_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Friday 27 July 2018

Black Chairs Pretty Cushions

This summer seems to be a combination of more visitors than I've ever had - all welcome though - and endless yard work... which wasn't what I intended to do... but has been a domino effect. In order to do what I did want to do, parts X, Y, and Z had to be done first which may mean that what I really wanted to do - convert our garden shed to a backyard studio - will most likely be next year's project.

With all the bending, twisting, lifting, pulling, digging, placing and so on, I'm exhausted and sore all over. The sore part is really bugging me. After three months of working hard, I feel my body should have adjusted and my doctor says no, it's my age. At fifty-six, I am so not willing to accept that and I'll be doing some research when I get a minute. Any ideas?




I've decided to only show finished projects on this new blog so while these chairs were started months ago, today is the day that I finally finished the last element. I bought the frames at the thrift store for $5 and then spray painted them black - an immediate improvement.




The bottom cushions are filled with outdoor foam that is mold and mildew resistance and the fabric is outdoor fabric bought on sale. The long narrow cushion is filled with an inexpensive bedroom pillow still wrapped in plastic. It firmly in place and the plastic doesn't crinkle. The 20" square pillows were finished today. While I'd sewn the covers earlier, I was waiting for an end of season sale on outdoor cushions to use as the filler and since they were going to be recovered, they could be ugly and still work. I found those this morning.

The chairs are sitting on the deck that I've been building on the upper level of my backyard and face out to the pond. I had hoped to finish the deck last night only the drill mysteriously stopped working only to equally mysteriously start working this morning. Strange. Perhaps I needed a rest.




The piece above left is by Indigo And Oscar and the one above right is by Jamie Spinella. Both are a wonderful mix of elements, unique shapes, and texture and quite inspirational. I'm glad that different parts of the yard are beginning to complete because although I'm enjoying the on-line inspiration, I am more than ready to start the design process with my own pieces.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - finished chairs, an almost finished deck

Wednesday 18 July 2018

I Can Work With This

One of the previous owners - most probably the same one who brought in dump truck loads of rock - hid a whole bunch of broken concrete behind the fence at the bottom of the yard. People walking along the trails could see it but no one from the house. It was ugly....




... especially with the tarps underneath and the weeds in-between. Now that I've taken down the fence and am not replacing it, I wanted to clean up that area only there is no way I'm hauling away loads of concrete so instead I am using it to support the small wall I put up at the back of the yard (for raising the dirt level when I dig out under the patio) and to support other, more decorative, rocks for show.

 


I've only completed this one section so far. Walking from right to left across the back and coming up the path, you'd see the image on the left and walking from left to right, you'd pass the tree and then see the image on the right. In that picture, you can also see the small wall, the fence line in that image, and the first row of concrete slabs that I've already placed.

One of the neighbours walks along this path every morning and on Saturday, we were discussing what I was doing and how at one time I'd have looked at the broken concrete and seen junk. Now I think to myself, I can work with this.




I didn't have that ability before. It has come directly from problem solving in my studio for so many years and from responding to my favourite questions of how can I and what if. I love how it has transferred to all areas of life. A few weeks ago, I thought I'd bought some dishcloths when in reality I had bought tea towels.


 


Since they had the waffle weave of the dishcloths I like, I cut each towel in half and serged in one go around with a square start and stop and three curved corners. Now I have twelve dishcloths. I didn't bother taking the towels back and trying to replace them as I would have done years ago since I already knew the store didn't have anything else. Instead, I thought, I can work with this.

What have you learned in your studio that has transferred to other areas of your life?

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - fresh dishcloths

Wednesday 11 July 2018

Prick-A-Skirt

Last Friday night, I went to the opening of a new gallery that I had been invited to join as a jewelry artist. I turned down the opportunity because the timing was not quite right. I'm still in the learning stages of jewelry, exploring the Year of 52 Weeks, and not at all ready for any pressure to produce what-so-ever. I want to play first and before that I need to finish the yard.

 


I did - however - want to support the other women by attending the opening. It's an all female art gallery which I think is a great concept. I wore the silver top I showed in an earlier posting with a self-drafted version of a skirt that I originally bought at a consignment shop in Calgary while shopping with a friend. Some of the clothes I buy second-hand are to wear, some are to refashion, and others are to create a pattern from. The later is why I bought this Eileen Fischer skirt.




When I tried it on, I liked the way it fit through the hips, the waist was way too big, and the length was completely unflattering. IMHO - a skirt should never be shorter than it is wide. I will eventually refashion the original. The fabric is a fabulous metallic linen.




If I'm not going to wear the garment, I cut it in half and use half to create the pattern and half as a sewing guide. If I'm planning to refashion the garment, it stays intact until I know what I'm doing and what size pieces I'll need. To develop a pattern, I start by laying each section on the work surface with paper underneath and then pin around the seam lines pricking an outline into the paper that I then connect dot-by-dot. The image above right is of a pair of Oska pants that I am also copying. The lines you see are the sewing lines and the seam allowance needs to be added. With the skirt, I added 6" of length and replaced the zipper with an elastic waistband.




I sewed the skirt in a black textured polyester and then fine-tuned the pattern further to make this denim one with cream topstitching. I like the skirt. I'm not so sure about the top - not the colour - the fabric. It's perhaps a bit too revealing. The shoes are Fluevog which I also bought at a consignment store. They're a fun colour.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - everyone safely out of the cave in Thailand

Friday 6 July 2018

Week 52-6 - The Easement Edge

Behind my house and around the pond that I showed in Wednesday's posting are walking and biking trails. They weave all the way through the city and are maintained by the trail alliance. Between my house and the neighbour's house is an easement for accessing the trails.




The easement slopes downward. Over the last few weeks I've replaced the dilapidated and rotten panel fence with new posts and panels that are actually deck railing with cedar top and bottom rails and metal pickets. I love the way it transparently defines the yard and maintains the view. This is the view looking down the hill and...




... this is the view looking up the hill. Apparently a previous owner literally brought in six or seven dump truck loads of river rock. They are everywhere and have often had to be moved several times before finding a permanent home. I'm VERY good at rock picking and have discovered multiple uses for rocks including retaining walls which I'll show you later on when they are complete. The easement edge is the first completed section. I am almost...




... finished our side of the fence. I've been using pebbles and larger rocks to create texture and variety and am just tucking the black edging against the grass. It's not my favourite edge but it's relatively inexpensive, works, and I already own it. The whole yard has been an exercise in using what I have in "stash" and my landscaping skills have grown tremendously. I see the yard design as line and texture just as I see the blank surface of a t-shirt or of a painter's canvas. It's all about filling the canvas in a way that works.

Yesterday, a woman was running by and then stopped to discuss the yard. Apparently, she used to live nearby and is thrilled with the transformation. When I told her that I was more of an artist than a landscaper, she said I was doing and very good impression of one; that I was fooling "us" all. I'm enjoying the creative aspects of the work and the exercise since I'd rather do this than go to a gym and I am also looking forward to maintaining as opposed to developing the yard although - VBG - I think that's another couple years down the line.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - "free" rocks in different sizes to create texture

Wednesday 4 July 2018

The Sewing Side

When I bought this house a few years ago, I knew that the basement renovations would be nowhere near the top of the list even though that's also the space where my studio is. Because the walls were a mix-up of surfaces, I painted everything white to help pull it all together and I've enjoyed the calm that provides, which is somewhat strange. I've never thought of myself as a person who'd enjoy a white studio. I've always had colour. This is new and it's good.




I only began exploring jewelry last year so I've never had a jewelry studio before. I wanted to separate the two working spaces both to see how that impacted my work and to test having separate studios. The yard came with an cottage-like 12' x 16' shed that I would like to turn into a jewelry studio that could be open to the public. It'd be a huge shift in how I work so this is a test both to see if I like separate and to see if I actually work.





There's a support post in the middle of the room so I divided the space in two at that point by placing storage cabinets facing each other with the work island in the middle. The sewing side is roughly 10' x 16' which will give me a good idea of the outside studio's potential. From my machine, I can see through the window to the foliage outside. The jewelry (window) side is a huge mess rthat I'm still working on. In the above left photo, you can just see behind the white cabinets into the space where it will be. As part of our...




... landscaping design, we want to replace the window with French doors that open to an outside deck. The photo above is taken further down the yard however, this is the view I'd have from either studio. It's the city's pond and just happens to be behind my back yard. They look after it; I enjoy it. We are intending to retire here so as I develop the studio, I am both keeping in mind the fact that I'm aging and the aspects of other studios that I enjoyed to create a studio design that will work for a long time.

Having a creative space has always been a priority and has positively impacted my abilities because what I need is always ready and available so I can create for a short time or a long time depending on how the day is going. I started out with a folding table in the corner of my bedroom and I've had spaces both big and small over the years since. They've all been wonderful in different ways but most specifically because they existed. Making space for our creativity is part of how we nurture ourselves, fill our own gas tank, become energized and that positive energy then extends toward others.  I hope if you don't already have a space, that you will create one. If you already have a space, what do you love most about it?

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - the sewing side is organized