Solo Show & Sale @ Jackfish Lake, SK (and more)

I'm off to my mother's home (Annemarie) at Day's Beach this weekend.  On Sunday afternoon I will be hanging my wares for sale at the lake.

invitations sent out to some of my mother's friends and neighbors

I will be returning to my ol' stomping grounds and expect I'll see a lot of familiar faces.  I'm excited - but nervous!  I can't wait to see my mom again.  She's totally thrilled to be hosting this afternoon event.  If you live in the area, you can email me at Monika@MySweetPrairie.ca for directions.

Also - My Prairie Postcards are for sale at the Saskatchewan Craft Council's Fine Craft Boutique, 813 Broadway Avenue, Saskatoon.  The Boutique also has one threadpainting of mine on display for sale (Sunlit at Silverspring which is featured on the cover of the brochure in the photo above).

Tiger Lily Quilt Shop on Highway 1 at Wolseley, SK also have three of my threadpaintings on exhibit for sale.

PS
***thank you for all the lovely comments about Heather Lair, and for the emotional support I found in your comments.  It's been a very sad thing to face.  I am just as sad when I think of her husband and children learning to live without her.  My heart goes out to them.  I'm feeling pretty unhinged still about it all.  I was told that her funeral will be Tuesday at 7 pm in Gimli.  There will be 'wildflowers... music...' and many tears I'm sure.  :(  We will light a candle for her that night.  Love you Heather.  xo

The One That Got Away

Someone in Winnipeg counted how many pieces of my art there are on the walls of the Prairie Ink Restaurant.  "Twenty-three.  I thought there were supposed to be twenty-four?" she commented.  Yes, one didn't make it all the way to Winnipeg, but for good reason.  It's in Regina right now.  I'll tell you why.

detail of She's Blooming!, 2013

She's Blooming! was my mega-handstitched canola field that I thought I'd take a chance on entering into a provincially juried show.  ('Mega' as amount of time stitching, not size of work.)  Well lo & behold it was accepted!  It feels surreal still at this point, but I know it's a really significant achievement within out Craft Council that I need to make a big announcement about.  So here it is:

You know it's big when THEY use exclamation marks in their formal correspondence.  ; )

She's Blooming!  has been accepted into Dimensions 2013 - a Saskatchewan Craft Council touring exhibition of fine craft.  There were entries in all forms of fine craft (from woodworking to jewelery, sculpture to quilts, etc, etc..).  35 are juried in for this show every two years.  I was lucky enough one of them!  Dimensions is on the road now, touring galleries around the province and beyond.  I feel at a loss for words.  I'm thrilled but extremely taken back by this.  Maybe that's why I didn't make a huge post about it when I found out last month.  I'm such a newbie - and there are loads of people with decades of craft under their belt that my embroidery will be along side of.  My friend Elizabeth Cumming has her Motherwell Barn art quilt accepted into it to (YAY ELIZABETH!!!).  Maybe I'll hide behind her when we go to Regina for the reception & awards night next month.

So this is big news!  Yes - the wine has been cracked open.  From now until the end of August, Dimensions 2013 is on exhibit at the Mackenzie Art Gallery in Regina, Saskatchewan.  Click HERE for gallery info.  I'll keep a running tab at the top of locations as the show changes.

: )
Have a happy day.

Spring Art Show & Sale, Sunday in Saskatoon

Here's the poster!  Mark your calendars.  Nine local artists will have their work for sale next weekend.  I'll be there!

You can find a complete list of artists HERE.  

Prairie Postcard #42 (sold)

p.s.  10% of the sales from my Prairie Postcards will be donated back to FFFH.  See you then!

Tuesday Off Topic

Spring on the Prairie III (detail) 2011 by Monika Kinner-Whalen, a photo by My Sweet Prairie on Flickr.

Hello! I've been busy busy and unable to get a Tips on Tuesdays post done for this week. It was a well lit day for me to get all my photography done before putting my eight new art pieces under glass in their frames.

I'm done! I have uploaded my 4 favorite shots of each piece into my flickr online photo album. To see them all, simply click on the photo in this post, and it will take you to my flickr set. From there, simply click "older" over and over to see everything I've just uploaded. ; ) That 'newer/older' button should be near the top corner of the photo when you go there.

easy?
You'll know you're done when you see my old stuff from Gardenscape.

p.s. All pieces are for sale and will be in A Needle Pulling Thread Magazine next year.

Have a great day!
~Monika
...who REALLY feels like she's accomplished great things!!

Moving Right Along...

Happy Weekend!  Look what I did on Friday!  It's not finished, but I thought since the Highway 7 photo was such an interesting one, I would make it again to frame for this show & sale.  They original version of this is a medium sized quilted wallhanging.  I'm about to finish a much larger one on commission.  This one here is 6 by 8 inches, and will be matted and framed under glass.

cheese cloth clouds

This is really great.  I found this type of cloud to work really well.  It curves just like the landscape below.  I love how the colors work so well together - the bright green and the greyish blue.  I believe that's actually a flax field in the distance.  What do you think?  I suppose it could be the shadow of a cloud.  On my original wall hanging, people think it's a lake.  : )

the photo and the fibre art, work in progress

I'm going to have to stop soon and spend some days just finishing eveything, mounting them, signing them, cutting the matting, and framing.  Gosh.  And then there's the yardwork!  It's a good thing that 3/4 of my garden is perennial.  Look!  The strawberries are finally blooming!

Have a lovely lovely weekend everyone.  The weather is good and the gas prices are down.  YESSSS.  Beach time!

~Monika

Tweaking the Show.

I had a fun morning.  I took my little boy to the mall for a hot chocolate.  He homeschools, so he brought his story-book in the making...  

It was 9 am, and the retail stores were all still closed.  I took him through 'the link'.  

For anyone not in Canada, we have malls with underground parking.  You can drive in the winter snow from your garage to the mall without stepping outdoors.  This particular shopping center is TWO malls connected by an underground walkway which tunnels below the street.  Sounds pretty out-there doesn't it?  lol  Here we are going back up the ramp to daylight.

 

I love that my exhibit area is flooded with natural light!  : )  I ask my boy if he notices anything.  He pauses and stares silently for a while.

 

 

"MOM!  This is yours!!"  !!  That was the highlight of my day.  "That is totally epic mom.  I can't believe it."

 : )  I gave him my camera and got to work hanging more tags.

  and aiming the floodlights better...

All while carefully stepping over the threads and pictures.  Liam did a great job with the camera...

(Silly me.  I flipped that spool over so you can't see the price tag!  lol )

And here is a picture of my favorite little spot below the baby quilt...

I dig those half circle shelves.  Very cool.  I used lots of them.

I sat to take a break and a woman strolled by, stopped to look for a while at the exhibit.  I thought I recognized her.  : )  It was Flo who came to the first postcard workshop!  Nice to see you and thanks so much for taking the time to go out and look.  That was really sweet of you! 

Have a great day,

~Monika

Country Courthouse Complete

It's done!  Oh my.  It's really done.  Look!

That is a whole lot of quilt.

And that was a whole lot of quilting!  I wend around each block SEVEN times;  tedious, but so worth it.  It really looks done now.  And it was easy turning this big quilt around and around under the needle with this big Janome Horizon.  WHEW.

Tomorrow I'll attach the hanging sleeve and label.  My plan is to put all the right hanging hardware on all my pieces and then that's it! My husband and I have an event to attend Saturday night.  So I'll have it all done by 5 pm, and then Sunday I go all alone to hang the show.  gulp.

wish me luck!

ah!  I'm so happy with this quilt!

~Monika

...absolutely LOVING everyone's moon stories!!!  ; )

THANK YOU!!