Alberta Flood Rose Project - Please check it out!

For one more example of great community spirit, check out the Alberta Flood Rose Project. My thanks to those who thought up this fundraiser and are making it happen. It is wonderful to have another way to help out.

Shortly after the flood, a call was fanned out to local artists to submit 4X4" paintings of wild roses that will be combined into larger groups for auction. Last I heard, 440 Artists are participating. Here's my take on a wild rose. I strongly recommend taking a browse through the gallery on the site above - the variation and creativity is lovely to see.

Local Flooding: Motivation and Escape

After the Rain

It is hard to believe that it is just over a month since the Floods in Alberta. I was personally very fortunate - our home escaped flood damage. We were stranded for a few days and did not have power or telephone which was an interesting experience, although tense at the time. It has been a time of sadness - seeing the loss in our community - but also a time for renewed faith in human nature - the volunteerism and community resilience has been staggering. 

A Flood of Sunflowers # 2

A cancelled trip and need to stay close to home got me into my studio. String gel painting seemed most appropriate; drizzling the paint forces you to let go of the things you can't control - a lot like everything else that is going on. I had been planning to work on some more pieces and had the supplies. As Poirot would say: means, motive, and opportunity! 

Here are some of the flood inspired pieces that have kept me sane over the last month.

A Flood of Poppies # 2

A Flood of Sunflowers # 1

Needle-felt Stampede

YAHOO!!! A few of the Creektures and I headed down to the Calgary Stampede on the 14th of July. We went to demonstrate some interesting uses of wool for the Sheep Creek Weavers, a very fun guild that I recently joined. Here are Cyril and Edmund taking a well deserved rest outside the "Celebrate the Guilds" Cabin in the Western Showcase. There was a lot of grumbling coming from my backpack travelling on the C-train and going into the grounds, but fortunately nobody stopped us and we were all able to sneak in with one pass.

I am still totally amazed that the show went on come Hell or High Water. What resilience this city has. The grounds looked wonderful given they were under water not long ago. 

Needle-felt Kitty

A while back my brother had a great idea - that my niece might appreciate an "easier to care for" version of her kitty that did not leave home when she did. So came to be Bandit II. It was quite the challenge keeping him realistic and not letting myself go with doing goofy things like a large nose or enormous feet. However, the original is odd enough. He is one of those polydactyl cats with extra toes and claws - as if he couldn't do enough harm without them. It seems to me that he could easily be a reincarnated boxer or gangster type ... if I believed in such things!

Most Unusual Needle-felt Request Ever

Apologies for the pause since the last post - it has been an interesting time dealing with local flooding but more on that at another time.

I just had to share the most unusual request for needle-felt EVER! A gallery owner who carries my art asked me if I would help her out by repairing a needle felt piece by another artist. Apparently the owner's dog was "tempted" by her felted Nativity Scene last Christmas and chewed Baby Jesus into an unrecognizable tangle of wool (Very Bad Dog! - an art history buff could have a field day with the symbolic interpretation). 

Having had an iconoclastic religious upbringing (long lapsed), it felt oddly bizarre to stick needles in an image of Baby Jesus - kind of a mix of sacrilege and voodoo roiled into one. Regardless, I figure the pooch is at far more risk of immortal retribution; I was just doing restoration! However, I am very happy this came after the floods, otherwise I might have started to wonder. Here is Baby Jesus resting peacefully once again!