One World One Heart

One World One Heart

                                                                http://awhimsicalbohemian.typepad.com/a_whimsical_bohemian/2010/12/annoucning-the-fifth-and-final-one-world-one-heart-event-.html    

I would like to introduce myself to new and old blogger friends. I started my blog last year and feel I am still a rookie blogger. There is so much to learn. Five years ago I decided to follow my passion and went to my first Art & soul event. This was the beginning of a ( hopefully) never ending journey to learn painting, working with metal, sculpturing, making books and encaustics. Last year I took my first quilting class and odds and ends of vintage fabrics are added to my collections. I have a weak spot for old, rusty things and somehow they find their way home to my studio. I love to spent time in the country with my border collie Skip and during the winter you will find me on my skis here in Canada. I never can sit still and during the summer months I am out in my garden or I am off with my friend taking photos of old barns and stopping at yard sales.

Inspired by my blogger friends I am thrilled to join Lisa's OWOH to meet new friends. This is my first year participating in this event and I am looking forward to meet new friends from all over the world.

 Each comment will be entered in a draw on February 17th . You will have a chance to win one of my encaustic pieces. I love to work with mixed media material. This piece is on a 9"x9" wooden panel and I used vintage papers and my own drawings for the background. I collect cabinet cards and used the image to do a transfer on wax. The finished piece is covered with resin.

This is my Bohemian Girl wearing a nest hat piece.

" Ambition" noun a strong desire to achieve something

Good luck to everyone and thank you LISA for hosting this event.

48 days until Spring

The big freeze

The feeling to stay at home, close to a stove would have been my wish for this weekend. Ontario had an arctic drop in temperature and I couldn't resist taking a photo from my dashboard on the way skiing.

Never mind the -30C on top of the hill. My son had to train for the next SL race and I decided to take a drive through the country side.

The final cut

fabric journal

Fabric journal with DJPettitt 

I am finishing off my fabric journal. Last year I took a class with djPettitt in Los Gatos. Dj shared so many techniques in this class that every page looked amazing. For my front cover I transfered a Vermeer image of the Girl with a Pearl Earring on fabric, applied a crackle finish took my trusted sewing machine and stitched layers of tissue papers and lace together.

weekend readings

These are two books I picked up on my return trip at Barnes & Noble.

Water-Paper-Paint by Heather Smith Jones has a beautiful blend of unique and fresh techniques with watercolor. I never could get into watercolor and I always preferred acrylics. Reading through the chapters of mark making, dabbing with different materials, opaque washes on dark paper and water etching I can't wait to dig out my Pelican watercolors and start.
The second book , The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin  I started to read in a store here in Toronto. Reading the first chapter was like deja vu, already done- been there. It starts with....I make New Year's resolutions-and usually don't keep them for long. How many times had I resolved to exercise more, eat better, and keep up with my e-mail in-box. This year, though, I was making resolutions in the context of my happiness project...  It's filled with great insights for the search of satisfaction and happiness.

no art - just play

My friend Alice and I decided to take our three very grown up boys skiing to Ellicottville, NY. One car was packed with skies and snowboards , the other car was rocking with heavy beats towards the hills. Upon arrival they had to catch up with the sleep from New Years Eve.

Perfect snow conditions and a great workout.

Waking up and seeing the sun rising.

I am ready for day two!

Here are the four of us, one is sleeping on the chairlift, the other is texting and number five was never to be found. He is a true ski racer and preferred the double black diamond vertical runs. (not me!)

By the way teenagers don't like to be seen with us mom skiing - we are a tad too slow.