got some inks and water, the pebbles and a brush.
I picked out the pebbles I wanted and tried them on for size.
Then I freehand painted circles on half and xs on the others, and I eyeballed some lines for the game board.(using rulers and pencils would have been just too professional for me and I want people to pick the game up and not worry.)
And there you go! Hope people will feel free to play. :D
round here
Just a few shots from round here today. :D
Started the day with Milo coming for a cuddle. Made a cup of tea and drank it while exploring waves of morning sunlight on the curtains and seedpods. Morgan checking out a new haul of baskets. I love those two to the left. These two make four in my collection. Can you believe that baskets are 50 cents at the thrift stores? I caught a ray of sunshine on the patio this afternoon, made spaghetti Bolognese for supper, and Milo has developed this habit of hiding under the flowers until I get too close and then does a mad streak in front of me and across the lawn sniggering, "I am the night!" What is he like? :D