I promised you...

...a post about my favourite sculpture on our recent trip to Castlegar for the Sculpture Walk, and since I'm away from my desk here it is.  I love being able to schedule things for when I'm away!  Although this sculpture won the People's Choice Award for 2016, I missed the walk last year.  It's a knock-out sculpture and well-deserving of any award going, I think.

Rochelle steps in for her first look.

Imagine the stories indeed!

I'm loving that clothesline off the balcony...how about you, Eileen? 

This tiny trike is delightful.

While no fan of mice, this one's a cutie - and it doesn't MOVE!

Every house needs some music and dance.

The mosaic around the balcony is outstanding.

Detail everywhere!

Wonderful angles and line no matter where you look.

Rochelle checks out the cowboy - most unlike her!

We spent a great deal of time checking out all the fabulous details in this sculpture, and since it's been purchased as the People's Choice Award for 2016, you can too.  I highly recommend you make the trip - this sculpture alone is well worth the jaunt!

Are you wondering . . .

. . . about that red cow?  I suspect you're not alone because I've had a few emails and messages about it.

In my initial post about quilted collage, I mentioned a failure (well, there were many more than one as I test drove the process of  'quilting' with Gelli prints).  I mentioned then I should add some red cows to it.

The initial collage of the local Skimmerhorn mountains, annotated in jest, looked like this;

did you note the two pieces sliced on the end of the above photo?  Well, I sliced to my heart's content, and rearranged the pieces like this:

 and this,

 and this.

Once I determined I liked the lines in the second version best, I glued the pieces to some cardstock and added a red cow.  The landscape is much happier now, and I had a great deal of fun with it.  I'm kind of hoping that we have some art 'fails' in the TAPS group so we can play with them there, too.

Now I'm wondering what you do with your art 'fails'.  I'm so experimental that I have a ton of them, and I'm always looking for more ways reinvent pieces.  What's your favourite technique?  Share them in the comments below and I'll do a draw on September 30 - you might win a fail of mine.

Yesterday...

...was round one of three at TAPS as we explored the possibilities of what I'm going to call Quilted Collage.  I'd prepared some examples of the kind of work we'd do, with four options for them to try.

Collaged pears from UFO net photo

Collaged Creston Valley Landscape from a Jean Henderson photo

Collaged apple from UFO net photo

Collaged landscape mostly invented

With a large stack of cardstock backgrounds in mostly solid colours, Gelli-printed papers and magazines for further collage fodder, we were well supplied.  I also provided a numbered template from which they could cut their papers. 

And didn't they tear into it?  

With scissors, glue, tenacity and a LOT of laughter, most of them managed to get about a third of the way through their collage.

That's pretty awesome because coincidently we have two sessions left in which to finish!  

I know I mentioned the need for a red cow in one of those collages I test drove and I will show you the result in a future post - keep your eyes peeled for that one.  In the meantime, I expect to show you some outstanding Quilted Collage work from this stellar group sometime soon.  Until then, I hope you keep playing and let me know what you're up to in the comments!

All around us..

...are shadows, and they have fascinated me my whole life.  Whether they're organic and cast on a fence,

Fence peekers & climbers

 or man-made and include a reflection,

Vodka?  No, perhaps water. :D

they hold an aura of mystery.

Lamp dance.

 I love them in colour,

Screen door in the studio

 or in the muted tones cast on concrete.

My mom and I on our last trip together

In fact, I love them anyhow and anywhere.

Wood grain and flowers

What about you - are you a fan of shadows?  Do you have a favourite?  I'd love to hear about it, so let me know in your comments!