Once in a Blue Moon ~ Wild Things Special Sale

In an effort to raise funds for my next Artist-in-Residence trip to the Lighthouse, I am offering a special price on my Wild Things and Wild Thingy's for this weekend:

"Once in a Blue Moon" 

Labour Day weekend only
Friday Aug 31 thru Monday Sept 3, 2012

Special Price on Wild Things and Wild Thingy’s

(Save $ 3.00)

Wild Things $ 20.00 incl S & H

Special Price:  $ 17.00 incl Shipping and Handline

Wild Thingy’s $ 15.00 incl $ & H

Special Price: $ 12.00 incl Shipping and Handling

anywhere in the world!

TO ORDER:

1. Go to the Wild Things Tab at the top of the page
2. Scroll through and choose the Wild Thing(s) and or Wild Thingy(s) that you want
3. Make a note of the reference number(s) you want to order. PLEASE CHOOSE A SECOND CHOICE TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT (I will update sales page as quick as possible but it's a worldwide sale and I'm going to need a bit of sleep...)
4. Email me the reference number(s) at byshena@shaw.ca with your name and shipping address. I will then confirm availability
5. Use PayPay button to make the payment

SHIPPING INFO:

• Please contact me directly to save on the Shipping and Handling for multiple quantities
• Items can also be drop shipped to another address at your request

DELIVERY INFO:

• Orders received by Sunday September 2nd will be processed immediate delivery
• Orders received after Sunday September 2nd please allow 1 week for order processing

PACKAGING INFO:

Wild Things and Thingys are shipped in padded envelopped, packaged in a clear plastic bag with a "By Shena" label with the message: because inside each and every one of us there is still a Wild Spirit ... dancing and includes their story: "Remembering who we are" as seen below...

MATERIALS INFO:

Wild Things are made lovingly from predominently recycled materials ~ Wild Thingy's also... (who are simply Wild Things-in-Training but appear to get into just as much trouble...)

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING MY
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE VENTURE

HAVE A GREAT LABOUR DAY WEEKEND

Shena

Remembering who we are

Their history is seeped in the dark recesses of time ~

They began life with their roots entwined with Mother Earth

and were nurtured as the sentinels of harmony and peace

amongst all living things ~

But humanity in time forgot all of its wisdom

and in its ignorance began to purge the Earth of its values ~

Until almost nothing remained ~

And so the Wild Things were sent forth

to intermingle amongst humans to nurture them

and remind them once more of

who they are deep down inside,

and to share with them an ancient and timeless remedy...

that of love, freedom and pure joy ~

For as we remember who we truly are,

wild spirits one and all,

our future as a human race and that of our Mother Earth

is destined to thrive ~

because inside each and every one of us there is still a

Wild Spirit ... dancing

Shena Meadowcroft & Tony Gibson
Copyright 2010

Hanging out at the Clothesline Show

One of the greatest days of this summer was being a part of Coast Collective's "Clothesline" Show held on the eleven acres surrounding the Pendray House, where over 155 artists display year round  a wonderful, top quality, eclectic array of art. 

Overlooking the Esquimault Lagoon, which overlooks the Juan de Fuca Strait, I cannot imagine a better setting for an artist to show their work. Perfect weather, beautiful surroundings, soothing music, great people... and a wonderful selection of art... not to mention great food!

Art lined the avenue leaving up to the house. Hung on clothesline, laid out on tables, leaning against trees, laying on the ground...

People meandered through the displays, pausing to admire the work, chat to the artists and buying that special piece that caught their eye...

I delighted in having my work displayed outdoors, in a more natural environment that is usually is...

 And of course, my Wild Things! were having the best time of all...

 And this is my life?

I have to pinch myself on a daily basis to make sure that I am not dreaming...

But tough as it is...

I'm hanging in there...

Win a Wild Thingy!

I finished a reconstructed piece of clothing last night (my new adventure - tutorial forthcoming) The dress was originally long with spagetti straps and far too small for me but, being an artist, I could not resist the hand-painted design on the front (not to mention that this also has sent me off in a whole new direction...) It wasn't until this morning that I discovered the word "Cuba" written across the bottom above the hem. As this is part of my "Artist-in-Residence wardrobe" I thought I should come up with a clever and relevant (to me, about me, or as an artist) definition of what C.U.B.A could stand for...

With so much else to do, I thought I'd throw out the challenge to my blog readers and anyone else who gets to read this post, as well as those who see me wearing my tunic sometime over the next week or so during my residency (only one or two days... I do have others to wear, assuming they get finished...)

So, for a bit of fun - see what you can come up with:

C            Creative....  Cultural.... Categorically....   Cute...   C ??????????

U

B

A

THE BEST PHRASE WINS A WILD THINGY!

(in the colour scheme of their choice)

TO ENTER:

SIMPLY ENTER YOUR PHRASE IN THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW

The winner will be chosen on August 31st.

Help me out here... and wishing you the Best of Luck!

Take time to stop and smell the sweet peas...

The last four months have been a non-stop flurry of work: designing a new series of Fibre Art pieces called Glimpses, making vast quantities of Wild Things, planning class outlines, teaching at Arts Alive, writing and illustrating a children's book, putting together new show material, creating a new card line, painting and sewing to build up inventory, entering art shows, doing proposals for the Fall, and preparing for an Artist-in-Residence which begins next week, not to mention my ongoing Intuitive counselling work. I have barely had time to draw breath, let along stop! And roses??? My presence of my blog has been woefully absent, simply because I have been too busy doing things to write about them!

However, this morning I woke early, went out with my camera, and want to share with you the sunrise from across the road where I live.

Below the deck of my neighbour's cottage above the beach are a riotous bank of sweet peas growing in such wild abandon that they made my heart sing...





  

And I stopped.... and I took a deep breath... and took in the scent of the sweet peas, the freshness of the morning,  the smell of the ocean brought into shore on the high tide, and through it all knew the hope that only a brand new day can bring.

Yes, I am working solidly hard this coming week, and more in the weeks to come, but these precious moments are balm to my soul, and remind me that this is what it is all about... the scent of a sweet pea, the beauty of a sunrise, the sight of the ocean in our backyard, and the time we take to stop, linger and appreciate.

Have a truly wonderful day ~

A Brand New Show Display

My outdoor art show last month was a disaster. The weather had been fine, then  horrendous wind gusts came out of nowhere, leaving only three tents standing. Display stands full of art work blew over. Painted canvases cartwheeled across the lawn. I'm still in awe of seeing my greeting cards sail through the air, but that was eclipsed by my neighbour's huge tent lifting right off the ground (tent pegs not withstanding) and knocking over three table of jewellery with it... Thankfully no one got hurt from the flying glass... which happened to be my "Glimpses" that I had stayed up until midnight matting and framing.

And that was before the torrential rain hit~ with all the packing boxes in the vehicle parked a long way off...

Oh, and just for the record... my Wild Things really CAN fly!

Over several restorative cups of tea and a comfort food supper later, my friend and I put our heads together and came up with a far better, more stable way of displaying my work. Now, columns of wire cubes stack no more than three high and are clamped to folding TV tables covered with fabric.

Sturdy plastic totes are stored under the back table in the event that fast packing is required.

One side of each cube is left open to insert 12 inch slate floor tiles to provide more stability and form shelves in cubbyholes where I can feature some of my work.

Last weekend I did the Acres of Art down at Coast Collective in Victoria and had a wonderful display. People were able to circulate and delighted in discovering the cubby holes and what they held. I am still paring down my display but really happy with the way it is now looking...

                                

and standing!

Alchemy of a New Idea

I love the alchemy that takes place when a new idea unfolds. A few weeks ago while making the upteenth “Wild Thing” that uses cotton fabric, I came across several scraps of gorgeous quilting cotton that someone had given to me a couple of years ago.

As each piece came to light I kept thinking I should probably “save” them for something else, especially as they were small pieces and would require sewing together before using on the Wild Things, and time was of the essence.

Later that evening I pieced together some of the cottons into landscapes and was quite pleased with the result. I felt they needed more life, and I knew that hand embroidery and beads would provide some of that, but not quite all that I had in mind. Besides, I had two weeks to come up with some new pieces for a Fibre show and again, the clock was ticking.

Silk would provide more luminosity. I grabbed a basket of distressed silk leftover from my last batch of West Coast Reflections with the intention of adding some to the scenes. And then the playing began... Several hours and half a dozen pieces later I had exactly what I knew I was looking for 

And then the metallic pens came out… and other fibres… and other mediums…

What emerged was a whole new series called “Glimpses” ~ tiny land and sea scapes reminiscent of the West Coast.

I’m thinking of painting more silk fabric to use, distressing fabric in different ways, enhancing with gold or silver leaf… because who knows where else this may take me?

Tony, my partner captured their essence in these words:

“You look at them and you know that whether it was in a blink of an eye,

or a moment in time, a certain light,

or simply in your dreams, you have seen this.

You've been there.”

The Smell of Freedom

Several years ago I lived in a lovely old house in Qualicum Beach which had many old trees in the garden. At the front of the house stood a beautiful lilac tree and one day when it was in full bloom I suddenly had the urge to paint a wild and exuberant abstract rendition of the blossoms.

A few days later one of my friends came by for tea and asked if she could pick some lilacs. It turned out that lilacs reminded her of her father who had passed away a few years before. He has spent several years as a German prisoner in Russia during the second world war and never spoke of the horrors he had endured there. He eventually escaped. Travelling for weeks, evading capture or being shot, starving and exhausted, mile upon endless mile. When eventually he reached the border, there were lilac bushes in full bloom and heavy with scent. At last he crossed over to safety. Forever after, he would associate the smell of lilacs with freedom.

I got up, went to my studio and returned with the painting. I knew now why I had painted it. It wasn't for me, but for her.

I never took a photo of the painting. I didn't have to. I just need to enjoy the lilacs each year, remember the painting, my friend, her father... and how truly precious is the smell of freedom.

Blending old and new

Work is progressing steadily on the illustrations for my children's book. Most mornings, as soon as it is light, I head up to my studio and immerse myself in the story, surrounded by reference sketches and notes, and work on the tilt of a head, the detail in the clothing, the lay of the land.

I have published newsletters and magazines in the past, in the 'olden days' when cut and paste meant, literally, scissors and glue! In publishing poetry books for myself and others I relied on desktop publishing and much of the work was done on the computer, although for layout I still reverted to hardcopy for corrections, and always trusted my eye far more than what any program attempted to dictate.

And now I find myself, in this as in so much else, blending and weaving the old and the new, hand and eye coordination primarily, a little tweaking on a scanned image to see what may work better, then back to the drawing board for touch up.

A lot of work. Solid steady work. One image at a time. One page at a time. And always the ocean and the shoreline to remind me of where my story takes place, and the magic that is found there.

Felting Flowers

As part of the Gabriola Arts Council amazing Isle of the Arts Festival last weekend I took part in a wonderful felting workshop given by an inspiring instructor and fibre artist Siki Mc Ivor. I was not familiar with either (wet) felting or needle felting so it was a fascinating process.

Wonderful colours of dyed roving and other fibres were provided

to create a felted flower.

We began by layering pieces of roving, and filling in the gaps to create the flower itself.

 Then used soapy hot water and friction to felt the fibres together, adding patches as necessary.

 
                          

The colour combinations people came up with were simply amazing.

A similar technique was used to make the stem.

And the stamen.

The flower, stem and stamen were then assembled and felted all together, first by needle felting...

 and then by (wet) felting, again using hot, soapy water and friction.

The flowers were absolutely stunning!

 The group was totally delighted.

... and so was I -
not to mention severely obsessed with yet another art form...