A tug is pulling a log boom (a raft of floating logs, recently cut). Up and down the sound it goes, very slowly, killing time.
This is one of those “just because” photos, showing the traffic in front of my house.
Tag Archives: Art
Saturna Studio Tour, August 2nd
This long weekend, if you are near Saturna Island and are looking for something to do (because there really isn’t much to do… other than playing in or on the water, walking in the forest and trails, hanging out with friends and family, and so on…), why not take in the Saturna Studio Tour?
On Sunday, August 2nd, from 11 am to 4 pm, from one end of the island to the other, several artists will open their studios and invite everyone to drop in and have a look at their work.
Interested? Click on the link below to download the PDF brochure with links to the participating artists’ websites and locations:
Saturna Studio Tour 2015 Brochure
If you prefer, here is the brochure in pictures (links are not clickable). Keep in mind that several other artists are also showing their work at the ArtSaturna Point Store Gallery, above the pub (at the ferry dock), and at the Saturna Café. More reasons to come explore, have a bite, and fill your eyes with beauty.
Art, meaningful and useful – Photo Wednesday
If you are in Duncan, on Vancouver Island, it’s a good idea to stop at the Quw’utsun’ Cultural Centre.
When we arrived, the man at the reception desk was knitting a classic Cowichan sweater.
Outside, some large totems are on display. They have been there a while, and the wood is showing some checking.
I think it adds to the symbolism. Beautiful, powerful work. Sorry I did not write down the name of the artist.
Cool Surfers at Wickaninnish Beach
The days and weeks have been very long since I broke my ankle, on May 31st. Books and Netflix only hold so much magic…
To reset the dial, my daughter took me on a three-day road trip. Off to Vancouver Island, and Port Alberni, Ucluelet and Tofino. And especially, the Pacific Rim National Park… AKA the Wet Coast.
At the top of this post, a very wet me, sitting in the cool beach wheelchair we were able to borrow from the Kwisitis Visitor Centre, at Wickaninnish Beach. The hard sand part of the beach was easier to navigate for my wheelchair-pusher (i.e. daughter), but getting across the soft sand at the top of the beach was another story. We needed help (or I would have had to crawl back), and help was very graciously provided by one of the Centre’s staffers. They spotted our struggling, probably sighed, and came to our rescue. I am grateful.
The sights? Lots of surfers. The beach may look empty, but every dark speck in the waves is a surfer, in full wetsuit.
And then, this young woman and her dog caught my attention…
The dog was beside herself with joy at the open space, the water, the waves, being out there with her “mommy”, and having fun.
The surfer told me that her dog was learning to surf, but “she keeps dumping me when she steps forward”… Working on technique. Aren’t we all?
A few minutes later, looked like they were mastering it very nicely.
Well, then she saw “daddy” and started to step forward to say hello. Looks like this may end up in a tip over…
And I leave you with the suspense.
Did I mention that this was a very wet day?
We took a stroll (a roll, in my case) on the Peat Bog Boardwalk. It was a very wet day. Very wet.
And on the art side, we stopped at the Eagle Aerie Gallery, and admired the prints, carvings and paintings by Roy Henry Vickers. The gallery, a gorgeous building all in massive carved cedar boards, is a beautiful setting for the art on display. Not to be missed, if you are in Tofino.
Quilt and Stitch… Some Ideas, Part 6
More on my sources of inspiration. (My previous Quilt and Stitch posts are here: One, Two, Three, Four and Five.)
I look for lines and it’s very easy to find them everywhere.
I like lines that curve and repeat, obviously…
I think nature is right up there with the Goddess, the Boss, the One in Charge. I don’t even try to reproduce exactly what I see because, frankly, I don’t think I could do it justice. I am happy to just interpret what I see.
Above: beetle tunnels under the bark, revealed once the tree is dead and has fallen on the ground.
And now, I take you on a side trip to visit the culprit (probable culprit…), of those “mines” as they are called on the fact sheet from Natural Resources Canada, the Golden buprestid (Buprestis aurulenta Linnaeus). A true jewel, don’t you think?
Well, it’s a jewel when it emerges, but its larvae mine channels through wood, even after it’s been milled, sometimes after many years. The record is 60 years, apparently. How about this piece of jewelry emerging from one of your baseboards?
And on the West Coast of BC, the water’s edge is rich with lines and texture. Another of my image hunting grounds.
Above, kelp at low tide, at Botanical Beach, on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Which can be interpreted this way, with some fairly dense threadwork…
Here is another abstract photo of kelp at low tide, drying in the sun and waiting the returning waters. I love that gleam.
Machine play that evokes water, flow. Water here, water gone.
And when water plays with rocks, it’s a powerful creator of shapes. Here is an example from the Sooke Potholes Provincial Park on Vancouver Island, where the Sooke River offers a series of waterfalls, calm water and rapids.
And I leave you with these smooth rocks. May the stitching and texturing go as smoothly.