Sylvia's Simple Shots

The tomato plant which my sister brought back at the end of June is producing fruit.  My Mom used to order seeds in February, start plants inside in April and put plants in the garden late May and got results in July to September.  That takes patience.

I did keep it watered and with good sun from the east for long enough each day I got tomatoes. There are still some to come.  Better results than the place downtown.

The marigolds are doing well too!

Very happy! 

I finished this book recently.  A Vintage Affair bye Isabel Wolff.

Phoebe has opened a vintage dress shop filled with wonderful dresses, coats, handbags, and much more.

She gets a call from Mrs. Therese Bell a french woman who is interested in selling some of her vintage clothes. They meet at the elderly lady's home and spend time going through the treasures. There is a blue coat though that is off limits and not for sale.

Emma is Phoebe's best friend who has recently passed away under very difficult circumstances. 

There are 4 men - A remarried father, Guy the ex, Miles the older man with a spoilt 16 year old daughter and Dan the color blind newspaper reporter.

The story has WWII backstory which I loved.  It all turns out well but not with a few curves.  Wonderful story!

With the help of my aunt's husband the shelf I prepared was installed this week.  

It helped to get stuff off the floor and put away instead of in the way.

It is all light stuff up there - coolers, plastic bags, the canner, and some paint boxes.

The brackets are from IKEA - Krokshult which I really love.  The shelf is smooth knotty pine from HomeDepot. I did have to put about a foot off the end.  I sanded it by hand and was really happy with the final result.

I attended the Allied Arts Council's Open Art Competetion reception on Friday night.

There are over 100 pieces of art in this and on the walls of the Spruce Grove Art Gallery. 

Wonderful evening - seeing fellow artists, good food, and good conversations.

The best part was having the awards in the Black Box Theatre where everyone could see the winning art, the artists receiving their prizes and all seated and comfortable.  What a great idea!  The theatre holds 175 and it was very nearly full. Great support for art and creators.

I did not have art in any shows this year due to renovation at the old place due to flood, listing and selling my place down town, buying a new place in the west, renovation the new place before I could move in, packing and moving, and then unpacking into a smaller place.

I brought the last of the moving boxes to the ReUse center this week!  Yeah.  It felt really good.

I found a cobalt blue plant pot at ReUse this week.  What an amazing find. No damage as far as chips or cracks.  

The inside and outside have evidence of the surface being affected by sitting in some kind of liquid.  That is near the bottom.

Not sure which plant will be placed in it but what a great addition to the living room.

I found a small cobalt blue votive holder which will be added to the couple I already own.  They will look great with candles inside.

I purchased a new to me shower curtain this week because the lace one has yet to show up from packing boxes despite there is very little left.  There are several missing pieces still.

I am sure they will show up but I was tired of seeing the bathroom looking unfinished so I bought one I could live with long term so the other one not appear.  I have been living with just the liner for months.

Beautiful green foliage at the bottom with embroidered butterflies stitching on going up the curtain. Very transparent so does not darken the showering space at all.

Five dollars well spent.

Slow Stitching - July 2025 - Week 4

I continue with my social group themed stitching piece as part of the Comfort Coverlet hosted by Kathryn at K3N Cloth Tales. 

I have added a few more groups. I belonged to a card making group on line for many years. There were challenges and exchange groups. I made cards and mailed them away every month for years.

I belong to a sewing group at church before the pandemic and has been reborn after. I belong to the slow stitching community through my participation with K3N's projects on You Tube.

I belong to an art group. I participate in art shows, regular meetings and social events.  Those have been curtailed due to moving but I look forward to getting back into it later this summer.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I managed to catch the eye of this American Robin up in a tree one morning this week on a walk in the neighbourhood.

Construction on every corner is making getting nature shot a bit difficult as well as driving in this area a zoo.

Photography has been hit and miss among the buying a place activities this week.  I hope those will conclude soon.

I joined 3 of my aunts to attend this art show at Harcourt House this week.

Diana Ohiozebau was born in Leeds, England and raised in Nigeria. Much of her work is on an African fabic called aso-oke. 

It has shine and ravels easily.

There were traditional fabric included in many of the painted pieces.

We headed down the street for Vietnamese food which was delicious and there was enough for supper.

I finished this book on Saturday early morning. I have not been sleeping well.

Project Hail Mary by Any Weir is a fantastic story.  A save the planet Earth scenario arises and Ryland Grace a school teacher is recruited to work on the space project that will send astronauts to Tau Ceti to find a way to reverse the solar dimming on our sun.

Ryland is voluntold he will be on this mission when an accident kills 2 of the astronauts who had been training for this critical mission.  

When he arrives he finds himself alone as the other 2 people on the ship have died during the passage.  He encounters a alien ship on a similar mission as his, so they partner to find the answer.  Since Rocky is a spider type beings many accommodation need to be made. He is a great engineer and can create many wonderful things to enable the success of the mission.  They save Earth and Erid.

A real page turner and it was hard to put it down at times. Recommended by my brother in law.

I attended the Grand Opening of Heavy Metal Place on Saturday.  The new home of the Spruce Grove Art Gallery and Allied Arts Council.

The weather was great as we stood outside then we were let into the wonderful atrium. Very crowded then the Brett Ryan arena was dedicated then we could view the High School show hanging on the walls. Barry was carving in the courtyard. 

It has been a lot of work for the staff and volunteers. I have not been able to participate as I have been busy getting a place to live.

Talented young people using a wide variety of mediums created art for us to enjoy.

Love the paper collage camera.

The celestial piece connected with my recent finishing of the space book that morning.

Watercolor is always my favorite medium with blue and yellow my favorite color combo.

I hope to be able to participate in the Open Arts Competition later this year.

The Wishing Jar by Penelope J. Stokes is a book I finished this week.

The Wishing Jar is a family tradition with a magical legend attached. It has been in the Quinn family for generations. It sits in a place of honor in a cabinet .

Abby is the mother of a teenager Neal Grace who is acting up. Her mother Edith has suffered a stroke and feels she has become a burden to Abby her daughter. 

The Quinn family motto - "Purity of Heart, Faithfulness of Soul".  

The Neal Grace comes to see her grandmother in a new light, Edith finds the strength to move forward and Abby find romance.  Great book

Art Show - Open Arts Reception

Well, it was quite a night.  We have 140 pieces in the show and we had a great number of people in attendance. The food was good, sorry no pics.

I headed to the reception with no idea what was coming. The email with the news arrived after I checked email this morning.

All three of my pieces placed!  Wow, what an amazing thing.  I hit a cord with the judges. 

You can find my submissions post here. 

First and Honorable Mention in photography and Honorable Mention for my watercolor!

I met a few new people.

You can find all the art in the show and in the gallery at this link. Allied Arts Council - Spruce Grove Gallery. There are links for each category.

Here's a few of my favorite pieces.

Art Show - AAC - Open Art Competition

I squeezed in preparing 3 pieces for the Open Art Show while my transition strips on the floor were drying.

This piece is a close up of a Salsify Seed Head taken against the light. It looks like a giant dandelion.

To me this looks like paintbrushes on my desk.

Title: Brushes

Size: 11.00 x 14.00 inches

Medium: Photography

Mat: 11x14 Black Double 

Print: 8x10 inches

Frame: 11x14 Metal Black Satin

I was working on the idea of glazing where one applies layers of watercolor as you go down the painting and the color get darker at the bottom. Many layers of color then outlined in black marker.

Title: Moonrise

Size: 12.50 x 11.75 inches

Medium: Watercolor

Mat: 11x14 Warm White Double with Blue back layer

Art: 5.5 x 6 inches

Frame: 12 x 11.75 Metal Blue Satin

Captured the morning dew on a spider web on on my walk.  Beautiful and delicate structure.

Title: Morning Lace

Size: 12.00 x 14.25 inches

Medium: Photography

Mat: 11x14 White Single 

Print: 8.5x11 inches

Frame: 12x14 Metal Silver Satin

These are my entries into the show.

Reception: Friday, Sept 06/24 at

7 pm

Some wonderful art to behold.

Art Show - AAC - Photography Show

I managed to get 2 pieces ready for the Allied Arts Council - Photography Show this year.

Delivered these on Saturday and they are in the gallery.

This photo was taken for one of my regular photo challenges on line at Flickr.  I love the bright colors and the abstract presentation. It challenges the brain to work out what it is.  I had several folks ask about it.

Title: Bright Edges

Size: 11.00 x 13.00 inches

Medium: Photography

Print: 08 x 10 inches

Mat: 11x13 Black mat

Frame: 11x13 Metal Champagne Satin Finish

This is the same photograph that I had prepared for the Value of Color Show in December which I glued to cradle board which had a blemish and it ruined the photo.  I has to paint over it.

I decided to print it again and frame it.

Title: The Maw

Size: 16.75 x 13.75 inches

Medium: Photography

Print: 08 x 10 inches

Mat: 11x14  White double mat with black edges

Frame: 14x16 Wood Black Low Profile 

I have named this because the plant is called Mother of Thousands and it looks like a monsters mouth.

Art Show - Senior Show - Watercolors

A bit of a different theme to my pieces for the Senior Show this year.  I usually submit photography but with a very short time line I decided to do some abstract watercolors.  

I taped down several pieces of 140lb watercolor paper to plastic boards and just applied color from my small watercolor palette.  I wanted quite a few so I could choose the best when it came to framing.

These dried over night and were completely flat when they were released from their tape the next day.

Title: Early Morning Light

Size: 11.00 x 14.00 inches

Medium: Watercolor

Mat: 11x14 Cream Double with 2 openings

Frame: 11x14 Metal Silver Brushed

The pieces were cut from one large piece to ensure that the lines in the pieces continued to flow across to the other opening.  Makes me think of sun over water.  I like that the right one is more blue than the left one.

 Title: Incoming Storm

Size: 8.25 x 10.25 inches

Medium: Watercolor

Mat: 8x10 White Archival Mat with smaller opening

Frame: 8x10 Metal Medium Grey wider profile

This piece with the very dark blue on top made me think of dark storm clouds.  The lines down on the left make me think of falling rain.  The red ground could be PEI or Arizona.

Title: Plum Hues

Size: 13.00 x 11.00 inches

Medium: Watercolor

Mat: 13x11 White Archival Single with 8x10 opening

Frame: Metal 13x11 Rose Gold / Copper 

This one is quite abstract.  It could be flowers and leaves.  The plum color matched the frame very well.  I like the way the colors mingled and created some darker hues in areas.

These have been submitted to the Senior Art Show being hosted by the Allied Arts Council at the Spruce Grove Gallery.  The reception will be held Saturday June 8th at 1pm.  If you can join us that would be wonderful.  There are over 60 entries in this show there is bound to be pieces for everyone.  

Come and enjoy the art and meet some of our artists.

Art Show - AAC - Redux Show 2024 - Upcycled Every Day Carry Bag

This my second piece in the Spruce Grove Gallery - Form Redux Show which opens today.

It is an Every Day Carry Bag which was made with upcycled fabrics from a box of fabric given to me by Michelle at ReImagined Fabrics. You can find her on Instagram #reimaginedfabrics  Other bits were chosen from my thrifted/reclaimed stash as well as pieces collected from the ReUse Center.

I made myself one of these bags several years ago.

Title: Upcycled Every Day Carry Bag

Size: 15.00 T x 13.00 W inches

Medium: Fabric Bag with embellishments

I started with the beige cotton fabric for the main part of the bag.  All the seams are finished inside so no raw edges anywhere.  I added a zipper insert made from a beautiful leaf patterned fabric from this box of scraps and squares with a teal zipper chosen from my stash of reclaimed zippers.

I chose a taupe microfiber for the handles which means they will last a long time.

The bag features 3 pockets. The front pocket was made with the accent fabric and I added a coordinating blue button that I found in my stash. The back pocket is a reused Carhartt pant pocket with a velcro closure. I sewed the pocket to the back of the bag which creates a pocket and added an accent fabric tag to the help with the opening the Velcro on the ginger colored pocket. I added some teal slow stitching to the flap of the pocket.

The ginger heavy weight fabric was added to the bottom to show less dirt and will wear much better than the beige cotton fabric. 

A few pieces of tomato red bias tape was added as an accent color which was again pulled from my thrifted supply.

I added a little bling on the zipper pull which was brought from a ReUse Center donation.  

Inside I added a clip for your keys which again was found at the ReUse Center.

It is on display at the gallery and is for sale.  The reception is Saturday April 27th at 1-3pm.

Information on "My Bag" line:

Art Show - AAC - Juried Member Show 2024

I dropped off these 2 pieces at the Art Gallery on Saturday morning to have them accepted or rejected for our Allied Arts Council - Juried Member Show.

Title: Tar Brush Strokes

Size: 13.00 x 17.00 inches

Medium: Photography

Print: 09 x 13 inches

Mat: 13x17 Dark grey with white second mat

Frame: 13x17 Metal Dark Grey 

This print is a triptych of 3 sections of tar brush strokes made by a tradesman at the end of the job of coating a cement parkade.  I expect the brush was 12-18 inches wide and the brush strokes covered an area of 8 x 12 feet or so. 

I chose the most dynamic sections.  I framed them with black lines and inserted it into an opening in a double mat of white and dark grey.  

                                     ________________________________________

Title: Patchwork Fields

Size: 11.00 x 14.00 inches

Medium: Mixed Media - Watercolor and Pen and Ink

Art Size: 04 x 10 inches mixed media paper

Mat: 11x14 white with a wide narrow opening

Frame: 11x14 Black Metal Frame with non glare glass

I was inspired by aerial shots of dry stone walled fields in the United Kingdom. Featuring a river running through them with a long red roofed farm building.

UPDATE: Sold on May 28 2024

                                          ____________________________________

I returned at 3:00 pm to find that both pieces had been accepted into the show.  Looking forward to the reception.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

It's the first Sunday of Advent.  I placed my advent wreath on the pine secretary this year as furniture shifted when the sofa was removed from the living room.

I added pine cones in the cylinders this year with a small bird perching on a branch in the front.

The first candle is lit which is the candle of HOPE. 

The first candle harkens us back to Isaiah’s foretelling of the birth of Christ and all of the promises God gave us in the Old Testament that would be fulfilled by the birth of Jesus.

I had police cars all over the block this evening.  I was not able to discover till Monday what had happened.  There were many crusiers and officers on the main road which had been closed to traffic. 

Turns out that police were called when a man armed with a knife was approaching people on the street. A confrontation occurred and a police officer discharged his weapon, killing the man. An ASIRT investigation continued into the early morning hours. A TV crew from one of the local news station was on the scene for a while. 

That is totally scary!

We had a bit of snow fall overnight.  There has been very little snow fall this fall.

With the temperature hovering near freezing it disappeared by weeks end.

The Paris Bookseller by Kerry Maher is the book I finished this week.  It is a novel based on a real woman named Sylvia Beach from the USA. When a young woman opens her shop - Shakespeare and Company in 1919 on a quiet Paris street in 1919, she has no idea that she and her book store will change the course of literature itself. 

Her bookstore becomes the hub for English book readers and writers.  Famous writers spend time in her little shop and she becomes friends with many.  James Joyce, the Irish writer is one of these.  When his book Ulysses is banned she takes a great risk and publishes it under the the auspices of Shakespeare and Company.  

She was very loyal to Joyce and went over and beyond to get his book published but the writer was not appreciative. He could not pay his rent, had marital strife, and health issues which consumed him.  Eventually, he did repay the debts owed and the money due her from books sales with a short thank you note. It was a very interesting book.

It was the time of year again to deal with a low pressure tire warning on the car.

It was much less stressful this year knowing what I had learned last year.  I headed off to the service station, put my money in the machine and topped all the tires to 35 psi.

At least it was not -20C like last year.

All is well!

I discovered these cookies this week. I do love ginger and they deliver a great taste.  I am not a fan of a gingersnap and after talking to my sister it was suggested that there may not be any molasses in these.  I believe that is the difference.

It makes a nice end to a meal and they can be in the house and I will not eat the whole box in a sitting.  That is what I need,

Loving them.

They were on sale as well so that is a bonus.

We had our opening of the Christmas Store on Saturday.

We had good attendance.  I met and spoke to quite a few folks from our group. 

I believe several folks left with bags in hand so that is a good thing.

I enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate which was very good along with some beautiful short bread cookies.  There was a nice variety of flavors of hot chocolate and tea and some other holiday goodies.

It was a very good time.

AAC Member Art Show - Value of Color

I dropped off my submissions for the Value of Color member show at the Spruce Grove Gallery on Saturday.  They requested that the pieces be 12x12 square with a predominant color in each piece.  I guess they plan on creating a changing wave of color on the gallery walls.  Should be interesting.

Since I did not have any square frames on hand I decided to try something new.  I purchased 12x12 Cradled Wood Painting Panels from Michaels. I bought some adhesive and decided to use a foam roller to apply the glue. It would be used to the adhere the photo to the board and then to seal the photo once it was dry.

The prints were expensive as well as the cradled panels so I hoped that this process would work. You can check another post to see the details and process.

Title: The Points

Size: 12.00 x 12.00 inches

Medium: Photography

Print 12 x 12 inches

Frame: 12x12 Cradled Wood Panel 

Color: Grey

Title: Orange Center

Size: 12.00 x 12.00 inches

Medium: Photography with acrylic                      gold spatter

Print 12 x 12 inches

Frame: 12x12 Cradled Wood Panel 

Color: Orange

Title: Tree Trio

Size: 12.00 x 12.00 inches

Medium: Mixed Media

Print 12 x 12 inches

Frame: 12x12 Cradled Wood Panel

Color: Green

These will be on display October 30, 2023 – January 2024 and the reception is Saturday, November 04, 2023 at 1:00 pm.  I am looking forward to it.

Fabric Coasters - Display

I am very happy with the display I created for my Fabric Coasters.  I used some vintage Tinker Toys to create a stable rack which allows me to display all 22 sets at once. I used some tree ornament hooks which supports up to 4 sets at a time.  I am able to show all the different options all facing the front.  The coasters have all been labeled, inventoried and are ready to go!

Art Show - Open Art Competition

I submitted two pieces to the AAC Open Art Competition - photography.

Title: Red Poppy

Size: 14.00 x 17.00 inches

Medium: Photography

Print 8.5 x 11 inches

Mat: Double Archival white with black core

Frame: Black wood wide profile

This is a gorgeous Red Poppy facing the morning sun head on and looking so gorgeous. Managed some bokeh in the background from the water drops on foliage.

Title: Red Dot

Size: 12.00 x 14.00 inches

Medium: Photography/Digital

Print 8 x 10 inches

Mat: Archival off white with black

Frame: Silver Metal

This started out as a photograph which was altered a lot with filters then turned into a black and white image. I rotated it which gave it an oriental feel so I placed a red dot on it.

Reception is Saturday, September 8 at 7 pm.  - I placed Second in the Photography Category!!

From the judges: Good colour choice for composition. Interesting composition, love the simplicity and execution. 

AAC Photography Show Submissions

I submitted two pieces to the AAC Photography Show.

They are small pieces as the larger frames were hanging in the gallery with the mixed media piece for the Senior Show.

Title: Serene

Size: 8.00 x 10.00 inches
Medium: Photography

Print 3.5 x 5 inches

Mat: Archival off white wide
Frame: Silver Brushed Metal

This is the center of a Christmas Rose flower - Hellebore.

I took the photo at the Muttart Conservatory when I visited with my aunts in March.

I love the softness of the colors and the interesting shapes.

Beautiful soft background which is darker and highlights the flower wonderfully.

This is dried Hosta leaves which have emerged after the snow melt.

I found the shapes, colors and shades very interesting.

Title: End of Winter

Size:11.00 x 11.00 inches
Medium: Photography

Print 9.00 x 9.00 inches

Mat: Black Narrow
Frame: Maple Wood medium width

Reception is Saturday, June 24th 1-3 pm.

On display in the gallery in Spruce Grove.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

A morning walk around Beaumaris Lake.  

The babies are showing up.  There were goslings and ducklings.  Beautiful yellow fluffy beings.

The Japanese Anemone is a beautiful white perennial flower which was growing on this side of the fence.

The Common Grackles are back.  These beautiful birds with great colors.  Gorgeous blue head, wonderful color on the wings, and a bright yellow eye.

A flash of red in the trees.  Be patient and then getting a few shots capturing that wonderful color.

Ruddy Ducks are at the Lake.  I have not seen them here in years before. I just love that gorgeous blue bill. 

The Alberta Rose is starting to bloom.  These are the wonderful June flowers.  A simple elegant pink flower.  Soon there will be an abundance of them.

It was a great morning.

I started this series - The Angelic Letters Series - Pewter Angels by Henry K. Ripplinger.  My sister and I bought these books for Mom for Christmas 2021.  She was on book 4 when she passed in Jan 2023. My sister has finished the series and another sister is reading and then passing them on to me. Set in Saskatchewan Canada and written by a Canadian.

The main characters 15 year olds - Henry Pederson, Jenny Sarsky, and Mr. Engelmann are living in Regina Saskatchewan in 1956. 

Jenny has moved from BC into the house 3 doors down from Henry. Mr. Engelmann and his wife Anna owns the neighborhood grocery store on the corner.

Henry works at the grocery store during the summer holidays. He is smitten with Jenny when he meets her on July 6, 1956. They spend a wonderful summer.  Henry has deep conversations with Mr. Englemann on the crates out back of the store.  Henry starts making improvements to the store.  The customers notice. 

Suddenly, Jenny moves to Ottawa in late September. 

On my drive to Spruce Grove on Saturday I was struck by the number of vehicles that were none metallic grey (flat) with a clear coat on top.  They ran the spectrum of companies and models.  I found that unusual.  

When I got home I did some research.  The origin of this color is Audi.  Other companies have gotten on the band wagon and now offer a similar look under other names.

I also discovered that you can get a vinyl wrap applied to your car to give you this look if you are wanting a change.

We had a nice reception for the Seniors Show.  We had winners of prizes, a good number of interesting art on the walls, and folks mingling and talking process.

You can find the on line version by clicking on this link.  Allied Art Council Senior Show

There was a wide variety of techniques in this show from watercolor, acrylic, sculpture, mixed media, pencil and more.

There were goodies as well.

I enjoyed sharing with several of the artists who attended then later I had a good visit with two of my aunts.