expressions

Nonsense. Not if you are living in a 600 square foot area and all of the tools, sink, toilet, paint, bags of dry wonder mix are all over the floor. We have only four days left and we are both dead tired.

Niches to the left for storage are planipatched

Cameron got the pocket door framed up, put trim on the windows, panipatched the niches and exposed wall end where he built out to enclose the tub, installed the in floor heating and put thin set on it.

Must be shaking with excitement, faucet ready for sink

I did laundry, cleaned the floor, cleaned the floor, went out…guess where? Oh yeah! The hardware store. We ordered the mirror from competition glass that will also act as a backsplash and I finished the painting for the Almost Famous show at Gallery Vertigo.

I donated a piece to the Penticton Art Gallery, the Kamloops Art Gallery and will drive the piece up to Vernon for Gallery Vertigo tomorrow. Cameron has a gig at the bliss cafe so we will sand and prime before the gig, I will drive to Vernon and then join him in Peachland. After that we come home and get back to work. Only four days left before deadline on this project.

Painting for Gallery Vertigo is a rendition of a Raphael work I find very sensual.

Rain, wind, sun, clouds, sun, big wind. We had serious multiple personality expressions in the weather today. Cameron and I soldiered on and got all of the dry wall up and mudded and taped. Today, for a change, I swept, vaccumed and mopped the floor four times. Keeping the dry wall dust out of every surface in the house is an agean stables activity meant to increase my flexibility both physically and psychologically.

I did take a break to work in the garden for about an hour. The new wavy waterfall of bamboo grass that I bought promises to spill luxuriously down from a planter a distance of five feet. It will be fun to watch it develop.

A friend, Ann Tracy, sent through an email saying a place in Florida wants alligator art so I worked on that while I waited for the dust and grit and dirt to build up again. I am including the three versions that I created.

image with fewer filters on it

the energy of an alligator

I

ceiling

It sounds salacious but it just means that we got the sale item bathtub mortared in place. While Cameron was making the drains and connections work, I dug out all the ivy under the tree that had been attacking my neighbour’s side of the fence for the last three years. I am amazed at how patient she was with me and my invasive three types of ivy. Not to mention the grape that likes to hurl itself over the top of the fence and go after their small dogs. ( Perhaps I am exaggeration).

I got the stone patio in, planted the pink star-fire zinnias, sweet peas ( too late, too hot) and Asters. More sweeping, mopping, wiping building residue off of the walls.

Sale bathtub, no scratches just small wobble

The front yard looks magnificent. I cut part of the over weaning Lilac tree away to allow the Delphinium to get more sun. Cameron was not happy to see me sawing away with his coping saw and brought out the big guy, ruumm, ruuumm, and got the large trunk that was at a 45 degree angle over my flower bed.

I set up the chaise chair and the umbrella as well as moving some planters around the stone pad. I managed to pull something necessary out of place in my back. Wall board in the ceiling tomorrow. That should be interesting.

Boxes in place

Today I made two trips to the dump, mowed the front lawn, used the weed eater to clean up edges, weeded and watered. Because my neighbour is on the garden tour in Kelowna and dozens of people were parking on our block and walking past my house, I had an expiation of guilt over the condition on my yard. At least the roses were magnificently showy. Too bad the lawn is partially dead due to the neglect of our flying off to Europe.

I cleared a great deal of the back yard, got part of the home studio floor cleared and laundry complete. Cameron worked away on the bathroom. My role seems to be to find the hiding tool, run to the hard ware store, fix some uninspired, badly prepared meals and keep him supplied with coffee.

With only ten days left, framing in and electrical moves forward

I am also trying to prepare some donations for fund raisers for the Kamloops Art Gallery and the Penticton Art Gallery. More teaching opportunities are coming in and I want to keep those dates straight.

controls for sink, bathtub, fan, lights

After I cleaned the floor…again!! Well the urge to go have a bath was strong. Paint splattered clothes and hair came off. The dark ring in the tub from the last ablution had to be scrubbed out. I washed my hair, put on the tissue thin dress I brought back from Vienna and lay on the deck under the stars. Watching the wind knead the clouds into varying shapes, listening to the trees catching the breezes and eating cherries was such a beautiful time after the day’s relentless activities, that I thought about how these moments are the ones that really “count” not the days we are counting down.

ceiling had to be shaved and reboarded for eveness

First of all don’t do it when you only have one month to get it finished! We are up to our eyeballs in supplies, dirt, dry wall dust and the clock is ticking. Everyone tells us it is impossible to complete the task in one month. We have only two weeks left… so the race is on.

ripping out the walls, tiles, windows

Cleaning up dust is on going. I clean using oil soap etc. twice a day to keep the dust trails minimal.

new pipe in place

Vermiculite is not pixie dust. Gray insulation and ancient nails create a certain interesting texture.

more new plumbing

Old shop vac doesn’t work. Had to purchase a new one.

So many unexpected expenses seem to be par for the course.

gutted but subfloor has to come out

Cameron is working alone on this project with only my feeble attempts to help out. Because of the Rheumatoid arthritis in my hands, I am limited as to what I can hold and for how long. But I do clean up valiantly.

the fixture outlet wall, tub, sink, toilet here

The entire bathroom is seven feet by seven and 1/2 feet. Today Cameron got some of the new framing in. Pictures forthcoming. Stay tuned.

Art which is most powerful in a contemporary/urban setting seems to bloom when it is placed for maximum effect. I was very pleased when Rob Chetner of TC Homes emailed me and asked if I could place my art in his new waterfront development on the West Side of Kelowna.

black and white Construct/Destruct looks great in this room

I returned from Vienna with some pieces that were in the international show Disparate Voices. Earth and Spirit-Wind were both selected to be shown in the show home which opens today for public viewing.

Earth is one of a series of Elements

Getting art ready for the opening and working construction on our own home has been challenging. But tonight as we sat on the front step looking at the beautiful row of roses we were thankful… and exhausted for and from our lives.

Grey Red has tones that exactly match the bathroom

Once our renovations are done, including rebuilding the bathroom after ripping out everything except for some plumbing… including subfloor and ceiling, I just want to drink ice tea and drift. Last summer was so busy I missed it. This year, I want to get some days of sitting and then sitting and then maybe more sitting before the afternoon nap.

Wind Spirit greets those who go upstairs

gray bubbles is above the powder room biffy

The piece that has such force and power is over the bed in the master bed room and just pops out in the white and black room which has one full wall of glass overlooking the lake.

Red Swirl: the caressing of two colors

Large Navaho Rug work reflects in dining room mirrors

My work has found a setting that really shows its quirkiness, its movement and its intensity. What better way to have a contemporary art form showcased but in a contemporary environment? It spurs me on to seek other sleek settings for the work that I call art for those on the forward edge.

After the opening of the Disparate Voices show, we all climbed in the hot car and drove back to Vienna proper. Once we were there, we headed out to the Art Gallery Fair. Most of the Galleries in the inner-city area were in evidence and we got an opportunity to view a cross section of what is being created and sold in the contemporary art scene in Austria. Exhausted as we all were, we were fascinated to explore what others are producing.

That evening we were planning to go to the Nasch market but none of us could scrape up the energy. Cameron and I elected to go on a following day. The wonderful, crowded outdoor food fare was fascinating. We purchased some candied fruit and went to lunch at the Lighthouse Restaurant. The fish was superb. Cooked to just the right moment for tenderness. If you are in Vienna, don’t pass up the opportunity to satisfy the senses.

The view of Vienna in the background

Once we got to Langenlois we felt as if we were plunged into the past. The village is reminiscent of a movie set. The stone plaza, the plaster surfaced houses applied over the field stones that surfaced every spring, the cafes with patios circled around the tiny ring road of the town, the architecture that is so typical of Middle Eastern mountain towns spoke of a time travel experience. We had Viennese ice coffee sitting in the sun under an evergreen tree raised to the top of the catholic statue in the centre of town.The May tree according to some internet research that I did is a tradition of Maibaumfest which is a German ancient festival welcoming spring after a long, cold winter.

a packed house for opening of Disparate Voices, Austria

The opening of the art show was wonderful. I counted over 75 guests and the occasion was doubly a pleasure because Cameron played bass with two students from the local Viennese Music School. One of the guitar players is a plumber who has taken up music as a second career. Interesting because Cameron is a musician who has taken up electrical contracting as a second career.

Many people ended up returning to the exhibit on a following day. The gallery owner said that a local art professor at the University of Vienna brought a class down to view the exotic Canadian artists’ work: that would be me and Jean-Francois.

cleaning up before the show. Fire hung on wall.

Cameron and I got up early the next day, we were on a different time rhthym, and walked around town. We really enjoyed the local park with a outdoor pool, outdoor shower and change room; sand volleyball pit; climbing wall; mini-tower; and see-saw swings that are attached to one another so two people swinging can set up a reaction in the partner’s swing. Cameron had unfair advantage and jerked me around like a puppet. We were both laughing outloud. We thoroughly enjoyed the time alone just to explore and enjoy the new environment.

Later that day we had lunch with Matthias’ family who kindly adopted us and extended every kindness to us. We met his Aunt who, married to a doctor, lives in Graz and teaches English in a local school. Interestingly enough, it is the gallery in Graz that expressed interest in doing another show with my work in it. So now after I get the yard and house back in order, I will send off a portfolio for the Graz Gallery. Who knows what possibilities exit.

During would be good if it weren’t truly an adventure. We spent so much time on the move and not hooked into internet during our journey that it was impossible to keep my site properly “fed”. However, now that we are back in Kelowna, I can begin to tell the tale.

overlooking vienna from a viewpoint

The weeks preceding the journey were stressful and busy. With the passing away of my step-father, the journeys to take care of him and his affairs, time was distorted and disjointed. Two art shows right before I left further ate up my time. The actual preparation for the Vienna show seemed to take last place.

the beautiful suburb outside Vienna that we visited.

The plane trip took almost 17 hours and found us arriving at the Vienna airport in another time and space. The trip itself was smooth because Cameron does such a brilliant job of planning and anticipating transitions. We always knew exactly how much time we had to move from place to place. Wrangling the art work rolled in a lawn chair bag and carefully stowed in plumbing pipe that Cameron constructed as a waterproof tube was a feat. We had a backpack each. We each had a computer bag that we used as “hand bags” or in his case a “man bag.” In addition, we brought a suitcase with a suitcase in it.

We have travelled enough to know by now that that extra suitcase is necessary. We tend to pick up paper, books, receipts etc. until we expand and become quite heavy and awkward. From each trip we have returned with an additional, newly purchased suitcase. We decided that this time we would not add to our collection any further.

We were  very pleased to see Matthias’ smiling face at the airport. He took us to his cabin where we spent the first few days and we immediately went to sleep.

Vienna is a town full of parks

Very soon we were in the car to take my art work to the gallery in the suburb of Langenlois which is a charming winegrowing area. The town is typical of historic Austrian and Eastern European villages. The stones that the fields offered up each spring were used to construct the buildings. Covered with a mud-like substance, the walls were painted brightly and when the surface crumbles one can see the history of the area appearing in the walls.

overlooking the city and the river

Setting up the show went very smoothly and the gallery itself was spectacular. The view from the ultra modern structure of the village from the past was a delightful juxtaposition. The gallery owner’s family owns several businesses in Langenlois, including wine-making. They were wonderful hosts and went out of their way to make us feel welcome.