Dream Space

Another Year

2012-01-28T12:30:00.000-08:00

Sohere we are. Another year has come andgone. We’re well into the end of Januaryand I have not posted for quite some time. My new year’s resolution was to cultivate joy.

Ihave been reading Julia Cameron’s TheComplete Artist Way (2007) and have found certain gems that have helped methrough my times of blocked creativity. AlthoughI have written and drawn my thoughts since I was about six or seven years old, myhopes and dreams of publishing remain unfulfilled at this point, but as Betsy Lernerhas said in her book, The Forest for theTrees (2000) there’s hope for us “late bloomers”. One beautiful phrase that I read this morningwent like this: “It is very important not to become hard. The artist must always have one skin too few incomparison to other people, so you feel the slightest wind”. Susha Guppy (Cameron, The Complete Artist Way (2007), pg. 635).

Well,no worries there. That describes me to atee! Cameron talks about the grey days. The days where one must keep keeping on. I know too well days likethat; when my fears and doubts creep in like dampness that chills to the bonecreating aches and pains. I need to dojust that. Hang on and stay the course. Sometimes I’m able to overcome days that discourage or fans one’s fearsby taking pencil in hand and draw my way out of the darkness. Other days I read and escape, or busy myselfin the day-to-day tasks: laundry, bookkeeping, something tangible and practicalto keep me grounded. Being thin-skinnedcan be very difficult at times. Sometimes the best thing I can do is surround myself with my books andheated oat bags, huddle under soft quilts and blankets and write like my lifedepended on it, until I find a way back to the positive and find the strengthto keep going.

Oneof the projects I worked on recently was a contest that I entered for a bookcover. I didn’t win, however I learned alot and enjoyed the process immensely. Featuredbelow was my submission.

Skywatch Friday

2011-09-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

We were in Southampton the day the tornado touched down in Goderich. These photographs were taken the night of the storm. It's hard to believe that in such beauty was the potential for terrible destruction. The picture below was taken the day after the storm. The sky was still quite wild and unsettled.

Lost in Transition

2011-01-27T12:47:00.000-08:00

This morning after writing in my morning journal and feeling rather frustrated with my life, I donned my snowshoes and headed out for my first walk in the bush this winter.

It is a lovely day, minus 11 degrees C; not too cold for this time of year with the promise of sunshine. I headed out through my back yard onto the property that butts up against my neighbour’s and followed a path that he had groomed with the snowmobile and headed on my way. Only as I launched onto the path, it forked and I took the trail that looked familiar to me and headed further into the bush.

It became clearer as time passed, that I didn’t know where I was going at all. Nothing looked familiar to me. I stopped to take a few pictures of the white blanketed landscape, admired the sunlight glancing through the treetops, and started on my way.

The further I pressed on, the more unfamiliar my surroundings became and I had to admit that for the first time in years on this property, I was getting lost. Yes, me who is more at home in the bush than surrounded by people in a busy metropolis. The further I pressed on, there were more and more trails, forks in the road to choose...which direction would I take, where on earth was I going?

I became thoughtful as I pondered that not only did I find it hard to make a decision on where I was going in the bush, I was lost in my life as well.

I wondered about my decisions over the past few years, the long time marriage I ended, the hurt and anger I felt over disappointments. Just as I kept coming to more forks, more paths that were unfamiliar, I was finding that my life was becoming more and more distant and unfamiliar as well.

Where was I going, and how did I get here? Each trail I took was taking me further and further from home and the familiar...just as my life was doing.

The marriage I ended was familiar and safe...my husband a faithful provider, hard worker. Yes I felt lonely and unhappy but had I chosen the right thing? I found that I had run from my pain, and myself...and now I had run out of steam...I was forced to look at myself and my choices.

What did I want out of life, what was I looking for? I had to admit to myself after taking trail after trail that I was getting further from home and still didn’t know where I was, so I decided to backtrack and follow my tracks. In life, do we get to do that? Do we get second chances or are we doomed to be lost souls wandering around in circles? Do we get to find our way home?

My husband has since remarried and made a new life for himself. I think he is better off. We are now able to talk to each other and deal with the day-to-day parenting challenges and guide my son. We have both grown.

I have become more independent which is what I craved, but I am still lost. Could I have found my way in my marriage? Could I have managed to fulfill my needs had I stayed? These are questions I suppose won’t get answered any time soon.

The further I went along the trails I was following the more I had to finally admit it was time to turn around and follow my tracks home. I was not going to find my way today. This was hard for me to admit to...and I guess the same goes for my life.

At times I feel I did the right thing, and then I feel panic that I didn’t. Whatever the decision, I can’t go back now; I have to keep going forward. The way is unfamiliar to me, and at times really scary. I get very lonely and I’ve lost my family. We have had to re-invent ourselves, no easy task. I have heard that the amount of single people out there now outnumber those that are married. I wonder if marriage is a dying practice.

I was lost in thought my whole journey back and confess I stopped enjoying my walk. My sight was turned inward now and I was missing the scenery around me. Nothing looked familiar to me until I was almost home.

I found when I reached the beginning of my journey that I had actually taken the wrong trail. I took a path that I thought looked like the right one but it was actually the wrong one. Now I’m wondering if I have taken the wrong path in my life as well.

Hindsight is 20-20 as the saying goes. I don’t know. All I can do is keep going and make the best of the choices that I have made, and live my life to the best of my ability. For those of you that are struggling, and we all do, I tip my hat to you, and wish you the very best in whatever you choose and the path you take.

The Lore of the Butterfly

2010-07-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

I find butterflies fascinating. I have studied them, collected them, and drawn them. They have been a source of inspiration for poetry and painting. This group of captivating insects is categorized in the order of Lepidoptera. According to the literature, butterflies have been the subject of Egyptian hieroglyphs as much as 3500 years ago) (Wikipedia).
According to Lafcadio Hearn, butterflies have been depicted as an embodiment of a “person’s soul”

These photos were taken with my cell phone while we were in the Butterfly Gardens at Niagara Falls. That was a wonderful experience of light and colour.

Below are examples of sketches of butterflies from text books and dried specimens I’ve collected over the years. They’ve shown up in my paintings and on my art boxes.

These were examples of raised folk art that I designed.

Here is an example of an old cedar box that I keep my butterfly collection in. I have decorated it with a tropical butterfly.

This is my watercolour box, which I treasure. I have decorated it also with a pair of tropical butterflies.

A close up of a Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) one of my watercolours.

Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) on Ingres paper.

Monarch (Danaus plexippus) part of a watercolour and acrylic painting.

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) Original watercolour and acrylic.

Today's Flowers

2010-07-04T06:58:00.000-07:00

I am rejoicing in the warm weather we are now experiencing. After a week of rain, my garden is bursting with colour.

The Art of Dying

2010-05-24T20:33:00.000-07:00

Last night I hit a deer. Actually, the deer hit me. I was travelling Northbound on Highway 11, coming home from Burlington to visit a friend. It was late at night and all I wanted to do was get home and crawl into bed.

I had fled there for some solace, to cry on a friend’s shoulder about the slow demise of a very difficult and painful relationship. My reverie was shattered when I noticed in my peripheral vision a large deer jump out of a side bank and there it was.

I tried to brake but it was moving at a terrific speed and smashed into my right side, taking out the fender and front headlight, pushing in both doors on the passenger side. I was driving under the speed limit, but that was no help in trying to avert disaster.

It seems indicative, that I am unable to change the trajectory my life path is taking. One thing that living alone forces you to do is reflect. I think about our human longing for fellowship. We crave companionship and dread the idea of being irrevocably alone, or dying alone.

In my job I have watched over and over the path that those are dying take. How it affects each individual and their families. For some it’s a letting go, and a relinquishing of their hopes and dreams, looking back on their lives as a celebration of what has been, others it is a terrible struggle, anguish, pain, even savagery.

I have started reading George Bowering and Jean Baird’s book The Heart Does Break . It is an anthology of grief and mourning, personal poignant accounts of loss. I have been mourning the loss of a relationship that was very important to me.

Like the author, I find that the way to make sense of something is to research it. I seek books, information, knowledge on loneliness and despair, to help me through this time of dying and mourning.

Today was a very difficult day...I spent a lot of it in tears and the only thing I could really accomplish was this drawing of a jack-in-the pulpit plant in one of my gardens.

These elegantly shaped plants are one of my personal favourites. The jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) plant is also called Indian Turnip. They are apparently pollinated by flies.

I have associated this plant with death, and the folklore surrounding them dates back to certain aboriginal tribes that used to chop the corm and mix it in with meat to be left for their enemies. It is the oxalate acid and asparagine in the jack-in-the-pulpit which make it poisonous.

Nesting

2010-05-02T15:24:00.000-07:00

I have been pretty quiet these last few weeks. Aside from working, there has not been too much creativity happening, and I have been battling with some personal difficulties.

I am not certain if artists tend to pull away from the mainstream population, or we are just a different kettle of fish but I do know that I struggle with being hypersensitive at times which can be beneficial at “seeing” things a certain way but difficult and painful in other aspects of life.

Aside from all that, I have some wonderful photographs to share of a woodcock nest that my friend and I came across. He actually graciously showed me, and they are wonderful references for future work.

Woodcocks are one of my favourite birds as they are very secretive and unusual in appearance and behaviour.

A woodcock sketch.

Spring Flowers

2010-04-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

For Easter I bought tulips. I find although the Easter lily is a gorgeous flower with a wonderful scent, the fragrance can be overpowering especially for those of us that suffer from allergies. I thought tulips were a wonderful idea, as I can plant the bulbs after the blooms fade.

I sketched them over the Easter weekend when I had a couple of days off. Like many of us in the health care field we work the holidays and don’t always get to spend them with family. Here is the outcome of that sketch.

Previous springs I have experimented with still life and my cut spring flowers from the garden:

I admit it’s a little early for daisies, but it won’t be long before they are in bloom. Enjoy this beautiful spring day; although it’s raining, it’s bringing the promise of new life.

Working on a Commission

2010-03-22T15:11:00.000-07:00

I’ve been sick in bed since yesterday, so I thought I’d work on something while I’m in bed. Yes, I guess I’m a bit of a type A personality, someone who doesn’t relax very well.

I was asked to paint someone’s husky a while back. The person who requested the piece wanted a fairly large piece of work and they lived out of town. I received photographs of the dog, but nothing more.

I hadn’t laid eyes on this animal and wasn’t going to be able to. Let me tell you it’s pretty difficult to get the subject’s personality when you don’t get to see him/her, but I endeavoured to try.

First I did a number of sketches....

Then I worked on a few color sketches like this one below...

At last I was ready for the final piece.

Thankfully the owner of the husky really liked the piece. In fact he said that I had captured his dog’s personality! I think however, it’s always best to get to know the subject of what you are commissioned to paint.

The Art of Heartbreak

2010-03-20T16:23:00.000-07:00

The art of heartbreak...when a relationship is in trouble or comes to an end, what does that heartbreak looks like? We know how it feels but if you could paint it, visualize it, how would you convey that pain? What would it look like?
This is what I imagine it to look like. Each of us has our own picture of pain. This is what I came up with today, it’s rough but here it is...

Blog Sunshine Award

2010-03-14T15:11:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog award and I am honored. I have been awarded the Sunshine Award from http://www.cafebyjw.com. Thank you Cafeby.

The rules for accepting the award are*
Put the logo on your blog or within your post* Pass the award onto 12 bloggers* Link the nominees within your post* Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog* Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

The twelve blogs to whom I am passing the award are:

http://heather-heatherofthehills.blogspot.com/
http://www.cedarravenstudio.com/
http://muskokariver.blogspot.com/
http://impressionsofnature.blogspot.com/
http://digitalflowerpictures.blogspot.com/
http://mandyhiggs.blogspot.com/
http://lilacgate.blogspot.com/
http://waterblossoms.blogspot.com/
http://originalbliss.typepad.com/original_bliss/
http://thefishingguy.blogspot.com/
http://longislanddailyphoto.blogspot.com/
http://joo-dailyhaiku.blogspot.com/

The rules for accepting these awards:Put the logo on your blog or within your postPass the award onto 12 bloggersLink the nominees within your postLet the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blogShare the love and link to the person from whom you received this award http://thailand-in-photos.blogspot.com/

Stories

2010-03-10T16:13:00.000-08:00

This month the Creative Every Day Challenge is “Stories”. I have had the opportunity to illustrate one children’s book that was published independently.

It was my first experience, involving plenty of learning.

I find it an interesting challenge to have the written story (which is not my own), and produce characters which will carry the story along and hopefully meet the author’s expectations or vision.

The story briefly is about a fairy that has a flaw and the struggles she encounters as she builds her self-esteem and friendships. This was the initial idea of the main character,

and the final piece...

Some of Brokenwing’s adventures and fellow characters:

It has always been a dream of mine to illustrate children’s books. Growing up, my sister and I spent many hours creating a host of characters in our fantasy world.

It was a world full of witty, bumbling and sarcastic animals that were used as vehicles to help us navigate our childhood.

Imagination is a gift that is priceless and is important to foster in children.

I remember a story my dad used to tell me about an eagle soaring over the ocean as he searched for food.

He would say this as a “bed-time story” and as he described the eagle and its flight, I could see it perfectly in my mind’s eye.

I could even feel the earth drop out from under me as the eagle plummeted toward the water, searching for fish.

Valentine’s Day

2010-02-14T14:08:00.000-08:00

It’s hard to believe we are in the middle of February. Winter is dragging on. We’ve endured a very stressful week with a family crisis. Thankfully all went well and there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I have a bit of a battle ahead for me as I deal with some challenges to help my son, but I’m hoping for the best. I admit I hit a few dark places this week when the stress became too much. Especially when I had to go to work and put my problems aside.

Now that the dust has settled and we have a chance to breath, I want to take a moment to focus on Valentine’s Day. We tend to think of flowers and chocolate with Valentine’s Day.

These are some garden flower watercolor sketches. A rose...

Wildflowers, Spring Beauty...

This is a day to show those who are special in our lives how much we mean to one another. I count my blessings for this man who has been by my side.

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

Skywatch Friday

2010-02-05T09:43:00.001-08:00

Another beautiful Southampton sunset.

What I've always called "Islands in the Sky"...

Home

2010-02-01T13:57:00.000-08:00

So I’ve decided to get a jump on things and I’m going to do the Creative Every Day post early this month. The theme is “home”. When I think of home, the words “safe haven”, “refuge”, and “sanctuary” come to mind. I find that only the people closest to me come into my surroundings.

I think this has to do with wanting to feel safe growing up. Home for a child is the buffer from the outside world. We all have to leave the nest at some time or another, but as children, this is the one place where we learn, are loved and kept safe.

Below are some sketches of me and my son as he was growing up...

Body

2010-01-31T15:36:00.000-08:00

Well as usual, I am just under the wire to participate in the Creative Every Day Challenge. This month the theme is Body. I had a number of ideas to play with. As a nurse, the obvious subject would be to look at illness and working to help the person cope within the realm of that challenge; especially if the illness changes one’s daily routine, health or way of being. When I first started nursing I was struck by one patient who was sitting dejectedly in a geriatric chair and tried to imagine what she was like as a young person. The outcome was a poem titled “Grains of Sand”.

Grains of Sand

O youthful beauty, do you think back on younger days in your sedated stupor?

In your gracefulness, as you languished

daring, cigarette dangling

from your fingertips

do you relive those times?

As you sit in your chair,

rasping, rumbling in your chest

now others feed and dress you

you fight for air,

living on oxygen,

yet continue to crave your nicotine.

What do you see, coke in hand?

Blonde hair flying, laughing sparkling eyes were they blue?

Dancing feet, slender, beguiling and

daring to take on the world where

did those days go?

What I decided on was a quick life-drawing sketch of the female form. I just wanted to display simple, clean lines, nothing complicated.

SkyWatch Friday

2010-01-24T11:21:00.000-08:00

I am having a blue day today. When I was a little girl I spent much of my time lying on my back in the field behind our house looking up at the sky and listening to the bobolinks as they burbled and flitted through the grass.

On this grey day I just want to think about sunsets and clouds and the great expanse of the sky.

These photos were taken at Southampton this past summer.

Where have all the birds gone?

2010-01-17T13:59:00.000-08:00

In past years I have seen an abundance of blue jays, chickadees, pine grosbeaks, siskins and redpolls. Occasionally we were treated by visits from rose breasted grosbeaks and cedar waxwings as they were passing through.

This year in my back yard, I have observed a decline in the winter bird population. I have been trying to verify this with other local bird watchers. If you have noticed a decline in your area I’m interested in hearing from you.

This watercolour is a result of my bird studies and simply called “Blue Jay Study”.

Elegant Sentinels

2010-01-10T15:02:00.000-08:00

I’ve started working on a new piece, some life drawing and thought it’s time to head out for a snowshoe. So King and I took our usual trail towards the beaver pond and decided to follow along the ridge that borders the pond.

I love the skeletal look the dead standing trees take on, standing like sentinels and took some photographs of stumps and deadheads.

There is lots of material here for painting. As we started the climb up the steep slope of the ravine, we came across interesting granite outcroppings and bedrock formations.

When we descended down the other side of the ravine and headed back home across the beaver pond we were anticipating a nice hot toddy to warm us up.

Winter Painting

2010-01-08T21:09:00.000-08:00

For years I have spent countless solitary hours exploring various marshes and beaver ponds when I lived in a little hamlet outside of Port Carling. There was a large property that I liked to explore which I now realize is identified as a Provincially Significant Wetland.

According to the District of Muskoka, this site has “biogeographic significance” and contains rare species. Being somewhat of an introvert, most of my spare time was spent wandering with my dog Sheba. In the winters I would ski in this particular area.

There was a large marsh that I called “The Bowl” that flowed into the Joseph River. Most of the time we encountered numerous animal tracks such as fisher, otter, deer, snowshoe hare and fox but on one particular afternoon I had the good fortune to see a coyote on the hunt, before it disappeared into the brush.

This watercolour is the result of our rambles and is called “Frozen Oasis”.

Snowshoe Ramble

2010-01-02T10:16:00.000-08:00

I received a pair of snowshoes for Christmas so I tried them out in the back 400. This shot is looking back at the house before I enter our trail.

I love the way the snow envelopes the trees. This picture looks as if I’m entering a secret “snow garden”.

This trail meanders around a few ponds and opens into a wetland, started by a beaver dam. Here it is now...

And how it looked the previous spring...hard to believe!

Holiday Wishes

2009-12-25T00:31:00.000-08:00

I confess that up until a few days ago I found it difficult to get into the "Christmas spirit". Between work and trying to navigate family challenges, I didn't have a lot of energy left over to do shopping and decorating, especially on a tighter budget.

However, there is something magical about this time of year that seems to lighten one’s spirit and watching our home transform with Christmas lights, gifts under the tree and a cheerful fire in the woodstove helped to create the mood.

With these cards I designed I hope to capture those same feelings.

The best thing to giving is the giving of ourselves and I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and all the best in the coming year.

Moving On

2009-12-16T17:52:00.000-08:00

After being snowed in for a few days we finally ventured out to town. I forgot to bring my camera but took some shots with my cell phone as we drove through Bracebridge.

I couldn't believe the size of the banks alongside the main streets. There are still many side streets not yet plowed.

Buried Day Two

2009-12-12T18:51:00.000-08:00

This morning we climbed onto the car port roof and started shovelling. The highway was still closed in both directions and I lost phone service for a number of hours. When I climbed onto the roof I could barely move! There was more than three feet of snow to clear.

This was my view of the roof. We were on opposite sides of each other, I'm facing the Muskoka Room.

Later we heard on the news that the Bracebridge, Huntsville area received 60-100 cm of snow in two days!

Briefly the sun came out and we enjoyed patches of blue sky, creating a winter wonderland.

Snow Day

2009-12-11T07:41:00.000-08:00

The Muskoka region has been hit hard with snow these past few days. Huntsville received almost 70 cm of the “fluffy stuff” overnight. Our area has received at least 50 cm of snow and we’re supposed to receive another 30 cm today! I got up early and took a few pictures. This is looking out from under the car port.

A few hours later, from the same vantage point. This is after I had my driveway cleared.

Across the street my neighbour is blowing out his driveway, and you can barely see his house.

For two days I drove in white-out conditions to and from work. Thankfully today I am off but my heart goes out to those who still have to travel in treacherous conditions, especially those who need to get to the hospital for treatment.

As I write this, I've just heard that the highway is closed in both directions, so we are snowed in for sure!

Halfway Lake

2009-12-06T12:16:00.000-08:00

Near where we live is a small lake that flows into another larger body of water. For many years I have skied it in the winter and canoed it in the summer. This fall, we enjoyed an unseasonably warm day as we spent a wonderful afternoon exploring Halfway Lake.

As we paddled across Stoneleigh Lake into Halfway Lake we came across clusters of the aquatic herb Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata). These elegant plants are edible; the young leaf stalks can be cooked as greens and the seeds eaten as nuts.

There were also the elegant fragrant water lilies (Nymphaea odorata) which I enjoyed capturing in my sketches and on camera. Without a doubt they are one of my favourite aquatic plants.

Below are some sketches I did while we canoed and then another watercolour sketch I completed at home.

Characters from the Past

2009-11-18T19:00:00.000-08:00

I came across a poem I had composed and was pleasantly surprised with its whimsical quality. As children my sister and I spent countless hours inventing comics which consisted of a large cast of complex animalistic characters. Looking back I believe we were quite sophisticated in our humour although it may have been somewhat naive. As I speak, my sister is on tour in Nunavut and the surrounding area, doing school presentations as part of the TD Children’s Book Week and promoting her new children’s book “The Pirate and the Penguin”.
I am rather amazed at her tenacity and panache to be able to promote herself. She has worked hard to get where she is today. You can check out her blog at http://storms.typepad.com/booklust/. She is everything I would say I’m not, opinionated, vivacious and unafraid. I have always been rather introverted. Even though I believed with my heart and soul that I would work and make a living with my art, (and I did start out that way), I went back to school as a mature student and acquired my degree in nursing. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do and I worked very hard to get where I am today but it wasn’t the life course or path that I had planned for my personal journey. Just goes to show you, one can never tell the course that life is going to take them. Anyway, here is the poem and drawing.

Lion, skunk and panther
Bound in friendship three
Had one thing most in common,
They loved crumpets for their tea.

Every noon you’d find them
Bound in friendship three
Seated ‘round the table,
Sharing crumpets pleasantly.

Till one fateful afternoon,
Twas sadly meant to be,
Lion, skunk and panther
Quarrelled over tea.

It seems that Lion -
Snarling terribly
Ate up all the crumpets
And drank up all the tea.
Now to this day you’ll find them,
Bound in friendship three
Lion, skunk and panther,
Guard their crumpets carefully.

Natural Heritage

2009-10-30T14:57:00.000-07:00

Pictured is an example of gneissic bedrock which have been formed at high pressures and temperatures and segregated into visible bands.

Virginia meadow beauty (Rhexia virginica) regionally rare is an Atlantic coastal plain species. This genus is mostly tropical; however there are about 10 species native to North America.

The Round leaf sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) found in bogs and wetlands, is a carnivorous plant that obtains it’s nutrition from trapping very small animals or insect life.

On our way back we came across a fairly large fen full of Cotton grass which indicates a limestone or alkaline base.

Tawny cotton grass (Eriphorum virginicum)

This Great Blue Heron was quite elusive therefore this was as close as we were able to approach.

A Weekend Away

2009-10-27T08:26:00.000-07:00

This has been a busy summer filled with life and work changes one of which entailed moving to a different hospital. Near the end of the summer, my partner and I went for an overnight camping/canoe trip to the Severn Conservation Area. I haven’t camped in almost 15 years, so this experience was one I will remember for a long time. I was able to re-charge and do some much needed soul-searching while we enjoyed a weekend of exploration and discovery in this beautiful region.

This protected area encompasses approximately 10,000 hectares filled with vascular plant species, some nationally and provincially rare. The Severn River Conservation Reserve is reputed to contain the largest “continuous area of Precambrian bedrock in the world” (OMNR 2008).

We paddled approximately six kilometres and crossed many portages before reaching our destination for the night.

As you can see, this region provides a mixed range of bogs and wetlands; numerous small lakes and mixed deciduous and coniferous forest complexes.

Beaver dam onto outflow of Hart Lake.

We found a wonderful island to set up camp. Although it was the second week of September, I came across this green frog sunning itself at the water’s edge.

The next morning we woke to brilliant sunshine and a heavy mist, the results of which were quite stunning. The weather was unseasonably warm, as we enjoyed an early morning canoe; the scenery and the stillness.

Slow Growth

2009-07-19T15:09:00.000-07:00

This summer has been unusually cold with the temperature dropping as low as 7 degrees celcius at night, so growth has been slow. As a layman, I have noticed a dramatic decline in the butterfly and bee population. The number of white admirals, pink ladies and monarch butterflies seems to have decreased from previous summers. I’m not certain if this is due to dwindling habitat, change in weather patterns or other factors.

It is of note that the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is on the species at risk list of Ontario. For more information please see
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_080230_e.htm

The Ruby Throated hummingbirds however, appear to continue their migratory patterns and we have the usual two to three pairs fighting over the hummingbird feeder. They also enjoy the nectar of the various garden flowers, especially the foxglove and lilies.

Both the males and females like to perch on the “weather” stick which is placed a few feet below the feeder. From there they keep a watchful eye on whoever invades their “space” and then an air battle ensues. It is an amazing show to watch as they navigate feeding and dodging each airborne assault.

The pencil sketches are a result of happy observations of these amazing and at times ferocious little birds.

Below is a small watercolour of the Ruby Throated female hummingbird with Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

Watercolour sketch Foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea)

Springtime

2009-06-13T22:12:00.000-07:00

This is the time of year that I have long waited for. Birds are busy nesting, the spring peepers fill the night air with their intense trill and everywhere life is teaming. Every spare minute I have, you can find me in my garden. I love the earthy pungent aroma of the soil as it warms up, the feel of lush vegetation between my fingers. When I’m stressed from work, the garden is my haven, my safe place...

This spring has been rather cool and slow to start, and I’m hoping for warmer weather soon. I have been trying to baby along a Rose of Sharon bush that I hope will come back but so far is not looking too hopeful. Now my fireweed is starting to look rather limp.

We have had our usual occupants, snowshoe hares that have shed their winter coats, woodcocks and a pair of ruffed grouse which gave a wonderful display of mating rituals. Butterflies and dragonflies have made their way back and of course, our welcomed friends the hummingbirds.

There have been two to three pairs that have resided here and shared a hummingbird feeder for the past few summers. Many mornings I have found them fluffed up like golf balls trying to keep warm due to the cold dip in temperature.

I enjoy watching for the return of the various birds and insect life each spring. I am planning on attending a science forum in Buckhorn and will relay my findings....

Switching Gears

2009-05-27T10:32:00.000-07:00

I have been spending time looking at other blogs to help me along in my blogging journey. As I stated in my profile, I have been slow in my blog posting.

Originally I thought about focusing on paintings and poetry, but not everyone is interested in looking at just artwork or the latter. So I’ll begin by talking a little more about myself.

I was born in Trinidad, (my parents resided there for a short time) and then we moved to Winnipeg where my siblings were born. My mother is from Jamaica and my father from Saskatchewan; but that’s another story.

I guess I’d describe myself as someone who “marches to the beat of my own drum”.

Ever since I can remember, I have been enthralled by the natural world, and spent many happy hours like most toddlers in sand and water, and other various modes of mucky amusement. I was fortunate to be able to spend my formative years in a wonderful climate where my insatiable curiosity could be satisfied.

When we moved back to Jamaica after my brother and sister were born, we spent many hours playing in an irrigation canal, catching lizards, frogs, toads and butterflies. I spent hours rigging up a rudimentary bird trap which included a box, string and stick and waited patiently for the hapless creatures to fall into my juvenile clutches.

I remember countless hours chasing quail while we visited with friends and relatives, swimming in the duck pond and watching the graceful swans at the Royal Botanical Hope Gardens. It is this early exposure to the natural world that I believe helped to fuel my love for the subjects that I paint.

That’s it in a nutshell for now. I’d like to take credit for these wonderful pictures but truth be told they were taken by my Mom and Dad.

Sehnsucht

2008-10-17T18:50:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the long hiatus. Life has a way of catching one unaware. I have been thinking a lot lately of the phenomena of Sehnsucht. It is a German word that depicts longing, a yearning that we may not always be aware of. This can be a longing for a place such as ‘homesickness’, or a particular feeling, or person. A very dear friend of mine wrote a paper on this subject stating that Sehnsucht could be described as a longing, searching for that which is absent or seems unattainable.
Qualities to remember with the premise of Sehnsucht is, a desire for that which is absent, searching but never finding, a longing that cannot be filled in the temporal world, thus leaving a sense of the bittersweet.
For those of you that are interested in a fairly detailed account, check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sehnsucht

Exuberance
Come to me on the sweet morning light
drink of my nectar
as the fresh dew
on the ground
find repose in my arms
as the dawn’s first rays
break across
darkened sky
Can you hear the breeze
as it sighs through the trees
it is I your love
your desire calling to you
spurring you on
Continue to seek
do not give up your search
fan your ardour
hope for me through arid days of
toil and barrenness
continue to thirst
do not grow faint

I am there
though elusive
always within
arms reach
Sharpen your senses
listen with earnestness
for my lilting song
stay ever hopeful
you’ll find me
at last

your roaming will
eventually come to an end
and your
empty heart
will be filled
again.

Glimmer
Can it be possible that my life has kick started into living?
To actually experience something akin to joy?
I hardly recognize it, seems like so long ago
since I've woken up, feeling glad to be alive
tentatively hopeful,
expectant and curious

Solitude
Ah, she cried out I am wasting
with my wanting
I cannot bear to be alone any longer
when I am ill who is there
to cool my head, hold my hair?
When I despair who envelops me
and comforts me?
In those dark sleepless hours
in the middle of the night
who hears my weeping?
Who wipes away my tears?

Hold fast dear one –
does not the dawn herald hope for a new day?
Look at your garden
bursting with life and color
birds find a haven amongst the foliage

sweet scents encircle you
a warm breeze caresses you
who can resist the cheerful song of the robin
announcing the day or calling for rain?

The busy chirping of the sparrow as she
flits from leaf to leaf.
Ah, so much beauty surrounds you
the opening bud of the climbing white rose
the abundant lilies.

In the middle of the night
the moon is there to shed her soft light
to illuminate the fireflies
remember,
things are not as they seem
continue to live life with the breath
of expectation and you will
not be disappointed।

Water Montage

2008-07-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

Ever since I can remember water has been an important part of my life. Every summer we traveled up to Muskoka to cottage on Lake Rosseau.

I remember the sharp aroma of salt water and the sounds of ocean swells in Jamaica as a young girl. Much of my inner creative work has been accomplished by the water.

Comprehending the Incomprehensible

The water is still
like glass
I slice into it
the cold pierces
like a dagger
razor sharp this place
once a mystery - unknown
grows more familiar each time
I visit

Repeated meetings increase knowledge
much like circumventing
the frontier of a relationship
hidden places
reveal the exquisite
to be handled with
the greatest care
and sanctity
yet, the familiar
still contains its mystery
for whatever is known
holds uncharted places
unexplored
and fathomless.

© Eleanor Thorel 2007

Examining the Hidden and the Delicate

2008-06-16T16:56:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed when observing a butterfly’s torn wing that it

continues to go about its business of flying and collecting nectar? Its damaged wing does not deter it from carrying out its purpose.

All of us have narratives to tell. No matter our pain and how we handle it, we continue to press on, more often than not evoking courage and growth. When we are willing to look beyond the obvious, there is no limit to finding meaning..

“Something opens our wings.
Something makes boredom and hurt disappear.
Someone fills the cup in front of us.
We taste only sacredness.”

- Rumi

Flight

2008-06-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

I’ve always had an insatiable curiosity which would lead to the inevitable question “why”? As I explored through my art, what makes things tick, I took to studying birds and spent a lot of time at the Royal Ontario Museum.

The Ornithology Department kindly let me sign out bird specimens which I blithely took home in various boxes.

I remember one such amusing incident when I was traveling via bus back to Muskoka, and a well meaning seat mate wondered what was in the very large box set on my lap. She rambled through various possibilities, new outfit, presents for family, etc. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her that in fact it was a snow goose specimen. I could visualize her abject horror had I opened the box to satisfy her curiosity. I imagine she would have found another seat!

Painting Journey

2008-06-10T18:09:00.000-07:00

I mentioned that I have found expression through my artwork. I have a love for beauty and am drawn to the obscure and the unique.

I’m not certain if this might not have a little to do with my roots, which I’m still discovering. I am an island girl born in Trinidad, spent my early years in Jamaica, but have resided most of my life in Ontario. Posted here are some examples of my work.

These three pieces depict my affinity for nature and its hidden aspects. The delicate is not always as frail as it may appear.