(Photograph From Julie Bartkiewicz)
Boom, you were a fantastic and wonderful little girl, never to be forgotten and forever missed...
....Ahhhh....indeed happiness for me, is two very happy and content rabbits:D XO till next post.
...available here in the shop as a lovely print...
They will be available in greeting card format very soon...the cards will be great to send as birthday cards or just everyday-just-telling someone-they-are-awesome card...
This illustration is acyclic, coloured pencil and collaged words on illustration board...oh I love it. and I am surprised to find time to paint whiles outside with Jaks the new babe...until next time be well and happy creating.
Oh he's sweet as pie...and yes I admit upsetting the normal equilibrium of the house abit, but that's normal when bringing a new furry heart into the circle, I must remember this...We feel that it's meant to be that he joined us and we have to take deep breathes and not expect everything to be perfect right away...like Hazel and Jinny fighting over him! Of all the rabbits we've lived with and cared for, you'd think we'd be used to everything by now but new little things are always popping up, old things resurface for relearning and ultimately it's a quest to instill love, light and happiness where they were perhaps not in plentiful amounts before. In the end everything usually does work out beautifully (knock on wood).
I plan to change the cards around monthly, bring new imagery in etc but the majority of the display will only change every two months...and I already have ideas for new works to bring in so I don't think that will be a problem, ha ha.
I am happy to have Michael Matthieu a great wood carver to the right of me, Pat Stamp's pottery to the left of me and directly across from my space is the young and talented photographer Jacob Dezan, whom I had the pleasure of meeting just today actually...these are just to mention a few...the store is packed with talent and beautiful things.
I'll show you my display as it grows and changes, I think documenting it will be fun and I am already wondering how it will change and grow over the next year.
Here is the rest of the store and it's talent...
Well that's about all for now. I am really looking forward to getting the remaining things finished up for the display this week and getting back into my studio and to some pictures...I feel like I haven't drawn or coloured or painted for ages and my fingers are itching to get to it.
Here are some of beautiful frames Jonathan has been slaving over for me. Not all of them will be used at once but I thought 'back up' frames were important so that when something sells I can soon after fill the space again with something new and beautifully framed up. They are made with poplar, I ordered their conservation matting's a couple weeks back, and the covering is lucite with I really do prefer over glass, especially when it comes to having to ship pieces...anyhow I am over the moon with the new frames...
...and this simple but great card rack Jonathan also made. Here it is upside down this morning so I could paint the underside...I white washed it and I was not really wanting to bring it over to the gallery space this morning but instead wanting to keep it at home for my own space here, ha ha...
...and my studio floor is amiss with all the stuff I plan to bring...hangers have been put on, prices figured out ...some stuff will be abit hard to part with but that's just the way it is...
Anyhow...over the next couple of posts I will share the set up...my art dolls will finally be revealed, I am so so so excited and in love with them and I think others will feel the same way. It's abit nerve racking to show your work when you haven't done so in awhile, especially locally because your that much closer to hearing anything negative...not that I really care though to be completely honest, about any negativity I mean! I am really hoping to get the space set up in a day or two with the first grouping of Nubbins coming in another week or two...Wish me luck!
I chose this photograph today for my mom's day, because in it I see loveliness and warmth and coziness, and comfy-ness (I know that's not a word but I don't care), and sweetness and beauty...all things that remind me of my mom, all things that my dearest mom possesses and all things that she imparts to those around her.
Have a wonderful day mom, we'll see you tonight...Love Love Love with Big Elephant Hugs, Mandy and Jonathan and Ella-Luna and Roo and Hazel and Jin and even the 2 goldfish too:D XO.
But boy oh boy it sure did feel lovely and xmasy and deliciously cozy to crawl back into bed for another couple hours feeling embraced by that beautiful white stuff:D Like I always say, it's the little things...like a snowfall in June!
So for any of your local readers out there, please visit this website for more info on how you can help
...Today I am just thinking that it's very 'cool' how I never feel lonely out there in the yard by myself, because I am far from alone...not with all those critters running around, not to mention the 4 furries running around and munching our gardens bare, who actually do live in the house with us...though sometimes the 'others' (yes indeed, I am a big 'Lost' fan, ha ha) think they should live inside! Just the other day I was laying on my belly on the floor with Hazel and Jinny, we were all just chillin together, when I suddenly feel something jump onto my calves, run up my thighs and jump and sit momentarily on my back!...it was Toot, one of the baby red squirrels, knowing me if it really did want to move in I'd make the appropriate accommodations!...
Anyhow, I didn't want to leave everyone high and dry, as I know I am usually disappointed when I visit my usual blogs and they haven't been updated for days...I am very busy with new works, most stuff is admittedly NOT going smoothly, but luckily I have Jonathan to help me and constantly say 'Mandy...breathe...it's okay...' and a dad who pops over despite being exhausted to help with a chop saw that's gone all wonky just when frames are desperately needed...and a mom who gladly drives all the way over at the drop of a hat to drive us to Canadian Tire because in the middle of Jonathan changing the brake pads, a much needed socket wrench decided to break! It's been abit of a tiring week with more going array than as planned..
...I've been working on it almost day and night with few breaks in between...by the day I work here, out in the gazebo...by night I move everything into the house and listen to movies...
...an afternoon snack of green mint tea and raspberries was called for today to give my fingers abit of a break..especially when my sharpeners are working against me, my pencils seem to be breaking more often than usual...but oh, how delicious are the prismas when they sit in the sun and get all warm and the waxy pigment soft...
...plus my co-workers, Ella Luna and Roo seem to like the current arrangement of working outside all day long, ha ha...
...so I guess though I am working hard and multiple projects are not going as smoothly as I'd like!, I ultimately have nothing to complain about;D!
...ahh the power of a simple photograph catching a precious moment in time...
Wishing you all courage and strength to let go of the excess stresses and see what's most important and precious. Until Next Post...Be Well and Be Happy.
(one of my teeny weeny lino cuts in the living room upstairs, with a butterfly ceramic I painted years ago, which has by now been drafted to the outside gazebo)
Now I approach a busy busy week, I think the next couple will be abit too busy and I am honestly feeling abit anxious about a new venture I am about to embark upon (more news on that very soon!) but I am telling myself it's a 'step forward' or at least a step towards trying and that's the most important thing right!...to never be complacent...to always keep trying regardless of the failures...so I enter this week with a positive attitude and trust in my decisions and hope that I am taking the right steps in trying! Wish me luck....and see you again here soon.
P.S. Thanks so much to the few new people who have been leaving comments for me, I can't tell you how giddy I get when a new positive comment appears, it's like a mini-xmas treat:D.
This trip was much more relaxed and calm, with only a few 'errands' to run upon arrival, so we found we had time to visit one of our favourite old places...when we lived there and were almost broke and only finding enough money for the essentials, we'd make our way to a park on the lake, by the yatch club...we get a bowl of soup, we'd enjoy the view, and we would try to adjust our small city souls to the big city's drum!...We happily found that the the view from our old spot was still as lovely and the day was beautifully blue and sunny...
...I sat for a spell mesmerized by the swans...I was delighted to see that they were still there after all the years and that their numbers were still plentiful...
...we continued on abit further to another of our favourite spots and it was also the same just perhaps alittle fuller with windswept trees...
The giant building overlooking the harbour and yacht club was still standing strong of course and it struck us as humorous that we used to long to live in a 'fancy' building such as this one...oh how dreams do change, ha ha...
...than Jonathan and I proceeded to the busy downtown core to surprise my best friend Judit at Koma, where she was putting in her monthly hours and where she sells her rugs...
...it felt nice to have time just to hang out at the store with Judit, take in some sun on Koma's front steps and enjoy the sounds of the city...
...as Jonathan and Judit conducted some business on their respective phones...
...I admired and basked in my best friends' talent...
....and as a massive motorcycle accident shut down the whole block we were in, we wished the accident victims wellness and luck and enjoyed the eery quietness that took over the street as streetcars and everything came at a standstill because well, the street was blocked by police, firetrucks and ambulance as the accident was investigated and secured...
...and even only away from home and the bunnies for a couple days...there were tale tell signs that they weren't far from our thoughts, ha ha....
...after Judit's chores at Koma ended, we meet up with her honey Ed and all four of us happily grabbed a table for a yummy vegetarian meal at Fresh on Queen...which was followed by a scrumptious most fantastic 2nd dinner (hobbit style) at 'La Brehandaise Creperie" an authentique creperie bretonne....ohhhhh it was sooooo nice and warm and cozy, filled with beautiful France/Paris accents, excellent music, warm colours, good company and cappuccinos...oh yeah and the incredibly decadent crepes!...Well, I could have basked in all of that goodness for quite some time...
...Alas, evening was growing long and deep and the boys had early morning meetings...so we made our way back to Judit and Ed's, my home away from home and the air mattress was blown up, pj's were put on, teas and beers were drank and than we were drifting off to much needed sleep when...munch munch munch...a mouse in the walls decided to keep us up all night long, ha ha....
...and around noon with some reluctant goodbyes and adieus, Jonathan and I hopped in the rented Jeep and made our way back home....it was an excellent 2 days in the city...but oh indeed it's always soooo nice to be back home too:D.
