Blissful Tuesday

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Music Monday: Music Monday

Here in Canada, on the first Monday in May, we do a little something called 'Music Monday' in promotion of music education.  For the last few years, schools across Canada sing a song at the exact same time.  This year, the song of choice was the collaboration between The Barenaked Ladies and Chris Hadfield, Commander of the International Space Station, and all-around cool dude.

There is seriously no better song indeed.  Enjoy this really cool video!

Five Foto Friday: Spring Flowers

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Thankful Thursday

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The last few weeks have been pretty hectic.  Stressful.  Crazy.  Disappointing.  Empowering.  Sometimes I just want to run away from it all.  The kind of teaching I do is pretty tough, and it's not cut out for everyone.  I used to think I was one of those people.  But now, I am so thankful that I get to work every day with the best team of people in the business of teaching.  Their dedication and passion constantly inspire me to do more and be more.  So instead of running away, I'll just keep running.  

Artful Wednesday: Sunrise Ottoman

Who ever invented Pinterest should be given a castle and a devoted retinue to care for their every whim.  I often wonder what I'd do without it now that it's something I use every day.

This brings me to my latest artistic endeavour - which I've already posted required a group effort from the entire family.  The above picture is the finished product.  It's an ottoman made from a tire, wrapped in jute twine.  Inside the tire are blocks of wood for stability, and something for the legs to be screwed into.  

My piece is going to be featured in the Beyond the Bag exhibition at Art Brulant Impressions, which is now an annual exhibition to celebrate the gallery's anniversary.  There are a few of us Pontiac artists who are contributing, and now that I am getting better acquainted with everyone, it's so much fun to participate in group shows like this.

The Vernissage for the exhibition is on May 4th from 1-4pm.  For any information about the gallery and the show, check out the Art Brulant webpage.

Blissful Tuesday

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Music Monday: Half Moon Run

Sunday Meditations: Upon Group Effort

I had set aside the brush for a bit - mostly because I lacked the motivation to do it.  But, there's an annual exhibition starting next Saturday that I participate in, and I wanted to make a very different kind of contribution.  

The theme of the exhibition is coffee bag art.  Local artists are given a burlap coffee sack, with the simple instructions to "do something."  Last year, I used the burlap to cover canvas, and put it into an old barn window, and painted a sunset scene with a girl in a field.  Shocking, I know.  It was a huge success though, and my first commercial sale.  I was ecstatic.  

I'm sticking with what I know and doing yet another silhouette theme.  But when this is completed, it's going to be more different than anything I've ever created.  It's going to be an ottoman.  The base is made from a small tire covered in jute twine, and legs propping it up.  It's going to be awesome!

And it couldn't have been done without a big contribution from everyone in my family.  My step-dad cut out the circle that got covered in the burlap, and he also gave me the tire.  My brother helped glue the twine, and was sort of the brain child for the concept.  He often plays the brain-child role, oddly enough.  And, of course, not many artistic endeavours get done at my home without the guidance of my mother.  This is the first project that has really taken all four of us to do, and it's kinda to be able to say it was a group effort.

Five Foto Friday: Start the Car

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Blissful Tuesday

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Music Monday: Donovan Woods

Five Foto Friday: Without a Destination in Mind

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Artful Wednesday: Sarah Slean

Yes, you did read the title correctly.  This is not a Music Monday post.  I did, however, recently attend one of Sarah's concerts at my favourite local music hall, and was so pleasantly surprised to see that her artwork was also for sale!  I have known for a while that Sarah Slean paints - she tweeted not that long ago about calling a small set of paints her "travel set," but for some reason, I had never looked into what her art actually looked like!  Silly me!

The first two images in this post are the prints I came home with.  I also had them signed by the most gracious and amazing performer, no, scratch that.  She's just a gracious and amazing human being.  

My brother and I sat in the front row, basically seeing up her nose, and could not believe how dazzling she was.  She looks you in the eye when she performs.  She talks to you as though you're an intelligent listener, not just a body in a seat.  And I believe that's how she paints as well: as though we are intelligent viewers, not just a pair of eyes.

There are many more prints available for sale on her website, which is lovely to look at, let me tell you.  

Blissful Tuesday

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Music Monday: Ian Kelly

My brother and I went to check out the Sarah Slean concert in Burnstown on the weekend, and were pleasantly surprised by this gentleman as the show opener!  He was amazing!  Enjoy!