Inspiration

common thread

April 5, 2022

Natalie Novak‘s tapestries take inspiration from ancient weaving techniques, and reflect the artist’s interest in mythology, symbolism and the super natural world. Her early work reminds me of the Navajo blankets and rugs my brought home from a trip to Santa Fe in the 90’s. This one here with its many bold reds and avocado green is such a beauty. This series looks like bleeding rainbows, and I love all the rich details in her tarot inspired tapestries. It’s cool to see a contemporary spin –– neon and metallic yarns –– on this ancient art form.

around and around

April 4, 2022

This beautiful and down-to-earth desert home.

These weirdo bud vases by Sandra Apperloo.

Pappardelle and pesto, ricotta and burrata.

Peter Bainbridge’s minimal silkscreen prints.

Cecilia Levy’s exquisite paper sculptures.

fine print

April 4, 2022

It’s Lydia Hardwick‘s bold and graphic patterns that pulled me in. Her designs remind me of ones we might see on African mud cloth. Hardwick works with stoneware and terracotta and uses stained slips and stained clay to create her surface decoration. Her pieces pay homage to traditional ceramics, while feeling utterly contemporary. This “grogged pot” is my favourite –– the ultimate vessel for flaming orange tulips.

april 1

April 1, 2022

Our son was born on a balmy spring morning, and when we left the hospital the next day, it was snowing. The weather was a perfect manifestation of our obstetrician’s parenting advice earlier that week, to “expect the unexpected.” I never expected him to weigh nine pounds at birth. I never expected him to stab a chopstick through his left cheek, have a penchant for pirates, or spend 15-hours a week on pommels and parallel bars. I never expected him to sit in a stadium of Maple Leaf fans, wearing a Winnipeg Jets jersey, a city he has no connection to, but supports with the ardent devotion of a native. I never expected the emotional outpouring (his and mine) when he feels an injustice, or that he would tear through chicken legs like a street puppy. I never expected him to be so difficult, and so easy. I never expected eleven to come so fast, and to take so long. Beyond knowing that he had ten toes, and that I loved him, I didn’t expect anything at all.

nature knows

March 29, 2022

Every year around this time I see tulip leaves emerging in the gardens around Victoria College and I worry that they’re too eager, that they won’t survive another Spring snowfall. “Why would you leave your cozy bunker for the wicked chills of lingering winter?” I ask them. “Stay put, little blooms.” But the tulips ignore my pleas. They know better. I see these ones bloom year after year. They’re a vibrant red and bring a splash of majesty to the grounds of the college. Spring is always a bit of a miracle, isn’t it?

around and around

March 25, 2022

Custom rosettes in velvet and grosgrain by Leila Sanderson.

Harriet Powers’ quilting legacy.

Hinke Weikamp’s nature inspired monoprints.

An eclectic home in Mexico City.

A kitchen of soft edges and pastels.

Garth Buckles‘ ancient oaks.

metal works

March 25, 2022

Adele Brereton‘s vessels, crafted from silver and gold, look like they might have washed up from the ocean, or fallen from a magical tree. They look like fragments of a larger vessel. Made from a flat sheet of metal and using ancient techniques such as hammering, her delicate bowls are destined to contain your most precious items. Her jewellery –– delicate pendants and textured rings –– is simple and beautifully crafted. Heirlooms, one might say.

artist as sea

March 23, 2022

Sax Impey‘s work is inspired by his experiences at sea. He’s clocked thousands of nautical miles delivering yachts to places all over the world. Impey’s paintings are so beautifully atmospheric, as are is his highly detailed pencil drawings. It’s his most recent seascapes that I am most drawn to, that show the many moods of the ocean.

light as air

March 22, 2022

The heavier the world feels, the lighter this blog gets. Springs salads, Hyacinths in handmade vases, flamingo pink guest loos. My best writing comes when I have room to think, when I have to room to reflect. And in order to do that, I need to release air from the balloon, so to speak. The key for me is that I keep writing, even if what I have to say is as frothy as a cappuccino. Because when the urge does come for me to express something weightier, I’m more likely to have the words.

spring salad

March 21, 2022

I always feel bad when someone makes the effort to slice mango into a salad only to see me pushing it to the edge of my plate. Same goes for Kiwi. Ew. But this citrus salad looks delicious. Somehow oranges and grapefruits seem so much more palatable in a salad. I love adding fresh herbs –– mint, dill, flat-leaf parsley –– to a salad, and I’d sprinkle some pecorino shavings on top, too. Al fresco lunches; we’re almost there, folks.

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