Spirit of the Season

Our Elora Centre for the Arts once again held their Festive Wreath and Stocking Silent Auction Fundraiser and this year I got word early!  I wanted to donate a really elaborate quilled piece to demonstrate the art and felt lucky to have the time to work on it. 
  






So I got started:

You'll find lots of versions online of these pine branches but basically the combs' teeth allow you to create nice branches with even needles relatively quickly.  And I needed LOTS!  

Here's a close-up.  I used three colors and three different combs to get this variety of pine branches.

 And they were all glued together to form a pretty sturdy circle for the background of the wreath.  I added "berries" dipped in sparkly dust for added structural strength.  



The center would be a poinsettia, and here I found Meredith of The Paper Craftery and her lovely poinsettia tutorial with easy-to-follow instructions.  What a pretty flower, thank you Meredith!

The finished poinsettia I glued into a pine cone scales mini wreath which I found at a secondhand store (yippy for upcycling!).

And then it was all glued together!  

Even though I had started early, I was only finished on the day the wreath was due to be delivered to the Art Centre.  It took far longer than I thought to quill all those branches!


Here it is hanging on the wall on Opening Day, November 21.  I was very pleased to see that it already was getting bids, very gratifying indeed! 

The Wreath and Stocking Silent Auction was wonderful to see, so much variety and creativity!  We enjoyed wandering about to see the diversity:

Mine was kinda teeny beside all the full-sized and over-sized wreaths on display.



On December 2, I went at 2:00 to see the closing of the auction.  I was absolutely delighted to see the high bid was $65!!!  My quilling was appreciated, and quill work got noticed!  

While the auction is over, the Art Centre still has their "Deck the Walls:  Small Art Works for $200 or Under" and a "Holiday Pop-Up Shop"!  These will be at the Centre until December 22 so if you're in the area take a look! 

Backyard Botanicals

Annually our Elora Centre for the Arts hosts an exhibition with a theme that is open to anyone.  This year the theme was "Backyard Botanicals" and each participant was given a wooden box, about 24 inches by 10 inches by 2 inches deep.   I am thrilled to say that I heard about this opportunity very early on and got my act together in time to take part and create something that really came out of Nature and my creativity.    

Here are the guidelines:











It all started with the box, which was a lot bigger than I thought it would be:  

Of course it needed a good hanger:

and the beginnings of an idea:

I had collected little objects all Winter and Spring (well, I'm forever picking up little stones and twigs and bits) and they were on trays drying and being bug-cleansed by spending time in the freezer.  Then, all of a sudden, a collection of bits looked like the strange creature in the image above.  What is it?  Who knows!  But it definitely had life.  With a few pieces of quilled foliage and a lovely dried branch, the idea was definitely taking shape.

  

It was a BIG space to fill but I was determined to only have natural objects.  Long curls of quilled paper made excellent grasses.

And even the background was only paper (cardstock, flocked (maybe there's a bit of plastic there, oops) and textured "copper") and a section of a tree trunk found in our front flower bed, probably Maple.

And underneath, the critters!  All wood and flattened pine cones, the two beasts are very real and raw.

The quilled pieces were all constructed one by one, some looking like specific plants while others were just fanciful...

...to create this lush and green wonderland.

To complete the piece, the long outside edges of the box were lined with bark.  

In the end, my offering is completely made of dead things:  the box is part of a dead tree, the creatures are made of dead bits of trees and the papers are dead plant and tree fibers.  And yet, and yet, it's a celebration of life.  

It's "Through Her Eyes", Mother Nature's eyes.  It's her Frankenstein Project, creating life from the dead. 

And the piece was delivered July 10!  I'm really looking forward to the opening reception July 12 to see what everyone else created!  

Thank you Elora Center for the Arts for the opportunity to focus on a project and get it done!  And for the chance to share it!  

Hope you can get to the Center in person and see the remarkable works!

Circles of Giving

Last year the spirit of community was celebrated with a Silent Wreath Auction, where all proceeds went to the Elora Centre for the Arts.  It was a glorious display of creativity and cheer with all sorts of folks donating their time and efforts to making one-of-a-kind, stunning wreaths to support our very special Centre.

This year I'm thrilled to announce it will be happening again!  And I found out early enough to do more than bid:  I actually made 2 wreaths!   Not only will there be a wreath auction, but take a look at this poster and the week full of wonderful events!

So, what does a wreath auction look like?  Here are photos of last year's entries:

And let us not neglect the stunning area prepared for Santa!  On Sunday bring your own camera and get photos with Santa Claus, comfortably seated in a beautiful, magical wonderland.

So what will be on the walls this year?  Come and see and bid to bring home a completely unique, handmade piece of art that will help our Arts Centre continue to thrive!

By the light of the Hallowe'en moon

Since it's over, I won't be spoiling anyone's fun by sharing these awesome photos of Tim Murton's "Twilight Zoo: Back from the Dead"!  It took place here in Elora at our Elora Centre for the Arts from October 12-31 and was eeriely beautiful and spooky.  

There photos were all taken by my sister Doris, and I'd say she did a pretty awesome job at capturing the beasts and the atmosphere!  

Not only were the beasts awesome but the hand-painted backdrops were gorgeous, really adding to the whole experience.  Not to forget the sound effects:  the original sound effects were perfect, especially the multiple whispering voices in the Tunnel!  The lighting was also just perfect, with just enough to cast eerie shadows everywhere.  In the Tunnel, the lights even went fully OUT! for a few seconds at intervals, leaving you utterly alone in the Tunnel with its many creepy flora (I'm sure man-eating) and fauna!

Sorry you missed it?  Tim has been doing this for 17 years, always making it a bit different, so plan to visit in October 2017!