it's snowing brilliantly outside right now, i'm in heaven. we've lit candles and a fire to enhance the cozy.
i'm in love with this time off and have so many things i want to do. now that it's snowing heavily i'll have to add "playing outside" to the list. a bundled up hike through a forest would be perfect. wandering below iced pine trees, breathing in deep cold air, then warm tea/hot chocolate in a cozy cafe.
a piece i just finished as a Christmas present for my grandma. i haven't come up with a name for it yet but i still have a couple of days. at least the painting is done, i went through a big "rut", a "thinking too much" few days where i felt stuck and started to panic that i wouldn't have a gift for her, one that meant something anyways. i was scared that i'd have to run to the gas station at ten o'clock on christmas eve and buy her a Chippendale's air freshener for her rear view mirror.
there i was awaiting serenity in bubbles, i ran the water and put on the kettle. everything was looking magic and smelling heavenly when i dimmed the lights down to an amber glow. what was that reflection on the floor? what glimmered in the corner of my eye? why, it was water! a lot of water spilling out from the base of my soaker tub. relaxation dashed away as i raced to grab the nearest towel to create a dam. 
sometimes we cry...
i think you know where this is going from the image above. yes, i'm 16 years old all over again but i could care less. the way i see it is you're never too old to crush.... even if he is 10 years younger than you. i try to get past the fact that my little brother is the same age as the above pictured chap and you know what? it's NOT my brother and nor does my brother know him.... do you Iain?
i'm jumping for joy, or WAS jumping for joy... the day is almost out now but.... i had another day off today, another day in my studio! damian & i were dragging our sad, unenthusiastic bodies into the car when we heard on the traffic report that there was a fuel spill on the highway we take. at first we looked at each other with the familiar eye roll of "naturally, an accident on our highway" (they happen so often you'd think it were some sort of conspiracy). we took to the back roads which also, not surprisingly, were jammed up. we hit that point where our eye roll turned into "why are we paying for gas we can't afford to waste to just sit here behind a line?" so, we turned around. back home we came.
while i spent time in puddles of paint damian went through some boxes of odds & ends that have moved from house to house with us. you know those things you just can't seem to throw out for some reason? anyways, he found this old earring of mine and brought it up to me in a fit of laughter saying "i can't even imagine you wearing this". i used to wear this (along with it's partner, a female form) all the time when i was about 13/14 years old. i loved to dangle huge jewellery from my ears. it screams ABSOLUTE COOL! don't you think? ;) 
okay, in other news completely unrelated allow me to discuss my hair. in fact it's not news at all really it's just thoughts, banter, girly-ness. i've been trying to grow out my hair since i got back from Europe this summer (how chi-chi sounding... "oh yes i vacationed in Europe dahling, please pass the caviar and Dom Perignon"). i've never had long hair, the longest it's ever been (to my recollection) is to my shoulders. for some reason i've had this urge to grow it longer so i can toss it up in an innocent yet sexy Jane Austen sort of style. all pulled back yet with loose tendrils of curl hanging down.
i love being in my studio, it's where i want to be all day. time always goes by so quickly here though, maybe it's because i'm racing against it. i have this one day of "freedom" before i have to settle back into an office chair so i try to get as much out of it as possible.
well, eventually this WILL be where i spend all of my (fleeting) time. i will no longer have to chase it to the bedtime finish line with the knowing fact that i won't be able to do it the next day. it will BE my day. the more i believe it's true the more it will be true. this time last year we had snow (i know because a co-worker reminded me today that it was her 1 year anniversary of slipping on the ice and breaking both wrists). this time this year it's mild and raining.
in terms of winter weather: snow to me is like a giggle, a laugh, a slow motion sigh landing on your shoulder, tangling in your hair, melting on your tongue. rain* on the other hand seems more like a cold shoulder being turned, a cruel joke at your expense, tiny pins stabbing through your flesh down into your bones.
i picture snow cloud and rain cloud having a game of rock/paper/scissors to determine who gets to precipitate on a particular day. rain cloud seems to be winning every game so far and i'm pretty positive it's due to cheating. that's just the way rain cloud rolls, don't even think about playing a game of Monopoly with it. notice the $5 pile getting a little thin in the bank? yeah, rain cloud.
*this is just winter rain mind you, i quite enjoy a nice summer rain, it's less angry
~ video i made last year of Damian trudging through the flakes.
it's been too long. per my last post i should be writing about Johnny Depp but i can't find the photo which would lead into the words.
every year in October we have a United Way week at my work. there are events and bake sales and a drinks cart that goes around every afternoon plying us all with alcohol. all of the money raised from these events goes to the United Way. tonight is the big night, the main event, an auction at our local pub. we get all sorts of item donations from clients etc. for people to bid on (while drinking yet MORE booze) and i was asked if i would like to donate a painting. this was very flattering and for a good cause so of course i said yes. the piece above, 'Terrain', is what i created.
i finally purchased something from a shop i've been admiring for a while (i was in need of a treat for me). it was hard to decide what i was going to spoil myself with but i finally decided on her Astral Projection perfume/meditation oil. i love the idea of reaching the astral plane through my dreams, the more vivid and real my dreams are the better. 
look at how beautifully it was packaged, definitely a sign that she loves and puts care into what she does. everything is natural and from the earth (even part of the packaging! look at that wonderful moss bed... i've since put the moss into a little glass jar to house faeries or whatever else chooses to hibernate there for the winter) and i adore that! no mystery junk that helps keep the product "alive" and on a shelf for ages, just bits and pieces of what occurs naturally.
aww, teeny canvas. imagine an entire wall decorated with little canvas? i might have to make that a project in my studio.
entering is super easy. all you have to do is:
i madly adore halloween. this is a sneak peek at what i'll be wearing this year to my sister-in-law's party (click image for bigger view. excuse the pixels in the right side image, not sure what happened there but it drives me nuts). this costume is brilliant, hand made by my mum for me. she really should be making costumes for movies/theatre. she's genius. 
one of the things i adore about autumn is the stormy skies. how various shades of indigo and grey hang in cumulus clouds providing the perfect backdrop for the many colours on display. colours that cling to umber skeletons who sway graciously in the crisp winds. 
since i'm sort of on the topic of the beauty in death i just have to say that last night, last night i found the song i want played at my funeral. actually it's another song i want played, the other being 'The Trapeze Swinger' by Iron & Wine. this is morbid perhaps but it tends to happen to everyone unless you're a vampire. it's all about vampires these days so i had to get my reference in there.
that idea i had about making a video every day and then posting it....yeah, i think i was a little hasty. where did i think i was going to find the time to do that? the technical difficulties i was having earlier in the week (previous post) made me open my eyes. there's no way i can film, edit and upload on top of everything else i'm doing. so i have changed it up a bit, instead of every day i will do once a week. that should give me enough time to create a little somethin' somethin', edit it all up so it sparkles, and get it on here. that is the new, realistic, challenge!so i made a video tonight and yet again.... technical issues. dang it. i will press on, i will triumph. until then, here's a video i made a while ago.
my little sister turned 30 two weeks ago and i'm now just showing off some bits from the carnival themed soiree my mum and i tossed for her. blog neglect, it should be punishable by law.
i made her a special hat complete with flowing ribbons, glitter, flowers, and stars.
it tasted super fantastic as well. i could really go for a slice right now.
i crave sweaters. i can't wait for autumn to make its entrance with a gust of wind and a scattering of red leaves on my lawn. it's my favourite season, filled with spicy scents, crisp air, fires, mulled cider, mulled wine, and an abundance of colour. i am more than happy to trade tank tops and flip flops for sweaters and boots. 
last year damian and i went apple picking at an organic orchard not too far from our house. it was so much fun to wander the rows of trees under a grey sky that somehow illuminated the colours to their brightest. we ended up with 2 bags of perfectly imperfect apples picked by our very own hands and inspected for critters with our very own eyes. they ended up in a few apple crumbles and crisps which i have the urge to make again.
the end of summer is nigh. we Torontonians come to this realization when the CNE opens. personally i'm fine with the departure of summer, it's a been a wet one, and i'm ready for fall leaves and cozy sweaters. yum. so last night a group of us headed through the gates for an end of season tradition. i love carnivals, all the twinkling lights and mechanical sounds of rickety rides, the smell of popcorn and sugar coated everythings. it was a chilly-ish night and pretty windy, kind of perfect i thought. 
we met up with everyone and travelled the midway for a bit admiring the glitter.
there's a real novelty with food at this place. most of it comes on a stick. there are your standards like corn dogs, candy apples, candy floss and whatnot. then there are you newer and in some cases, more challenging items like pickles, meat balls, and pizza. yes, pizza on a stick! the newest odd snack however did not reside on a stick, a plate was needed for this creation. i felt photographic proof was needed for whomever's brainchild this was. would you believe me without it? 
can you imagine a pig walking by and seeing this poster? do you suppose he would shake his head and say "is this what we've been reduced to?" or do you think he would feel celebrated? i mean chocolate IS pretty delicious. 
the first building was the "Useless Crap Nobody Needs And Will Most Likely Break After 2 1/2 Uses" building. or the "As Seen on TV" building if you prefer brevity. if you've ever doubted the Germans talent when it came to making shammies well, doubt no long for the proof is in the sign baby. right next to the Slap Chop! Vince wasn't there though which was an upset.
things were closing up so it was time to leave, but not without a bit of decadence first.
that's right, the Scottish known treat (which we never did find while we were in Scotland last month) of a previously naked and boring chocolate bar dipped into batter, fried, then dusted with icing sugar.... on a stick! 
after a few rounds we ran through the recently formed rain storm to Nick's apartment for a few more drinks. the evening ended with a tug-of-war match between a rope, a pug named Lucy, a miniature American Bulldog named Oakley, and me. the dogs won, i was outnumbered. 
look who else was there! those cute as a button Scottish designer boys, Colin & Justin. look at those Canadian kilt ensembles, Oo La La gents. i want them to heist my house, i wonder if they would travel north of the city to this little village? in fact maybe they could heist the whole village! you know, get those cars on people's lawns off the blocks etc. *apologies for the shameful quality of the photo, the lighting in that building is the pits*
so, a pretty fun time was had. trinkets and treasures were purchased (Damian spoiled me and bought me all sorts of bits & bobs) and sugary bad for you food was consumed. everything a trip to the carnival should be. i picked up the cutest strands of red flower lights from a Thailand booth to hang in my studio. photo to come once i hang them.
I love Angus and Julia Stone. my brother introduced me to them a few years ago and sweetly brought me their album all the way from Australia (you can get it on itunes now so you can save on the airfare. though a trip to OZ can never be a bad idea.)
i want to live in this video. i want a mini elephant. i want to weave through night in a hot air balloon. it makes me want to build a little puppet theatre.
here it is, a cleaner look! i'm sure the banner will change again because that's the way i am... always changing things (guess i get bored easy).
along the white walled backdrop of my studio, to the soundtrack of Lykke Li singing 'Hanging High', the black spot fluttered. to & fro it drifted searching for everlasting love, dancing on dreams. it grew weary of being alone and craved the kind of companionship you only find in books. during a heavy sigh it looked downward upon a slight red shimmer caught in a light. it's heart started beating madly, uncontrollably, a beat four times faster than it was used to. was this the surge of love? was this the feeling songs and poetry were based on? 
we found bunnies! well, Damian did...while he was mowing the lawn *yikes*. two little guys were out for a wander in our long, summer rained on grass. their little movements caught the side of his eye, luckily. he stopped the mower and ran into the house yelling "i need you STAT!" of course i start to think "he's chopped a piece of himself off, oh no". i ran down the stairs and found him at the door, all in one piece.
... there were 4 more underneath! a cozy little hole dug into our lawn for baby bunnies to nap in. i'm so glad two of them went for a stretch because if they hadn't, Damian wouldn't have known they were there. fear the thought. we managed to shoo them all hedge-ward and everything was fine.
