Happy New Year - The Sun is Shining

Now that the dust of 2014 has settled, I'm completely shocked to face the fact that it is already January!  What on earth happened to 2014?  Last I knew, I was building my new dream studio with the pleasure of knowing i would be creating in it all through the winter.  I would have the WHOLE entire winter!  Then I spent October to Christmas trying to sell my home.  The dust indeed is settling.  I have been wrapping my head around the notion that I am staying.  I am staying!  It's mine - and now where did I stash everything to make way for all those open houses and last minute showings?  !

Dusting things off, putting things back, rooting back where I began to uproot...  it's hard to trust the process.  It's a but like waking from a good dream, and then trying to relax enough to pick up where that dream left off.  I hope if I can let down my guard and settle back in.  I want that dream back!  Do you know what I mean?

So after much rearranging and setting up again, I began a new batch of Prairie Postcards.  They are all pretty pinks and white and blue watercolour washes of winter landscapes with bits of twinkle.  They are the softest, gentlest landscape postcards I've ever made.  I hope to show you them soon.  The still need a bit of tweaking before they are complete.

And in other news...  we woke up to a beautiful sunny day.  It's clear as a bell and colder than ever!  MINUS 50 Celcius with the windchill!  Some of my windows have been painted over night by good ol' Jack Frost.

Have a sunshiny Sunday everyone.

Sunday Snapshots

Hmmm.... I don't think this was Jack Frost.  I think this was a visit from Jill Frost.  There were some pretty curvy designs this weekend on my glass door!  (I know - sounds sexist but this really did not look like his usual work at all.)  The sun melted all the ice off a couple days ago, so I took the opportunity to give it a good cleaning.  What a cool effect once it froze over again!

Look at that!  

These photos are un-edited, and what you are looking at is quite near to actual size.

Isn't that different!?  : )

Sweet.  Happy Sunday everyone!

Sunday Snapshots

Beautiful birds this morning... courtesy of Jack Frost.

Birds flitting through the air!

Birds soaring through the trees...

Look closer...

 See it right in the middle, past the branches and leaves?

Wings spread 

as they sail 

down...

Or perhaps they are taking off.  

What do you see?

I like that flock image upside down as well.  

See below?

Thank you kindly Jack.  Happy Sunday to you!

Jack-Inspired

There's no denying it.  Winter is STILL here, full force.  More snow, more icy cold weather.  The sun is FABULOUS so I'm feeling quite happy and energetic the way it fills my house.  My friend Michelle and I had the BEST talk ever over the phone the other morning.  We discussed creativity and chakras and blockages and intention.  I am not partial to blue and have always had throat issues.  She told me to work in blue.  So today, I got dressed (in black, orange, and brown !?) and decided I need to work with blue.  I found some beautiful fern leaf print fabric from my sweet pal Dahn from Whitehorse.  I saw Jack Frost paintings when I first laid eyes on it.  I dug it up out of my stash and started to free motion thread paint with my machine using metallic frosty thread.  Take a look!

this was wonderful to threadpaint!

my favorite Jack Frost designs include those icy curls and long thin shards

so delicate, reaching and extending

WOW - I love that last one.  I have a few framed up in white.  They are so sparkly - I just adore them.  It was good therapy.  Thank you Ms. Flowers. : )

Have a sparkly, shiny weekend!  ; )

Sunday Snapshots

Poking around in my back yard on Saturday morning, I found...

Lacework by Mother Nature

The ORIGINAL Fibre Artist and Painter - Spider's Web and Jack Frost.  Collaboration,2012

Amazing.

A sparkly winter bouquet.

seed pods and ice crystals

Autumn leaves frozen in time.

frosted curls

... and oh dear Susan.  Look at her!  She is still beautiful as ever in her new dress of diamonds.

Susan wears diamonds now.

p.s. those petals are unedited.  They POP with color against the white snow.

: )  

Happy, happy sparkly Sunday everyone.

Sunday Snapshots

All photos are unedited, and courtesy of Jackie Frost : ).  Enjoy!

South window - freezing, melting, freezing

ice firework bursts!  North window.

Birds on a hill.  : ) WOW.

That Jack... he's one cool dude.  : )

Jack Frost & Mourning Joy

I love mornings.  Today I rolled out of bed waaaay too tired from blogging late into the night.  I opened the blinds and look!

I considered taking an early morning paper route for extra fabric-cash, but you know me.  I'd get distracted and take photos instead.  Maybe something in the gallery will sell soon.

The ice fog was gorgeous.  I could smell coffee brewing and sausages sizzling from the kitchen, but I couldn't leave the upstairs windows!  The morning air was so mesmerizing.  It's interesting that I have recently added all this muslin, greys, and soft yellows.  Those colors are all here in the photos.  And it's the first time I noticed that most of my neighbors have yellow chimneys.  Look how that color stands out in the fog!

This next one has the contrast tweaked a bit.  It's all so droopy isn't it!?  It's the neighbor's tree.   They are moving today.  The big truck is parked out front.  We'll miss them. 

It's truly magical to watch one season transition into the next.  People get all down when summer ends, but winter brings many joys.  Endings always make way for new, don't they?  Maybe I'll drive out to the country today and get some good icy prairie photos. 

And then I went to check my email with morning coffee in hand.  And can you believe it!?  One of my higher priced fibre art pieces have sold!  I priced it higher, assuming no one would touch it.  I secretly wanted to keep it.   I'm not done loving it.  Now it's gone.  I cried!  I was in shock and tears were streaming down my face.  I hardly had time to be with it and enjoy it.  I really loved that piece.  

The Moon One Morning (Flickr link)

Has that ever happened to you?

I told myself to smarten up.  I mean really.  I made it to sell to make money to buy more supplies to make more stuff to sell... and on and on.  So with joyful tears in my eyes, I wrote a note of gratitude to the couple purchasing it, and then clicked 'send'.  It means so much to me that they admire the piece too.  : )  It's all so good.

~Monika

beginning and ending and beginning again