the Ma wisdom

Today Damian & i had his mother over for lunch. She wanted to see my studio and what i was currently working on. I brought her up our treacherous 1865 staircase and into my paint splattered haven, she shifted left to right right, up to down with her eyes. Within those glances she had decided something, upon inviting reds and blues, and worn out papers into her minds eye she turned and said to me "quit your job and do this!"

we should always listen to our mother right? so should we not also always listen to our mothers-in-law? a mother is a mother and they always know best.

it was another boost to my dream within a span of 2 weeks. the first boost being that the piece i painted for auction at work ended up (after a starting bid of $30) going for $440!

bring it!

p.s. photo above is available as prints in my shop!

delinquent

i didn't want or mean to be away from my blog for this long. sigh. there's been a major change/shift in my day job, the 9-5 that pays my bills. this shift has resulted in less "me time", resulted in no lunch breaks and a tired worn out moi at the end of the day. this worn out me has lost her motivation and energy, she has lost her inspiration. all she wants to do by the time she gets home is tumble into the bunched up sheets on her bed.

luckily last weekend this "she" got sick. odd? yes, odd. Friday last week saw a sore throat develop. By Saturday the sore throat had invited a runny nose on board and together they began to collect humiliating thoughts of tampons in each nostril to quell the drip. Dayquil and whisky were taken to minimize, nay, mask the symptoms.

However, i had a stupendously productive day in my studio that Saturday (thank you Jack Daniel's). Two paintings were completed, one for auction (pictured above) and one for sale at a later date in my shop. From now on i will lick subway hangy-on poles and socialize with small virus infested children (paddy cake paddy cake bakers man, bake me a flu as fast as you can). who needs inspiration when you can get sick? apparently i work best under this sort of infected pressure.

building

current work in progress. i've been asked to donate a painting to a charitable cause, this might be the beginning of that piece, we'll see. i'll keep building and see what happens.

be. simply. wonder... always.

i do believe my house is being haunted by a woman of days ago. a woman who adorned herself in the springtime air of lilac. my house is 145 years old and i wouldn't go lower than 90 years in age when real estating in the future. i adore history, i love living where so many lives before me have built memories. the floor in my family room is the original from 1865 and as much as it needs to be replaced/fixed up, i love feeling it with my bare-feet. Imagine who has walked on it before me for so many years, the stories that are attached to those faded footprints. the passage of time in transparent unknowingness.

there is no reason for my upstairs washroom to be adrift in a floral scent yet i just walked in to wash glue off of my hands and was hit by a rather strong lilac smell. our shower products are scented with a more earthy smell, hints of cedar and sandalwood, so this new ingredient to the air was quite noticeable. i wonder who she is, or rather, was.

i love the idea of ghosts, as long as they aren't ticked off Amityville style spirits who want us out at no cost. I love paranormal everything, bring on the beyond baby!

I've felt abnormal breezes of cool air, seen shadow movement from the corner of my eye, watched my cats stare with intent at the top of the staircase, etc. life would be rather boring if i were to pass it off as a trick of the eye so i choose to believe otherwise.

i like mystery. please don't tell me how a magician does his "trick", it's magic dammit, that's it. no other explanation. life would be utterly dull to me if i knew how and why everything worked. i need to wonder, i need to be in awe of supernatural "things". I like to believe that when i walk through a forest trees hold their breath and faeries stop in tip toe stride so not to be found out. these things make me happy and curious. i will forever grab the reins tight and head on with the imaginative.

seven

i've been rewarded with the beautiful blogger award by the lovely Maria-Therese. it is my task, now, to reveal seven pieces of me and pass the award along to fellow bloggers to do the very same.

thank you so much for the award :)

the seven begin here:

1. my sister and i had a little business a few years ago, Sibling Rivalry. she made (fabulous) handbags and i made jewellery. we had an online shop (site no longer exists) as well as worked every saturday at the St. Lawrence Market downtown Toronto. we woke up early every weekend and set up our outdoor booth. we worked all summer right up until mid -to end- of November. it got pretty cold sitting out there with the wind whipping north off of the lake and straight onto our cheeks but it was still fun. we made friends with fellow vendors, had repeat customers who were absolutely fantastic and stayed around to chat and tell stories, spent a few bits of profit on the most delicious vegetarian egg-roles (located inside the market), and etcetera.

2. when i was ten years old i met Tom Cruise in Australia. i had the biggest crush on him and this moment was huge! i trembled and giggled in my gawky awkwardness, luckily a sweet man with a polaroid camera offered to take a photo for me....

....ok, this didn't really happen, Tom is a cutout but it IS in Australia and i DID have a major crush on him. i can't even tell you the number of times i watched Legend. believe this though, i'm over him and have been for many teenage and adult years. it's what happens when a dude does a movie about faeries & unicorns when you're in that impressionable stage.

3. i've been bitten by a rabbit and a dolphin. different years but exact same finger. i have the scars to prove it. docile creatures love the taste of my blood.

4. i wanted to be an actress. i took every drama class i possibly could in high-school and when i ran out i used my off time to sit in on another class and do their lighting. when i graduated i won the drama award (does that make me an award winning actress?). after school i studied at night with the Second City and finished my course with a performance where i had to sing an improvisation about doing the dishes in the style of opera.

5. i'm allergic to cats but have six of them. i already had two when i rescued a stray two years ago from the bitter January cold. that stray turned out to be pregnant. i'm sure you can take it from there. achoo.

6. i can pretty much guarantee that i will always make an ass of myself when meeting a celebrity. example of a past encounter; Colin Farrell. in an attempt to get his attention for my sister who was crushing on him at the time (and in town filming a movie) i (drunkenly) grabbed his shoulder as he was leaving a pub and questioned "what, are they kicking all the hot guys out?" i felt the sting of humiliation instantly, his little wink, grin, and comment of "oh stop" did very little to ease my blush. this was not the first time i said something i cringed at while meeting a "star".

7. apparently i'm a witch. i'm just waiting for my grandma to tell me more. i love this, i'm intrigued by this, i want this. she has told me stories of her own witchy dabblings and there are things in my life that lead me to believe she is not just being a cool eccentric grandma. when i was in high-school she gave me an actual pendant that was worn many centuries ago by a witch doctor. the hollowed out section was stuffed with herbs etc. and then used in rituals. sometimes i stare inside it and wonder at the past events it was a part of. 7 1/2. i love history and i love it even more when i can touch it.

And now to pass on the award. I tag thee:

Jessica

Kate

Mati

Michelle

Vivienne

within

'Within' - newest mixed media work in my shop. piece is on wood panel and measures 8" x 8"
i've been using a lot of bird imagery in my work lately. definitely symbolic of how i'm feeling. i'm also loving the look of soft, washed shades of blue with the boldness of reds or oranges. delicious!

dance the yawns

August Break #17

i hit a wall earlier this afternoon. all of a sudden i felt exhausted and could only imagine myself curling up for a nap. as i stood up straight and stretched out my neck i shook it off saying out loud to myself "you'll never get where you want to be by sleeping, wake up!" so, i put on a song and danced around my studio, conjuring energy.

for the past couple of weeks i've had a sliver of insomnia and the need to sleep seems to creep up on me when i can't shut my eyes or, when i'm relaxed, doing what i love to do. i won't have any of that. i refuse to be tired during "me time".

there's nothing quite like a solitary dance party to bring you back to life. i urge you to shake it, move wildly, sway back and forth, whip your body to the rhythm of tune. wake yourself up and spend time with you in a moment no one ever need be a part of. dance. fill a floor space with YOU!

save the pillows for later.