PSA: Artists Beware!

A talented artist friend of mine has just been targeted by a scam artist, claiming to be a fan of her work from Belarus. The woman contacted her via email and enquired about buying about $1000 worth of my friend's work. This is not that unusual, as she does large paintings and has been contacted via email about the sale of her work before.

What was unusual and sent up the red flags for her was the urgency of the transaction and the scam artist's insistence that she use a specific courier for which no trace of existence could be found online. Add to that incredibly poor spelling and odd grammar mistakes in the scammer's emails and well...she decided to do some investigating. She discovered that she was in fact about to be the victim of a scam.

One way you can help protect yourself from this kind of scum of the earth activity is to visit Artscams.com
They have all kinds of advice about what to look out for. They also have banners that you can post to your blog. The best way we as an artistic community can help prevent this kind of crummy targeting of our fellow artists is to take a few minutes and post a "heads up" to our readers our our own blogs. Visit Artscams.com, read up so you know what to look out for and then help spread the word by posting one of the banners to point others in the direction of this important information.



Luckily my friend listened to her instincts and was able to avoid what would have been an ugly experience. Let's make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else. Please help spread the word!

The Beauty of What We Love

Yesterday my husband and I took Indy and went hiking in the wilds of British Columbia, at Golden Ears Park. It's one of the largest parks in the province, boasting 62,540 hectares of land and has impressive stands of Western Hemlock, Western Red Cedar and Douglas Firs.

We hiked the 6 km Lower Falls trail, which we last visited just before we got engaged over 20 years ago. We have such good memories of this place and even 20 years later, it did not disappoint.

There's a great rock beach half way to the falls that is a perfect swimming hole for dogs and people alike. Indy wasted no time plunging in!

This is the face of a happy dog.

Here's another area where, if it were a fair bit warmer, you could swim out and enjoy your own little island oasis for awhile.

Inviting, isn't it? Did you know there were so many shades of green?

Here are some of those stands of trees I was talking about. The whole hike was in the deep woods and the lush green all around was so beautiful.

Surely this is heaven.

A nurse stump. You wouldn't believe the circumferences of some of the stumps we saw. They were amazing. It's hard to get a sense of the scale of this one, based on the angle of the photo but it was really large.

The lower falls. I wanted to take more photos here, but there's a considerable spray coming up from them and I was afraid that if I stood there too long, the camera would get too wet and be ruined. We walked just a short way back down from here and had a picnic lunch.

I spotted this broken egg shell on the edge of the path in the brush as we were heading back. I can't tell you how relaxing it was to be in this gorgeous place, hearing nothing but nature as we walked. Indy had a fabulous time off leash and he was so tuckered out by the time we got home he slept the rest of the afternoon and evening. A tired dog is a happy dog.

We drove a mere 30 minutes from home to be enveloped in this kind of natural beauty. I believe we live in the best place on earth. They don't call it Beautiful British Columbia for nothing!

The Magic Mailbox, Olympic Edition

Just when you thought I was done talking about the 2010 Olympic & Paralympic Games...*laughs* Yes, I have more to post!

Yesterday I went to pick up my mail and lo and behold there was a card indicating a large item to be picked up at the counter. I traded the card for over sized Xpresspost envelope, which I had to sign for. Once all the formalities were taken care of, I flipped it over to see where it was from-I wasn't expecting anything other than a prize I won (more about that in a later post) and it certain wouldn't be flat! Imagine my surprise when I saw the return address belonged to VANOC. (The organizing committee of the 2010 Games.)

I didn't even leave the post office before I ripped it open to see what they could possibly be sending me now. There was a letter from John Furlong, president of VANOC (Remember I got a photo with him at the Paralympic Torchbearers' party?) It indicated that they were sending the Blue Jackets a special DVD to commemorate the behind the scenes work we, as volunteers of the Games did. The DVD is called "Behind the Moments/Dans Les Coulisses". It's about 2 1/2 hours long and broken into 4 segments. I watched it last night and it's incredible.

There were a couple specific things in it that stood out in my mind. In one segment, John Furlong talks about some of the preparation for the Opening Ceremony. He tells a story about how he was in a meeting discussing with David Atkins the idea of Rick Hansen wheeling up the ramp to bring the flame into the stadium for the lighting of the Olympic Flame. David tells John that there's no way Rick is going to be able to wheel up the ramp-that it's a theatrical ramp, not a wheelchair ramp and that even he has tried it as a fit person and and can't manage it. He insists that someone will have to push Rick up the ramp. John in turn tells David that it will take a bigger man than he to tell Rick Hansen he can't do something and there's no way John's going to call and tell Rick it's not possible.

David gets Rick to come to the stadium to test his theory that what John wants is just not going to happen and to his utter amazement, Rick wheels himself up the ramp under his own steam on his first try. David calls John to tell him to which John replies "Well of course he did-he's Rick Hansen!"

Years ago, as part of his Man in Motion Tour, Rick Hansen wheeled himself up the most brutal hill in Coquitlam and the steepest one he encountered on his world tour. 20 years later, he did it a second time. Clearly David Atkins had no clue how deeply he underestimated Rick Hansen's ability to move mountains! I was deeply amused by this.

The other thing that I loved on the DVD is a 30 minute montage of photographs from the Games. One photo in particular stays with me. It was taken up on Cypress, home to all the alpine events. The backdrop is snow and a safety fence with the Games colours on it. Standing right in front of the fence is a pair of leg prostheses with a folded sweater resting on top of them. When I saw that, I immediately thought the caption for that photo should read "Gone skiing." It was such a powerful image, speaking to the ability of the human spirit to rise about limitations. That image spoke volumes.

As John Furlong said at the end of the video, there are so many stories of the games, seen and experienced by the volunteers that the world will never know. But, as he pointed out, the important thing is that we, the Blue Jackets know those stories. I have so many stories myself that either never made it onto my blog or that I only mentioned only in part, simply because I was far too exhausted at the end of the day during the Games to go into great detail.

I really wish there was a book to compile them in. I would love to write that book-I would love to hear all the stories and to re-experience the Games through the eyes of my fellow volunteers. Can you imagine? That would be a dream within a dream for me. If only!

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I was featured in the Summer edition of Shared Voices, the MS Society's Lower Mainland Chapter newsletter. If you'd like a peek, you can click here. The article is on page 7, so scroll down.

I have more Games related news, but I won't have details for another month or so. I'll spill the beans once I know what the plan is, hopefully by late August. I am really excited about it!

In totally unrelated news, because so many readers have asked, an Indiana Jones update: Indy saw our sweet vet (I love our vet) this morning and he got a clean bill of health. A week's worth of medicine and TLC cured his eye infection. YAY! Thank you for asking after him and wishing him well. He sends you all puppy kisses. xoxo

Vices

Here are a few of mine:

Geometric fabric in fall colours, dark chocolate (this bar, in particular)...

Circle fabric, threads in my fav colours, Post-it notes...

And more fabrics! The colours are washed out in the pic-not sure why, but the one on the left is a mustard gold colour and the one on the right is a geometric print in lime.

What's Up?

Hello again! I haven't updated "the list" in awhile, so here's what's going on lately:

Creating: I'm working on a number of projects at the moment, one of which is the second edition of Manual Dexterity Zine for the annual zine exchange. Here's the very beginnings of that project:

Pages for my zine, in progress.

Yes, I am sewing them ROD style because who doesn't love sewing paper? Obsessed? Yesiree!


I particularly like this one. Simple but the clean lines gives it punch.




Reading: Right now I'm 3/4's of the way through Psychovertical by Andy Kirkpatrick. Yet another mountaineering book. (Another obsession!) Next in line is Dancing on Ice: A Stirring Adventure, Risk and Reckless Folly. How's that for a title? According to the write up this is what it's about:





"In 1930 the dashing Gino Watkins led a group of fourteen intrepid and largely inexperienced young men (including the author's father) to pioneer the first commercial air route between Europe and America. Alongside high adventure, triumph and tragedy, Scott paints a stunning portrait of two lost worlds: the Inuit hunters of the polar regions and the Brideshead generation of English men addicted to adventure.





One member of the expedition was stranded alone on the ice cap for five months, for much of the time in total darkness. Blizzards raged continuously and temperatures dropped to -41°C. For six weeks he was utterly trapped in an ice cave, unable to get out as his companions mounted a desperate, last-ditch rescue attempt."





I tend to read alot of mountaineering, polar exploration and iditarod books. Anything about ice and snow adventure engages me.



Watching: Hmm..let's see...Breaking Bad, Glee, Ice Pilots NWT and HOUSE just wrapped up. Deadliest Catch and Ice Road Truckers are still on. I am also watching So You Think You Can Dance and a brand new mini series that started last week called Persons Unknown. It kind of reminds me a bit of The Lost Room. (Which I loved.) I think they are shot in a similar manner.





Listening: The last couple of days I've been going through my mixed CD collection (which is extensive) and ripping tracks I want to keep and culling the herd. I added a whopping 270 new tracks to my iTunes library. *boggles* My friend Penn offered to take all my cast-offs off my hands, which is great because I'd always rather re-home something rather than turf it if I can. (Being a Tree Huggin' Granola and all.)



Dreaming: I'm in the process of planning a trip we'll be taking later this year to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. I am really excited about it and I think it's going to be a really good time. Can't wait!



Doing: I've been changing out the art on my inspiration board. The one above my desk is completely empty and I changed out the art on one wall completely. I also reorganized my bookshelves so they have less clutter. Less clutter in the studio means less clutter for the mind, I think!





Anticipating: Going out for lunch with friends and hanging out with my artsy peeps on the weekend. Simple pleasures are the best.



In other news, I was asked to do an interview for Shared Voices which is the MS Society's Lower Mainland Chapter newsletter. The interview was about my Olympic and Paralympic Torchbearer experience.
Here's a peek:



I've been busy the last few days tending to Indy, who developed an eye infection on Monday. Poor little guy was pawing madly at his eye. I got him in right away to see our lovely vet (he's the nicest man and sadly, he's about to retire) and after being so good about sitting still for an eye exam that looked horribly uncomfortable to me, he got some medicine. I have to put ointment on his eye three times a day and while it's not his favourite thing, he's good about letting me work on him. It's starting to look like the medicine is working, which is a relief because it breaks my heart to see him suffer. He should be healed up by Sunday, hopefully.



So...that's what's going on in my little corner of the world.

Life As We Know It

Indy's Saturday morning went like this:

1. Wait for someone to throw the stick.

2. Swim like the dickens across the swift current.

3. Fetch the stick.

4. Look handsome.

5. Repeat until the humans get tired.

ROD Journals for SALE!!

So a number of people have asked if I would have ROD (Remains of the Day) journals for sale. At first I resisted the idea of making RODs to sell, because they are the brainchild of Mary Ann Moss, but Mary Ann is a very generous soul-apparently, several folks who have taken her class wrote and asked for permission and she posted to the group and told us everyone had her blessing to do so.

These journals take a considerable amount of time to put together, but the more I worked on mine, the more I realized that I LOVE making them. I just like digging through my scraps and finding ways to give them new life. Sewing paper is very meditative and addictive.

That said, I've been sewing pages here and there in between my own projects for the last couple of months and finally had enough
to make two wee journals!

Without further ado, here are the pair that I completed:

Journal #1 (SOLD!) is in my current colour way obsession, aqua and brown. The closure is made from a vintage brown button with a flower design on it, which echos the flowers in the fabric and a length of pretty aqua seam ribbon.

The journal has been bound by hand and measures 3 1/2 inches square and is 1 inch thick. There are 3 signatures, giving plenty of room to add your thoughts and ideas.

The fabric on the inside of the journal is aqua polk-a-dots, another favourite from my stash.

I've included bits and pieces of my own art, like this collage...


and some of my photographs, along with all kinds of book pages and other wonderful ephemera.

I've even included some vintage images here and there. It's chock full of artsy goodness.


Journal #2 is in this playful alpha-numeric print. The closure includes a bright orange vintage button from my collection with the original threads still in it (I love that!) and some fun fibres in aqua and rainbow colours to match.

Journal #2 has also been bound by hand and measures 3 1/2 inches square and is 1 inch thick, with a trio of signatures. Mmmm!!!

The fabric on the inside is this FUNky circle pattern. I love circles, don't you?

There's all kinds of wonderful bits inside, just like the first journal.

It also includes snippets of my art. Here's a favourite photo of mine, taken in my garden.

There's wonderful old ads and all kinds of fun places to write your thoughts.

More little art bits I made-a marbled ATC from my collection and look at that cool map oval-old maps have such great colours.

Magazine pages (this one features apartment buildings in Vancouver)
and labels and..well that's all I'm going to say because I don't want to ruin the surprise!

So..if you just have to have it (or them!) here's the purchasing info:

The journals are $40/each which includes shipping to the US & Canada.

I will accept payment by Paypal and ship upon receipt of funds.

To purchase journal #2, please email me.

On This Day

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my kiddo who turns 19 years old (legal age) today!!

To mark the occasion, a poem by Rudyard Kipling because I am nothing, if not sentimental. The words are as meaningful today as they were when they were written over a century ago in 1895.

IF...

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too:

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream — and not make dreams your master;

If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim,

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same:

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings,

And never breathe a word about your loss:

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings — nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much:

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And which is more; you'll be a Man, my son!

*****

Here's to the man you are becoming!

xox Mum

Textiles & Miracles

I've been haunting the local bookstore for the last week looking for the latest edition of Sew Somerset. Why? Well aside from it being one of my favourite magazines at the moment, my sweet friend Pilar emailed me to tell me that she had an article coming out in it, in which I was mentioned. WOW! That was a lovely surprise! (*Love* the colours on the cover, by the way. This issue is fairly brimming with great content!)




Awhile back Pilar sent me a parcel. I can't tell you how deeply touched I was when I opened the package and found a milagro created just for me. Pilar works magic with needle and thread and her textile work is always so enchanting. I guess Stampington thought so too because they asked her to write an article about her latest inspiration.



The milagro she sent me looks much like the ones pictured in the article but each one is unique and mine says "Healing" and has silk flowers on it. It's been carefully tea dyed and infused with love and her good wishes and prayers for my health to improve. It hangs on my inspiration board right above my desk, so I see it each and every day. I smile every time I look at it.



If you're interested in having one of Pilar's gorgeous milagros for yourself, you can find them here in her Etsy store and there are also some here in her Art Fire store. She even has some with hand etched brass icons in the center. They are amazing.



THANK YOU Pilar for the blessing of your friendship and congratulations on your article. You are a gem! xox



*FYI: Pilar is currently offering free shipping within the US and to Canada! Hurry to take advantage of this savings!

iLike

Here are some things that I am diggin' right now:

This is a great book by Diana Trout. It's jam packed with tons of techniques from cover to cover. I got my library to purchase it, I borrowed it and have renewed it 3 times. ( It takes awhile to soak it all in.)Guess I'd better go buy my own copy! It's a keeper!

Alcohol Inks! I bought these to take the place of the spray paint I've been using. If I'd known how much fun they are, I would have bought some a long time ago. I got mini spritz bottles so I can use them just like spray paint for Mary Ann Moss' Stencilry class.

The helpful ladies at the shop where I bought them must have known I like to be organized because they made a point of showing me this organizer/holder. Of course I had to have it! It's really helpful to have all my inks close at hand, on my desk.

This art by Colin Johnson. Totally by chance Penn and I discovered our mutual love for this artist's work. It was quite funny, actually. She'd spotted a pencil case made with his art in a store we were in a few weeks ago. She bought it and when we got back to her house, I told her it reminded me of some work I liked on a Gelaskins. When I looked up the artwork, (which is the skin I've been looking for for my laptop) it turned out to be the same artist! *Laughs* Clearly there's a reason why we're friends!

Also, I just finished this book by Sig Hansen. If you're a fan of Deadliest Catch, you must put this on your reading list. I couldn't put it down. I learned so much about the origins of the crab fishing industry, the immigrant history of Seattle and the surrounding area and about Alaska itself. For example, did you know that the port of Dutch Harbour sees two hundred days of rain and snow annually? I can't even imagine! And we think we've got it bad when we hit a rainy patch here in BC!

That's all I have to share for now. There are some good things in the works, but nothing I can share just yet. Soon!