Dapper Dapples

This week's Ebay listings include a Dapple Gray horse, with an explanation about how I love them & envision Christmas scenes, rocking horses & hobby horses, all as Dapple Grays. In September, on a drive through the country, I hollered 'WHOA' to Brian, jumped out of the car, climbed down a ditch & up a hill to capture this wonderful fella. Now that's a horse!

Halfy Birthday, Gibby

It seems that it was just minutes ago that I was writing about the magical summer evening when our precious grandson came into our lives. Six months have passed in the blink of an eye. We always celebrated our children's 'Half' birthday - with a cake & candles, singing 'Halfy Birthday to you'. Three quarters of our crew were born within 9 days of each other (on the calendar) in the Christmas season. There was an abundance of celebration all at once & then nothing for a long stretch, so HALFY BIRTHDAYS came to be. The tradition has continued with the grandchildren - so in keeping with that ... 'HALFY BIRTHDAY TO GIBSON!'

Ebaying

The three pieces that end on Sunday.

FINALLY, I have got some pieces from the 'Chrismas '08' Series from The Edenwood Collection, on Ebay. It's going to be the shortest season in history! I listed three things on Sunday & will only be able to do it for the next two Sundays, or there won't be time for it to arrive before Christmas. I wonder what happened to my thought last year - that I would have my act together for '08 and start in September. It's really too bad, because I absolutely LOVE creating Christmas pieces and love even more, the wonderful folks that I get to connect with through Ebay.

In the Spirit

The show was aptly named - we were 'In the Spirit' indeed. The Spirit of fun & friendship & creativity. And actually the Spirit of the Season too, with the fact that winter decided to come.

But in spite of the nasty weather - rain, rain & then snow & the fact that we were way out in the middle of no where - we had a wonderful turnout. We were pleasantly busy the entire time.

It was such a great place to spend the weekend - hanging out with creative & fun women, visiting with all the enthusiastic and adventuresome people who came out to see us. It definitely was the first ANNUAL.

Show Weekend

We're half way through the 'In the Spirit' Show - enjoying every minute! It's great fun hanging out with talented, creative women and visiting with the wonderful people who have come out on the cold, gray November day.

The Party's Over ... Back to WORK!

It would almost seem like I had taken six months off. Indeed, I have, in terms of productivity of tangible creations - but I haven't exactly been sitting around watching the grass grow. And grow. And grow this season, of eternal spring. (As in the grass in our pastures staying fresh & spring-like, vibrant green right up til now.)

In the six months, I have made three trips to Newfoundland, worked on two concerts, two major parties and am still in the midst of the Artisan Show next weekend.

In between, I am starting to work on some figures, while a few hundred other ideas swirl around in my head. One week left to pull some of these guys together. I've missed being in my Studio - it feels good to be back. It feels good to play with colour & texture, to lose myself in a process, to watch some of the seeds that have been lying dormant, come to life.

I played a little too long this year & am off track with my Ebay creations. After next weekend, when the show is over, that is the Mission. Can't wait!

Creative Juices Flowing

Two things that I know this morning - summer is definitely over and my creative juices have started flowing - FINALLY. Finally for the juices, not so good about the summer.

I know, because when i awoke at 5 am, with a zillion things running through my mind, I didn't quiet them down and go back to sleep. I got up - excited and anxious to start acting on them.

Nothing I love more than a 'New Mission'. Anna and I have been putting together the idea of an Art Show in Avonbank. Last night we had our first meeting at the venue with two of the artists. The enthusiasm was the tonic that i so badly needed to shift myself out of vacation mode - which was the state of my mind, not my reality - and into 'I can't wait to get at this!' I LOVE that feeling of inspiration and passion.

Feels SO good to be back!

Genes

My new grandson is named after a guitar. He is surrounded in his room, by numerous guitars hanging on the wall. My fingers are crossed that he'll will have inherited some musical ability from his father. Sadly, there's not a single speck of it to be found in our entire family. I'm not offending my spawn, it's just a true fact.

They also, unfortunately, missed out on the athletic gene. They certainly participated in every sport going, but we didn't have to re-finance the house to help them become professional athletes. Actually, Brian often commented on how much money we saved because they weren't so inclined. My other two grandchildren have most definitely got a good portion of the that from their Dad. As I watch Scotty zip around the soccer field or hockey rink, moving so gracefully and QUICKLY, I am frankly surprised that he's related to me. I've actually had people laugh when they see me run. Lauren, I suspect, will be a dancer - something else that we don't seem to excel at.

Thinking about the genes that our children missed out on, I was reviewing the ones that they do have.They all have one that definitely serves them well - in living in this family and in life in general ... a sense of humour.

I believe our grandchildren are another shot at getting to experience things that you didn't yourself, or with your own children. I'm looking forward to the day, sitting in my own kitchen, that our little Gibson pulls out his guitar & says 'Hey Nan, let's sing!'.

Enchanted Summer Night

The wonderful Artist group that I belong to (American Holiday Artist Ornaments), had a neat challenge that I had intended to participate in this month, entitled 'Enchanted Summer Nights'. The deadline for listing the creations was tonight. I was so close to being finished - but alas, I was hijacked by my own 'Enchanted Summer Night'.

We had the most magical and moving evening last night at the Little Church, just down the road from us. A favourite classical musical duo - 'Cow & Sow', turned the simple little building into a concert hall, filling it with beautiful & inspiring music.

Meanwhile, Ashley & Andy's baby - our third grandbabe, was due the previous day. For months, Ashley has been under the instructions 'No baby between 5 pm & 11 pm on May 30th, but after that ... go for it!' Well, true to the thoughtful & considerate daughter that she has always been, she headed to the hospital about 10 pm.

The evening had turned warm and beautiful - sultry after the rain we'd had. It felt like the type of July night that I love so much - the kind where the air is so thick that it hangs like moss in live oak trees; where it feels like a blanket has been quietly slipped over the night, softening and hushing the sounds of the busy world. The kind that makes me want to stay up all night, trying to soak it in deep enough to feed my spirit in the depths of the long winter. For me, with my 'southern soul', that is an enchanted summer night. The weather has been so unseasonably chilly lately that it seems like summer will never come. It was a particularly pleasant and welcome surprise to walk out into that weather and feeling in the middle of a spring night, a gift on a very memorable evening.

Jaime was just finishing up her shift at the hospital. Alyssa & I met her there and we had our own little 'labour party' vigil. There was none of the usual hustle & bustle that fills the corridors during the other two thirds of the day. In fact, it was surreal - like we were cocooned in our own private world; as if the magic of the night outside had been transported into that normally austere and clincial space - the hushed shroud of a sultry night dropped over the entire building. There was not a single soul around, just the three of us sending our energy and positive thoughts across the deserted halls of the hospital, to the woman of our clan who was busy working on a miracle.

And indeed, as the curtain rose from that enchanted night and life resumed as the hospital filled with the sounds of an ordinary day, the miracle occured. A beautiful new soul arrived. The miraculous and wonderous moment when our hearts open wider and fill that space with the love, joy and dreams of a cherished and treasured new life - a precious baby boy.

'Gibson Brian Daniel' 7:13 am, Saturday, May 31st, 2008

Return from The Rock

A big berg pulled up right behind our place.

This technically isn't an iceberg that came right up to the Studio, but it's a pretty blue!

This one is at Sleepy Cove on Twillingate Island - where the old copper mines were.

Another season is upon us already. We're always sad to leave Newfoundland in the fall, but time passes so quickly, when we do get back there in the spring, it seems like it was just a long weekend that we were away.

The pilot on the little plane we flew in on, said that there are 50 times more icebergs around this year than last - and last year was awesome. Sure enough, there were dozens of massive ones - lots in our own 'backyard'. They are such an amazing thing - changing constantly as the power of the sea sculpts and reshapes them. The same berg can be totally different as pieces break or it flips right over when the weight changes. This year I got to see one with a hole, with the waves crashing through it.

The colour is remarkable and unique too. Some are stark white and some are the most beautiful aqua blue that you can ever imagine. Brian says that he'd like to duplicate the colour for a vehicle, but I don't believe that it would be possible to come up with something even close to the crispness and purity of that colour.