calm

every little thing she does is magic

at one time, i would make about forty christmas cards each and every year, faithfully send them to family and friends. all hand lettered, sometimes embossed, quotes from collections and so on. each envelope was hand lettered  in india ink. i learned a trick from bob boyajian, another mentor of the calligraphic kind. he showed us how to take a white candle and rub the wax across the dried ink to protect it from the elements.

the need and want to create cards again has found its way back into my life. and here are some examples of my most recent work; images from december of last year. collage, water colour paint, bits of torn japanese paper, water colour paper. as well i experimented with winsor newton gold metallic ink. great to play with ... it shimmers upon application as if it has a life of its own. i tried to using brushes but was not happy with the result. round toothpicks as well as finger application worked best for the look i was after.

through the years i have had the great privilege of attending workshops offered by the calligraphers guild in toronto and winnipeg. imagine being held in their presence, encouraged to grow, learn. no artist is an island. 

i am grateful to the myriad of people who continue to inspire. a little bit of herstory. my daughter is one of my greatest inspirations. as she grew up, she would make cards of her own as well as little paintings and other treasures from her imagination, many of which i still have to this day. recently i found a little drawing of hers of a wizard all done up in hat and cape. to me,  every little thing she does is magic.

welcome to studio pat ... i thought i had posted this already, but i see this much is not true. anyway, this is the place! where i do much of my work and thinking and brain storming and playing with whatever medium i have in my hands. things have changed a bit here, i might have to post an update. as well, i usually knit in the living room on the big comfy couch.

back door knitting

just the way we are

took another look at the latest images of my freeformknittedscarfythingity this morning and i think they are okay. you can see various elements, colours and textures shine through, which is what i was after. the last image is blurred out and since i'm a big fan of impressionist painting, it shall remain.

included are two that demonstrate her royal scarfyness stretched out on wooden hanger. could it be a wall hanging ? (cats say yes please, something new to attack). it looks great as a neck warmer and i've been stopped in my tracks and asked about it already. yes, i have worn an unfinished piece out there ;-) at any rate, i want to see if i can get brighter images of scarfy and post something clearer if i can.

i do love taking pictures and i feel very fortunate to have wonderful little camera that my generous most daughter gave to me for my birthday one year. it takes good images and yet. there is much ado about the technological aspect of that copper canon that i have never delved into and probably never will. i see something and want to capture it, right there. it doesn't always turn out in terms of something that might win a prize or even a silent wow formed on your lips and yet.

beautiful words, images, imperfection. just the way we are.

sun drenched landscapes

i've just taken a few shots during the last moments in the life of my camera battery showing off the sun drenched landscapes. next to impossible for me to capture the essence of this piece, glimmers at best. i'll try again tomorrow and for now, i hope you enjoy seeing this as much as i did in the making.

note worthy: the majority of my yarn is purchased at wolseley wool in my neighbourhood.

landscapes

take a look at me now

photography, images, light, contemplative photography (something i think i do anyway when i look through the lens at the world within and without...

anyway...i notice that some of my images are a little blurry and rather than not add them to the mix, i thought i would do it anyway ... really, they are deliberate....think impressionist paintings ;-)

love love

cover to cover

i was invited by my weaverly friend who lives next door to take part in a creation of the journal kind. it amazes me how much everythingihaveeverdonecreatedfelt is showing up in my work. it is not work at all, it is  play, a play on words, finding my one true thing, exercising my voice, letting you in on pieces of me and how i see and feel, life.

many many thanks to those of you who have always and in every which way accepted me as i am, have recognized the fire within. you are very much a part of what you see, here. from cover to cover.

knitting outside the lines ... home at last ...

leave a paper trail

one of my mentors of the calligraphic kind, alf ebsen, taught me that there is nothing original under the sun ... so that if we are inspired and moved to create based on something that we have seen in the world, it is okay to incorporate those ideas and make them our own. alf was someone i adored; he inspired me to become a free lance calligrapher so many years ago. i consider him one of the most important teachers in my artistic life.

which brings me to the place of sharing what can happen when you hold a little match box in your hand and imagine. if you put heart, mind and paper together.

for much of my life, i've been given boxes, little ones, not so little ones. from places i have never visited such as india, poland, italy, england...some made of wood, some made from marbled paper, one is made out of a smooth leather. i love them all; they are my constant friends. little vessels that carry memories, and sometimes a surprise will find its way inside.

the idea of working with match boxes as art intrigued me. my approach to a blank match box: well, you guessed it,  there is no plan , no pattern, no way of explaining or mapping out a how~to manifesto.

i started working with japanese chiyogami papers, collage papers and assorted found objects i have in my studio. depending on the medium, uhu is my glue of choice. easy to apply, and acid free for those who care about such things. if found objects are used, i find it helpful to use weldbond as an adhesive. it holds anything in place.

little match boxes are wonderful to work with, and easy enough to find. people may even start saving them for you which is what happened for me. where to begin?  with no set rules, i like to cover the box completely, and make a little match box disguise. the possibilities are endless. imagine. ways of seeing, ways of knowing, ways of trusting. leave a paper trail.

match box love

saori weaving

i've mentioned that i have a tendency to knit outside the lines. for ages and ages, i thought something was wrong with me, that i was inadequate in terms of getting it "right" ... i've never moved past the garter stitch...and yet, i love how it looks especially when multifaceted yarns are used, kaleidoscope!

at any rate, i've been searching and researching and have a grand old time of late, have found some kindred spirits who feel their art in similar ways. i have always loved weaving and had hoped, for years and years, to find a way to buy a loom in order to create in that method.

well, it seems that with my free form knitting, i'm already weaving, of sorts. as soon as i am able, i shall post photos of my latest works...they have completely blown me away! when so many barriers and walls have been set aside, the freedom and fresh air is exhilarating.

one of the styles of weaving that i especially love is known as saori. i have found some words online that help me to share this with you and you'll soon see why this form resonates within.

saori weaving:

"sa" comes from the zen vocabulary meaning each one has their own individual dignity and  "ori" is japanese for weaving.

saori weaving is having the courage to break with the conventional. crooked selvages, skipped threads, missing threads are all human and not mistakes but produce interesting effects.

we are trying to find our true weaving voices.

(all of the above is shared for the love of this form of weaving and for the bells, whistles and joy that i feel to hear at last what my heart has been trying to tell me all along).

working from left to write too

as you can see in the images below, once upon a book became a wonderful canvas filled with opportunities to create a unique way of sharing favourite recipes with a dear friend. all of the things i have learned/studied/been influenced by show up in my work when i get out of my own way, and especially when i take a few moments to breathe and connect with what might be.

years ago,  i was one of two main calligraphers in the province of nova scotia during a time when there were no personal computers to render things of the lettering kind. this was a time when i rested my elbows tripod style on my drafting table. steady as she goes.

on the main floor of an ever and always chilly victorian home, my studio was set up in the dining room, near the window where the north light entered the room. it is said that north light is 'best' because there are no shadows falling across the work surface. besides, i always felt most at home with the sunshine on my shoulders (thank you j.d. and dave.)

i love the smell of india ink. how it left those little tattoos between my fingers like a code. the indentations were there too from holding on tight to that pen made of wood, the scars on my finger tips from pushing brause steel nibs into the end.  those were the days when clients would send their requests via courier. with the ink barely dry,  i'd whisk the finished work across the streets of halifax in order to meet every dead line, every life line. 

once computers and commercial graphics took hold, i put my pen and ink away, sold my drafting table and went on to find other ways of appeasing the muse within. from as far back as i can remember, i was in a deep and loving partnership with words, ideas, thoughts and the muse was forever giving me a nudge. it didn't take long before some other artistic adventure would find me. 

when i was in grade six, my home room teacher pinned my short story to a small bulletin board near the front door of the classroom. i felt that it was me who was adorned with a shiny gold star. my story, as far as i can recall, was about an adventure on a deserted island....something happened to the people on that island, for i ended it abruptly with the phrase and none was seen since. the reality is that the word none was supposed to be 'no one'.

that precious minor chord, that essence of happenstance created a moment where i saw my sometimes gruff teacher soften as he took a deep breath in, and with raised eyebrows his lips form a tiny and silent oh my . i heard his fountain pen scratch across the top margin of my little story in the most gorgeous penmanship what a little genius writer i would be one day. at the ripe old age of 11, there was no way i had a clue what he was on about. and yet. i remain loyal and true to my first love all these years later my love of working from left to write. 

working from left to write

i believe in evolution

i believe in evolution.

it all started a few years ago when i signed up for a rug hooking workshop. rather than yarn, we used fabric and there were no limits placed upon our creativity. i was happy to hear that!. at first, it was a bit tricky to wrap the fabric on the crochet hook and then bring the fabric up through the canvas. traditionally speaking, the fabric would lie flat and present itself as all neat and tidy. as you may have noticed that's not how i work. i wanted the pieces to stand up a bit and give the flat canvas landscape some texture.

when the workshop was over we were encouraged to continued working on the piece at home. it didn't take long for me to feel the prickles of frustration. i was fed up that it was taking so long to get anywhere. enough already, i put it away high up on a shelf in the living room closet out of sight. good riddance!

last year, as i was reworking the organization of said closet, the rug hooking piece kept sliding off the shelf. eventually, i got the hint,  took it into my studio to have a good look at it. what the heck, i could get busy and  finish it. with hook in hand, i sat there staring at the canvas and realized that i couldn't remember how to do it. i wondered what else i could do with this piece, how else could i get it going.

like going on a mystery ride with no map, i began to sew in yarn and other bits of fibre. i have a collection of found objects, bits and pieces that were calling out to be added. this is where my best friend weld bond comes in handy. sure enough one thing led to another and this is why i believe in evolution.