Shhh...

Out beyond the village,

Something rustles in the grass...

In the dry heat he rests...

 Nothing so pure as the heart of a lion...

 Top of the hill...

 King of the castle...

 Worthy of his namesake...

 Say hello to Nelson...be brave...be quiet though.

(off to purr at the Fine Arts Show July 26th to August 1st Sooke, B.C)



Two fat geese and a gallon of milk...

Remember the little blue and white sweater I was needle felting?

And the milk maid head in the bucket?

They are finally together along with her cow, her two fat geese

and her gallon of milk.

The milk maid's name is Marge...a young version of my late grandma who

grew up on a farm on Saltspring Island.

Lot's of little details to look for...handmade fimo gumboots, hand made collar and

rope line for the cow, wet felted apron, tiny buttons, up cycled wood bucket

filled with a secret milk look-a-like, cow eyelashes (of course a cow's got to have them!)

The geese were so much fun I may make a whole gaggle of them someday!

Anyway they're off to be judged for the Sooke Fine Arts show along with

my oriole whom I tweaked and changed him from standing to take off mode

 on an old piece of honey suckle branch and sent off as well...

It's always a bit strange for me to put these pieces out since they truly come from my

heart and my dreams. I love to create them and am honoured to find out

that others love them just as much for reasons of their own.

Wish me luck!



My inner Sami, and then some...

A while ago I posted about the Sami people here.

It was their relationship with the reindeer, the land

and their Northern environment which inspired me

in a needle felting project.

The reindeer became more than I had planned and my imagination

blossomed...

Here sits Finn, a fox lies sleeping beneath his chair in the moss...

Perched above Finn, witness to his dreams, sits an owl...

The woodland birds making a home with the reindeer...

Silently, Finn has drifted off to the land of the Sami...

This piece was so much fun to do and probably my most elaborate to date.

As an added bonus, it will be one of the chosen pieces for the

Sooke Fine Arts Show this summer!

If you're in the area, the show runs from July 28th - August 6th.

For more info you can have a look here.



Breaking yet more dishes...

All this week during the Sooke Fine Arts Show , my friend

and mosaic artist extraordinaire Norene Schmuck, is volunteering her time, talent, efforts 

and pounds upon pounds of broken dishes, to create a community based art project.

It will soon grace the front of the public restrooms in Ed McGregor park in Sooke.

A HUGE improvement over the ugly, cement walls which stand there now.

There are even pieces of crockery found on the beach below the park, included in the design.

It is two large panels which depicts people playing music and painting in the park.

People are stopping by from near and far to contribute...

Here's local Hardware guy, Bob, adding his piece...

And from Redding, Northern California, we have Vicki...

She's a real life firefighter on a well deserved holiday celebrating

a significant birthday...

Let's just say her trip is 50 days long...

Local yoga teacher Elise, her kids and mom Sylvia 

got in on the action as well...

My niece Stephanie, is helping with a ladies orange and yellow dress...

 All week long people of all sorts are coming by, admiring and getting giddy

with the fact they they will be a part of this gorgeous piece of public art.

It's part of the 25th anniversary of the art show.

(by the way, that's the work of my boss Karen and co-worker Claire...floral design Queens!)

So if you're in the area, come on down, have a look at some truly FINE art

and break a dish or two while you're there!