While in New Zealand recently we visited the Kaipara Coast Sculpture Gardens to see the 2016 exhibition. This was one of my favourites. After walking along the hydrangea avenue one sees at the end Janette Cevin’s ‘Hydrangeas’. Large-scale hydrangea paintings with their glossy highly decorative metal surfaces covered in acrylic and resin are larger than life […]
Read More...Today I worked on the 6th in my ‘Nana’s Garden’ series where I am making hydrangeas in memory of the females in the maternal side of my family. My mother and sisters have their hydrangeas already. I will be exhibiting 3 from the series in Articulation’s ‘Urban Textures’ exhibition in the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery […]
Read More...‘Motif de Fleur’ ‘Lilies’ The Urban Textures theme also included flowers because when we were in Winnipeg for our study week we spent time looking at gardens, particularly the impressive botanical gardens. That was when I saw magnificent hydrangeas, which brought back my childhood memories and I made the Nana’s Garden series in response. Donna […]
Read More...Donna and I had a slow trip through snow this morning when we travelled from Calgary to Edmonton for a couple of functions to do with Articulation’s exhibition in the McMullen Gallery. This is the view of the gallery space when you walk through the front door. Vickie Newington’s work on panels. 2 of my […]
Read More...Donna, Nancy, husband Ron & I hung The Fruits of Summer show at Nectar Desserts this morning. Nancy painted 2 series of works featuring apples & cherries and some watercolour flowers with her calligraphy. Donna examined cross sections of fruits in fibre… and worked flowers in her signature tissue paper drawing technique. I made little […]
Read More...Here is fabric ready to be sewn into another work for my Nana’s Garden series. I am fascinated by the way hydrangeas are like litmus paper and indicate the ph of the soil. It is like flamingos eating shrimp.My Nana used to put special stuff under her hydrangea bushes to make different coloured blossoms and […]
Read More...Here is Nana’s Garden 1 finished & framed in a shadow box. I kept track of the hours it took to make – a total of 23 hours – so now I will be able to answer that question if anyone asks. It will be hung in Nectar Desserts for the month of August along […]
Read More...Here is Nana’s Garden 1 after 14 hours. I am enjoying the stitching only I miss not being outside where I normally stitch when it is warm. Those summer breezes would play havoc with the tiny pieces of fabric I am working with.
Read More...The design is done, samples made, pattern transfered, ground fabric prepared, threads gathered up, fabric ironed & cut. Now for the hand stitching. A question people often ask me is how long a particular work took to make so I am keeping track of the time I am spending on this work; to date -7 […]
Read More...I am developing a series of works using my memories of & associations with hydrangeas. I photographed many blossoms in the last days of their splendid show when I was in New Zealand this past May. The low angle of the late afternoon sun set off their fading glory.
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