material witness

Cherished Remnants

2012-01-28T22:10:00.000-08:00

Chinese doll costume with bird embroidery approx. 100 years old

Tapestry remnant from the flea market in Paris- ancient

Russian shawl - a gift from Maryanne McAllister, Fort Nelson from her life in Russia.

Chinese doll costume-back view. Gold embroidery.

Worn boudoir doll from Montreal- approx 1920's resting on a felted shawl I made and dyed.

Focus!

2012-01-16T11:55:00.000-08:00

Wells house in the cold!

My focus is now on getting the gallery up and running for the May long weekend.

The house is mostly set up but is not decorated yet. I could live there immediately if I spent a lot of time with my eyes closed. It has everything I need for a little comfort. That is the important part after all! But I want it a little yummy. I will be in there 6 months a year from now on. And I want the house to be an inspiring place and haven for my family and friends.

Truth is I am just thrilled about having running water, a toilet, a dry roof and good neighbours.
The rest is icing. I feel very fortunate.

So...I am digging through images of studios and shops I like and rethinking ideas for my own use. Now designing the gallery and looking for ways to make it appealing and comfortable.
Have been looking for showcases and shelves that would be nice to look at and live with.
Taking pictures and scouring antique shops, industrial storage places, and re-use stores.
Having everything custom built is an option. I have Kevin, my carpenter, who has time right now. Even some hacked Ikea pieces might work. In the meantime I found some great overhead light fixtures. Old ones that came from a factory. They might be out of scale with the ceiling height in the gallery area. But now I have some idea of what might work.

The building itself is painted tangerine and cobalt blue with touches of purple. It scares me to death but it can be seen for miles. It is also on a number of posters that already exist as advertisement for the area. And lots of people seem to like it. The whole town is painted bright colours! I will have to change it eventually to something slightly more subtle.

In the meantime I am working on my art, card designs, signage, advertisements and invitations.
Insurance problems might finally be solved. I am also interviewing B.C. artists and have three or four lined up for the summer. First little show is now being pulled together.

Today Wells is 34 0 below. Windchill makes it 50 o below. Colder than cold!

There is so much work and just enough time. 4 months and counting down!

Good Dog

2012-01-02T21:38:00.000-08:00

My cousin Cassandra's dog letting us all know how he feels about Christmas! And he is twelve years old which is kinda my age in dog years...

New Year's Resolution.

2011-12-31T11:41:00.000-08:00

Charlotte influencing me. 2011.

I resolve to become a bad influence on others.

Happy New Year!

Running With Scissors.

2011-12-28T17:27:00.000-08:00

I got to spend most of the day with my wonderful niece Michelle. She is one of those accomplished young women who has figured out her priorities quite young.

She is a very accomplished horse woman who is now a champion side saddle rider. She is winning prizes everywhere. Her love of historic costume is definitely a result of my influence. So is her love of vintage and antique cloth and clothing. Junking is our shared passion with her cousin Brie. The two of them have nearly absconded all of my antique clothing and some of my jewellery.

Her sensitivity is defined by such clear borders it astounds me. I now ask her for advice about things. Our relationship is so easy and fun.

I have been very blessed in the niece department. Thank goodness because I only had sons and brothers. All of them are amazing to me and I am close to the bunch. Each one is strong, smart and compassionate for the most part. Two are now Mommies and have given me wonderful great nieces.

How nice is it to spend time sitting with a little girl and showing them to thread a needle and sew. I remember learning that from my Grandfather. Just the thrill of seeing two pieces of cloth joined together to become something else. To make a little doll or a little pocket. Thrilled to death to get to make the sewing machine run. And to receive scraps from leftovers for quilts and embellishment or pony blankets.

I also showed all the boys to sew. Dane and Bren could operate a needle by three. Chris made a complete doll at seven. Stephen helped repair his teddy. Each one of them would cuddle and watch me sew. Contrary to popular belief boys also love to sew. Former generations of men in our family have been involved in cloth production or sheep ranching.

Michelle is interested in historic riding costumes and consults with a costumer named LaFlamme. She went to museums in England and Scotland to look at textiles and designs.
She is now an instructor at a college and focuses on a scientific profession. But she loves cloth.

Merry Mukluks

2011-12-25T11:09:00.000-08:00

My new moccassins made by the Mukluk Mama Adeline Dickie

Detail Moccassin Beading

Last Minute Christmas Beret

Tim gave me the most beautiful moccassins for Christmas made by the Mukluk Mama herself!
Hand beaded and smoke tanned moose hide with a moose fur cuff. They were made by Adeline Dickie (White Medicine Bear Woman) from the Fort Nelson Reserve. Her beading is so tight and beautifully done and the moccassins fit like they were made for my feet alone. They are made in the Slavey - Northern Cree tradition.

I am not taking off my new red Christmas pajamas or my mocs all day. I plan on being very comfortable warm and a little light headed if I have to cook dinner for today. All will be consumed in short order or made into New Year's Pies.

Everyone decided that the P.J thing was a good idea and half the guests arrived in suitable nightwear. Tim and I wore our new P.J.'s. Somehow it took the edge off any family strife.

Have the most lovely day. At least once a year.

Images From The Northern Journey

2011-12-22T22:01:00.001-08:00

Leaving The Fort

Alaska Highway

Alaska Highway

Quesnel - Barkerville Highway to Wells, B.C.

Wells house/gallery in the snow. All ready for move -in.

Leaving The Fort

2011-12-15T19:39:00.000-08:00

We are now packing to leave Fort Nelson one last time. The weather outside really is frightful. It is now colder than 20 below. There are snowstorms and road closures on the way to Wells, our next destination. Snow and ice fog are expected.

The apartment here is cozy, warm and comfortable. Tim has a homebody instinct. I didn't really have much to do with it other than to help him pack up in Vancouver and impose myself on him when I had to. It smells like baking in here. He is a good cook and an incredible baker. He keeps making me hot Bailey's to drink.

I haven't been great company because I landed here with the flu and had to crawl into bed for the last few days being a complete misery to us both. Got up today and walked the few blocks into town to pick up some food and treats for our trip. It was so cold outside that I had a hard time breathing on the way home, my thick mittens didn't keep me warm and my parka was city girl useless. Didn't undress at all when I got in the door and rushed to make hot tea. I was a Popsicle.

We attended the most lovely farewell/holiday party at our friend's Don and Pauline White. They have the most beautiful big log house a few miles out of Fort Nelson. They are both Newfoundlanders by birth. I am by heritage. Pauline pulled out a series of Mummer ornaments that made me cry. I was the only other person there who had experienced Mummers in person. They are almost like scarecrows. People dress up in these costumes without faces and come to your door at Christmas time. You are supposed to offer them food and drink although you have no idea who they are in real life or if you even know them. Hospitality and generosity are the key. You don't know if they are a derelict or a wise man. Your job is to make them welcome and cared for. Children are often terrified of Santa but he is a gentle looking soul compared to the anonymous Mummer.

The food was phenomenal. Tables full of food. Every kind of delicious food and drink. I was forced to drink a blue drink called a Blue Eyed Blonde. Went down better the second time. It was fun and silly. The people here became friends and really will be missed by both Tim and I.

People from the project started packing up and leaving today. They will return to locations all over Canada. They will all be missed. But this means that Tim will finally return home to Vancouver.

My first impressions of Fort Nelson weren't correct. I ended up liking it here. The people were wonderful. The location is actually beautiful if you face the right direction. It makes me feel Canadian when I am up here. In Canada people come from all over the world and figure out how to get together and survive. Fort Nelson is like that. But maybe with more patience and kindness.

Cold, Colder, Coldest!

2011-12-08T23:27:00.000-08:00

I am trying to pack for my winter trip to Fort Nelson which is so far below zero it is unimaginable! Instead of leaving my long johns, warm socks, sweaters and boots I made the stupid decision to drag them back to Vancouver. I need to carry up some dressier clothes to attend a company party. Black lace long johns perhaps? I will settle on layers of velvet. This means I have to wear lots and boil on the way to Vancouver Airport or freeze on the plane and unpack the warmies at the airport in the deep freeze of Fort Nelson.

I am proud of carrying my own bags but these ones are pretty heavy this time. The final visit is for at least a week with a further trip into Wells which is rumoured to have 3 or 4 feet of snow already. Things need to be packed that don't normally get packed because there is further trip of many miles through the frozen and icy roads. Dressing for extreme cold can mean survival if anything goes wrong. A good idea for comfort at the very least.

Leaving early in the morning and flying in a tiny, intimate plane. Hours in the air. And home to the Fort Nelson apartment and one of Tim's hot stews and diving into a bed piled with huge quilts. Dressed in long johns, t shirts and socks. I really am such a wuss when it comes to the cold.

I sleep like a log in the North. Completely conk out! Dream crazy inspiring dreams. Wake up completely lost and disoriented every time.

But the reward is the beauty surrounding Fort Nelson, lovely people and parties with food that Northern people make with treats of moose meat, northern char, incredible sweets and drink.They also make every other kind of delicious food.

Will get to buy the new babies real soft and beautiful baby moccassins and hopefully some tiny coats. I think there might even be a craft fair or two!

This is probably my last visit to Fort Nelson for a long time. Tim has thrived there. He is strong and feels a huge sense of accomplishment and has made wonderful new friends. The irony being that we will have a holiday meal with some lovely Newfoundlanders. Like so many family holiday meals but without my own Newfoundland Grandfather. I hope I remember at least one of the songs.

Will try and take a lot of Northern pictures. And share them as I can.

Jack And His Granny

2011-12-07T10:42:00.000-08:00

It Is Now Official!!!

2011-12-06T22:34:00.000-08:00

Jackson's Mommy and Daddy one week before Jackson's birth

Uncle Brendan

Brand new Mommy Breanne and doggy Gustopher

Aunty Megs having her bonding moment

Mr. Perfection Hurley

Mr. Hurley's new onesie.

Flowers for mommy

It is now official. My new name is Grandma Pat.

This was something I was not expecting as a step mother. I was prepared to be called anything Jackson wanted. I met him tonight for the first time. I was the first to hold him after we arrived. I melted , of course, and bonded immediately to this little tiny baby. He snuggled right in and nuzzled immediately. His mother and father trusted me to hold him. Even the skittish little dog, Gustopher, relaxed and snuggled into the crook of my arm. Me and baby and doggy in complete bliss!

We all passed him back and forth. Drowned his parents in presents. Quilts, chocolates, flowers, and Hurley and Oona onesies and food. Fed each other in a ritual that has always been there. Baby meets his extended family. Family immediately make their pledges of love and protection to him.

I overheard a radiant Megan introducing herself as his Aunty Megs. Brendan held him and experienced that wonderful flash of bonding to a tiny one. Stephen smiled every single time one of us held his boy and his beloved Breanne. Breanne exhibited confidence and competence unusual in a first time mother with a 3 day old infant. Still beautiful despite 3 sleepless nights.

I went to sign his card when I was leaving from Grandpa Tim and Pat. I explained to Steph why I did that. That I wanted to acknowledge his own mother and that Jackson could call me whatever he wanted. Lovely Steph looked me in the eye and explained he will call me Grandmother or Gramma or Granny. That he didn't give a damn about the politics and exclusion that came before. I was Jackson's Granny. And that is that! And is now who I am!

And Tim may be up North but he is phoning and e-mailing constantly. Saying unlikely gushy things like "My boy has just had a bath!" like Jackson was the only baby who had ever had a bath. He has become as silly as the rest of us. Maybe even sillier. Like a good Grandfather.

I Like Winter.

2011-12-05T09:31:00.000-08:00

There are some things I appreciate more than others. I don't know where these lovely garments came from. Sent to me by a naughty friend. I would love to credit the work but I don't know who made them.

What Else Is There?

2011-12-05T08:57:00.000-08:00

Jackson (Day 2)

What else is there to talk about?

Nothing right now except this little bundle of boy!

His face is now full and round. Rather serene. Traced by the genes that continue. Some recognizable. In the brow and the mouth. He is really big and has thick arms and legs. Not like my own children's delicate limbs. Big hands and feet. Big bones and broad open face like his Grandmother Sue. Tall like his Mother and Father. The Hurley brow, facial movements and response to touch.

A tiny human being. Becoming accustomed to touch, air, sound and light. Shocking really.

I wish Tim was home to see him. But he is up North working and won't come home until the 20th or so.

Kissing Ancestors

2011-12-04T23:10:00.000-08:00

Once when drowning in the love of my Great Grandparents, I planted a big, fat kiss on my Great Grandfather Adam's mouth. My Great Gran Mabel Della Wells Adams (called Old Gran) laughed and rubbed my hair. We must have been cuddled up in the big Oregon rocker on the porch looking out across the prairie field of their ranch near Trochu, Alberta. They were both exotic beings to me. The ancient parents of my Granny Blanche.

She touched my cheek and said, "You have just kissed the mouth who kissed the mouth who kissed the mouth who kissed the mouth of President Adams. You have kissed history my dear!"

My first history lesson delivered in a kiss.

He lived to be 94. She lived to be 99. Blanche lived to be 99. My paternal family not including the Newfs. All the stories were there of births, deaths, trials, laughter, betrayal, love, life and survival skills. Explanations for bad behaviour. Humble pride for good.

Enough that when I was so sick with cancer and a killer infection and hovering between life and death the voices I heard were my Old Gran's telling me to just get up and try harder. That we just don't give up!

I wonder what it is like not to know your own people. Both the good and the bad. To come from a nuclear family that just consists of just two generations. How do you mark your own history? Where is your place? Whose lessons do you end up learning?

When I was little I couldn't draw a picture without a long line of people. It simply didn't make sense. Something I will never know. Neither will my children. Our life has been a living museum where history is simply one of those nourishments given like milk. I wonder what history we will all teach baby Jackson. What our kisses will mean. Or if we will live long enough for him remember at all.

Jackson shares none of my genes. He is Susan and Tim's grandson and she passed away three Decembers ago. Stephen is really missing her right now. I keep a little distance to recognise this.

But Jackson will get something from Mabel in my first kiss on his little head.

Jackson Decided To Arrive A Little Early!

2011-12-04T15:43:00.000-08:00

Today Jackson Stephen Hurley arrived on this little planet. He decided to come early and in a hurry. He is a big strapping boy at nearly nine pounds. Broad shoulders, big head, long body. He has already done what good babies do. His APGAR Score is excellent. His poor Momma was in labour for only 1 1/2 hours and dealt with all that meant. So he exploded into the world. Shocking and humbling his jaded para-medic father.

I had a baby like that. In under 2 hours. Never under estimate the impact of short labour. But babies come however they come. Despite our planning. And then there they are!! Fully human. Hypnotic. Beyond amazing. Living their new life. Negotiating a place in this universe.

So Tim is now a grandfather. My step son Steph is a proud and protective father and Breanne is a beautiful mother. I am waiting to find out my role. Perhaps loving elder or ... this little boy will decide what to call me on his own.

I will get to meet him a little later. I can't wait!

So much for peace and quiet. Amazing new life wins out every time.

Pictures coming.

Quiet and Peace

2011-11-30T13:24:00.000-08:00

The house is quiet once again. Everyone has gone home and back to their active lives.
Tim left early for work yesterday morning and flew back to Fort Nelson. I will meet him up there on December 9th.

This means I have 10 days to myself. Probably the last time until opening the gallery in Wells next May. I have spent majority of time alone for the last 1 1/2 years. I have a great family and a generous and understanding husband but I like my own company. Creative time happens whenever it needs too! Art messes allowed. No being quiet for people sleeping. Not one component of a project moving. No being told what to do at all. Friends whenever I want them here for as long as I want.

Immersion!

Somehow I still made art before all this. It was just more challenging.

All My Children

2011-11-27T18:33:00.000-08:00

Family Row 1 Breanne, Vashti, Tim (Papa!)
Row 2 Steph, Brendan, Dane, Megan, Chris
missing but behind the camera me.

Pensive Vashti Four months pregnant

Breanna- one week to term

All of my children and their spouses were with me this weekend! First time in 10 years everyone has been together. Right now there are 10 of us, including 3 spouses and 1 girlfriend. In two weeks there will be 11 of us with Stephen's new baby. Chris's baby will be here by May.

Once again life changes!

And one of my stepson's spouses has decided I will be named Granny and has already hit me up for a childcare stint while she goes on a dig. She is an archaeologist. I promised to teach her kid how to spit and swear! Lessons that come in handy in this family. That and wall crawling!

What Works

2011-11-26T23:03:00.000-08:00

I am suffering from an anti-climax thing today. Months of expectation, effort and putting myself out there has now worn thin enough to require a break.

Fantasy is a good place to start. After I replenish for a week. Maybe two. So time to climb into this cosy bed and hide with a good book. Hot baths. Hot, homemade soup. Vitamins. Big, long walks. Singing a song or two. Avoiding most human contact.

Dane is home from Winnipeg for another day. His friend Divya had her opening at ArtSpeak last night and it was so strong. It included a sky banner pulled through the air by a real plane, a neon light sculpture of Gandhi, and an enormous birthday like cake with an iced inscription that simply said "Kashmir". It will be abandoned to rot over the next month. The opening was full to the rafters with hip-hop musicians, art critics and artists. Fun.

Tim wants me back up in the North starting Dec. 7. There are holiday parties to go to with Northern friends before we leave Fort Nelson with the moving truck. Then an eleven hour drive to Wells with the stuff. Then 10 hours back home to Vancouver to meet new baby Hurley.

Tomorrow my house will be full of beautiful, pregnant young women. Our young women. Maybe one will let me draw her after everyone gets fed. Breanne has less than two weeks to go before her baby's birth. Vashti is now half way.

I don't know when life started moving this fast again. I just know solace, inspiration and comfort are required right now. Sometime after lunch...

2011-11-23T20:28:00.000-08:00

Globes on the display cases

People signing up for next series of workshops

Full house all weekend

The Eastend Culture Crawl is now over for another year. I had an incredible time. This might have been my favourite year.

I had plenty of help with the set up. Helpers included Brendan, Megan, Ashley, Derek, Una and Ava. Vivian kept bringing me tea and lovely ginger biscuits. Celine and Scott brought work over from Numen Gallery to plump up my inventory. Tina patted my back when I started to succumb to pressure. Rob brought me home brewed coffee and a snack. Maggie dragged me out for late supper and beer. Rod, once again, brought me an extravagant gift of a projector and set up a date to teach me how to use it.

My studio was full of people from beginning to end of the show. Lots of positive feedback, commissions and sign-ups for courses and play dates.

I set up the studio more as an installation than a craft fair. I still sold work.

My friend/future collaborator Barry came over from Victoria and accompanied me on a tour of the Crawl on Sunday. Our long ago rhythm kicked in and his presence and lovely energy made the weekend perfect.

Eastside Culture Crawl Time

2011-11-15T09:39:00.000-08:00

Pebble Samples- 2011

The Eastside Culture Crawl is this weekend and I am now setting up the studio for visitors.
There are more than 350 artists involved this year and it promises to be very exciting.

You can find me or a helper showing off my work and my studio at #13 1310 William Street in Vancouver, B.C. starting on Friday at 5:00 pm, Saturday between 11:00 am - 6:00 pm and Sunday
11:00am - 6:00pm.

Come look and explore my finished work, sample table and library, and inspirational materials.
Remember that this is a look and touch studio where I actually share information and ideas for making magic with your own work.

Little people are more than welcome.

Check out a little sampling of my work at http://www.eastsideculturecrawl.com/

One Week Left!

2011-11-12T09:40:00.000-08:00

Unfinished Mushroom Form papier mache, cotton, scorched layers

Mushroom Forms Mostly Completed

Miniature Sample and experiment collection in display box

In process- mushroom form paper mache, cotton, layering and scorching

Moon Snail Pods- silicone, acrylic, sand

Continued Copper Dye Sheet in process and continual evolution

Mating Frenzy Butterflies -2011

Inspirational object: Dreaded and now dehydrated carnivorous plant. Nearly the death of me

The CRAWL is in another week.

Instead of throwing myself into a panic I plan on enjoying the set-up.

Work from two shows has just arrived in the studio and looks great.

MaryEllen Johnstone and I will work in there today and pull the first part in shape and organize the work space. My son Bren and I will hang things later in the week.

Am absorbed with paper and gut mache in the last week. And little take aways for the CRAWL.

The work stolen from the transition from the S.A.C. to the Artisan Gallery will be financially compensated. I understand the artists in the group passed the hat to pay for the loss. I am so very touched at the effort they made to cover this theft. It really restores my faith in the goodness of pe0ple!

Feedback from curators this week..."Raise Your Prices" All right then!!

PEACE

2011-11-11T14:51:00.000-08:00

They didn't used to celebrate war on Rememberance Day. They celebrated hard earned peace.
There was no firing of guns to commemorate fallen soldiers. There was a ringing of bells to celebrate peace. PEACE is the ultimate goal and why the sacrifice was made in the first place.

Unearthed Unpacked.

2011-11-07T06:33:00.000-08:00

S.A.C Show "Into The Woods" with the two missing globes and missing display dome.

Both the shows at the Britannia Beach Mining Museum and the Squamish Arts Council are now dismantled and unpacked. The efficient team had them down and packed into the truck by two o'clock. Wish set-up went that fast.

The mine became my second home this summer. The gallery space looked so empty when we were finished. It was a very worthwhile experience for me as an artist. Nothing was broken or stolen. Thousands of people visited and interacted with the show this summer. Children were very engage because I kept lots of the work at child eye level. there were tons of little hand prints on the cases. A little fact that thrilled me.

My experience at the SAC Building and Into the Woods was also mostly successful. I got to hang with some fabulous artists like Corrine Hunt and Martin Thorne. I loved visiting that tiny show packed with talent.

Unfortunately some of my work went missing in transition from one gallery to the next. Not sure if it was stolen or lost. I am upset about this but not naive. It happens now and then. One piece was not really for sale as it was an important personal piece regarding memories of my father.

I wish theft didn't happen but it does.

In full measure my experience with Squamish and Britannia Beach was well worth it. I'd encourage other artists to show there without hesitation. I will show in both places again.

Now time to seriously get ready for the CRAWL.

Ownership Day 4

2011-11-04T20:41:00.000-07:00

Sigh.

Insurance companies are not flexible at all.

I am now surveying everyone in town to find out who insures them and for how much.

So far the quotes I am getting are double what other people are paying.

What does this have to do with textile art? It has lots to do with our ability to sell the work and not have overhead higher than profit. The people who get screwed in this are the artists!

So I called the Wells and District Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Officer and let them know. I will make a presentation to Council and see if they can help at all.
New business is required to keep little towns going.

Oh ...and don't mess with Patricia. My street teeth have come out.

Ownership Day 3

2011-11-03T10:28:00.000-07:00

Man, I just love my insurance person Cathy Shaeffer from Integris. She is really spending her time thinking creatively regarding finding me an insurance provider.

I am asking for a few unusual things. Insuring a building that is in a remote town. The building is not occupied the whole year. It has a residence and a gallery. The gallery is only open seasonally.
For part of the year it will hold my equipment, my work, consigned work and things like cards, books etc. The inventory isn't large and the work isn't expensive. The public will be coming in the gallery from May 24th weekend to the end of October.

I have gone above and beyond providing security and building maintenance. The site has no debris or trees that can fall on it. The shed is secure. The building has new systems internally. It is spotless and in good order. I don't smoke and neither will anyone else in my sweet little building. The fire hall is 1 block away. I even have my own gold miner/biker named Grizz next door who will knock the block of anyone doing damage to my property. (Grizz also makes tea and gives hugs)

Wells is a little different than most towns security wise. There is very little crime there. One road goes into town and the same road goes out. People there are used to keeping track. The joke in town is that a kid ever went missing or something big was stolen the poor perp would be met by the time they left Jack of Clubs Lake. Then they would be easy to find in the lake!

The trees have eyes in Wells. Prospectors, loggers, road crews and ranchers are connected to the town by a radio and phone system. Almost everyone in town is involved in the Volunteer Fire Department. There is a tiny RCMP Detachment and the BC Ambulance Service. It is a very safe town.

What is the problem? I thought I could insure it for half the year as a residence and seasonal business.

It is really worth having some kind of business plan when you are an artist. Who'd a thunk it?
So far I have been able to list my inventory of work. my library and my equipment. I am able to tell them the approx value of consigned work. I am even able to give them an approximation of the number of expected guests. I kept track last time.

If they want I can tell them what my most populars items are, where most of my customers come from, and what they had for lunch the day they visited. I keep track.

Insurance is a small problem that will be solved. It reminds me of the importance of statistics even when on such a small scale. Kathy and I will beat this little challenge!

Ownership Day 2

2011-11-02T20:34:00.000-07:00

My little orange and blue gallery in the North iced with frost. The cairn is where Fred Wells is buried. He is supposed to be one of my relatives.

Tim has informed me he isn't coming home after all. Not sure when.
Something told me he wasn't. He has a tendency to make himself very valuable.

I just crawled back into bed and hid from the cold rain. Eventually I got up and decided to try to organize my Wells insurance again. It has become sticky because I am not in the Wells house until summer.

Typical of Wells...Dennis from Town Maintenance called me from his house at dinner. "Trish. There is frost everywhere and I can't turn off the water to your house. I can't really find it.".

I negotiated the best I could. I don't know where the town hides the water pipes. Dennis told me how to keep the water intake warm. I told him I could call Mike (my caretaker) and that he might be able to help. Dennis will try again tomorrow.

Bless thoughtful Dennis!

I have now owned the house for only one day.

Tim suggested I just go up there and live in it. He isn't coming home so that might not be a bad idea at all. After the CRAWL. The hardy ones are up there now. I am sure I could survive just fine. I could get lots of work done. But my plan was to be there in Summer.

I have more tests in the next few weeks. I will dust off my long johns and go up if the results are okay.

Something will figure itself out. Even disappointment.

Keys

2011-11-01T15:40:00.000-07:00

I picked up the keys and all the paper work today for my new house and gallery. It doesn't have a name yet. But I can open the doors when I finally get up to Wells.

I did it!!!!!!!!!

Earthy

2011-10-31T20:23:00.003-07:00

Peeling mine door

One of my cases for the miniature work.

Roof Rust

Peeling paint

Mine Messages

Metal Cocoons

Biotite Snake pyro-textile

Encrustation

Rust and Connectors
Part of the Unearthed show with some of the rust dyed and intentionally deteriorating cloth
Surfaces

Crust and rust

My copper patination develops

Rust on tank

Window crack

Inside the mine with mine photographs

Windows

In the mine building

Stairway to Heaven Britannia Beach Mine
Inside the large buildings in the mine

Grill from one of the mine vehicles

Part of the Unearthed Show with the unlit cases

Marshall the Miner in full Hallowe'en Gear

Adorable Hallowe'en Mine Bunny.

What a wonderful day! Bright, a little windy and chilly.

Didn't start out that way though.

I woke up late only to discover that hideous brown water was pouring from all my taps and the shower and toilet. Tim convinced me by phone to run all the taps to see if the water would clear.
It didn't until it had completely made the tub disgusting. I had to leave the house in 15 minutes with no way for a nice shower. I made myself as decent as possible using ice cold water when the tap finally cleared. Certainly glad I still had some water in the kettle to brush my teeth.

Scott and Celine picked me up for our inspiration date. Celine only arrived home from Indonesia yesterday and decided to come along too. We had breakfast of Jamaican Patties, Chai, and turkey baguettes and packed into the car for a drive to Britannia Beach and Squamish.

The sun was shining on the sea all the way from Vancouver to the Mine.

We decided to do a mine tour and ride the train underground. Marshall, the miner and guide, recognized me and introduced me to the other riders which took me completely off guard. He told everyone to go into my show. So nice. He has let me crawl around in there a few times now and get inspired. He does such a good tour of the mine because he worked as a miner there for years.

Scott crawled into all the nooks and corners he could find. His photographs must be exciting.

We went into see the show. I rely on these two to give me appropriate and honest feedback. Celine is a wonderful curator and has a strong relationship too and knowledge of my work.
Unfortunately the Museum has decided to save power and cut the illumination to my cases. They are trying to save money but... I know it is an unconventional space. It isn't really an art gallery but a museum. It has been a thrill to show in the space which is filled with old mine machines and equipment. Thousands of people saw the show through the summer and fall. Many more than any gallery would have done.

The cases, however, have been designed to have light to enhance the work. Celine pointed out that the cases really needed the light.

I am pleased that the work has been respected other wise and cared for. Thrilled that the staff have been so supportive and the volunteers are exceptional. I love the huge banners Krisztina made for me and the sandwich board is gorgeous. All the physical help with hanging the show.

It gets dismantled next week. I am really going to miss visiting it there. I could move right into the tunnels.

Scot, Celine an I had lunch at Gallelio's, a little coffee place on the highway at Britannia Beach, and laughed and for hours.

I got home to prepare the house for Hallowe'en.

Tomorrow I get the keys and to the new house and gallery. Tim gave it to me as a gift. And he is finally coming home!!!

Happy Hallowe'en!

Hallowe'en Beasties

2011-10-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

Our lovely Charlotte ready for Hallowe'en early this year.

Can't say I slept much last night. The Hallowe'en Beasties were out in full force along the "Drive".
Fire crackers exploding, people screaming like injured wolves, sirens and very loud music.
I am likely the only one up this morning.

So I decided to get domestically productive and do laundry, bake corn muffins, scrub tubs, toilets and sinks and wash the kitchen floor. I am now making cookies to bring down to the "Occupy Vancouver" encampment.

It is hard for me not to go down to Occupy. I am not well enough and would be afraid I'd get in the way if something happened.

When did I get this cautious?

Breast cancer has made me more self protective.

I spent so much of my life on the front lines of things like this. Organizing demos and events. Marshalling marches. Making sure the people taking part had what they needed to carry out positive action. Fighting greed. Looking for positive alternatives.

I remember the older women coming down and delivering muffins. I wondered why they did it and didn't just join the crowd. Some of them did. My "Raging Grannies"! But I understand now the need to step aside and let younger passion take over. I want them to know I am with them. That I will help the little I can. That this fight has been going on for a very long time.

I remember Pauline Weinstein today. She was a remarkable education activist. She died a few years ago of lung cancer. Once she took me aside and asked me not to tire myself out. That I was needed for the long run. That this fight against greed would take a lifetime and that I needed to plan for that if I was serious about helping make change.

My maternal grandfather worked all his life to make change against greed. He arrived in Montreal, Canada as a child. His father had a heart attack a few months later and in the next year or so his mother went blind. He was responsible to try and support a family of 6 by the time he was 12. He became a Communist and involved in the Union Movement. He worked with amazing people like Dr. Norman Bethune. He suffered through what was attached to that in the late forties and fifties. He died in a rooming house in the poorest neighbourhood in Calgary.
He used to bring my friends and I treats when we were protesting the Vietnam War. In retrospect he was the love of my life. Nothing like a loving grandfather to influence your life!

My Grandfather always delivered molasses taffy and liquorice ropes on Hallowe'en Eve.

The Day of the Dead is on November 2. One of my little sugar skeletons will hold a tiny Hammer and Sickle and put his fist in the air.

Holey Molar Gallery?

2011-10-28T01:43:00.000-07:00

I dreamt last night that I was visiting Calgary and it had changed so much. There was an event going on in a number of public places. Each one needed to be visited and contemplated on like the Stations of the Cross. There was a solitary dancer in each location. But the meaning of the work was unclear.

I watched each dancer kick, twirl, shuffle and leap. But I felt silly just watching and not taking part in the dance. Truth is I find liturgical dance completely annoying like most rituals from the Church.

Was the dance they were doing a political act or was it a message at all?

Each dancer looked similar to the next and I reacted with confusion. In real life most dancers are not all alike. The body dynamics are different and so was the expression of each movement. An original signature in movement.

I moved from place to place and felt that I might be analysing too much. That the meaning didn't matter but that the expression and taking part was all that counted. But taking strong action without understanding always frightens me.

One room had a tired but clean and ill fitting grey carpet. The dancer was trying to use the wrinkles as a way to define her movement. She kept getting caught and somehow managed not to fall. This was embarrassing but riveting and compelling. Awful to watch someone failing. Awesome to watch such effort.

I woke up drenched with sweat and feeling lonely. I am at a new stage with the medication and I have let myself get tired from the gallery purchase. Doctors and labs again this week and throughout November. Mostly I feel well.

I went back to sleep and dreamed that I named my gallery The Holey Molar Gallery after the fact the building used to be a dentist's office years ago.

Getting Ready For The Crawl

2011-10-23T23:48:00.001-07:00

Some of my work from current shows.

Handed Over

2011-10-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

Spent the day with accountants, notaries, bankers and delivered the final payment for my gallery and new home in Wells, B.C.

The day started with me throwing a full Irish fit at Tim (the wrong target because his fits always equal mine!), losing my I.D., spilling the coffee and generally falling apart until just the right time where I actually appeared competent and highly organized.

The deed took less than one hour.

The money has now been transfered to the notary. All of it!

Just a few more days and the keys are mine! All mine!

Everything is just fine now...Tim and I are half skiffed drinking celebratory champaigne.

Love List

2011-10-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

1. Raspberries from my garden
2. Red shoes
3. The smell of saddle soap and Murphy's oil
4. Fall wind
5. Big cuddly men
6. Silver rings
7. Rice paper and new charcoal
8. Amber
9. White blond children
10. Rusty tools
11. Lichen
12. Bone
13. Red bookshelves
14. Old mirrors with cracking silver
15. Boxes of all sorts
16. Birds
17. Bees
18. The combination of both
19. Rusted barb wire
20. Old woman's voices
21. Chai and Baileys
22. Solo dancers
23. Raven calls
24. Mouth organs
25. Wasp paper
26. Occupyers
27. Flannel nighties and ice cold rooms
28. Ear phoned singers walking down the street
29. Teal
30. Bells
31. Wells
32. Shivers
33. The smell of sweaty horses
34. Clean white sheets
35. Libraries
36. The Marais neighbourhood in Paris
37. Maps
38. Packed suitcases
39. Feathers
40. Rude teenagers

Details, Details, Details

2011-10-20T06:16:00.000-07:00

Curator Krisztina Egyed and I sharing a cuddle.

My little corner of the Into The Woods show in the S.A.C. Gallery

Filming "Into The Woods" profile with Ivan Woods, me and Krisztina Egyed at S.A.C. in Squamish

The last few weeks have been so busy. I have learned so much about purchasing a Northern home and gallery. I have moved from excitement, determination, terror, certainty and a calm hopefulness. Tim is so very on board this time and is excited about the changes.

I have wanted to be in Wells for the last 7 years. It took two to go up there and set up the first two galleries. A huge learning curve. I have a good idea about what I am getting myself into.

The plan is to have the gallery up and running by the first week in June. It requires very little work to get it going because the space has been a functioning gallery before.

In the meantime life continues for me in Vancouver. Tim has decided to move home and work on his contract from the Vancouver office. He should be home by the end of November. The CRAWL is my next activity.

I spent the most beautiful day yesterday in Squamish filming another artist profile with Ivan Hughes. There were a collection of artists there all talking about themselves and the work they do. It is for one of the shows called Into the Woods at the Squamish Arts Building Gallery. A really fabulous show. The work will be shown in the CRAWL and then move to the ARTISAN Gallery in Squamish.

We stopped off at the Britannia Beach Mining Museum and checked out my show UNEARTHED.
It looked cared for. I spoke with one of the miners and got really honest feedback which thrilled me. It will be up until November 5th.

Wells Gallery

2011-10-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

I have spent the last few weeks focusing on purchasing my new gallery and home in Wells, B.C. Canada.

There is so much to do but I am flying to Wells in the morning to do an inspection on the building and to learn how it works. Am also taking part in the Arts As A Business Conference organized by Island Mountain Arts for the weekend.

Decided not to call it the Outhouse Gallery.

Offer Accepted!

2011-10-07T08:47:00.000-07:00

I will be the owner of an art retreat and gallery on November 1, 2011. They accepted my modest offer.

Making It Happen

2011-10-04T23:36:00.000-07:00

I have gone and done it!

Today I made an offer on a gallery and house in Wells, B.C. It was the Art Rush Gallery which has now moved to Kimberly. I know it very well and have always liked it. I love being in Wells. The people, the location, the beautiful little town, the art school and the pub all thrill me to pieces.

I have now spent enough time there to become attached. Very attached! I ran a gallery up there two years ago. Every day part of my day is spent fantasizing about going back.

SO I pulled together my pennies and learned to read contracts and talk to banks and notaries. My brilliant husband usually does this. But he is buried under work once again and still in the North.

The next few days will reveal what will happen. In the meantime almost everyone in Wells has contacted me to give advice and wish me luck. Old friends and new friends are offering support and encouragement. I am pouring over paint palettes and finding boxes to pack.

Trust me...I am way to Irish to count chickens before they hatch. But it looks really good.
And I feel sure it is what I really, really want!

Fall Botanical Inspiration

2011-09-29T15:42:00.000-07:00

Bear's Britches. Ferocious beauty! Extreme and harsh with prickles which turn into beautiful skeletons.
Most amazing veining
Strange flowers.
Love these little pod branches.

Phlox changing to violet fall colouring. Will last well into the winter and then leave leathery dried blossoms and then skeleton blossoms by next spring.
Poppy pods. I will give them a shake in a few weeks and let them fall on the icy ground. Prolific and beautiful this year. The cool summer helped.

Paper wasp family has grown through the summer. they will die in the next few weeks and I will harvest the little nest for my art. They are a little more aggressive right now.

Fall is starting to show her colours. I love this time of year. Harvest and degeneration in a single season. All of my energies are high in Autumn. These are images of some of the favourite plants in my garden other than the ones that feed me.

Busy And In The Zone

2011-09-26T12:41:00.000-07:00

Have recovered from techno panic of yesterday...I hope.

Have moved into the busy zone once again. It s prep time for the CRAWL. Have to reclaim the studio and turn it into gallery and work space again. So much work to do before the event.

Am working on the web page today and doing invoices and registrations. Am excited to attend SPLASH as a participating artist with the Art's Umbrella on October 13. They know how to throw a party! Hopefully my art will do as well at the fundraising auction as it did last year. Will be going the next day to Wells to attend the Arts As Business Conference with Island Mountain Arts on October 14. Am really happy that I have invitations to stay with friends but I think I will indulge in a comfy room at the beautiful Wells Hotel and hang out with owner Mark and other friends.

Tim is home for another few days. Which means I have some muscle to move a few things around. He is so happy to be home this visit.

It is pouring rain and blowing hard today. Trying not to break my rule of never turning on the heat before October 1. Wish I had a Wells wood stove. Nothin melts the toes like one of those. Will have to bake something to pull the moist off the house air. Wish I was in Wells most of the time!

Fixed

2011-09-25T23:57:00.000-07:00

Problem solved I hope.

Reported Again

2011-09-25T18:29:00.000-07:00

My hotmail account has crashed again. Once again I am on "Report". It makes no sense at all.
I rely on my hotmail for both business and social stuff. I spend whole periods of my life relying on the computer for contact with the outside world, for contact with my most important Doctor, and with a few friends.

I do not send porn, product information, mushy crap or stupid little quizzes.

Jim will look at it to see if something has jeopardized my account and will find out where this is coming from. It might be another problem.

If you have recieved something offensive from me or are bothered by contact with me and have done this please let me know. I will make sure all contact stops.

Knots

2011-09-25T08:10:00.000-07:00

I am constantly inspired by knots in wood and trees. This little collection of images is from Porteau Cove.

Moody Day

2011-09-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

Tim is home. He took me out to Porteau Cove for a little outing today. It was a soft moody day with low cloud but warm enough to go without a jacket.

There was hardly a ripple on the water in Howe Sound and traditional Squamish drumming filled the air.

A perfect last lick of summer.

Supernatural

2011-09-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

They are filming "Supernatural" right outside my house today. Both front and back.
There are trucks, tents, bodies and smokers everywhere. It will be going on until 2 am.

I need to go to an appointment which is going to be challenging. Our cars were all moved last night or towed away this morning. The bus isn't going by and the street is blocked.

But they look like they are having fun and working hard and it is very interesting to watch from the window.

Worked as a costumer once and a breakdown artist and precision dyer. Could never expend that kind of energy now.

Long Day

2011-09-20T00:43:00.000-07:00

Had a long day filming an artist's profile with SHAW today. Got to talk about my work and relationship to the mine. Climbed into a new cavern today and saw stalagtites and thick copper encrustation. Someone had painted handprints on the wall. Kept getting lost in the beauty and had to stay focused on the interview.

I grabbed the wrong bag and left my equipment behind. Ryan, the mine carpenter, rounded me up everything I needed. So I was able to do a detailed demo after all. The staff at the museum are all fantastic from my experience.

Maggie cancelled her trip today and drove me out to Britannia Beach. She nurtured me and was a wonderful support person at the mine. She even moved furniture. Gorgeous trip out and back. Blue, blue sky, nice cool air, sea looking perfect. We had a nice lunch and the best green tea ever. Japanese Sencha. I have to find me some.

I came home and climbed into bed. I felt really dizzy and my arm was swollen and killing me. I think I lifted too much. No pain killers but sleep really worked just fine. I went for a long, long walk when it was dark. And ate a really late dinner on my own.

Krisztina was also interviewed about the show and rounded up tickets for me and friends to come back.

Michael Moore

2011-09-18T22:54:00.000-07:00

Did you ever admire someone for being just themselves? And trying really, really hard!

Michael Moore read at the Stanley Theatre tonight for a very long time. It was an indulgence for his audience. He made sure he let us know that he likes Canadians and that he knew something about the changes we are going through. Not the good ones. But he gave us more of his time than was expected or required. He stayed and signed every last book. He signed hundreds of books.

I was nearly at the end of the line and he spent just a little more time with us. He told us that he had to get back to Seattle tonight. It is three hours away if the border wait is good. He had already been detained at the Canadian Border once today. He was already really, really tired.

He did the nicest thing. He looked at me and said my name out loud and went to sign the book and then he said it again and stopped, looked up and just smiled at me. I thanked him and just smiled at him. He thanked me back. Big smile again. I kind of floated off and out the door. I was so very struck by his generosity and kindness to us all.

I felt very inspired by how fundamental he was. That his personal history was. That he understands his job and his responsibility to use his gift to communicate. That he works really, really hard. That he understands that we are all in this together and we each have something we can do to make change.

He talked about the war, the economy, Bush, Obama, and also about Harper. He talked about history and justice. Guns and medicare. Election process. All the things I wanted him to. He told funny stories about himself and awkward adolescence. But he also revealed his shyness and vulnerability and eagerness to please. His faux pas. His ability to shake it up.

His generosity astounded me. And I think that is really, really cool!

Now I just can't wait to climb into this book...

And I think I will wait to write to tell him something different than he said...Canadians do to have an assassinated Prime Minister in our past, that the KKK also thrived here once, that racism also exists in Canada, that we really aren't as nice as we used to be and that our current government is fighting to have our gun laws loosened., to let the oil men and bankers run amok, and to take away our precious medicare and change it to a for profit system.

One Sleep

2011-09-17T22:24:00.000-07:00

This month is rapidly turning into my New Year. The rain has started.
But things are happening!

2 hour interview and filming an artist's profile on Monday in the Britannia Beach Mine. Excited about that. They are filming my work and me climbing through the mine.

The B.C. Mining Museum have extended my show "Unearthed" until November 5.

Squamish Art's Council asked to keep my work in their gallery during the Arts All Candidates Meeting in November.

Michael Moore's speak is tomorrow evening. One more sleep. My date is Gayla Chernovsky. He is reading from his new book for the Writer's Festival.

Art Is Your Business workshop with Island Mountain Arts in Wells, B.C. on October 14 - 16. Booked already!

East Side Culture Crawl in late November. Need to pay fees. Prep time. Will do an installation and show work from the last three shows.

A collaboration with artist Barry Butler sometime soon.

Femke van Delft and Dave Chokroun new show Playing War Games at Shudder Gallery 433 Columbia Street, Vancouver B.C. on September 21 at 9:30 pm. Very Excited about that!

Finishing my Web site with Scott Pownall.

Revamping and painting the studio which has turned into a storage unit through the spring and summer.

Lots to do.

"I am not what I am, I am what I do with my hands."
Louise Bourgeois

2011-09-15T15:24:00.000-07:00

Got the sads today. Not very productive but stuck doing housework. My normal Hi-Ho routine isn't working very well. Normally the fall is my New Year. Usually my favourite time with warm days and cooler nights, harvest time and the expectation of change. And home made soup.

I think it would be very nice to have a cat again. Tim doesn't want one at all. He doesn't like most pets. He liked the birdies though because they were so crazy and pretty and easy to clean up after.

He comes into town tonight and leaves again in a day or two. He is going camping with two of our sons for a week. Being a good Dad.

I just feel like I am waiting for something but can't put my finger on it.

I dreamed last night about the "Kaballah". Nothing I have a thing to do with in waking time. A book about it kept coming apart in my hands. Moths had eaten it. The text in it was so faded. Indecipherable. I tried to stitch it together but couldn't figure out what thread they used on it originally. I put the threads under a "viewing glass" and it turned out to be finely twisted animal gut. "Not possible!", I thought. "Anything is possible", said a voice on the radio playing nearby.

Woke up disturbed and lonely. One of those dreams that upsets you for awhile.

Instead of whining I think I will go clean something. Maybe just make a book with some linen thread. About... Who knows!

Three sleeps 'til Michael Moore's reading.

Visitors And Residents

2011-09-14T11:54:00.000-07:00

Had some visitors to my garden today. Oh dear. I went to scare them away but decided to be very, very non-threatening and low key.

Sun Yet Sen Garden

2011-09-13T20:59:00.000-07:00

Rock and bamboo

Double sided silk embroidery. Sorry about the exposure but it was behind glass and caught my flash.

Pebble mosaic walkway

Rock formations leading to water.

Exquisite two sided silk embroidery
Click on images for better detail.

Scott and Celine kidnapped me again for our semi-regular field trip. This time they took me to Sun Yet Sen Gardens in Chinatown and out for supper at the Acme Cafe.

An inspiring time as always.

Saw some lovely artifacts and the gardens and ponds are a replica of an ancient stone and water garden in China. Complete with authentic buildings. I used to sit there and have my lunch when I worked in the Downtown Eastside. I'd have some sticky rice wrapped in banana leaf and some tea and watch the old men playing traditional musical instruments and sing to the turtles in the pond. They fed them and the turtles were trained to come when they whistled or sang. So did the koi. It was a magical place to de-stress from the responsibilities of street social work.

Saw the huge koi but not the turtles tonight and heard that most of the old men are now dead.
How lucky I was to have been included with their lunch time ritual then. I swear I kept seeing their shadows!

We ate supper in the Acme Cafe and laughed and talked about everything. I had this delicious broccoli slaw with cranberries and cashews. Celine had a wild boar cass0ulet that smelled incredible. Scott had a very thin crusted chicken pie. Another enjoyable evening.

I got to see their new live work loft which is right over the working waterfront. Planes , ships, helicopters, sea buses, fishing boats and trains came and went frantically the whole time I was there. Such a busy but remarkable view to enjoy.

CARE to Change - Pressure

2011-09-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled to tell you that my young friend Sequae Daku's video has been entered in a competition. She has addressed the issue of social pressure to change her appearance to look like everyone else. The video was made last summer at Island Mountain Arts Video Production Day Camp. You have the opportunity to help her win by giving her your vote at
http://caretochange.ca/pressure/

Sequae helped me in my gallery in Wells two summers ago and will be hired right away if I open it again. Her video also gives a good look at my favourite little village in Northern B.C.

I am a member of Island Mountain Arts which operates an amazing summer school for the arts.

Earthquakes, Korean Bats, South Africa and Michael Moore

2011-09-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

It has been a day filled with events.

Tim called and asked if I might consider moving to Johannesburg, South Africa for awhile.
Completely out of left field but nothing unusual there. He was trying to figure out what to do with a little bat that got trapped in one of the shipments of machinery from Korea. No answers for him except maybe and don't touch it.

We had an earthquake on the Coast and I didn't feel a thing. Thought the friend who called me about it was joking. It was out in the Pacific Ocean and doesn't look like much damage was done but I think I'll dismantle the shelf over the head of the bed and decorate the area with a textile and not iron and glass like I have. Would be good not to lose anymore body parts!

I got tickets to Michael Moore!!!! He is reading from his new book and I need to indulge my funny, smart, chubby, lefty guy weakness. Completely embarrassed my kids once when I saw him on the street in Vancouver coming out of a local news station. Stuck my head out the van window, yelled he was hot and put my fist straight into the air. He returned the gesture and laughed. My mortified sons ducked out of sight and hid under the floor matts. I explained it was the greeting used by fellow travellers. And that I thought that he was hot because he believed in equity and justice and put himself in the front lines to get it. And blah blah blah blah. Later explained that the incident would no longer be referred to as "The day Mom fisted Michael Moore".

Made green bean sushi, kamut no knead bread, and black bean, garlic asparagus. Drowned myself in iced chai, researched salinity and drew with the charcoal Laurie brought in from France. Making little boxes for an experiment.

Nothing much happened here today.

South Africa? Really!

Babies

2011-09-09T08:04:00.000-07:00

Jonathon

Juliet and Jonathon. One month old today.

My life is full of tiny wonders. Jonathan is one of them.
He came for a visit yesterday and amused me with his facial expressions.
Responsive and beautiful with the most perfect skin.

I held his mother when she was small. My Juliet.

She snuggled into the corner of my couch and drank chai and ate jelly beans.

Confessions

2011-09-08T23:28:00.000-07:00

There are some things I just need to confess.

1. I hate pedicures with a passion. No one can come near my toes with sharp implements.
2. I really don't believe in a god but I sometimes wonder about ghosts.
3. I really love grumpy, rude teenagers and full out tantruming two year olds.
4. I have a crush on the person who delivers my mail.
5. I have white sugar in my coffee and sometmes I drink it with Baileys first thing in the morning.
6. I sniff people I love. I think I can smell when they are happy or upset.
7. It is rare that I don't get exactly what I want. Sooner or later.
8. Over tip waitresses because I feel guilty about being served and I used to be one.
9. I like cleaning bathrooms. Mostly mine. It is about shiny, white porcelain and sparkling mirrors.
10. Sometimes I write ridiculous lists.

Hotmail Report

2011-09-07T21:45:00.000-07:00

My hotmail has been compromised. If you have received anything from me that looks unlikely please delete it. I never, ever send product information. Particularly regarding sexual aids.

I am so sorry if you have had to deal with this.

I have been reported and my e-mail is no longer accessible for those trying to get in touch.

Unmentionables

2011-09-06T15:19:00.000-07:00

Tarot Root - reminds me of the surfaces I do

Overwhelming and row after row of Rocco

Oh La La!!!!!...mucho, mucho!!!!! My new unmentionables? A girl can hallucinate...

Gayla and I went over to Mason's to service her sewing machine. I ran across the street to the fabulous Rocco's Fabric Store on Fraser Street in Vancouver. It is the place to seek out fabulous fabrics and inspiration. It is always full of designers and costume people.

Always amazing deals on amazing fabrics.

I found some Crystal Organza in every colour imaginable and a shot woven poly that should burn like molten gold. And crazy, crazy fabrics. I then discovered I didn't have my credit card!!!!! And only had $3.46 in my bag. Triple Damn.

Went for Dim Sum and found the most gnarled stack of taro root at the grocery store next door .

It is so hot that the only thing to do is drink some vodka and watermelon slush. Just enough to chase the heat and the demons away! And listen to the guy next door practise his trombone. The more pinky slush the better he sounds.

Studio Day

2011-09-02T21:29:00.000-07:00

Back in the studio today to organize and recover from all the shows over the summer.
Pulled some of the art supplies I hauled to the house back into the studio. Mostly books today.
Found a missing cheque. Emptied 6 boxes and started organizing the shelves again.

It gets so hot in there.

Met with Vivian. She did some amazing drawings and a lot of her garments made. Outstanding clothing. So very well made. She is making me a shirt and some pants. So she took the most detailed measurements. So excited to see how they will look.

Lost Letters

2011-08-31T22:33:00.000-07:00

Seaweed draping on the branches at low tide. Walker's Hook, Salt Spring Island

Thought about memory, lost letters and remnants from the past.
Why do fragments create longing and loss?
What is it that we seek when digging through our history?
Memory, like shredded tissue, is so very fragile. It is altered through time.

Proliferation

2011-08-31T13:04:00.000-07:00

There is something to be said about balance when looking at proliferation and abundance.
How fragile these tiny communities are! One being is remarkable but many....
I am always in complete awe when wading on the shore.

Indulging My Bovary

2011-08-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

Parrot Feathers from Salt Spring Parrot Rescue

I met a wonderful woman who sells beautiful molted feathers from the parrots at the rescue on Salt Spring Island. Bought a bag or two as an indulgence for my inner Bovary.

Travelin' On

2011-08-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

Tim and I grabbing a cuddle on the ferry

Barnacle stone
Wake
Tim and I on the Powell River Ferry before coffee and breakfast
Huge Barnacle shells
Woody Fungus Saltspring Island
Ring of Woody Fungus Mushrooms Saltspring Island
Huge Slug Saltspring Island, B.C. Dawn

Leave Us Went.

2011-08-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

I am on my little journey now.

Me with my one bag and purse and Tim with a bag for pamphlets alone.

I just about forgot my hiking boots and sunscreen.

The weather is lovely. The companion is in a very good mood and there are no waits at the ferry.

Talk when I get back.

When the car was fully packed and the children finally in fought for spaces, the dog in between us, my mother's anxiousness...my father would announce the start of the journey by saying, "Leave Us Went."

Carrying My Own Bags.

2011-08-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

I have decided to pack very light for this trip. Just one little bag that I will carry myself.

Tim and I have two very different ways to do things. Packing is one of them. First time we went camping I arrived with a small backpack and sleeping gear. Everything I needed was in it. Simple, thought out and light. He arrived with a truck that was packed with everything for every contingency ncluding a broom and a dust pan. We looked at one another so shocked.

"Where is your stuff"

"All here!"

It took me awhile to realize I had grown up in a large family and he only had one brother. We were only allowed one small bag. His family was small and when they went away it was for the whole summer in a fully loaded truck.

I have to admit to finding it a luxury sometimes to find a library of books and music in the van, comfortable chairs, 10 changes of socks, a choice of wine etc. He wants to pack the van the night before and has lists and lists all over the place. There are usually 10 chores to do before we leave that never feel urgent to me.

He likes to get an early start and blast down the highway. I think dawn is a time people just imagine and like to wake up at a decent hour like 7 or 8 when we are travelling. He has serious purpose. He has maps and charts and always picks up a caseload of fliers at the information kiosks. I meander. I like looking around and experiencing things I didn't plan for or expect. I like taking the time to surprise myself. Schedules are only good for me if I have to catch a train or a plane. I haven't missed one yet.

But I like the journey and he likes the destination.

I was raised to be self reliant, to improvise, to be flexible depending on the location. I can make fire pits, shelters, and identify wild food. Challenge is exciting. Rest is important. I keep things safe.

He was too I think. He can do anything with his hands. He is a bodger and can make things out of nothing. He has capacity with things like sail boats and mechanics. He loves building things.

We once went on a holiday to a little island that only had one road. It was cliffy on one side and dropped sharply to the ocean on the other. He was driving with a map in one hand. We got into a terrible fight when I asked him to put the map away that the road was very well signed. He said it would be easier if I would navigate. I agreed. I opened the window, took the map and let it fly out the window. The island had only one road and it was very well signed. He was horrified. I was victorious. We got there because the road was very well signed.

I went with him to England where his people live. Everywhere we visited a family member would draw us a map to show us our way. Accurate and well drawn maps. And they all compulsively watch the weather channel.

He came with me to where my people come from and he asked directions from my Uncle. My Uncle replied in a way I completely understood. "You turn left where the big blue house used to be. You turn right when you get to the Meyer's land. Sorry but they sold it. Well you'll know you're there by the lame ass dog that sits on the stoop." I understood immediately.

We were expected to find our way home when we were little, to rely on memory and all of our senses. We knew if it was going to rain or snow by the taste in the air. Primitive knowledge. Like dogs who sniff the pee on a pole. I heard Wade Davis, the anthropologist, talk about the ancient Polynesian navigators who were put in the boat hulls as little babies to listen to the slap of the currents, to feel the temperature and smell the air.

So every time he gets panicky in the truck and asks me to tell him where to go I say..."You know where that blue house used to be..." He did the same thing to me when I got panicky in the Paris Underground. I couldn't figure out where we were at all. Thankfully he had his trusty map or I'd still be down there.

Tim can do celestial navigation, he can draw detailed maps but he gets lost all the time. I have only been lost twice. Both times I was reading a map.

So I packed the bags for this holiday. One each. And there is some nice wine and Baileys in there.
And a change of socks or two. And a book and two maps.

Funny thing is after all this time I now pack more than I can carry and he is starting to meander.

Salmon Calling

2011-08-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

Sorting things out. The house was abused during preparation for the current show. It has taken a few days and I am now nearly there. Problem is that when I am fully engaged with art practise nothing else really matters. So paint and dye gets spilled, tub drains get blocked, decent household duties go for a dive. I become a bit of a lunatic. Worse when it doesn't matter to anyone but me.

Tim has been up in the North for a year now. He will continue to work up there for a few more months. But he arrives back tomorrow night to stay one day and then the van gets packed again for a little vacation. He might as well have everything comfy when he arrives and something nice for his belly.

I am looking forward to concentrated time to do some planning and figuring out what happens next. This limbo state in our relationship is really very trying. The breast cancer survival thing makes it so I need to make decisions regarding how I spend the rest of me. And I know that everything can't be planned for. But I was completely surprised to have him leave and go up there. Or that I would go and come back to Vancouver and leave him there.

I have decided what I would like already. There has been enough compromise now. A quiet rural place to do my art without interruption. A way to be in or near to a vibrant city for everything that offers. To look at different things and people. A large enough place to teach and work from. I want to be in Wells or at the ranch. I love responding to the wild and the seasons. But it could be anywhere really. France and Italy also call quite loudly. Very, very lucky to have the priviledge to imagine like this. And what if we all lived like we didn't have a long tomorrow.

So we will sit on some beaches and hike in some forests and figure out if we do this together or not. I wonder who decided that being this age meant stagnation. Neither of us are made for that!

Yummm! While I am on the subject of higher calling the grilled salmon shouts my name.

And this really should be an amazing few days. Not intense or heavy but very, very clear!

Time For Quiet

2011-08-17T16:29:00.000-07:00

Harvest from the garden. Mountain blackberries and first groundfall apples of the year. Tiny heritage apples called Lady Apples I think. Taste like apples soaked in honey.

I spent a long and relaxed day today just indulging myself. Didn't think about a thing unless it pleased me. Such a complete luxury to have a day or two with little to do except make myself happy.

Meditated, ate fresh veggies and sucked on home-made iced coffee and blueberry-ginger ice tea.

Even had a nap with the window open so the breeze made everything sweet.

My little garden is now ready for winter planting. The apples have started to fall and the blackberries are so fat the canes are bending. I can sit on the deck now and smell some of the flowering herbs. I am a junkie for the combined fragrance of basil and roses.

Textiles didn't get made. My sketchbook was completely ignored. It can all wait until tomorrow.

Surreal Days

2011-08-12T20:41:00.000-07:00

Had an amazing and happy day yesterday. I met my long ago friend Barry and went to The Colour Of My Dreams - Surrealism Revolution at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Both experiences well worth my time.

All the artists were there and thankfully not an overload of the over exposed Dali. The works were interspersed with incredible North West aboriginal art that a number of the Surrealists collected and were inspired by.

I am a Joseph Cornell fiend and a few of his works were there. This included a blue lens film he made that could have climbed out of one of his boxes.

There was so much that I felt completely overwhelmed. Tanguy, Ernst,Miro, Man Ray. A number of the manifests. The lovely and haunting work of Lenora Carrington who just died recently. Lots of Exquisite Corpse collaborations between the artists.

A small section of the show was plastered with a parental and sensitive person warning. It contained some of the more erotic work and it was my favourite part of the show. I felt it had been more carefully and senstively chosen. The tiny works were beautiful and a number of the sculptures were so much more beautiful and erotic than the images I have seen of them.

I loved the mix of artists and all the different mediums. Film, photography, sculpture , drawing and painting.

The other show in the gallery was a number of Ken Lum works. More POP than Surrealist. Clever. But his work collided with my energy after being overwhelmed by the main exhibition.
Two of his works stood out for me. My name is Fung and a large, heart clenching image of an exotic dancer. I am a huge fan of Ken Lum's EASTVAN cross. I live with it daily as it is two blocks from my house.

Barry was the perfect person to see this with. So comfortable and non-intrusive with observations nicely punctuated by his amazing laugh. We were thrown out at the end of the show because time was not adequate. Two days wouldn't be adequate.

We got to play with some interesting ideas of our own. And had a little time to talk and listen.

Unearthed Samples

2011-08-06T21:53:00.000-07:00

Unearthed samples Snap by Krisztina Egyed. 2011

Here are the banners for the Unearthed show. Krisztina Egyed did them . The space is gorgeous.

Here are some of the samples for some of the new textiles I made for the "Unearthed" show.
All orginal and worked with fire and other more extreme process including metal.

Mouse Hunter Succeeds

2011-08-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

Two dead mice are proof . I am a mouse murderer by accident. They ate my paint from the looks of their fur. They also pigged right out on the Mexican chili powder mix left on the counter.

Yuck. They have eaten my silk worm cocoons and pressed leaves.

I want a cat and Tim won't let me have one. He indulges me everything else!

Idea Mining

2011-08-06T03:33:00.000-07:00

The show "Unearthed" is now hung at Britannia Beach Mining Museum.

Krisztina Egyed coordinated hanging the show for the last few days. Sensitively and with encouragement for me as an artist.

Erica, Krisztina's sister helped for two days and my son Brendan Hurley slung, carried , installed and constructed. All but me took turns on high ladders. The only complaint I have about the gallery is the hanging system which required work to be suspended from line and wire. The rest of the site is completely industrial and beautiful. I feel like spent the day sewing to finish the work and watching people from the top of high ladders. Even Jim Hegan, Krisztina's husband climbed up to move lights and snap photographs.

The hardest decision through the day was hanging 3 long works which hang from the rafters. We tried an incredible bamboo hanging device that Brendan made. Ended up hanging the work from the heavy old wood. The windows behind end up changing how the work looks throughout the day.

So it is now all up and will start to change as the next 2 months allows further patination and deterioration of some of the work. The little rust gardens will continue to blossom. The copper iron rust will deteriorate the silk. Some of the patinas will further develop during the summer.

My serious weakness is not imagination or skill in producing the pieces. It is in hanging the work.
It and pricing are the hardest part for me. Ideally the work should be finished at least a month before but that almost never happens. Almost everyone I know tucks in until right before the show opens.

The "Copper and Fire" Festival is happening at the mine this weekend. My closing, not opening will be held in the middle of September. I feel confident the work is worth seeing. So is this incredible interactive museum.

We were leaving last night as the sun was starting to go down. The old buildings cast shadows everywhere. There is probably enough inspiration in there for more than one lifetime.

Day 1

2011-08-04T23:22:00.000-07:00

Pictures will follow

Set up day 1 completed. Start day 2 in the morning.

The gallery at the Britannia Beach Mining Museum is the most beautiful place to show my work.

Love the contrast between the machinery, the mine and the stone and my textiles. Today we had an audience while setting up and tons of curious children came by to check out both my work and inspirational objects. Let the most curious indulge tactile sensibilities. Swear you can tell a potential textile artist by how they touch the cloth.

Had wonderful helpers.

Finishing and Packing Up

2011-08-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

Final steps with the pebble piece!

Processes include silk screening, heat forming, under coat, crackle coat, initial patination coat with two way paint, over-painted with tarnished gold metallic, rubbed with crystalline metallic micro powders and dry brushed with flaky iridescence.It glows at least five ways causing a little visual overwhelm.

There are days when I just understand how wonderful my son really is.

I am in the final push for the Unearthed Show. I have conjunctivitis in both eyes and a serious cold. Constantly self soothing to fend off serious panic. Not so soothed that creative tension completely vapourises. Just enough to allow me to finish intact.

My son phoned to get instructions to prepare the truck for tomorrow. He checked to see if I had slept. Not very much. He told me to take a little nap and he would phone me in an hour then he'd come by with something healthy to eat and not talk at all. He asked how much water I drank.

When did this turn around? I keep calling by his baby names like Boonie and Barney Bubbles.
But he is this full grown, kind and nurturing man who has a sense when to kick in. A genuine support.

The truth is that there will be no problem finishing the show. The components are all done and being pieced together. The cases are done. And some of it is exciting. I like this part of the process. Very curious to see how it will all work in the mine building with the beautiful old rafters and casement windows that filter the light.

And after tomorrow there are no heavy obligations for at least a month. Who knew I would need a holiday from making art.

Countdown

2011-08-02T17:57:00.000-07:00

Pebbling - stage 2, 3, 4

Pebbling - stage 3
Dimensional chiffon - stitched, printed and painted with real copper

Fire Lace - stage 1 and 2.

Two sleeps until set up at the Britannia Mine Museum for the "Unearthed"show.

Have heat processed more than 90 yards of fabric for the show and invented a few new techniques including a "fire lace" and a layered metallic dressing for very dimensional pebble work. Have dug up some of the fabrics from under the earth and have nearly completed the ammonia and copper dips.

Filling up the cases again and thinking about light and hanging devices. Looking forward to see what it all looks like in the midst of the old mine equipment and ancient rafters.

Two more sleeps.

I am looking through eye drops so I hope these photos are in focus a little.

Taste of Unearthed

2011-07-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

Lost and Found

2011-07-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

Amazing. Linda!

My beautiful best childhood friend has found me! She walked me to my first day of Grade 1. Arm in arm. She helped me learn to tie my shoes. We made little houses from shoe boxes and figured out when the new shoes showed up. We smoked a false cigarette made of prairie grasses. Danced ballet in the back yard and dressed up in real glass high heels. Spit sunflower seeds like perfect ladies. Almost 10 feet! Dressed the dogs in ruffles and lace and same with the little brothers. Hopscotched everywhere. Even when there were no hopscotch squares. Skipped and learned to double dutch and pepper. Became blood sisters forever by cutting with glass and rubbing fingers together.

She started to feel sick and I wasn't allowed to visit. The disease struck her heart. Scary during times when polio still existed and things like rheumatic fever were still common.

I sat heart broken on my porch and watched her house for hours in perfect vigil. I had already experienced the terrible separation that death meant. I stopped sleeping altogether.

I was called to her bedside when the priest came for last rites. Tiny me. Her mother begged my mom to let me be there. A life altering experience to say the least. They prayed over her which scared me. She had a little flowered nightie on and was not conscious. I was asked to hold her hand and tell her I loved her and I wanted her to come back. She didn't even look like Linda. And being me I talked and talked and she squeezed my hand. I would come back tomorrow.

Her mother kissed and kissed me and I saw her father cry hard. She wasn't going to live through the night. Whispers from all the adults on watch. Call day or night. We are right across the alley.

I didn't know kids could die.

I did come back and every day for a long time. At first she just lay on the bed. Sunken eyes and very sad, exhausted little face. I brought her drawings and paper dolls I made. I saved every penny I found and managed to buy her a paper doll with real hair. I scrounged all the Eaton's catalogues I could. So we could do cut outs. And we did. Read books. Did dot to dots.

One day the visit came and the door to her room was closed. I was lead away and made to sit on the chesterfield. The door opened and out she walked. More like a trembling stagger. All the way to where I sat.

We lost touch in adolescence. On the radio I heard she won a prize of money.

Miracle of miracles. Facebook finds my beloved cousin Jeff who was missing to me and others in our family. And then Jeff goes to an optometrist where a very lively Linda works. She looks at his name and asks if he knows me. He gives her my information and voila!

On Facebook is a picture of the lovely Linda. Full of life and love. Same beautiful eyes. Pink cheeks and happy family.

My blood sister.

Middle Of The Night

2011-07-30T04:03:00.000-07:00

It is the middle of the night. I am stitching and printing to get ready for tomorrow. Tim leaves Monday morning after what has felt like a very short visit. This show gets delivered on Tuesday or early Wednesday morning.

I sadly missed the opening at the Squamish Arts Council "Out of the Woods" event but have heard that the opening was packed. Also heard that my work was well received. Feedback is always appreciated. Negative or positive.

The people at the Britannia Mine have decided that we are going to do a closing and not an opening for my show. They are having a large community arts event called "Copper and Fire" the day the show opens on August 7th. Have decided it will be fun whenever it is. The show will be up for a couple of months and the show at the S.A.C. will be up for three months.

So am now printing with chemicals that cause iron to rust. Looked at the concoction today and now wonder if I can leave some of the nastier chemical soup out and just use a high iron content emulsion or suspend rust scrapings in one of the more organic emulsions made of soy. It should work if the rusting process gets started and allow for more control in the printing process.
Won't try it tonight because there isn't time to change my process for this show. But the first of the next set of experiments.

Ended up enjoying the family evening after all. Ate a yummy African dinner at Simba's and had a good conversation. Tired enough to enjoy some of the power dynamics with my sons. Each one powerful in their own right in the world but with an established pecking order in the family. The eldest still the king. The youngest seeking approval from him. Papa Tim wisely and kindly including everyone. Me finally able to stay right out of it (almost). No longer needing to wipe a nose or have someone sit up straight. Hard to imagine that 27 years of intense parenting is over.
And that the next family celebration will include another generation as Breana moves into the last trimester of her pregnancy.

No real plans for the next project. Have a few things on simmer. But I really need a break and some contemplative time. Time to just consider the cracks in the wall.

Single focus and purpose for now.

When Does?

2011-07-29T15:44:00.000-07:00

When does family show up from out of town? When you are deadlining!
When does difficulty with friends need to be solved? When you are deadlining!
When do your kids and spouse get pissy? When you are deadlining!

When do you become completely indispensable? The washing machine break? The car gets a flat?

Soon Patty Pie needs a nap!

She also needs a kind word, a back rub and needs to stop being a complete pain in the butt diva! Taking all ego out of this, setting limits and not cooking dinner but taking everyone out for a meal would help. Asking people to call first is a good idea. Moving back into the studio is the best yet!

And "we wanted to see how you really lived" is a very rude statement. What does that mean anyways? That I am not a good woman or wife? That I am here at your beck and call?

"We didn't want you to fuss!" Not true at all... I always fuss but
I AM WORKING! I don't come to your office and disrupt you...

Art bomb it is. Serve on a plate! No self consciousness this time. Find a place in this mess if you can and phone next time. I hope you go home with thread in your teeth and paint on your bum.

2011-07-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

One more week and the last summer 2011 show will be installed. Amazing.

Went out to Squamish and set up the pieces for "Into the Woods". The show itself is in the Squamish Arts Council Gallery and looks amazing. Krisztina Egyed chose some gorgeous work for the show.

I love wood as a medium and was completely thrilled that Martin Thorne's work is interacting with mine. His huge sculpture "War of the Worlds" and his thorn work and carving of logs took the knees out from under me. Beautiful!!!!!!!

There was so much to look at and a delicious mix of First Nation artists and others.

Krisztina, Jim, Martin, Tim helped so much last night. Big, big thanks for the heavy lifting, transportation, glass polishing and lending eyes to the little installation.

I stood in the cool air and the very dark night and took in a deep breath of sweet forest air. Forgot who I was for a moment... proceeded to throw a little breathing fit without my puffer.
Need to move to the desert...

The opening is tonight and I am not sure if I can make it yet. A clinic day and we will see how I do.

And Elliot from Clothworks really did manage to perform miracles and get part of my emulsions from Montreal. They are here! Now I can silkscreen all night if I want.

Dr. visit successful Levels have dropped by half, weight loss incredble. Got a hug from my Doc and didn't do anything but put up with this medication. It is so working! Finally.

Lanterns Lit

2011-07-27T11:35:00.001-07:00

Lantern Detail 2011 Patricia Chauncey

Lantern 2011 Patricia Chauncey

The large lantern is now finished after many, many challenges and we will be going to deliver the work for the "Into The Woods" show today.

One down and one to go!

The video for the "Unearthed " show is now completed. The art works are still steeping in pots, molding on the back porch or buried in the ground.

Into The Woods

2011-07-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

Last night this lantern looked like a doily draped on a beach ball.

Today the lantern takes shape. It will be shown in a little installation of forestry bits at the "Into the Woods Show" at the new amazing gallery with the Squamish Arts Council.

Got one extra day!

Things To Remember

2011-07-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

I am bleeding from a needle stab, burnt from the soldering tool, sunburned and have a sore arm. Trying to remember why I gave up a reliable job that actually made money to do this!

Will try not to bleed on white felt and move on to the next piece. But please, please let the pieces fit together.

This stage of the work always requires a little more effort than I remember. Smashed up against two deadlines. As per usual. A behaviour I intend to think about.

I need one more day!

Metal Globes

2011-07-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

Globe parts from last night
Globe from Wonderland Show
Inspirational surface Abalone shell
Globes for
Detail globe
Inspirational object - core samples
Detail of sample for globes
Inspirational object - pumice stone

Spent until late last night painting and forming little metallic globes. Finally a neighbour complained about the noise of my heat gun. Isn't as loud as a hair dryer but he is a good neighbour and looked exhausted so that was it.

Looked at the globes this morning and will need to work up the surface texture a little. Today is assembly for the large lanterns for tomorrow's delivery.

Did medical labs this morning and miraculously had a 15 minute wait instead of the normal 1 1/2 hours. Two needles only! Brought sketch books and artist statements with me. But didn't climb into them at all.

Tim helped me haul home 3 trunks full of supplies and has now moved his desk to the basement. Says he isn't lonely with the grinding of the washing machine. He looks much better. The man from under the stairs.

Surface Texture,

2011-07-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

Inspirational bark

Photos July 2011 Patricia Chauncey

Some of the new components. Using the sun, the torch and the blaster.
Excited and productive.

Hand painting, stamping, silk screen, burning and pyrography. Applying ground glass, beads, glitter, metallic paints, graphte powder, sand and post industrial felts. Recycled plastics are also involved.

Results are dimensional and very textured.

Can never seem to use one technique but would probably be a good idea to quiet the mind.

Stitching starts tonight. Should throw a few sparks and spit a few needles.

Hilary Saves The Day.

2011-07-23T17:41:00.000-07:00

Hilary has some of the magic emulsion. Not quite the same but almost. She saves my tail once again.

I called Michaels and asked if they had white "Puffy" and they did. Drove all the way to North Vancouver. They had black "Puffy"! Bought it anyways for reverse printing and to foil and paint further. Discovered a pewter metallic paint that works well with a textured ground.

Opus showed me how to make a glass crumble with heavy body gel. Can be made more matte and smokey with the addition of a little gouache.

You will find me in the garden with my hammer smashing broken glass. Do you realise how fine you can pulverise safety glass? It still maintains a crystalline form. Smashed glass beads also work well. So do the cheap and dirty ones.

Once again inventing a thing or two for this show.

All that is needed is a life and death deadline challenge! With the addition of 10 foot banners all over the mine.

Tim turned me into a "nice" woman again by feeding me picnic in a cool breeze at "New Brighton Beach". I might make him a pie now that the saskatoons are ripe.

Nice

2011-07-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

Am not a "nice" woman...prickles out...things to get done!
Beware Alpha Bear.

First delivery on Tuesday...second delivery on August 2... install August 2-5... doors open August 7.
Included in that are a clinic and lab day.

Really glad Tim is home. Bet he is not.

Will climb on a plane before the end of August and see the North one more time before Tim moves back into this house. After more than a year... he wants a month to do just us and unfinished business. Such a tough and substantial person. Objective regarding Alpha Bears.

Sad

2011-07-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

So very sad to hear the textile constellation in Vancouver has lost two wonderful artists this week.
Sang Jae and Mieneke Mees both passed away. Both dedicated teachers with extraordinary skills and an ability to share and pass them on.

That fact alone will allow their work to continue to have influence here. And allow us to keep a little part of them.

None of us would be able to thread a needle or sew on a button without sharing something that we have learned.

Supplier Trauma

2011-07-20T08:11:00.000-07:00

Am in shock and trauma!

For years I have relied on one supplier to provide me with the major ingredients for my emulsions. Lots of my work is designed and worked needing these products. He even delivers it in person to the studio if I need. And he always, always has a bucket available.

So I phone him up yesterday looking forward to our conversation and getting the new bucket and pigments. And he explains that he has none in stock. That he isn't sure the manufacturer is even carrying it anymore.

Whaaaaaaaatttttt????

I panic, plead and cry. I beg him to tell me who he knows who has ordered a big bucket that he knows isn't a seriously producing artist, I offer huge amounts of money. I am two weeks from a show!

I hang up and throw myself around the house in a total panic. I phone my husband who knows customs laws and cross border chemical transportation. Try and figure out a fast border broker and delivery system. Invite him on a weekend across the border where can get 24 hour delivery of a similar product.

El, my supplier, calls me back. He has located a bucket in Montreal! He has ordered it for me and it is now on the road. Has to be land shipped. 10 days. Very expensive.

Oh...what else is left to do but sit down and have a nice cuppa tea. Breath out.

El phones me back and asks how much I have left. That it can be cut twice by water. The man is an angel!

It works. It leaks a little in the screening if I use too much. In some ways the result is even more organic. It works when cut even further for the embellishments. So I will look at my designs and figure out how to create with less density and a more sparing and intermittent printing and painting.

This time less is more! And I hope that truck gets here soon.

Nitobe Garden

2011-07-19T00:56:00.000-07:00

Water silencing the world

Japanese Azalea imitating a sea creature

Lichen and moss

Bark

Scott documenting a black widow spider I knocked off Celine. Remain calm

Marks on the stone

Serene Celine

Scott documenting me

Celine and Scott kidnapped me today and made me go to Nitobe Gardens. Which was extremely generous of them considering they just moved house last week. Needed to get out of this project filled environment and just absorb some beauty.

I haven't been there for years. It is a beautiful Japanese garden at the University of British Columbia.

Celine has considered all corners of Nitobe and found incredible little corners for me. Scott has photo-documented the seasons. He was trying out his new lens while I had my little wuss of a camera.

Filming For Unearthed

2011-07-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

Thought I would share some pictures from movie day.
Ivan Hughes filming and interviewing me in the living room of this little house. Curator Krisztina Egyed is cuddled up to me on the couch. My work on the table for the next show.

Serious me being filmed by Ivan Hughes while showing off my inspiration table and W.I.Ps in the burn shed. Late in the day!

Left To The Elements

2011-07-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

Swimmin' hole and old dock at the "ranch". Perfect for yardage and dryng.

Spring and summer have been quite cold and wet this year presenting a challenge
when working with longer yardage and mixed paper casts pieces because of drying times. The pieces like "Hive" need the heat to dry without crumbling or molding.

I had this fantasy of setting all this up in the normally hot summer studio and on my low roof in the house. But time is getting on here!

Taking a drive to Cache Creek or Princeton might be a good idea. It is always hot and dry there.
I can pre-prep the paper, store it in buckets and get the components completely ready, drive out there and set up a some plywood work tables.

Dyes seem to work better when its warm out. Lots of natural dye plants are available and work best when fresh in the summer. Silk painting and printing definitely are brighter.

But silk screening can be a drag in the heat with the print mediums and emulsions . The screens can really clog up because they dry so quickly. Some of the mediums create a crust when used for hand painting and things look perfectly dry and end up smearing when you are trying to heat set. Haven't found a medium extender to slow the drying process on cloth.

Silliness for today is to figure out how to use discharge paste on a 10 yard length. Time to refer to Jane Dunnewold's great book Art Cloth. Rinsing long yardage after all the processes is challenging.

I wonder how many salmon would die if I made a trip over to the river and let it rinse in the current. The dye goes back to the water system in the long run. People do it all over the world.
Anthea Mallinson, dyer extraordinaire, figured out that she could use one of those inflatable back yard swimming pools as a place to rinse long yardage.

My beautiful old claw foot bathtub has been dyed many colours. It always looks grungy from the abuse it has taken. I have two old laundry tubs under the porch that are great to use if I am in the mood to haul water.

The "ranch" needs to happen. The barn is huge and I can set up layers of drying racks and even make a large dehydrator. Or just use the sauna! Everything needed there including the river!

Just a few thoughts for this morning. And maybe I should give up doing impossible lengths and just do some piecing!

In The Burn Shed

2011-07-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

Printed and heat blasted
printed and heat blasted experiment with a real hive
Rusted surface
Rocks, rust and stuff
In the burn shed- inspirational objects and rust gardens
Rust for shibori
Rust garden Day 2
Copper sheet with ammonia and h2o induced patina
Baby plants have now provided 3 salads.

Progress with the nest and nurturing guardian. Can't believe it lets me take pictures!

This week's work has really been about nurturing and patience.

My son Bren had a birthday yesterday at the Carthage Cafe. He introduced me to St. Ambroise, a sweet apricot beer. So good with the cous-cous. Came back to the house for birthday pear tart and chai with Baileys. We talked about traditions like birthdays and weddings. He talked about breaking traditions and about how he thought most weddings sucked. On cue Meg pulled out a little velvet box and told us all to be quiet.

"Bren I have something I have been meaning to ask you".

The whole restaurant went silent. The waiters surrounded the table.

He looked at her horrified when she asked him to open the box.

None of us moved. All completely shocked and embarrassed. Bren lost all colour in his face and looked wide eyed and stunned.

.....inside was a Darth Vader ring!

The whole place exploded!!!!

Have now started the new rust gardens. The patina is slowly forming on the copper in a way that should work. Gathering and collecting more metals and stone so I can see what they are.

Done and Dusted

2011-07-12T17:11:00.000-07:00

Filming completed. The videographer is Ivan Hughes from Winnipeg. Krisztina and Jim came for support and ended up working their tails off doing things like moving furniture and planters and keeping me on track.

The experience was actually inspiring for me. Watching Ivan interpreting my stories and art was fascinating to see. His low key interviewing approach and genuine response to my work encouraged me to feel confident in talking about it, the inspiration and process.

Depleted tonight and talked right out. But completely satisfied and happy.

Validation is such a treat.

Early night.

Found out from Naughty Peter that there is a new Cronenberg movie about Sigmund Freud and Karl Jung called "A Dangerous Method". Pretty sure I know who I want to watch this one with!

Scared!

2011-07-11T20:18:00.000-07:00

Filming starts in the morning.

It occurs that I am so much less bold than in the past. I never worried about cameras or worried about talking to anyone when it was for an issue.

So when did that change?

Perhaps the reason is because there are awful things to step in. And that happens! Maybe attention span is just a tad longer. Or I have become a little vain and don't like the idea that my face will be blown up to twenty times larger.

The Hazmat suit is not terribly revealing after all. And the gas mask helps a bit. The knee high work boots create a truly flattering line. The elbow length heavy gloves create just the right atmosphere!

No longer a delicate flower. This aging thing really sucks!

Oh well! Time to get over myself and get on with the show!

Ranch Flowers

2011-07-11T07:13:00.000-07:00

All wild flowers from the ranch near Quesnel.

Tim left early this morning for Fort Nelson. He did so much this week helping me with the show and organizing the next one. He works far too hard. He has been gone now for nearly a year and is starting to talk about coming home. We shall see. But I know it would be much harder to do my art without his wonderful support.

I think he is really excited about the beautiful ranch. He started planning projects for it already.

The day is beautiful and the burn shelter is cool enough for me to work in. Lots to do. Have started the process of accelerated patination on copper using household materials like ammonia. It certainly stinks. I should be able to do a silk immersion with it this afternoon. Now have lots of copper in full oxidization. The rust gardens and objects are ready to go for filming tomorrow.

Silk screening this morning. Lots of burning to do today. The new butane torches will be used.
Will also set up a cotton burial in the back garden. Will stage one for tomorrow and haul up both the copper boiler and the old washtub now full of rusty bits and rust turned to powder.

Some of the pieces are looking quite interesting and the layering is working. It is time to start a very cautious printing with graphite powder. And then leaf printing with my hammer on silk.

The challenge is to be reserved with the last few steps. Take it one step too far and it might not be reversed!

Roses and Thorns

2011-07-10T23:25:00.001-07:00

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

2011-07-09T13:08:00.000-07:00

Communication is not my forte in the last two days. How do people remain cucumber cool in the face of situations that totally piss them off?

I am now tired and stressed. One goes with the other and I know this. Simple.

Flexibility, gentleness, empathy are the only words for me to consider today.

It will get done! It will be enjoyable!

Good news is lab results are in and the medication is working. Really, really working!

Glimpses Into The Northern Dream

2011-07-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

Wild flower. Columbine.

One of the little houses. I love little houses.

The old root cellar. The frost has caused it to heave.
One of the ponds off the creek

The road on the "ranch" approaching the house.

Meadow
The forest
One of the meadows on the approach to the barn
View of the "ranch" from the road. Can't see anything but forest yet.
My next studio?

Here are some of the images Tim and I took of the forest and the "ranch".

Home Again, Home Again

2011-07-07T06:54:00.000-07:00

Fastest time we had returning from Wells ever. After a good nights sleep in Quesnel and a very weird meeting with the bank. It turns out they want 40% down for an "unserviced " property!

We actually offered to get two mortgages with them after deciding to put an offer on the farm and the house in Wells. Tim hasn't done the taxes yet. Bad, bad boy! They looked down on his lack of organization. Didn't really look at the assets, earnings and other properties and lack of debt besides mortgages...no...they looked at the unfinished income tax.

The journey began after doing a serious bop on the head to my spouse. Fueled by an argument about who was supposed to do what! We started to laugh by Williams Lake. Too tired for drama.
The rest of the visit was so inspiring and lovely. Decided to explore another way and at least make an offer on the farm. It will happen. There are always 1000 solutions to a challenge!

Up early and planning the day. It is already gorgeous out. Will unpack everything from the show to the studio and get the looms moved finally.

Bill gave me his heat press. Perfect timing because the old one is really worn and I was going to buy a new one. Cranky expensive.

Bliss

2011-07-06T02:33:00.000-07:00

I am in bliss!

Tim and I took an amazing drive to the "ranch". The pictures were beautiful but the reality of it was just perfect.

It is remote! Very remote. Completely off the grid. The house is rather ordinary but clean, comfortable and functional. It has the potential to be beautiful with a few little touches. The "ranch" was in full mountain blossom. Completely tarted up for my visit! The bees are everywhere, the forest sweet, fresh and old growth. A creek runs in front of the house. Wild roses, lupines, lilies of all sorts, little alpine orchids, and berries everywhere including a field full of wild strawberries. Birdsong and quiet. The neighbours have a huge organic farm. The rest is wild Crown land surrounding the property.

We walked down the path from the road through the forest. The buildings can't be seen from the road. I saw it and cried. It was like every fantasy I have had of my life. Wild roses and the creek dominate the front of the house which has a perfect porch to watch it. Even has swings in the trees. The barn is the most beautiful, solid and crafted I have seen. The sauna inviting, the work sheds even more. Lovely stained glass on most of the buildings. Planned for light.

So very perfect!!!

We went to Wells after to visit with everyone and pick up the tools from Carol. Grabbed Laurie, Bill and Claire and trooped off for dinner at Lung Duk Tong in Barkerville. It is so great to be able to get really good Chinese food in the middle of nowhere. Shirley has a restaurant in Los Angeles and up here.

Went back and Laurie gave us a private viewing of her gallery and new drawings she did in Paris. Ran up the hill to Claire Kujundzic and Bill Horne's Church Gallery, Amazing Space,and had delicious spiced apples, ice cream and Bailey's for desert. They talked about the show Claire did in Spain. A continuation of the "Messages from the Beetle" that I gave her a little bit of help with 2 summers ago. I love this work, the message and her passion. Many of the pieces are ten feet tall and larger.

Bill has done a new series of worked based on marks from the beetle. He works extensively with digital painting and photography. These are different and based on marks he collects from the logs. Claire does this too. One of the works has marks that look like genetic ribbons. Background images of old grainy board. Rorsach reversed imagery. Showing his spirit, love for the North and connection to science,the Earth and connection. Deceptively simple. Of us!

Talked about CARFAC and Wells and being here again.

We raced down the hill to the Well's Hotel. A very long and happy day. Clean, crisp sheets, the smell of the forest, a full tummy, just a little too much drink and a perfect companion. Slept and dreamt how to make it all work.

Took off exploring the town at 6am to try and make decisions about which Well's house or the farm. Hard decision this future thing. How and where to get old. So, so many options.

Came back and had breakfast with Mark. He and Tim both lost fathers they were close to this year. They were softer with each other than expected.

Picked up Caroline Anders painting "Attached"and headed out.

Saw two little grizzly bears dancing down the side of the road to a gold camp. Tim stopped the truck and I reminded him of the "Escort" that I knew was somewhere behind. They were ten feet away. Beautiful but not good. Down the road was a mother and young calf moose right at the side of the road. The hour drive from Well's to Quesnel is always filled with animals.

We met Elizabeth at the Quesnel Gallery and dismantled the show. Loved how she had rearranged it. Tim did breakdown in record time and I had to stand back and relinquish control. He is such a powerful person when determined. Everything packed up and organized for the road. Again not a place to breath out in the truck.

Elizabeth dragged us back home to her apartment. She showed me how to set up a moss garden. A bear capture was happening down the road. Full baited bear cages and warning signs all over. Ladies out for afternoon strolls with tiny, yummy dogs. Children on bikes completely oblivious.

We trooped off to dinner at the River Rock and sat on the patio overlooking the river in Quesnel. Definitely high and pushing it's banks. Elizabeth is from Toronto and fun. Accepting and calm. Not a delicate flower but obviously "properly" raised. An interpreter. An explorer like us. Of a place that is unexpected and a little bit harsh. A guide to figure out some of the potholes here.

So today a trip to the credit union to close some accounts, talk to the manager and see what kind of mortgage they can offer. Find out who does perk testing, water quality and septic systems. And then home for the long ten hour drive. And get prepared for the effort to produce the next show.

Invigorated

2011-07-02T18:51:00.000-07:00

Best news today is that Rebecky and Richard's baby was born. He is a Jewish baby boy so he won't have a name for 7 days. He is really, really small. Only about 5 lbs. But there is hope. I was born at a little less than 5 lbs and no one can call me delicate. Strange holding tiny babies after my big ones. One was born at nearly 9 lbs. and one was 8. Little unknown has ferocious lungs. No new born baby mewing for him!

Worked hard today and produced an interesting new series of orbs for the Britannia Mine Museum show, Underneath. Lots of work left to do but the theme is established, the sampling has gone for photographs, and the gallery has been designed.

Had a wonderful meeting with the curator Kris Egyed and her husband Jim. They came for a visit and experienced what happens in my house when an art bomb hits it. Nothing like trying to find a place to sit when textiles, machines and inspirational bits like my rust gardens are everywhere. Add the coming show equipment like huge shadow frames and unpacking from the last show. Every single art thing is moving out of the house and back to the studio. The flood renewed my paranoia.

Jim crawled into a corner of my big comfy couch and promptly fell asleep, Kris landed in the armchair and I did show and tell. Nothing like a responsive audience.

Have definitely found some new kindred spirits.

So it is laundry tonight and packing for the flight out at the crack of dawn. My sweet friend has booked in for breakfast and driving me very early to the airport. Hotel and dinner booked in Quesnel. Decided to book in early and have a long swim, a long read and a long nap before Tim arrives from Fort Nelson. It has felt like a very long month.

Have my sketch book and camera so am properly armed for inspiration.

One extra day in Wells. Finally a break and time to play.

Striation

2011-07-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

Rust cotton broadcloth day 5

Striation sample post industrial felt, stenciling, heat processed

Happy Canada Day!

Very rewarding so far.

Almost all the tools I needed were available. Everything I touched worked out.
Most samples will be ready for tomorrow's meeting with the Britannia Mining Museum and Squamish Art's Council curator Krisztina Egyed.

Leave on Sunday with an armload of stitching. Flying up to meet Tim and then dismantle the Quesnel Art Gallery show Hive, Rust and Bone. Go look at the ranch and the Well's house and meet with Jason, Claire and Bill to find out what else is going on. Check in with everyone and drive the hundreds of miles home.

Filming starts on July 12 now. Don't feel prepared at all. Oh well!

Starving and need to find something to chew on! Time for a walk.