Wild Horses Couldn't Drag Me....

 

.sketches inspired by the stop-motion photography by Eadweard Muybridge,  1830 - 1904 ..... 

... my, my the things one learns when doing a little research... as I was looking up information on Muybridge's horse photography experiments, I found this......... 

"In 1874, still living in the San Francisco Bay Area, Muybridge discovered that his wife had a lover, a Major Harry Larkyns. On 17 October, he sought out Larkyns; said, "Good evening, Major, my name is Muybridge and here is the answer to the letter you sent my wife"; he then killed the Major with a gunshot. " 

...this incident obviously interrupted his photography work.......

.....yes, I know...  I'm sketching and playing in my sketchbook and looking up things on Muybridge when I'm suppose to be working....... OK......  back to the workbench.

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Texture

The character of surfaces ...
 elements transformed by time or manipulation...

flocked and gathered, gauzy fabric discovered in the ends-bin at a favourite fabric shop... 

an aged, rough, thick, salvaged  floor plank, now cut with a scalloped edge,
 serving  its second life as
the strength giver in an east facing  window seat in a corner of an upstairs room...   

the coolness and durability of  leather surrounded by fur and fleece...

...the interrelation of these elements stimulate the senses...

their surfaces draw one to touch... to linger... to feel... with  eyes, fingers and imagination..

abstract is real...   visually tactile...  satisfying on a gut level...

 discovering, assembling and working with these mostly found materials was exciting...

and when I have a chance to sit here, it makes me feel good.... and I remember the "Process",
my favourite part of creating.


 ...my Best to you All....

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Self-Portrait Linocut by Beck

I love Black and White...   I love Faces...  and I love the strength of these lines..

This is one of my favourite artworks....  It was done by my daughter, Rebecca.  

This piece hangs where I can see it when I enter the house... 

She stares across the room towards the front door... watching all who enter.

... rather like a Guardian...

 She hangs just above the steel wood rack ... the fuel for our homes hearth...
...perhaps she guards over our warmth too...

...oh and along with John who keeps the wood rack filled and the fires stoked.

Linocut self-portrait approx. size 6" x 9"...  

Antique frame 15" x 17".. used as I found it, chips and all... I like things that show their life ... 

...Hornet's nest and tiny bird nest on twig hang above.
... the heavy duty 5' tall wood rack, John made.

Rebecca lives happily in Saint John, New Brunswick with Stephen, Hannah, Callum and Ben... my darlings, All. 

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Nuthatch by Max

...click to enlarge...

The Red-Breasted Nuthatch has returned... to the feeder and to my wall...  I love these little guys... and I love this drawing.


Pencil drawing by Max Ackerson, my son......   showing the characteristic large head, short tail, sturdy beak, strong claws and the solid eye stripe of the  sitta canadensis...   total frame size 14" x 17"...


...link to a past post on the White Breasted Nuthatch...

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In My Heart of Heart

 

Shakespeare wrote...  

"Give me that man

That is not passion's slave,

and I will wear him

In my heart's core

Ay, in my heart of heart,

As I do thee"

Hamlet, Act 3, scene 2

emotion...... passion..... love....  is there a man without it?

...my valentine to you...

The color of Love...    The shape of Love....   The feeling of Love... 

A Day for Love... 

A welcome pause, for a little passion....especially in our cold northern climate 

...seems like the perfect time.

   

 Hold your heart in your hand and offer it to your beloved... your dear one... your sweetheart... 

Red, Hearts, Hugs, Love, Passion, Cupid, Valentine, Lips, Kisses, February 14 ...

 Love your Valentine

 

 

Our Salute to the day...  and all year round...  Copper Hearts... created from solid 14 gauge copper.... dangling from Sterling Silver shepherd hook earwires  and jump rings ...  airy and light.

Size of heart is ¾"... Total length of earring from top of earwire to bottom of heart is 1½".


DESIDERATUM Art Jewelry, St. Martins, New Brunswick, Canada
$18.00 pr.         ....if interested,  Contact me here

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Well........ You've Gone and Stuck Your Foot in It Now

Feet sketches...........     for when they get the best of you. 

...crow quill pen and ink and watercolor wash,  inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's work... in my sketchbook

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This Could Be True

Quote by Henry David Thoreau...

" It is only when we forget all our learning,

that we begin to know."

...paperwork, watercolor and hand bound book by me.

To 2011

 

A whole new year ... 365 blank days... just waiting for us All to fill them up....

and we always do,  no matter what... fill them up to brimming without even trying.. 

 ...like magic ..Time is...  

a world going round and round...

 sunrise, sunset... 

repeat... repeat... repeat..............

... tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock...

We raise our glasses to the New Year  and to You, 

with wishes of Happiness, Hope, Strength and Inspiration 

...and many Good Things to come your way.

Give it your all... 

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

..."the toad, the rat and the mouse" ... pen, ink, watercolor.. approx. 7" x 8",  in sketchbook


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Journey with the Stone Wall

                                                                                                                                                          an update...

Looking down the finished staircase at the very back of the small north sideyard 

..but before this happened......  much manual labor...

*warning*...  it is rather long.... with lots of pictures because I  love stone... and the process of creating... ...they click to enlarge..

 They previously resided in the backyard of a large, to-be demolished very old structure in the center of the village about a km. away.  Well... we simply hate to see durable, natural materials go to waste and the owner agreed to us carting them off... so the journey for these stones began a new life.

The weight of the stones dictated that John could move only a small number of them in each trailer load, so as not to break it, as we had done one other time in our excitement to bring something home that was being thrown away... 

Trip after trip, he made... up and down the street, till he had lugged enough back to do the job.

...then figuring out the staircase ...digging and manipulating...

an exercise in which rock goes where first... 

 

...shovels full of gravel behind them for extra drainage...

 

..initial shaping and placing .............   and with the rock borders

 

I like it... no...   really... I love it!!! ... it's fun.

the stone steps are about 2' wide,

but it's the staircase to nowhere just yet... 

...finished and looking out towards the road...

 and back again... we plan on shaping the soil above the wall next spring...

this side is about done...

 

Then....  across the back and around the bend...

 

curving up to the left side corner of the deck...

... a  just right size deck...  

and curving down again...

 

Time to put these tools away.

This is how it began

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Line Drawings

Practicing seeing the simplicity of random objects common in my life...

...outline.. shape.. volume... boundaries... contours... hard... soft...

The day outside is overcast... it is that time of year...  the light alters... changes...  brighter, dimmer but still, all shades of gray, subdued, resting, shadow...   all that nature feels is right for now...

Inside, where I am, I look at lines, edges, borders of  shapes...  that stay the same ...

I have missed drawing like one misses a good friend... I hope she visits more often.

...page size 9" x 12"...  I used a Pigma Micron... nice pen, nice ink... waterproof... fade proof...


Contact Me

Red Sky in the Morning

...taken from our second floor window

........ Sailors take warning!!!




 ...  a recent gorgeous sky before a recent dreadful storm.      

.....rather like Nature asking forgiveness for what she is about to do.




... Long billows of cloud hang over the southern coastline of New Brunswick and approximately 25 - 30 miles across the Bay of Fundy, over the northern edge of Nova Scotia.



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The Dry Stone Wall

...building began about a month ago...  it continues when weather allows...

... much labor and time needed...

...and the magic to make them fit together...

It is going to be so worth it...

* Click to see how it turned out *

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A Gift

arrived today...

Like Pearls in the Sunshine...  

only linked, plied, twisted, textural, soft...

...from as far on the opposite side of the world as one could be... from me,

..far away... but connected... caring, sharing, giving...

and Surprised was I when the post master said I had a package today,

Oh, I wasn't expecting anything......... 

Wonder...

Oh,  I am so touched that she did this... so touched by her kindness... her thoughtfulness... her writing my name on the package and sending it off,  with hope and happiness in her thoughts...

spun from the sheep of her own flock of English Leicester...   I just want to wrap myself up in these many skeins and smile... and smile...  and smile

 Dear Soul Arija,   Thank-you so much... you have touched my heart with your generosity!!!!  I cannot begin to tell you how this makes me feel.............

This gift is so lovely... I feel the beauty of it...  I am so humbled...

ps... dear Arija, please thank your sheep too...

...for all those who don't know... Arija's daughter is the amazing textile transformer, author, imagination inspirer, workshop giver, India Flint.

By the Shore in St. Martins

 

There is Noise in this Solitude

Cool, clear, bright... very brisk...

Off to the left, past the harbours bouldered breakwater,

"The Caves", carved from ancient sandstone bluffs...

Far around the curving horseshoe beach to the right,

Quaco Head, protrudes into the Bay of Fundy...

The tide advances...  almost 6 hours, one way...

Seagulls  huddle in groups along the water line...

Watching...  waiting  ... shifting position...

Brilliant white foam on waves, loud and steel gray,

Whose powerful motion turn the beach from rocks to sand....

Seaweed pushed to the wrack lines...

The beach is empty otherwise...

Tourists have gone home...

It is left for us now...

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