After a creative drought (pun intended), I returned to my cutting table and sewing machine to express my feelings about the current drought. The weather in BC has been unusually hot these last few weeks. My concerns about the rising temperatures are expressed in a group of small studies, most of them painted on canvas, then pieced and stitched.

Above, a small pieced and stitched canvas portrait of the mixed conifer forest on the island and the kelp forest underwater. And the threat of wildfire, always present during the summer.

For several years, outflow winds from the mainland have brought us smoke from the forest fires in British Columbia, Oregon and Washington state. In August, evening brings us sunsets heavily tinged with orange.

By mid-summer, arbutus trees shed quantities of leaves, and I get to admire every shade of tan and russet on display on the tree’s bark too. An intuitive painting, this canvas needed only minimal stitch lines to create a little relief.

This is my protest quilt. While walking on the road, I found cigarette butts that had been tossed out of cars (I’m guessing). Right by the dry grasses that line the road… This small quilt evokes the island shore, the forest, the heat from the sun, the danger of smoldering embers. I hope that everyone takes care, so we can avoid a fire this summer. Other regions of BC have not been so lucky.

Until August 19, these quilts and those of my co-conspirator, Ellen Bourassa, are on display at the Saturna Café.