Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Peace



May PEACE... LIGHT... and LOVE envelope each and everyone of you


...MERRY CHRISTMAS...

and the Best in the year to come.....






Saturday, December 20, 2008

Sunrise and Seasmoke




...click pictures to enlarge to feel the effect and imagine looking out from high on a bluff...



The extreme cold of the night has given way to a most delicate sunrise... a little later in appearing today.... due to the mass of seasmoke rising, mounding and billowing above the surface of the Bay of Fundy...

...blocking the view of our neighboring province... Nova Scotia... 30 miles away... altogether...





To watch this happen is like receiving a gift.... from the world... such anticipation...




Light and colors changing... as... and when Nature decides...




Across the snow covered yard...




Past the village below... out into the Bay of Fundy...



The Seasmoke rises... illuminating the tidal marsh ... in various shades of beauty...




It is Glorious!............................ It is Magnificent!..........


...actually words can hardly describe the emotional response this draws forth....





It can't be packaged.... bought or sold...

It gives itself... free of charge.... to anyone who waits for it...


...or if that soul happens upon it by chance.... they will never forget it....
and they too... will become one of those who wait....





This is Mother Natures offering............ her way of saving grace when she causes us mere mortals to endure these -20C temperatures...

A Balance, I would say.....

.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

My Assistant Picks a Winner




The graceful queen of the household ... No... that wouldn't be me... That would be Tabitha... has agreed to be my assistant on this happy day... She wants to select the winner of the Robin's Egg Blue earrings from my last post, Out of the Blue ...





Here she goes... and with one little dip of her tongue...she has it... pretty helpful isn't she? she has picked that special name out of the bowl..

... yes, an unconventional method of selection but leave it to Tabitha to think her way around a matter... I suppose it isn't any different than licking your finger to turn the page of a book.. naughty habit, I suppose, but I have been known to do it... or really not much different than a frog flicking his tongue out for a fly.... but I digress...

...we should see who's name she's picked.... before she eats it!!





I shouldn't have doubted ... She has it all under control... good girl!! you will get a TREAT for this...

Now Hold it steady, Tabitha and let me have a look... ah I see...





The winner is..... drum-roll...ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta..... Asti.... from Lilys House all the way across the Atlantic Ocean... to England... YEA!!!!!
....oh.. you should see the gorgeous yarn she has been spinning... it looks like a rainbow touched down on her spindle.... she even uses Leicester.. one of my favourite fleeces.... oh I think I will have to bring out the spinning wheel after seeing this... so inspiring and beautiful...

Tabitha and I are so pleased to be sending this little pair of earrings off to you... maybe I'll let her lick the envelope, too!!!


Thank you everyone for joining in and leaving your names, your thoughts and your wonderful comments... you are all special..... it wouldn't have been any fun without you..!!!





This..... is when the Instigator made her appearance... That would be Gabi... the 1 yr. old ... the puppy.... Did she hear the word TREAT?....





"Come on Tabitha..... don't you want to play...... aren't I cute?"





"Maybe this will get her attention".......... Queens sure don't like to play much!...

or maybe they do....... just have to get them started...





When the word "Treat" is mentioned .... even if it is whispered.. I think every ear perks up no matter where they are in the house.... Pirate and Toby aren't going to miss out on this either...

jumping... barking... wagging...growling...yipping... licking... sitting pretty... out and out begging.... and downright stealing...


well... gotta go ... the whole place has gone to the dogs!!!


Congratulations, Asti!!!

.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Out of the Blue




BLUE........ brings to mind...

the sea... a clear sky... eyes... old glass... berries...

birds... flowers... robin's eggs... blue-stockings...

music, if plural... la la la la la...

true blue... ribbons at the fair... feelings... out of the blue...

mountains... baby blue... into the wild blue yonder...







DESIDERATUM Art Jewelry... "Robin's Egg Blue" ... Sterling Silver Wrapped Blue Czech Glass on handmade sterling earwires... just a little over 1¼" long from top of earwire to base of blue glass drop...






"Robin's Egg Blue" are part of our "Earth Collection"



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Tuesday, December 02, 2008

The Copper Angels



Way back in the early 1990's, when we first started making things from copper, this angel came into being...

I drew it out on heavy cardboard and traced it onto the copper... John cut each one out with hand shears.. till his fingers bled, I'm sorry to say... copper edges are sharp and not the easiest to manipulate around all those ins and outs and corners... then they were hammered and the edges smoothed...

We made quite a few... She took care of our whole family for a while... with the sales of her sisters... they fed us... they clothed us... and kept us warm... this is the only one we have left now... and all of those earlier memories are inside her...






We developed a method... to suit ourselves... of patinating copper... to bring out its beautiful verdigris... as you often see in old church roofs... with glimpses of its original color still visible...

...the variations were always different ... always a surprise...

I still find it one of the most beautiful surfaces...





At that time... in our never ending searches for old interesting things, we stumbled across an old church that had collapsed with age and neglect.... long years earlier...

...from this site, we were able to salvage some beautiful weathered wood.. protected under other debris... still sound...and solid... with the grains showing the strength of differing growing seasons, when the tree had more sustenance...

We used portions of this beautiful wood for the bases.. they suited each other perfectly...





We came across this book with its wealth of information on Angels... almost anything, in writing and illustration, you would ever want to know on the subject, I would say... in great detail...


Angels have a reputation as being Divine Messengers... most often they are envisioned as a winged being in Human form... existing as such in the beliefs of the ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans.... They are also present in Hinduism and Islam...




In Christian tradition, Angels are spiritual beings... created to act as intermediaries between Heaven and Hell.... what ever you perceive these to be...

and not to forget, the Archangels who are said to protect against Demons...




... connected to Angels are Halos... Scrolls... Cupids... and Musical Instruments...




They say there are Angels to watch over almost everything.... The Moon... The Four Seasons... The Planets... The Hours of the day... The Days of the Week and so forth...





Although to balance things out, under the leadership of the Archangels are the Angels of Punishment... who rule over the Seven Divisions of Hell... again, whatever you imagine that to be...



Particular angels are assigned attributes, such as...

Michael..... the Sword for Judgement

Raphael... a Pilgrim's Staff symbolizing Protection...

Uriel...a Book for Wisdom

and Gabriel... a Lily for Mercy...






There is even an Angel's Alphabet........ an Angelic Script...





... most often... innocence, kindness and beauty are associated with the Virtues of Angels....






...a small copper verdigris Star we made at the time... I love the combination of the two textures...




Many believe Mortals have Guardian Angels to protect them through life...

May you be watched over... wherever you are... whether you believe or not....


I am merely the teller...




.... first two masterly illustrations are by William Morris from his book "The Kelmscott Chaucer"
...."The Four Angels of the Winds" by Durer... "The Angelic Script" and the small woodcut... taken from "A Dictionary of Angels"...



.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

I Ask




Can you hear it...........
That sound.......
That sound of things to come..............

Or is it a memory....

I ask you, please............... Can you hear it?


.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

A Needle's Home




The needle... the thread... the table... the light...
The window grows dim... soon will be night...





The old lace tablecloth is threadbare and worn.. in dire need of mending... I am drawn to work on it so I can use a surprise I received a day ago in my mailbox... from Morna at Bittersweet. I was the very lucky winner of her handmade treasure... I was so delighted!!

Thank-you so much Morna!!

She calls it a "Make-Do" Pincushion.... I call it Beautiful!






It sits there on its little glass pedestal... presenting itself to me, quietly and patiently, asking to hold my needle...
It makes the mending task heartfelt... It makes me smile... and happy... and think of its creator...

...scattered buttons of old and colored pins adorn it...

...created from wool, a renewable resource... recycled from clothing no longer in use...

... care and forethought envelope it...






It is all things I love...

...subtle muted colors... functional beauty... graceful... created by an artist's hands finding new life from objects put aside...


..... a beautiful, unexpected pleasure...


Who would think something so simple as a pincushion could capture all of this........


.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

A New Day




I am looking through the darkness to a new day risen......


The World saw History happen.......


I Salute HOPE.........




2008 American election... Obama

Saturday, November 01, 2008

Samhain.. an addendum to... Be Very Afraid

...an excerpt from The Pagan Book of Days........



"Samhain or Samhuinn, November 1, marks the beginning of winter, at which time it was customary to slaughter livestock. (sorry to all who are vegetarians but this comes from another time when this was necessary to survive) Its Eve marked the End of the old year in the Celtic calendar and its Dawn, the Beginning of the New Year....

Samhain is thus a time Between the Years and Between the Worlds, when the veil between the Present and the Past... the Living and the Dead... is Thin... It is the Festival of the Dead, that time of Year when we Remember our Ancestors and Hail our Descendants....

In the Christian tradition, November 1 celebrates All of the Departed Saints, while November 2, Remembers the Souls of all the Dead not elevated to Sainthood. Materially the nature of the Festival, as with many other celebrations, is the same in the Pagan and the Christian Traditions....
The Festival of Samhain is celebrated widely on its Eve... This is the Christianized Festival of All Hallows' Eve, popularly known as Halloween... which is observed after dark on Oct. 31.... The masks, bats, skeletons and witches hats of present day Halloween parties are a modern expression of the Pagan Festival of Remembrance of Death and the Departed...

In the Natural year, Samhain is the third harvest when in former days, Animals were slaughtered and their meat smoked or salted down for Winter... The tangible link with the Dead at Samhain is present in the custom of Divinations on Halloween...."




I wanted to add this addendum as I think many of us have forgotten what this festival is all about.. I know I like learning more about it...
and it is good to remember the reasons why we do things......



The feast of Samhain (pronounced sow-ain) marks the onset of a darker, more introspective time of year...

Friday, October 31, 2008

Be Afraid... Be Very Afraid


                                                                                           


Keep safe All...
Guard your Souls...
Look oft behind You...
Lock all your doors...


They're on the Loose...
Tie up your Dogs...
If you venture in Shadows...
You may not come home...







October 31, All Hallows Eve.......................





My son Max the Zombie.
Desideratum Art Studio, St. Martins, NB

Sunday, October 26, 2008

To Adorn a Girl




Blue and White... Silver and Bright...
Fresh Water Pearl... To Adorn a Girl.





Been busy the last while creating new work for the Christmas shows...



Approx. 2" long including Sterling earwire, Large Fresh Water Pearl, Porcelain, Sterling and Copper ..................... see my web album for details of Desideratum Art Jewelry...

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Fall

Days become shorter...



The salt-marsh turns golden...


A Blue Jay surveys his cache...


Heavy dew on petals...



Fall berries ripen...



A few late blooming roses.... just so we don't forget...



The harvest is almost complete...



The sun rises later................



The landscape evolves...



But not these Rocks ...




All photographs taken from my garden on Oct.14. between 8:15 and 8:30 am...
Echinacea purpurea; Quaco Bay on the Bay of Fundy, NB; ripened fruit on Mountain Ash; late blooming Wild Aster; ferny Asparagus; slumbering fly on Rosa rugosa; Russian Mammoth sunflower seedhead and 9' stalks; looking past the garden towards the drifting fog at Roger's Head, Quaco; rockwall at front of the house

*** Note: the rocks and boulders that make up the rock walls around our home are from the wharf, removed  during a recent renovation and rebuilding.. before that many, many years prior, they were ballast on ships that had made their way across the Atlantic from the British Isles... I love this...