welcome

I HOPE YOU ENJOY OUR CREATIONS
AND FIND THE ARTIST IN YOU
AND IN YOUR KIDS RELEASED TO CREATE AND HAVE FUN.

Friday, 14 November 2014

FALL PUMPKINS watercolour


I love the Pumpkin!
Its shape, smell, colour, 
texture,seeds, pumpkin pie,
 pumpkin pickles, pumpkin soup etc.
My Grandmother made the best ever
pumpkin pies for our large New England
Thanksgiving celebrations.
I cannot match her pies and use the 
pumpkin to decorate my table instead.


THE PUMPKIN
by John Greenleaf Whittier
1850

Oh, greenly and fair in the lands of the sun,

The vines of the gourd and the rich melon run,

And the rock and the tree and the cottage enfold,
With broad leaves all greenness and blossoms all gold,
Like that which o’er Nineveh’s prophet once grew,
While he waited to know that his warning was true,
And longed for the storm-cloud, and listened in vain
For the rush of the whirlwind and red fire-rain.

On the banks of the Xenil the dark Spanish maiden
Comes up with the fruit of the tangled vine laden;
And the Creole of Cuba laughs out to behold
Through orange-leaves shining the broad spheres of gold;
Yet with dearer delight from his home in the North,
On the fields of his harvest the Yankee looks forth,
Where crook-necks are coiling and yellow fruit shines,
And the sun of September melts down on his vines.

Ah! on Thanksgiving day, when from East and from West,
From North and from South comes the pilgrim and guest;
When the gray-haired New Englander sees round his board
The old broken links of affection restored;
When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more,
And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before;
What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye,
What calls back the past, like the rich Pumpkin pie?

Oh, fruit loved of boyhood! the old days recalling,
When wood-grapes were purpling and brown nuts were falling!
When wild, ugly faces we carved in its skin,
Glaring out through the dark with a candle within!
When we laughed round the corn-heap, with hearts all in tune,
Our chair a broad pumpkin, — our lantern the moon,
Telling tales of the fairy who travelled like steam
In a pumpkin-shell coach, with two rats for her team!

Then thanks for thy present! none sweeter or better
E’er smoked from an oven or circled a platter!
Fairer hands never wrought at a pastry more fine,
Brighter eyes never watched o’er its baking, than thine!
And the prayer, which my mouth is too full to express,
Swells my heart that thy shadow may never be less,
That the days of thy lot may be lengthened below,


And the fame of thy worth like a pumpkin-vine grow,

And thy life be as sweet, and its last sunset sky

Golden-tinted and fair as thy own Pumpkin pie!

Wednesday, 12 November 2014

Fall Leaves Book-mark




I made these book marks for 
my grandchildren who live
on the other side of the country from me.
Several weeks ago I collected colourful
fall leaves and pressed them between
the pages of a book. Today I painted
on white card-stock, arranging my
now dry pressed leaves over the
painted area. I used a very small 
amount of white glue to hold the
leaves in place. Once dry I covered
the card with clear plastic adhesive followed
by a hole punch and raffia ribbon.
This is a good fall/Thanksgiving craft
that children can easily do with little
supervision. Placing the clear plastic adhesive
however does need an adult's hand.


Tuesday, 11 November 2014

THANKSGIVING TABLE PLACE CARDS


My grandsons helped me to make place
cards for our fall table. We pressed 
colourful fall leaves several weeks
ago. We splattered fall colours onto
card-stock and waited for it to dry.
A minimal amount of white glue is  
all that is needed to hold the now 
dry leaves where we had arranged them. 
The card and leaves are then 
covered by a protective clear
plastic adhesive.
The plates were given to me from my Mom 44 years ago
when I graduated from high school. She bought them
at a popular eclectic warehouse store called
Spags in Worcester Massachusetts. Only
two plates have survived all the 
years and many moves.




Thursday, 6 November 2014

STAINED GLASS watercolour . . . . . . . . Mission Abbey


Imagine my delight when I opened my 
journal, to sketch the stained-glass windows
at the Mission Abbey, to find a complimentary
entry on the opposite page! Given that the
Abbey is part of a large working farm
 I wondered "did the artists get his inspiration
from the corn?"


The Abbey is about an hour from
my home. The sanctuary and most 
of the grounds are generously 
open to the public. This was my 7th trip 
in a year always accompanied by a friend.
The people I have shared the Abbey with
are noted on one of the arches with 
room for more to be added.
Westminster Abbey is located 
in Mission, British Columbia, Canada.

Saint Augustine

photo by M. Bragg

A beautiful birthday card from a good friend.
I wonder where this cathedral dwells? 

Sunday, 2 November 2014

ART CAMP


Once again family and friends gathered
for the day to explore creativity. My good 
friend taught lessons in painting with acrylic.
Everyone was very pleased to receive her
instruction and encouragement enabling 
them to create these beautiful paintings.
Many thanks to my friend, Carine.






We also held a soap-making workshop.



. . . made gingerbread cookies.


This guy is trying to run away!


We had a lesson in bread-making.
Home made bread with my daughter's
home-made jam. . .sooo good.
Thanks Rebecca.



Last but not least some exercises in 
sketching.