For The Love of A Lake

Lake Superior is the most beautiful lake I've ever experienced...hands down...enough said!  

It has the ability to be calm and serene but within a short period of time the waves are crashing in on the beach with such incredible force and energy it will take your breath away.   I will never tire of watching the beauty of that water and it's unpredictability. There is a feeling of aliveness that overcomes you just being there in that space. 

I did a lot of drawing while sitting on the beach as the skies were absolutely incredible ... it continues to remind me of how small I really am in the scope of things....makes you grateful...makes you humbled.

There was a crazy amount of blueberries this year.  We had them all around the camp (fyi...people in northern ontario call their cottage a camp...took me years to get used to this but think I've come around now) just pick em and eat em.

John's mom, Ruth,  served us the most amazing meal on our last night there right out on the deck overlooking the lake. Such attention to detail ....it was the most gorgeous setting for a dinner.

And even though I am not physically there today .... this place continues to live in my memories, my heart and my soul.

Home

So I'm back from Lake Superior ... wonderful trip ...catching up on laundry....more details and pics to follow.

Loving Summer

         The joys of summer and we've been taking full advantage with family, friends and food.

Superior's Beauty

With all this talk I've been doing lately about spring, I honestly think I'm jinxing it.  Took the Zen bike out again yesterday and made it around the block still wearing my winter coat and gloves.... kind of crazy but I'm in spring mode and I'm not going back.

With that in mind, I thought I'd share a bit more of the majestic beauty of summer on Lake Superior.  A majority of the inspiration for my work comes from this part of the world............

Yes, that's me!

Dreaming of Superior

On yet another day in which the snow is gently falling.....I am off in my mind dreaming of 

Lake Superior.... 

and 

warmth and sunshine

So I haven't posted anything for awhile since I haven't had any new work to share.  Oh I've been in the studio but not producing all that much since it looks like a hurricane swept through and it's just so damn difficult to work in a messy space.  Today all that will change... I wonder how many posts I've spent going on and on about how messy my studio is and how I'm going in to clean it up.... definitely a pattern going on here.

After all the dreaded housework sorts itself out I'm determined to spend at least four hours getting things together.  Other than that all is well but I'm missing sitting on the beach today watching the waves come in off Lake Superior

Lake Superior Dreaming

Inspiration calls ............

Another Day.........

So another stressful day has passed while I've been in the office and NOT in the studio......do I sound bitter??? Anyway I'm hoping to post much more than I have been once my gig there is over.



This little guy followed me everywhere when we were up on Superior. It's obvious someone has been feeding him on a regular basis as he's quite tame. At the time I was reading the Jackson Pollock bio so I nicknamed him Jackson. He came when I called his name but I think it was the sunflower seeds and not me he was most happy to see.



Wish I had some new work to post as I've been working on some pieces I'm really pleased with but have had no time to finish them up.........soon.

Superior Sunset

One night just as the sun was getting ready to set, Sierah and I decided to take a walk on the beach. Taking in the beauty of the sky never fails to put my life in perspective. When I stand on the beach with the sky and the water stretched out before me it makes me feel as if anything in my life is possible if I remain brave enough to embrace it.

I'm Back.......Kind Of.........

Arrived home last night after a wonderfully inspiring trip which I'll talk about a bit later this week as well as post photos. The vacation was about the wettest and coolest I can remember. We had one full day of sun on the Friday but that was about it. Today rather than catch up on all I needed to do, I worked in the office. John was shorthanded so I'll be there tomorrow, Friday and most of next week. Yes, it sucks seeing that I have so much to do right now but today after gathering up the mail I came across a nice big fat cheque from the Silverbridge Gallery as they have "thankfully" been selling my work while I've been away. That makes me even more determined to get into the studio and start working again. Perhaps I'll head in tonight and burn the midnight oil................then again I do have to catch up on all the taped episodes of "So You Think You Can Dance" that I've missed.

Lake Superior Bound

Me

Tomorrow we are headed north. I've gathered together all the essentials......sketchbook, camera, pencils, erasers, some watercolour pencils and I'm all set. I derive unlimited amounts of inspiration from walking the shores of Superior. It is an unbelievable place to visit.



And speaking of beautiful, I heard this song last week at the end of an episode of Nurse Jackie (which is now one of my favs) and couldn't get it out of my head until I found out who sang it. Two words, the phenomenal Patty Griffin........sorry about the cheesy video but I couldn't find it on you tube any other way.


See you in two weeks

Back At It.........For Now

And The Night Lingered On

Work in paint, thread, wool & silk on canvas

8"x24"

So today I'm finally back in the studio after a week that can only be described as exhausting.

Any week in which I don't have the time or the inclination to create art is, at the very least, a sad week. So I'm kicking around finishing up things until Thursday at which time we leave for the lake. Yes, time to head up to Superior for a bit of sun and sand although I've heard their weather has been somewhat like here.....rainy and cool. I don't care as I'm planning on doing a lot of sketching as well as working on my artist statement and trying to seriously come up with a good marketing plan. I don't think I've been putting everything I've got into what I'm doing and I'm aware that a change is coming. Being north will be a great time to sort things out and find the clarity I'm so sorely lacking these days.

On Saturday I visited the library and took out the bio of Jackson Pollock. It will be one I'll savour while I'm away. I saw the movie with Ed Harris a couple weeks ago and enjoyed it enough to want to find out more about his life and his art. Right after that I read Tracy Helgeson's blog about her much anticipated trip to the Pollock/Krasner house/studio in the Hamptons. She's due to blog about it today so I can't wait to check in.

On Vacation...........again!

Feels like I just got home from New York and today we head off to the Grand Cayman Islands. Wow, sounds like I'm quite the world traveller doesn't it? Well, I'm really not. Just happens that this summer has been unbelievably busy for us which is unusual to say the least. Most summers we just head up to our little cottage on the shores of Superior and laze around. But John has a business/personal event scheduled in the Grand Caymans so off we go.

When I get home I really have to give some serious thought to how better to utilize the space in my studio. It is not a happy place at the moment. Some of my older work is just taking up too much room and may have to go. Where? Not sure. I may post it on this blog and see what happens or maybe Etsy. Actually I do have some new smaller matted pieces that I'm going to put up when I get back. Thanks Liane for your email asking about that. It doesn't help to have a blog that talks about Daily Paintings in Paint & Thread when you don't ever post any. Not enough time I guess.........that will be my excuse.

Hope your all well and enjoying what is officially the last month of summer for us here in Canada. Oh, it does pain me to say that............ See ya next week.

Getting Ready for The In Laws

This little guy is a neighbour of my in laws who live on Lake Superior. He makes his home just beneath a rock in their front yard. He is oh so very tame and allows you to come quite close before he makes a dash for his hole.........I call it a condo since from looking at him he seems to be living in the lap of luxury.

Speaking of my in laws, they arrive tomorrow at noon which makes me quite anxious as my house is a complete mess. This is the day in which I freak out and turn into Molly Maid. When I look around, I try not to, I truthfully don't know where to start. Should I wash the kitchen floor, how about vaccumming the cat hair off the couch, the bathrooms need to be cleaned and I still have groceries to pick up.

Having other people stay with you forces you to clean out those drawers that continue to get everything stuffed into them. You know the ones with the old flyers, empty gum wrappers, tops of old tupperware that have no bottoms.... that junk. Now I may not notice it all that often because I'm used to seeing it but when guests arrive it is a whole other ball game. They will be opening all those lovely cupboards and drawers where I hide my lack of organization. I have this cupboard beneath my stove top where I stash all my pots and pans. It is very disorganized but to my credit, I have children. Everytime you pull out one pot, about three others, that someone (teenagers) has stacked on top, fall on the floor in a loud clank. Rather embarrasing when your having a dinner party. Did I say I had teenagers? Don't get me wrong, my in laws are the easiest people in the world. They would never expect me to do anything at all in preparation for their visit. This is just all of my "crazy stuff".

I wish I were more like my father in law, he is the ultimate in organized. The last time he was here he cleaned out my entire car complete with vaccuming. It looked like the day I bought it. Won't he be in for a pleasant surprise when he arrives only to see it has reverted back to it's old self. Both girls are out this morning so I can't saddle them with any of the chores. Weren't they smart to make other plans for today?

Back to that chipmunk.... I bet his condo is spotless. All those peanuts lined up nice and neat in a row but then again I bet he doesn't share his home with teenagers.

Digging Out

Well we received another whollop of winter last night......just when you were thinking that spring was 12 days away.. But the morning brought with it some much needed sunshine which sure felt good. Thankfully John's friend Les lent us his snow blower this winter or I have no idea what we would have done. I can't remember a winter in which we've received more snow than this one.

Speaking of digging out..... here is a UTube video that was posted by Larry who is a friend of my in laws. It shows my father in law getting water at their place on Lake Superior. They don't have running water so here is his daily routine. Most of it is in narrated in Portugese as Larry's wife's family lives in Brazil. It runs about 6 minutes and the last minute is in English.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CDswgiPn2o

Up Goes The Tree........The Season Begins

Things have settled a bit here so I'm taking this window of opportunity to blog. John is working tirelessly in his office, my youngest is resting and rehydrating and my oldest says she is feeling nauseous and feels like throwing up ( oh no). I've posted a picture of John and his brother putting up the tree on Sunday. Luckily I wasn't helping out as it looked to be a frustrating experience but I am getting ahead of myself.

On Saturday our entire group converged at our house around 9:00am for a cup of coffee and a few pastries before heading out to find "a great" Christmas Tree. The snow began early and by the time we arrived at Ayers Tree Farm the flakes were huge and plentiful. Perfect!!

It seemed to take us Maddens forever to find a tree we all agreed upon. Near the end I was willing to take a Charlie Brown tree for all the walking back and forth we did. Finally John counted to 5 and cut down one we all "kinda" liked. Unfortunately we had an ice storm about 4 or 5 days ago so every tree there was frozen solid. We usually put it up that night but the poor tree would have to spend the night in the garage thawing out until Sunday. Got back to our place around 1:00pm, heated up the chili, put out some cheese and crackers, rolls and butter, opened a bottle of wine and let the fun begin. Many of the people who were there on Saturday had met on the shores of Lake Superior for our 20th anniversary so it was so wonderful to see them all connect again...........just like old friends should. As I mentioned in my previous blog, I did take that moment to stand back and appreciate all that was going on. This experience will probably take place again next year(hopefully) but it will never be exactly what is was in that moment and that was the moment I was taking the time to enjoy. I believe life is just that......small moments all strung together that create memories that last a lifetime. Now before you think that is soooooo cheesy, let me tell you that is the way I am.........I will always find the sentimentality in everything and I like it that way.