Under leaden skies

[ (c) colette copeland]

I'm living in a world of white and grey.

It calls for some....color!

Friday's child

I'm working on a bird & nests journal. There will be a total of 20 collages, back to back, when I'm finished. I'm incorporating paper, fabric, wax, modelling paste.... the "journalling" part is minimal so far, since I let the images speak for me, but who knows, I may end up writing as well. Meanwhile, here's a peek.

Dreaming of ...

[collage available on eBay]

...... Spring, tra-la.........

At 4 p.m.

This was the view from my windows. I enjoyed being "snowed in" (not really, I could have gone out, but I didn't have to....)

Jango -- with sound!

I inherited this poster when I was working for The Medical Post. It is now in my workspace.

Meanwhile ...

As the forecast promised, snow arrived. Lots of it. Later on, I'll put my trusty boots on and walk through the new snow to clean them. Fresh snow cleans my boots of salt stains and slush better than any product.

A welcome visitor

[SOLD]

My friend Ludgera dropped by on her dog walk today. She brought biscotti, and of course the precious doglet, Skippy. Skippy is like a younger sister to my other favorite dog, Django, but very different to yet another favorite dog, Cleo.

My little friend Grace wants to know if I have a dog yet. alas, no. Not yet. That's why I was so happy to have some cuddles with Skippy.

I'm beginning to sound like a soppy dog person, so I'll stop right here.

Sneak peek

Somerset Memories, Feb./March 2009

Somerset Memories is here. And in it, an article and artwork by me. This assignment was a favorite because I created artwork with my own family photos, and because I worked with an editor I came to like and respect. Great job, Jana! And thank you so very much.

An apple a day

In the winter months when I can't have my cherries and peaches and figs and.... I eat apples. I have one daily as a snack at night. I decided to try a honey crisp, and as I peeled the little label off, I noticed the apple had come all the way from France.

Bienvenue au Canada, ma chère pomme!

A little nonsense

So, evidently 44 is an unlucky number, so an article I just read says ...... and President Obama is the 44th president of the U.S.

However, in Numerology, numbers are added to get one digit, therefore 4 + 4 = 8.

And 8 is the Chinese lucky number.

In Native American lore, 4 is a very auspicious number.

4 signifies completion, the four corners, containment, four seasons, the four directions, so since President Obama is an American... well, you get my drift.

Friday's child

Don't let the soft exterior fool you.

Inside the velvet wing is a strong determination to keep flying above the fray.

Glide, don't sink, when things are difficult; soar when they are not.

Before you know it....

...the week slips by. On these long grey days, it's hard to separate the hours from daylight to night. I push myself to go out, to move, to get some energy pumping through me. My mind thinks too fast for me to keep up, and when I'm talking, sometimes I talk too fast, otherwise the thoughts slip away. I hear echoes of someone who used to say to me: You think too much.

Yesterday, a friend asked me to read the Tarot for her. That's when I realized how pent-up I was. I asked her to give me some time to breathe and centre myself -- and it took longer than usual. Nature is hibernating, but we have to continue, to stay awake, to live our lives and earn our livings.

Think less, feel more. Perhaps that's the way to go.

Wednesday work

(c) colette copeland

Some new work.

Both pieces are available on eBay.

Imagine!

Hail to the Chief! We have a new neighbor.

"They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint." President Obama

New week

It's snowing. Enough about the weather.

I'm feeling very good about myself: I finished my part of two collaborations. Here's a detail of one of them.

And I made some new things for my shop.

[SOLD]

Meanwhile, my space is shrinking because of The Mess, so I've decided to get rearrange everything, which will involve getting rid of my current work table, one of those folding banquet tables... it is so filled with stuff that there's very little space to work on! I will use a small table just to work on, and the "stuff" will be organized anywhere but on the work table.

I can see it in my mind's eye -- now I just have to apply some elbow grease.

Hibernation day

[velvet wing available on eBay]


I am not going anywhere today. I don't care if it's supposed to be warming up this afternoon. I am staying in. My brother-in-law was in Missouri on business; it was even colder there. My sister is revelling in the fact that after some frigid Texas days, it is sunny today. At least one of us is seeing the golden orb. In the end, I have to thank the founding fathers of this city I live in, to have placed it on the side of the lake that does the least damage -- unlike Buffalo, NY, to whom I send my sympathies. It's one way of counting your blessings: to be aware that there are places worse off.





Hottoddie!

Friday's child

[ (c) colette copeland ]

I escaped the power outage in parts of Toronto, but if we had been hit, there's an emergency generator in my building. For my friends in houses, I'm happy to hear that no pipes burst.

Wrap up and stay warm. I'm now going to spend 10 minutes in the hallway putting on all the layers to go out.......

Hotchocolate!

And the freeze goes on

The Eastern Seaboard is in a deep freeze -- no kidding! But a Canadian doesn't let that get in the way. She puts on her layers and goes out and does what she needs to do. Still, she doesn't have to like it.

Many years ago, when I was a young thing living in Washington, D.C., one of my friends started crocheting, passed around a simple pattern for an afghan, and before you know it, we were all making them. I remember making one for my mother in cream tones. Anyway, all that's left of that period is my crochet hook, made of metal, Made in the USA (yes, really!). I kept it all these years and when I decided to use up my stash of hand-spun yarns, out it came. How that hook managed to survive all this time, with two household moves across the Atlantic, I will never know. Some things you are never meant to lose.

Midweek song

[peat pot nest (c) colette copeland; available in my Etsy shop]



I slowed down some, so as to avoid burnout, winter blues and all that. I have not listened to my body in the past and suffered for it; so now I listen and act on it. I still do my work, because I have to earn a living (earning a living can cramp your style sometimes!!!), but I cut down on the rest and focused on the essentials. I recommend it!

Meanwhile...I noticed the days are getting longer.

Good things

Achieving a look: I love this heart. It's the kind of look I've always been drawn to. Years ago, I would have bought this had I seen it in a shop. I feel very lucky that I can now just...make one. Of course it took the right fabric, and the vintage rhinestone button, to show up first. Not at the same time, but obviously one was waiting for the other. This weekend, they came together.

Bonne journée!

The Frozen Zone

Yesterday evening I went to my ATC group. The theme was beverages, and naturally for me that is coffee. I drew these coffee cups with the coffee grounds at the bottom of my cup. Talk about recycling!!

[Sweet William (c) Colette Copeland]

It is very cold today. The kind that straightens curly hair. I need to do a grocery run sometime before the night, and I'm not looking forward to it. [It takes ten minutes just to dress to go out: Extra layer, coat, scarf, woollen hat, boots..... and then you have to take it all off when you get back, carefully pulling off said boots without bringing in the wet and the salt...]

Happily, I don't have to go out to work; I can do it right here. The tiny art of my previous post is now available on here.

Hotchocolate!

Friday's child

Tiny art. To wear, to hang, to.... The one with the little kiddies in a row is a pin.

Have a fun day!

In other news

Pretty cuffs. An extension of my tiny quilties......... The Sparrow is available on eBay; and the one with the vintage rhinestone pin is available in my Etsy shop.

Java java

I love a java-java/it loves me [line from an old song]

These have to be encased in thin vinyl and stitched because the cups are painted with a secret ingredient that must be preserved!!!

With Open Heart

The sign says, in French: Ring doorbell and wait.

[Thanks to Ruth Rae for the inspiration]

Peace words

"Someone once gave me a poem with a line in it that offers a good definition of peace: 'Softening what is rigid in our hearts.' -- Pema Chodron, Practicing Peace in Times of War.

Via ParisParfait with thanks!

A good start

[work in progress]

It's a lovely day. The sun is out and it's not as cold as it could be. In my book, that's something to be happy about! It's so much more pleasant to work when sunlight floods my workspace. My work is a lifesaver; it helps me focus on creating, amid a world where there is too much destruction.

I light my candle to symbolize peace, and I go to work.

Meanwhile...

Available on eBay, [SOLD] a clever birdie wears its red toque. (For non-Canadians, a toque is a woollen hat.)

It's still cold outside

[SOLD]

I feel like hibernating, but I'm a human, not a bear, so it won't do. Instead I'm playing with a humming bird. We're staging a medieval play (note the wimple).

Have a cozy warm day.

We are the world

[detail of collage available on eBay]

The year has begun with sunny, if cold, days. It's a good sign. The birds are happy. I would set up a feeder on my balcony, but the building rules forbid it. There are people who complain about these things, so rules are made. I do believe that some folks are afraid of birds.

I feed the birds down on the ground, especially when it's frozen.

Have a happy day.

What day is it?

I get confused at this time of year. It doesn't feel like Friday.

I've been thinking about art dolls. I've been wanting to make my own, not to copy other patterns, but to find my own style. This one, as usual followed no pattern at all, I made it up as I went along. The doll face image is a trade I did with my friend Susan. The lace part is actually an apron that ties in the back.

She replies to the name Magali, and says Bonne Année.

[Edit. for Anon the Elder: She's holding a red heart. xo]

Birdland

[Detail. Available on eBay]

Baby, it's cold outside!!!