Open Arts Show - Submissions

 

Title: In the Mist

Size: 14 x 17 inches

Frame: Textured Wood Grain Wide Frame

Mat: White Archival Mat

Photograph: Photo 9 x 13 inch print

I took this picture recently during a visit to the big lake.  The morning was cooler which resulted in the mist over the water.  The pelicans were gliding in and out of view.  The sun was lighting up the mist beautifully.

Title: Heavy Head

Size: 13 x 17 inches

Frame: Pewter Satin Narrow Metal Frame

Mat: Double Grey and White Archival Mat

Photograph: Photo 8 x 10 inch print

I took this photo in the spring.  This sunflower seed head had hung all winter and surely fed chickadees during that time.

It was early morning and the sun was light up the shape of the sunflower so nicely.  The background is dark because it was location on the edge of the river valley and there was nothing behind for quite a distance.

We had a wonderful reception filling the Black Box Theater at Heavy Metal Place to capacity hosted by the Allied Arts Council.

Using the theatre is such a good idea because all the winning entries were shown on the large screen.  Quite a few of the winners shared a bit about their pieces which offered another view when I returned to the gallery after the presentation.

The goodies are always great.  The shortbread cookies with our new logo in icing were great! They were made by our receptionist at the gallery.  Talented lady.

My niece and a neighbor joined my aunt and I which was wonderful.  A great night out.

The show hangs until October 9 so check it out!

Art Show - AAC - Open Photo Show

These are my submissions for the Open Photography Show 2026 in the Spruce Grove Art Gallery hosted by the Allied Arts Council.

Title: Country Decor

Size: 11 x 11 inches

Frame: Thin Silver Metal Frame

Mat: Double White Mat

Photograph: Photo 4 x 6 inch 

This was taken at the Blue Bird Farm where red geranium flowers were planted in a wooden planter hung on the side of an out building.

SOLD

Title: O

Size: 12.5 x 11.75 inches

Frame: Narrow Silver Blue Metal Frame

Mat: Double White/Blue Mat

Photograph: Photo 6 x 8 inch 

This was created with the light painting technique.  I set up in my laundry room and shut the door.  Using a set of fairy lights I painted in front of the camera set to capture for several seconds.  Somewhat difficult to keep my bearings as to where the edges of the frame are.  Many shots taken with a few good ones.

Title: Crusty Rusty

Size: 14 x 14 inches

Frame: Black Wide Profile Wooden Frame

Mat: Double Black Mat

Photograph: Photo 8 x 8 inch

Amazing texture in a metal plate attached to an abandoned building.

Nature has her way with things and with water dripping on this metal over the years a heavy layer of rust grew.

I like the organic shapes and the beautiful colors.

Our reception will be at the Spruce Grove Art Gallery in Heavy Metal Place.

Allied Arts Council

Saturday, June 27th

1:00 - 3:00 pm

Awards and prizes will be presented during reception.

Come and enjoy the art!

Senior Art Show - Submissions

These are my submissions to the Senior Art Show at the Spruce Grove Art Gallery in Heavy Metal Place. I am part of the Allied Arts Council.

Title: Flowers in Blue Vase

Medium: Watercolor on Mixed Media Paper

Size: 8 x 10 inches

Frame: Gold Metal Matte Frame

Mat: Double Warm White Mat

Art: 5x7 inches

This piece is one I made for Inktober 2024.  It is watercolor on Fluid Mixed Media paper featuring a blue vase with a variety of flowers and twigs set on a table.

Outlined with a Micron Acid Free fine black permanent marker.

This art piece is made with felted wool and entirely hand stitched.  

Title: Hoot the Owl

Medium: Felted Wool 

Size: 10 x 15 inches plus the hanger

Hanger: A stick which has been sanded and finished with Tung Oil

I cut the wool in a shape. You can see that some bands did not shrink evenly which added texture to the piece.

I stitched it's wings first on both sides with wool yarn in a light brown shade.  I use an ivory wool yarn in the center to create it's breast.  I layered ivory and deep yellow wool for this eyes with buttons in the centers. A small triangle of yellow for his bill and for his feet.

I put a piece of small branch at the top of the body to represent it's ears.  It was finished and then stitched on with dark brown wool yarn.  I crocheted deep yellow wool yarn to make a hanger and attached it to the back of the head. 

I created an art piece with bees as the focal element.

Title: Save the Bees  SOLD

Medium: Mixed Media

Size: 8 x 8 inches

Frame: Wooden Cradle Board

Frame: Gold Brushed Resin Frame

Photo: 4x4 inches

The wooden cradle board was primed in white then painted with a light yellow artist grade acrylic paint. I cut a hexagon stencil and then added them to the piece with darker yellow acrylic paint.  I brushed some of the gold acrylic paint used on the small frame on the cradle board. To connect the color in photo with the board I spattered it with a deep rose red acrylic paint by tapping a wet brush on a butterknife. I placed the photo behind the square frame and used Bling Zots to hold it in place. Once it was dry I adhered the small square frame with glue dots to ensure no damage to the wood surface.

The show is currently hung at the gallery.

Our reception being held on is 

Saturday, May 30th, 2026

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Awards will be presented.

Art Show - Movement

I dropped off these entries to the Art Gallery on Saturday.

They are part of the Movement Show opening today featuring artists from all over the province.

The Reception will be on Saturday, April 11, 2026 from 1:00 - 3:00 pm at the Spruce Grove Gallery in Heavy Metal Place.

Title: Red Swirl

Size: 9 x 9 inches

Frame: Black Wood Frame

Mat: Single Black Mat

Photograph: 5x5 inches matte print

This is a close up photo of a glass marble being light from the bottom with a red swirl inside. 

The swirl suggests movement with leading lines starting from near on the left to far on the right.

Title: Red in the Wood

Size: 14 x 12 inches

Frame: Warm Grey Wood Frame

Mat: Double White Mat

Photograph: 6 x 8 inches matte print

This is an Intentional Camera Movement photo where the camera is moved while the shutter is open for a few seconds which produces blur and an artistic abstraction of the scenery.  There is a faint red spot top right hand corner of the photo which is a red mitten lost along the path that someone hung in the tree. 

The path in the wood curves around and creates leading lines in the composition.

Title: Earth and Sky

Size: 14 x 17 inches

Frame: Black Wide Profile Wood Frame

Mat: Double White Mat

Photograph: Watercolor 8 x 10 inch original

The blue paint was placed horizontally across the paper and allowed to drip down while held upside down. 

Then the paper was right side up and brown color was placed very near the blue which allowed the color to mix along that horizontal line. The paint dripped down to the bottom of the paper.

The colors were used to suggest deep roots in the earth and dynamic atmospheric movement in the sky. 

Art Show Submissions - Juried Member Show

Today was jury day for our upcoming Juried Member Show at the Art Gallery.

I dropped these three entries this morning and I did not get a phone call to pick up any rejected entries. Very good.

Title: Art Detritus

Size: 10 x10 inches

Frame: Beech Wood Frame

Mat: Single White Mat

Photograph: 5x5 inches matte print

This is a close up photo of pencil sharpener wood shavings.  Typical of working on art projects with drawing pencils, colored pencils, or watercolor pencils.

Title: Bulrushes

Size: 8x10 inches

Frame: Silver Brushed Metal

Mat: Double Black and White Archival Mat

Image: Watercolor with black marker

This is a painting of the bulrushes I see along the lake as I walk in the mornings.  Beautiful green leaves with deep brown seed heads in the middle of summer.  A wonderful blue sky.  An absolute joy to have this nature in our urban setting.

This is a textile entry art quilt which I was not sure would be juried in.

Title: The Solar System

Size: 19 x 19 inches

The sun, planets, orbits, stars, asteroid belt and Kuiper belt are hand stitched unto a printed galaxy cotton fabric. 

The orange frame was machine stitched onto the piece.  I then added a facing which allowed for a dowel to have it hang. 

Ermine Stitch for stars, Seed Stitch on the Sun, Back stitch for the Orbits, French Knots for the tiny stars.  Running Stitch on the planets. Rock like beads in the Asteroid Belt and Blue E-Beads in the Kuiper Belt on the outer edge of the system.

The show will be on display on Tuesday, March 10th and the reception will be held on Saturday, March 14, 2026, 1-3 p.m. at the Spruce Grove Art Gallery in Heavy Metal Place. You are welcome to enjoy over 90 pieces of art submitted by members of the Allied Arts Council.

I did a lot of research and watched a lot of scientific videos to educate myself about our Solar System.  It was very interesting. Some of the information informed my choices for the fabric I chose for the planets.  

Of course, the distances between planets and the their sizes are not accurately represented. I did my best given the size of the fabric I was working with.

I prepared this bit of information and printed it onto fabric and stitched to the back so it would always stay with the art piece.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

There's more snow this week. 

You can see the bike track in the snow again this week.

It is colder this week as well with temps in the -20C.

Winter has arrived.

That will be good for the coming craft sales because for some folks until it snows they just are not in the Christmas shopping mood.

This was done early in the week and then the weather turned. They steamed the kitchen stack on Monday.  

I had under the kitchen sink clear out in plenty of time. They did have to go and get parts as the PTrap was glued and could not be removed.

As you can see the truck was parked behind the big fence and they were climbing over with ladders.

The hoses came through the patio doors.  

I knew one of the guys that came because the same company did work in the building downtown.

The process went very well. 

DIY project - I took the Dremel and shortened the legs on the plastic shelf under the sink.

It did not fill under the PTrap after it was replaced.

It was about an 1/8 of an inch but it would not clear.  

Good to by handy with a tool.

With the timing I finished a couple of books this week.

The Favored Child by Phillipa Gregory.  It is book 2 in a trilogy and I have not read the first.

A couple of children are being raised together in the Dower House. They are Richard and Julia who are cousins but have lost parents and Julia's mother is raising both children alone.

There a mystical power at play, gender roles that confuse things, deep secrets which will change everything at the end of the story. How things change as children mature. Julie is connected to the land and Richard is not but that makes it difficult to be squire of the Lacey estate. 

Things get ugly and when the secret is revealed the world comes to make more sense.  Big book and a good read.

A Shelter of Hope by Tracie Petersen is the story of Simone Dumas who lives in the Wyoming Territory in 1883.  Her father is heavy handed shall we say and her mother has long been gone. Simone tends house far from town so is mostly alone.

After her father has acted very cruelly, Simone summons the courage to leave with very little.  She finds her way to a place she will not be recognized, changes her name and find employment.

In time the past comes calling.   The police are involved, her true identity revealed, a man steps up to protect her, people die, and her future is in peril.

I always like a strong female main character and Simone lives up to the part.

Great book!

The new computer arrived this week which was custom built as I could not find what I needed on store shelves.

Happy with the speed, the disk space, and the overall performance.

I just love the LED lights on the inside.  That is so cool.

The printer/scanner was set up EPSON 2980 Super Tank.   Windows 11 with its apps has been easier than I thought to use.

I managed to get software in a permanent license.  Wonderful.

It was the reception for the Fire and Ice Show at the Spruce Grove Art Gallery hosted by the Allied Arts Council.

My aunt and I attended the reception for the art show and the opening of the Christmas Store as well.

Check out the beautiful cookies made by Cindy I believe. Almost too pretty to eat. Gorgeous work.

I bought another small wood star from Val E at the Christmas Store.

Wonderful evening.

It's that time of year again.  Time to make Caramel Popcorn for family and friends.  I was up early because my friend was coming for lunch.

I made a lot less this year as it is not our big family get together this year.  I will deliver these as I see family of the next few weeks.

When my friend arrived we headed to Tims and bought lunch and brought it back to my house to eat and have a cup of tea.

It had been months since I saw her and my house was in a more organized state than when she visited in late August.

We decided to head out and hit a craft sale before heading to visit the Spruce Grove Art Gallery and Christmas Store at Heavy Metal Place in Spruce Grove.

After our outing we came back for another cup of tea and she headed out a little later to be home before dark.

My friend and I dropped by this sale in the PERC building in Stony Plain.

There is nothing I need, my Christmas list is very short, so I came to realize that I don't need to attend craft sales.  

I had been feeling like I was missing something special but my circumstances have changed a lot and I only need to attend if there is a reason to.

Interesting how time marches on and I am not the person I was. 

Learned a valuable lesson.

Fire and Ice Show - Entries

The Fire and Ice Show is a member show in which the brief was contrast.  We could do Fire or Ice or both or another theme that dealt with contrast. 

Life is Better with Friends is a embellished fabric collage art piece. 

I chose five different birds which I cut out by hand from colorful fabrics. The birds are hand appliqued to a navy cotton background.  I used a variety of stitches to capture the raw edges, add tails and eyes and wings. A bit of cheesecloth creates a cloud. We need a sun as well.

The pink bird faces her friends and is grateful to have them near.

It is wrapped over a 9x12" stretched canvas with a deep edge. I hand stitched a backer of the same navy fabric.  Update: SOLD

Make a Wish is a needlework piece framed in a black wood frame.

There are three dandelions and as the seeds are blowing away. 

Folklore suggests that when you blow on a dandelion puff, your dreams and wishes will be carried on the wind, eventually coming true. This enchanting belief has made dandelions a symbol of hope and the power to manifest our deepest desires. 

The contrast of white stitches on a black background worked with theme for the show.

It was framed in a white shadow box frame.

Update: SOLD

End of Day is a 12x12 inch photograph mounted to board.

This was taken one day in August when I decided to take sunset pictures.  As it happens, I was a little late to the game and had to chase the sunset across rural roads trying to find a good composition.

I would have to find a composition, find a safe place to park, grab the camera, head across the ditch and take a few shots all the while the sun is just disappearing.

I was miles from home when the sun completely disappeared and I had to drive home in the dark in unfamiliar area west of where I live.

It was a good couple of hours of photography time.

These will be hanging on the wall at the Spruce Grove Art Gallery until the beginning of January 2026. 

Sylvia's Simple Shots

 This week new life appeared at the little pond.

I am sure they have been there all along but now that the mornings are quieter a few muskrats were feeding on bulrushes.

The morning sun was perfect lighting for these little fellows and I am sure their position where the sun arrives was well intentioned.

It was great to have continued photography interest at the pond.

I have been living with a pencil sharpener with a suction cup taped to the file cabinet.  When one which I could screw to the wall appeared at the thrift store it landed in my shopping basket.  The price was terrific.

It is 20 years older than the one I had so it dated back to the 1950's all metal with a pencil size selector dial on the front.

It works really well.

A friend came over for tea this week. Her last visit was in early August and the change in my place was remarkable.

I had left over desert from the house warming on Saturday so that was wonderful.  I chose the Ikea navy dishes for our visit.

The glass table set pitcher was great for water.

I have had the tray for a while and it sits under the serger desk.

It would slide in too far and it was hard to get out so I gave it a handle this week.

I checked my supply of knobs and found this plastic one tha would do nicely.  The bolt expects to have a drawer front thickness so I just added a piece of stiff foam to fill in the gap.

It sits on the floor right next to my sewing desk stool.

I have acquired a few Stampin Up products at the thrift stores in the last little while.

I was needing a "Thinking of You" Stamp for the IWin cards.  I was happy to return the rest of the stamps and keep the one I wanted for $2.

I picked up a SU Scallop Oval Punch in hopes that it matched the smooth oval punch I had at home.  It did. Another option for layering greetings on cards.

I picked up a sealed SU Oh so Ombre designer paper pad in 6x6 with some of the older colors that I have in card stock.

I headed to St. Albert for the fall art show which my aunt had some of her pieces in.

It was a great show with smaller pieces this year probably aiming for the Christmas gift giving shopping which is just around the corner.

Later, she indicated that sales were pretty good but because the pieces were smaller the total dollar amount was down.

We had lunch at Cajun House.

I also picked up boxes which have been stored at her house since 2022.  Now I have to got through all of them.  I am grateful she had room to spare for my stuff.

On my way to St. Albert yesterday I saw a sign on the highway for a quilt show.  I checked it out when I got home.

My neighbour aunt and I headed there on Saturday.

It was great to spend some time in this medium.  I am not a follow the pattern quilter but it was nice to learn more about AccuQuilt.  Interesting mystery challenge quilts. There was a vendor that dyed her own fabric which was great.

Several quilts combined the sewing of a quilt with the hand stitching of applique.  Those were my favorite one. 

I guess in crochet doily blanket will be something like that. 

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.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

 

The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve

In March 1873, two Norwegian-born women who lived on the desolate Smuttynose Island, one of the Isles of Shoals off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire, were brutally murdered. Maren Hontvedt, a sister of one of the victims, survived by hiding in a sea cave until dawn. The murdered women were her older sister Karen Christensen and Anethe Christensen, their sister-in-law. A man named Louis Wagner was tried and hanged for their murders, mostly on circumstantial evidence. His conviction has been argued about, as some people think he could not have done it.

More than a century later, Jean Janes, a magazine photographer working on a photo essay about the murders, returns to the Isles with her husband Thomas and five-year-old daughter. Thomas is an award-winning poet who has been struggling with alcoholism and not writing much. Hoping to have a small vacation, they travel on a boat skippered by Thomas' brother Rich, who has brought along his girlfriend Adaline.

Jean becomes immersed in the details of the 19th-century murders after discovering a purported memoir of Maren in the library. Gradually, tensions increase among the group on the sloop, with unspoken emotions surfacing. Jean begins to suspect an affair between Thomas and Adaline.

The novel is split into two parts: the present day, told from Jean's point of view and in the present tense; and 1873, told in first person from Maren's point of view, her "memoir".

My aunt and I attended the reception for this show at the Red Brick Common Art Gallery. 

The art was created by a variety of artists whom were in attendance.

Jani Galarneau is always a joy to talk to and view her art. Marcel Thibodeau as well was very interesting to talk with as a fellow up cycler.

Miss Potter movie with Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor.

I am a fan of the Beatrix Potter books and characters.

Watching this movie was a delightful time and distraction from settling into a new place.

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.