Search This Blog

...a glimpse into life on Vancouver Island, needle felting, photography, food, gardening, etcetera...etcetera
"Happiness always looks small when you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and at once you learn how big and precious it is."
Maxim Gorky

Showing posts with label needle felted bird. Show all posts
Showing posts with label needle felted bird. Show all posts

Thursday, April 6, 2017

What's up?...

It's been a while since writing, in the meantime, 
SPRING has arrived here!
The woods, all dark and mossy have been lit up with the first sweet little wildflowers...
Fawn lilies or if you want to get all Latin about it, Erythronium oregonum.
 No matter what you call them, they will call to you along the paths with their
little nodding heads, like fairy hats on parade...
 Holding onto drops of rain until the most delicate of movement shakes them off...
 My walks are twice as long now while I stop and stoop on bended knees
(sometimes stiff and achy bended knees!)
to try and capture this fleeting show...
 The mushrooms are staring to make a show as well.
I spotted these tiny little ones, the biggest about the size of a nickel, 
reminding me of minute Japanese paper parasol's 
 Jed is growing into a sweet little pup and I love that he's beginning to
know the trails and paths we walk every morning...
 ...running ahead, knowing which fork to take, full of joy, as only a young pup can!
 I must apologize for photo quality as I seem to just bring along my iPhone
thinking I won't really take any photos...I should know better!!
A few things completed on the studio table in prep 
for a gallery show coming up in May.
This is Stuart.
I named him after our beloved CBC storyteller extraordinaire who passed away
early this year. He will be missed by many, many listeners who have been
following 'The Vinyl Cafe' and before that his stints on 'Morningside' for many years.
He once did a story on birdwatching and called the ones he couldn't identify 'LBJ's'
or 'Little Brown Jobs'.
So thanks for all the stories Stuart.
This little Stuart bird will always be singing your praise as one of 
the best storytellers of our time.
xo
This other piece was so much fun to make...
 It's called 'Spike on Wellesley Street', a nod to my dads childhood home...
...and yes Spike is anatomically correct!
I used a thin piece of gold wire for his pee.
Funny enough, while I was sleeping, someone left tiny hand prints in the sidewalk!
It may be the part of a series as I'm now making two more versions of Spike.
So that's about all from this big rock in the North Western Pacific Ocean.
Hope you are all well and enjoying spring wherever you are!
Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, February 16, 2015

New beginnings...

Well hello there!
Lets see...last time I was here I was heading off to Paris...
...yes, there I was in all my touristy glory, loving the sights, the sounds, the aromas of Paris!
 I'll share more of my adventures in the days ahead...
But for now I will fill you in on a few things going on in my life since last summer...
First things first is that I've been working hard at creating as always and in particular my needle 
felting.  Which brings me to my next point in that I have also been working
hard designing my own website in order to take things to the 'next level' as they say.
Her's a little taste of some of the sculptures I've already listed...
'Christopher Robin'
'Frans'
'Darla'
'Josie'
'Hans'...the back of his head anyway
'Jack'
'Edith' the long legged hen.

So it's one of the challenges I've set myself to.
To get myself out there...work on the 'business' side of art.
Sitting and working on my Mac for long amounts of time
is something I need to discipline myself to do but
to be honest it's been an insightful and rewarding experience.
I have also learned to appreciate those who do website design for a living.
I now know why they get paid 'the big bucks' for such effort and expertise!
And hopefully work on my blog a wee bit more.
Maybe not as much as I used to but try to keep in the loop.
So hello once again...I look forward to visiting you all on your travels as well.

Here's the link to my new site
...and a little sneak peek....


Tuesday, June 11, 2013

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!


Thursday, May 30, 2013

How to make a wren...

...continued from Wordless Wednesday...
 
How to make a wren:
 
A: First she needs two tiny but strong feet to flit about the forest floor...
B: A compact little body to keep her well hidden...
C: Fine and sturdy wings of strength...
D: Sharp, bright eyes to spot her mate...
 E: An extremely superb and beautiful song...
 F: A mighty brave and curious nature...
G: And most of all, a friend with the perfect place for her to perch...
 
 (This was a commission and is sold but yours are always welcome!)