The Dust of Everyday Life

Warning: Banner triangles multiply when you're not looking!

Just kidding! Actually I just made these ones this evening, in an effort to unwind a bit. This week has been just awful and so I am doing what I do best when my soul feels bruised and battered-retreat into art. There's something meditative about creating something and it's soothing. So this triangle making will result in some banners in the Tattered Edge Mercantile by the end of the weekend. They would be done sooner, but tomorrow I have to finish gathering up and packing my art to go on display on Saturday at the Poirier Library. I am pretty excited about that. I ran into the lady who oversees that today and she seemed pretty excited about it too. (She keeps saying she can't wait to see what my kind of art looks like. It's fun to introduce someone something they haven't seen or experienced before.)

EDIT: My first banner is now available in the Tattered Edge Mercantile. More to follow!

On a positive note, I spent today with my hands covered in plaster. This was week 4 of my Mini Picasso class. The kids couldn't believe how quickly plaster sets and were madly trying to create their art in it before it hardened. I think seeing something go from a liquid to a solid like that was a first for all of them. One of the best parts of teaching is allowing kids to use materials that are completely new to them and if it's messy and fun, all the better! I have to tell you though. lugging a large carry-on bag with wheels that weighs about 40lbs. filled with supplies up three flights of stairs in 27C heat is not for the faint of heart! Art is not for wimps!

In an effort to cheer myself, did a bit of online shopping. I ordered more MOO cards. I ordered some of the cards made from the same art as last order and also added a few new designs. I love having those for my business cards. If you haven't ordered any for yourself, I highly recommend them. I can't say enough good things about the company, the quality, the prompt delivery and value for the money. Moo ROCKS!!

I also bought and downloaded India.Arie's new song, "Beautiful Flower" from itunes. If you haven't heard it, she wrote it for girls in Africa and it's a lovely song. Here are the lyrics:

Beautiful Flower

by India.Arie

This is a song for every girl

who's ever been through something

she thought she couldn't make it through,

yeah I sing these words

because I was that that girl too

Wanting something better than this

but who do I turn to?

Now we're moving

from the darkness into the light

This is the defining moment of our lives,

Cause you're beautiful like a flower

More valuable than a diamond

You are powerful like a fire

You can heal the world with your mind

And there is nothing in the world that you cannot do

When you believe in you

Who are beautiful

Yeah you, who are brilliant

Yeah you, who are powerful

Yeah you, who are resilient

This is a song for every girl

who feels that she is not special

Cause she don't look like a supermodel,

Coke bottle

The next time the radio tells you

to shake your money maker

Shake your head and tell them,

tell 'em you're a leader

Now we're moving from

the darkness into the light

This is the defining moment of our lives,

Yeah Cause you're beautiful like a flower

More valuable than a diamond

You are powerful like a fire

You can heal the world with your mind

And there is nothing in the world

that you cannot do

When you believe in you

Who are beautiful

Yeah you, who are brilliant

Yeah you, who are powerful

Yeah you, who are resilient

Yeah you, who are beautiful

Yeah you, this song is for you

Yeah you, you are brilliant

100% of the proceeds from the song (available ONLY as a download) will go to support The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation.

Music and art, balm for the soul. Have a good weekend everyone.

What's New?

Copyright Tattered Edge 2007

Last night my husband asked me to come with him down to our garden. We have a series of plots in an organic community garden about 10 minutes from out house. It's located on crown land that is adjacent to a small reservation and the Fraser River. The park is teeming with wild life-coyotes, hawks, eagles, owls, bats, pheasants, killdeers, swallows, herons (and a host of other birds) rabbits and occasionally bears. I have seen everything except (thankfully!) for the bears. Because there is all this wonderful wild life there, we are committed to gardening organically so that nothing damages the ecosystem or gets into the food chain. It's a little piece of heaven. I love taking my camera down there and seeing what there is to photograph.

I spent a good chunk of yesterday reorganizing my workspace. It's been driving me crazy and if I do nothing else this summer, I am going to buy a couple really good organization units to tame the mess. (The paper mess!)I did manage to tidy up my shelves, although I am not quite finished.

I still have to reorganize my desk and the disaster underneath it. I have all those blue boxes filled with papers of all kinds but I think I would like to cover them with something so they are pretty and useful. I also think the Tetley tea box should be covered. Why do I have it? Well it is a good box-it has a lid with a flap and I keep it there to throw all the little left over scraps of paper that happen when I work on something. Eventually I use those small pieces for ATCs or I send them to a friend and we trade. I just need to pretty it up some so it doesn't look so awful sitting there! I am thinking about getting some sort of mac tac-peel and stick would be a fast way to alter the boxes.

I like to have an organized workspace because I would rather spend my time making art than searching for the materials. One thing I make sure I do every day when I am finished working is to clean everything up and put all my tools back where they belong. It helps alot to be able to sit down to a clean desk in the morning and just dive right in. I just can't work in chaos!

So, that is what I will be up to today. That and prepping for my class tomorrow. We will be working with plaster which will likely be messy but fun!

Banner Love!

Copyright Tattered Edge 2007

Just a quick post to share this wee banner that I made for my sweet friend Liz this morning in just over an hour. It's becoming addictive! I just love how much mindless fun these are. Pick some paper, slap it down, marvel at the results- it doesn't get any easier than that! Time to parcel it up so I can get it into the mail on Monday since it's going across the pond.

Have a good Sunday everyone!

Banner Day

I have been busy the last two days creating this banner (thanks to Pam Garrison for the inspiration!) to go with the exhibit I am doing next week. I thought it would be alot nicer than just a plain old sign and more representative of the kind of work I like to do.

It was fun pulling out all the scraps of vintage ephemera I have saved and just randomly slap stuff down. (I love the wonky, folky look.) I did a bit of quick sewing on each triangle just to add another dimension to it and then it was on to the lettering.

Last week I bought some of this sparkly aqua peel and stick stuff. It caught my eye because it reminded me of the purple sparkly banana seat I had on my bike when I was a kid. It was perfect for my banner-the colours match with the blue on my website and it's way less messy and time consuming than creating each letter from glass glitter. Of course I had to create the letter templates, but it was worth it! I added some ribbon and some embellishments (I am a less is more kinda girl.) et voila! I have a Tattered Edge banner! I can't wait to see what it looks like in the exhibit.

That was such a fun and relaxing little project. If you are looking for something to do that doesn't require alot of planning, try making one for yourself. It's a great way to just create freely. Do like I did-put on your favourite CD, make yourself a cup of tea and allow yourself to just play...and if you do, show me what you made-I would love to see!

Crayola Colour Cache

Remember the whole saga about the scarlet crayon? Well at long last, the project is finished and mine arrived in the mail on Tuesday. Colour me happy-the box is wonderful! Inside are two full decks of crayons and each one has a matching collage wrapped around it. It took me about 45 minutes to uwrap each one and see the amazing art created.


In the top of the lid is a hidden colouring book containing the names of all the artists who participated. It's clear to see that a phenomenal amount of work went into the entire project and I have to say, it's one of the most original ones I have participated in.


Thanks to all the Mavens who worked so hard putting the whole thing together and to each and every artist for their interpretation of all those wonderful colours. I will never look at a box of crayons in quite the same way again!

Creative Process

Copyright Tattered Edge 2007

This was yesterday's work. I thought it would be fun to share the creative process that led to it in my post today. So here's the story:

Susie LaFrond is hosting a Triptych exchange. The perametres are that it has to be on the theme "home", there have to be 3 ATCs interrelated and they have to be joined in some way.

The idea started with me thinking about homes, which led to me thinking about people living in the past, present and future. That made me think of generations and how each generation represents those points in time. I decided to use images of men and boys in my work-most art I see is woman related and quite frankly, I like doing art with men in it.

Sunday, I was at the local ATC swap and my friend Cari Helm showed up. The card she was trading was a cleverly folded piece of paper in the shape of a house. I knew right away I wanted to fold some houses of my own for my triptych. I went through my scrapbook paper and chose 3 Basic Grey pieces that were rough looking (like old paint) and used them to fold the houses. I sanded them and added some charcoal pencil. I found three images I wanted to use to represent the past, present and future and printed them off. I mounted them on black cardstock and cut them out leaving a scant line of black outline around each image to help them stand out.

The next step was to find some quotes I like and turn them into transparencies. For the past I chose "You have to know the past to understand the present". For the present, "The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future or anticipate future trouble, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly." and the future's says "If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each of them is present in your body. You are a continuation of each of these people." I printed them out and then cut them down to the size and shape of the house. I attached them using tiny copper eyelets.

Once I had that done, I made the tags and attached them through one of the eyelets. Then I mounted the images of the men on top. Lastly, I found a piece of crackled wall paper and accordion folded it to cut the picket fence which I used to attach the houses together.

I really like the symbolism of this piece. I love that the old man (grandfather) is facing so he's looking back at the past, the father has his feet firmly planted in the present, and the boy (the son) is looking toward the future. I also like how the fence links them all together-providing both connections and boundaries at the same time. For me, home is where you come from. It's your roots and the legacy of all the people who have touched your life, seen or unseen, for better or worse.

So that's my process and the end result, which is about to go in the mail. I liked this piece so much that I am going to make one for myself because otherwise, I would have a hard time letting it go. I hope whomever get it enjoys it.

Tattered Journals!

Copyright Tattered Edge 2007

What did I spend my Victoria Day doing? Well aside from feeling awful just out of the blue and having to crawl into bed for awhile to keep my teeth from shattering because I was shivvering so hard, I took the time to upload some new goodies to the Tattered Edge Mercantile. I have just created Tattered Journals, using beautiful antique books. So far I have two listed, but they are one of a kinds so if you see something you have to have, act fast to avoid being disappointed! I also have some fun ephemera-authentic Chinese clothing factory quality control slips. These are in limited supply as well so go check them out!

Okay, I am crawling back to the couch now to sip tea and watch the season finale of "Heros". Have a good night!

It's All About ME!

Copyright Tattereded Edge 2007

Deb would like me to share 7 things about myself. (I think after this, I have run out of obscure tidbits about me.)

Okay here goes nothing:

1. I love living near the ocean. I love the briny smell of it and the sound of waves crashing. I love sailing on it and swimming in it. I love beach combing for shells, sea glass and rocks. I enjoy discovering which critters have been left behind in tidal pools and feeling the sand between my toes.

2. I believe I am my best self when I am helping someone. I think one of the keys to life is figuring out what your soul's mission is. I know without a doubt that mine is to be a comforter. The one thing I cannot abide is suffering. It's instinctual for me to move to do something to help when I see someone in pain. People often tell me that I always know the right thing to say. That's something that comes from beyond me. It's a blessing and I am grateful for it. It allows me to connect with people when they need it most. It's in those moments when my soul is utterly satisfied. What's your gift? What fulfills your soul?

3. My favourite art of all time is folk art. It's wonky and simple and therein lies the charm. My favourite colour pallet is folk art tones: patriot blue, old barn red, mustard gold, olive, buttermilk white, soot black.

4. I love going to the movies. It's not enough to rent DVDs and watch at home. I like the whole experience of sitting in a big dark theatre and getting lost in the story being told. (And I am addicted to the popcorn-movie popcorn is my crack.) I pay attention to how the music is scored too-I don't know that most people really do that.

5. I absolutely hate slapstick comedy. I don't like someone doing something for cheap laughs or the dumbing down of humour. I will admit to loving gallows humour-I will find something to laugh about in the worst situations. (Several of my closest friends can attest to that-one minute something completely awful and traumatic is happening and the next we are laughing till it hurts.)

6. I love to write. When I was in elementary school, I attended a writer's conference several times. (I actually had to write a book in order to be chosen to attend.) I have had several poems published both in the Winnipeg Free Press (the big paper from my hometown) and also in an anthology. When I was a kid, I thought I would grow up to become a journalist. HA! Now I just blog and write occasionally for Zines.

7. My current obsessions: wooden handled rubber stamps, Moleskine journals, number related ephemera, small handmade books, charms, hands for displaying art with, vintage textiles, pincushions, stickers made from my artwork.

Okay, I am done! Now I am off to finish signing my ATCs for the monthly swap in Vancouver this afternoon. It's pouring rain so I can't think of a better way to spend the afternoon then hanging out with friends, swapping art, talking art and sipping a chai latte. Tomorrow is a holiday, so happy Victoria Day to my fellow Canadians!

Ebb & Flow

Copyright Tattered Edge 2007

This has been an interesting month. It's been filled with lots of teaching, goodies in the mail, visits with friends I adore, new opportunities and intriguing emails. It's also been a time of reflection and change. I just did up this flyer yesterday for the exhibit I am doing in a couple of weeks. My work is going to be shown at Poirier Library from June 2nd-30th. If you are local, be sure and stop by! I am really pleased to have this opportunity!

Some of my closest artist friends are struggling with being in what I call a "state of flux". It's that place you get to where you are feeling totally uncreative, unmotivated and it can be pretty scary. You can feel like you are wasting precious creative time. You worry that you will never find inspiration again. You question why you are an artist at all, does it really matter? Is anyone going to notice if you just go away and stop making art? You don't know where you are going. It feels pointless and depressing and terribly lonely. It's enough to unhinge even the most successful artist.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Well I can tell you, I have been there several times. I have also come out on the other side and been perfectly fine. I get creative again and then wonder what all the fuss was about. It's like being on some cosmic see-saw. One minute you are the art queen of the world and the next, you want to slash and burn everything and just walk away. Crazy thing is, those feelings are normal!

The bottom line is that creativity has cycles. It's just like nature-if there is a spring and summer, there has to also be a fall and winter. Much as you may like to, you cannot function in a high level of creativity 365 days a year. You cannot keep drawing from the creative well without taking timeout once in awhile to refill that well. To even try is to risk feeling burnt out and once you get there, it can be really hard to recover. The trick is to recognize the signs and to honour the fact that sometimes you need to take a break and do something else. It's not slacking- it's being kind and gentle and nurturing to yourself. You want your art to come from a place of strength, not from fear. To keep pushing when you are tired and need to rest is to give into the fear and you will find that the art that comes from that is not going to be your best work.

I have posted this before, but it bears repeating, simply because it's an excellent reminder of what being creative means. Write it down. Post it in a place where you will see it often.

Ten Commandments of Creative Beings

1. You will always remember: You are a creative being.

2. You will honor your creativity by nurturing it.

3. You will honor others creativity by nurturing it also.

4. You will allow yourself to take creative risks.

5. You will use your creativity to express and increase the beauty of the world.

6. You will use your creativity to express truth.

7. You will use your creativity to see more beauty.

8. You will allow yourself and your art to be a work in progress.

9. You will allow your creativity to be the "true voice" you hearwhen others may scoff.

10. You will accept and love yourself during times of feeling fallow, trusting this quiet time is necessary to precede new birth or creation.

If you are an artist right down to your soul, creativity is like breathing. Relax. Breathe. Your muse will return and in the meantime, take comfort in knowing you are not alone.

Special Delivery

Last night a special delivery arrived on my doorstep. 18 handmade cards from the kids in Ms. Knowles' and Geissler's classes! I was *so* surprised and delighted. I can't tell you how lovely it was to be on the receiving end of this. I want to share some of what they said with all of you because if you were ever wondering why I teach, this is a perfect illustration:



(Verbatim)

"Thank you very, very VERY much for the bracelets! My mom was speechless!"

"Thank you so much for coming to (our school) TWICE! And helping us make both of those fantastic projects. Plese come back for fathers day, or any special day."

"Thank you for coming in our class room and being a good person. Thank you for helping on our Mothers day gift. It was very very fun! P.S. My mom loved it! and also come again for fathers day."

"Thank you so much for your help; I will always remember you. :)"

"My mom really liked it and she almost cried over it. I really want to thank you for spending your time helping us."

"Without you our mother wouldn't have been jumping with joy and thinking we actually got taught how to make it. Lelainia, it's a big thanks to you that my mom liked her gift even more this year than ever."

"At first she thought I bought it, so I guess it was good." (*giggle* That cracked me up!)

"Taught us craftsmanship, worked our fine motor skills, gave us the opportunity to be creative, to be generous and kind."

"I will miss you." (Awww! How sweet!)

And the most poignant of all:

"Thank you so much for helping make mother's day special. Working with you was very fun and my mum really liked the bracelet. The challenging project helped me take my mind off my dad, who recently passed away and that was very helpful to my sanity."

*sniff* WOW!

THANK YOU to all my students!!

If this doesn't show that kids are HUNGRY for opportunities to explore their own creativity, that doing so boosts their self esteem, that art heals and feeds their souls, then nothing does! It's experiences like this that clearly show us that we are robbing our kids when we don't strive to provide them with hands-on experiences like this.

It was a pleasure to be able to work with these students. I always feel like I receive far more than I give. (It's one of those lovely paradoxes of life.) I just show up and bring the tools, they provide the magic.

Join the Revolution!

So Karen & Linda sent me one of their promotional postcards for the upcoming book "Journal Revolution: Rise Up and Create!" which is due out in September. I spent yesterday afternoon altering it as per their request and this is what I came up with-the two of them taking NYC by storm! LOL! It's silly and it's fun and sometimes it's nice just to make art for the sake of making art. (Which is really what their books are all about!)

Anyway, if you would like to play too, I believe you can! Just pop over to their website by clicking here. (They will be posting when they receive another batch of postcards to alter. The response was so huge they ran out!) The info about what to do with them when you get one is here. If you want to watch as the altered post cards begin rolling in, they will be posted here.

Awhile back when they first announced the title of their new book, I wrote some really goofy lyrics for them about it, but unfortunately, I can't find them or I would post them. Oh well!

And just out of sheer curiosity, are there any quilters/textile artists out there?

Tales from the Weekend

Copyright Tattered Edge 2007

Next weekend is the Vancouver ATC swap once again. Usually I am making my ATCs the night before because I have left it to the last minute. This time, I am actually ahead of the game! I designed the ATC I want to make yesterday evening and I plan to get some done today. The theme this month is "Postage". I don't usually follow the theme, but I love postage so it was easy for me. This is the faux postage I created, "Lost Mail".

Copyright Tattered Edge 2007

These are a couple of shots from Crescent Beach yesterday. It's one of my favourite places to beachcomb. The tide was waaaaaaaaay out by 9:45 a.m. so we had to walk a long time till we reached the ocean's edge. It was pretty windy, but that didn't keep my son from skinboarding in the tidal pools. We walked and played in the water for about an hour and a half before we decided we were freezing and it was time to go warm up. (We couldn't feel our feet anymore!)

A stop at Starbucks for coffee (for the guys) and chai (for me) helped alot and we ended up eating the picnic lunch we had packed at home. The forecast had called for it to be warm and sunny, so I don't know what happened that it ended up being chilly like it was. Regardless, we had a good time hanging out together and enjoying the beach. Have I mentioned lately that I live in one of the most beautiful places on earth?

Today is a day to relax and work on some personal art. Things have been so busy lately with my teaching schedule (not complaining!) that I haven't created anything solely for my own amusement. I have also begun preparing for the exhibit I am doing at my local library next month. (More details to follow!)

Carving Fun!

Lookie! Lookie! I carved some rubber stamps! Yesterday I spent the day at Penn's studio just hanging out, yakking and working on various art projects. A couple weeks ago, Mick Mathers emailed me asking if he might have permission to use one of my photos in his digital artwork. (Again THANK YOU Mick for asking first!!) He very kindly sent me an envelope of 15 issues of his rubber stamp carving zine. I took them to Penn's yesterday so she could check them out (Penn is really good at carving.) and then watched as she carved one of my favourite images in the zines for me. (A little polk-a-dot armchair.) That's all it took-when I got home, I got out my own carving tools and made these three stamps!

It was fairly easy once I understood what to leave and what to carve away. (That was the part I was confused about.) I think when it comes to learning, I am a visual/kenetic learner. I learn by seeing and doing and it really helped to watch Penn carve one and then come home and carve one myself. It also helps to have fairly open designs when you are first starting out. Now I am thinking about what else I would like to carve. The possibilities are endless!

Check Them Out!

A few days ago, a package arrived from Tiffini Electra. I had ordered some goodies for myself and a gift for Liz. Tiffini packged everything up really nicely and added lots of little extras which was so sweet of her. This is one of her great pocket mirrors that I bought for myself. (Gotta love those darn crows!) I gave Liz one with a pretty yellow bird on it. Both mirrors came with soft velvet drawstring pouches to keep them from getting scratched in your purse. If you haven't checked out her store, you really must. It's full of lovely things and shipping is free!!

Another thing I wanted to share with you is that Farrell's new album, A Town Called Hell is now available via Amazon. It is also being distributed by Festival Records here in Canada. This album is wonderful! From the catchy title track "A Town Called Hell" to the hauntingly beautiful "A Murder of Crows" and everything in between, Farrell has done herself proud. I especially enjoyed her cover of Mary Gauthier's "I Drink", with it's sad honesty. This is the perfect album to sit back and unwind with-it's a rare treat and utterly soothing to the soul.

Liz's Visit

Just a quick post on the fly-this week is incredibly busy! I taught an Altered Book class Sunday, prepped classes on Monday, was out all day with Liz on Tuesday. Today I am teaching Mixed media bracelets all day at a middle school and tomorrow is the start of my 5 part series "Mini Picasso"! WHEW! I do want to share with you my adventures with Liz yesterday though!

I picked Liz up at her dad's and the weather was looking very promising so I was really excited about that. We drove out to Fort Langley. (Liz had seen my post last week about the antique mall I love there and wanted to know if we could go. LOL! OF COURSE!!) I love going there and every time I visit I see new and wonderful things. I snapped this photo of Liz holding up one of the incredible things we found there. It's a huge rubber stamp-the kind where you turn a dial and the numbers change. It was about a foot and a half long and the handle is solid wood. It was a bit too expensive though at $55, or one of us would have bought it. Apparently it was used for marking lumber.

These are the spoils from my shopping. I found another toast holder and had to have it. I spotted one for Liz as well so we will both have these cool things on our desks to help tame the paper tigers. I also found a packet of 3 sets of vintage hooks & eyes from England for $4.50 and had to have them. (My love for sewing ephemera knows no bounds!)

The book was a steal at $3.65. It's from 1910 and has tons of ads and banking and industry type info about Canada in it. There is a section in it where it breaks down the towns in each province and gives a brief description of what's in the town and what prospects you might have there for business. Very cool! The whole thing is in mint condition and I will likely do some colour copies of many of the pages. I am always delighted to find old Canadiana.

Liz gave me this NYC Moleskine for my birthday. NYC has a very special place in my heart and I just love this journal. I have big plans for it! She also gave me a pretty bouquet of flowers from her dad's garden. THANK YOU LIZ! I had goodies for her too. I had set a tote bag aside after Artfest and just kept plunking things into it, so by the time she got it yesterday, it had all kids of neat stuff in it.

We had lunch at the 50's diner and then caught the little Albion Ferry across the Fraser to Maple Ridge. While we waited for our turn on the ferry, we enjoyed some amazing gelato. (I can't tell you how good it was!) Liz had never been out that way before and it was fun showing her some of my favourite haunts. We stopped in Pitt Meadows at Be Creative and then popped into one of the local scrapbooking stores to see what they had. (Nothing exciting.)

We ended up at my place and she got to meet my guys who think she is just as lovely as I said she was. We had dinner together (BBQ steak and for dessert, strawberry and rhubarb fruit crisp made with rhubarb fresh from my garden) before I drove her back to her dad's. It was such a great day and so relaxing to shop and talk and laugh with a treasured friend. My only regret is that she doesn't live closer! (Oh, if only!)

Mail Call!

Art copyrighted Patricia Anders 2007

These goodies arrived in my mail yesterday, a gift from my friend Tricia Anders. We had agreed to swap ornies for Xmas. Tricia is a busy successful artist and the box accidentally got misplaced, so when it arrived yesterday, I was well and truly surprised. I had totally forgotten about our swap, but in the perfect timing of the universe, her gift showed up on a day where everything under the sun was going wrong. It totally made my day! As Picasso said "Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." Truer words were never spoken. I am looking forward to wearing the pin tomorrow when I teach. It's gorgeous! THANK YOU Tricia!!


In other news, I treated myself to Michael Buble's new cd "Call Me Irresponsible". It's one fierce album-I think it's his best yet. His remake of "I'm Your Man" (My favourite Leonard Cohen song) is brilliant. The orchestra on this album is just so deeply satisfying. Another favourite is "I'm Coming home", a duet with Boys II Men is so fantastic, I actually had a big grin on my face while I was listening to it.

I also love the lyrics to "Everything":


You're a falling star, You're the get away car.
You're the line in the sand when I go too far.
You're the swimming pool, on an August day.
And You're the perfect thing to say.


And you play it coy, but it's kinda cute.
Ah, When you smile at me you know exactly what you do.
Baby don't pretend, that you don't know it's true.
Cause you can see it when I look at you.


[Chorus:]

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.


You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.
You're a mystery, you're from outer space,
You're every minute of my everyday.


And I can't believe, uh that I'm your man,
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see it through,
And you know that's what our love can do.


[Chorus:]

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.


This is such a great album. It makes me especially pleased to see a local boy make good. Have a good weekend everyone!

Bracelet Class

Photos copyright Tattered Edge 2007

So yesterday I spent the entire day at Banting Middle School teaching a workshop to Ms. Knowles' grade 6/7 class on mixed media bracelets. (This is the same great group of kids I did the Altered Mirror workshop for in December.)

There were 31 kids in the class and I worked with groups of 6 at a time, while the others worked on altering envelopes that they will put their bracelets in, along with a poem for their mums for Mother's Day.

The kids worked really hard on their bracelets. Some of them had never worked with hand tools before and for some kids, the fine motor skills were a challenge, but no one complained or gave up. With lots of encouragement, they just kept plugging away and got the job done! I wish you could have seen the looks of concentration on their faces.

Once the bracelets were completed, we worked on the charms in the afternoon. The kids have each made a bottle cap charm with Diamond Glaze in it, which are not shown here-they had to sit on the sill overnight to set before they could add them on. Some of them brought a photo of themselves or their family to use in the charm, others wrote a message to their mums or put their mum's initial inside.

At one point, the vice principal came in and introduced herself to me. Apparently, some of the boys were out in the hall, wearing their bracelets and showing them off so she had to come in and see what we were doing and what all the excitement was about.

The end result was that everyone made a wonderful piece of art jewellery and I told the kids they could be very proud of what they had accomplished. I think they surprised themselves with what they could do. It was so great to see how happy they were with their work and how excited they are to be able to give these gifts to their mums. I can't wait to hear what happens after Mother's Day!

They made envelopes they made to hold their bracelets and poetry. Next week, I go back to teach the Mrs. Geissler's class the same workshop. I am looking forward to seeing the work from that class. The thing I enjoy most about teaching art to kids is seeing how empowered they feel. I think kids are so hungry for ways to explore their creativity. I was thinking about it yesterday after the workshop: how many times is a kid going to get the opportunity to make a piece of handmade jewellery for their mother like this? I am so glad their teachers see the value of providing them with these experiences and grateful that I get to be the one to share in it with them. It's a blessing.

Note: There was a problem with Blogger so I have uploaded the photos to Flickr. You can see the kids' work by clicking here.

A Laundry List

Copyright Tattered Edge 2007

It's only 8:30 a.m. and it's been a busy morning already. I have just spent the last hour or so adding some new goodies to the Tattered Edge Mercantile. It's been awhile since I have had time to work on things for the shop, but I managed to sqeeze in a bit of creative time last night. Happy browsing!

Taking a page from Liz Elayne, Here's what I have been up to lately:

Reading

Dalai Lama: Man, Monk, Mystic An Authorized Biography by Mayank Chhaya

(I just started this so I can't comment on it yet.)

Watching

Heros

I love this show. It's odd that I do, mainly because I have never been into comics, but I got hooked. The first comic based thing I ever saw was "Unbreakeable" which I loved and it was all downhill from there. Save the cheerleader, save the world!

Listening

"New World" by Guarneri Underground

My friend Tina who has fabulous taste in music sent me this cd yesterday. So far I have listened to the whole thing 8 times. It's wonderful! If you click here, you can listen to some of their music. "Box of Marbels" is one of my favs.

Drinking

Chai Lattes

(Is there really anything else?) Chai is tea of the gods.

Anticipating

Visiting with Liz next week. We are going to spend the day together wandering Fort Langely. I can't wait. It will be so good to visit with her and comb my favourite antique market.

Dreaming

Mainly, I have been pondering how I can make my workspace more functional, given that I have really limited space. I am not happy with the current set up and I need to find a way to make it work. I keep thinking about how I can store stuff so I can find what I need easily and still keep it looking half way decent. I haven't come up with any solutions yet. What I really need is Nate Berkus!

Doing

Tidying up the house and getting rid of the excess. Lots of stuff has gone to charity, some to friends and some stuff into the garbage in time for spring pick up. It's good to do a big clean and get reorganized!

I have been thinking about writing a book. I've been thinking about owning a shop. These thoughts sit in the back of my mind and every now and again, I look at them again. Then I tuck those thoughts back into the file cabinet in the back of my mind...you know how it goes. Someday...

Creating

This week I am working on prepping for a class I am teaching tomorrow and next week at a middle school. I have two classes booked with grades 6 & 7. This is the same group of kids I taught just before Xmas. I am looking forward to working with them again.

How about you?