Snowshoes

The weather was so nice this weekend I was telling K that I really wanted snowshoes, and that I thought N would love it too, and he said that we had some, in the garage- his dad's snowshoes. Of course these are not only snowshoes- but beautiful old babiche ones, so large (they're almost as tall as me) and romantic looking. I strapped them on right away and took off- grinning from ear to ear as I toured around the yard- which has been transformed by the deep deep snow drifts. It was so quiet, just the sound of the snow creaking under me, excellent, like walking on water or stilts.

Monday Inspiration: Alphonse Mucha

Alphonse Mucha, Job, 1896, (source)

Alphonse Mucha, Portrait of Jiri, 1925, (source)

Alphonse Mucha, The Summer, 1896, (source)

4/52

The cool winter light, so clear and bright and well...cold! This weekend we finally got to head outdoors for a walk, the rest of the week has been too cold to do anything but streak out to the car. But the light is so distinct and lovely, so different from that golden summer sun, almost silver by comparison. This weeks photos have A steadfastly ignoring the craziness of her sister beside her- always beside her- always crazy, and N has finally succumbed to pony tails- because her hair is so full of static, she can't stand it. I can't get over how grown up she looks, especially in this split second of seriousness.

Posting along with Che and Fidel

In the Studio

the spectacular mess of removing wallpaper-
but this is the last bedroom with wallpaper upstairs! yay!

I love finding the layers of old paper and paint under wallpaper,
this bright teal blue is really lovely. 

It's that time of year again, time to get working on some art (actually it should be that time of year all year right?). I found that doing a studio related post once a week as I did last year, really held me accountable- I had to get something done if only to post about it, and I felt like I made a lot of progress, even if it was baby steps it was nice to have it all laid out for me, so I'm going to start those posts up again.

In keeping with Emily's making it happen in 2013 challenge at  Bluebirdbaby here are my art related goals for 2013:

• make a more consistent model for mugs- I love hand building but I find it hard to get a really uniform product, and while I like the unique quality they have- there is room there for a little more uniformity- there is a fine line between unique and weird- especially in functional ware.
• get my base glazes set- a good gloss and matte base that can be coloured using both oxides and stains.
• Get my studio set up so that I can easily slip into it for a few minutes and make some work. I find that caring for small children makes it really hard to find any solid chunk of time to make work- so I need to be able to work on something for 10 minutes then put it aside and come back to it later. If I wait until I have an hour to devote to something I think I'd be waiting a few years. 
• Get my little ones into a schedule that includes some devoted studio time for me- even if that time is interrupted by forty thousand requests for milk and pee breaks. 
• Set up a space online where I can start to sell a few pieces at a time, as I make them, I think that craft sales and farmer's markets are a great way to sell product, but it does require a large amount of stock that is constantly updated and ready to move. I have a hard time making that much stuff (because of aforementioned milk and pee breaks). Also by the time I make enough product (sometimes a year or two!), It feels like I want to move onto something else, and the older stuff seems not as good as the new stuff, and that is not the type of sale I want to have.

I think that's all of it. This week I'm doing a bit of a face lift in the studio- taking down wallpaper and ripping up carpet- I'm excited to see what the space looks like when I'm done- hopefully I'll get it done in the next week or two, and then I can get down to work. 

3/52

N's favorite cozy pants- made by mama, I have to stop her from wearing them in public because the seams have popped in some spots, and they're impossibly bally, and getting short after the latest growth spurt, but I love that she loves them. And little A who is a squirmy mass of baby these days- minutes away from crawling I'm sure, always wanting to stand up, always wanting to grab stuff, so wonderfully happy to see me that she often throws herself around in dad's arms, even when I've only been away for five minutes, it's my reward for all the late nights.

Posting along with Che and Fidel.

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. -Amanda Blake Soule

Cold

Environment Canada (the weather source I favor  as they seem a little less optimistic,generally, than the 'weather network', and I prefer a pleasant surprise), says it will get to -4 this afternoon, but that it is currently -25 outside. It's already 11 am, and it's usually warmest at noon at this time of year, so.... yeah....I think they're lying just to make us feel better. It's darn cold this winter, and it usually is in Manitoba, I also usually welcome the colder weather, I like the seasonal aspects of northern living, despite it's harshness I like Manitoba's climate. But this year I'm really noticing the effect it has on my 3 yr old. For optimum sleep she needs a good run now and then outside, but it's usually too cold to do that this year- especially with the babe. Last night N was up at 5 a.m and besides the serious baggage she's got under her eyes, not too many ill effects, me on the other hand- not so chipper. Three year olds are so. much. fun.

2/52

I think I will miss these odd angles the most when my kids are grown, the curve of a chin, the slight grasping of a nursling's hand, I wish I had more photos of N nursing, when she was in thick of it I never thought it would end, and I thought I would remember it all- I do remember lots of it- but in a slightly out of focus way. It seems to me that as the child grows they replace their old selves in my memory- I know they were smaller, chubbier, less talkative, but I don't really remember them that way. The self they are today fills my recognition of them. I am totally engulfed in their present selves.

this project is hosted by Jodi at Che and Fidel- the idea is one portrait of my kids every week for the whole year, click over there to check out other portraits, or join in.

this moment

" {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. "

-Amanda Blake Soule

Packing Away

Ah- the end of Christmas- it's always a bit bittersweet to put away those decorations, time to be moving on- to get on with the plans for year- but also time to put the lovely decorations away for another year- that probably makes them all the more special right? I think I am going to resolve to use candles more often for dinner- it's a nice touch or a pick me up for an otherwise blah day. I think that is what I love most about Christmas, that little bit of sparkle that we put into meals, or snacks. It would likely get quite tiring to do that all the time, every day of the year. But it does make winter a bit more fun.

We're also going through toys and clothes and everything to try and get our excess stuff out of the way this month. Giving toys away is a bit of a struggle- initially N is happy to- even offering stuff up- but when she sees it again later, she wants to keep it. So i think going through toys is going to be a job for me to do alone. What I've done in the past is to bag up stuff I know she doesn't play with- and put it in the closet for a month- if she doesn't ask for it in that time, I know I can give it away. But it all has to be hush hush, if she sees it she will most definitely *need* that broken half of a plastic egg shell from Easter, or in her latest words "It would be disastrous if we got rid of that, like, terrible".