Three of my partners and collaborators in the Zen of Art and Horses (left, Carol Mariott of Ravenheart Farm; right, Kate Hersberger and centre, Charlie)

It was brilliant to plan a retreat just before the longest ever federal election in Canada…..even though avoiding pre-election coverage was not one of our stated goals! Always good to step away from our various screens and take time to be…. with ourselves, with each other, with the animals and with the natural beauty of Ravenheart Farms. Our rhythm was simple – horses, art play, eat, sleep….repeat a few times, add some walks for good measure, and don’t forget the cats, dogs and occasional black bear or bald eagle!! The black bears were imaginary but the bald eagle was not.

Carol Marriott welcomed us to Ravenheart Farms, introduced us the animals, and shared her gentle, respectful and curious way of being with horses and all creatures. Kate Hersberger gave us an opportunity to explore texture and movement with drywall mud on canvas (something like smoothing  (or ruffling) the icing on a cake) and walked us through the process –  drying the canvas, painting it white, letting it dry again, painting it black and rubbing off the black until only the cracks held the black. I offered some art play with watercolours and crayons to help us explore and express ourselves. Our pace was slow and relaxed, our rhythm was comfortable, our laughter frequent. Our absorption in being with the animals, in playing with mud or paint or in quiet mornings offered us a little zen time. Below are some photos to capture some of our time together.

Photo courtesy of Kate Hersberger

Photo courtesy of Kate Hersberger

Warming Up – Drawing and responding to different music

Time to Play in the Mud with Kate

Kate shows us how

Right into that mud!!!

Drying the mud in the afternoon sun

Covering the canvas with black paint

Sponging some of the black paint off

The result – we will each take our canvas home to add the colour

In between horses and art, did I say we ate? Photo courtesy of Kate Hersberger

Art Play with Sue

Playing with water, colour and movement

Photo courtesy of Kate Hersberger

Cheryl with Benny, who followed her everywhere (she eventaully took Benny home!). Photo by Carol M

Kate with Lacey
Photo by Carol Marriott

Saying farewell and thank you to the horses. Photo courtesy of Kate Hersberger.

Photo courtesy of Kate Hersberger.

Having just spent two days playing with paper with others, one day being a collage PLAYshop at the Qu’Appelle Valley Centre for the Arts, and the second day taking place here at the farm (Scrap basket free for all), I can honestly say, I would love to spend a whole week like this. Except I might not still be married! My patient husband had to borrow a chair to sit down to eat lunch, his current reading material was hidden under a scrap basket and his usual paths had detours but he managed with good humour. It is all cleaned up now and I am still married.

Following are photos from the PLAYshop and scrap basket adventure. A few highlights first:

• I liked that we had people from age 9 to over 70, grandmothers and granddaughters, mothers and daughters, aunties and nieces, good friends, people who had come before and people who gave it their first try.
• Joanne brought a beautiful paper wasps nest, and this paper was used for many creations. See if you can spot them.
• We visited but sometimes were so absorbed and other than music in the background all you could hear were so many pairs of scissors as they cut through paper.
• It was November 7th and 8th and “the sun poured in like butterscotch and stuck to all our senses .” (thanks Joni Mitchell). Who could believe this weather in November? The sun was so bright I was uanble to get a picture of Sunday morning’s scrap basket crew.
• On Saturday, we got to pop in at the pop up market!!

Part Two- Scrap Basket Adventures

I have  three big scrap baskets, full of treasure. Today’s challenge was to just use what was in the scrap basket to create something beautiful.

Joan’s beautiful creation from saturday’s PLAYshop. She came up to the farm Sunday and found just what she needed to complete her collage. see the next photo.

Water

Colour

Paper

And  a brush. (But not necessarily!)

“Follow the brush,” writes Lynda Barry. “The paint travels down the brush and the brush travels across the paper. Once I noticed this I found I enjoyed watching the paint meet the paper. I liked watching it so much, I forgot I had a part in it!”

Here are some photos from a recent Fearless watercolour PLAYshop sponsored by the Lumsden and District Arts Council. With thanks to all who made it possible and for the fearless participants, teachers each and everyone of them.

A maple bug loved this play sheet

paying with the “rigger” (brush

A few weeks ago, I decided to take a Facebook fast – a break from Facebook(FB) for five days.

Here is what I noticed:

Day 1- Two friends who I hadn’t heard from in a long while called to talk. I was overjoyed.

Day 2- I forgot to turn my notifications to e-mail off and noticed someone had mentioned me in a post. I was curious, of course. I considered cheating, by checking on Shane’s FB page but decided not to. It was tempting though.

Day 3 – I felt a little lonely. I didn’t mind.

Day 4 – I noticed nothing!

Day 5 – I noticed that I was reluctant to get back on FB but I did anyway. Then I decided to take another five day fast. Throughout this time, I noticed my compulsion to check for incoming messages in the “in between times” which amounted to several times a day. I missed doing this.

I have now returned to Facebook and decided to take a 30 day rest, as well as a partial rest from e-mail.  I have been reading Christina Crook’s book called The Joy of Missing Out:  Finding Balance in a Wired World. It is a thought provoking book.

I am reminded of when Shane and I decided not to replace our broken TV, and my mum said “You will be missing so much.” I was reading a lot and wanted to respond that she was also missing a lot but thankfully, did not.

Getting off Facebook for a while is less about rejecting Facebook than about choosing a different way to spend my time. Facebook has introduced me to new ways of thinking, has been a great tool in my art business, has started many a day with a belly laugh, and has brought me into contact with people I would not be in touch with otherwise. Living without FB, and with less e-mail will give me more downtime, more time to “simply be.” A different rhythm woven through my days and nights.

Here is what I want to do more of:

Take quiet time and burrow in.

Make fewer connections. Savour silence. Have more conversations, face to face or on the phone.

Write some letters.

Listen to old podcasts of Tom Power’s Deep Roots.

Sit and stare. Useless sitting. Dream-time…

Read long articles. Poetry. Difficult books.

Feel lonely. Or not.

Look at picture books.

Create art.

Bake bread. Savour the smell while its baking.
Read aloud. Play backgammon and scrabble.

Nap frequently in the afternoon sun.

Walk with the dogs. Brush the horses.Listen to their soft slow breath. Sit and cuddle with our cat.

Hopefully, skate. And shovel!!

Enjoy the dark. Light a candle, beeswax, of course, made by Shane.

Stare into space.

Take quiet time and burrow in deep.

Feel gratitude spread slow and warm .

bar·ter
ˈbärdər/
verb
1.
exchange (goods or services) for other goods or services without using money.
“he often bartered a meal for drawings”
synonyms: trade, swap, exchange, sell
“they bartered grain for salt”

Barter #1- IT help for a watercolour

Some time ago, I panicked when I could not get into the “dashboard” (where I make changes, add and delete things) of my website. I tried to enter multiple times with the predictable result  that I was locked out. I had that sick feeling when we realize we know very little about something we depend on for so very much. My trouble shooting daughter could not help me out this time.

I put out a plea out on Facebook, and met Ruth, the daughter of a friend who was willing to help. I stopped in late at night, after her long work day.  When it seemed to be a more complicated problem than I thought, I left the computer with her for a sleep over. Alas, just at the edge of the city, Ruth and her husband called – they had solved the problem and I drove back. I could not have been more relieved or grateful. It was not just that they had helped me out, it was they did it with such good grace and good humour, and never showed for an instant that they would rather be doing someting else.

I offered them eggs, honey, money or art. Ruth asked for a watercolour of blue eyed grass. Blue eyed grass grows both in my birth home in Ontario as well as here in Saskatchewan. A small deep blue flower with a yellow centre, it often takes my breath away when I see it in a thatch of grass. It is a surprise, it has the power to get you to stop and bend down and look at it really closely, it is diminutive and unassuming. I have often thought of painting it but didn’t feel I have the mastery to catch its essence.

Usually I plunk myself down beside the flower and like to spend time with it before painting it but of course, it is winter and I cannot. I had a couple of pleasurable times exploring blue eyed grass with my watercolours. I never came close to expressing what I feel about this small wildflower, but I loved trying, and in the trying getting to know it better. I hope to spend more time with it next summer, perhaps on the coulee hills.

Barter #2 – Children’s Book for Dance Lessons

When Donna asked me if I would be willing to work on a book for her grandson, I said, yes, but not for a fee, for a barter. I had a sense that while I wanted to give this a try, it would take quite a few hours and that a barter made way more sense than money. Donna had the story idea, and in fact had written it down and she and other family members had lots of photos.  It ended up being a combination of a scrapbook and a children’s story focused on one little boy and his nana who have a great and memorable adventure together. The gift in this exchange for me (not unlike the barter above) was how much fun and delight I had putting this together, and how sweet it was to celebrate the loving bond of a little guy and his Nana.

When Donna came to pick up the completed book, she asked what I would like in exchange. She is a very talented person, so I rhymed off “Baking orpickled eggs or started plants in spring or….I have this kind of crazy idea.” “What?” she asked. “Old time dancing lessons. Shane is a wonderful dancer and I am not, but I would love to learn.” That final suggestion made her eyes twinkle, so in spring, when her husband  is off seeding, we are going to push back the furniture in her living room and try a polka or two in her living room!

Because these two barters happened at the same time, I am struck by how much about them is pure gift. In the first case, there is the gift of the help I needed, of the generosity of spirit with which it was offered as well as giving me the chance to paint a flower I might otherwise not have tried. In the second case, it was a gift to be reminded of how I love to work on a project, especially a children’s book. There is the anticipated gift of dance lessons, and of dancing with Shane. On the other side of this equation, Ruth and Donna also both gave and received a gift.

Definition:

An order for something, especially a work of art, to be produced specially:
Mozart at last received a commission to write an opera

My Definition:

A mission which is shared by 2 or more people, with one being the co-creator or maker and the others having creative imput. Sue at last received a commission to create a rice paper panel in consultation with those who commissioned it.

The mission:

To create a beautiful rice paper plexiglass panel for a bathroom window that would serve as a kind of “curtain” or blind so that people outdoors could not see in to the bathroom.

How we worked together:

We knew two things at the beginning – the size of the window (which suggested the size of the plexiglass panel) and that we wanted colourful rice paper birds to be a part of it. Because the window looks out to trees (bare branches in winter), we decided to create branches for the birds. The branches would be bare in winter while in spring they would be enlivened with the green foliage that could be seen through the clear parts of the plexiglass.

My Part:

Creating a template for the branches

Tracing the template on to Brown Silk Ashiro Paper

Trying the branches in the window

Trying  a simpler branch

Rejecting the simpler branch

I taped the branch with a simple arrangement of birds on the plexiglass. Here it is in its “destination window”.

Time to Consult:

I taped the branch and some birds to the plexiglass and brought a whole handful of extra rice paper birds. The couple I was working wanted more birds, especially at the bottom, and especially more birds with red on them to pick up the colour of the bathroom walls. We also hit a problem: you could see through the panel into the bathroom. We hoped that more birds clustered at the bottom would help solve this problem.

I created more red birds and sent them mock ups of different arrangements of birds on the tree. This is #3.

This is # 6, the version the couple chose.

The next part is the finnicky part. The branches and the birds need to be affixed to the plexiglass. I do this using “zots” – tiny glue spots. The design of the branches that overlaps with the bird is cut out so that the overall design is not too intricate and each birds colour shows well. A few birds, such as the red one, on the bottom left, are left with the branches criss crossing their colour. It takes a couple of hours  and a lot of patience for this stage.

Attaching the birds and branches to the plexi glass

Then the 2 panels of plexiglass are screwed together, fishing line is attached to the top screws so that the piece can be hung and it is ready for delivery. Because plexiglass panels shift in different lights and through different seasons, they need be lived with for a while to be truly appreciated.

Some of the challenges in creating rice paper collages in plexi glass are:

• Can the two pieces of plexi glass be sealed so that there is no condensation in a bathroom? Someone has suggested using acetone and I am going to try this.
• A plexi panel is like a see through shirt- not everything is hidden. I have used rice paper backgrounds but then you lose the beauty of seeing what is really beyond the window.We did cluster birds at the bottom, but this did not work as well as we had hoped.
• Plexiglass is great stuff but it picks up dust and tiny bits of whatever – how to reduce its static qualities?

Each new art piece is an adventure for me. I welcome any knowledge or insights. To see more panels, check out http://poachedeggwoman.ca/galleries/rice-paper-glass-collages/

My friend Carol introduced me to the term “manure meditation”. It is Carol who mucks out the pens at Ravenheart Farms*,  a wonderful equine assisted learning retreat centre and ranch she runs near Kamsack. For Carol, mucking out is a meditative activity. I agree. Farm chores settle me – in part because of the physical work and in part because I love working close to animals. On a day like yesterday, when spring arrives full force and horse manure is in evidence everywhere, “mucking out” is the perfect morning activity.

My late mum, Sylvia, taught us that the smell of horse manure is as wonderful as the tang of salt air or green growing things. When we went birdwatching as a family, Mum would roll down the window, wrinkle her nose like a bunny and go “mmmmm, the beautiful smell of horse manure”. What great early conditioning!! There is no question in my mind that horse manure smells better than most other any other manure I can think of.

There is another reason I am drawn to the horses this morning. Our daughter’s horse, Gatty, has Sweeney Shoulder and has been confined for a few months in a small pen, while her companion Missy can go wherever she likes. Shane and I take turns walking Gatty as well as massaging her, offering her healing touch or brushing her. This daily contact has been a gift to both of us.

I am learning to “listen with” Gatty, to hear the sounds of our farm in a whole new way. As a prey animal, Gatty is alert to each and every sound on the farm – the swish of pigeon’s wings as they fly out of the barn, the cry of the merlin or the moo of neighbour cows, every move of our dogs, the opening and closing of doors, the sounds of vehicles, the croak of a raven, the gurgle of water in the bowl. She does not like the sound of the sleigh full of manure as I move it from her pen across snow and ice. On the other hand, Gatty and Missy seem to love it when I sing, unlike every other member of our family!

I am learning to “listen to” Gatty. To pay attention. To pick up the signals when she indicates “enough already.” Or the lowered head, sleepy eyes and relaxed stance which tells me that she is soaking up the way I am touching or massaging her. The way she yawns and makes goofy horse faces and stretches her gums and sticks out her teeth means that she is releasing endorphins. She is my teacher, an exceedingly patient one.  I like to watch her graze, to observe how her beautiful soft nose guides her to the most succulent (dead) grass found in the pasture. Grazing on a lead is about as free as she gets these days. Sometimes I think she would give all her treats for a good roll in the pasture to get rid of some of her winter hair. It must be itchy!!

I have been thinking of the word “tethered” recently. In light of Gatty, who is “tethered” but also in light of animals tethering us to the farm. Throughout my twenties, my theme song was “don’t fence me in”. Untethered was my modus operandi. Free as the wind. Recently, with our children off on their own, we decided to stop keeping chickens and selling eggs which we had enjoyed for over a dozen years. We did this because we wanted more freedom. We hoped to be less tethered to the farm. As they say, “animals tie you down.” It’s true. They do. My experience this winter with Gatty has helped me understand that I also value being tethered – the company of she and Missy, of our two dogs and of our old barn cat (recently retired to the inside) adds depth and comfort and joy and companionship that I cannot imagine my life without. We are not entirely tethered because we do hope to go away this summer, have someone care for our creatures and return home to see them all again.

With Gatty, these days, there has been another kind of tethering – a different kind. One which most of us are familiar with. It is more like the invisible tie that binds, the gossamer thread of heart to heart connection.  Sometimes I think of her and it is like she is right there. I wait for the day when she can have a larger area to roam in. In my dreams, she is galloping, full steam ahead, moving with no restraint whatsoever.

Gatty – fenced in

the manure sled

Oh give me the land, lots of land
Under starry skies above
Don’t fence me in
Let me ride through the wide open
Country that I love
Don’t fence me in
Let me be by myself in the evening breeze
Listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
Send me off forever but I ask you please
Don’t fence me in

Just turn me loose let me straddle my old saddle
Underneath the western skies
On my cayuse let me wander over yonder
Till I see the mountain rise
I want to ride to the ridge where the west commences
Gaze at the moon till I lose my senses
I can’t look at the hobels and I can’t stand the fences
Don’t fence me in

lyrics by Cole Porter

*Read about an art and horses retreat at Ravenheart farm

This post has been reposted from Sister Triangle Magazine

Pablo Picasso said, “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” I would say the same about “play”. All children have a natural ability to play – the question is – how do we keep the spirit of play alive in ourselves once we are adults?”

Let me come clean. I am an amateur artist, and I love to create art with others. Art, for me, is a form of play, exploration, expression, sheer fun, and prayer. Weaving these passions together, I offer art PLAYshops – a variant of “workshops” where I gently guide people as they paint with watercolours or create paper collages.

My passion for play goes back a long time. As a child, I loved putting on plays, dressing up, creating fairy homes in gardens, drawing, writing books, making up mysteries to solve, and building tree forts. When I grew up, I never lost my need for play and mischief, but found that this did not always fly well in the adult world of work. When I fell in love with a grain farmer, I found myself living in a community where the protestant work ethic was alive and well. While people did take time out to play, they often “played hard” (curling, baseball, fowl suppers). My own deep desire for play, whimsy, fun, and creativity seemed – well frivolous, selfish, and entirely beside the point.

For many years, raising four children, living as a farm wife with a job off the farm and volunteer commitments, I often felt as if my list of “to do’s” was on a never-ending toilet roll. As soon as I ticked a few “to do’s” off my list, more would race in to take their place. I often had no inner space to listen to the “still small voice” within. But when I did, the message was clear. Spend time in nature. Keep creating art. Nurture and celebrate your playful spirit. Take time to notice. These are essential to your well-being, as necessary as breath.

In time, both circumstances and shifts in my own priorities began to give me the “space” I needed to create art. There were still voices in my head telling me to do something more useful, more practical, less selfish, more lucrative. Nonetheless, I made a conscious choice to take time to play and to create art. I gave myself permission.

If creating art fed my spirit, I mused, maybe I could offer the opportunity to others. Starting at my kitchen table with a few friends, my art PLAYshops were born. Now, some years later, art PLAYshops and retreats are a vital part of my fledgling art business.

Who comes to art PLAYshops? People of all ages. Those who have not created art since school. Those who don’t think they have a creative bone in their body. Those who have bought art supplies for “when they have time”. Those who are curious. Those who want to give themselves a day away from whatever their usual busy routine is.

Each PLAYshop is a fabulous learning opportunity for me. What have I noticed and learned? For starters, I have learned how hard it is for people to remember to say PLAYshops instead of WORKshops!! This interests me. Does play have less substance or legitimacy than work? It is not a question of work versus play as the two often overlap: we have all done work that was so natural to us and that we loved so much that it felt like play. I would note, however, that our culture almost always errs on the side of too much work and not nearly enough play. Art PLAYshops are one small way to redress that balance.

I have learned that many people feel fear about creating art and are worried about making mistakes. Back in school, one or two students were labelled the “Artist” despite the fact that everyone has the capacity to learn to draw. In a PLAYshop, I try to create an atmosphere where people feel comfortable and safe to play and to experiment, to ask “what if I tried this?”

I have noticed the physical comfort people feel in simply working with their hands. As they become totally absorbed in what they are doing, all of the chatter in their heads shuts down. They often forget to sip their tea or go to the bathroom. There is a “zen” feeling in the room. I imagine that they are feeling what I feel when I “play”: a contented tingling or humming within, a quiet joy, a sense of lightheartedness. Well-being. I don’t feel any “shoulds” when I play. There is nothing forced about it. I feel delight.

I notice that people often go deep when creating art in this way. We go to a holy place. We can express those things we have no words for; creating art is a healing activity.

Finally, I notice that although the emphasis is not on the final product, people are usually surprised and often amazed by what they have created.

Each of us does something in our lives that we love doing and that comes to us naturally. A friend feels this way in her drumming group. Another practices “manure meditation” when mucking out her horse stalls. Many of us feel this way when gardening or knitting. Where do you find the “spirit of play” in your life?

If you don’t mind stairs, I’d like to invite you to climb some with me. Just one set.  I am curious. A sign made of two pieces of sample flooring on the street advertises Freestyle Art and Supplies. Handmade signs guide me as I go up the stairs and around a corner, through the magic door, and voilà – I find myself in an emporium of light, colour and baskets of colourful wires, feathers, bottle caps, wool, sticks, hockey sticks, papers, old CD’s – you name it, Freestyle Art and Supplies has it! I feel immediately at home. I want to do a happy dance all around the battered art tables! There is so much to look at. It is like the best kind of candy store suggesting all kinds of creative and intriguing possibilities. Here, in this magical place, the dreamchild of Swift Current artist and social entrepreneur Nancy Currie, creative transformation happens every day. Nancy collects things that no one else wants, and provides a space for anyone to come and transform these scraps, left overs and rejected bits and pieces into beauty!! (To read more about Freestyle, check out Matthew Liebenberg’s article in Swift Current’s Prairie Post.)

Photo of the irrepressible Nancy Currie by Matthew Liebenberg, Prairie Post, used with permission

Nancy also invites artists, from near and far, to offer PLAYshops and workshops and share their skills with anyone who would like to come. Since she opened Freestyle in November 2015, guest artists have included Megan Currie (floral beading and painting your spirit animal), Trea Jensen (watercolours, watercolour mandalas, wire sculptures and wire and fabric), Orla Moen (geli printing) and regular Friday night artist Blinddog.

art by Blinddog

Imagine this – that a small city like Swift Current has a space created especially for bringing people together to transform stuff – rejected stuff – into art.

Nancy – displaying her courage and pluck

I like to think of how important it is to follow through on a vision  and create space like this. It takes courage and pluck and commitment. I watched a group of 9 to 11 year olds come in. They had arrived for a PLAYshop but they really didn’t need one – they were so enchanted with all the stuff everywhere, with the colour and possibilities and they could not stop looking. Those kids could have “freestyled” all afternoon. Freestyle Art and Supplies is a visual smorgasbord.

I like to think about how the visible spaces we create on the outside can nurture the space we all carry and hold in our insides.

A few examples:

I used to work in a community room in a busy school. Often we were creating art and there was art all around the room. Students would come in burned out, tired, discouraged and accept a cup of tea and a quiet place just to be. They would observe the hum of creative activity around them. More often than not, they would eventually  pick up a paintbrush or a pencil and begin the healing act of creating something themselves. I often wondered if an art table, an artist and chairs and supplies for others to create were put in the foyer of a busy high school,  would that change that particular space? Almost certainly!!

For years, I created art at the kitchen table or in a corner of our livingroom or bedroom or on the floor. Art supplies were tucked in the corner of just about every room in the house. Some months ago, our youngest daughter moved out, cleared out her room and said, “Mum, this room can be your studio.” It is. What a gift!! Each morning, I walk upstairs in wonder that I have a whole dedicated room to creating art. I have had many happy moments around my small table alone or with one or two others playing with paper or paint. Our whole house has changed because of this one space. The space inside me has changed because of this room!

Moving away from art spaces for a moment, I think of my first overnight visit to the Qu’Appelle House of Prayer where I was encouraged and supported to spend time in silence. In our hectic world, I felt in awe that such a place existed. Glenn, one of the co-directors , even makes a point of filling bird feeders at lunch so as not to intrude on the solitude one finds in their small cabins in the woods. To find a place which honours quiet, “useless sitting” and being still in a world which can be noisy, busy and over full seemed to me to be a miracle. This beautiful place honoured my need for space within myself.

Whether we are creating a space to create art or a place to be still or a garden of beauty and wonder, it matters not. Such spaces invite us to STOP, to take notice, to step out of our day to day rhythms.

My ideal world has an art table around every corner – in midst of a busy day of shopping, for example, I like to imagine an art table. I sit down, begin to create something with my hands and my entire body settles down. I slow down. In the grocery store, just behind the baked goods, an art table. I have just enough time to do a Zentangle. In the process, I know exactly what we should have for supper and I continue my shopping. In a public park, on a beautiful day…an art table… where seniors can chat with families, where people of all ages can respond  and celebrate to the beauty around.

I am grateful to Nancy Currie, and the surprising  and inviting space she has carved out in Swift Current. It makes a difference to me…it makes a difference to the world. What follows are photos of those who came and enjoyed this space, and whose  wonderful spirit enlarged Nancy’s dream.

What is it about birds? I love watching birds…. birds at the feeder, birds flying by, especially flocks of birds. On occasion, I try to paint the birds I see in a realistic way, but more often I create colourful birds of the imagination, birds from faraway tropics, birds with hairdos, eye rings…improbable birds. As far back I can remember, I have painted, drawn, sculpted, collaged and colored these fanciful birds.

Our spring has been unfolding slowly, with many false starts and sunny days that tease. Outside these past two weeks, we have had many gray and overcast days. Inside, I have been immersed in a world of colourful and wild birds in tangled gardens. It is as if another spring is blooming inside me! When I make a rice paper birds and arrange them between sheets of plexiglass or when I paint birds, It feels as if these birds reside inside in me, too many to count, and as they are created, they fly free in paint and ink, in collage papers. Why I love to paint fanciful birds, I do not know. They are a happy mystery to me. I feel as though I could create birds forever! Look below for my recent spring pieces followed by  an assortment of other birds in flight from years gone by.

” Spring Bursting Forth”, watercolour and inks, 18″ x 24″

“Tree Blooming Birds”, Rice paper Plexiglass Collage, 32″ x 40″

The post Something about birds appeared first on Poached Egg Woman.

Alas! I set out early Friday morning to paint in the coulee just after the first flush of green! It was not to be – painting that is. The handy dandy yellow bag (pictured below) that holds my water had sprung a leak after many years of such expeditions. I watered the hill instead. Then I wandered the hills. They were  alive with bloom and blossom, with new plants pushing up through dry earth. I ventured from to hill to hill, smartphone in hand, bending low to look at all the amazing growth. Some are pictured below.

the leaky yellow bag and a sketch of what I think might be Missouri Milk Vetch(unsure)

Missouri Milk Vetch (maybe). What I love about this wee flower are the leaves, a silver sage that are beautiful just on their own.

Narrow leafed milk vetch (above) maybe and cushion milk vetch I am pretty sure

A hillside of cushion milk vetch

Ground Plum?? I know I have seen plums on the hills arter flowering… I will keep an eye open.

Grandfather Rock

A view from Grandfather Rock

The Hawthorne (but I didn’t go in) . A tick haven at this time of year!!

Silver weed just before blooming. Aren’t these leaves amazing???

Silver weed just blooming

Bear berry, kinnickinick

Wild strawberry

This photo soothes me

the eye of sister aspen

pussy toes

Moss phlox

A guess: Low Townsendia just before opening?

Another guess : Plains Cymopterus?

Guessing again: Sand Bladderpod?

By the creek close to raccoon tracks

Hoary Puccoon about to burst

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Sometimes seemingly disparate parts of our lives meet up and enliven each other. Here are some disparate parts  which came together in me to create this small watercolour entitled “Dance of the Neurons”.

• I am learning to dance. I am afraid to dance publicly. This has been helped by my participation in Journey Dance with Michelle Brass, a free flowing dance and spiritual adventure. But I want to be able to dance with my nimble footed husband, to waltz and fox trot and polka with the best of them. Each week I spend an hour with my neighbour Donna, starting with basics. Listening for the beat. Step one, step two, step three. Beginning with very slow waltzes. Some mornings, Shane and I practice in the living room. I am slow but I am learning. Shane is very patient.  I no longer fall apart when I miss a step. I can find my place again. I have had a few moments of forgetfulness where I simply  enjoy the movement and the music. As I gain confidence, I know this will come more. I can imagine  loving dancing. … someday. I am tickled by the notion of adding a new morning ritual to the shared coffee and walk we presently enjoy – a dance every morning. This morning it was the Tennessee Waltz!
• I am reading One Hundred Words for Love by Diane Ackerman. When Paul West, Diane’s husband suffered a stroke, he lost the function of most of the language processing parts of the brain. Ackerman and West are both writers, and some of their shared  joys were  complex, imaginative  wordplay and inventing new words and phrases. Slowly with Ackerman’s help and ingenuity, West recovered parts of his brain and his language facility. Ackerman deftly explains how new neural pathways can be made even when the prospects seem grim and at any stage of life.
• I am playing and experimenting with ink spills on paper. While preparing for an art lesson, I made a mistake, but loved how the ink spills and water spread on the paper. The resulting ink spill suggested flowers and paths, and before you know it, I was at play on a new painting.  Mistakes have been one of the best ways for me to try out something new in my art practice. This has resulted in a whole series of small paintings which start with an ink spill, a dash of water and sometimes a sprinkle of salt. Playing in this way has opened up some new territory in me.

  “Climbing the Hill”, watercolours and inks, 9″ x 12″ . This is the piece that began as a mistake.

So, the painting “Dance of the Neurons”  is my salute to our neural pathways being sparked by learning new skills like dancing or shifting long held patterns and ways of thinking. (Back to dancing for a minute….when searching for a title for this piece, there is so much information about dance and neuro plasticity on the web, including a beautiful dance piece called Dance of the Neurons.)

When some people attend a Fearless Watercolour PLAYshop, they are afraid and sometimes just plain terrified. I understand because it is the way I feel about dancing. I am scared I will make a public display of my ineptness. Having a good teacher break it down for me helps. As a guide in Fearless Watercolours, I love to watch as people slowly relax, forget they are painting, watch with wonder  as they fool around  with water, paintbrush, liquid colour. As new possibilities blossom on the page,  they also stimulate  our nerve signals and they shift our body memory. Plus, we have pure fun!

Someday, I will be a fearless dancer. While I practice, my neurons are dancing to their own tune.

Source: https://blog.bufferapp.com/why-practice-actually-makes-perfect-how-to-rewire-your-brain-for-better-performance

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This video was put together by my neighbour and friend, Ian Stephens. We had a lot of fun searching for places to display art at the farm one beautiful June evening. When shooting the “art show” parts of the video, we had not anticipated noisy preparations for the July 1 parade just outside our door. That added to the fun. I am grateful to Ian for taking the time and using his considerable gifts to help me share my art in this way.

“exploring the Four Directions”, watercolour, 20″ x 20″

Left to right: Birds on Fire, Sampler Dragon, Rain Dancer, Peaks

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I love the quote below. There are so many possible approaches to sharing our experiences on the Chilkoot Trail. I will keep this post simple – the quote below and some photos with captions.

“The Chilkoot Trail is a teacher. The long days of a Northern summer obscure the passage of time, while the thick rain forest, sinuous windings and steep descents and climbs of the trail make a mockery of any measured distance. Hikers can begin on a warm summer day in the Alaska rain forest and end up on the summit ploughing through thigh deep snow with icy sleet blowing in their faces. From there they walk through spring near Deep Lake and back to summer at Bennett. Time becomes distance. Distance becomes seasons. In June and July, there is no night at all. This delightful absence of regular order encourages the exploration of new ways of experiencing the world around us. The Chilkoot is a meeting place. For thousands of years, the trail joined coastal and interior people in trade, marriage and travel.”

From “Importance of the Site”, Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site of Canada Management Plan, page 3, date unknown (but after 2005), Parks Canada.

At the Trailhead, near Dyea, Alaska. Happy and excited that we can start as the National Park Service nearly closed the trail due to flooding  and high waters of the Taiya River the previous day.

Lots of mud, lots of up and down on our first hiking day

High spirits, high waters… this suspension bridge seems to bounce when you walk on it!

You can see how high the Taiya River is here. While it made things wet we never had to wade in water any deeper than our ankle. The previous day, hikers had been up their knees and even thighs.

such beautiful roots at our first stop

“The land is the best medicine.” Breathing in the earthy smell of moss.

The beautiful moss

Up and down.

My aching feet! Yes! Stopping to take boots off!

A mud bath rinsed in glacial waters helps!

There were platforms for tents (thank heavens) and the sleeping area were kept away from the eating area due to the possible presence of grizzly and black bears. We saw neither.

Finding my way across a stream. There  are  glacial streams and small waterfalls everywhere.

The warden’s very scary talk the night before climbing the summit at Sheep Camp. Attending the talk is mandatory.

The previous night’s talk scared me so much we were up at 4 a.m. and on the trail at 6 a.m. Honestly, I hardly slept.

I found the terrain the most challenging part of the hike. This smooth bit of trail was rare. Usually we were picking our careful way over and around roots and rocks or loose rocks.

Getting closer to the summit

Shane liked to remind me how waterfalls give off positive ions, so we would try to soak this up! Waterfalls in abundance on this trail.

The “Golden Stairs” are notorious – basically large boulders that you climb up just before the summit. Lots of fog as you can see. I had been dreading this the night before and surprised myself by loving it.

Another view of the Golden Stairs – you have to look closely to see all the people

We are so happy to have made the summit.! Sudden temperature change, but my partner stayed in his sorts for the whole hike!

Sky is clearing!!

After the summit, the sky did clear. Those who climbed the summit the next day enjoyed a rare clear view.

I was so grateful for our walking poles.

The summit is hidden in the mist behind us.

This sub alpine part of the hike was my favourite. The wildflowers were breathtaking.

You can see the roof of the cook shack at Happy Camp on the right below the hill. We were indeed happy to have arrived.

At Happy Camp with our buddy Noami ,age 9 (the youngest hiker we met)

Sometimes Shane and I hiked alone. At other times we spent a few hours with a group. We were happy to hike twice with Steph and her 9 year old daughter Noami.

My heart burst, again and again, at such beauty!!

Shane’s pack weighed over 40 pounds. Mine was about 35 pounds at the beginning. Our packs got lighter each day as we ate our food supply up!

The camp kitchen at deep lake. Bear proof food lockers are around the corner.

To me it looks like Shane is going to topple into the rushing river below. I am thankful that he did not.

At Lindemann City ( a tent city at the height of the Gold Rush), there is a great interpretation centre inside this tent.

This catches the beautiful aqua water of the lakes and streams.

I like this photo because you can see the trail wind its way along.

This is us starting out on our last day. We were lucky – this was the only day that it rained.

The rain made the rocks on the trail very slippery at times.

A trapper’s cabin

with a note

Just before the end, there is a desert. Sand proved more difficult to walk on than the snow of the glaciers.

Yaaaay! We made it!!!

Andrea Nelson, one of 3 artists-in-residence on the Chilkoot Trail the summer of 2016. We had a good visit and were lucky enough to attend her artist talk in Whitehorse a few days later.

From Lake Bennet t o Whitehorse by float plane.

The view from the float plane, reminding me of the Qu’Appelle River’s meandering ways

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by Lanelle Muirhead and Dominique Baggett

Su’p, I am Lanelle (left) and I and  want to tell you about Art in the City. This day was so much fun (laughing ha! ha!) and I hope that you have as much as me while reading it. (Fun, that is!)

Hello, I am Dominique (right) and this is our post about Art in The City, a day we spent with Sue, Rebekah, Ruth and Brenda way back in July. It was Rebekah’s  birthday!!!!

Brenda, Rebekah, Ashlie, Ruth (peace sign), us (Sue took this picture)

picking out our sketchbooks at  Regina Public Library

We started at the doctor’s office which was not really a part of Art in the City and was really boring.

Things got better!! We went to the library and borrowed  our very own sketchbooks which we borrowed for a year (you can see them in the picture at the top.) We never want to return them.

Riding fake trikes outside the library

We saw art everywhere – even on the rug at the library!

Artist: Dominique

We sketched in the park with our new sketchbooks.

Lanelle:

“Sue would not tell us where we going next. It was a surprise. But we accidentaly guessed it! I was telling a story about a henna tattoo place and then Sue said, “Was that a guess or were you just telling Dominique a story?” We were confused….Suddenly Dominique said, “Are we going to somewhere they do henna tattoos?” Sue said, “Nooooo, but you are so close.” We thought and thought and we guessed and we guessed and finally we guessed we were going to meet a tattoo artist. We were right! Sue told us we were going to meet Ashlie of Tattoo Nebula! We were so excited!!

Here is the real Ashlie, owner of Tattoo Nebula. Look how purple her walls are.

Ashlie sharing her sacred geometry designs(Photo Courtesy of B. MacLauchlan)

Here is the real Ashlie!   Artist: Lanelle

Ashlie’s hands. Her tattoos come from sacred geometry in nature, like on the book cover

Tattoo Nebula was deep purple inside and very magical and we learned all about tattoos. Ashlie loves mandalas. She gave us all temporary tattoos. Rebekah chose first because she was the birthday girl.

Rebekah’s tattoo (Photo courtesy of B. MacLauchlan)

Look at our tattoos! Lanellle on the left, Dominque on the right( Photo courtesy of B. MacLauchlan)

Artist: Dominique

Artist: Lanelle

Photo courtesy B. MacLauchlan

Photo courtesy B. MacLauchlan

Then we went to have a picnic with the cows at the Mackenzie Art Gallery.

Picnic, Joe Fafard cows… (Photo courtesy of B. MacLauchlan)

Riding cows (Photo Courtesy of B. MacLauchlan)

Picnic (Photo Courtesy of B. MacLauchlan)

We saw art everywhere – even in the fossils on the Tyndall stone at the art gallery (Photo Courtesy of B. MacLauchlan)

meeting the statues in the lobby of the MacKenzie Art Gallery…where is the statue?(Photo courtesy of B. MacLauchlan)

Dominique telling us about her statue Henry (Photo courtesy of B. MacLauchlan)

Lanelle and her statue Susan (Photo courtesy of B. MacLauchlan)

Rebekah and Ruth (Photo Courtesy of B. MacLauchlan)

We are doing a great job imitating this statue!

At Rebekah’s house, time for a rest!

Us two snuggled under a quilt

We saw art everywhere – a purple kitchen floor at Rebekah’s

Once we were done napping, we just had to have a snack. What better place than the Mercury? There were even nebulas in the art at the Mercury!

Milkshakes at the Mercury, plus drawing in our sketchbooks. Dominique: I was mad at Lanelle because she dipped her fries in the milkshake. Yuck! (Photo courtesy of B. Maclauchlan)

How could a day of art make us so hungry?

After the Mercury, we went in search of art in the alleys and on garage doors.

In the Cathedral area. (Photo courtesy of B. MacLauchlan)

Pretending to be in fear of the dragon (Photo courtesy of B. MacLauchlan)

We had so much fun!

What we learned is that you can find art everywhere!

Thanks for reading our post!!

Note from Poached Egg Woman: Lanelle and Dominique’s next blog will be  about how to behave in an art gallery ha ha

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Dolores, left and Alma, right with “Four Directions”

I want to share this simple, sweet story.

One of things I like about hosting my own art show is that I witness when a person falls in love with a piece of art. On the second day of my show, my friend Alma told me that she loved  a watercolour painting called “Four Directions” and that maybe she could afford  to buy it in September. This was a painting I had begun for a specific project. Partway through painting this piece I learned that my art was not what the client had in mind. Funny thing, this piece had moved right into me, stirred me up  and I needed to finish it for myself – project or no project. I couldn’t not finish it! I was so delighted that it touched Alma.

I woke up the next morning with one thought. It seemed to me that the painting should be Alma’s. When I arrived at the show, I put a “sold” marker on it.

Enter my friend Dolores. When Dolores first saw “Four Directions”, her hand went to her heart and she said, ” I want to buy this painting. I just love it.” I told her about Alma.

I pondered this the next few days and phoned Dolores with a proposition to loan her the painting for four months until Alma’s birthday, at which time I would offer it to Alma.

I intended to pick it up from Dolores and deliver to Alma, as a surprise. Then I had a better idea. These two women had at least two things in common, so I asked Alma to come and meet my friend Dolores, which she did. She didn’t even ask why!

It was the sweetest get together. These two elders have each meant so much to me, as friends and as teachers. Alma is also my relative now, by the sweet virtue of my daughter and her grandson falling in love. Alma was the presiding elder at the first women’s sweats I ever attended. We have known each other for many years. Alma offers her wisdom and knowledge, her love for her native Cree language and the teaching embedded in it to many people of all ages and all nations. Alma’s voice soothes and gentles  me.  My friend Dolores epitomizes hospitality, the generous heart. I can talk to her about almost anything. Her hospitality comes as naturally as breath. She is a listener. I always leave her home feeling nurtured and treasured, not to mention well-fed. To sit in Dolores’s welcoming home, enjoying cookies and tea while these two wonderful women got to know each other was more dear than I can say.

Dolores, Alma, Sue with Cherie Westmoreland photo in the background

Dolores gave Alma homemade socks. We shared stories. We took a selfie! Alma carefully carried away her painting wrapped in the garbage bag Dolores had given her. The gratitude and warmth I felt for these moments and the gifts of these two women in my life expanded into the next day, and the next, and today as well.

This post is dedicated to my own mum, Alice Sylvia Frith Bland, who died 20 years ago on Hallowe’en. I feel her presence and love often. I am grateful to all the mother figures who have blessed my life, and who continue to bless it. Thank you. Hiy Hiy.

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I am a frequent driver of Highway 22, but it took me several trips to turn onto Main Street Esterhazy to check it out. Imagine my delight to spot an art gallery – Jocelyn’s Fine Art Gallery – on Main Street. A large, airy space with good light, Jocelyn’s gallery features her own art, art and pottery by local and guest artists, a place for art classes, and a selection of art materials. I soon made a point of stopping in at  Jocelyn’s Art Gallery every time I drove Highway 22. (For those who don’t believe that art can stimulate economic activity, I have now purchased items from at least 5 other Esterhazy businesses!) I enjoyed seeing the new art as it came in, and I was curious about the dynamic woman behind all of this – Jocelyn Duchek. It is no small thing to keep an art gallery going in a place the size of Esterhazy (pop 3000). I wanted to learn more about this vital, friendly woman who is also a gifted artist, teacher and entrepreneur.

As a small girl, Jocelyn Duchek loved to sketch. She was very young when her dad asked her to draw a  moose for a hunting buddy of his. Her dad gave his friend Jocelyn’s moose drawing (regretting that later) and Jocelyn remembers that he bragged about that moose picture for the remainder of his days. Both her parents supported her love of drawing but there were not many opportunities for her to learn more. She wanted to try painting but she had no idea where or how to begin. As a teen, she continued to draw a lot and attended Fort San Summer School for the Arts. It was a fabulous experience for her but there was no real instruction. “Be free, be loose,” she was told. Jocelyn felt lost and wanted more in the way of guidance.

By the time Jocelyn Duchek was 24, she was married with three young children and little time for art. But creativity will find its outlet. Jocelyn poured her energy into sewing (which was practical as well), into creating dough art,  crafting porcelain dolls, and working with ceramics. She spent 7 years helping with her sister’s leather business sewing mukluks and purses. Eventually, Jocelyn returned to school which led to a career working with children with disAbilities , coordinating a respite program for their families, and later, working with special needs students in the school system.  Jocelyn put her heart and soul into this work but was beginning to feel burned out and tired. After about 10 years of this work, Jocelyn became gravely ill  with ulcerative colitis and required  a number of surgeries. As she slowly  began to heal, she went back to work part time, feeling that while it was time for a change in her focus, she didn’t really know what to do next.

In 2004,  a friend invited her to come to art class with Ward Schell.  Jocelyn uncharacteristically said yes instantly.  Off she went. “It totally opened my eyes. I learned how to start a painting, I learned how do a painting, I learned how to make it look 3-D. I still have this first little grain elevator I painted. I show it to students now. That little grain elevator led to another painting, and another, and so on. I would finish a painting and go “Wow! Did I do that?”  I was so very excited about painting. I just could not stop talking about the painting process to everyone I met.”

By 2010, Jocelyn’s enthusiasm caught fire and soon people were asking her to teach painting. She gave up her job, did some renovating in her home and had a small gallery there as well as a place to teach. The first classes were in her former master bedroom. She found that learning to teach was the best possible education – she took classes, she learned about colour theory. She eventually began taking photos of her work step by step, so that she could show people her process. “I just get lost in the zone when I am painting, so until I did that I didn’t really know how to teach what I was doing.” There was a great hunger in Esterhazy for art classes – both for adults and children. Jocelyn’s home became too small and  she tried out 2 different locations before moving to her present gallery space in 2014. Throughout it all, her husband Ken was “incredibly supportive.”

“Room to Breathe”, 30 x 40

“New Life”, 24 x 24 by Jocelyn Duchek

“A Life That is Good”, 16 x 20 by Jocelyn Duchek

Some of Jocelyn Duchek’s art is inspired by the boreal forest of Northern Saskatchewan. Each summer, she and husband Ken, along with friends and family camp at a number of lakes – Armet, Steeprock, Rocky. For Jocelyn, the northern forests are healing and rejuvenating places. “I don’t mind fishing,” says Jocelyn. “But I’d rather be painting!” The men would go fishing and many of the women would paint. She loves to paint abstracts as well using acrylics and  alcohol ink. She finds that the different mediums balance one another – the poured paint gives her a sense of freedom and looseness that complements her more representational work.

“Fluid Aura” by Jocelyn Duchek

“I just kept offering what I felt I needed and couldn’t find in Esterhazy, ” says Jocelyn. As well as wanting art classes, Jocelyn wanted a place to display her work. Early in her art career, she applied to a few art galleries and was rejected.  Part of her dream today is to offer a place for aspiring local artists to hold their first show. She offers them guidance, encouragement and know-how.

Jocelyn’s Art Gallery continues to evolve, to thrive and to grow. Recently, Jocelyn  had a vision that will not leave her alone. “I figure if it won’ t let me go, I better I act on it.” In the new year, she and Ken are going to create a “forest room” – a meditative place in the front of the gallery. When you enter this room, you will know you are somewhere special. She herself began meditating 5 years ago. “I have always been a  very busy type of person”, Jocelyn says. “Meditation has calmed me, has slowed me down a bit which I do find also helps inspire my creative side. It is catching on in Esterhazy. People are taking yoga and becoming more aware of the healing possibilities of art as well as meditation.” Jocelyn now has meditation cushions for sale, and will soon be adding Himilayan salt lamps and other like products. “You have to be inventive in a small town. You have to think about what is needed in the town and what will bring people in. It takes running classes, hosting events, selling supplies and other products. You can’t just sell art or you’d be out of business before you start.”

“I am doing what I love best,” says Jocelyn Duchek. “I have no doubt that creating art is 100% healing. For me, painting took me back to a place deep within me, that creative place that I had left far behind.” It is a great gift to all of us that Jocelyn reconnected with that long lost creative well within.

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