I love taking...

a closer look at what's in the studio.  Just as I love macro photography, zooming in on pieces of art just gives me a rush.

This is a portion of a 'man thing'...you know I got into John's stuff to work on this.  Quiet please - he'll never notice!

The cross in this piece came from a fabulous store here in town called Gold N Treasures.  I've scored so many wonderful metal embellishments from there that I may have made some enemies in town by depleting their stock.

The large button top centre of this photo came from the stash I scored from Eileen, and the coin bottom centre was part of the collection Rochelle (my favourite daughter :D) gave me when she was last here for a visit.  She spent some six months travelling in South America, and I get the mementos - how cool is that?!

This martini glass is just full of texture,

and I'm amused to find this computer bit poking out of a piece - how did that get in there?

You can tell that I'm crazy about cheesecloth.  I mop up leftover paint with it, and it gets incorporated into many pieces.

The Golden mica flakes medium is another favourite of mine right now...I must be a crow I'm so attracted to shiny things.

The brown texture below is a mixture of dried (used - waste not, want not!) coffee grounds and soft gel medium,with a bit of Inka Gold brushed overtop.

Coins, bottle cap flowers, buttons, coffee grounds, cheesecloth - it's all there for the viewing.

I'd decided yesterday that I was just about done with bottles and glasses, but then I had a brainwave this morning - Lord help me, there are four more bottles in the sink with labels soaking so I can test it out.

Yikes...

it's been over two weeks since I've posted here - where did the time go, and what the heck have I been up to?

In that time, I've said goodbye to daughter Rochelle as she moved back to Vermilion for year two of her Animal Health Technologist training.  The house seems very quiet without her and her two vociferous pooches.

We've dismantled the library show,

 and filled the home gallery again.

The produce from the garden, always lush and plentiful, has been appearing magically in the kitchen.

Fortunately, John is as adept as I at taking care of what the garden elves bring in, and so far we're managing to keep up with it.

In the studio, I'm in assembly mode, as I push myself to get a second book ready for the show at Sunny Raven in Canmore, happening on September 20 and 21 - just a couple of weeks away - yikes again.  

I've been stringing, 

glueing,

and playing assembly-line Nellie until the cows come home, and we don't even have any!

I hope your summer has been just as chock full - I know I'm grateful for the bountiful life I lead here in Creston.

Sharing the studio...

...with friends and family is always such fun.  Rochelle (daughter) and her boyfriend Dylan had a play session on Sunday evening, and then Rochelle and I spent the day in the studio yesterday after Dylan headed back to Alberta.

Rochelle had a blast with the stencils,

Gelli plate,

mediums

 and paint.

Dylan enjoyed using the paint brush alone, and I found this starry night on my easel Monday morning.

All of Rochelle's pieces show a love of complex texture,

 and the inherited passion for colour, both strong

and muted.

 I'd say if she weren't such a passionate animal lover/healer, she'd have a great future as an artist.

Here she is at play - she got that hairy eyeball look from yours truly.  

I'm hoping your studio is filled with family and friends this summer, too - it adds such fun to the space.

Company's coming...

and going, going, gone.  So it's back to 'work' today, after a spate of visitors over the past week or so.

One of the most difficult things about mothering is watching an offspring in pain.  One guest this week was daughter Rochelle, who was (and is still) recuperating from having three wisdom teeth surgically removed.  Due to complications, she is still experiencing pain and the frustration of slow healing.  She had hoped that a few days here would result in some studio play time, but the pain kept her from that except for a couple of hours where she spent some time culling through supplies for the perfect pieces to add to a start.

Rochelle looks much better in my paint shirt, even on the floor!

Another pair of guests were Sue and Graham Woolgar.  Sue is an artist friend from Red Deer, AB and we spent a couple of sunlit days checking out the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area (photos below by John), Skimmerhorn Winery, Baillie Grohman and the local markets, including the Creston Farmers' Market.

It's at times like these that I envy my realistic artist painterly friends, who can so beautifully capture the elegance and organic spendour that is our natural habitat.  I look forward to seeing what Sue will do with the myriads of photos she took of the Creston area.

Do let me know what's happening in your painting life!  In the meantime, it's back into the studio for me, to play with more mixed media.