Screen Printing

I am exploring screen printing techniques.
I made a pile of screen frames from stretcher bars, picture frames and bits of wood then sealed them with 2 coats of marine varnish. 

I bought a variety of drapery sheers from thrift stores and gave them a good wash.
I experimented with different ways of attaching the screen to the frame. 

I covered the frame and screen edges with duct tape.

Then I left the screens rest for a few days while the duct tape cured.

Victoria College of Art Textile Graduates

Last night, at Victoria college of Art, 4 people were awarded Fine Arts Textiles Certificates: Esther Paterson (above), Dana Davies, Sonia Park, Michelle Mleinek.
Congratulations all of you on your achievements.

Kati and Sarah help Esther celebrate on graduation night.

Company and Butchart Gardens

We have had lots of company over the summer and most have wanted to visit Butchart Gardens.

The gardens are different every visit.

 

A different flower steals the show each time. 

 

Tree Colour Studies

I continue my tree colour studies each new moon day of the month.
Here is a leaf on the maple tree in July. The chlorophyll has started to withdraw.

 

Here is the same leaf a month later showing very little change. We must have had a cold night back in July.


The arbutus is back to peeling its bark.

There has been no change in the colour of the Douglas-fir branches so I looked at its rough bark.

I also looked at the cedar's bark.
I am stitching these colours in a band across the tree cloths.

Mimkwamlis, Village Island

I also read Totem Poles and Tea by Hughina Harold, a teacher and nurse who worked in the village for 2 years in the 1930s. 

The Mamalillikulla people have left their village and now it is being covered by berry plants, wild mint and old fruit trees.

From the sea the location of the village is marked by the bright white midden shell beach.

Closer inspection of the beach reveals much beach glass and pieces of pottery and porcelain.  

I picked up a few mementos and plan to incorporate them into a work about my visit.

Mamalilaculla

This is one of the books I read this summer while exploring Canada's Pacific coast: A Curve in Time by M. Wylie Blanchet.
A woman/mother of 5 wrote about her summers exploring the same coast with her children.

One chapter recounts visiting the abandoned First Nation's village Mamalilaculla on Village Island. 

Ron and I visited the island and had a most enjoyable time exploring the remains of the village.

 

A fallen totem pole supports a microcosm of new life.

 

 

Ocean Wildlife

As 1st mate on the boat I usually pull up anchor.
One morning I saw seaweed wrapped around the anchor. 

On closer inspection I saw it was a gigantic starfish either fighting with the anchor...

...or making love with it.

We saw 3 different types of whales in the distance and hundreds of dolphins close up.

This one played around the bow of the boat for a long time.
We watched each other.
I know I smiled a lot.

One morning a generous skipper, who moored next to us over night, gave us a bucket of prawns from his trap.

A few hours later, his steamed prawns made a delicious lunch.

Sea Reflections

While we were on our annual sailing trip exploring the Pacific North West coast I took pictures of the shoreline reflected in the sea. 

This shot I didn't rotate because it made such an interesting mirror reflection pattern.

 

The different compositions change the mood of the shot.
There is lots of potential in looking at the concept of reflection and mirroring.

Grassi Lakes, Alberta

Over the summer we went for a walk up behind Canmore to the Grassi Lakes that feed this waterfall. 

While picture-taking I focused on reflections in the water. 

The reflections were abstractions of the surroundings. 

Or they look like digital layering. 

Even though the place was crowded everyone was peaceful and enjoyed talking with passing strangers. The hydrogen ions in the air make people happy.