White Tulips

More tulips found their way into the house the other day. White ones. How wonderful, as I have been wanting to photograph them. I have been working mostly in black and white lately, so much to relearn. I wanted to pay more attention to shapes and tonal values and not get caught up in luscious color. I find when I'm photographing flowers it's hard to stay away from the obvious, and so I hoped that by eliminating color I would observe more clearly. My favourite shot from the day was when I stopped looking at the flowers and saw the light pouring through the glass bowl and creating refractions.

White Tulips

Asymptote

Sneak Preview

My darling, John Ballantyne, is also doing a chair for The Chair Project. There has been a lot of teasing about the size of the chair and when it might be finished, as he is not known for working quickly. [I have been known to put paint rollers in his Christmas stocking...hint, hint]. Most paintings take 3 months or more, so that when he announced on the week-end that he had started I looked at the calender and started to pray. Well something happened. The guy is going full blast; I have never seen him paint like this. The paint goes on and stays on. Haven't heard the sander yet. That sound tells me I need to leave home for a while. So here is a sneak preview of his unfinished chair. To see more of John's work click here.

John Ballantyne, in the process of painting his chair

The Chair Project / Elizabeth Tsuk

We received another chair for the Chair Project [link here]  Elizabet Tsuk's work has been among my favourites since I first saw an exhibition at Arts Sutton of her work and Esther Williams in 2004. I love the whimsy of the work; these tiny, odd, or perhaps usual is a better word, chairs with their step ladder backs. It is as if to sit in them you are transported to another place. They had made a huge impression on me and it was a great pleasure to revisit one of them. Unfortunately Elizabeth does not have a web site for you to see more, but here are a few shots to enjoy. The shadows are wonderful.

Chair by Elizabeth Tsuk

Detail of Chair by Elizabeth Tsuk 

Shadows of  chair, Elizabeth Tsuk

Tulip Love

Last week tulips started appearing in our local grocery store. I love how the appearance of these flowers tells me winter is almost over, and of course I can never resist buying a bunch. Some day I will buy myself an armload, but for now these will do just fine, especially as they whisper "Spring is coming".

They whisper spring is coming

Steel and Shadow

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

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

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

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

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

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