an octopus crawled into my studio!

You never know what might happen on this magical little island I live on!  Indeed, today it seems that an octopus has crawled up three flights of stairs and into my studio!  She sure makes me happy with her joyful curves.  Reminding me to S-T-R-E-T-C-H and enjoy this moment.  Oh and that sun streaming in the window sure makes the day better too!

octopus in my studiooctopus in progress

Stay tuned to see how this new friend turns out….you can meet her at SQUARED – the art show opening this Friday night on Gabriola.  The show runs all weekend and my girls will be selling their pieces too!  They do not want me to post any pics yet, so all you get is a hint – they both painted animals too!  Why not drop by and have a look….there will be 126 canvases – over 90 artists, including 15 youth.  BE THERE and BE SQUARE! 

now you can WEAR MY ART!

Polarity Necklace

I am so excited to share this news with you! You can now WEAR MY ART on a gorgeous locket made of recycled steel! How cool is that!!?  There is an amazing maker on Etsy who offers a whole range of wearable art from her Polarity shop!  Necklaces, bracelets and rings – all made to fit interchangeable magnetic ART covered lids!  I have always wanted to order a set and was thrilled when Cat Ivins responded so positively with my request that she consider adding my art to her shop!  Now Polarity carries two sets of my art (each set includes 3 different lids with my art and you always get one free bonus lid…you get a custom stamped initial charm too). Of course, if you want to order them, I would request that you order through MY etsy shop!  If you prefer to order a bracelet, ring or a different necklace option (check out the sweet leather options!), please contact me for a custom listing, see more samples in the Polarity shop).

Have a look and spread the word, maybe there is someone you know (like you!) that would love to get a sweet locket set made with some of my favourite paintings!

Check out the first set (words, wings and water)….

dragonflyrain meets the seabe true

And another set (feathers, whale and oystercatcher in hot air balloon)….

osytercatcher in hot air balloonwhale tailfeathers and party flags (so good together)

P.S. I ordered the smaller size lockets for my girls (and shorter chains, see options in my shop listings)…..they LOVE THEM!!! Tomorrow (for Valentine’s Day) they will be getting a few new lockets with designs by some of my favourite etsian artists (like Cori Dantini and Shira Sela…did you know Shira is from Montreal!?).  Polarity really does create a whole lot of art fun for your every day! Speaking of fun, here’s a peek at some of the Christmas day joy these necklaces brought!

happy teenfiguring out the fun lids

 Note: All photos (except for my girls of course) courtesy of Cat Ivins from Polarity. Oh, and I took this one too…doesn’t the whale tail compliment my sister’s horse scarf and bear shirt perfectly!? 

bird wears my whale tail with her bear shirt and horse scarf

a tempest of teacups

So tonight there is a local fundraiser gala event for the Gabriola Arts Council and in honour of this group’s 20th year, the theme is all about CHINA!

China Affair 2017

Of course, when the call to artists went out inviting us to create something along this theme, I had to join in!  I love painting tea cups and using fancy china to drink my tea.  Any old day can be a tea party if you take a moment to pull out the good stuff.

20100611_00592

I started playing with ideas and really settled on this idea of using the good stuff any time, like taking it to the beach for picnics (something I love to do with my girls)! Using photos from a recent picnic with my youngest at Drumbeg, I started playing with some new photo transfer techniques and I love how well this technique works on a wood surface!  You should really try it with your favourite photos!  Here is the one that worked out the best, I love the feeling that comes through.  ”Making Memories” is a mixed media photography piece on a 10×10 cradled panel and it will be for sale at tonight’s fundraiser event!

making memories

A couple weekends ago, the amazing woman who runs ArtziStuff (the gallery in downtown Nanaimo that carries my art and cards) hosted an art party with her mom (thank you Tanya and Diane Streeter)!  I was so lucky to be invited to this gathering of incredible creative women and had so much fun sharing food and stories and art supplies and techniques! I worked (played) alongside Janice Hofman who makes amazing stencils – you can find Janice’s stuff on etsy and at Iron Oxide (an amazing art supply shop in downtown Nanaimo).  She showed me some fun new stencil techniques and we had a giggle over the fact that we packed the exact same paint colours to bring for the afternoon of creating! Her stencils helped me jazz up this other painting I did for tonight’s art auction….

tea party pink tea cup 8x8 2017

I loved working on this sweet piece while surrounded by all my new art pals.  I painted tea cups all afternoon while drinking tea (first black, then mint) and later prosecco in a fancy pink and gold tea cup.  The delicious biscotti made by one of the artists at the party was just so perfectly paired with my mood (as were the stories she shared of her time in Italy). Thank you Mirella Trozzo, I must come find you again at Biscotti Di Notte in Qualicum!

tea and tea cup arttea art party so many tea cups cr

I had so much fun brewing up a collection of tea cup paintings at this little art party (and since then in my home studio).  There truly has been a Tempest of Teacups in my life the last couple of weeks….with my art and with all the tea we have been drinking as my family has taken turns with the flu.  Now we are all still fighting the lingering effects of the cold that came with this nasty bug and drinking more tea!  I am hoping to join everyone at the Tempest in a Teacup event tonight, but I will have to see how I feel… luckily I still have all afternoon to drink healing cups of tea.

Cheers to all of you who also enjoy a good cup of tea (or prosecco)!

cheers at tanya and diane art party

Tea parties really are perfect any time — at the beach with your kids, while creating with friends or home alone to help you heal from a cold!

IMG_9729btcrart party photo credits go to Mirella Trozzon and Janice Hofman – thanks for capturing the magic!

 

weekend of art….and new calendars!

Every Thanksgiving Weekend, Gabriola artists are busy showing off their latest creations in the Annual Thanksgiving Studio Tour!  More than 60 artists are registered with the tour this year and many more have their doors open to welcome you, including the collective of artists at the Pier Gallery! I am so proud to be a member of this collective and hope you will come by this weekend to see what we have been making.  You will find my new Year-at-a-Glance Poster Calendars for 2017 along with some holiday cards to help you get ready for the coming winter.

Here are the new designs for the coming year!  Can’t decide which is your favourite?  No problem….this weekend, anyone buying two 2017 calendars will get one 2016 calendar* for FREE (you can still enjoy it for the next 3 months).   As always, my calendars are printed locally on 100% recycled paper, 12 x 18 inches.  A cheerful tool to help plan your days!

After the tour calendars will be on sale in Nanaimo at Artzi Stuff and in my Etsy shop! You can also call me for direct orders (discounts when you order multiples of 5 or more).

 * while supplies last (ha ha, I sound so official)

2017 oystercatcher-eating-out2017 -bliss-2017-whale-tail-

While you are loading up on my calendars at the Pier Gallery, make sure to check out the many artists on the Thanksgiving Studio Tour down here at the south end of our ”Isle of the Arts”!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Hope your weekend is full of family, friends, feasting AND art!

a dream come true

tofino cousins summer 2016

…for nine years I dreamed of this moment, to be on the shores where my sister and I played as children, with our children, all together in my favourite place on earth (and sea)! what a magical time we had in Tofino….splashing, playing in the sand, surfing, feasting and laughing together! This is truly a summer I will remember always, I hope that our kids will too….sisters in tofino