Brrrrrrrr.........Frosty!!


It's been a couple of weeks since the Artisan Show and Sale.  We had more space this year and so there were more artists in attendance,  a few of them new to the show.   One of the new artists was GK Bears - a teddy bear artist.  These are not your normal teddies - these are collector bears made from an original Steiff pattern and stuffed with Steiff-Schulte mohair.  Did I buy one?  Of course I did. He's so damned cute that I kept wandering over to their booth to look at him. Finally I just did it. He's now living in my studio. I still need a name for him though.  Any suggestions? Something German-ish I think would be appropriate.

There were new artists this year, such as Paige Mortensen with her beautiful paintings.  As well, Elizabeth Muirhead had a booth showing her superb felt work.

I sold several pieces and would like to extend a very sincere thank you to all of those who purchased my work.  The following were a few that sold:

                                                             When a Tree Falls

                                                                  Watson's Field
                                                         

                                                                    My Booth

                                                       The Path to the Lookout

I'm now madly working to get ready for Sundog, which is December 2, 3, and 4.  I'll have a space upstairs as usual beside my pal Judy Wood. This will likely be the show and sale with everything you can possibly imagine. A great venue for Christmas shopping!  I'll have my usual wall art, along with several very small pieces (3x3) that make great stocking stuffers and, with luck, some other goodies as well.   After Sundog, I'm planning on puttering away for Christmas and then spending the winter practising some new techniques and new work. I received the entry forms for Gardenscape awhile ago - don't know for sure if I'm going to do this one, but possibly.

OK - back to work.  I'm hoping to post more regularly (I know I've said that before, but.......).

Hello Again, Finally....... 

After working like a mad woman for a very long time, I thought that I was finally going to have some free time - time to work on some new techniques, brush up on some old techniques and generally have TIME!  Wrong again! About mid-March I started experiencing very painful back problems. After several weeks of this getting worse and worse to the point where I could no longer stand, sit, lay down -  basically anything at all. I have medication that I use for this on a regular basis, but it didn't touch this level of pain. My doc suggested we try a new drug and to make a long story short, it's working!!!!!!  But this was no smooth path.  The side effects were severe, but I had been told to wait it out, that they would lessen considerably and/or disappear entirely.  I'm happy to report that they did just that and so now, I can actually sleep (lying down even!!),  walk, sit in a chair, and all those other terribly athletic moves that normal people do!  However, after basically missing the entire spring and summer, I ended up doing NO new work, learning NO new techniques, taking NO new classes...... and on and on. What a drag!  

Now that I'm back to work, Artisan is looming in the very near future, with Sundog a month after

that.  I have to work nearly around the clock to get enough new stuff for Artisan. This is my very

favourite show/sale so I like to make sure I have mostly new work for it. I hope to have a few newer

style pieces in it this year, assuming all goes well that is. 

I did manage to get a few pieces in the Art Now Exhibit with Handwave Gallery (thank you June): 

 This one is titled "The Big Round Bale" and is similar to one that was in my exhibition at Handwave Gallery last autumn.  This was different in that I used actual plant fibre in the piece.  And I've just been told that this piece, that had gone to Handwave Gallery, has SOLD. Yippee!!

And this is "Brown-Eyed Susans".  Both of these are 8" x 8" (art size) framed to 14" x 14".  I had three other pieces in this exhibit as well, but these were the new ones.

This past spring my friend Jane Evans had an exhibit at Hue's on Lorne Ave. of her paintings. Jane switched from doing fibre art to painting and I don't think I know of anyone who has done a more smooth change over. Her fibre art was fantastic, and naturally, so are her paintings. My husband and I went to her reception with the goal of picking one for our home. The problem was deciding on which one. We finally decided on this one.  The  photo was taken in very bad light so I apologize to Jane for my poor photograph of her beautiful work. 

  

This was the year for art purchases as we also picked up a piece of Elizabeth Muirhead's at the Gardenscape Art Show.  I'm also happy to report that Elizabeth has been invited to show at Artisan this year. Her art will fit right in with this group of artists.  And again, I apologize for the bad photo. These were both pieces that were hanging on my wall and would have been difficult to get them down to photograph properly. 

That's it for right now.  I'll have another post about Artisan in the next couple of days.
Cheers.....donna

IT'S SPRING!!!!!  

..... (well, nearly spring) ..... and it's been weeks since my last post.  January and February have been insanely busy.   On top of having surgery several weeks early, I am also the Featured Artist at Handmade House.  The theme is Dreaming of Spring and consists of a lot of florals and Saskatchewan wildflowers.  The sizes range from 14" x 14" (framed size) all the way down to little pieces that are 4" x 4". 

This is a photo of the set-up at Handmade House.  I'm grateful for the invitation to show my work through this store, which in case you don't know about it, handles art from several of the juried artists of the SK Craft Council.  The prices are reasonable and it's a great place to find gifts, especially if you're in the market for one-of-a-kind art. 

Below is I Dreamed I Was an Apple Tree.  This little tree is one that I've photographed probably more than anything else. It's in the Beaver Creek conservation area and isn't alive any longer, however I love it's shape and thought it might like to be an apple tree this time around. 

This is The Fairy's Foxtails. To answer Gail's email  regarding this piece - No it's not done using a zig-zag stitch.  The whole piece is done using free motion embroidery with every single line done individually.  I generally don't use zig-zag for anything as I find it's too clunky looking. I prefer to stitch along the length of the line and then stitch back on the same line. I hope this is clear. If not, drop me another email and I'll try to explain it better. It's basically just a straight stitch where you stitch down and back on the same line of stitching. 

These are two of the pieces at Handmade House.  Drop in and have a look.

The above is Cala.  This is a portrait of a very special dog belonging to my friend Roger.  Unfortunately, Cala is no longer with us, but she was a beauty. It's very hard to see all the color changes in this piece. It was done entirely by using color blending techniques as I just couldn't find a thread that was an exact match otherwise, so stitching the piece took a very long time. However the final result was worth it. 

And speaking of critters, below is a photo of the latest additions to our family.  This is Bowie (right) and Maggie (left) (aka Bo & Mags).  They're SPCA cats and now that they've settled in, I think I'm going to simply give up on housework until they're older. Bo is only a year old and Mags is 2, but they act like kittens.  

Now that I'm more or less caught up, I'm going to devote the next while to developing new techniques.  There are several areas that I've wanted to look into and finally have the time to do so.  I hope to be able to post pictures as I go, but have to remember to actually take pictures, so we'll see.   

Till next time...............d

Year End in Review

The year is just about at it's close and 2015 has been incredible for me.  It marks the end of my third year as an exhibiting artist.  This year I had two solo exhibitions, numerous commissions, lots of teaching and the usual yearly shows/sales including Gardenscape, Artisan and Sundog. I have never been busier in my life. Looking back through my calendar for the year, I realized that I haven't taken any amount of time off since February, so it's time for a bit of a break. Well......maybe not exactly a work break....maybe more of a playtime break.  It's time to try some new techniques and new materials. 

I also need lots more photos for inspiration, especially winter photos. This winter has been a mix of very mild and lately, rather cold. But the mild weather produced fog and hoar frost and the opportunity to take my camera to two of my favourite haunts for some photos.  

This first photo is of my favourite and much stitched tree at Beaver Creek.  I can actually see this tree from my living room window.  I think I've stitched this tree in more pieces than anything else over the last few years.  It's formed the basis for about 10 pieces and has been dressed up to be an apple tree,  a moonlit tree to name just a few. It's no longer alive, but I really hope the Conservation Area people never cut it down as to me, it's the perfect shape. 

This is a group of branches from a thick grove of trees along the roadway just north of where I live.  The snow has stuck to the branches and accentuates their shape. I interpreted this photo in black and white and am considering stitching it that way.

  This is a field down the same road as above. I love the lines and the starkness of this photo. I'm pretty sure this will get stitched as well.









Again, across the same road. There was just enough snow to accentuate the lines.











A shrub thick with frost in our yard.


There's something very appealing about the monochromatic color scheme of winter.

This past year I stitched several pet portraits, one of which follows.

This is Colbourg. I stitched his "sister" last year. Colbourg was a very sweet, mushy, but serious dog.

















 A Cranberry Flats lily.














Dandelion Fluff!

 A Cranberry Flats shrub.A scene at Blackstrap.

And finally, a view across the river at Borden.

















These are some of the pieces I completed over the past year.  These have all sold except the lily and the dandelion.

I'd like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere gratitude to the people who bought my artwork this year.  Without your patronage, my walls would be very full!  Thank you to "J" who bought Late September, to Jody (Lichen Study on a Maple Tree),  to Joyce (Bird's Eye), to Betty (A Field Near Borden), to Judy (First Snow), to Jane (Flaming Chokecherry), to Colleen (Jogging Path), to Roger (River's Edge) (incidentally, happy anniversary), to Bernice (Lakeside); and to Marigold who purchased A Painted Field for her daughter, to Cathy (the Wagon Wheel), to all the people who purchased my work at my two exhibitions and through the SK Craft Council Boutique and the Handwave Gallery (sorry, I don't have your names), not to mention the numerous mini pieces and cards, etc.  Thank you all so very much.

I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to June of Handwave Gallery for your support, to Donna at the Craft Council for answering to my numerous questions and last, but never least, to my wonderful husband Adrian for the cooking, cleaning, and constant support that you supply without question.  Today marks our 30th anniversary and I'm looking forward to the next 30!  You people have made my year!!

I'm looking forward to 2016 very much and the chance to try some new work.  I hope you all have a great holiday season and a very Happy New Year.  Until then.......remember.......

(yes it will!!!)

Closing in on the End of the Year

Show season is now over for me.  This past weekend marked the 41st Sundog show and sale and my third time in attendance.  I had the usual thread paintings and Christmas cards but this year took along a couple of artist books, mostly to see what the reaction to them might be.  Generally speaking, people liked them, so I'll be working on more of them to add to my line of stitched goodies.  I had also managed to stitch up a few new larger pieces after the Artisan Show and took them along as well.  So, as well as many others, the following is a brief example of what I had at Sundog this year:

These are a few of the postcards, which were primarily Christmas-type cards.

 This is one of my newer pieces.  It's titled "Moss" and shows a fallen log covered in moss.

This is titled Lichen Study II and is one of several trees that I photographed out at Blackstrap.  For some reason, these trees were covered with lichen, moss and fungi and were all in a group together. There was very little of the actual bark showing through.  I seem to have a preference for lichen, fungi and moss. 

These are two of the artist books.  The covers are silk paper and they're held together with ribbon or decorative cord to make them easy to refill.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who purchased my art at both the Artisan show and Sundog.  Your very positive feedback keeps me working and striving to get better.  Your wonderful compliments and encouragements are music to my ears. 

This marks the end of my third year of showing and selling. I have one or two commissions still to complete and after that, I'm excited to get back to some playtime and experimentation.  I've been doing animal portraits in the past year or two and the coming year will see me stitching "people" portraits too.  Also I've been working on 3-dimensional pieces and hope to be able to have this technique perfected to the point where I can produce vessels, boxes and other things of this nature. 

With that in mind, I'm looking forward to the coming year very much.  I'll likely do one more blog post this year with a look back at some of the work I've produced, but that won't happen for a couple of weeks yet.   

This coming Friday, December 11th will be the Reception for the Dimensions Show which will be held in Saskatoon at the SK Craft Council's Affinity Gallery from 7:00 to 9:00 PM.  Come out and have a look at some wonderful Saskatchewan artwork. 

Until then, enjoy our mild winter and drive safely.

What's at the Galleries

Several visitors at Artisan a couple of weeks ago asked me if I had work for sale anywhere else.  So, to that end, I've decided to list a few of the pieces that I have for sale at both the SCC Boutique and at Handwave Gallery.  There's more for sale than what you see here so if you're looking for something in particular, please just ask.

At Handwave Gallery in Meecham, I have the following, among others:

Catkins

Uncertainty. This made me think of the plight of the prairie farmer. We see a good crop of canola, but in the middle is a barren tree. To me, this says that even in the midst of plenty, one event can eliminate it all. 

Reflections of Spring. I loved the soft colors of this scene





At the SCC Boutique in Saskatoon, you can see, also among others, the following pieces:

Gaillardia.  5" x 7"

A Summer Meadow 

Goatsbeard

The Fairy's Foxtails


SUNDOG is coming up fast - December 4, 5 & 6 at the Sasktel Centre.  This show and sale will feature over 200 artisans and specialty food booths, so there's bound to be something for everyone.  Check out the website at www.sundoghandcraftfaire.com.


I'll be there once again.  Look for me upstairs in booth #116.  I'll have lots of thread painting, a few Christmas postcards and possibly some smaller pieces, if I can get it all together by then.

EXHIBITIONS.......SHOWS......AND MORE TO COME

It's been a very fast few months.  I feel like I've been working non-stop since about March, but am now in the home stretch with only one more show/sale to go, that being Sundog.

In August/September, I had two solo exhibitions.  One was at the Meewasin Valley Centre - this venue sees a lot of traffic and the people at Meewasin are really great to work with, so any of you artists who wants a place to hang your work for a couple of months, keep it in mind.  I believe they're in the process of lining up next year's gallery, so contact them if you're interested.  Thank you Doug and Amanda for all your help with this.

Also in August I had a solo exhibition at the Handwave Gallery in Meecham.  For this exhibit I stitched up some more unusual pieces, such as:

Rooted
A very impressive tree with lichen and moss.

Bird's Eye View (or half of a dandelion)

Pffft!!! (Because nothing else seemed quite right!)

Rooted and Bird's Eye View are now sold.  I also had the following two at Handwave and these two are sold also.  I'm especially fond of them and might do up a copy for my own (bare) walls.

On The Last Day was the picture on the postcard announcing my exhibition.  I really love this piece as it's one of the first ones where I stitched in the whole sky.  People have asked me about the "last day" - the last day of what?  Well, it could be the last day of anything you want it to be-the last day of summer, the last day of your holiday - it means different things to different people.

This piece is A Painted Field.  The inspirational photo was taken on one of the side roads out near Pike Lake.  I loved the big bales and this one turned out reasonably well.

This past weekend was the Artisan Show and Sale and was held at the German Club.  As usual, it was a terrific show.  A few of the pieces I had exhibited at this show are:'

 Pouff.  Again, nothing else seemed quite right. I think there must be lots of dandelion lovers out there.  This piece is available.

This is Flaming Chokecherry.  This has a lot of depth and appears quite 3-dimensional.  This is also available.

This is Pike Lake Lilies and is 8x8 (size of artwork). After driving to Pike Lake a great many times this summer trying to get good photos of the water lilies, we were finally rewarded with hundreds of them. Available.

Late September is the title of this piece.  The inspirational photo for this one was taken out at Blackstrap a year or so ago.  It has been sold.

Finally, this is West of Meacham.  On a side road off the highway just west of the town was a field of canola and several old buildings.  It was very picturesque, so was definitely worth stitching. This one is 5x5 and is available.

It's been made clear to me that I really do need a website, so in the next couple of weeks, or at least right after Sundog, I'll be dusting off my notes and getting down to it.  I'll also be posting on this blog more frequently. 

I'd like to sincerely thank all of the people who purchased my work, both at my exhibitions and at Artisan.  I would also like to thank everyone who was so generous with their kind words and hugs at Artisan - a most unexpected and appreciated gesture.  I do this work because I love it and having you invest your hard earned dollars in it is very humbling. You make me want to get better and better.  Cheers.......Donna

.............. and remember..........................................................