The Beach House and The Artist's Mark

We survived! What a year! I'm back by the ocean, only the one off the east coast this time, the same ocean I swam in till I was 7. I feel I can wave to my cousins in Sola, Norway and they might see me and wave back. There's something about coming back to the familiar, like putting on an old sweater that bends exactly where you bend. It looks right, smells right, sounds right, and it feels right. I have posted a bunch of pictures at the bottom so you can see the studio, the home, the view, the surroundings, and the moods of the sea. That feels right, too! The Arctic Fox asked if I found the storms and surging waters depressing or unsettling. These suit me. They suit my moods, fire my imagination and I find I sit and watch nature unfold in all it's power and beauty and can't be bothered with television. There is even a sound, quite distinct, that you hear when the tide comes in.

The new (old) studio is up and running and working perfectly. I can get as messy as I want! I have room to dance and there's even the odd little field mouse that shows up to see what I've been up to.

Hello, I'm back! Thank you to all of you who have patiently hung in there. I hope to share some interesting things with you this year.

To start, here are some very rustic, hollow beads. They fascinate me. Pods. In the garden. In the studio. Claire Maunsell gave a 1-day surface technique class in Montreal last spring and I'm so glad I was able to take it before the move. She's a lovely lady, talented, totally forthcoming, and a great example of "mining a vein". Look her up (she has a blog, www.stillpointworks.blogspot.com, a flickr site and an etsy site).

This is my starting point for this year in polymer clay:

The bead we made in the class using various surface techniques:

The goal, in taking any workshop, should be, not to do identical work to that of your teacher, but to apply what you've learned to your own work, thus broadening the creative application.

Here's the subsequent development in my own work:

1

1a

2

2a

mounted as a pendant

3

3a

4

4a

These beads are all hollow, looking substantial but light in weight, yet very strong!

Here is our new place:

Unaltered photo!!!!! Sunrise on the salt marsh, from the deck.

same time, rotating 45 degrees, ocean view from the deck, tide is out.

view from living room window, tide is in

Some of our neighbours enjoying the sunlight on the crumbling pier.

other neighbours going for a stroll on the beach

"MY red cliffs"

tide is in

evening

View of The Arctic Fox (in yellow, bottom right), pier and house from 800 feet out (low tide)

165 year-old house built by Capt. John Ross with beams and planks from a ship that went aground in St. Mary's Bay, across the street

The Artist's Mark, my new studio! Painting

metal and wire work

more painting

polymer Art