community garden

i don't have a community garden plot. there are plans to expand the number of plots they have and i've got my name on the list. but last evening marilee and i attended a compost bin workshop hosted by simon and katie of the western environment centre. in the beautiful evening sun, we learned how to put together an easy and efficient and inexpensive compost bin. the 3 that the group made are staying at the community garden for communal use. but we all left with a lot more knowledge.

sea silk

with the slanting rays of the setting sun, saturday evening on the beach. collecting kelp to bring back to my garden in town.

i was amazed at how much the kelp -the colours, the texture - reminded me of the silk chiffon i brought back from san fransisco and have been using in my textiles pieces. my world. home and away. coming together.

weekends at the cabin

we spent our first summer weekend at the cabin.

lots of reading and embroidery (a new piece i'm working on). fishing (keith). the capelin rolled, leaving spawn on the beach and the seagulls were wonderfully entertaining all weekend (going after the capelin).

the capelin also brought the minke whales in for a feed. just sitting out on the deck watching the sunset.

we live in a bowl of hills in town and never see a sunset. so this is always a spectacular treat. and bringing back home kelp for the new garden and stones to make a new little path.

the first weekend of many. this is what makes our short summer seem long.

20/20

this is going to be a really fun exhibition. to help celebrate the gallery's 20th anniversary,members of the craft council of newfoundland and labrador were asked to submit work that shows a new direction that their work is going in (forsight instead of hindsight). this piece "where i live" is one of the textile pieces i've been working on over the past few months. (photo by eric walsh)

Happy 20th Birthday, Craft Council Gallery

The Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador invites you to the Opening of the Annual Members' Exhibition

Come join the party! The Craft Council Gallery is celebrating its 20th birthday with a special exhibition.
20/20, the ANNUAL MEMBERS EXHIBITION celebrates the creative vision of the craftspeople of
Newfoundland and Labrador with a wide-ranging display of the finest craft in the province.
Cash awards recognize excellence in design, innovation and personal expression.

OPENING RECEPTION and BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
takes place on
SATURDAY, JUNE 25 from 2 – 4pm
at the Devon House Craft Centre, 59 Duckworth Street, St. John’s
Artists will be present, refreshments will be served and everyone is welcome!

Exhibition continues until September 4, 2011.

~ 30 ~
For further information please contact:

Sharon LeRiche
Gallery Director
Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador
59 Duckworth Street
St. John's, NL A1C 1E6
p: 753-2749
e: gallery@craftcouncil.nl.ca
w: www.craftcouncil.nl.ca


About the Craft Council of Newfoundland & Labrador
The Craft Council is a member-based organization that works to maximize the artistic and economic
potential of the craft community of the province.


VISIT www.craftcouncil.nl.ca and SIGN UP for our monthly newsletter

how to get through these cold days of june

newfoundland has been experiencing a miserable late spring/early summer. very cold (single digit temperatures many days) and wet. so to make the most of these conditions, i've done a few things to cheer myself up.
1. be sure to get out for a walk no matter how awful the weather is. i never regret that i did.
2 bring the garden in. i've continued to bring in cut flowers from the garden to enjoy since i'm not spending time with them outside.
3. i'm drying my fleece in front of the fire while i spin and watch netflix movies.
4. i'm wearing my summer clothes. my sundresses would just be hanging in the closet so i'm pulling them out and wearing them with layers of jeans and sweaters.
5. and although i've yet to wear sandles, i went ahead with my pre-scheduled annual pedicure last week even if i'm the only one who will see my toes.
6.keep faith that it will get better.

the same is different

every day i take the same walk. on three bear mountain off of old hospital hill. it's less than a 10 min. walk from my house and abigail can be off-leash if no-one else is there first (we are usually the only ones especially if the weather is bad). this is a trail that goes through woods and meadows and offers the most spectacular views out the bay and over corner brook. what i love about taking this same walk every day is that i get to notice the changes. winter receding (it's a walk i do on snow-shoes in the winter), spring coming on. new growth on the evergreens.little buds on the deciduous and bushes, in a matter of days, becoming full-grown leaves. trees (dogwood and chokecherry) bursting into blossom. and the wild flowers.tiny violets and buttercups and right now the lupines (like minarets) in all their glory.

solstice

the first day of summer. although here in newfoundland it has been cold (single digit temperatures the past few days) and rainy, the garden is growing on schedule. responding to the longer light.

hostas

after a rainy weekend. my hostas. the trojan warriors of my garden. are bigger than ever.

new waves

i don't go down to the cabin much during the winter. the deep snow slide to the beach. 2 hours to heat it up. carting water because the brook has frozen over. but in the summer it's my 2nd home. yesterday we spent the day at dark cove. and although it was cool, and later in the day it rained (perfect caplin weather). it felt like the first summer day at the cabin.

now grow!

i spent most of yesterday out of doors. i dyed up 5 big pots of fleece (i was going after some hosta greens). and at the same time that my pots were brewing, i was transplanting my tomatoes , cucumbers and zucchini into their final containers in the greenhouse. now, all they have to do is grow...

gleaning

i've always loved this painting by millet. the heat of the day. the quiet of work mixed with the sound of crickets and cicadas.
yesterday i watched a wonderful documentary (on netflix) about gleaning - the history of it (following along after harvest and picking up what was missed). and the present-day gleaners (like dumpster divers). something that is missing in most of our lives...

all done. for now.

i'm working on my last kit/yarn order (for now) and am giving myself more time in the garden each day. yesterday i tackled the gardens in the front yard. we have massive trees (which i love), but because of this, very little grows well. nothing can compete with the roots and lack of sun. but hostas. so every year i pull out more of the straggly bushes i hoped to grow and plant hostas. they are thriving. and at the end of the day, all 6 garden beds are weed free. i don't mind weeding. on my knees. conversing with each plant in turn. an intimate act.

window

the windows in a house are your home's most important feature. it's what let's the outside in. in my house the windows are old. they steam up. they grow mold around the edges. i try to look past them to look out. one of my goals is to replace them all one by one. so the first (in the bathroom) came out yesterday. the new windows lack the character of the old. but they work.

seraphine

when i moved to newfoundland in 1975 (from toronto) what i missed almost most of all were independent and foreign films. all that came to corner brook was the most popular american films. even when video stores opened up, the pickings were slim. but now i have "netflix" and it's movie heaven. lately i've been watching french films while i spin. i loved "seraphine" (enough to be inspired to make a skein in her honour).

listen to your elders

for most of their long history, newfoundlanders have been self-sufficient. the food they ate came from the sea and from the land. what they planted - mostly root crops -had to feed their families for the year. so they knew what they were doing. and one rule was "don't plant until after the full moon in june". of course none of us listen to them anymore. but last night - with the north wind, the clear sky, and the almost full moon, we had a frost warning. and everything that could be moved was brought into the greenhouse or into the house. and everything i'd planted was covered. a lot of work. maybe next year i will listen.

this life i dreamed

yesterday keith and i celebrated 15 years together.
birthdays and anniversaries always make me reflective. when i was young, i had a picture in my head of myself as an old(er) woman. always in a garden. calm and happy. that is my life now. a wonderful home. a beautiful garden. a happy and healthy family. a creative livelihood. and a good man who is loving and supportive.

i see it now

last fall, looking out of my studio window, i discovered that there was an apple tree in my backyard. because i saw an apple. this is a neglected area of the yard. damp and overgrown. so it seems impossible that an apple tree is growing. this year i'm watching it closely. pruning away some of the tangle of foliage around it. and enjoying the blossoms.

rhubarb. and more rhubarb.

i always think i want rhubarb and then when i have it i don't know what to do with it. whatever i do, it requires a lot of sweetener to make it palatable. i don't eat a lot of sweets so this is my annual spring indulgence. and at least it's local. soo...yesterday, with the rhubarb marilee gave me, and with my own new little patch, i baked muffins (and gave most of them away), stewed a batch to bottle (the addition of cinnamon made it Delicious and i was able to cut down on the sugar). and then froze the rest. and then of course spun up a skein of "rhubarb" yarn.here is the new muffin recipe. really good!

ORANGE RHUBARB MUFFINS
2 c flour
3/4 c sugar
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
3/4 c chopped pecans
1 large egg
1/4 c vegetable oil
2 t grated orange peel
3/4 c. orange juice
1 1/4 c rhubarb, finely chopped
combine all dry ingredients. beat egg and oil; add orange juice. add to flour mixture. add rhubarb. bake 350F for 25 min.