Well hello my friends! I recently returned from a rather wonderful 3 days in my favorite place on this earth. The Windermere Valley. Ryan and his parents have an incredible quaint little cabin up there, and I cannot think of a more heavenly place to be.
My time spent over my long weekend was quite full - but refueling too. I was able to visit my favorite gallery there (and the one that happens to represent me)
Black Star Studios which is filled to the absolute brim with incredible and creative art from Alberta/BC artisans and artists. They even have four studio spaces within the gallery, so that you can watch and ask questions while the artists do their thing. Fabulous? I think so. Go visit, or as the girls like to say Get In Here!
They recently said they would carry the line of jewelery that I have been working on with my lovely sister Kim. You should visit
Abigail Gingerale to see what sort of earrings we are making (though below is the newest pair I was able to put together and bring up to Black Star!)
So, pretty exciting right? Well that surely was not all! Did I mention that my dearest friends Sheila and Greg were up at the cabin with me? Along side their pup Ophelia? We got some great photos of Abby and Ophie playing together in the front yard at the cabin. I will post those as soon as I can get them from Sheila. We also spent a lot of time jumping into the lake, on bird watching tours courtesy of my father in law (we saw 8 bald eagles one night!) and hitting some lovely shops.
One of the other important stops that we made was at
The Pynelogs Cultural Centre where we were able to see the work of many talented artists including the work of the lovely
Cajsa Fredin who is a fantastic artist working in metal. I have more than a few pieces on my wish list from her. Did I mention she is also one of the co-owners of Black Star Studios! A quick photo of one of my favorite pieces of hers, stolen from her Metal Arts Guild website linked above:
She has done them in many different sizes and colours, some larger than a foot across! Who would have ever thought that metal could be so feminine! The whole show was fabulous, but it was Cajsa and her work that really took my breath away.
Enough you say? No way! I was also able to catch the open house of
Sandpiper Studio which was a truly fabulous experience. Now I recently talked about Julie Gibb and her work because I was given a piece as a gift. I ADORE it. But as with all of the things I really love - I though it looked lonely. So I bought another.
I absolutely fell in love with the moose piece - and I thought it would be the perfect compliment to my water tower (and the start of what I hope to be a wonderful collection.) Though I was also able to see the incredible Julie Gibb hard at work creating tumblers in her studio. I don't know how many of you have had the ability to peer inside a hot shop to see how glassblowers create their pieces - but let me tell you, its a thing of wonder. The amount of time and care that goes into creating a single simple vase or tumbler is incredible. I have only admiration for the duo that run Sandpiper Studio, and I cannot wait to see what they come up with next!
Finally, I would never visit the cabin without making at least a start on a piece of art. I put gouache and watercolour to work on a gesso printed wooden board. I will be adding the illustration next. What do you think?
Well, I think that is probably more than enough for now! I will post again soon with the finished piece!
