Saturday, May 30, 2009

sow, weed, water, wait

after a few days of rain
it made it easy to pull a few weeds
move a few plants
and admire the new blooms in the garden
-----------
one orange poppy
soft pink azalea

purple iris
-----
now that most of the work is done
it's nice to be able to enjoy
tomorrow i will spend the day
in the garden
making jewelry
with a few friends
i know it will inspire us!



Wednesday, May 27, 2009

a lot of patience

i've always been an artist
who has to work on several pieces at once
i have to see results quickly and
produce something to feel satisfied
i've taken 6 classes with heather gentelman
and have been learning how to create texture
i haven't been concerned about mass producing
just practicing layer upon layers
and seeing what will and can happen
which requires a lot of patience
which i've been learning from heather
---------------
above, a detail of a work in progress
inspired from a photo of a wall taken in philly
i made the star from roof flashing and
added a rust finish
another " work in progress" project
layers of browns, lots of copper leaf,
more wax of shades of blue
and more copper leaf
back and forth, scrapping in between
----------
i'm hoping to finish
one of these boards in
next weeks class

Sunday, May 24, 2009

time to enjoy

it's been a long month digging in the garden
and i'm happy to to say that most of the work is done
time to enjoy !
today, i decided to bring out my hot plate and
work on some encaustic outside
it was a perfect day for it
after hours of playing
i decided that i didn't really like what i did
the experiment was good
it was just too dark
after i scanned and resized it
i decided to lighten it up in ps
it wasn't much better
so, i inverted it
perfect!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

faces

the countenance is the portrait
of the soul
and the eyes mark it's intentions
cicero
-----------
photo from old city hall
toronto

Thursday, May 21, 2009

photo journal group

it's been since last fall when
i participated in the group
hosted by
this months theme was architecture
above is the cover
a photo by catherine
she always finds an interesting way to
put the books together
she added a copper roof!
what a lot of work
and it turned out just stunning!
thanks catherine
for another beautiful journal

i couldn't decided which photo to use
one of my favorite things to photograph is architecture
so i decided, since most of the
group members are american ,
that i would show them a bit of my city
something modern
and something old


Tuesday, May 19, 2009

garden update

10 days later
and my garden has blossomed
everyday there is something
wonderful going on
my favorite time is now
everything looks so lush
i found a japanese maple
to replace my cherry tree
which lead to a total revamp of the centre garden
i moved some of the flagstone
removed all the plants
added some new earth and compost
and redesigned everything
around the new maple
cedar mulch to finish it off

solomon's seal



cherry blossom
from last year
i'm going to miss the blooms




not sure what this shrub is
but it blooms at the end of may
for just a few short weeks






Saturday, May 16, 2009

the first long weekend!

i usually work saturdays
but for the summer
i take off 4
starting with today
i was up a 6 am
and down at the st. lawrence market
what a great way to start the day
a cafe latte and fruit cup
wondering , sampling,
enjoying the smells and the atmosphere
the rest of the weekend will be spent
gardening, relaxing and a few bbq's
i can't decide....
raspberry margarita's or bellini's
maybe i'll try both!
to my fellow canadians
i hope you have a great
victoria day!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

encaustic class part 2

it's not finished but i thought
you might like a sneak peak
i've been learning all about texture since
i started taken classes with heather
she knows it's my passion and has been helping
me develop it over the first 4 classes i've taken with her
i have 5 boards on the go right now
this one is the closest to being done
the photo was taken at the
mont royal cemetery in montreal

a close up of the gate and texture
i used several shades of grey and taupe
and a bit of blue and green


one thing i learned was how to make a mold from clay
coated it with linseed oil and poured in the wax
and in minutes i made 3 wax finials
i gilded each one in silver leaf
and distressed them with black paint



a close up of one of the finials
it still need some work
but i'm happy how they turned out
i'd like to add a little more wax
to add to the depth
i'm really loving my new class!!





Tuesday, May 12, 2009

encaustic class

i love texture
always have
so it's seemed natural to incorporate
it into my encaustic work
i started a new class last wednesday
(a 7 week course)
with heather gentleman
one thing i have learned from her is patience!
expect the unexpected
and enjoy the process
which i'm slowly learning
and enjoying immensely
it's hard for me not to mass produce
and see results- instantly
but this is part of my evolution
above are sections of three different boards
all "works in process"
and i'm o.k. with that!!
i can't wait for tomorrows class
to take them to the next layer of texture

Saturday, May 9, 2009

springtime blooms

one week later
a little rain
some weeding
more rain, hail, and high winds
lost my cherry tree
( what can you do? )
think about redesigning
enjoy the springtime blooms!
--------
above are just a few of the booms happening
in my garden right now
coral bells, lungwort, brunnera
bleeding hearts
ferns
evening primrose

a room with a view

cats eye view
waiting for her to make a move
gave up waiting





Thursday, May 7, 2009

resin and chain

the resin gods where good to me
no bubbles!!!
i was a little hesitant
but they turned out great
i finished 10 pieces today!!!
--------
above, i used one of my photos
taken last fall in owen sound

decorating the chain is the best part
it really finishes off each piece
these are my favorites, so far
i'm looking forward to making more


Wednesday, May 6, 2009

praying for rain

i'm praying for rain
one: the garden needs it and
two: i need a break from the garden
---------
i've had this table set up for weeks
i took a class last fall with jane wynn
and kept saying
"i need some supplies to get started at home"
well last month i went out and got what i needed
a blow torch and a tripod
solder, flux, liver of sulfur
i got a little frustrated with my soldering techniques
and kept putting it aside




i've been going through my stash of "stuff"
setting out collages of metal
moving things around and trying to get inspired


this is what i've come up with so far
tonight i will pour the resin
and tomorrow i will add some chain


Tuesday, May 5, 2009

balancing act

for the past few week i've been try to balance everything
this time of year is extra work
my part time job is my garden
not that i'm complaining
i just wish there were more hours in the day
it's like an addiction
i can't get enough
and while i'm working i'm thinking
about what to do next in the garden
it's convenient working from home
when i get a break i can go out and take a look around
do a few things and them back to work
i'm praying for a rainy day
so i can stay in and do some art
the one thing that has been lost in the balance
------------
above is a photo from last years garden
they are just starting to bud and will bloom in july
i have 8 hydrangea shrubs and several different varieties

Monday, May 4, 2009

distracted

the past few weeks i've been busy in the garden
this is my favorite time
everyday you can see the changes
sometimes i feel like i can actually
watch the garden grow
everything had tripled in size
and the next few weeks it will really come to life
most days i'm spending 4-6 hours
digging, transplanting, weeding,
so i haven't had much time to do anything else
hopefully i will get to the jewelry i started a few weeks ago
above a photo of
which has a little forget-me-not flower

Friday, May 1, 2009

just a few miles up the road
is a marina and park
i like to visit as often as i can
it's a great escape in the big city
the water really soothes my soul
and i get to
visit with the wildlife
above is one of the many photos i took yesterday
played in ps, added a few filters and a frame

 
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