UNESCO World Heritage Site

Yes, another World Heritage Site!
In past years I have created pieces based upon these Canadian UNESCO sites: the Rocky Mountain Parks in Alberta + L'Anse Aux Meadows in Newfoundland + Haida Gwaii (SGand Gwaay) in British Columbia + Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta + Quebec City in Quebec...

My latest interest is JOGGINS FOSSIL CLIFFS in Nova Scotia on the Bay of Fundy.

Employing a technique I have used in other series, I am drawing with free machine embroidery stitch on archival tissue paper.

Piece #1 is fish fossils...

Close up - tea dyed, waxed, black thread...

Piece #2 is the Ammonite shell...
Starting phase - draw and colour

Close up of the stitching...

And the final pieces framed...

I can't wait to present them to the public and hear their comments on them!

Keepsake Pouches

These are necklaces I make with a needle and thread (Irish linen that is waxed to hold the shape). The stitch is called "nalbinding" and is one of the oldest stitches used by mankind (it predates knitting by centuries). The actual bag is 2" x 3" and is made with over 2000 stitches. Then I decorate them with buttons, beads or charms, make an adjustable neck cord with either a leather thong, or braided linen, and then add semi-precious stones or gems inside them.

These are the ones I currently have in stock (they tend to disappear quickly, so I don't usually have time to even post them on Etsy.) They will be available at the Calyx sale on Sunday.

And here they are packed for the show...

Preparation time for Calyx...

Now the stitching is done, it is time for framing, mounting, stretching, labelling...

My studio with every surface covered: 

Canvas work getting stretched to square the corners:

My helper-elf in charge of screwing the art into the frames:

Individual pins mounted together as a series:

Then add labels to the backs with my business card and price details. A never ending process, and the countdown is on...

CALYX is coming!

And what, pray tell, is the deadline???

Another spring, another Calyx sale!

A juried art show and sale where 30 different artists show separately on each day.

I am only there on SUNDAY, April 21st...

I still have a lot of silk scarves that I dyed last summer at the cabin in the woods. Here is a group shot of some of them.

The first are natural dyes for softer "go with all skin tone" colours.

The second are commercial dyes that get brilliant colourways.

The third are cotton flannel scarves made from men's shirts.

Plus I will have jewellery, hand made books, matted gelatin monoprints, and lots of wall art.

All of my art is TEXTILE based, whether it is paper, natural fibres - animal (silk or wool) or plant (cotton, rayon), synthetic fibres - nylon, polyester (all the better for burning!) and all with a component of STITCH.