Back in my Happy Place

after three years

You might think that my ‘happy’ place would be my studio and you would be right but on Wednesday I returned to baking bread at Montgomery’s Inn after a three year hiatus, due to COVID. Three of us were back from the original group and one other staff member spent the morning prepping dough, heating up the outdoor oven and shaping the dough.

This week and next week we’re preparing bread, not to sell but as a trial run for the big event in two weeks when the Farmers’ Market goes back outside. Routines and procedures slowly came back to us as we went through the process. A few times we asked what some pieces of equipment were used for and we had to search the inn for some crucial items. When we couldn’t find them we put them on the list to purchase. Back in the winter the inn had a flood so we think that some things were thrown away.

In the end we successfully baked 30 loaves of bread that we gave away this week to the staff and some of the vendors at the market. We had a fun day and I think that all of us found our ‘happy’ place once again. Can you tell from my selfie?

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Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge – Enliven

thanks to Sue W and GC for hosting weekly promptshttps://weeklyprompts.com/2023/04/29/weekly-prompts-weekend-challenge-enliven/

I feel enlivened with all the new growth after winter and even with the rain because I know that with it comes more growth and lush greens and colours. Walking also enlivens me, rain or shine.

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More Work in my Needle and Thread Series

two more small pieces and two larger ones

A while back I told you about wanting to honour my past with art that reflected my family’s influence on my Joy of Making. My great great aunt and her family on my mother’s side used to own a very successful business where they made and sold ladies leather gloves in the early 1900s, in Germany. Old photos of my great, great grandparents clearly depicted how important fashion was to them and of course looking one’s best at all times.

My mother taught me how to hand sew, make clothes, embroider and knit. Later in life I worked for a needlecraft company in my spare time and taught other women the art of needle crafting, like cross-stitch and needlepoint and I worked at the community school teaching people how to knit.

The following works are collage and mixed media with some hand stitching or implied hand stitching.

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“Stitched With Love”, 8″x10″ matted and framed
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“A Stitch in Time…”, 11″x14″ matted and framed
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Tante Paula, 1910″,11″x14″ matted and framed
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“Brocade”, 8″x10″ matted and framed

Starting a New Piece and……

….poured too much paint

I hate wasting paint. I remember an artist saying that she never threw left over paint away. Instead she took a fresh canvas and applied all the leftover paint to it and then later created a new painting working intuitively.

I had poured so much blue paint onto my palette that I ended up completely covering three small, 6″x6″ canvases and one 12″x12″ canvas. When they dried I decided to experiment on the larger square canvas and play with painting lavender flowers. Before I did that though I did paint the sky for my second 15″x30″ piece.

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Once I get going I can’t stop so I kept painting till the lavender piece was finished.

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Pull Up a Seat – Week 14 at the Arboretum

thanks to Xingfu Mama for hosting Pull Up a Seat https://xingfumama.blog/2023/04/07/pull-up-a-seat-photo-challenge-2023-week-14/

It was a beautiful sunny day when we decided to check out the Arboretum. I can’t wait to go back when the leaves come out the flowers come up.

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Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge – Home

….thanks to Sue W and GC for hosting Weekly Prompts https://weeklyprompts.com/2023/01/25/weekly-prompts-wednesday-challenge-home/

Home is where the heart is and my home and heart have lived at the same address for over 44 years. My favourite part of my home is my backyard where we’ve entertained over the years with family gatherings, memorials and milestone birthdays.

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Visiting the AGO

Leonard Cohen and art on a plate

On Sunday, my daughter, daughter-in-law and I went to the AGO. It was was wonderful to be back and visit the featured Leonard Cohen exhibition and many other parts of the art gallery. It was also nice to be able to go to the Espresso Bar in the Galleria Italia, sit down and enjoy a delicious cappuccino and share two beautifully presented tarts.

The Leonard Cohen show was very busy but it was interesting to see the different stages of his life, his family and the progression of his poetry and music career. I became a fan as he got older and loved his gravelly voice and iconic hat that he wore when performing.

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