Well, wasn't that...

...a bookmark-making party at the library?   Those ladies were ready to go all night they were having so much fun.  With around 80 bookmarks completed, that's a lot of donation-funding from an event that was such a blast.

My inner colour pig was SO happy...

...and I was most certainly not the only one feeling that way.

In marked contrast to all that colour...

...we had an overnight snowfall this past week, and it was still falling at 6 am when I took my morning walk.  It was so beautiful - snow-puffed trees, lacy in the dark and aglow with lamplight. Just as I walked out onto the street something flashed in front of me and was gone. I walked a few steps to see, to my left on Cedar Street, a family of deer poised for further flight. There were half of dozen of them, standing in the middle of the street, frozen like a 1950's postcard, waiting to see if I meant them harm. We spoke to each other silently for a few moments and when I finally said good morning, they literally bounced once and then danced off towards 16th Avenue, flapping their tails in a cheeky goodbye. This world is pure magic. 

While these photos were taken later that day, it's easy to see how lovely it has been.

I had a studio visitor this week as well - Laura Leeder and I tested some acrylic markers by Amsterdam, Golden Hi-Flow acrylics and their markers, and some needle-tipped paint applicators.  Naturally we had a lot of fun, and made some great comparisons of the different styles.

It's obvious that we both need to add to our stash of tools!

And something that made me laugh hysterically...I was moaning to Laura that I couldn't get a good photo of some gel pen work I'd done, and she asked whether I'd tried to scan them.  Well, duh!!!  No, I hadn't, so here they are.  ☺️

Since we're coming up to Valentine's Day, I'll leave you with some love.

Happy week, my creative friends!

From one thing...

...to another like a distracted and discombobulated hummingbird, my creative juice is coming from all sides this last while.

As I prep for a bookmark-making playtime at the library this weekend I've been making examples,

jumping to one of my art journals for a spread,

clearing some studio space for an unexpected guest (aka John/hubby/Mr. Fixit),

roaring back to the journal again,

 (including a jingle, of all things,)

organising supplies,

heading over to a neglected love fest, 

and settling back into the journal yet again.  

I dream of being the kind of person who is focused, capably manages one task at a time, completes it and then basks in the feeling of job well done.  Dream, of course, is the operative word!

Since you're here, I'll remind you that if you're in the area this weekend, it would be a great idea to sign up now (register and pay at the library) for the Library Love event.  Using paper scraps, stamps, scissors, glue, gusto and a sense of adventure, we're going to create bookmarks to be donated to the library, who can then offer them to readers in exchange for a donation.  Three ways for us to win - creativity, community giving and clearing of some of the prodigious paper stash in my studio.  What could be better!  The $5 supply cost is the best money you'll ever spend for hours of mixed media play. 

Reduce, reuse, recycle, repurpose...

...renew, upcycle - whatever you call it, making the old into new is a passion of mine.

I've turned dryer sheets into curtains , 

'I Should Have Listened to Mom' cafe curtains

a damaged child's board book into a colour fix, 

a broken boot into a sculpture,

discarded wine bottles and glasses into table art, 

 

cigar boxes into keepsakes,

worn-out blue jeans into print-making templates, 

buttons into decorative elements,

empty paint tubes, beer bottle caps, vintage hair clips and outdated costume jewellery into paintings, 

scraps of paper into mini accordion books,

throw-away boxes into memory-keepers, 

wine and beer bottle caps into gardens, 

an obsolete law book into a different kind of garden, 

torn and pages-missing soft cover books into a table sculptures,

foam scraps into monoprinting templates, 

and the list goes on and on.  My passion  obsession for making the most of things means that I look at everything with an assessing eye, knowing it could be something entirely different.  (Don't worry, John, you're safe . . . so far.)

Word has it that there is going to be a Trashion show here in town in May, where artists are encouraged to turn trash into fashion.  Anybody got any used dryer sheets they can spare? I feel some new clothes coming on.

When I think about celebrating...

...my first thought is always about friends and family, because they are lighthouses that I return to all the time.

Alice Saltiel (linked to her blog) Marshall has been a friend (think sister from another mother) for many years now, so today I'm celebrating her, her artwork, and her extraordinary be-ing.  When you check out her blog, you'll see that she has been dealing with cancer for the past few years; yet she remains a vibrant light in this world.  Her generosity, kindness, and zest for living are incomparable.

Alice has been a long-standing mentor in my art world - her facility with a paintbrush is pure magic.  Some of my favourite paintings (and she has done, literally, thousands of them) by her include:

'Creation' 8 x 24 © Alice Saltiel

'Stem Dance' 6 x 6" © Alice Saltiel

'Dancing Queen' 5 x 7" © Alice Saltiel

'Fireweed at Grassi' 7 x 10 © Alice Saltiel

'Crimson Blush' 6 x 6 © Alice Saltiel

'Midnight Magic' 12 x 9" © Alice Saltiel

'Icicles, Claresholm House' 12 x 16, oil  © Alice Saltiel

'Lily Bright Light' 8 x 10" © Alice Saltiel

'Portes de Roussillon' 22 x 30 © Alice Saltiel

'Alice in Wonderland' © Alice Saltiel

'Market Sunflowers' © Alice Saltiel

'Red Hot Harmony' 18 x 24" © Alice Saltiel

From abstract to wild animals to florals to mixed media whimsy and still life, her passion for painting and life shines through.  Alice's life philosophy can be summed up with this Charlie Brown cartoon:

Do pop over to Alice's blog, check it out and give her some love!  She's just the best and would love to see your comments.

2019...

...is definitely something to Celebrate!  And if that's not a large enough clue for my word of the year, let me show you some photos...

 

It's a word that has been coming up for me since mid-October making its celebratory way into my psyche, and letting me know that it's something I neglect.  So 2019, I'm celebrating you, my family, my friends, a creative life, the beauty in the world, colour, pattern, texture, line, mediums (mixed or not ☺️), opportunities, travel, and much, much more.  I'm grateful for every chance to do so.  Thank you, Universe - more please!