Another Orchid Blooming....

Last night I got up in the middle of the night and when I came downstairs, all I could smell was vanilla. I assumed that a bottle of vanilla had spilled somewhere, but no - it was this guy:

Meet Encyclia radiata.  One flower stalk filled the entire main floor level of our house with fragrance. I've had that happen with cattleyas, but never a small plant like this one. It was so strongly scented of vanilla, well, what an I say. I can't wait until the other flower stalk opens.

This is a close photo of the flower. 

 Reflections of Spring

This piece is now at Handwave Gallery with the ones from last week and a few others.  Adrian and I have been out a couple of times with our cameras and found some good locations quite close to the city. This is one of those.  The colors were so soft and lovely - difficult to reproduce, but I tried. The computer is showing the leaves to be more yellow than they actually are.  There were also so many different birds that it was hard to keep track.   I'm going to try and photograph this particular slough, along with a couple of others, throughout the seasons. 

Other than working like a crazy woman, I haven't done much in the past week. I have three pieces and two commissions to finish for various shows/sales and then I can continue the work for my two exhibits and the Solar Gardens show, all three of which happen at the same time. It goes without saying that holidays won't be happening any time soon - or any time later for that matter.  

So, that's it for this week.  I should have more to show you next week and will continue to try to get a blog post out at least once a week.  Incidentally, I still haven't figured out how the Flicker got into my house last week. Ah well......country living.........

First Spring Flowers

Adrian and I went to Cranberry Flats over the weekend to see what else had appeared since the very successful crocus photo shoot of the weekend before. We were surprised to find that a great many wildflowers had sprung up.

 To name a few, the first photo is Low Townsendia.  Neither of us had ever seen this one before.  We didn't see more than 5 or 6 - they look daisies, but smaller and you have to really hunt to find their leaves.

This one is Showy Locoweed.  There were quite a few of these and they're pretty easy to spot - VERY purple.

This is Yellow Bean.  Lots of these guys too.

These are, I think, Early Blue Violets. They're very easy to miss as they're quite tiny. 

I didn't realize that Kinnikinnick flowers were so sweet.  Large patches of the plant were just covered in flowers.

And finally,  this was one of the last crocuses we saw in flower. It was on a slightly shaded hill along with a few others that were in the last stages of flowering.

There were lots of others as well, and we saw plenty of evidence that within the next week or so the next batch of flowers would appear, so I guess I know where I'll be spending my spare time. 

I've been stitching up a few pieces for one of the galleries that shows my work.  The next couple of pieces will be at Handwave within a week or so, once framing is complete.  There will be more than these, but will show them in a later post.

This piece is called West from Borden and is a part of a flax field that I came across last summer. It was so incredible that I nearly went into the ditch as I turned my head to see what caused the flash of blue that had caught my eye.  I pulled over and must have taken at least 100 photos of this field. Hope it's there again this year!

And finally, this is Uncertainty. I had always wanted to stitch a field, empty except for one tree and a great sky.  This one looks much better "in person".  I've used a few techniques in this one that I haven't used in awhile. I was trying to convey the feeling of uncertainty that farmers feel living on the prairie.  The canola field represents a rich harvest, while the dead tree skeleton reminds us that it might not last for long. The model for the tree was my favourite little tree from Beaver Creek. 

That's it, except to tell you about a strange occurrence that happened last week. I had gone grocery shopping and when I arrived back home, I opened the door just in time to see movement in my dining room area. I had assumed that one of my parrots had escaped, but no, it wasn't a parrot. It was a large, adult Flicker. The poor thing was frightened and confused and desperately trying to escape by crashing first into my kitchen window, then zooming through to the living room. I caught him quite easily and let him go. But the problem is this - I immediately searched through my house for the means by which the bird had gotten in.  After looking everywhere, and I mean everywhere, I could find NO open window, door, loose screen, anything whatsoever that would admit a large bird. Had he flown in over my head when I was initially opening the door, I'm pretty sure I would have noticed.  So, now I'm kind of concerned. How did it get in??? When my husband came home, he did the same search and also could find nothing at all. There's also an unusually large number of these birds in our yard right now.  Normally, we don't see all that many Flickers. So, I'm just a tad creeped out. 

Ok - that's it for this time......donna

BUSY....BUSY....BUSY....

Life has been insanely busy lately and this isn't about to change until...I hate to say it.....until the snow falls.  So what have I been up to? Well to start with, I taught a large class in Davidson on April 15th.

A shot of the room we were in and several of the participants. The workshop was held in the church basement and there was lots and lots of space for everyone to spread out.

Two more stitchers having a lively discussion about technique.....or possibly that we're overdue for a break?!

...and speaking of which ........

I have to say the food was incredible.  And there was SO MUCH OF IT!  All in all though, it was a great day and it was terrific to meet such an enthusiastic crowd.  Every time I go to one of the towns in the province I'm reminded of how wonderful it really is to belong to such a community. These ladies, although I'm sure from time to time they have their differences, demonstrate all the good things about living in rural Saskatchewan. Most of all, they care for each other. What could be better than that!  Thanks to Kathy Palmer for setting up this workshop.

This was part of that incredible few weeks of northern lights that we experienced in April. This was taken by my husband in our front yard. It went on for hours and hours and the colors were remarkable.  Another of the great things about living where we do!!

This past week/weekend marked the opening of Dimensions, the SK Craft Council biennial, open and juried touring exhibition. Entries were dropped off in Saskatoon at Market Mall on April 28. On April 30 and May 1 these entries were reviewed by jurors June Jacobs of the Handwave Gallery in Meacham and Tom McFall, Executive Director of the Alberta Craft Council. On Saturday, May 2nd, the unveiling of the Dimensions Touring Exhibition was held and anyone who wished could attend the Jurors' Critique.  This was a real eye-opener for me. Both of the jurors are extremely well informed individuals who replied to questions from the audience on how they chose the finalists. Personally, my mind boggles at the task of judging around 200 entries from every area imaginable. 

Then on Saturday night, these same jurors held a special critique session at the Affinity Gallery. This wasn't actually connected to Dimensions, but was held as part of the SCC Gallery Representation Program. I managed to get into this as well, where each person in attendance sent, in advance, 5 or so photos of their work, as well as bringing along a piece of their work. We all had an individual critique session where we learned how to best present our work, approach galleries and a host of other things that I would have never learned otherwise.  I was quite impressed with the depth of knowledge of June and Tom and am very grateful for the opportunity to have attended this session. Thank you Vivian Orr and the SCC for sending out that email and putting on such a super event!!

...... Oh yes ...... one more thing ..... my big news is that one of my pieces did make the cut for Dimensions and has been included in the 2015 Dimensions Touring Exhibition. 

This is Blackstrap Revisited (ok - ok - when I was naming it, all I could think of was how many times I had taken photos of this hillside, so it seemed appropriate at the time.  Apologies to Evelyn Waugh).  This is a fairly large piece measuring, in it's frame, at roughly 24" x 20".  I had done a smaller version a couple of years previously but had always wanted to do a larger version, so last November I stitched up two fairly large pieces.  This is possibly my favourite piece of everything that I've ever done. At the time I took the photo, the hillside was lit with beautiful autumn colours under a striking blue sky.  Some of my best photos came from this photo shoot. 

Well that's it for this entry. Next time I'll have photos of new work. I expect that from now until August I'll be lucky to get away from my studio and hope to be churning out pieces regularly, so will post them as they roll off the sewing machine.......donna

Orchids! 

Another post-gardenscape post to show you a couple of photos of my latest "acquisitions".  Gardenscape this year was the site for the annual meeting of the Canadian Orchid Congress. As as result, there was a separate art show that was all about orchids, and several orchid vendors.  For sale was a huge number of orchids that we don't often see for sale here in Saskatoon - and the best part was that they were available in small pots for anywhere from around the $10.00 mark and up. So it was possible, if you're an orchid enthusiast, to pick up a few small plants to try without breaking the bank. It was quite overwhelming actually.  There were soooooo many kinds to choose from that making a choice was extremely difficult.  Now, as someone who doesn't spend heaps of cash on clothes and "stuff" like that, I managed to talk myself into giving several of these little pots a new home.  Seen below are three of these poor, homeless orphans that I had to take home.

This is (are you ready?) Brassolaeliocattleya Ports of Paradise-Green.  (The system of naming orchids is very confusing at times, but it all means that it is a cattleya relative, and most people know what a cattleya looks like). It's basically green and yellow and at night fills the whole level of our house with a delicious vanilla type scent. Yum!

This guy is an Epicattyla, again a cattleya "relative" and is called Kyoguchi Happy Field. A field full of these little guys would be happy indeed. It has a cinnamon-y fragrance and is quite tiny.

 Finally, this is Dendrobium Lucky Girl and right now, the main stalk is covered with blooms - maybe 20 to 30 in total. No scent though, unfortunately, but still gorgeous.

All in all, I picked up a great many of these small plants. A couple of others have flower spikes, so I'm really looking forward to them producing. One in particular is one of the "spider" orchids and should have, with luck, a long, curved spike of several flowers that look very much like exotic spiders.


This all must sound pretty extravagant, but like I said, you just can't find these small plants here very often, so when you do find them....well......what can I say......

The rest of April will find me teaching a large class at Davidson and preparing a dog portrait for a friend. Will post more about these when they've happened.

So - the snow's gone (hopefully for several months!!) and the weather is a bit warmer every day, so it's definitely time to get outside. I'm fortunate in having a screened-in porch and am planning on spending every available minute working out there this summer. CAN'T WAIT!!!! Talk again soon.................donna

Back to Work!!

First things first.  Thank you to those of you who purchased my work at Gardenscape.  I always appreciate the fact that you have c chosen one of my pieces, especially in an environment were so much really excellent artwork was exhibited.  I understand too that one of these pieces is headed for England.  I have a few pieces "living" over there now. 

And so now it's back to work.  The next few months will see me preparing for a large class in Davidson, getting pieces ready to submit to a couple of upcoming shows/exhibits, stitching enough work for two exhibits of my work, not to mention all of the usual shows/sales that I take part in on a yearly basis.  Getting ready for September will be the big challenge.   Both of my exhibits overlap and also, Art at Solar Gardens enter into the mix too.  My exhibits run from mid-August to September 24 at Handwave Gallery in Meacham and the other takes up the months of September and October.  As well, I have a commission to thread paint a friend's dog.  This is a very special dog who will be challenging to stitch, with a blonde wavy coat and lovely face. I'm looking forward to doing this piece very much.

My exhibit at Handwave Gallery is entitled "Leaf-Shoot-Tree-Root" and will concentrate on all things from the earth. If it grows, it's fair game!  I have lots of ideas for this exhibit and want to include a few materials that I haven't used in many years.  The name for the show, by the way, came from my pal Judy Wood and seemed perfect for what I had in mind to stitch.

I have a few pieces left from Gardenscape that are still for sale.  These are:

  Dotted Blazingstar. It's a SK Wildflower that          grows freely in many locations.

  This piece is 6x4 and is in a frame measuring   9x10.

This Lily is Salmon Star. It measures 7x5 and is framed.  The little knobs are done in French knots by hand. It is also framed.











  This Lily is an oriental that is also 7x5" and framed.











Anyone interested in purchasing any of these could contact me by email at acdc@sasktel.net or call me at 306-665-9182.  I can deliver in the Saskatoon and neighbouring communities.

Back to Normal

Now that Christmas, New Year's and January have passed, it's back to the studio to start work for the upcoming year.  And to start off the year, a couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of teaching four advanced stitchers. These ladies knew their stuff,  so we were able to get right to work with the different machine stitches that I use for thread painting.  After this, and a fantastic lunch, we got to play for a part of the afternoon with some dissolvable film, different threads, fibres and new techniques.

Dorothy and Donna

 Carol and Eileen











Thank you again Dorothy for the use of your home and to all four of you for a simply fabulous and enjoyable day. See you all later in the month.

 This charming abode was on the drive out to an antique/used goodies shop just outside of Davidson.  My pal Judy and I had decided to check this out to see if there were any good things that just

had to go home with us.  We had driven out in fog that provided some good photo opportunities, but unfortunately, the day grew steadily colder as it went along.  By the time we had been to the shop, where we both found something we just had to have, it was cold enough and the wind strong enough to make us realize that returning another time would likely be a better idea.  With frozen fingers, we each snapped a few photos of this abandoned house and decided to come back again when it was warmer. We stopped at the southern end of Blackstrap on the way home and took a few pictures of the frozen lake.  Brrrrrrr........

I'm very much looking forward to the coming year. I've made the decision to try a few techniques that I haven't used in years, especially for backgrounds, so will post pics as soon as I have something that I want to use.  I had also done several photo transfer pictures for my recent class and one of them just called out for a more dramatic color scheme and sky. The basic photo is one that I took at one of my favourite photo haunts, Cranberry Flats.  It's simply a tree and shrubs/grasses.  So with help from iPhoto and Photoshop Elements, I've pumped the colors up and changed the sky. I'm also considering doing it in a larger size, maybe in the 11" x 14" before framing.  I'm very excited about this piece as I think it could be really nice, assuming of course that I don't mess it up in the meantime. That's one of the first pieces that I'm going to work on, so might even have something by next week - we shall see.

This is the unedited photo - colors are flat and no sky. I'll publish the edited photo and the stitched version as soon as it's completed.












Ok - that's it for me for this time.  I leave you with a picture of one of our yellow peonies from our garden. It won't be long now!!! .... donna

SHOWS - SHOWS - SHOWS!!!

 These past few weeks have been pretty crazy.  The Artisan show and sale was held a few weeks ago in a new venue with a new program.  A reception was held on the Friday afternoon for patrons of the artists.  The idea was to give these supportive individuals an opportunity to see the work without the crowds that usually appear at this event. I heard nothing but positive remarks from everyone there.  The Concordia Club on Lorne Ave. S. was the location this year and just the idea of not having to fight the crowds at Midtown on a weekend was a relief.  Friday night and all day Saturday was the usual show and sale and judging by the crowds,  the new venue was a hit.
 

Sundog was this past weekend. This show is always pretty well attended and this year was no exception.  With 200+ artists, if you can't find it at Sundog, it just doesn't exist. Everything from paintings to woodwork, from stitching to photography - you get the idea - everyone is at Sundog. Not to mention great yummies.   You can shop till you drop - stroll through the main floor, then stop and have lunch and onward to the upper level. They have entertainment going on a lot of the time also. It was held, as before, at the SaskTel Centre, formerly Credit Union Centre on December 5, 6 & 7th. This is my second time at Sundog and I have to say, Diane Boyko, Co-ordinator, is a wizard. Picture over 200 artists with all their STUFF - cars, trailers, equipment, fixtures, not to mention artwork and all those extra bodies - and it all goes just as smoothly as silk. It boggles my mind.

Some of the pieces I had taken to Sundog were:

 August Fields - photo was taken in an area that I had never been to before - very gorgeous.  I had trouble naming this as I kept thinking that the "house" looked like it was sinking in a sea of canola, but everything else I thought of sounded dumb, so kept the above as it's name. Sold.

The Welcome Tree - here it is again. This little tree is on the drive into the Beaver Creek Conservation Area and I think is my favourite tree anywhere.  It's shape, to me anyway, is perfect. This tree has been the basis for a great many thread paintings but here, it's just itself surrounded by grasses and wildflowers. I hope they never cut it down as I would miss it very much. This is a 5"x5" framed and is still available.

The Way West - 5" x 7" framed.  This is another painting of one I had completed for Artisan.  I don't usually repeat my pieces, but this one attracted a lot of attention, so I did it in a larger size. Stitching this, I had 4 threads thru the needle and a different colour again in the bobbin to get the colour of the rocks beside the tracks. Available.

Waiting for Spring - photo by Judy Wood.  As soon as I saw this on Judy's blog I had to stitch it.  It's a 5"x5" framed.  I had lots of fun stitching the wires - well, no I didn't actually. They're not quite straight, but I told myself it was a windy day! This one is also available. 

The Fairy Clock II - there's a smaller version of this one at the SK Craft Council Boutique. Again, this is one of only 4 that I have repeated.  The background in this is my own also and consists of fabric that I made by using a blurred picture and running it through my Inkjet printer. I don't buy commercial fabric any more and using my own work to make a small piece of fabric made sense.  Incidentally, fairy clock is one of many old names that were given to dandelions, Dandelions seem to have always been popular for art.  This has sold.

A Walk Along the River.  This was my first attempt at very long machine stitching (see the grass in the foreground).  Because I have arthritis in my hands and hand work can be  difficult, I have been experimenting with machine stitching that can resemble hand stitches.  I was quite pleased with the results of this.  This has sold.







If you are interested in any of the available pieces above, just email me at acdc@sasktel.net or call 665-9182/227-2329.  I can deliver to Saskatoon and area.

The next year promises to be extremely busy.  As a result of both Artisan and Sundog, I've been booked for teaching assignments, articles in magazines and a local exhibit/sale for later in the year. As well, I have a solo exhibition planned for September/October of 2015, not to mention all the show/sales that I normally do, so any thoughts of lazing around the house or garden have been permanently shelved.  What started out to be a "hobby" has turned into a full time job - good thing I love to do it!

Thank you to all those to purchased my work at the shows this fall and winter and to those who took the time to stop and chat and compliment what I've been producing.  These kind words mean more than I can ever express - it's the reason why we artists keep on going.  Knowing that what we've spent hours working on is seen and appreciated is everything!

I'll be posting more regularly now that I have show season behind me for this year.  I'm also seriously thinking about a website, so will let you know when that happens.

So - be careful on the roads.........donna