Message for Wise Women

Here is a shot of my pink and blue garden this morning....and a transcript of Divine Bean's message for the Wise Women's Circle.



Dear Divine Bean, what do the spirits of the people of Le Chenail want us to know?

The spirits of the people of Le Chenail want you to know that they are deeply moved by your interest and your care.
Us, that is us: Wise Women, who wish to be in contact with their land and culture and history.
What I say to you Wise Women: nothing can be done. Please accept this. Where you stand is a monument to change. Everytime you come here, remember us and...our time, like the towering forest is gone. What is still here is the Outaouais and the sky. The healing is the honouring of our lives and your own. Although you are not our children, we came before you.
Things have changed. Move forward now. I suggest that the people now create a beautiful garden in honor of this land. Plant again the native plants to close the circle of Nature.

Thank you, Divine Bean!

Wise Women's Circle

Last Sunday, blessedly sunny and warm, the Wise Women's Circle met to honor the village of Le Chenail. It had been dismantled before it was flooded by the waters of the Outaouais River after the Carillon dam was built in 1961. The only remaining house was a stone building from 1810 that had served as the office and store of the Hamilton Mills. The house now serves as a tourist office.
I was asked to give a short history of Le Chenail ("The Snye" for English-speakers) and it was a fascinating project. In only 200 years, the area around the Long Sault rapids had been through a transformative period and now that the island was once again uninhabited, we wanted to honor its story. I also asked my Divine Bean to add some insight. The message is to follow in my next blog.

Sunday

Yesterday was a standout Sunday: finally the rain and cold has stopped to bring out a breezy, clear and temperate frame for a fun trip to Montreal. First stop: Botanical Gardens. As a passionate gardener, I cannot get enough of all that splendor and variety. Here is a picture of Reto under a Maidenhair tree (Ginko Biloba). I have a tiny one growing in a sunny spot at home. Maybe in 30 years I will stand under it!

After a few hours of walking through inspiration, we hopped on our bikes and followed the designated path into downtown, where the Jazz Festival was in full swing. So much free and fun stuff! Drummers, magicians, marionette shows...and the people-watching.Here is a shot of the fountain with art-worthy reflections.

June ATCs

This month we are having a special ATC meeting in Dunvegan: our "Christmas bash" has been moved to the middle of summer. We will meet as usual to trade cards and then stay on to share in a potluck buffet, scan over our ATC collections and check out the Swap Table. Each of us brings 3 things of quality that we wish to give away and put it on the Swap Table. Then we help ourselves to any object we would like to keep. Even those who don't bring anything can take whatever they like!

I'm in the middle of my one week vacation and I decided to sit down with my trusty 20-year old Pfaff sewing machine to repair some clothes. In the back of my mind, I was pondering what I would do for ATCs this month. After finishing my mending, I took one of my empty cards and tried out one of the 300 patterns that the machine can sew automatically. I played around with variations on the length and width of the stitches and different colors of thread. Once I had my 11 cards (9 to trade, 1 for Reto and 1 to keep), I took out my colored pencils and put my embroidery into a setting. Then I went over it all with Gloss Medium and added leftover snippets of the threads I had used.

That is how my "Pfaff Art Cards" were made!

May ATCs

Time is just flying by: how could I have missed posting my last month's ATCs?
The theme of these cards is "My Garden at Night". They are pastel, colored pencel and Gellyroll pens on black mat board.

I'm thrilled!! My painting sold at the Art Fayre.

Art Fayre

Once again, the Pioneer Museum in Dunvegen, Ontario is hosting the Art Fayre, a show and sale of artworks created by 17 local artists, including me. My submission this year is "Waterfront", a 36" by 48" acrylic painting. It is a bit 3D, with the "mirror effect" paint on the surface of the water, the swirling lines giving a connecting texture to the whole image, and the raised stones with inclusions of sand, pebbles and snail shells along the bottom third.


Here you also see my newly opened irises in the evening light. Nature is astounding!

Irises and Puppies

The month of May has been cold and wet. My irises were waiting for a warm day to finally bloom....and bloom they did.... yesterday. They have a very special exotic scent to match their spectacular form and color. I'm a happy gardener today!

My friend asked me to help her weigh her 3-week old golden retriever puppies. They weigh between 1.5 and 3 lbs. We also clipped their tiny little claws so they wouldn't hurt each other as they pile up on top of each other for a nap. Here you see them all snoozing away in a big cuddly heap.