It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

Happy Autumn everyone!! My most beloved season is finally here!! YAY!! The weather has been absolutely gorgeous-cooler, but beautifully sunny. It makes me so happy to watch the turning of the leaves and the changing of the light.

It's been a busy time in the last week or so. I met with my new cohort, my 4th for the UBC Interprofessional Health Mentors Program on Monday night. This time my students are from medicine, nursing, OT and kinesiology. They are a lovely group of young women and I am excited to be working with them. My 3rd cohort has two more session and then they are done. Hard to believe we're at that point already!

We have been sticking pretty close to home as my husband is still recovering but we've managed to take Indy for a dip in the lake from time to time. He is never so happy as when he is swimming and retrieving. Now that the summer drought is over and we've had a decent amount of rain, the lake has been fairly high which makes for better swimming for him.

Thanksgiving is next weekend. I am going to be baking pies this weekend in preparation. Turkey is my favourite meal, so I am looking forward to it. Our best friends and our son will be joining us. This year has been really rough, but we still have plenty to be thankful for-we are all still alive and together and before the month is up, we will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. That's a pretty big deal. 

In case you missed it, there are zines available in my Etsy store-issues #3 & #4 of Manual Dexterity. Issue #3 is Hallowe'en/Autumn themed and includes my secret recipe for THE BEST pumpkin pie! You can find them here.

Happy Fall Y'all! 

Under the Weather

Yes, I am still alive. (Barely!) I came down with a very nasty throat infection 12 days ago and have been in bed ever since. Fortunately I have antibiotics now, so hopefully I'll be feeling better and have my voice back soon.

In between doctor's appointments, I managed to take Indy for a walk in the park yesterday. Walking around the lake was a challenge because I am feeling pretty wiped out, but Indy needed the exercise and I needed the fresh air after being stuck at the hospital all morning. The leaves were just beautiful. Maple leaves are always my favourite (for obvious reasons) and I love oak leaves too. There aren't as many oak trees in BC as there are in Manitoba, so when I see oak leaves, it's a sweet reminder of home.

Just before I came down with the plague, I had a fresh bust of inspiration to work on finishing issue #4 of Manual Dexterity, which has been in the works for some time. All the art is completed, (the image above is a wee peek!) now I just need to work on the written content. My goal is to have it completed before I have surgery on my wrist. Since I'm still waiting to hear when that's actually going to happen, chances are good I'm going to manage to get it finished! Zines are alot of work, but I really enjoy making them.

Gearing up for Thanksgiving this weekend. It's probably going to be pretty low key as I am not 100%, but there will be turkey, one way or another and I am determined to enjoy CranberryFest tomorrow!

Catching Up!

Hello! I know I've been scarce around here in the last week or so. Two reasons: 1. my laptop is on its last legs and keeps crashing and 2. volunteering! The laptop issue will be alleviated this weekend, thanks to a sweet friend who has recently upgraded her computer and has offered me her old one. (Thanks Michele!)

I have so many things to share!

Last Sunday, I got up early and headed to the park to volunteer with the annual Terry Fox Run. I finally got to meet Leah Pells and her beautiful Pads service dog Smokey who is a black Lab. You know how I feel about black Labs! Smokey helps Leah serve the students she teaches and connects with them in a way only sweet gentle dogs can do. He is a beautiful boy and so incredibly mellow. Indy desperately wanted to play with him, but he was working.

The Terry Fox Run was lovely. My favourite part was all the message people wrote in chalk on the park sidewalk where the run ended. I took the selfie posted above in that spot. I love that people did that. There was also a banner for people to sign saying who they were running for. I put my husband's name and also added the name of a little boy who was diagnosed 2 weeks ago with a rare brain stem cancer. I only know of this child through a friend, but I wanted his parents to see a photo of his name on Terry's banner and know that they are not alone as they face this terrible thing. This is exactly what Terry was hoping to put a stop to when he began his Marathon of Hope.

  The Vintage Pearl and Curly Girl Design partnered for a giveaway and I was lucky enough to be the winner! The necklace & note cards that were also part of the prize arrived yesterday in the magic mailbox. Had to giggle that they *almost* got my name right! 

Everything came wrapped in this mission statement bag.

Curly Girl sent me a stack of 25 of their greeting cards. When I saw a card set was part of the prize, I figured there would be about a 1/2 dozen, not 25! I think they sent me one of everything they make! The cards are lovely and I predict some very good mail days for friends in the future. 

The Vintage Pearl prize was so prettily wrapped.

Inside the box was this silver necklace which was *so* meant to be mine. I put it on right away and I don't think I want to take it off. I love how the little pearl tinkles against the silver when I move and reminds me its there.

THANK YOU Vintage Pearl & Curly Girl! I feel so spoiled! Now I just have to decide what goodies to treat myself to with the $25 gift certificates from each of them that were also included!

I have begun volunteering with the organizing committee for the 2014 Wheelchair Curling Championships which are being held in my community in late January. So far it's been a challenge with my computer crashing constantly, but the work has been interesting. 

I had dinner with my friend Courtney last Sunday and she asked if I would be willing to work with the Skiing Is Believing program this year. I was very touched that she would invite me because I know how much this program means to her. I was thrilled to accept. (It was a no-brainer!)

I also got the official word that I will be working with a new group of students for the Interprofessional Health Mentors Program for 2013-2014. I'll be finishing up with my current group at the end of the year, so they will overlap briefly. I met with my current group last week and we were all kind of stunned to realize we will only meet one more time before their program wraps up. The time flew by so quickly! Our last meeting is going to be over dinner somewhere nice. I am pretty sure they will remain in touch-they are such lovely women. I am excited to meet my new group at the end of this month and see which disciplines they are from.

I'm meeting up with my art partner in crime, Penn tomorrow and we're going to spend the day Gelli Printing. She is heading off to England shortly to visit family, so it will be nice to hang out and have an art day before she goes.

Autumn officially arrives tomorrow. I am already enjoying hearing Indy crunching through the fallen leaves in our backyard. I wait all year for this season-it's my most favourite. I think this says it best:

From my heart to yours, HAPPY AUTUMN!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving is especially poignant for our family this year, as we face some unexpected and devastating news. We are deeply grateful for our friends near and far who have circled the wagons for us during this difficult time. Your love keeps us strong.

In what has become a Thanksgiving tradition here on my blog, I am sharing this beautiful ancient piece of writing. I am not a religious person but this speaks to my values and my vision for how to live my life.  Some anonymous soul in the 1600's recorded these thoughts for posterity so that someday we could read them on this, the most special of days.

Harvest Prayer

(17th Century Anonymous Sermon)

Please be gentle with yourself and others. 

We are all children of chance 

And none can say why some fields blossom 

While others lay brown beneath the harvest sun. 

Take hope that your season will come. 

Share the joy of those whose season is at hand. 

Care for those around you. 

Look past your differences. 

Their dreams are no less than yours, 

Their choices in life no more easily made. 

And give. 

Give in any way you can. 

Give in every way you can. 

Give whatever you possess. 

Give from your heart. 

To give is to love,

To withhold is to wither. 

Care less for the size of your harvest

 than for how it is shared, 

And your life will have meaning 

And your heart will have peace.

***

Happy Thanksgiving Canadian Friends!

5 Shot Friday #2

I'm celebrating the arrival of Autumn with this 5 Shot Friday, created with photos from last Autumn.  If you've read my blog at all, you know that this is the season I wait all year for. I live for Autumn. 

This time next week I will be preparing for Canadian Thanksgiving. In Canada, Thanksgiving is centered around the celebration of the harvest and family. It always falls on the second Monday in October. Our Thanksgiving is earlier in Autumn than the States because of where Canada lies geographically-our harvest season happens earlier than that of our our southern neighbour. 

Right now, we're experiencing warmer than usual fall temperatures, so the leaves have not yet begun to turn. Hopefully that will happen by next weekend! I can't wait!

Meanwhile, to help me celebrate this most beloved of seasons, I've signed up for Rose Coloured Glasses with the incredible Vivienne McMaster. (At my friend Greta's urging. Thanks G!) It runs from October 8th-19th, so there's still time to sign up and celebrate with us!

On the Wing

On the Wing

This morning, I have a couple more images taken at the salmon graveyard on the weekend to share. (You can click on them to view at full size.)

This image of geese taking flight over the river is so emotive to me. I wonder if your experience of it is the same as mine?

Branches Bare

I was taken by these frosted branches along the shore line. They reminded me of a quote from Hemingway:

"You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you dies each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintry light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen."

Isn't that beautiful? 

Autumn is drawing to a close-I can feel the change in season starting to happen. Winter is close at hand.

Turn, turn, turn...

Artist & Observer

The goodness of my weekend:

 Totem, Deep Cove

First Frost

These late days of Autumn on the west coast of Canada have been incredibly beautiful.

Lately, I've been pondering this photographic journey I've been on for the last 11 months. I think you can tell alot about a person by the photographs they take. It's a glimpse into how they see the world at any given moment in time, but also of what really matters to them. As I'm looking back at all the images I've shot this year, I can see themes developing. I keep discovering and uncovering parts of myself I didn't know about. Photography has allowed me to be both the artist and the observer.

When I'm out with my camera, I feel like there's a different level of awareness happening. It's almost as if everything becomes sharper somehow and I hone in on things that I might not ordinarily see. I shoot entirely on instinct.

 On the rare occasions when I am without my camera, my brain is constantly taking mental shapshots around the city of things I want to come back and capture with my camera. It's so weird to have a memory catalogue of photographs I haven't taken yet.

Light Hunters: Getting Through the Grey begins in 10 days.

The journey continues.

Photo Date: Chinatown

My friend Carol and I went on another photo date today in Chinatown. I think we could visit it fairly often and always find something interesting to photograph. Like this Chinese lion, for example. I didn't even see a few weeks ago when I was there. There are a few streets I obviously missed the first time.

I found another cool door to add to my collection. This one has a "1/2" address. Apparently this was not uncommon years ago, before the city cracked down on the proper numbering of buildings. I am assuming that any of them still marked like this were grandfathered in. Chinatown was established in 1887 and was declared a heritage site just last week. It's definitely a unique area of our city and deserves to be preserved, not only as an important cultural community, but for the beautiful architecture as well.

Carol and I also wandered through Livingston Park. We were drawn there by the riot of colour we could see from a distance. As evidenced by this photo, Autumn is in full swing here on the west coast of Canada. It was an absolutely gorgeous weekend. We ended up over at Granville Island to meet up with my husband and Indy for lunch al fresco. It was the perfect way to wrap up such a wonderful day.

Tomorrow I will tell you about what else Carol and I discovered today. It's weird...and kind of interesting.

In This Moment

In This Moment

This is the beauty of today, on the west coast of Canada.

Truly, this is the season that stirs my soul and makes me glad to be alive.

Delicious autumn!

My very soul is wedded to it,

and if I were a bird

I would fly about the earth

 seeking the successive autumns.

 ~George Eliot

I wish you quiet moments in the weeks to come, to sit and watch the leaves change and to soak up the goodness of the season.

Swan Dive: Here We Go!

 So I "went back to school" on Monday, virtually that is. Swan Dive, the 3rd class I'm taking with the fabulous Vivienne McMaster started on Monday.  We began by playing around and not being afraid to make a mess with some of our photographs. The crazy thing was that every time I tried to "make a mess", I liked what I did. It challenged me to find and use post processing treatments I'd never used before.

This simple image of some pretty weeds growing in a fence was shot over the weekend. I just kept playing with it, adding a water overlay (above), changing the colour effects...(below)

Here's the mosaic I made to show the progression:

The image on the top left was the original photograph, untouched. Experimenting=learning!

Today we're working on colour. I'm up early, so I started working with this image, also shot over the weekend. The focus of colour on the smallest and most important element in the photograph makes the image more powerful, I think. I shot a fair number of photos of these beautiful seed pods, (I was so taken with them!) so it's likely you'll see them again!

We've also been discussing our style and that's been interesting. I always find this my least favourite art related question. For me, it's like nailing jello to a tree. I'm not in the habit of trying to analyze and label what I do and I'm always at a loss when someone asks me to define myself that way. I guess my approach is that what happens when I set out to create something is organic and intuitive and those are things that just are. (I have the feeling I am not explaining it very well.)

Anyway, when push came to shove, here's how I processed my style:

 -Clean: I'm thinking it terms of composition, lines, light. I'm all about the aesthetic.

-Intuitive: I kind of have this guerrilla style of shooting like a crazy woman and then seeing what speaks to me once I get the image up on screen later. I also tend to shoot whatever presents itself and feels right in the moment-it's never planned.

 

-Observational: Lately I've been posting about "elevating the ordinary" and that idea has had alot of resonance for me. I like to suss out the beauty in the things we've become almost blind to in our day to day existence.

I got some really supportive feedback from Viv and Amy (a fellow classmate whose photos are brave, truthful and full of poetry) which feels really good because I have a keen sense of vulnerability with this whole exploration of photography that I've been doing this year. Don't get me wrong-it's been nothing short of wonderful, but it's always a little intimidating to put yourself out there when you're just learning something new.

So that's where I'm at, three days into this latest adventure. We're slowly transitioning into Autumn here (I've seen leaves starting to fall!) and I can't wait to capture the goodness of my most beloved season with my camera. It's going to be delicious!

A Gift For You!

 I've had so much fun creating images for Wading In and Light Hunters and I thought it would be fun to share some of them with my loyal readers (that's YOU!) by creating some Desktop Wallpapers from them. I know we're a little over half way through August, but the bandannas were just begging to be used.

My husband has a ton of these and he wears them under his hardhat during the summer months, draped over his head so his neck doesn't burn. (Think Foreign Legion hat style.) I snapped this shot one day when he'd washed a bunch of them and hung them out on the line to dry. They looked so pretty flapping in the breeze-kind of like little prayer flags. I think there's just something so oddly charming about laundry on the line in the summer time.

Being Canadian, I have a soft spot for our national symbol, the maple leaf. When I saw this one lying on the forest floor, I couldn't resist. I love the texture and contrast that were captured in this image. There's a beauty in simplicity.

To add these to your desktop, click on the image to get the full size, then right click and choose "set as background" et voila!

I've signed up for Vivienne's next installment of photographic goodness, Swan Dive, which begins on September 6th. I am really excited about shooting in Autumn. I've waited all year for this, my favourite season. It's only a few weeks away and I can't wait till it feels like the season has "flipped the switch" and the weather changes.

I love the wind stirring the trees, the leaves fluttering down and crunching underfoot, the clean, crisp air, the harvest. It's cozy sweaters and jeans and hiking boots. It's celebrating birthdays, Thanksgiving, our wedding anniversary and Hallowe'en. I hold my breath during the summer. (I loathe it, truth be told. Yeah, I know I'm probably going to catch some flack for admitting that, but it's true.) In Autumn, I breathe deep. Everything about Autumn makes me feel joyful and alive.

I am *so* ready. Bring it on!