Into the Hawthornes
Down on hands and knees through the door of thorny branches, just big enough and into the hawthornes right in the middle sssshhh…if you can stay quiet long enough they come back the birds, the...
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Letter to the Editor – Elegy for the Trees
Letter to the Editor of the Fort Qu’Appelle Times, December 2016 I am concerned about the practice of removing trees, “pushing bush”, and draining sloughs that is happening at an unprecedented rate on...
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That Moment
Elaine dancing in a rainstorm, McConnell Lake, 1974. Image by Lise Sorensen (used with permission) It is that moment just before a crashing thunderstorm, clouds on the move, thunder in the distance,...
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Tree Hugger (1)
Trees I have loved: White Pine, Christie Lake The year was 1974. I was 17, and lucky enough to be a Junior Ranger in the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resource’s inspired summer program that ran for...
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Tree Hugger (2)
“Aspen Rhythms” by Patty Hawkins, textile artist, http://pattyhawkins.com East of our farm, a particular aspen bluff caught my attention years ago when a neighbouring farmer tried to burn it down. He...
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Tree Hugger (3)
“Tree Hugger”, Rice Paper Collage in Plexiglass, 12″ x 16″ ( Early March blizzard outside) As a small girl, I loved to wrap my arms around the trunks of birch trees and look way up, way up their...
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Rice Paper Birds
Sometimes a new piece of paper can suggest a new direction, or a new way of seeing things. Such is the case with a gift of the most delicate pale blue translucent paper my daughter Laurel brought me...
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Remembering Our Book Fairy
Flying from East to West is our Book Fairy, but the truth is, she really didn’t look quite like this. And the other truth is, she began by travelling from West to East. Our Book Fairy’s real name was...
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Art Buddies
When I was about 10, an uncle who was a “Sunday artist” spent an afternoon showing me how to draw cups and bowls. He taught me about volume and perspective, taught me how to shade with my pencil,...
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Paper (S)mash eh? (Papier Mache Art Camp)
As some of you know, I have needed to stay off my right leg for some of the summer. I wasn’t quite sure how a papier mache overnight PLAYshop was going to go. It went SMASHINGLY! And for that, I have...
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Hand – Word Play
Hand (noun) Old English hond, hand “the human hand;” also “side, part, direction” (in defining position, to either right or left); also “power, control, possession” (on the notion of the hand’s grip or...
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Gestures
Permission to use this image “Give me your hand” granted by Shell Rummel ©Michelle Rummel/ Shell Artistree LLC. Other work by Shell Rummel can be seen at www.shellrummel.com . “Of course! The path...
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Shane’s Hands
The photo above shows my husband Shane’s hands, and behind his hands, the new view that he wakes up to every morning. Shane is pursuing his dream of spending more time in the Yukon, and has taken a 6...
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Befriending Wildflowers (the quiet version)
“Nobody sees a flower – really – it is so small it takes time – we haven’t time – and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.” Georgia O’Keefe “Befriending Wildflowers” was a two day art...
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Befriending Wildflowers (the noisier version)
It was a very hot and humid day when we set out to explore the wildflowers of Pheasant Creek Coulee, with small sketchbooks in hand. Each sketchbook had several line drawings of flowers we hoped to...
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Ripple
In her book, Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer writes, “In a way, I was raised by strawberries, fields of them.” She goes on to explain how wild strawberries gave her a sense of the world, and...
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Title? No title?
Title or no title? Sometimes, a title for a completed piece of art work pops into my mind, sticks, and voilà – I have a title. Sometimes, as in the piece above, no title comes. i notice when visiting...
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(What I Love About) Art in the City
“Art in the City” offers young people an opportunity to experience the city differently – looking for art in all the wrong places, or at least, in unexpected places, as well as looking at art where you...
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Spring is in the Air!!
Happy International Women’s day from the Kerry Farm Ice Rink, where spring is in the air. How can I tell? Ravens and magpies are more in evidence, swooping low. Dogs, young and old are chasing the...
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Walk in Wonder
I check in with my smart phone at least a dozen times a day, often more. This is a relatively recent habit, as there were no smart phones before 2008. To check in with my phone requires energy and...
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