BirdBrain Designs

reset and inspiration on Lake Ontario

by Leave a Comment

This past weekend we spent a beautiful afternoon on the shore of Lake Ontario. We ate our lunch on the beach and I had time for a quick sketch of another tenacious tree. It’s been a while since we have been out to that gorgeous isolated expanse and the colours and textures of the day have remained with me.

I had taken an extended, unplanned break from the studio, leaving all leather and sewing firmly under wraps and was actually looking for a way back in. I have a list of projects but nothing inspired me to actually thread the machines and start. The colours of the day on the lake held the key. When we got home, I pulled out my box of remnant leather pieces and began building some pouches in the colours of the day–shoreline and sky. The small Strand collection of pouches is made of leather remnants with salvaged cotton linings–mostly from the Textile Museum sale. It feels good to make useful things of beauty from left overs. 

I find this size of pouch, approximately 7″ x 4.5″, very useful for travelling. My passport fits in comfortably and I like to keep different currencies separate and also to save receipts, tickets etc. I often take two or three along in my backpack. These pouches will be in the online store soon. Send me a note if you are interested.

Houses, Houses. Hooked house runner–the process, the questions

by 4 Comments

The first side of the hooked house runner is all but complete. You can see how much I drew on each side, hoping as I hooked that I’d find inspiration for sky and border. At one point I thought half circles would work for the border, but I didn’t like them at all. I’ve decided to do rectangles of teal, turquoise and related colours on the two longs sides and something different for the shorter sides. Possibly circles. And the sky? Still waiting…

I do love hooking houses. If you follow the blog you know I’ve been working up to this, doing smaller studies. I use mostly remnant strips and small pieces. I pin together 2″ strips of related colours to keep a little order in the chaos and that forms much of my supply basket. I love what happens when the supplies are scarce–just a line of red, or a final strip of a favourite wool, placed just so. Somehow it makes things more thoughtful. And it’s a crazy thing, but I’m emotionally attached to my wool–it often has a history with me–someone significant dyed it or it came from another project that I laboured over–or the colours combined perfectly in the dye pot. By using it again here, I capture a little of the magic.

It’s always interesting to follow the development of an idea. Here are two small studies from December 2016, the start of my hooked house mat obsession. I’m at the gallery tomorrow, so I’ll take my stand and a pile of strips from the turquoise/teal bin and see how much progress I make on the border. And who knows, maybe amid the paintings on the walls, I’ll get inspiration for the rest of this piece. 

sketching in Provence June 2018

by Leave a Comment

It’s a couple of months since I came home my trip. I’ve talked about the time in Glasgow, London and Avignon. But I haven’t documented the best part–6 days sketching in Provence with Shari Blaukopf. We were based in Fontaine de Vaucluse and sketched each day in the surrounding villages and countryside. It was a wonderful week. Here are a few of my sketches.

The following sketches were done at the monastery in St. Remy where Van Gogh spent his last years. We all loved sitting in the lavender field behind the monastery and sketching inside the ancient building. Both inside and out it was a deeply moving place.

Among many highlights, the sketch below is the most meaningful one for me from the whole trip. Late in the afternoon, four of the class members along with Shari hiked up to the Source, the beginning of the many rivers and streams which flow through Fontaine de Vaucluse. I was expecting a waterfall, not the deep, dark and somewhat spooky pool and surrounding caves. We climbed over the barrier and sat at the edge of the water to paint. For an hour we were silent, caught by the spell of the place–the mystery, antiquity and great beauty. When I look back at the sketch I can reenter that world–the intense and almost meditative quality of the sketching experience. 

sketching in Avignon june 2018

by Leave a Comment

Here are a few more sketches from my trip to France in June. After London we took the Eurostar directly to Avignon where we stayed for three and a half days before heading off to our sketching course in Provence. We stayed right in the centre of the old town. The weather was perfect and we wandered around the narrow streets trying to capture the views. Lots of perspective challenges.

update: latest hooked piece and two books that arrived this week

by 4 Comments

It clearly has not been a summer for posting on the blog. I have been posting the occasional photo on Instagram but that’s it. We have been at the cottage a lot during this very hot summer–a beautiful spot with some connectivity, but not to do more than send a text or make a call. Definitely enough, and I like it that way, but the blog which takes a solid connection for a length of time, has been neglected. 

Is it time to give up the blog? I don’t think I am ready to do that. I like the record it provides for one thing. The first post was over 7 years ago! And I like the space to expand on ideas and show my work. Even if my readership has diminished. Even if I am not regular about it. Even if it’s just a place to record my thoughts. This is the latest village finished. I have put it in a woollen frame and plan to make it into a pillow. 

A closeup showing the frame…

And two books which arrived in the mail this week.  The small one is Canadian quilter Judith Martin’s poem/photos of her stitched piece called Not to Know But To Go On. The second is an artist new to me, Jean Claude Roy, whose dramatic paintings of Newfoundland are deeply moving and inspirational.The title of the book, Fluctuat Nec Mergitur, which means She Is Tossed By the Waves but Doesn’t  Sink, is a gorgeous phrase, one that would also suit Judith Martin’s lovely work. I encourage you to seek out both books.

july 2018

by 2 Comments

Since I got home from France on July 2, I have been at our cottage. I still have much more to post about my almost two weeks in France and I will do that. But right now I want to talk about July and the lake. The cottage, a 1950’s former hunting cabin, is on a small island in Canadian shield  country. When the whole family is there it is crowded, chaotic, laughter-filled. But most of the time it’s quiet with room for thinking, rug hooking and painting.

I have had my kayak for 35 years and it was not new when I took it over. It’s faded red and white with a maple leaf insignia. It feels like an extension of me. I aim to take it out every day, on the big part of the lake when I want a challenge, but mostly in the back bays and inlets. A time of contemplation. Some of these trees have worked their way into my hooked pieces.

A glimpse of a perfect summer afternoon with cousins…

And while there I’ve been working on a study loosely based on the village in Provence where I was in June. What I like best about hooking at the cottage is that my materials are scarce. I have only my bag of ends and some additional 2″ pieces. I need to make ‘do’ with what I have and I love the problems that creates and the solutions that emerge. This is almost finished and the larger piece will begin. I’m taking a landscape course at the end of the summer so I need to be ready with the bigger work for that.

Two great fibre exhibits on my holiday

by 4 Comments

I was in London when the Fashion Textile Museum had its exhibit of the work of Orla Kiely.  I’ve long been a fan of her work and it was so interesting to see her process up close–pages from her sketchbook and samples of her clothing and bags.

Here is my sketchbook page from the day. 

Then, totally unexpectedly, I stumbled into an amazing textile sculpture show in Isle de la Sorge in Provence. Next to our sketching site was La Fondation Villa Datris and inside and outside were amazing fibre sculptures. From Sonia Delaunay and Sheila Hicks to others I had not been introduced to, this was a thrilling exhibit. The museum staff were incredibly welcoming and I wandered happily taking photos both in the gallery and in the amazing garden. 

I was particularly interested in the work of El Anatsui who “has managed to turn salvaged materials into a mainspring of the creative process. His work questions global commercial exchanges, the destruction and the transformation of materials, symbols of events that spread across the African continent.” (quotation from museum notes)

And in the garden the sculptures of Odile de Frayssinet who winds polypropylene rope on wire frames and then uses fire to give her pieces “skin with a half-animal, half-plant appearance.” (museum notes)

Next stop London, day one and two

by Leave a Comment

We stayed in Kensington where the sketching opportunities were limitless. The charming mews in the area beckoned and the Victoria & Albert and Hyde Park were just a few blocks away. I loved the Frida Kahlo floral sculpture in the V&G garden.

In Hyde Park, we saw the Diana fountain which is unexpectedly beautiful, running like a brook over changing terrain. You could not help but feel her spirit there as the children played in the water and people sat sunning. And right there as well on the Serpentine was Christo’s latest installation, 7000 oil barrels forming a kind of pyramid. We didn’t realize what it was until I read about it in the Guardian. And finally we saw the Peter Pan statue and nearby birds and squirrels everywhere feeding out of people’s hands. I felt that Mary Poppins would appear around the next corner. It is a magic place!

And then there was the Canada Fountain in the park just behind the Canada Gate across from Buckingham Palace. I’m including a photo of the plaque so you can read the description of this moving sculpture and the sacrifice of so many Canadian lives. It was a moment to contemplate what it means to be a Canadian.

June travelling: first stop Glasgow

by Leave a Comment

I started my trip in Glasgow and spent several days walking around this magnificent city. Glasgow was my first European city which I visited when I was seventeen. It has a special place in my heart. This visit coincided exactly with the tragic fire at the Glasgow School of Art so it wasn’t just the cloudy skies that made the city subdued. 

In spite of this sadness, the loss of the wonderful interior of the historic building, just lovingly restored after an earlier fire, the Glaswegian sense of irreverence and fun is everywhere. Across from my hotel was the Museum of Modern Art with its statue of Wellington on horseback. On his head were two traffic cones.

The city was going to raise the plinth on which Wellington and horse stand to prevent such adornments, but there was such an outcry that officials reneged, and Wellington remains with cones. 

The taxis in the city also add to the frivolity–a welcome flash of colour in an often dreary climate.

I did some sketches, sometimes dodging the showers in a café…

and sitting on available steps…

Visited the marvellous Kelvingrove for a Charles Rennie Mackintosh exhibit…

and found the Hatrack, a delightful Art Nouveau beauty wedged into the street. This article describes the building as “Gaudi-esque”… I thought Mackintosh had designed this, but the article says it was designed by his associate , James Salmon. Either way, it is a delight!

After a marvellous visit with family, I took the train for a short stop in  Edinburgh…

with a timely reminder from Sir Walter Scott in the Waverley Train Station…

my new travel bag

by Leave a Comment

I’m travelling to Glasgow, London and Avignon this month. The trip involves lots of train travel, some of it solo, so I decided I needed a new travel bag to accompany my backpack and rolling suitcase. There was no question that I wanted a cross-body bag with a wide adjustable strap, large enough to carry all travel essentials, including a sketchbook and paints. I also wanted an outside zipper pocket and lots of pocket options inside. 

It is 14.5″ wide, 14″ tall with a 4.5″ base. Inside there is a zipper pocket and two slip pockets. It’s lined with the last piece of the fabric from last year’s sale at the TMC  and the pockets are from another TMC remnant. I love to make each bag different inside and durable upholstery fabric works very well. Low profile metal hardware. I’ll let you know how it performs on its first test run and then I’ll make a few for sale.