While it may feel like a month...

...I was actually only away for eight days, but have been playing catch-up since I got back on November 11 in the midst of Remembrance Day here in Canada.  That was apt, given I was attending the memorial service for my dear sister-in-law, Judith Dunlop, in Penticton. These events always remind me of the drawing together of family and friends and how vitally important that is when one is saying the final goodbye.  I was glad to see a favourite painting of mine called Community Ties for that very reason.

Retreiving John from his respite at Swan Valley Lodge and settling us back into our routine seems to have been more of a challenge this time, as his condition has declined more deeply than before.  There's been little time for studio play, but I did manage to get a messy start on Christmas cards.  I do know, however, that my late start and the pending-yet-again/still-postal-strike means not only the overseas cards will be late, but the in-country ones will likely be as well.

While away with my brother, his ragdoll cat, Milo, kept us well entertained.  He's a handsome boy, and very aware of the fact.

When he naps on his top perch, though, he's so like Daniel Boone's coonskin cap that it has me laughing out loud.

As I settled back into our routine here in town, I restored my soul with daily walks through town and enjoyed the last beauty of autumn.

I'll be looking forward to catching up on your posts over the next while.  In the meantime, I'm sending a gentle reminder to cherish those you love while they are here.  

What a great event...

week this past one has been, with two openings for the Call & Response event that started for the organizers over a year ago.

Alison Masters and Gary Deatheridge have done an amazing job, with over 50 participating artists, and dozens of artworks from all disciplines.  For an explanation of the show's concept, do see the end of this post...it's wordy, and comprehensive.

Eileen Gidman, Laura Leeder and I decided to collaborate on a board book since we were so taken by the totality of the initial show that introduced the concept.  We each chose four of the pieces or ideas presented at the initial 'Call', selected some of my Gelli prints or painted papers and tore into it.

These photos are from the play day we had:

Eileen hard at play

Ditto for Laura

Fun and Games

The finished book was surprisingly (to me) cohesive, and definitely a tribute to the 'Call' we heard on February 27th.  Can you tell who did what?

I also did a piece on my own called Community Ties, as I was so struck by the amazing community of artists, in this larger community we call home, all eager to support each other to create.  It's a wonderful thing to see this kind of connection in a town.

'Community Ties'  14" x 11" mixed media  © Win Dinn

If you've made it this far, I'm SO impressed with your perseverance.  Thanks for listening and taking a look at a very small corner of Call & Response.  For further explanation of the event, please read on, and enjoy.  My apologies for not getting photos of the event for you;  somehow my camera had a desire to stay home both evenings.

Call & Response - the Concept.

'In blues, there is a tradition of call and response where one musician creates a riff, known as the call, and another musician comes back with their own complementary, spontaneous musical riff, known as the response.  This process, or play, pushes each musician to carefully feel and attend to what the other is doing, and to respond by further interpreting and innovating the original riff.  They thus mutually create new music, opening up fresh musical combinations and new possibilities for sonic collaboration.  This call and response model has been applied for this event across a number of artistic forms and disciplines, in order to stimulate new artistic works from local artists.

With merely a month to create work based on the initial two-hour 'call', you could expect incomplete works, new directions, failure, fantasy and collaborations - in other words, something truly unique.'

It's now onwards and upwards as I work towards a show in a near-by city which opens in late August.  It's one being done with my students, which should be entitled Students Teach the Teacher, I think! Happy creating to you until next week.