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!

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

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!

faces

the countenance is the portrait

of the soul

and the eyes mark it's intentions

cicero

-----------

photo from old city hall

toronto

photo journal group

it's been since last fall when

i participated in the group

hosted by

catherine anderson

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

bce place

and something old

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

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!

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!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

jack frost brunnera

which has a little forget-me-not flower

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