The Fine Art Department

Row of Reds

Work in Paint, Thread, Wool & Silk

A year or so ago, painter extraordinaire Tracy Helgeson came up with up with the brilliant idea of starting a website aptly called " The Fine Art Department". She asked some artist friends if they were interested and also chose from a long list of submissions and voila......The Fine Art Department was born. This outstanding site features 27 fine artists working together to promote our art..........yes, I am proudly a member.

We also (thanks to Tracy) have a Facebook Page which 700 fans (note: just checked and we are up to 773) have joined since it was published just last Thursday night...... check out Tracy's blog to find out her take on it as she has a great post this a.m.

Me? I need to get back to the studio ............

New Work

I've been hard at work in the studio all week and just this a.m. picked up the four new pieces I had sent up to my framer Diane last week. Even though it's my work and I imagine I should stay neurtral.........they are simply beautiful. This last batch of work has definitely been my best to date. This piece was inspired by a walk I took with a friend of mine last summer along the waterfront. Hard to tell from a jpeg but the ground cover is done in wool and silk with touches of shimmer here and there. I've also laid in this gorgeous green wool that is interlaced with specks of purples & pinks. The sky is painted in acrylic and the tree is completed totally in thread. The next three posts will include the other three pieces, one of which I may already have sold to an interior decorator.

Studio Time

This blog has taken a back seat to my studio time lately and that's not such a bad thing. Last week I took three new pieces to my framer and hope to have them back within a few days. I've asked them to not put the glass on but to just matt and frame. I'm still not totally sure which three pieces I'll be taking to Toronto for the Cityline segment but I do think at least two may be in the new group I've just completed. I spoke with the producer of the show and we decided that sans glass would probably work best just so there would be no glare. I will photo them when they come back from the framer and post them here....

On the home front, my youngest has the flu............. Everyone in this house has had it so far except for me. I've been doing everything humanly possible to stay healthy as my nephew is getting married this weekend and I am so looking forward to being there.

Take care..............

Computer Virus...........knew I should have bought a MAC

Crazy, Exciting News

Benched

Work in Paint & Thread

If you remember back a few posts I had mentioned that this was going to be my year to "get out there", to finally begin taking chances and spend some serious time marketing my work. I've been at this for some ten years now and although my work has evolved to where it is today....it was time for me to step out of the box, so to speak.

On Thursday I got an email from the producer of Cityline asking if I was interested in having three of my pieces appear on the show. They were doing a segment on art and artists and I was one of three or four they had invited to the show. I had initially emailed them with a blurb about my work and process and voila...........

Now I won't actually be on television but my work will and that is the important part. So I've been ultra pumped since then and so honoured to have my work on a show I myself have watched for the past fifteen years. I was home on maternity leave when I first started tuning in every morning at 10 a.m.

So on Thursday November 26th I'll head to Toronto for the taping but the show won't be aired until December 3rd. If your in Canada and have cable you'll more than likely be able to see it. I know it airs here at 9 a.m. You would have to check your local listings.

A big thank you to all who read this blog each and every week. Your support is and always will be appreciated on this end. The first few months the only people who read it were my friends and family but it has now blossomed to people from England to Turkey and my numbers continue to grow each and every week.

Thank You

Today I've Got Nothing.............

I questioned myself as to whether I would actually blog today seeing as I don't really have anything to say but since I've been doing my best to post at least twice a week I thought I would at least throw in a photo.


There was wet snow here this a.m. but I've heard a milder turnaround by the weekend. I am headed up to the Silverbridge Gallery tomorrow morning to drop off some new work which I pretty damn pleased with. They have been a great gallery when it comes to sales and I really like Michelle a lot.

Something exciting is in the process which I've been dying to talk about but I can't just yet and seeing as it isn't a done deal I'm keeping quiet until I find out for sure. If it does come together though I'll announce it here first................

Well, my green tea and studio await so.............

It's My B'Day

So today's by birthday...................

I posted the above picture because it kind of ties into one of my favourite quotes from the book Tuesdays with Morrie. To me it has always put my life into perspective.

For some strange reason I don't seem to mind birthdays at all. Rather than feel sad they seem to have the opposite effect on me. I just feel lucky that I'm still here and I've been fortunate enough to live the life I have. I have the most wonderful family who loves me as I love them and yes, we drive each other crazy sometimes but in some ways that just adds to the enjoyment of it all. I have the most wonderful friends who are supportive, loving and caring. I don't know where I'd be without them. I have my art which I am more passionate about today than I was when I first started. To be in the studio and to create is such a very large part of my life.

So tonight as we sit down to dinner and as is tradition in our family, John and the girls will each get a chance to toast me and to say a little something about what I mean to them. I will sit there and take it all in, enjoying the moment and feeling so damn grateful for the small things in life.

But I think I'll leave the last word to my friend Tom who sent me this message last night...............

"Happy Birthday, Mel. Make this the best day of this year...share with family and friends. You have earned another FREE trip around the Sun...starting tomorrow!!!"