Liz Davidson / Artist Notebook

Steel and Shadow

2012-02-01T06:21:00.000-05:00

Well, this is another in the continuing series of "The Helvetica Variations". I picked up the laser cut steel letters today, disappointed to find out the they had not processed the order correctly and had discarded the negative shapes. They are cutting more, but I am thrilled with the positive shapes and had to play. Steel shadows today, imprints in snow tomorrow. With luck next week the whole thing; together; in one place. Keep your fingers crossed.

Shadow variation

Steel letters with shadow

1st shot on the kitchen counter, better get some white paper, but great shadows and J.'s hand holding them

And More Signs

2012-01-30T07:34:00.000-05:00

Well, we didn't get quite the amount of snow I wanted but it was a start in the right direction. J. has a new way to shovel the driveway when the amounts are small, just keep driving the car over it and pack it down. Before he did that I got some more photos.

Tire track poem in 4 lines

It's Snowing

2012-01-28T09:02:00.000-05:00

Yea, this is what we saw when we opened the door last night to take Zoe for her walk. Quiet, snow covering everything, walking was easy again, good by shuffle, shuffle. The silence that only happens when it snows, the world holding her breath. I'm hoping for at least 10 cm / 4 inches. Yes, yes, yes I like this stuff, sure beats rain and freezing rain.

Well, that's more like it

More Signs

2012-01-26T06:40:00.000-05:00

Just after the New Year I took a series of photos I called 'Signs for the New Year". Things looked encouraging, it was a new year after all. When I went out late yesterday afternoon I noticed our road is having a tough winter. There has been so much ice and rain that the town workers have had to use a huge amount of salt, rendering the road almost white. And the asphalt is cracking and heaving everywhere. Great patterns though, and looking very blue, although that is probably due to the twilight.

Cracks in the road

Going Dotty

2012-01-24T06:47:00.000-05:00

While last years final alphabet is not finished for A letter A Week; in fact it's still in it's various variations stage, this one is. Of course I haven't quite kept to the rules but I'm getting closer. With Damien Hirst in the news with his dot paintings, my mind went a bit wild and I thought of confetti, settled on waste dots from a punch press and started to play. All the dots live in the box and can be used to shape any letter or words you want. In the spring I hope to take them outside and have a trail of dotted letters or probably words through the woods, but for now here they are.

Dotty Alphabet with its' box of source material

Light and Shadow

2012-01-22T07:53:00.000-05:00

This year our very slanted and southern light is hiding more days that I wish. So that when it finally emerges one really pays attention to where it lands and the shapes it illuminates and hides. The exterior world of snow and the interior world of white walls make for a canvas waiting to be marked.

The sun's mark making

Tangled Letters

2012-01-20T06:45:00.000-05:00

I had thought, an assumption I now realize, that cutting the letters [For the Helvetica Variations] with the laser [Charm City Laser] would result in the negative and positive spaces releasing easily. In fact I was a bit worried I wouldn't be able to document the process. As it turns out it is a time consuming job. Tweezers are vital, [thanks for the tip Will] I get covered with soot and I may have to revise my estimated time of arrival. The positive shape works well but next time I would give more space in the negative, and use much heavier paper.

Tangled letters, positive shapes

Letters with the burn mark from the laser

Open magazine with bits and pieces of the negative shape floating about, The space between F and G is particularly problematic

Will sent me this link, love the work, http://www.listeningwithmyeyes.com/
by Ebon Heath

A Need For A Grid

2012-01-18T07:50:00.000-05:00

I have been missing making grids and so when the electricity went out yesterday and the house got colder and the windows got frostier and I was taking a lot of photos while we waited to get back on grid, that metaphorical light bulb went off. Well here is the result. Power went off again last night, but as I was reading a seed catalogue in bed [if you had ever told me I would lie in bed reading seed catalogues with utter pleasure, I would have thought you were nuts] I just turned over and dreamed of grids.

Mercury Falling

2012-01-16T06:45:00.000-05:00

To say it's cold out these past few days seems a bit of an understatement. Well it is January and it is winter and it's minus 27 Celsius or minus 20 Fahrenheit and all I want is to be rolled up in a blanket in front of the fire place, reading, of all things a book of essays called Winter, by Adam Gopnik. And looking at the frost on the windows, and so grateful to be able to enjoy winter from inside when it's this cold. Even Zoe has decided short walks are fine. Thank-you Zoe.

Frost on the windows asthe mercury falls

The Helvetica Variations #7

2012-01-14T06:48:00.000-05:00

I belong to a group called A Letter A Week [link here] where the challenge is to create 2 alphabets over the course of the year, according to certain criteria. And I confess I have been hiding. I am way behind; this latest variation doesn't quite fit the guidelines, for that matter most of the variation don't, but I have had great fun, lots of challenges, met some very generous people, and, am waiting for the final variation which should be finished at the end of the month. But I was thrilled to pick this up today from Will at Charm City Laser [link here]. I had found Will while doing some research into how I could get these letters cut from a book block. Nobody was too excited about the idea until I met Will, whose only concern was that the whole thing would catch fire. Thanks Will.

Some of the earlier variations are here, here, here, here and here

Overlapping

2012-01-12T07:02:00.000-05:00

I noticed a wonderful thing yesterday, well it thrilled me. I have been taking a lot of photos of tire tracks in the snow [great patterns], the yellow marks to indicate parking spaces and direction, and highway lines, [I have a thing for highways, see Spirit Highways, link here] all the while trying to get at least 2 Expressive Drawings done each day. Well the crossover or overlapping from one to another surprised me, gladdened me also. I love it when one part of my work informs another.

#11, drawing, 2012

Moon Light

2012-01-10T06:36:00.000-05:00

Sunday night was perhaps one of the most beautiful walks J. and I can ever remember and we have been walking the same road night after night with whichever canine companion is gracing our lives. Snow had fallen, big sofa sized flakes, and the skies had cleared. The moon was full and so bright that the snow was glinting and gleaming. If you watched the snow it was like being in a disco ball from the 60's. Mesmerizing. Not to be outdone the moon was surrounded by not one but two nimbus. Mmmn, plural, should that be nimbuses? A lovely omen to start our 35th year.

Expressive Drawing, Day 3

2012-01-08T07:21:00.000-05:00

Trying to hard, thinking to much, need to get back to beginners mind. Where is the edge of the paper? Who cares, join the dance. Move back. Are you wearing your glasses? Mmmmn where are they? Who cares, just continue.

8, Jan 7.12

Sometimes what happens around the drawing pulls me the most, #7 with part of #8

Loosening Up

2012-01-06T06:45:00.000-05:00

The Expressive Drawing book is terrific. It's always interesting and especially informative when the teacher is good. And Steven is good. Also it makes me laugh. At one point he suggests that you approach the paper as if you were fencing. Well I haven't fenced in years but it sure is a different way to do it. What I like is that you are conscious of your body moving toward the surface in such an alert way. En garde, you say to yourself, moving forward and take a swipe, or a poke. Then retreat and look. React to the marks, advance, make some more marks. And so the dance goes on. Great way to loosen the mind and the body. Next time I will use acrylic black as the china ink is fun to fling about but dries to a dull black. And it drips. All over the place.

Day one

Not Resolutions But Wants

2012-01-04T07:18:00.000-05:00

I gave up making New Years' resolutions a few years ago. I never kept them and was always trying to impose upon myself a better Liz. Totally depressing. Instead I make a mental list of the things I want to do more of, things I want to explore, and because; mostly, my time is mine, it more interesting to see where I actually put my energy, or maybe closer to the truth where the energy leads me. Just before Christmas I ordered a book a FB friend, Steven Aimone [see his work here], had written called Expressive Drawing [link here]. It looks great. Then came the X-mas chaos and it languished, only to resurface yesterday. Between that and the David Hockney book I am wanting to explore drawing, or mark making, or just pushing a pencil or pen or anything else that comes to mind, across the paper. Or in this case light in front of a camera.

More Drawing with Light

2012-01-02T05:55:00.000-05:00

Between fighting a cold and trying to get a short video edited for my cousin, I finished one of my new books. A Bigger Message, Conversations with David Hockney. I love his work and especially enjoy how he moves between mediums. His enthusiasm is contagious and his love of drawing permeates everything he does. I am ready to go to London and see his exhibition opening in a few weeks. [Note to self, buy lottery tickets.] If you haven't read his book Secret Knowledge I urge you to. It's fascinating and you will never look at painting quite the same way again. Meanwhile I keep taking photos of lights, mostly Christmas tree lights, but have moved on to car lights. At least, that's what I think this was. Mind you I don't think we have green lights on our car so maybe I better check again. A bit later. Nope, no green lights on our car.

Under the wing

Wishing You Deep Peace

2011-12-31T08:34:00.000-05:00

Deep peace of the running water to you,
 Deep peace of the flowing air to you,
 Deep peace of the quiet earth to you, 
Deep peace of the shining stars to you,
 Stars and moon pour their healing light on you, 
Deep peace of the light of the world to you.

A Gaelic Blessing

Thanks so much everyone for a wonder filled year, for the meeting of new friends, for joining me on the journey, for making me use spell check, which you may of noticed but have been far to polite to mention, I sometimes forget to use, for leaving comments, for making me laugh and think, for expanding my world in ways I never dreamed, and especially a huge thanks for providing a place for my work. So

here is a toast to you all, with all best wishes for 2012.

Fun With Christmas Lights

2011-12-29T06:50:00.000-05:00

The sofa beckons but I am resisting; only because I have found a new way to play. Think I will call these Drawing With Lights. Should I warn you that you could be seeing a lot of these? I'll try and restrain myself.

Drawing with Light 4,

Drawing with light 2

Feet up and contemplating

2011-12-27T06:55:00.000-05:00

It's over for another year. And while I love seeing family and friends I find Christmas exhausting, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Perhaps my favourite time is when it is all over, everyone has gone home, the house is still clean or as clean as it can be with Zoe, the fridge still jammed full with lovely bits that we have been given, and John and I put our feet up on the coffee table and contemplate which book out of the pile of goodies we received we will start to read. Bliss.

Feet up and contemplating which book.

Listen:

2011-12-23T05:56:00.000-05:00

"There was once a king sitting on his throne. Around him stood great and wonderfully beautiful columns ornamented with ivory, bearing the banners of the king with great honour. Then it pleased the king to raise a small feather from the ground and he commanded it to fly. The feather flew, not because of anything in itself but because the air bore it along. Thus am I 'A feather on the breath of God'."

That is how one of the most remarkable creative personalities of the Middle Ages describes herself. Hildegard of Bingen has been one of my heroines for years and when I found this feather on the floor of the hall the other day I thought of this sublime music. I had used this music in a sound-scape I created for a show many years ago. Here is a link to just the music [link] and to the sound-scape The Sweetness of Truth the Body Reveals [link]. You will need to scroll down the page to find it . Below are the words in Latin and the English translation. Perfect words for any time of the year, but especially resonant now.

Caritas abundat in omnia, de imis excellentissima super sidera, atque amantissima in omnia, quia summo Regi osculum pacis dedit.

"Love lives in everything, from the deepest depths to the highest stars, and she is the most charming of all, because she has given the highest King the kiss of peace."

A feather for Hildegard of Bingen

Light Retourning

2011-12-21T06:02:00.000-05:00

We've made it. The shortest day of the year. Tomorrow the light stays longer; small wonder we celebrate. John and I put our tree up Saturday and like most, checked the lights before they went on and preceded to decorate the tree. Well actually its' branches and they are a bit fiddly to decorate. Then we did the one for the kitchen. Congratulating ourselves, we noticed that the living room tree didn't seem quite as bright. One strand of lights had gone out, but with some gentle shaking they decided to work again. The next night we noticed it was getting darker in the living room. Two strands out and no amount of shaking, and a few broken balls, was turning them back on. On to plan B. Buy more lights, but I have to admit I hate the LED's and want my old fashioned tiny white, electricity sucking lights. Sir Galahad to the rescue, he finds 4 BIG boxes of them and so the challenge today was to take out the old ones and replace with the new. Easier said than done. However we are now alight and looking very fine. Happy Solstice everyone.

Christmas light reflected on fridge door

The Most Beautiful Sunrise

2011-12-19T06:41:00.000-05:00

O.K. maybe a slight exaggeration but it was a beauty. Only a couple more days to the solstice. The light is so far south, the sun rising after 7 am, and with last nights' cold and a dusting of snow we watched the wonder unfold. Rubies, amethysts and emeralds sparkled in the snow. Feathery hoar frost coated the trees. The sun came up in all her glory. When I ventured out I found the frost had also made the most beautiful patterns on the pond.

Sunrise, Dec 18, 2011

Frost on pond Dec 18, 2011

Needs

2011-12-15T06:27:00.000-05:00

Ordinary Light

2011-12-12T06:19:00.000-05:00

The snow has stayed on the ground these last few days and the sun has shone making the light inside the house quite wondrous. There is a window on the back wall of the kitchen that we call the moon window, and because the light is so horizontal at this time of year, it shines in casting the most glorious light and shadow. It stopped me in my tracks yesterday morning. Later, when when I got out of the shower, light was illuminating the facet. I began to pay attention to the unexpected places that the light was finding. It also highlighted all the dust, but that's a job for another day.

Light and shadow from the moon window

Light under the facet

Light under my studio speakers

Temporary Alphabet or A Time-Based Alphabet

2011-12-10T06:55:00.000-05:00

This alphabet continues to elude me. Every time I think I have it, it's somewhere else. Maybe I need to tie string to it. Yesterday I decided I was taking the whole thing way to seriously and decided to play. Take a roll of paper, staple it to the wall, add a container of joint filler, and a paint scrapper and let's see what happens. The letters only lasted a few moments as I kept smoothing over the surface before writing the next letter; and I only forgot one letter, which I faked for the photo below. Next time I will use heavier paper and if I am really smart use a gessoed board so I can really move into the surface; the wet joint filler and my use of the paint scrapper ripped the paper several times. Oh well, just smooth that into the whole.

The Temporary Alphabet

Christmas Cards

2011-12-08T06:34:00.000-05:00

One of my rituals is to make our Christmas cards every year, and even with the event of email, Face book and all the rest of the virtual world I still want to keep in touch with friends that we never get a chance to see, but still are a part of our lives. I make them and John writes the notes or letters to that keep us connected. It's all very satisfying except when you realize it's Dec 8th and they need to get made, printed, written and in the mail. Thank god for Ah ha moments [ don't know how that should be spelled and can't find it in the dictionary]. So here is this years. I think you need to hold your phone up to the code and it will tell you what it means. Which in this case says Everybody wake up! Open your eyes! Stand up! Be children of the light, strong, swift and sure of foot. Hurry, clouds from the four quarters of the universe. Come, big snows that water will be abundant this summer. All hearts be glad. Love Liz and John. The words are from a Pueblo Song. Love this grid. Wonder if will read if I print it in red.

The Montreal Massacre, December 6,1989

2011-12-06T07:13:00.000-05:00

About 4 pm, December 6, 1989 a lone man carrying a semi-automatic rifle and a knife, walked into the Ecole polytechnique [an engineering school, part of the University of Montreal] and into the classrooms. He separated the men from the women, telling the men to leave and shooting the remaining women before moving on to the next class room, and the next. At the end of the rampage 14 women were dead, 14 were injured. Collectively we were in shock and as the years passed a group of committed people helped to form Canada's gun registry, now under attack by a misguided conservative government. This anniversary day always brings up a lot of mixed emotions, rage that the gun laws seen to be going the way of the dodo although police chiefs across Canada praise it, sadness that women in the world still hold little value, cynicism that much will change, hope that it will. But really what's important to me today is that we remember their names and the vows we made to them to keep on with the struggle. To help create a society, a country, a world that will not tolerate the discrimination and abuse of women.

In Memory of

Geneviève Bergeron

Hélène Colgan

Nathalie Croteau

Barbara Daigneault

Anne-Marie Edward

Maud Haviernick

Barbara Marie Klueznick

Maryse Laganière

Maryse Leclair

Anne- Marie Lemay

Sonia Pelletier

Michèle Richard

Annie St-Arneault

Annie Turcotte

Stone Circle on my studio floor

Quiet Light

2011-12-04T06:37:00.000-05:00

For the past month we have been experiencing the most beautiful light. Sharply angled and illuminating forgotten corners of our world. This is usually a gray time, the withdrawal walk towards winter; not this year. Yesterday morning we had our breakfast coffee out side, bundled up, the sun almost as far south as it goes. Not quite 3 weeks to the solstice, my favourite day of the year. "Ah," I say," done it," as I eagerly count the increasing minutes of daylight. So, if you are living in a dark place where the sun sets at 4 pm, this light is especially for you.

More Paper Shots

2011-12-02T06:52:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I wrote that title. Yesterday I got a friend to use his nail gun on a book block to try and do my alphabet. We used finishing nail. Not pretty. What the title is referring to is my latest love affair which I am being most indiscreet about. Last year a friend moved into a new house and while she was waiting for the curtains to be installed, she covered the windows with white paper. Needless to say I was over there with my camera. Couldn't believe the soft, diffused light. Think we should call this decorating tip Minimal Curtains.

Love Affairs

2011-11-30T06:29:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to tell you about my latest love affair. Crinkly, sensuous, velvety, rippled, fragile, [w]holey, dare I say it, holy paper and show you a few photos of of my love. And just for your information, not only did the paper enjoy its' bath, I put my thumb drive through the wash today and it works just fine.

Add caption

After The Bath / Desperate Measures

2011-11-28T06:17:00.000-05:00

After I had finished drilling the other night I soaked the alphabet in water and tied it up in desperation. I was giving it a bath. It needed to relax, probably I needed to relax. A friend, Rosie, [link here and here] talking about the [w] hole thing, quipped that the process was getting violent. She mentioned drowning, shooting. Mmmmn, she had a point. Things were not going the way I expected or hoped. Not being able to saw through the holes was a blow. It's still not totally dry but some of what has happened I love; the wrinkling and curling of the paper, the new texture of the paper [it feels so much thicker, more substantial]. I love the bound edge curling back on itself. In fact it's the paper, that has so much vitality and life, that intrigues and moves me. The holes give it the sense of braille, another form of an alphabet.

After a bath the bound alphabet

Opening the pages

View through the holes

Curling pages

Water meets binding

Folded pages

Another Day, Another Lesson

2011-11-26T07:01:00.000-05:00

Spent most of yesterday drilling, and not for oil. I may have demolished John dremel. It wasn't too happy about what I wanted it to do. Clouds of smoke were rising from the book block, but the big drill, which I might add, weighs a tonne, held up to the job. The holes aren't as pretty and there are no scorch marks or the smell of burnt paper, but I was able to see if this idea works. It doesn't. But some more ideas came out of it so all is not lost.

Using John dremel, smoking paper

All drilled out

Add caption

Hidden Worlds

2011-11-25T06:23:00.000-05:00

This is one of the reasons I am so taken with my macro lens. It is allowing me to see into hidden worlds. This photo captured the tiny air hole, covered with frost that my nemesis, The Moles [see previous links to the moles] use to breathe in their tunnels. Now maybe I am dreaming, or seeing things, or telling tall tales but there was this tiny, tiny area, completely different from anywhere near. A lightbulb went off; or was that the flash on the camera? Have to give them credit though. It's a beautiful place .

Entrance to the Mole World

More From The Minimal Garden

2011-11-23T07:17:00.000-05:00

It's a white world this morning, but until now our weather continued to amaze us. This has not been the November we dread. The other morning was a wonderland, thick hoar frost everywhere, soft, golden, slanted light and the pond frozen over completely. Wandering around the garden [note to self, put on your boots, your feet are freezing] I found one of my favourite stones perfectly capturing the light and frost.

Moon Rock

This One is for Matthew

2011-11-21T06:46:00.000-05:00

When I was an art student I had a love affair with ortho film. It was a very high contrast black and white film. Then I moved on to photocopy machines where the image degraded with each copy until you got a very high contrast image rather like ortho. But in the last fifteen years or so photocopy machines have become so good that you can no longer get this effect, which is when I started to use the camera and computer. All this preamble leads me back to black and white and meeting Matthew Beale, a photographer, painter and friend whose photographic work continues to inspire me. Check out his web -site here, or his Blog here. I love how saturated the blacks are, maybe velvety is a better word. I always want to touch his photos.

And my love affair with echinacea continues. Every stage of this plants' life is a marvel. The emergence of the leaves to the forming of the flower head. The budding process with the formation of the crown to the withering away and exposing the bare seed head. A plant of great structure and beauty, it has wonderful medicinal purposes. Like so many I use it all winter to boost my immune system.

Tilting and Twirling

2011-11-19T08:45:00.000-05:00

Every night, the dog takes us for a walk. And while Zoe is busy hunting, J. and I are star watching. On those clear nights we watch in awe, the milky way spread above us. Sometimes we are ever so lucky and one of us will see a shooting star. It's the immensity that is so wondrous. That, and the fact that the light from the stars has taken billions years to reach earth. And here we are, 2 tiny specks with an even tinier speck [the dog] along with 7 billion other tiny specks, walking on this round blue ball, twirling through space with the rest of the stars and planets. Amazing.

November Beauty

2011-11-17T06:29:00.000-05:00

We have been having the most sublime November. Now, here in the Eastern Townships, November and sublime are not often used in the same sentence. Usually we spend our time complaining about the Gray and the lack of day light hours, the drizzle and even worst the freezing rain. This time around everyone is walking about with a smile, the smell of a BBQ drifts by, the terraces in the village are still open, it's bliss. In a ski town it is not politically correct to say, but I'm hoping this goes on 'till Christmas. The fire wood is stacked, the few precious plants are wrapped, the garden furniture put away, the 10 tonnes of duck manure is on the garden, the leaves are mulched, the double windows are on; we're ready. Just checked the weather forecast, snow tonight. Oh well, it's been great.

the last of the oak leaves

Minimalism

2011-11-15T06:18:00.000-05:00

The dominant ethos of my art collage days was minimalism, defined as work that set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts. And like any earnest student I embraced them fervently. These principals guided me for the first 10 years as young artist, mixed in with a dollop or two of conceptualism, add a drop of Arte Povera, etcetera, etcetera. Well you can see where this is going; a mishmash. But I still love and honor the core of minimalism, the search for the essence of the "thing". While I was preparing for the exhibition last summer, this was the guiding principle in the work; to strip away, lay bare, to reveal somehow the essence of the garden. An impossible task, but thrilling to try. Some of the photos I rejected using for the show as being to bare, to abstract; but now, I am re thinking that idea. I'll call these The Minimal Garden.

Tree Peony 11

Building Bridges

2011-11-13T06:38:00.000-05:00

My x-acto knife and I have become good friends over the past couple of days as I cut out more and more letters, and better yet, not my fingers. Because I am trying to use both the positive and negative shape of each letter, and keep the negative shape page whole, the process is definitely trial and error and tiny pieces of scotch tape. Must say that some of the mistakes look great but I really want all the letters to hang together, which is where the bridges come in as I connect white spaces. In the 1st photo you can see that I have finally gotten all the letters to connect. In the lower left photo is the page they are cut from [the negative shapes], and the lower right are some of the trial and errors.

Layout Ideas

2011-11-11T05:50:00.000-05:00

I am still making maquettes for this alphabet. Every idea seems to generate more ideas, try this, mumm, try that...what about this. It's exciting, frustrating, and baffling. At this rate I will have 102 alphabets. Need to get clearer...HOW??? Ah yes, my tried and true method, sleep on it. Here is the latest ideas. Using a laser to cut out the letters, all the letters cut from one book block.

layout, need to put the bridges in so all the inner spaces don't fall out

letters cut into the book block

The World of Wonders

2011-11-09T06:50:00.000-05:00

This short video, Murmuration, by Sophie Windsor Clive, has been making the rounds on Facebook and I thought I would post it here for any of you who have missed it. It really is a beauty and I have a couple of links for any of you who want to know more about Murmuration.

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

And here are the links to a fascinating piece in the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/21/starlings-flock-together-study?INTCMP=SRCH

and another in Wired [again thanks to Leigh for this link]
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/06/starling-physics/

And because I have decided today is fun day, a treat for all the font, lettering, kerning ect. types out there. Another way to productively procrastinate. It's a game to help you learn to kern type. OK, so I know it's not for everybody, but I LOVE it. Thank-you Suzanne for this.
Kern Type, the kerning game

Notebook, Nov. 6.11

2011-11-07T06:29:00.000-05:00

Letter B. The negative shapes are more interesting, except where the positive shape of the letter is bound. Love the pages splayed open, the play of the cut words. Check font used by BBC. Check that off the list, ugly, even if it is a square. DECIDE : upper or lower case, and stick with it. Why not both? Try frame around each letter and maybe lose the interior of the letters.

Love the pages splayed open

From My Notebook

2011-11-05T08:26:00.000-04:00

Nov. 4.11. Some elements I want to incorporate into this alphabet. The old books I have been collecting because the paper is so beautiful and the text is usually so elegantly set up the page. I want to use the negative and positive shapes of each letter. The letters need a certain weight and mass, they want to occupy actual space, 3 d. space not just as marks on paper. Considering: after the letters are cut, wet the paper, free it a bit, maybe bind the letters before soaking them, use the spine of the book, what about the covers--- encase the letters in them in later? Buy more x-acto knives and emory boards at the $ store N.B. do another A without the slice in it, problem with the negative shape then, but figure it out later.

Trials on the letter A

Feeling Very Guilty

2011-11-03T07:57:00.000-04:00

I have not started my second alphabet yet. And I signed up with a fine bunch of people over at A Letter A Week. Well I have thought about it, done some sketches, thought some more, bought old books a various library sales this summer, thought some more, procrastinated; well you get the picture. Now I am ready to start, still not sure quite where I am going but the only thing I'm sure of is that I will be breaking the rules. Maybe I should have warned them that I am not so good at following guidelines. Wandering through some of my books the other day I was reminded, again, of the work of Jacqueline Rush Lee. I love how she understands the physicality of paper. What it wants to do and be. I hadn't realized that she uses "used books" in her work. Here, in her own words "For almost a decade I have found myself drawn to the intimate, tactile, and symbolic qualities of used books. I am interested in how these recycled books come with their own histories of use and meaning and how they serve as potent vehicles of expression." How this will translate into my alphabet, I can only wait and see.

Volumes Series 2001-2003, Manipulated, soaked, dried books, Copyright Jacqueline Rush Lee 2010

I can't get her web site to work but here is the URL: http://www.jacquelinerushlee.com/

you might find her Facebook site easier: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001255745685&sk=wall

Our House at 8.31pm

2011-11-01T06:41:00.001-04:00

One of the challenges about getting older is bedtime. I used to love working all night, sometimes I still do. But it seems, more and more, this is the way I feel.

Was it for this I uttered prayers,
 And sobbed and cursed and kicked the stairs, 
That now, domestic as a plate, 
I should retire at half-past eight?

  ~Edna St Vincent Millay

P.S Forgot to thank Leigh for posting this poem last week, that got me laughing, then got me thinking. Just love the line "That now, domestic as a plate'. Thanks Leigh

And More Drama Queens

2011-10-30T07:23:00.000-04:00

As you can see I have a new obsession, Drama Queens, but I think it is almost worn it's self out. It's been fascinating to go back through my files and see if I could create dramatic lighting in some of the photos. And while I love hops with their curling tendrils that wrap about everything in their path; trees, barns, telephone poles, it's time to move on as they say. The world is no longer green and vibrant, snow is on the ground, so this is my last gasp of summer. Today I face reality, winter is coming and this won't make it go away.

Fascinating hops

More Drama Queens

2011-10-28T06:59:00.000-04:00

For the past few years I have been opening my photos in Photoshop using Camera Raw and the wonderful dialog box that comes up is full of hidden treasures, most of which I am only now beginning to use. It's amazing what you discover when you start to press buttons. A zillion more ways to play with the image, a lot of which you can do in photoshop but this feels more intuitive. I find I am doing more and more of things like curves, levels and white balance here than in photoshop. Wish there was away to re-open my photoshop file using camera raw, really don't want to save files as jpegs, which might do the trick. Meanwhile here are some more Drama Queens. Thank-you Camera Raw.

Hollyhock

Grans Yellow Iris

Putting The Garden To Bed

2011-10-26T06:25:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year and J. and I have been busy whipper-snippering and raking and mulching, and putting away stuff and slowly getting the garden ready for winter. I am always surprised by how much color there is left at this time of year. Shades of deep coral and rust, deep yellows and such green grass you might think you were in Ireland. It's a great time to see the bones or structure of the garden, seeing what shapes are beginning to work, what needs help, what pleases me and what needs to be moved. And I love how it looks with its' duvet of duck manure.

Top left, looking east to the studios, Standing in almost the same spot looking south
Middle left, standing beside the arch in the previous picture and looking north, from the front path looking west,
Lower right,beside the arch [photo 2] looking west, front path looking south

Drama Queens

2011-10-24T06:06:00.000-04:00

Thinking about Jonathan Singer and his Botanical Magnifica, and doing bit of research about the series I found two wonderful tidbits of information. First, to get his gorgeous backgrounds, he drapes a piece of black fabric around the plant, then takes his photo. And I wondered if playing about in Photoshop, I could get the same sort of effect. Haven't quite figured this whole thing out yet but some of the results are surprising. The black background certainly is dramatic and makes me pay more attention to the shapes and forms. The other wonderful thing I discovered is that it was printed by Cone Studios, perhaps the most innovative digital print studio and situated not far from me in the tiny town of East Topsham, Vermont. I feel a pilgrimage coming up.

White echenesia

Stamens , Clematis

Lichen Galaxies

2011-10-22T06:33:00.000-04:00

There is a chair outside the front door; a place where I sit and contemplate whenever it is raining and I can't wander about without getting into full rain gear. Beside the chair is a stone with another stone placed on top of it, actually balanced on it, and I have been looking with wonder at the mosses and lichens growing on it. One of the lichens is a wonderful mustard color and the shapes it forms are rather like a coral reef; while the whole pattern of lichens and mosses on the stone is like a galaxy. These yellow lichens are about the size of a match head, never seeming to grow as large as the grayish ones. I would love to know how they came to be yellow. Only a very few stones in the garden are marked with this yellow fairy dust.

Lichen Galaxies

Made Me Laugh

2011-10-20T07:03:00.000-04:00

For the past couple of weeks I have been working on a big project for a client, getting stressed at times. So when friends sent me these, I laughed. Hope you do too.

The images are from a site called CHOOSE HAPPINESS.

Outlined in Frost

2011-10-18T06:45:00.000-04:00

It's a melancholy sort of day, dark until almost 7am, dark again by 6pm, a cold, wet wind, tearing the leaves from the trees with teeming rain at times. A good work day, especially as I found images from last weeks hard frost. I love the crystal outlines, water hairs standing frozen against the light.

outlines of ice crystals

Beauty in Mended

2011-10-16T07:31:00.000-04:00

As I was putting away the huge movers blanket, that we use to wrap our works when we transport them, I was struck by its beauty. Not just in it's usefulness and practicality, but by the obvious care someone had taken in mending it. And I remembered first seeing Betty Goodwin's Tarpaulin works: where she had used old truck tarpaulins, hanging them and folding them. Somehow they were unspeakably poignant.

Movers Blanket

Betty Goodwin, Tarpaulin No. 2, 1974–1975

A Find and an Old Friend

2011-10-14T07:02:00.000-04:00

The other day I was searching for something on the net, and, as in the way these things happen, came upon a find. I had never heard of Jonathan Singer and his Botanical Magnifica and never seen his magnificent photographs of rare plants. The photos are striking and so is the size of the books. Like Aubdubon's Birds of America, the edition is a five-volume, double-elephant folio of 250 of his floral images. “Double elephant” is the technical term for a rarely used, very large book-paper size, in this case approximately 100 by 75 centimeters (39½ by 29½ inches). I couldn't help but be struck by the similarity in feeling to the work of Mary Delany, who, at the age of 72, created a new art form, mixed-media collage. Over the next decade, Mrs Delany created an astonishing 985 botanically correct, breathtaking cut-paper flowers, now housed in the British Museum and referred to as the Botanica Delanica.

Top 2 rows from the Botanical Magnifica, bottom row from Botanica Delanica

Another Poem

2011-10-12T06:08:00.000-04:00

I have decided that visual poetry is for me. No more trying to spell correctly, or close enough that spell check can find the word. No, I'm returning to more ancient times and its back to the pictogram for me. Dots, swirls, gestures, rhythm, color and shape become words. As I cut down the garden I find such beauty. The leaves are becoming translucent, almost skin like, while the spent flowers are forming their seed heads in the most ingenious ways. The lines of the plants have softened; things are beginning to droop. And yet even though I know we are almost finished for another year I find great pleasure in preparing the garden for winter. There is 10 tonnes of manure waiting to blanket it.

Another poem

An Absolutely Beautiful Day

2011-10-10T06:53:00.000-04:00

Soft, warm, then really really warm, golden light filled day. Perfect cutting down the garden day. Even though the big whipper sniper kept wanting to have a break, make that a lot of breaks, actually maybe it's broke, didn't make any difference. Dinner outside, moon rising, moon shine gleaming on the tin roof, a once yearly spring rose opened one pale yellow bloom in honor of the day. Mmm, I could get used to this!

A golden light filled day

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-10-08T07:08:00.000-04:00

A hard frost the last 2 nights so I have been out early taking photos. It's such a treat, and one I look forward to every year. All the leaves and stems of the perennials and shrubs are outlined with white crystals. A magical time; so brief as the frost melts away as soon as the sun hits it, but perfectly in time to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

Frost outlining the maple leaves

Drinking Coffee

2011-10-06T07:09:00.000-04:00

Sitting outside yesterday morning, in the foggy cold, wearing my winter boots and coat, pretending it was fog and not rain, I looked up to see the tiny crab apples etched against the sky.

crab apples

Treasures

2011-10-04T07:45:00.000-04:00

One of the great pleasures of being away is having the time to find treasures, especially book treasures. I was delighted to find one on my list that a friend had recommended The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, definitely not an adventure story, but beautifully written and very moving. It's a small book that I am eking it out, only allowing myself a chapter a day. The other 2 gems are tiny facsimiles of pages from the Mira Calligraphiae Momumenta. Am amazing combination of calligraphy and botanical drawings. I have been wanting to make a book combining the images from Sophia's Garden with text somehow, so this is pure inspiration.

Mira Calligraphiae Momumenta

Maine

2011-10-02T06:33:00.000-04:00

We ran away from home last week. I needed to smell and see the ocean. I wanted to fix in my minds eye that line between water and sky, to hear her sounds and John needed to see the area around Rockport, to see and feel the light, to find some places that he had read about. I love Maine. I love the sandy soil, the plain and sturdy houses with their weathered gray shingles. I love how in the small ports and harbours the buildings are all clustered together, almost on top of each other, as if there is such strength in their togetherness. And I love the smell and the light. Thanks Maine.

Wharf inRockport, Maine

Early Fall

2011-09-29T06:32:00.000-04:00

Started to cut down the garden the other day. I am loath to start but its such a big job that I knew I had to. No more procrastinating. So I started to at least get rid of the obviously finished, which felt more like pruning. Actually more like lolling about, watching the light, storing up scents and a little work.

Sweet Autumn Clematis, View of the pond, Old Apple Trees, Zoe's foot prints in the dew

Various Moods

2011-09-27T06:34:00.000-04:00

For the last few weeks we have had wonderfully foggy, misty mornings. If it doesn't turn to rain, the fog or mist usually burns off by 7.30 or 8 am. Perfectly timed for John and I to drink our coffee while enjoying the show.

Various moods

Glimpses of Change

2011-09-25T06:18:00.001-04:00

The Fall Equinox has come and gone; ahead lies the monastery door of winter. Dawn wakens me at 6 am instead of 4.30 am, and lying in bed this morning, watching the mist or low cloud come and go, lighting the maple outside the windows, reminded me, once again, all is change. The 1st window is at the bottom of the bed, the maple tree slowing putting on her party clothes, while I have to move my head to see out the second window where the hills and mountain come in and out of existence.

From the bedroom windows

Milkweed

2011-09-23T06:20:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, while rescuing a turtle who wanted to cross the road, I noticed that some of the milkweed pods had burst, flinging their seeds about. The design is so ingenious. Each seed is attached to silky fibers that allow the seed to be carried about by any gentle or not so gentle breeze. I'll try to get some shots of the pod breaking open because how the seeds and silk are arranged is wondrous.

On another note, I wanted to say that this is the last week-end for the exhibition of Ryszart Litwiniuk and Moi at Gallery Arts Sutton. The show closes Sunday at 5pm. Directions and gallery hours are HERE.

A constellation of milkweed seeds

A single seed with the silky bits attached to one end

Good-by and Thank-you

2011-09-21T06:40:00.000-04:00

For the last 10 years we have been keeping our eyes and ears on the 2 old cherry trees just out side the studios. They have been hit by lightning a few times and Jack [our wonderful tree-man] had wired them together. JB had filled in their splits and every storm we would get anxious, very anxious. We did not want them landing on the studio roof. Well, finally a few months ago we spoke with Jack who agreed their time had come. He would have to limb them, carefully lowering each section. So when we arrived home the light was different over the house, Jack had taken down most of one. [1st photo] Monday morning he was back to take down the other, and as you can see from the photos, this is a man who loves what he does. He loves the climbing, the hanging aloft, he tells us he has even slept in a tree. You couldn't pay me to climb that high. The garden will love having so much more light and I am really happy that we had planted trees years ago, at the base of the old cherries, to replace them. So now the oak and maple have the room they need, the garden more light and we don't have to worry every time the wind blows hard.

Jack and the old cherry trees

We're Home

2011-09-19T10:45:00.001-04:00

We just picked up Zoe and we are all home again. The trip to Toronto for John's opening was wonderful, The show looks terrific [thanks Odon, Nicolas and all the Wagner "family"] and is getting lovely feedback and sales.Yea! We got to see some old friends, make some new friends, and celebrate Mrs. B's 99th birthday surrounded by 4 generations. Thank-you all, and as they say there is no place like home.

Approaching the gallery

Portrait of John © Ashley and Crippen [thanks Max]

Bones

2011-09-13T06:10:00.000-04:00

It's time to start cutting back the garden. I try to wait for the first frost because the colours can be glorious, but its a big garden and I don't always have time to wait. Thought we might get a frost Sunday night as it was 2 C [37 F] and a full moon. Usually I'm pretty good about deadheading but this year I've let some things go . Like the day lilies, and am I ever glad. Here are the seed pods, looking like rib cages. The structure of the pod is a marvel and as they dry, the skin disintegrates so that the seed is released.

Day lily sed pod

Day lily pods

Late Summer Roses

2011-09-11T07:09:00.000-04:00

The nights have been clear and crispy walking Zoe under the almost full moon; while the days start off cool and foggy before becoming piercingly clear and warm. It's so beautiful, this time of year. The David Austin roses have started their final flush. Their colour is richer with the cooler weather and the scent, mixed in phlox and hydrangeas whispers in my ear 'It's almost over". I let all the roses form hips now; no more deadheading, and as I was walking about noticed my Heritage Rose had just lost her petals. Took these shots of her. You have to admit she is quite the drama queen.

Heritage Rose

The Chair Project

2011-09-09T06:49:00.000-04:00

There is a gala in town this Saturday night to celebrate the re-opening of the Coeur du Village [The heart of the Village] also known as Salle André et Gérard Pelletier. For the past month, teams of people have been involved in a big renovation project. New stage and lighting, moving things around and generally making much better use of the space. It's an amazing place, music of all kinds, theater, dance, movies; their programming is terrific. Something for everyone. Which is where the Chair project comes in. They are replacing the old wooden chairs with comfortable PADDED ones and so a group of us decided to take the old chairs and find, coerce, beg, whatever, 50 artists, writers, poets, musicians to paint a chair which will be auctioned off next May to raise money for the hall. To start the project, Michael Hynes, a musician, and I collaborated on the first chair to be auctioned at Saturday nights gala. Now Michael is a composer as well as a pianist so he gave me his unfinished score of a work called Apophenia. I had to look that word up in the dictionary and it is the experience of seeing meaningful patterns or connections in random or meaningless data. My part was to take the score, which I might add was about 30 pages, not numbered, of lots of squiggles and dots, and some words, and fashion it into a chair. I must admit I was hoping to be able to make enough sense of the score to play even a part and get an idea of the music. No such luck. So I scanned and tore, glued and coloured, and generally played until the chair was Unfinished. Michael and I will do another chair for next May with his finished work Apophenia and I will Finish another chair.

Unfinished, Liz Davidson and Michael Hynes

Sumac

2011-09-07T07:17:00.000-04:00

Ever since I was a child I have loved Sumacs. As kids, my best friends, the twins and I used to make forts and houses under the grove of sumac in their back yard. What I loved most was how velvety the stems and stocks were. [Their name Staghorn (R. typhina) refers to the antlers of a deer.] Well wandering around the pond, I bumped into the fruit. Now I am ashamed to say I never knew sumac made fruit. Really can't believe I never noticed them before. Guess I needed a bonk on the head, because once seen, never forgotten. The shapes are so phallic, this fruit holding all the seed. I always thought the seed heads were the reddish maroon candles on the upper branches that the birds love. I have been doing some research but have not found any reference to this fruit. Does anyone know about this?

Sumac Fruit

Brome Fair

2011-09-05T06:27:00.000-04:00

Today is the last day of the fair and then it's all over for another year. It's a ritual in this part of the Townships. Labour Day Week-end = Brome Fair = Derby Burgers. All those years we were vegetarian and asked for burgers; "hold the meat, lot and lots of fried onions please". We got a lot of teasing but kept the ritual going. John will probably spend part of Tuesday and Wednesday taking his zillionith photo of the empty buildings and grounds that are Brome Fair after the fair. Brome Fair holds a special place in John's heart. It's probably the most powerful place in his universe, and every year he paints another Brome Fair painting. One year at an exhibition [after the painting was sold TG] a viewer remarked on how Agricultural was spelled. Apparently it was wrong. Mind you I had to run the word through spell check....I had it wrong too. He did one called Poultry, which of course we all called "a paltry painting" and this year it is 1st and 2nd Prize, of the award winning pumpkins [link here]. Thanks JB for letting me play with your images.

Bits of some of the "Brome Fair Paintings" , John Ballantyne [Link to John's web site]

Flood Grasses

2011-09-03T08:57:00.000-04:00

Driving into Sutton the other day, I saw where the cut grasses from the sides of the road had been swirled about by Irene's rains leaving garlands along the roadside. In places they were on top of the Pampas grass, as we call it; while in other spots the flow of the water had helped the grasses form structures like nests. I have tried to give you an idea of the garlands [bottom photos] wich I find very moving. it's as if the grasses had memory of their time in the water.

Flood grasses

Garlands of grasses

Everything Is Green Again

2011-09-01T07:03:00.000-04:00

While I realize it is September, there is a part of me that does not want to give up the idea of summer. It doesn't matter that I sleep in 'till 6 am and walk the dog in the dark at 8 pm; my head is firmly in denial about the coming change of season. And with all the rain the garden is looking very green. Perhaps a slightly tired green but still green.

Everything is green....again

After Irene

2011-08-30T06:46:00.000-04:00

We were lucky, very lucky. Others were not so fortunate. Vermont got really whacked, as did the Richelieu Valley, again. The power was off for 5-6 hours so I got caught up on some sleep. The trees are still were they should be, the streams and rivers are back down to spring run-off height; they were really roaring last night, a scary sound given the amount of rain. And this morning when I got out of bed the clouds were running east pulling blue sky behind. And the sun rose again.

Acidanthira

Waiting For Irene

2011-08-28T06:54:00.000-04:00

Like everyone else along the eastern part of the country we are waiting to see how Irene plays out....hope you are all OK.

Seed head blowing on the breeze, [before Irene]

More Weaving

2011-08-26T06:18:00.000-04:00

Vines, climbers, wanderers, I love these characters in the garden. Whether it's hops wanting to take over the world or clematis, Boston ivy, grapes or honeysuckle, I tend to let them have their way. A gentle nudge in the right direction, a snip if they don't listen, but basically they are on their own. The results are spectacular as they weave around themselves and their neighbors. Making connections I hadn't dreamed of. But really, I love then because in their weaving they are so beautiful.

Clematis

More Webs and Synchronicity

2011-08-24T10:15:00.000-04:00

Cleaning up my email [sorry if I owe you, I am really far behind but I'm getting there....] I found these wonderful photos a friend had sent of the unexpected side-effect of the flooding in parts of Pakistan. Millions of spiders climbed up into the trees to escape the rising flood waters. Because of the scale of the flooding and the fact that the water has taken so long to recede, many trees have become cocooned in spiders webs. People in this part of Sindh have never seen this phenomenon before but they also report that there are now far fewer mosquitoes than they would expect, given the amount of stagnant, standing water that is around. It is thought that the mosquitos are getting caught in the spiders web thus reducing the risk of malaria, which would be one blessing for the people of Sindh, facing so many other hardships after the floods. As I looked with awe at these photos I thought of the the garden last week festooned with spider webs and wonderful installation of Jean-Claude and Christo, Wrapped Trees. Created in 1998, more than three decades after Christo and Jeanne-Claude first proposed wrapping live trees, this project was scheduled for autumn, when leafless branches would enhance the elegiac nature of the work. A shimmering veil-like woven polyester (used in Japan to protect fragile trees from frost and snow) was selected to allow the trees to "breathe." On 13 November, the Christos and their team began the installation, which covered 178 trees (ranging in height from three to eighty-two feet) with 592,034 square feet of polyester secured with over 14 miles of rope. On view for three weeks, Wrapped Trees was extremely dynamic: varying silhouettes of trees moved in the wind with the skeletal framework of branches made visible when the translucent material was backlighted by the sun.

Top Left, In the garden last week, Top Right, Sindh, Pakistan, 2011, Bottom Left, Wrapped Trees, Christ and Jeanne-Claude, 1998, Bottom Right, Sindh, Pakistan , 2011

Seeing Synchronicity

2011-08-22T06:47:00.000-04:00

So I am sitting outside the other day under the tiny front porch, in the pouring rain, when I noticed these salt stains on the brick. Intrigued by their cell like shape, almost touching in places and or bleeding into each other, I carried these images back inside, and wanting a longer break from work went on to Facebook. The first image in my feed was this beautiful work of Erin Lawlor [link here], part of a series she calls dans mes petits papiers. The hair in my arms stood up. I really enjoy Erin's work; there is a lot of flow and light and the paper sings through.

Almost next on my feed was a work by another favourite artist, Altoon Sultan [link here] of a new work "Bristles", very different in feel but using the same cell-like structure. Altoon paints with egg tempera on calfs' skin and the paintings are glowing gems. She talks about this particular work and her process on her blog, August 15, A New Painting, "Bristles". I so like how they touch each other, and at first didn't even notice the cylindrical hole through.

Then I realized that John was also painting the same cellular shapes, only in his case it's pumpkins [link here]. This is a detail shot of an almost finished work called First and Second Prize. Again, this touching, and almost touching thing was happening.

And finally I realized why it was so important to me. It's about our longing to touch, to be part of the whole. I love the promise inherent in the touching in these works, of there being room and space for all, of how it it possible for one to flow into another, about the light that surrounds us all. Cells make up our bodies and maybe our bodies are just cells in that bigger body, the universe.

“When you get into higher math it emulates the nature of human beings. That you could see longing in mathematics, and elegance and grace. And then he showed me the configuration of an asymptote, the tangents and the curved lines, and the way that they came very close to touching...” (from Range of Motion by Elizabeth Berg)

Thanks so much Erin, Altoon and JB for giving me permission to use your work.

Cloud Watching

2011-08-20T06:23:00.000-04:00

After spending the past 2 days struggling with John's web site, it was a huge pleasure to sit outside last night and watch the clouds roll by.

Cloud Watching

Secret Places

2011-08-18T06:36:00.000-04:00

There are always places in the garden that I call secret places. Some designed and some just happen. This is one of those. The hops [link here] has had a banner year and run rampant over a honeysuckle, a rose and a yew. And while I have pruned the growth over the yew I have let it have it's way with the rose and honeysuckle. As you can see it has covered most of the rose and honeysuckle creating a wonderful hiding place, the best kind to find when you were a child. Actually a very fine one to find as an adult. It will only become more beautiful as the leaves turn colour . And when they drop just the bones will be left in their stark beauty. I am hoping the structure will be strong enough to support the snow creating another kind of secret place.

Secret Place

Greater or Lesser Burdock

2011-08-16T06:41:00.000-04:00

I love how plants are named and the classification systems biologists have come up with. It's like reading poetry. What amused me as I did some research on this plant was the listing or title of Greater or Lesser Burdock. Sounds like a titled family or a collection of towns. I think by the size this is Greater but I am not positive. So here is a thistle, a common sight around here that most consider a weed, but one I look forward to every year. Having a Scottish background, there were a number of thistle motifs about the house; my favourite being the stone stamp for shortbread that Mum or one of us kids would press into the top of the shortbread before baking. And did you know that burdock/thistle was the inspiration for Velcro?

Burdock

Sleeping In

2011-08-14T09:03:00.000-04:00

Lying in bed, watching the light and shadow move across the floor, feeling lazy and languid, happy to bathe in this late summer light; knowing I should get up but waiting until I smell the coffee. A wonderful feel of fullness, of contentment of thanks and gratefulness. Thrilled with the show with so many friends there and wonderful feedback. A happy camper. Thanks all.

Watching

A Lovely Stack of Reading

2011-08-12T06:18:00.000-04:00

Is there anything more pleasurable than a stack of books waiting to be read? For years one of my biggest fears was running out of books. The stack would get low and panic would set in. Now, I could happily re-read most of the books on the shelves and find them new again. And, thank goodness, I have friends who read, not sure if they ever sleep, but they sure do read and are especially good about lending. So the coffee table is piled high and I am starting with the Rose Tremain, one of my favourite writers. If you haven't read Music and Silence, do; it's a gem. With the show opening tonight all my major commitments are done for the moment so I intend to spend next week reading and cleaning up the studio and gardens. Maybe, even the house.

My lovely stack of books

Out of Focus

2011-08-10T06:10:00.000-04:00

I have a lot of these out of focus photos; maybe I should I call them "Focus Challenged" photos, and I was wondering why I just don't or won't get rid of them. But a voice says "you never know....they might come in handy or be useful." And so they sit, waiting for their time. Well for a few it's their day. I am feeling the need for blues and purples and there is not a lot of that in the garden at this time of year, so when I found these in the pile, so to speak, I said 'YES..this is what I saved you for. Thanks"

Out of focus in purple and blue

Butterfly Time

2011-08-08T06:31:00.000-04:00

Spent yesterday in the garden; weeding, cutting back and watching the butterflies flutter about. The echinacea is a big favourite and I was fascinated to see the brownish butterfly on the lower right had lost part of his wing which didn't seem to slow him down at all. The deer have been busy eating the hostas, John saw bear scat at the compost pile [that's a little close thank you very much] and I saw a lynx yesterday morning crossing the road in front of the house. Still can't quite believe I saw it. What a beautiful animal, but what is it doing in the village?

Butterflies in the echinacea

Casablanca Lilies

2011-08-06T06:26:00.000-04:00

There is a beautiful scent wafting about the garden right now. No matter where you walk or work every few minutes it comes by. Especially poignant in the early morning and evening, it says August to me. A friend put me on to these monumental lilies years ago and it was one of the first flowers John grew to love. Over the years I have added more and more, until the dreaded Japanese Beetle made their lives a misery [and mine] and the moles ate the leftovers. There are only 10 left, but they stand about 6 feet tall, often with 5 or 6 huge flowers almost 9 inches wide. They are quite, quite wonderful; but really it wouldn't matter if they were plain. Their fragrance is why I grow them.

Their beautiful curving petals

Lovely light caught in the throat

An Invitation

2011-08-04T06:45:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that I forgot to invite you all to the up-comming exhibition. In the chaos of the final preparations I have been a tad scattered and am still finding lists of "To Do". So if any of you are in the area it would be a pleasure to see you. Please introduce yourself, I am the one with the round red glasses and it would be so great to meet. The opening / vernissage is Friday, August 12, from 5 -7 pm, at Arts Sutton [link here] and the show runs 'till Sept 25. Hope you can make it.

A BIG Thank-You

2011-08-03T06:04:00.000-04:00

The blog will be a year old tomorrow and I wanted to thank-you all for joining me on this journey. I really didn't know quite what I wanted to do when I started this but was hoping that by committing to this notebook it would help me make the transition from garden to studio and studio to garden, that I have made every spring and fall for the past 15 years, easier. I am still not sure that that is a good enough reason for a blog but I am enjoying the journey. I like the discipline of having to write even a tiny paragraph every other day. Writing has always been a huge challenge for me, Miss Dyslexic, so I am thrilled that I have actually written 182 paragraphs. The spelling, even with spell check, may be suspect at times, and my grammar and punctuation still leave a bit to be desired, but I find the whole process quite delightful. Meeting people from all over the world, making friends, even if they are [or maybe that's me] virtual, exchanging information, ideas, interests, is wonderful. So thanks ALL. And for you all, a big bouquet of peonies.

Thank-you

Glassine

2011-08-01T06:24:00.000-04:00

Is my new favourite material; good thing as I have spent the weekend making 43 envelopes to hold each print. I have used it for years to layer between the unframed encaustics, but decided that, because this work was going to the gallery unframed, they needed more protection. And for the first time I worked on a sheet of glassine when I was applying the encaustic and working the surfaces. So much easier that the heavy plastic I used before. But now I have reams of left-over glassine with wax on it that I have saved . Don't know what it wants to be but it's to gorgeous to throw out. Do I hear the word "books"?

Glassine envelopes, print protected in its envelope, big stack of work almost ready to go, used and saved glassine sheets

Chris Parson's Dew Garden

2011-07-30T06:55:00.000-04:00

I still have the images from "The Cave of Forgotten Dreams" in my minds' eye and am still in awe of our incredible need to make marks. I was watching Zoe go down to the stream the other morning, leaving a trail in the dew, and thought of this wonderful piece by Chris Parsons. According to the book "The Garden Book' published by Phaidon, he uses a large rag brush over the close- cropped lawn. He takes the photo from a nearby tree. Love that, and love what he says about dew. " Dew looks its best in the sun because it glitters. These works last 3 to 5 hours.

On another note I want to thank Seth Apter on the Altered Page, for all his work and especially for "Buried Treasures", a blog post about buried treasure ie. unknown or undiscovered bloggers. Here is the link [Link here]. I am having fun discovering new blogs. Again, Thanks Seth.

@ Chris Parsons' Dew Garden, 1991

Our Need To Make Marks

2011-07-28T05:47:00.000-04:00

Call it what you will;, line, marks, scribble, drawing, we love to make them. Always have and always will. Yesterday John and I saw a wonderful movie "Caves of Forgotten Dreams" about the 32,000 year old drawings in the Chauvet cave in France. The sublime simplicity of these drawing is breathtaking and incredibly moving. I really urge you to see it and found a link on YouTube for the trailer [link here]. As we walked Zoe last night, we were still talking about the movie [always a good sign] and realized this was our lineage.

Entering Another World

2011-07-26T06:38:00.000-04:00

This lens is bringing me a lot of joy. It's been like getting a new pair of glasses and seeing clearly again. This world is all glowing color and light, with patterns and shapes and textures I never suspected.

Stamens from Oriental Lilies

Challenges

2011-07-24T06:55:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I spent the day photographing some of the new work. I am trying an idea a friend suggested and doing the shots outside. I set up John's old easel, place a large panel on it and using magnets attach the work. I put the easel with it's back to the sun and seemed to get the best light between 9 - 10.30 am. In the past I have found any of my work with encaustic a nightmare to shoot well. There are always glare spots and reflections, and while these are better, they aren't there yet. So, please, any one with any suggestions I would really appreciate it.

Tulips

Tulips detail for Val so she can see how encaustic looks on photos

Summertime

2011-07-21T06:56:00.000-04:00

And the living is easy....One of the all time great songs. I remember my Mum and Dad loved Ella Fitzgerald, so this is for them. [link here] Meanwhile Zoe and I are swimming in the pond while John takes a photo before joining us. Hope you're living is easy too.

P.S. There are now 5 baby robins in the nest, Mama and babies are doing well and we are all feeling very proud. [link here]

Swimming in the pond with Zoe

Sneak Preview

2011-07-19T06:47:00.000-04:00

I haven't made a grid in a while and so in order to avoid grid withdrawal, I decided to make a sneak preview of 4 pieces for the up coming show. Each work is 20 in. x 20 in. on a 24 in. x 24 in. support and sealed with encaustic.Top left is the seed pod from a lupine, top right is seed pods from a geranium "Johnson's Blue", bottom left is the bud of an Indian Paintbrush and bottom right is Johnson's Blue again. Love how fuzzy and furry these plants are.

sneak preview

There is an Earwig in My Facecloth!

2011-07-17T05:58:00.000-04:00

Ugh, well actually it was in John's, but that's right beside mine. I hate earwigs. Can't figure out what use they are at all. Do they eat mosquitoes? Are they food for bats? What is the great plan for earwigs? Out photographing early this morning and guess who was in the nasturtium. Pincher's ready. Yup, my favourite critter. Please someone; tell me why we need earwigs.

Earwig in my nasturtium

Weaving Bright Torches

2011-07-15T06:31:00.000-04:00

Caught this spiders web out of the corner of my eye while eating breakfast on the patio.These spiders are really busy right now, maybe it is the heavy dew which makes them so apparent in the early morning, but I swear that they were not there when I went to bed and while you and I have been dreaming, they have been busy; really busy. Myth has it that spider wove the dream of the world that has become our reality. In that weaving are all the threads that make up our life and how they get joined together in often mysterious ways. Some say it's the web of fate to get caught up and become spiders dinner. That's enough to make you think about how you want to live your life. At a memorial service a friend attended last week, this was quoted in the eulogy. "I want my life to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. Life is no brief candle for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations. [from A Splendid Torch by George Bernard Shaw].

Spiders Web

The Crown

2011-07-13T05:59:00.000-04:00

I have been watching this grow for the past week and finally realized last night what it reminded me of; a crown. It's another view of echinacea. But something is bothering me, I am sure I have seen this image or a similar image before. Does any one have any ideas? My memory says it was a drawing so am off to persue some of my books. Maybe The Hortus Eystettensis. I have a very condensed; make that very, very, condensed version and have put it on my wish list. Maybe Taschen have brought out a facsimile. No, I just checked, off to buy a lottery ticket.

Crown of an echinacea

Echinacea

2011-07-11T07:04:00.001-04:00

This is not what I started out to write about, but after spending the day ironing, so to speak, my encaustics, and looking out the window rather longingly at the garden, and noticing the change in the echinacea, and telling myself I better get some photos before the shapes were gone for another year; I finally did get some photos and I think you can see why I didn't dare wait another day. The pattern is incredible, can you see the S in the second photo?, so is the color, as the bud looks chartreuse and green to me and I know the petals will be a soft magenta and the crown will be a deep, dark almost black, and I think I should stop this sentence right now.

Echinacea

"S" pattern

Hope x 4 x 5

2011-07-09T06:49:00.000-04:00

Just after the tsunami and earthquakes stuck Japan, Donna Watson wrote a very beautiful and moving blog post called "Surviving on Hope". In it she talks about how people all over the world, but especially Japan, struggle to recover their home, family and community in the face of devastation. And in the post she uses the image of a nest, as a place of safety, trust, home. After watching the dreadful news from Somalia, of drought, starvation and migration, I watched the robin who has taken up residence on our front porch, lay her 4th batch of eggs this year. Her first nest and eggs got knocked down by mistake when the fellows were repairing the eaves trough. The next day she was rebuilding [in a safer location]. And we have watched the little ones learning to fly across the rafters. J. went out yesterday to start scraping to repaint and found the nest full again, for the fourth time. This time with 5 eggs.

the 4th batch of robin's eggs

Momma Robin