many thanks on thanksgiving

I had a wonderful (Canadian) thanksgiving weekend here on Gabriola. My studio was open as part of the annual Gabriola Thanksgiving Studio Tour. I had about 400 people through.. a bit like Grand Central only without the trains. They came from far and wide to warm themselves by the cheesy glow from the very cheesy fake fireplace I acquired this year on one of my many thrift-store hunting expeditions.
It never ceases to thrill me how many people feel they cannot live without art, no matter how low the TSX goes. To them I am exceedingly grateful. And yes, that is Freud on the wall there on the left. The piece is called "Freudian Flip". It's a Mary Tyler Moore/Sigmund hybrid.

Housekeeping Horror

It has come to this. Perhaps I should back track. I have never been what you'd call a pristine housekeeper. I have been particularly lax in the vacuuming, dusting, dishwashing, polishing and waxing departments...which upon second glance, leaves little else.
So maybe it shouldn't have come as such a surprise when yesterday, the beautiful fall sunlight came streaming through my front window and cascaded across one of two old burgundy easy chairs. Not the one I sit in, the other one used by guests. Up until that point all was good. But things took a decidely sinister turn when the aforementioned sunlight glanced off the handywork of a certain spider who shall remain nameless. I thought to myself, this can only mean two things, both of them tragic: that I am a terribly slack housekeeper and - perhaps worse - that visits from friends are insufficient to prevent the formation of cobwebs on my furniture.
Thank goodness I have other things going for me.

writing on the wall

I was just admiring the wall which sits behind my canvases while I work. It has all the markings and makings of a fabulous painting. Too bad it's busy holding up part of a room otherwise I might frame it and send it out to one of my galleries. What is all that paint doing there you might be asking. Does she miss the canvas? How bad can her post-menopausal eyes be?
I use the wall like a giant palette which means I mix colours on it. Also, before I put my brushes into water, I discharge excess paint onto the wall which is a fancy way of saying I put it there. The marks are pure random, unsupervised, energy. If only I could tame it to the page.

Bite Me

Ever since I was a girl in dungarees, I've been a tasty target for biters. Ants, mosquitos, spiders, and even the odd toddler - have all, at one time or another, found me irresistible. So I wasn't really surprised when I began scratching at my back yesterday. What DID surprise me, was when I looked in the mirror and found....well, you can see what I found there....a veritable TRAIL of bites, a pathway of pinkish disturbances, a meandering corridor of chomp marks. And they don't stop at the panty line either. However, since my blog is rated safe for all members of the family, I will not show you just how far this x-rated little beast got. Let's just say the whole affair has been a bummer.
I know he is one of God's precious creatures, but at the risk of sounding unenlightened and vengeful, I hope I sat on him.

What is it with you and Sigmund?

You might well be asking that question yourself. What's a post-menopausal dyed in the wool lesbian feminist doing, cavorting with the likes of Sigmund Freud? I can assure you it is strictly platonic. Sigmund could not be reached for comment.

Artist Waxes On

I had a swellegant opening last thursday at my solo show here on Gabriola Island. Apparently I had some "splainin" to do and here's the evidence courtesy of the local paparazzi. I know it appears as though I'm preparing to catch a volleyball, or launch into prayer, but I am actually discussing with a few interested patrons, the ideational tenor of the painting, and how its implied synesthesia speaks to a post-premise ideologue which simultaneously constructs and restricts conceptualization.
Just kidding.
(photo credit Christy Wilson)

Raven Appears in Tea Leaves

I hardly ever go and get my tea leaves read. Actually I have never had my tea leaves read. It's not that I don't believe in that sort of thing. I own a tarot deck and I have friends who think I'm a bit paranormal. So imagine my surprise when I took a sip of mint tea this evening, and saw at the bottom of the cup, an avian apparition in the shape of a raven. And not just ANY raven, but one that I have painted.
Life works in mysterious ways.