finally - some new wallets in my etsy shop.

how i spent my day

decidedly less exciting than bees.

covered in beees!

my mom called me in a panic just before dinner, telling me that there were thousands and thousands of hairy wasps or bees weighing down a tree branch.  she was so excited about it, that i went right over - it's not the kind of things you see everyday.

we figured out that they were indeed honeybees, and so we called Dave's Apiary down the road, and sure enough he was missing a swarm.  he explained that they usually swarm in the spring, about may when the weather warms up, but because it had been so cool, and then warm today, they were a little confused.  anyway, he was glad to hear from us, as he had tried to follow them when they swarmed, but lost them.

he brought out a bee box, and then picked the branch up and shook it into the box [we were amazed!] hoping to get the queen in there, so that the workers would follow.

they did, and he went home 'til dusk, when he said that he;d be back to collect them once they'd calmed down.  we asked him about the fact that he wasn't wearing any protective gear, and he told us that when bees prepare to swarm, they gorge on honey, and then they are so full that they can't bend, and they need to be able to bend to sting you.

the tree branch, relieved of about 20,000 bees, according to Dave.

we watched them all crawling in, there were just so many.

and here is a link to the eddie izzard bit about beekeepers:

"covered in beeees!"

the fruits [and vegetables] of my labour

thank goodness for the patch of sun this morning - i got to expose my screen and see the jars in print.  it took an extraordinarily long time to draw all of the pickled eggs, pickled onions, preserved pears and peaches and, well, pickles.

edit: i'm not sure why blogger is making the aqua and green all fuzzy. does anyone know?

if you click on the first image, you can see it properly.

raspberry pint

raspberries are my favorite - i hated them when i was younger because i thought they were 'hairy'. then  had some at the halifax farmer's market, and now i regularly will eat the entire pint and go back for more.

i love how the colours perfectly match the print i got from jason cantoro at the toronto outdoor art show - they are cmyk process prints, with multiple layers of patterning, just gorgeous.

all of my patterns are hand drawn, and most are inspired by my surroundings - in this case the nasturtiums in our garden.  here is a peek at something Arounna and i are working on: we will soon be selling our hand printed fabrics and notions fro you to make into wonderful things.

my first pattern - nasturtiums.  that's what all the new screens are for - all the new patterns.  we'll let you know when we're ready to start selling.

the days that supplies arrive are some of the most exciting days in the studio - above are new screens, and a new, tiny four inch squeegee for printing small images.

shop update

pillows [cushions?] have been added to the shop, made of an organic linen and a cotton/linen blend.


also teatowel sets, made of a hemp/organic cotton blend.  finally!  i am getting more confident with my product photo abilities, something that always baffles me with the length of time it takes.

we - and by we i mean ted, mostly - have been working on getting some of my new items up in the shop.  above is an embargo cap, and below are the sailor pants.  both are made of organic linen with hand dyed and screenprinted details.

giveaway

arounna is doing a wonderful giveaway - you have until 11 p.m. tonight to enter.

sunday

  there are a great many days i wish i was one of these two, and a cloudy, cool sunday is definitely one of them. 

 a little blurry - i was laughing.

ted had some truly beautiful cards printed up by Tanya over at snap & tumble.  i had been admiring her work on etsy for a little while, due to my slight obsession with letterpress and searching out printers here in canada.  i then met Tanya at a trunk show at the workroom.

 

i don't think i captured the beauty of the letterpressing she's done, but you can see her much more capable photos over on her blog

oh, and the rabbits from earlier in the spring? they made tiny, cute bunnies! this little guy would fit nicely in my hand, if i could catch him.

i lucked out at a second hand shop with my mom the other day - she found this fantastic wallpaper, two full rolls of hand-printed and flocked bamboo patterned wallpaper!

the label was peeling off, so i carefully removed it and put it in a safe place so that i wouldn't lose it, and of course that 'safe place' is alluding me now.  i do remember that is was manufactured in canada.

i hope that you can see the flocking - it s wonderfully fuzzy.  now all we need is a house with a small room to wallpaper, as i don't want to waste it on this rental flat, and i think the landlord would object since the entire house, inside and out, is painted beige.

also - there was an article in the saturday National Post about the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, and my work is mentioned in it. if anybody has a copy, i'd love to have it.  i'll even send you a present for your troubles!

i've returned home from toronto outdoor art - spent a wonderful weekend staying with friends michelle and the bookhou family, thanks to all for the hospitality!  and a thanks as well to the many friends who visited, it was great to talk to you all.

 

 as usual, i had very little time to run around and see the show myself, the only downfall of participating!  on the last day of the show, my good friend Naomi Clement [you will see her wonderful pottery at cabbagetown this september] discovered Deborah Freeman.  Naomi and i are friends from nscad, where we were in ceramics together.  Deborah fires her work in atmospheric  kilns, using wood and soda ash to add to the glaze on the work.  i miss ceramics very much sometimes, and especially the wonder of opening up an atmospheric kiln to see the somewhat unpredictable results.  i bought the little collection above, my favorite being the ewer with funnel.

i also got my hands on one of arounna and john's wonderful new alphabets, which are even nicer in person than the in the photos.

 

jenna greenberg of jenna rose is making teatowels now, so i picked up this lovely pair in a cotton/linen blend.

psst, jenna!  permaopaque markers are now available in finepoint - you can get them in guelph at wyndham art supplies!  thanks to cara for the finding them for me.

i'm in toronto for the outdoor art exhibition this weekend - stop by booth pink 100 and say hello.

i am using a wonderful organic linen in my new work, combining it with my hand dyed and screenprinted fabrics for bursts of colour. these are my new caps, that i finished sewing yesterday.  four colours, three sizes, with a small bit of elastic in the back for fit.

as i've mentioned before, i listen to cbc radio one continuously throughout the day.  jian ghomeshi hosts a program called 'q', and today they spoke about the portrayal of women and girls in animated films as always a princess.  i then found this photo project by vancouver photographer dina goldstein.

not such a good week for ceramics

life lesson #1 : be patient.  don't pour boiling hot water into an earthenware mug without warming it up first. mug by martina lantin.

life lesson #2 : fix small problems before they turn into big ones.  like the curtain rod that doesn't sit securely in it's cups, and always falls when the curtains are adjusted. mug by kyla francis.