Sweet Valentine's in Elora

It has been so crazy cold lately, it's making February a very rough, long month.  Tonight, -25C (that's -13F) with a stiff wind... 

Our kitchen window has been blessed with some marvelous frost but it's getting a little tiresome, not to mention hard on the nerves as our walks are reduced to 5-10 minute hurry-hurrys to get the job done and run back inside.  

These rats were a Hallowe'en gift from my sister and they're still in the window, only they look like they're about to run off to Florida!!

Still we has bold and intrepid guests who braved the weather and came to Elora for Valentines and we treated them to chocolates and I hand-dipped strawberries in dark chocolate so they'd know we love our guests!  

And finally I have my display corner set up pretty much the way I want it.  I love sharing my critters, so when you're here at the house, please feel free to visit with my creations and ask questions!  

The Flying Leap!

So we bought a former guest house in Elora!  The house, an 1891 triple-brick beauty, became ours on August 8th, our furniture and possessions moved in on August 18th and my last day at work was August 21st, with a lovely send-off with many warm wishes and congratulations.  We slept (on the floor) in our old house for the last time and were completely moved August 22nd (with a little help from some friends:  thank you John and Pam!).  And of course we're naming our bed and breakfast The Flying Leap, aiming to open September 19th!
  I can't believe it's been less than two weeks as I wonder about who just completed my Tuesday night shift and the complete loss of any sense of routine.  It's been a roller-coaster of highs and lows, moving is a TERRIBLE thing to do, especially if you have LOTS of stuff... ah well.  The house, Elora, the people:  it's all good and will only get better.  Neighbours actually stop and introduce themselves (that never happened in Stratford!), our neighbour behind us brought over a casserole on moving day (thank you Leslie!), and my morning walks are along the gorge trail, overlooking some of the most beautiful rocky crags I've ever seen (I bet there are lots of bats!).

We have accomplished so much, going from this, our dining room and kitchen:

to this:

Wow, there were actually tables under there!  

When the going gets tough, the tough... hide under the kitchen table.  Can't say I blame her one little bit:  Willow found a safe place underneath and crashed after days of following us around.

Yet, in all this chaos and activity, there was still time to enter one of my pieces in a local exhibition celebrating the Year of the Horse!  

The opening reception was this evening at the Elora Center for the Arts, a catered event that had an eclectic, though seemingly exclusive, group mingling about the interesting and varied art and informative displays (which I really enjoyed).  

And there was my Tairo the Unicorn!

  

I'm very proud of this little accomplishment and hope that Elora will be a place where I can grow and flourish as a person, entrepreneur and artist.  It certainly is the Year of the Horse, hold on to those reins!  

Thank you for supporting passion!

 

I read this quote attributed to Rebekah Joy Plett and wanted to share it with you:  purchasing a piece of handmade art means a great deal to the artist! 

To everyone who has ever adopted one of my critters, thank you from my heart.  And to all those artists from whom I have adopted or purchased, you are most welcome and I so enjoy seeing your new creations I am extremely pleased to be a part of your success!

Open doors

I think art is about storytelling.  When you fall in love with a piece of art, it's because it's part of your story.  Not necessarily part of your life-story, but perhaps what you want to be, dream about or how you see the world.  It resonates with your inner story. 

  I was smart enough to read the local free paper on Friday and spot an article about an art show hosted in a Bed and Breakfast and made a point to go.  Because it was in a B&B, I knew Mom would be willing since she loves to see older, century homes so I didn't have to worry about the contents of the show:  Mom would be pleased either way.  So on Sunday we went and WOW!!!  The Bed and Breakfast owner, Kim Hedge, turned her Grandville Manor into an art gallery and the arts could not be blessed with a more welcoming patron!!   Some people have a natural ease and although Kim professes that she is not an artist, she certainly makes an art of hosting such an event and making everyone feel welcome (and, as you know I'm an introvert, this is keenly felt and appreciated).
  And the art?  Diverse, unique, affordable, expensive, fun, strange, inspiring!  And for one piece, it was instant for me:  I wanted it the moment I saw it  (although I had to be sure I could give it a really good spot before saying an absolute yes).  "Patience" by Amy Roger is a beautiful painting, the photo here doesn't do it justice, and it's now on my wall! 

 And, if my sister likes the "Cookie Spa" by artist Tara Dickson as much as I think she will, I may have done some very early "Christmas" shopping!

And the icing on the cake?  Kim took the time to flip through my photo book of soft sculpture critters and a few may just be spending the summer at her B&B!!   I would be so honored!!!

What is art?

"Passionate debate keeps the question "What is art?" healthily alive, but for our purpose, I offer the following response to it:  art is an embodied form of energy.  Energy fuels the process of art's inspiration and creation, and in turn, art acts as a carrier for an idea, the vehicle for energy from the etheric to the physical realms.  Without energy, we merely have gesture, phrase or line without meaning or resonance.  Art begins and ends with energy -- it's energy that ignites the first small spark of a concept within its maker and energy which resonates with lasting reverberations in those who experience the work.  It's the captured energy in art that can spur an emotional reaction:  our personal vibration aligns with that of the piece and viola!  We have contact.  We are affected, moved.  We have been changed, in some major or small way."  --  p.19  Kick-Ass Creativity by Mary Beth Maziarz

 When I read this, at the beginning of the passage I was skeptical, thinking "where is she going with this"? But the end bit makes complete sense:  why does some art immediately register within you while other pieces simply don't leave an impression?  There's some sort of connectivity, some sort of matching up taking place, whether it's with a good book, an incredible sculpture or an awesome photograph.  There's something uniquely similar, replicated in that art that makes it feel like it's part of you and you want to hang on to it, continue to experience it. 

(As you can see I've made it to page 19... three weeks and that's as far as I got...)