art frames = pretty pieces

Things got a little prettier around here this week. My new frames arrived, and I fell in love all over again.

Each an art piece in their own right, these frames are overwhelmingly beautiful. Hand crafted entirely from reclaimed barn wood, their perfectly weathered story is written all over them. Entrenched with intrigue and scared with the tooling marks of their previous incarnation they are rich with history, and yet the hands of time and nature have softened them perfectly around the edges.

Earthy and deep their subtle complexities finish the prints off just as I had envisioned.

I am very excited to announce that they are now available in my etsy shop! Or if you are in the Vancouver area, you can come and see them in person at the Portobello West Market this sunday (April 26th) at the rocky mountaineer station.

Mothers Day is coming, and what a great place to spend the afternoon with her, or pick her up a little something to remind her just how treasured she is.

This market is vancouver's best market for fashion, jewelry, and art, so come and see what all the local designers have been up to!

Fungi Fun

Here is the humble beginnings of a unique look at shelf fungi...

first stroke...

a little more...

the beginning of depth...

Celebrating Fungi, the planets best reusers... Happy Earth Day!

Corn dip

Corn is a marvelous and versatile plant.

The bags I use for packaging your prints are made from it- they are shiny, clear and bio-degradable. Some pre-washed spinach is boxed in a corn based "plastic" box, the shopping bags at my local grocery store are made from it, and on top of it all- it's delicious!

I love corn on the cob. The common conundrum faced around here is how to adequately BUTTER the corn on the cob. I am sure this is something you all have faced as well. You can try to slather it on with a knife, but it usually melts before you can get to every side, or you can dedicate a slab of butter on a plate for rolling, but then you end up with a chunk of butter with bits of corn in it, or those silken threads laced all through...

Well here's a little bit of ingenuity for you, to solve the perpetual question on how best to butter it. (I didn't come up with this myself, but it sure did work like a charm).

You will need:
*1 deep wide mouth jar
*boiling water
*some butter

Fill the jar about 2/3 full of boiling water (leaving room for displacement), and drop a chunk of butter in it. Carefully transport the hot buttery liquid to the dinning area of your choice (for us this is most commonly the coffee table) and then, at your leisure, dip the cob in! The melted butter settles at the top, and the hot water keeps it liquid for ease of dipping. As you dip the cob in and pull it out all of the water runs off, leaving it delightfully coated in butter on every side! It doesn't look very pretty here, but trust me, this buttery goodness will not disappoint!

spring give-away winners!

WOW!

I knew it would be good, but you all have some brilliant ideas! Thank you so much for sharing your collective genius! I didn't expect choosing would be so hard... I sort of expected that one would really speak to me, and I am delighted (and challenged) to say that I loved them all!! But alas I really must choose...

There is so much beauty lingering in the minds of all you folk, and because I love all of these ideas so much (except for the ant one-I hate ants, they are eating my house, but I will grant you a few points for humour) I have decided to pick 2 winners! Although I am not going to make any promises for when I might get to the other paintings, I do promise to post the progress as it happens.

So- With no further ado!

The winners of my spring time give-away are....

Mary for the intriguing suggestion of shelf fungi. I always look for the fungi in the forest, and have seen some spectacular specimens on a recent walk on the Quinsam River.

And the winner I could not leave behind, for both her ideas is Lindsay!

I am not going to give away which vision I plan to paint, but both river rocks and ferns rank very high on my fascination checklist. I love them both and can't wait to get to work!

Keep your eyes on the post box for your presents!!

Thank you all for playing, and sharing. Stay tuned for the fungi!

this variety is also known as Butt Rot...

Curb-side pick up

Well, it is officially the dawn of Garage Sale season!

A long winter hiding from the rain, snow and wind, can encourage behavior like hoarding. I live with such a hoarder...ahem- collector.

He really does have an eye for treasures, I wont argue with that, but in my mind, what makes these things valuable is our ability to admire and appreciate them. His collections have an entire room dedicated to them, but not in the way you might expect. It's not a retreat, or place of solitude, where one could retire at the end of a arduous day, to be amongst things which renew the spirit... No. It's a room where his assemblage of treasures simply accumulate in stacks, piles, and mounds, usually in the bag or box they came in. Never to be seen again. It's too bad really, because there is some really interesting stuff in there.

The spring time goal is to clear out some of the no longer need things in the rest of the house, so that maybe some of the hidden booty in the back room can get a little air time. We are going to have a garage sale.

And if on the off chance we can't find new loving homes for all four of the old (working) TV's in the garage (for example), I have found the perfect solution.

It's called Freecycle.

Freecycles' mission is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling it's members to benefit from the strength of a larger community. It acts like a bulletin board of sorts where you can list items that are no longer useful to you, and someone who would like them can arrange to come and get them, or you can request an item that you could make use of. So Cool!

There is likely an active network in your community, so if your wondering what to do with those unwanted treasures, check it out!

A gift for your input

All this light and warm weather is inspiring me... this morning I did two loads of laundry (and put it a way- a victory in it's self), vacuumed the entire house (and the couch), and was showered and dressed before 8:00.

Considering my body prefers 7:30-8 am wake-up, this is most note worthy.

I am feeling motivated and inspired, and credit spring almost entirely. I have about 3 projects on the go in addition to the custom jobs I am working on, BUT, I still feel like painting something for myself (and you). The trouble is, I don't know quite where to place my inspiration, and find myself waffling around a subject. I just can't quite figure out what I would like to paint....

I know all you readers are full of great ideas, and would like to invite your suggestions here.

The person who's idea I choose will receive a gift... a little something new I've been working on and can't wait to release. I will post progress reports on the development of the piece too, so stay tuned...

I will choose a suggestion next sunday (the 19th of April)...

Just click on the blue "comments" below to share your idea!

Original Paintings

We finally got a real spring day! I got caught up imagining what it might be like to live in a place where 15 degrees is as cold as it ever gets... I cleaned up the yard, fired up the BBQ, and enjoyed the embrace of the long forgotten warm air.

There is nothing like a walk through the neighborhood on such an evening, and a peak in the windows of the people I live amongst... I love to see how people live. I don't care to see what they are up to, I just want to know what's hanging on there walls.

Those funny figurines on crowded book shelves, refridgerators papered with family photo's, childrens artwork, and tomorrows grocery list. You get the classic velvet painting of the matador, and collectable plates hung with care behind the dinning room table, you even see the odd Pirate flag/window covering... What I like the most about all of this is knowing that behind each one of those treasures is a story, they are the things that remind us of what's important, of who we are, where we've come from, and the things we dream about... Then sometimes, you get a glimpse of something that really intrigues you, a piece above a mantle that gets your wheels turning, gets you dreaming of that place in your own house that has a story to tell. That wall that's waiting for something to hold.

If you have a wall with a story to tell I might have just the punctuation you have been looking for....The creative spirit bound to paint, and laid carefully with intention, to speak a truth unique you...

By popular demand.... I am listing a few originals!!

The three pieces you have seen in the last few posts, are available in their original unadulterated form... and there is one other too!

Spring Blossoms
12 x 9

Rainbow Fry
16 x 8

Segue
12 x 16

Chilean Dream
24 x 12

Mission Portobello phase one completed

It's hard to believe it was a week ago already!

The Portobello West Market was great! I had a blast... I learned a lot, saw some old friends and even made some new ones. I liked it so much that I can't wait to do it again, and will be there again at the end of the month with a few new treasures to share.

I have just realized that I was so caught up in being there, that I didn't get any pictures to show you... I think there maybe a few floating around out there though, so I'll see if I can get my hands on them...

In the mean time, to tide you over, I have refreshed my Etsy shop and my website too with 3 new pieces!