How to beat the winter blahs

Looking at all the beautiful native flower photos I have taken and remembering the warmth of the sun helps chase away the dreary feeling I get from being trapped inside while the snow falls outside.

Wishing everyone a blessed New Year filled with health and joy.

New project in the making

Hubby and I spent about nine weeks living in a small travel trailer this past summer into fall. I loved it, we experienced new to us places, spent a lovely time with family and I started an tiny arts project fitting for living in a tiny space. Of course this project also carries an environmental theme as my previous Nest project does. It also has the mandate of using recycled items as in yarn scraps and beads bought at thrift stores and garage sales rather than new.

Anyhow, lets go back to the beginning. I knew when we left on our travels that as I need to keep my hands busy to still an over active mind that it would be a good idea to bring along crochet hooks and some yarn I purchased for making hats. Well into the third or fourth day bored with hat making I began playing with small crochet and ended up with a sweet tiny vessel. I was intrigued to stitch up another, so by the time we reached Vancouver Island I had two tiny crocheted vessels. Then to add interest of nature I thought to fill the inside of these vessels with found items that consider tiny environments. Well my wonderful sisters were onboard with my ideas and donated small butterfly brooches and bug fabrics to add to the vessels. Then of course to fit the mandate of found materials we needed to peruse thrift stores for crochet threads, and yarns as well as some small found vessels as all are not going to be crocheted, yet all will have handiwork in or on them.

The idea incorporates traditional handiwork with nature. The past ideology of grooming young women into marriageable prospects whom learned needle work and placed it into a chest for future use, though before my time I might add. The thought that these chests hold hope for the prospects of the future, for they were called Hope Chests.

Hope for the future of Nature is my theme. Using needlework and found objects to recreate nature  placed within tiny vessels. In a sense Nature is being segregating from self, confined within a tiny vessel.

 So far I have been working on crocheting many varied vessels.

 Some will be decorated outside 

 and some will extend the limits of the vessel as growth erupting from within.

Combinations of random freeform crochet hopefully elicit a feeling of growth on some vessels.

This is but a beginning so these vessels may look far different when completed.

SkirtsAfire

I find it interesting to push limits of creativity with varied materials and venture into what one may consider Alternative Art if for no other reason that to have fun and bring creative thoughts into the visual realm. Mostly though no matter how fun my alternative work may seem it belies an underlying message about consumer waste of a throw away society and how our waste impacts nature. So when the call came out... Skirts must be constructed only of found upcycled materials and must be wearable. 
I jumped at the opportunity to design and create a Skirt for the event. My present undertaking of using items destined for the trash bin based on that mandate as well as... skirts are to incorporate the theme of "Finding the Magic in the Mundane"

The Mundane materials that had outlived their previous purpose are slightly tattered lime green and pink plastic tablecloths, red and yellow surveyors tape, two metal kitchen strainers disassembled, pink cotton thread found at a past rummage sale, plastic mesh fruit bags, worn out leggings, silver tinsel and possibly cassette tape. The Magic is in the process of turning mundane materials into a skirt inspired by 1920 Flapper era.

Dismantling vegetable strainers.

Blast of color and shine.

Six skirts will be chosen to be constructed for the festival. https://skirtsafire.wordpress.com
I'm happy my design was chosen and have been busy each day working on my skirt as the SkirtsAfire fashion show and media blitz happens February 23rd, though the skirt must be submitted by the 20th. My design is being altered a bit from the original sketch as I found the thin plastic tattered in places making it challenging to work with. One mandate of the design is that the skirt be wearable and hold up for the fashion show and further display; so I've cut up ragged tights destined for the rag bin and backed the waist to hip section to re-enforced the waistband area as potential of the plastic tablecloths to tear was too great. Another challenge is machine stitching thin plastic. I've discovered stitch length needs to be at 4 and to sew very slowly. Go too fast the thread breaks or the plastic tears, too small a stitch can also cause a tear due close perforations. Happily though the yellow surveyors tape is quite strong and durable adding strength to the skirt where needed.

The sketch proposal displayed a zigzag pattern around the upper portion of the skirt which has been simplified due the materials being used.

Designing the hip sash is creative fun, its a lot of playful arranging and rearranging, a bit of pulling stitches to create ruffling, cutting and twisting mesh bags and joining layers for fullness. Ah, its all coming together. Soon what was kitchen cast offs will be a skirt for dancing the night away in.

Art Clothing seems to be in a category of its own. While perusing online I see many creative artists working with clothing as art or using the image of clothing in art in varied ways with varied media. It amazes me as well as inspires to view the amount of artists who create using found items and stand by the motto to reuse, recycle and upcycle diverting items from the landfills.

Its beyond time to quit indiscriminate buying and tossing as our landscape is literally littered with plastic refuse that does not break down, its non-friendly to the planet. So what I hope for is to inspire others to be creative with what they have on hand, reuse what you can, recycle, upcycle and support local small farmers, local artists and artisans.

The alternative art I create tells a story, it has a past life and I hope creates awareness.

Drawing the mountain

Haiku to you

Images from the past Fragile Elements exhibition and... Blessings.

 Alberta Tarsands Goose on display at the Art Gallery of St Albert March & April 2014.

A visual statement pertaining to the destruction of wildlife due corporate greed.

Explaining to a patron of the arts why I chose to build over 120 nests that no bird will ever nest in.  Our man-made plastics pollute. Plastic bags, fishing line, balloons bits, etc add many unnecessary deaths each year as well as desecrate our soil, waterways and air.

On a brighter note we went to check out the exhibition at the train station in St Albert at the Grain Elevator Museum, can you guess who's work is on display?

We had a wonderful tour by a young gentleman who works there, sorry no photos as I left my camera in the vehicle, this photo courtesy of my sweetie.

An etching I did some years back dedicated to a great Leader, Elder and teacher, Morris Crow. 

Blessing to his family. Blessing to this Earth for all the nourishing bounty she gives us. Blessing to  Water for liquid nourishment that sustaining us. Blessings to the Air for clearing our minds and lungs. Blessings to all our relatives, the animals of earth, the winged ones, the finned ones, and even the ones so tiny we cannot see, for all together we are community. All together we are related and connected to one another.

Blessings.

Blessings.

Blessings.

Robert Sinclair Workshop

When I lived in Brule AB eons ago I took a fantastic 2 day watercolor workshop with Robert at the Blackcat Ranch so when The River Valley Alliance and VAAA teamed up and offered a free 3 hour pleinair workshop May 4th, I gratefully took the opportunity. Of course Gerald had no idea he was signed up till we got there, but like a trooper he jumped right in and worked alongside me sharing the paintbox.

As it was a workshop I took the opportunity to Play, play, play and heeded Roberts Zen advice to stop a painting before you start it. He encouraged laying down color without consideration of a finished painting. Robert advise us to ground ones self in place with the earth, to feel the energy come up through our feet and to breathe with the understanding that we are all within the cycle of life. While out painting pleinair to realize that the trees are absorbing our breathed out carbon dioxide that they then convert and expel as oxygen for us. Yes we really are part of the glorious cycle, aren't we.

Top left is the first one painted. It looked much darker when wet but I had sopped the whole 300lb Arches paper with way too much water and drew into the puddles with watercolor pencils, which of course then bled to became a soft gray. Which in reality worked as it was snowing out so the bridge and landscape really did look soft in the distance without much definition. I drew into the wet again with watercolor pencil to define the bridge, it looked great, then it dried so soft the lines almost all disappeared. The yellow in the background are the willows in full bloom. Workshops are wonderful to encourage one to step outside of their habits and to experiment.

Next to the right, also a pleinair, except I was indoors looking out as mentioned as it was snowing and I did not want to get chilled. There were a few hardy souls that went out to paint in the snow, though I was thankful they opened the building which has lots of windows to view the landscape from. The second painting was started with watercolor washes which were then drawn into with watercolor pencils to accent the snag tree. This one was more successful as a painting, yet also successful in that more control was used in working with the water and pigment.

The bottom left image was worked from a photo of pussy willows. I basically drew with watercolor and inktense pencils which were then splashed with a wash of water to soften and blur the drawn lines.  So yes I greatly played and had a joyful time. Upon viewing my 3 pieces Robert teased and said "go home" we both laughed cause I was really taking his advice, from which I greatly benefited.

For the last image bottom right I decided to tackle the bridge once again but to push the pigments using both watercolor washes and inktense pencils.  I brought along the pencils as I'm not quite sure I like working with inktense pencils yet, but I do love aquarelle watercolor pencils though find them a bit on the soft side.

Surprisingly I prefer the first bridge painted, which is interesting as anyone who follows this blog and my blog with my paintings posted realize I paint to a high degree of definition and detail in acrylics. I do also work highly defined in watercolor though for some reason never get around to posting images of my watercolors on line.

As I mostly work detailed and layered with semi-dry brush work it was engaging to realize how much dilution of pigment happens experimenting using ample if not too much water. All in all a very successful and playful workshop for me. I'm excited about the idea to do more pleinar paintings this summer.
Hugs to all and happy sunshine days.

Wings & things

 So here is what I have worked on all week for the Green City Window project. Its a good thing my husband doesn't mind that I'm quite a pack-mouse as it seems sooner or later a crafty use is found for things.

The beautiful blue curtain fabric was gifted by a dear friend. The yarn from which all these flighty beauties will potentially hang came through a Kijiji purchase. When I bought embroidery thread a few months back I only wanted the thread, but it was one of those take all deals for the price which included small yarn samples used for yarn pictures. So items that when first gotten I felt would never be used  have been upcycled in a beautiful way. The wood and plastic beads were garnered from the Edmonton Reuse Store and probably the odd garage sale and I strung the beads with cast off Ikea picture wire, which as picture hanging wire is "crappola" but as bead holding antennae making wire its fantastic.

As a verifiable pack-mouse who uses proper twisted framing wire and hooks on the backs of my framed pieces I'd saved all the wire and clips that came with picture frames for about ten years. The clips were put to good use a few years ago when my husband made a gallery wall in our sitting room. He used the Ikea clips to suspend ball-chain from a metal bar from which I hang my paintings. We no longer buy Ikea frames since we found they are no longer wood, just sawdust and glue which screws fall out of and corners don't hold together but worst of all is the glass is now so thin its dangerous to work with. Sad that a once great store that sold quality at a decent price became too big and now to put it blunt "sells crap", a sad statement of our times I'm afraid.

I am so glad I learned the value of saving and reusing items. I love the upcycling trend that is happening with a segment of the population, many people young and old who are taking pride in deterring items from landfills by finding new use for them. Especially clothing that is restyled to trendy new looks. Its all so much fun. So whats your story, have you upcycled anything for a new use? Hugs, and be green.

community nest

So wonderful to see the large nest being added to. An interactive nest I designed for the exhibition. Viewers are invited to write on a piece of paper and thread it through the nest. If one does not wish to write they can weave supplied fabric or strings into the nest instead. I like the idea of audience participation, I believe it makes the "act or action of art" a communal venture.
Have a wonderful weekend, Hugs!

Fragile Elements @ The Art Gallery of St Albert

 "Requiem for the Birds of the Four Winds; Tree Reclamation Project" is in the middle of the gallery forefront space, and "Subtle forms force shock of recognition; someplace in the middle of the ocean where the Albatross nests there floats a massive island of extravagant industrial waste" is the sculptural piece of to the right.

Here I am before the opening standing in front of various nest pieces. I was too excited to stay home so we arrived early, which was nice as we then had time to view the paintings done by Susan Casault and Peter Ivens before gallery audience arrived.

A wonderful article was written by Scott Hayes of the St Albert Gazette
http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/20140305/SAG0302/303059997/-1/sag/artists-gather-to-honour-nature

An article done by the St Albert Leader
http://www.stalbertleader.com/2014/03/06/handling-with-care-fragile-elements-at-art-gallery-of-st-albert/