Name that bug...

This is a rather large beetle we found when we were up at Half Moon Bay. And no, its name isn't John, Paul, George or Ringo... Actually, it does look a little like a Ringo...
Anyone know what it is? It was about 3" long.

Today is Wednesday...

and I don't have a helluva lot to say, so here is a small collage for your viewing pleasure.
Nighty night!

Am I cute?

Ummmmmmmmmmm, yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Beastie Blocks!!!!!!

I've created another blog for these paintings I'm doing for kids rooms. There's not a lot out there in terms of original art for kids, and with these ones you can choose your background colour, your animal, and have it personalized with your child's name.
www.beastieblocks.blogspot.com

I live in Hope...

These are 2 small collages I did last year. I used vintage photos that I bought on ebay. I LOVE ebay!

We grew it ourselves!

Here is one of about 12 tomatoes that we were actually able to grow in a container on our patio! We have some beautiful chili peppers that are almost ready too. And to think, I always thought I had a black thumb!

The Good Old Days

This is the sign from the Park Royal Pub that we relocated (Warren's word for it!) to our apartment. They tore the old place down last year to build new condos, and this sign was sitting there forlorn, so we decided we couldn't just leave it there.
This was our post high school hangout... We had many a December 23rd there singing along with the piano man, drinking far too much beer, and seeing old friends. We had our 10 year grad reunion there too. Oh, what a night...
I miss those days, and those dear friends that I don't get to see often enough...
This post is dedicated to my old gang. I miss you!

Remember

This is a collage I made last year. I was experimenting with different transfer techniques. I love that honeycomb paper... I got it at Urban Source on Main Street. The background is paper from an old dictionary.

The Lady's of MAD TV

OK, just learned how to put video on my blog, could be dangerous!
I laugh out loud every time I watch this, and I've watched it many, many times... Lorraine in garters, does it get any better than that?

Do you want to go to the doggy park?

This was the question I posed to Henry right before I took this photo... And being a terrier, he ALWAYS cocks his head to the right when he recognizes a word or phrase...
And he really wanted to go to the doggy park... so we did.

Jonathan Livingston

The other day we found a baby seagull in our common garden area. It had probably flown down from a rooftop nest, and wasn't able to get back up. I was always the kid who brought home any stray animal she found on the street, so of course I'm instantly worried about the little guy, and want to help it... Unfortunately, what can you do? It wasn't injured, just stuck on the ground, so I had no choice but to leave it and hope it figured out how to fly home.

Well, at 6:30 am the next morning, Henry started barking and fretting at the screen door. I pulled back the curtain, and who was camped out there but the seagull! It was pecking at the screen, like Hey! Let me in!
I haven't seen him since, so hopefully he made it back up safely.

This is a birthday card I made for Warren.

The Visitor

This is a photo we took camping last summer in Squamish. We were snuggled in our tent, when we suddenly saw a funny shadow moving across the fly...
We decided to take a look, and we found this tiny little frog camped out.

Skunked...

OK, I was going to post a photo of the skunk we caught in our planter last night, but the photos just didn't do him justice...
Yes, we came about 5 feet from getting sprayed. We caught him on the path going out to the street, managed to sneak by him, only to find him on our patio when we returned home, having a great old time, eating the berries on the Salal plant and fallen bird seed (those birds are messy!)
So we shoo him away, only to be woken up by Henry at 1:30 am whining and pacing... I look outside, and who's back? You guessed it! Cute little guy, but not someone I want hanging around on a permanent basis. Warren sprayed him with some water, hopefully that'll deter him. I'm not counting on it though...


This is a collage I made for my friend Sam.

Imagine

This photo was taken last May in NYC. It is the John Lennon Memorial in Central Park close to where he was shot and killed. It's located in a beautiful, peaceful part of the park, an oasis of quiet in an otherwise noisy New York City. Sheltered by trees, the spot felt protected and safe. Hand written notes were placed in the middle, as well as hand made paper cranes, a symbol of peace.

John Lennon imagined a world without war, a world without religion, a world without hunger. It's really not too much to ask, is it?

Henry in Half Moon Bay

This is Henry. Henry likes to swim. Henry is NOT a water dog, he just doesn't know it. This is a dog that has no warm undercoat. His hair has no oily coating to keep him warm. He has one layer of human-like hair, so when he does swim in the cold (even in the summer) Pacific, he quakes and quivers after fetching the stick 4 or 5 times. Oh, how he loves it though...

Hello Sunshine

It feels like summer again! Of course I was just away for a week on the "Sunshine" Coast where it was not so sunny... Only 2 beach days, but that's OK, I got in some good TV watching... Ha ha!
This is a collage that I made last year. I had to do some obsessive compulsive ripping and tearing for this piece. It is one of my favorites.

My first blog

Well, after much thought, I've finally come up with a name for my blog... Small muse!
As a jewellery designer, I work on a very small scale. My Jewellery school projects were both miniature renditions of larger objects. First year I did the small Art Deco Furniture, and second year my grad project was miniature marionettes. I've always been inspired by children's art, especially my own art that I made as a child. I was so free then. I didn't have to colour within the lines. The grass didn't have to be green, and the sky didn't have to be blue. There weren't any rules, only imagination. That's what I hope to get back to in my own work. The freedom to create with abandon, and not worry about whether or not it is "right". I'm hoping to post new art routinely on this blog, so check back frequently, if you want to see what I'm up to!