It’s been some time since I wrote an update from my art studio.
Sarah and I have moved from Victoria to Langford. We now live in a quiet, pretty manufactured home park near a regional park. Our place has a large garden space and private access to a creek. We have a sitting area down by the water that is very tranquil and beautiful. There’s lots of wildlife around including deer, river otters, ravens, barred owls, raccoons, and many small birds. I’m building a hummingbird garden by our front window and already we’ve had several visitors to the bird feeders. We also have ambitious plans to put in a native plant garden in part of the yard, and to add more flowers and plants to the already existing beds. This is my first garden ever since I lived with my parents so I am very excited! Gardening has become a creative outlet and a great form of exercise for me. The fresh air is doing me good.
My new studio is freshly painted white. It has many windows and a skylight. The studio has doors opening to the garden which is so wonderful! I love how bright and airy it feels in there. I’m not quite set up yet to make new art but it’s coming along day by day.
We’ve had a few adventures here in our new place, as any new home owner will. About 15 minutes ago we lost power due to a big windstorm. (My laptop battery is making this posting possible.) About an hour ago I was up to my thighs in icy cold water, still wearing my PJ’s, fishing our umbrella and tabletop out of the creek because the wind had blown them down. Earlier some sections of our carport roof blew right off into the yard! We’re already planning to get our roof redone but this makes it all the more urgent. We also plan to get an efficient wood stove installed, instead of our existing fireplace. Winter power outages won’t be so bad with the heat from a wood stove.
A few days ago Sarah accidentally flipped off the main power switch to our home when she tried to install a baseboard heater. She was so worried that she’d blown the whole electrical system but the park manager turned back on the juice and the electrician installed all our heaters in no time at all. Phew!
We feel very safe here in our new community. All our neighbours have been very friendly and the park manager is great. We love our neighbourhood. So despite such dramatic stuff in the local news we are not living in fear but rather feeling quite happy, something that’s a bit of a novelty after such a difficult year in 2009.
I applied to be in the Moss Street Paint In event this year. There’s no guarantee I’ll be accepted but chances are good. I’ll keep you posted. The event is in mid July. I’m planning to prepare a lot of new art for the the season, especially some printmaking which is my new direction. I’m having a lot of fun with linocut and I want to try some woodcut relief prints.
The KUNAMOKST mural was unveiled in Vancouver during the winter olympics and is now on display in Coquitlam Centre in Coquitlam until April 17. Then the mural will be moved to Victoria airport and will be on display there until June 18th. From there the mural moves to Galiano Island, the mural’s permanent home, where it will be unveiled during a big celebration on June 20th. Many of the participating artists will be in attendance, including myself. For more information and to see the mural online please visit:
http://www.muralmosaic.com/kunamokst.html
I hope the power comes back on soon. I’m holding down the fort with all four paws until Sarah comes home tonight. We may have to use the BBQ for dinner tonight!
Best wishes to everyone for a happy Easter weekend and a happy Spring!
cheers!
Caroline
ps – it is now a day later and we went almost thirty hours without power. The windstorm has been quite dramatic. Apparently it is one of the worst the Island has had in recent years. But the lights and heat are back on, and everyone here is fine. We enjoyed a night in front of our fireplace with candles. We also connected with our neighbours, looking for firewood and helping each other out. Tonight we’re going to have a potluck dinner at a neighbour’s house. This morning while cooking my lunch on the BBQ I saw two enormous pileated woodpeckers knocking chunks off a dead tree by the creek. The tree is leaning wayyyyyy over the water. I wonder if the next windstorm will take it down? The adventures in Langford continue!