Retreating

This girl is TIRED!! It's been a busy last week leading up to my guild's quilting retreat. It starts on Thursday and runs through to Sunday. We are doing a "Survivor" theme, complete with challenges and hand-dyed buffs. It should be alot of fun. The weather has been exceptionally beautiful in the last 4 days and I am hoping it will hold through the weekend, since we have a fabric dying class scheduled and it would be best to do that outdoors. I am keeping my fingers crossed!

I have pre-cut fabric for a quilt I plan to make myself in 2 days. I want to make a raggedy quilt in black and white. It's not my usual colour pallet in the slightest, but I found this really cool Da Vinci fabric by Marcus Brothers. It has sketches of all of Da Vinci's flying machines on it and I just love it. I wanted to use a pattern that would really show off the fabric and I think the raggedy blocks will be perfect. It's also a very fast quilt to sew, so I should be able to make it this weekend.

In other news, word has it that the collaborative book "The Sky's the Limit" is in the mail. I am hoping it arrives today or tomorrow so I can take it with me to retreat to show people. I had to laugh the other day when I was at my stitchery group. One of the ladies was asking me what I had been up to quilt-wise and I had to confess to having spent all my time since April making altered art. She commented that she didn't "get it". (The whole altered art thing.) Then another piped up and said she didn't get it either, but she likes it. It was pretty funny. I am sure they all think I am whacked, but I don't care. It makes me enormously happy and that's all that matters. These things do please me well!

It is of note to mention that Tracy Roos is launching a line of rubber stamps. I am drooling over the "xox Fairy" and "The Queen". Can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

So..if things are quiet in the next few days it because I have gone off to commune with quilters in a computer-free zone. (That will be the true test of my Survivor skills!) Toodles!

New Art

Just finished uploading some new art to my Altered Art Gallery. There are some new matchbox shrines, as well as some info and pics on collaborative Books. I am waiting for 2 more books that I worked on to arrive. One is "The Sky's the Limit" hosted by the lovely Tracy Roos and the other is one I co-hosted with my wonderful friend Penn called "Do Not Go Gently". Can't wait to share them!


I am still working on my first assemblage. I had some bits that I wanted to use in it that I have misplaced so I can't finish till I locate them. *sigh* I desperately need to get more organized. Part of my problem is that I work on the kitchen table and have to keep packing stuff up and removing it. If anyone else has this problem and has a workable solution, I would love to hear it. It's driving me nuts! I have one set of 5 drawers on wheels that I have stuff in, but two of the four wheels have fallen off . (Damn plastic!) I have my paper in a box with hanging file folders. Other than that, it is a massive heap o'chaos. AHHHHH! If I could only win the lotto so I could build a studio.....


A week from tomorrow is my guild's quilt retreat, which I helped to organize and am teaching at. No rest for the wicked! I plan to work on a gift for my gram's birthday, piece a quilt for my bed, (the blocks are long since finished-just have to assemble the top, a 1930's Aunt Gracie bull's eye) and make a wool stuffed pumpkin for my autumn collection. Anything else I can manage to get done in 4 days is a bonus. Following retreat, Jan who wrote "The Art of Fabric Books" is coming to meet me. I am *so* excited!

Okay, this girl must go get busy! Time's a wastin'!

Assemblage

Assemblage: An artistic composition made from scraps, junk, and odds and ends.

Last night while watching the Emmys, I was preparing a 3D frame I bought to house my very first assemblage. I have been collecting quilting/sewing odds and ends. I have some antique sewing machine attachements, old thimbles, wooden thread spools with the thread still on them, pieces cut from an old dresden plate quilt, a vintage cloth measuring tape gifted to me by Annemarie, a porcelin doll's hand, pins, lace, buttons, etc. I have it about half done and hope to have time to finish it tomorrow. So far I am pleased with it. I will take some pictures of it when I finish and post them to my website.

I treated myself to a Jan Arden cd this weekend-"Greatest Hurts" which is really relaxing to listen to while working. I think it's important to have good music to enjoy while you work. I can't make art without music!

My favourite creative music is:
The Indigo Girls-Become You & Retrospective
Norah Jones-Come Away With Me
Sean Colvin-A Few Small Repairs
Cat Stevens-Greatest Hits
Tracy Chapman-Telling Stories
Five for Fighting-America Town
Bruce Cockburn-Breakfast in New Orleans, Dinner in Timbucktu
John Mayer-Any Given Thursday

Eye Candy (or is that fruit?!)

Here as promised are some pictures from my garden taken on Suday morning. They look even better when you click on them to view them just a bit larger. Enjoy!

My glory shot of a honeybee on a fall sunflower.  

Waiting for the harvest. 

A perfect organic pear. 

The many shades of green. 

Old Boot in Neighbourhood One 

Life has other plans sometimes...

I had planned to add some of my pics here from my garden, but today turned out to be busier than I imagined. It included a call from the ER at my local hospital where I took my son last night after he fell off his bike. He had X-rays and was sent home. The call today was to inform us a specialist had looked at his X-ray and he had indeed broken his wrist. I had to take him right in to get a cast.
In any case, I will try again tomorrow to post those pics. (Provided all goes well! LOL!)

What's New?

I just did some small updates to my website for those of you who visit often. You will find new art in Gallery 1. I added the art samples I recently made for Paper Artsy . (A brand new rubber stamp company in the UK.) The line I made art for is called Ink & the Dog. They have some really great grungy, altered book style unmounted rubber. What I like about this line is that there are alot of plates with sewing notions incorporated into the images. Being a quilter, that really appeals to me. There are also a few that have maple leaves on them, that could be used for those of us who might like to add something to our work that has a Canadian feel to it.

The other update was to add my dear friend Annemarie to my Friends page. She has just launched her pattern company "Ladybug Quilts" with her first quilting/stitchery pattern. Check that page for a link to her wonderful Canadian themed quilt. It's a must have!

I spent the morning out shooting pictures with my digi cam, some of which I will upload here tomorrow. Time to get off the computer and rest my eyes! Thanks to everyone who has emailed in the last little while to say such kind things about my art or to ask questions. Email is always welcome!

The memorial plaque for one of the many fire fighters lost on 9/11. I will never forget them running in as everyone else was running out. 

A firehall in Greenwich Village, not far from Ground Zero. 

The cross beam recovered in the early days of the clean up at Ground Zero. It has been a source of inspiration to many. 

The building right next to Ground Zero. I thought this banner expressed hope. 

A memorial at Ground Zero. Ken's name appears on this one. 

Marking the Day

I would be remiss if I allowed this day to pass without marking it. Today marks the third anniversary of a day that never should have been. It seems unbelieveable that 1095 days have passed since horror and chaos touched down on American soil. For me, watching the unspeakable events of that day unfold hit too close to home for me to just sit idley by and do nothing.Those who know me well, know I got involved with an international quilt project to honor the victims of that day and to try and bring a measure of comfort to the families whose lives were forever altered by the tragic loss of those they loved. Through that project, I came to know and love Carlos and Anna,their family and their son Ken through the memories they have so generously shared with me. It was nothing short of a miracle that our lives crossed and this summer we were finally able to bring our friendship full circle when I flew to New York to meet them.


While in NYC, they generously took me to see Ground Zero (Which is now being referred to as "the Footprints" as the footprints of the buildings is all that remains of the towers.) and it was a pretty emotional experience. There is this giant hole in the ground with a fence around it with various memorial displays attached to it. The subway station that was crushed when the towers fell is re-opened and in use again. The buildings on either side of the towers were damaged and one is draped in black, which is kind of eerie. It looks like a mourner standing guard and I wondered whether it was draped for repair or to shield the employees of that building from having to look at the scar in the ground ajacent on a daily basis. Just being there, the air is still, the mood both reverant and sombre stirs all the sadness of that day and you can't help but cry-cry and get angry that this happend to anyone. The pictures I have uploaded of Ground Zero were taken in mid-July this year, while I was there.


So today my thoughts turn as they often do to the families left behind, to my friends in NYC. Knowing them and their story has changed my life forever. The world has become a much smaller place to me. It has also made me more conscious of how blessed I am to live in a country where I have been able to take my freedom and safety for granted. I've learned the power of doing something instead of wringing my hands and thinking how awful it was. And as always, I have found that by giving, I got much more in return. My hope is that the families will continue to heal as much as they possibly can and that people will not forget them. I for one will always remember.

The Joy of Art

My Friend Tracy Roos was reflecting today on her thoughts about what being an artist is about and I thought it was a good basis for discussion. It's something I have given alot of thought to over the last few years. Here's what I had to say:

One of my favorite quotes is this: "Be true to that which exsists nowhere but within yourself."

I find the purest reason for creating art, is to make something that pleases ME. If I try to create with someone else in mind, I usually don't like what I've made. If I make it for my own amusement, I usually love it and others do too.

I think there is a huge difference between creating for yourself and creating for an audience. With making something to please others comes a whole raft of stresses and expectations that we heap on ourselves. When we create for ourselves, it is freer, more honest and joyful. I prefer to only make art for me. I have tried both and I truely dislike trying to please others. So much of our lives is based on peer approval and this is one area where I can really be ME. I think it is my duty to myself to be very protective of maintaining this and working to express my unique thoughts, ideas and spirit. I have noticed some of my most favorite altered artists really do have a distinct style and I love that I can see that in their work. It tells me who they are. They may create and explore new things-new techniques, materials, mediums, but the core of their work stays true.

I guess it boils down to recognizing our own worth as artists and not devaluing what we bring forth. It also helps to have a community of artist friends who can give us feedback in a way that supports and nutures us, because let's face it, while we create for ourselves, it is always encouraging to hear that someone else "gets it" too.

There was a commercial on in Canada during the Olympics that was about a mother talking about her son who is a diver. She talked about his competitions and how after he competed she would ask him: (She is French Canadian, so I am writing it as she said it.)
"Are you happy with you? And if he say yes, then it's okay with me."
The end result was not what was most important-it was the feeling he got from what he did. I think that about sums it up-are you happy with you? If you say yes, then it's okay with me!

*hops down off her soap box and deposits her 2c worth*

ABC

So Saturday of the long weekend was spent with my friend Penn. I decided to head down to Ruby Dog's Art House (Leanne's store) for some Altered art supplies and called to see if she wanted to come. It turned into an all day art shopping excursion which was really fun.

We ended up looking at an altered alphabet book at Leanne's store and next thing I know, we are buying ABC stencils and planning to do ABC books together. We are just at the beginning stages, but I will be starting on mine this week. I will have to post some pics as pages get made. I haven't done an AB for about a year and a half now-I was doing them alot in the beginning of my foray into altered art, but quickly burned out when I would put alot of time and effort into pages for others and then get half-hearted, non-creative ones back. In this case however, I know Penn has the same philosophy about art that I do, so I know what kind of art to expect and it will be amazing. I realize that sounds outright art snobbish, but I freely admit that to a degree I am. I got this way after having people slap a picture from a magazine down on a page with a glue stick and consider it 1. art and 2. finished. I DON'T THINK SO! So if that makes me an art snob, so be it!

I have also been working hard on my pages for the collaborative book Penn and I are hosting. "Do Not Go Gentle" is going to be a beautiful book. One copy is going to be donated to our local Hospice, which makes me very happy. I am sure it will be well appreciated there. I am also awaiting the return of a finished copy of Tracy Roo's "Sky's the Limit" chunky book swap. It should be coming my way any day now. There are 67 artists in it so it will indeed be chunky and delicious! Speaking of Tracy Roos, if you have the newest issue of Somerset Studio magazine, she has a 6 page spread in it on her altered playing card deck! Way to go Tracy!!

For any of you that are interested, September 9th, 2004 is the World Day of Prayer. Given all the ugly stuff going on in the world, it's a good opportunity to send up a few heartfelt thoughts for peace, harmony, healing and humanity if you are thus inclined. September 11th is also a good day to pause and remember all the lives lost and all those affected by the tragic events of that day. I will be thinking of my friends in NYC who lost their son Ken in WTC1.

Anyway, that's all my news for now. Happy arting!

The inside of the box. 

This is a sewing box I made out of a paper mache book form from the craft store. I am pleased with how it turned out. 

Collage on canvass using the woman stamp and whitewash. 

The inside of the Address Book. 

This is an Address Book made using the number stamp. 

New art

Okay so I haven't totally been a TV zombie while the Olymics were on. I did manage to create some art. There is a fantastic new rubber stamp company out of the UK that invited me to design art using some of their new rubber. I will upload the pics here. If you are interested in checking them out, go to the links page of my website and click on Ink and the Dog. To see other samples of what you can do with their rubber, visit the Gallery on their webpage. There's lots of cool stamps that are perfect for altered books and some even incorperate a maple leaf, which is wonderful for those of us who are Canadian and want to add a bit of our own flavour to our books.