Art and Found Day . . .

I am so happy to be participating in

  Art and Found Day 2022.

On March 12 2022, over 600 artists in 37 countries will leave free artwork all around their communities for local residents to find. 

I will write more closer to the date with some clues ;-D as to where you might be able to find some of my pieces . . . 

I will be leaving the following treasures here & there . . .  a wild weaving * some original art painted on flat canvas *  and some painted stones . . . 

Each will be packaged and marked with  the # hashtag Art and Found Day and FREE ART 

Many thanks to the creator of the Art and Found concept, Toronto artist  Courtney Senior and wonderful sponsors! 

 

Archer

I believe in synchronicity... I recently read it described as "a cause and effect relationship to every single thing". Seeing numbers * spirit animals * timing * dreams.

After Archer passed on February 22nd , I saw the number 2 everywhere - 2:22 and today has been no exception opening up my IPad to see  2:02 on 2/22/22.

The number 2 is a very powerful angel number.

 I just glanced down at the corner of the computer screen as I typed this post and it was 2:12.

I can hardly believe that today marks 1 year without him.

One lone seagull  flies overhead when I go out walking. No matter where I walk, there will be a gull and Archer is the only animal that has appeared in my dreams.

Not surprisingly, it is pouring outside today. The skies have opened up!

Having my daughter Kate lend me this book "Things no one else can teach us" by Humble the Poet and opening it up to Chapter 4 - Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened" was totally synchronistic. 

This book fell into my hands exactly when I needed it.   The first 2, 2 1/2 pages of Chapter 4 had me smiling and laughing, the remainder had me sobbing as Kanwer Singh aka Humble the Poet writes about his own experience with his dog Himmatt,  but it was a healing sobbing. The releasing of emotion sobbing, the empathy for another who has experienced the loss of a pet so deeply loved and the feeling of being recognized by another at just how painful loosing your pet is.

I wasn't sure this post would get the "publish" button clicked. It felt so personal writing it, but anyone who has followed my blog or instagram will know Archer and maybe there is someone else who has lost a pet & this post might help them... 

"We have a secret, you and I

that no one else shall know

for who but I can see you lie

each night in fire glow?

And who but I 

can reach my hand before we go to bed

and feel the living warmth of you

and touch your silken head?

And only I walk woodland paths

and see ahead of me

your small form racing with the wind,

so young again and free.

And only I can see you swim

in every brook I pass

and when I call no one but I

can see the bending grass'

-Unknown-

My Velcro dog with proof in our tracks and we covered many wonderful miles together over the years side by side.

I love this photo for so many reasons! I had been asked for a photo for a magazine my art was going to be on the cover of. Archer being by my side *always* was in each and every attempt at getting one of me with some art :-) In the end, it's the one I submitted and I'm so happy I did. 

Archer Stanley Dolan

loved forever

xo

 "Do not cry because they are past

Smile, because they once were"

-Ludwig Jacobowski- 

Snow storms & Soup . . .

With a snow storm brewing yesterday I decided to make soup for supper.

Soup is always a good idea!

I had a chunk of cabbage left over from making veggie cabbage rolls , so cabbage soup it was!

6 simple ingredients - celery * carrots * cabbage * onion * a tin of tomatoes * and veg cube is all it takes to make a pot of delicious soup

"A home is a place

where a pot of fresh soup 

simmers gently on the hob,

filling the kitchen with soft aromas

and filling your heart

and later your tummy with joy"

-Keith Floyd-

"Soup is the song of the hearth . . .  and the home"

-Louis P. De Gouy-

All the veg shavings go into a container for our garden bunnies ;-) 

While the soup was simmering away, I put the macro lens on my Nikon, gathered up bunnies dinner dish of  veg scraps and had a little walk around our garden to take in all the beauty.

The gift of snow hearts scattered throughout the garden waiting for me to find them . . . 

each one different and unique 

bunnies tracks 

the pussy willow are beginning to burst but it will be a while before we can get a ladder outside to cut the branches 

The Great Backyard Bird Count is on

February 18-21

All the feeders are filled but this storm & high winds has kept them away with the exception of a few Dark-eyed Junco! Hopefully we will have visitors soon.

 Happy Weekend!

d xo

Happy Valentine's Day . . .

Wishing you a very

Happy Valentine's Day!

&

sharing some of my favourite quotes and photos from my corner of the world xo

"Beginning the day,

I see that life is a miracle.

Attentive to each moment,

I keep my mind clear like a calm river.

Waking up this morning, I smile.

Twenty-four brand new hours before me.

I vow to live fully in each moment

and to look at all beings 

with eyes of compassion"

-Thich Nhat Hanh- 

"The things that matter most in our lives

are not fantastic or grand.

They are the moments when we touch one another

when we are there in the most attractive or caring way"

-Jack Kornfield-

"Cooking is like love.

It should be entered into with abandon 

or not at all"

-Harriet Van Horne-

"I can never get a cup of tea large enough

or a book long enough

to suit me!"

-C.S. Lewis-

"May no gift be too small to give

nor too simple to receive

which is wrapped in thoughtfulness

and tied with love"

-L. O. Baird-

"We need not think alike

to love alike"

-Francis David-

"We loved with a love

that was more

than love"

-Edgar Allan Poe-

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart"

-William Wordsworth-

"There is no remedy for love

but to love more"

-Henry David Thoreau-

"The holiest of all holidays

are those kept by ourselves in silence and apart,

the secret anniversaries

of the heart ..."

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow-

"I was always a lover

of soft-winged things"

-Victor Hugo-

 

Nordic poles along the pier . . .

I had a few errands to run yesterday afternoon & brought my Nordic walking poles along with me in the van so I could stop off and have a nice walk along the Hamilton waterfront.

It was cold and windy, but so invigorating & perfect for blowing out all the cobwebs! 

The path was clear and made for wonderful walking . . .  and that view! For a winter and snow loving girl , who could ask for more? Not I!

"I prefer Winter and Fall,

when you feel the bone structure of the landscape,

the loneliness of it

the dead feeling of Winter.

something waits beneath it,

the whole story doesn't show"

-Andrew Wyeth-

"It is the life of the crystal,

the architect of the flake,

the fire of the frost,

the soul of the sunbeam.

This crisp Winter air is full of it"

-John Burroughs-

Bundled up happiness xo

 

Hello February . . .

"If Candlemas day

be sunny and bright,

Winter will have another fight;

if Candlemas day 

be cloudy with rain,

Winter is gone

and won't come again"

-Darkovan-

Hello February . . .  grey skies & a cloudy and rainy Candlemas day here in my corner of the world. . . no shadows to be seen by Wiarton Willie who predicted an early Spring although we are bracing for another snow storm this afternoon.

"Be a lantern to yourself and a refuge.

Draw close to the light within yourself 

and seek no other shelter"

-Buddhist Wisdom-

Happy Candlemas Day

Excited that my 1st exhibit of 2022 will now be both in person and on- line with easing of restrictions in place! The first of a few exciting shows ;-) 

The "Time" themed art show can be viewed  in person at The Art Gallery of Burlington now until March 9th.

"Time Flies"

"We form a circle

there is wisdom in our wings.

Flying over this blessed creation

a gathering of more than mere twigs & string.

Reminding us of the place 

where we began

as we return, timely

in a wingspan.

-deb dunn- 

Thoughts jotted down on the canvas in pencil before I began to paint. 

Daily moments always seem to find their way woven into my paintings and Time Flies was no exception. Before heading into the studio to start this painting with a "time theme" I had been in the garden filling up the feeders on a very windy morning.  Between two of our cedars was a tiny, fallen nest. The words "we form a circle, there is wisdom in our wings" came to me and the painting flowed from there. Though I could never paint anything quite as spectacular as a bird can create with their nest, it is a favourite subject &  my humble way of paying homage to our feathered friends. They bless us year after year by nesting in our garden & filling it with joy, inspiration and song! 

Available for sale in person at the Art Gallery of Burlington 

and on line.

8" H x 8" L x 1.5 D

Lots of layers & detail. . . 

 "It's we who breathe, in, out, in the sacred . . .  On branches close to the nest"

-Denise Levertov- 

Happy Tuesday

d xo