Friday's child........

....is loving and giving. The tiniest heart I've made yet. It's in a box for display only, because hearts shouldn't be kept in boxes, they should be free, open, loving.

Self-portrait

What do you see yourself as???

Stitching on paper

It beats glue! My glue stick is one of my essential tools, but that doesn't mean I like it. I just do it. But stitching is sublime. My poor sewing machine probably feels abused, but it continues to humour me.

Home sweet home

What I did with two of my items from Gadabout.

And now I have to go out and do some chores. Happily, it's a warm, sunny day, so I'll be doing a lot of walking.

Treasure hunting

My friends Jc and Dani gave me a wonderful gift yesterday -- they took me with them to Gadabout, a little shop on Queen St. East, crammed to the gills with vintage treasures of all kinds. I'd heard about Gadabout some years ago but never made the long trek there on the streetcar, since I don't have a vehicle. (If you wait long enough, good things do happen!!)

I picked up a few things, but when I got home I realized one item was missing. They didn't charge me for it, so it must have fallen off my little pile on their desk. Still, I'm very happy with my treasures, and especially to have see the place for myself. It is definitely a favourite haunt.

Watercolours

I began my artistic career with watercolours. I have a suitcase full of them. They make me quite nostalgic, remembering how I would paint all the way into the wee small hours. Time meant nothing; I was in another world.

Have a bright weekend!

Tempus fugit!!!

Want to give a Mother a heartfelt gift for Mother's Day?

Click here to see a selection of my handmade hearts!

Now that all the windows have been replaced in my apartment, it's time for the kitchen counters. I have to clear all the counters this evening, which I will do with pleasure because I really, really need new kitchen counters. What is bizarre is that the cabinets will stay the same, and the cabinets are as old as the kitchen counters. But the building management is pretty good by all standards, so having pointed out the state of the kitchen, there's not much more I can do.

A walk on the wild side...........

Heartstrings

It didn't start off this way. I was playing around and decided to let the threads fly. When I looked at it, the word association was heartstrings. This is what I do in between the laundry and the dryer. Which reminds me, it's time to load the dryer.

And while waiting for the dryer, I finished the piece below. it started with some treated muslin from Lynne Hoppe. I was intrigued by it and when it arrived, I loved it. I began by painting it and then left it alone because I had no idea what to do next. Today I drew a bird shape freehand on some canvas...one thing led to another and I stitched it onto the muslin background. Result: a black bird with white feathers.

Why not?

Conversations

This is how I alter postcards.  I tell very, very brief stories.

 I once entered a competition called Short Short Short Short Short Short Fiction.  My entry was: World War. Love in the ruins. You can say a lot in just a few words. It's an art!!!

Silent Sunday

Birdcall

Linocut print.

A little embossing makes all the difference.
I thought embossing would be messy until I tried it. I find I can contain the powder -- no mess.
Here we have the sphinx on a vintage clothing label (thank you, Jc!)

Embossing. Yes, I like it very much.

A beautiful day

If you want to recharge your batteries, spend time with kindred spirits. Artistically and otherwise. I spent a lovely afternoon with Danielle and Jocelyn, their sweet doglet Rocky. The gentleman of the house was doing the tax returns (which reminded me that I have to do mine very soon) while we drank delicious tea and talked art, art, art, among other things. I was warmed by their generosity and spirit.

Danielle covers her scrumptious collages with resin -- a humongous job. I'd never seen "resinated" art before and I was very impressed. The resin creates a thick, glossy finish that's really beautiful. You really have to see it to appreciate it. Jocelyn is also an artist, and I loved that she used to teach yoga -- another thing we share.

I'm looking forward to our next get-together.

 Photo by Monsieur Hession!

St. Jude

It's hard not to like a saint who is the patron of "lost causes". that's why I like st. Jude -- or the idea of St. Jude. I think a better description would be patron saint of almost-lost causes. After all, if the cause were lost, why would you pray for it??

Gardening

My sister is the gardener in the family. I'm limited to a balcony with pots, so the gardener in me lives vicariously through her. She has been getting her summer garden ready; the wisteria has a mind of its own and blooms away, heedless of whatever else is going on around it. I love cascading flowers like wisteria and bougainvillae.

Down the rabbit hole

Sorting through my stuff, I found these tiny Alice cards -- if I don't sort regularly, I forget what I have; it's a case of if I don't see it, I don't know I have it -- and some new tags were born.

Don't drink from a bottle that says "Drink me"....*wink*

[available on eBay -- see sidebar]

Winged Messenger

I got a Winged Messenger from Susanna Gordon to place somewhere in the park near my home. It was the week of wind and rain, so I waited until it calmed down and wandered around the park looking for a suitable spot. As I reached the children’s play area, I saw a plaque under a tree and remembered that trees were planted around the park in memory of people who had died. In fact, I knew one of them: David Wilkinson, a former colleague, young and vibrant, whose death I discovered only when I stumbled on the tree planted in his memory.

As it turned out, the first tree next to the children’s area, a mere few feet away, was David's tree. So I hung the Winged Messenger for both the children and David. It felt so very, very right.

Stamp of the Month at BizzyB's

All lined up!

Daniza does her magic

I love these cards (made by Daniza)

Surprise visitors! Danielle Hession (who was featured in Artist Portfolio: Somerset Studio Sept/Oct 2009), with her lovely Mom, Jocelyn, and her friend, Emma.

A day to remember! My thanks to all who attended. I really appreciated your support.

I'm feeling much better today. Thank you so much for your good wishes and all the virtual soup ;)

I have a busy evening ahead, but I will be back over the weekend to tell you all about it, especially tomorrow's Stamp of the Month at BizzyB's.

Meanwhile, the wonderful Stampdiva now has some of my rubber stamps in stock!

Be well. Be safe.

It's foggy and wet, and I have barometric the headache to go with it. So I'm staying in to minimize the damage. I need to make some soup (for the comfort of it) and put my feet up.
Wishing you a dry and headache-free day!

Save the date

In Toronto: Saturday, April 10, 11a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Stamp of the Month at Bizzy B's Stamp & Scrap (Bloor & High Park). The Stamp of the Month is "Marie-Claire" from my collection for Stampington & Company, and I will be there. Looking forward to seeing you.

Many thanks to Barb for making this possible!

Bizzy B's Stamp & Scrap (at Bloor and High Park)

2100 Bloor Street West, Suite 4
Toronto, Ontario M6S 1M7
416-203-0433/
1-877-TO STAMP

Bon Appétit!

Lunch.

I love greens, preferably raw. These rapini are slightly bitter; the strawberries add a touch of sweetness to counteract it, and black sun-dried olives finish it off very nicely. I pit my olives with one of my oldest and best-loved kitchen tools: an olive pitter (great for cherries too when making clafoutis). Dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. I don't make a dressing the conventional way: I just drizzle  it all with extra-virgin olive oil, then some lemon juice, scatter some salt and grind some black pepper over, then I toss very thoroughly. I let it sit so that the greens and the fruit absorb the dressing. Tenderizing, if you will.

Eat, and mop up the juices with small chunks of a baguette.

Bon appétit!

Tiny

I wanted to see how small I could go with the hearts. Taking into account that I have long fingers/hands, the wee heart is still tiny....

TORONTO art news: 

Heather Murray is exhibiting her work at gallery 33 (Richmond & Portland streets) opening Thursday, April 8th for a month's duration.

I have a small collection of Heather's art; she combines vintage images, collage and painting in a style that is uniquely her own.

(c) Art by Heather Murray, collection of Colette Copeland

I hope you'll drop by!

Tools of my trade

Among the tools of my trade, I have some favorites. They're all necessary, but some just make me happy to have. This is one of them. (Not the decoy duck, although I love my antique decoys, all four of them-- but the twine dispenser.)

Heartfelt

I've been making so many hearts that I decided to open an Etsy shop devoted to them. Four down and more to go... This is an item I make all the time and they have to go somewhere!!

Have a heartfelt day!

Peace

Happy Easter/Joyeuses Pâques

If you guessed you'd see more hearts today, you win.

SOLD. Merci!

Yesterday I replenished some supplies, and continued with the hearts. Today's medal is St. Theresa of Avila. The heart is cut from a vintage napkin, soft and a little silky, small, about 5 inches long all of which made it a little hard to handle. But I do love the result!

"Do what you love" is what's operating here.

Do something you love today, won't you?


Meanwhile, these two are available in my blogshop.