Saturday, March 31, 2007
Last Light, Petit Passage... a new ATC
Trying to catch up on my ATC project, I made this last night and finished it up this morning.
Posted by Monica Gillis at 10:08 AM 1 comments
Labels: ATCs, finished works, watercolour
Friday, March 23, 2007
Aberlemno Stone Spiral rock carving - finished
Taa daa! After about 1 1/2 hrs last night, she's done. The outside circle is 7.5 cm in diameter, I've photographed the stone with my chequebook to give a better idea of the size. It was challenging to work with such small lines so close together, but I'm very happy with the results. I think I'll have to go the the beach today for more art supplies. ;)
Posted by Monica Gillis at 8:24 AM 4 comments
Labels: celtic, finished works, stone carving
Thursday, March 22, 2007
spiral stone work-in-progress
I'm working on my second stone, and thought I'd post work in progress images to document how I'm doing this.
Posted by Monica Gillis at 3:28 PM 3 comments
Labels: celtic, stone carving
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
my first stone carving!
Here it is! I am so excited about this, and can't wait to do more. The knot is around 6cm x 6cm, and took about 4 hours to complete.
Posted by Monica Gillis at 7:56 AM 2 comments
Labels: stone carving
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
stone carving
My first foray into stone carving. I'm doing it the easy way, with a Dremel. I'm actually surprised by how easy it is... the tool cuts the stone like it's sinking into warm butter. It's very fun, and kind of magical to see hard stone yield to me. I'll post this again as soon as I finish it.
Posted by Monica Gillis at 4:06 PM 1 comments
Labels: stone carving
Monday, March 19, 2007
daily sketch: 19 March
Two quickie sketches from the WetCanvas scavenger hunt: the first as a challenge to draw from an unusual/diffucult perspective. I found it hard to pull off, and didn't quite get the shape of the pot right. Practice, practice!
I'm very excited about something new I'm working on, and I'll get some photos up soon. My mom and dad gave me a dremel and diamond bits for Christmas, and I'm just getting around to trying it out. I'm carving beach rocks- I played around with a few of the bits today to see what variety of line I can get, and then I carved a freehand triskele knot, with interlacing. I'm excited about this new technique, and I'm getting ideas about things I can try...
Posted by Monica Gillis at 2:53 PM 0 comments
Labels: sketches
Sunday, March 18, 2007
daily sketch: 18 March 07
Posted by Monica Gillis at 7:15 PM 0 comments
Labels: sketches
Saturday, March 17, 2007
celtic whale #2
Posted by Monica Gillis at 9:56 PM 0 comments
Labels: ATCs, celtic, finished works, watercolour
march break and a dream come true
I hate blogger today... it's eaten my posts three times already. Each type I re-type, the post becomes shorter...!
We had the kids in Halifax this week for the March school break.
On the way there, we hiked at the Blomidon Provincial Park. The view from the top of the look-off was brilliant. The red cliffs of Blomidon tower over the mudflats of the Minas Basin stretched out below. The flats are mirrored in the green rolling fields of the Valley.
In Halifax, we saw some giant robotic reptiles, played at the Discovery Centre, swam for hours at the hotel pool, and had a ton of fun.
I also was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of mine. I've been fascinated with ancient Egypt since I did a project in the fourth grade. My only tattoo is of my name in hieroglyphics. I've always wanted to go to Egypt, and failing that, to at least see Egyptian artifacts in real life. I got my wish. The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia is hosting a travelling exhibit "The Treasures of Ancient Egypt" from the Museum of Fine Art in Boston. They are the oldest Egyptian artifacts in North America.
I was surprised by how emotional I felt seeing the display. For me, the most moving was the display of a mirror, a kohl pot and stick , and cosmetic pots. I caught my own reflection in the mirror, and immediately felt a connection spanning across space and time to another woman just like me 4000 years ago.
I was also blown away by Graeme Patterson's installation Woodrow. The installation speaks of the death of rural Canada, and features large models of decaying landmarks of his once-thriving, now nearly deserted hometown in Saskatchewan. The models feature small video displays with his own stop-action animated short films and robotic figures. My favorite was the church with an elderly lady playing organ upstairs while two old men bowl in the basement. They were mesmerizing and my kids were really excited about them.
Posted by Monica Gillis at 3:43 PM 0 comments
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Hiking at Kejimkujik
We drove to Kejimkujik National Park yesterday for a 7 km (5 mi.) hike. I love Keji - I camped there often as a child with my family, and spent weeks there every summer. I love canoeing to the wilderness camping sites on the islands, and I love hiking the extensive trail system.
My favorite hiking trail is the Hemlocks and Hardwoods trail, a loop through one of the few remaining pockets of old-growth forests in Nova Scotia. 350 year old hemlocks tower above to a thick, green canopy. Within the forest, it seems to be perpetually twilight. It is a totally magical and otherworly place. I would love to visit in the winter, but it would have been a 15 km. or so hike... so maybe some other time.
Posted by Monica Gillis at 7:47 PM 0 comments
Labels: hiking, keji, photography