Art Nurtures the Soul

Posted on August 3, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….encouraging my husband to pick up a paint brush

When I met my husband he was an artist. He studied art at college and his first full time job was as a graphic designer. When computers started to take over his chosen profession he changed careers and he abandoned art in order to put a roof over our heads and food on the table. We both worked until I took five years off to raise the kids. When they were in school full time I went back to teaching and my husband became a financial planner.

Over the years I started to pick up paint brushes and drawing pencils and took many classes and on-line art classes to learn everything I could about art techniques and practices. I love it. I tried to encourage my husband to start his art journey again. He wanted to but he was hesitant to start.

Well he finally started last week and I can’t stop him. The only reason he didn’t make another painting today was because he ran out of canvases. In total he has already completed 15 paintings. He’s experimenting with colour and techniques of laying down paint. I can’t tell you how much this has lifted his spirit. We’ve just finished renovating our garage so that he can use it as a summer studio to make larger works of art.

Here are a few of his completed pieces.

Visiting From Afar

Posted on June 6, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….every other week we drive to Hamilton for a procedure at McMaster Hospital and then we drive over to our daughter’s house and visit from a socially acceptable distance

This week our trip to Hamilton allowed us to see our granddaughter and daughter from the porch. Winnie proudly showed off her new bicycle. Fortunately is was a beautiful warm day and we were able to sit outside. We also brought her some new art materials and she promptly made us a picture in her new sketchbook.

Soon after she finished her picture she politely excused herself because she had to get things ready for her tea party with her other grandmother, whom she was seeing later that day. At 4 1/2 she seems so mature. It seems like it was only yesterday that I was cradling her in my arms.

52 Week Smartphone Challenge – Week 21 Serenity

Posted on May 29, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Khürt for hosting the 52 Week Smartphone Challenge

Serenity definitely comes from being outdoors. I’ve spent a lot of time in the parks in Toronto that border on Lake Ontario. Even though I’ve been working to clear away the trash that has fallen between the rocks I can still take a moment to enjoy the view and take in the peace and quiet along the shoreline. This is one of the last photos I took on my iPhone.

A Cool and Blustery Day

Posted on May 18, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….but the fight against litter continues

Originally we had decided that it would be too wet today to go trash hunting but there was a pause in the rain this morning so Trish and I decided to go and collect a few more bags of litter before the rain started up again. We went back to the park on Third Street where we’ve already been twice to clean up.

One thing that we’ve discovered is that a lot of garbage comes directly from the cars that are parked along the street. Instead of opening the door and walking 20 steps to the closest garbage can they simple toss their garbage next to the curb. We also noticed that someone who likes high end beer simple left six empty bottles among the rocks. Luckily none of them were broken but it would only have been a matter of time.

I think this is what you call ‘jumping for joy’ when the job was done for the day.

Day 27 – Favourite Toy

Posted on April 29, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Leanne Cole for hosting the 30 Day at Home Challenge

All my favourite toys from childhood are gone. I once asked my mother what happened to our toys and she very matter of factly said that we weren’t playing with them anymore so she threw them away. I remember being somewhat shocked but on the other hand my mother did not like clutter and the decorations around the house were very minimal.

Decades ago I started collecting teddy bears. The collection grew very quickly when people learned of my new found hobby. Many of those bears have been put aside and only my favourite are now on display.

Words of Hope and Love

Posted on March 30, 2020 by Mama Cormier

A very good friend of mine who lives alone has started a project that involves all her friends. She recently asked us to all create ornaments with words of inspiration written on them that she could hang on her white Christmas tree. She still has the white lights on it and she thought it was the perfect back drop for her tree of Hope and Peace and Love.

Her original idea was to cover it with ornaments in the shape of moons, suns and stars. We were all given carte blanche and the only caveat was that they not be too big and that there were personal messages written on them to send out to the world.

My whole family is getting involved but I think I’m the first to complete the task. I decided to show you my work in the form of a video with music in the background. I learned something new today as I have never done anything like this. Now I’m hoping I’m able to send it out to you.

Art on the Beach

Posted on March 27, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….art installations on the rocky shores of Lake Ontario

Much of the beaches in Col. Sam Smith Park in Toronto are man made and made with landfill. Large of chunks of concrete and rebar and lovely old bricks line the shores of the park and the lake. Over the years people have lined up the bricks and laced them onto the rebar to create interesting sculptures. A couple of weeks ago during one of my walks along the beaches I noticed this interesting sculpture made with rebar and bricks.

Yesterday I took a similar path when I went for my daily walk and specifically looked for this same sculpture. As with most pieces of installation art in nature it was no longer there. I did see another piece that I think was mostly created by nature but it did seem to have some human involvement.

I was inspired to try my own hand at making a piece of sculpture with found objects. The rocks and bricks had such interesting colours and had been worn smooth from the crashing waves. In the second photo you can see that I used bits of wood, seashells, speckled stones and a piece of scrap metal. Can you see the face?

Getting Back to Art Making

Posted on March 21, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…there are lots of free tutorials on the internet

Sometimes you need to start small to get back into the groove. With Covid-19 and self isolating there is only so much cleaning a person can do. I managed to clear away enough clutter from my art table and I tuned to Sketchbook Skool’s free classes called the Drawing Party.

Today I did the first two classes. It gave me just enough inspiration to get my creative juices flowing. The first lesson focused on laying down shapes of colour and then adding detail with black ink. I pretty much followed Danny’s lead but I can see doing this on my own. For the colour I used my chalk markers and Artist Loft markers.

The second class was all about slowing down and drawing lots of detail. My subject was a dried up hydrangea.

What is the Prettiest Cookie in the Whole World?

Posted on March 18, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Judy for posing this question

Judy from Life Lessons posed this question on her blog yesterday with a photograph of one of my favourite cookies. I told her that it would be hard to beat. On my walk today I ventured into my local Polish deli and found some interesting cookies on the shelf. Don’t worry there weren’t more than three customers in the store and we all kept our distance from each other.

I think the packaging was almost prettier than the cookie but they did taste nice with a cup of tea.

On the Hunt for Joy Challenge – Week 9 – Shop Your Home

Posted on March 5, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Cee for hosting On the Hunt for Joy‘

“Shop your Home” simply means finding things in your house that bring you joy. Here are a few things that bring joy to me.
In the mix are my paint brushes, my teddy collection, my old nutcracker that needs gluing and my books.

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

Mama Cormier

…. my journey to a healthy life, making new memories and so much more

Category Archives: Happiness File