Caturday: Love Languages

We all have different love languages, including cats! For Shibumi, love is understood through play. When Justin or I take the time to throw her ball (again and again and again – and particularly up or down the stairs), she lights up! She runs over, purring madly, rubbing up against our legs in between each throw. This lively girl needs action and adventure to feel alive and loved! (Have you thought about your love language? What makes you understand you are loved?)

Escher and Scout are very close. Often we find them not just curled up with one another but connected to each other in all kinds of ways, including holding hands.

I have to share that for the first long while I really thought about finding Escher a different home. It wasn’t that I didn’t love him. He always had a special place in my heart. With his introverted and reserved ways, I wondered if he would blossom being the only cat in the house. Maybe that way the playing could always be at his pace and perhaps he would be more open to people if it was just him and them. But then I see moments like this and I think we absolutely made the right decision.

September 2, 2017

stART Episode 85: Go BIG, Go LOTS, Go SISTERS!

Every couple of weeks I film stART: Creating as We Go with my two sisters, Suzie and Shannon. We share our creative projects, from challenges to celebrations, and support each other’s creative lives. In this episode we chat about art classes, creative projects, breakthroughs and breaks, as well as diving full-on into our creative hearts.

Summer is coming to a close but we have been keeping busy with numerous projects big and small. Shannon is contemplating embarking on a big project, Suzie shares artwork and photos for her book and Jamie reads us some found poetry. We dive in deep to lots of projects and so much more!

In this episode we mention…

Shannon ponders a huge new project which she’ll posted more about here.
Suzie continues to share work from her Foodie book and lots of photography including photos of her jewelry for her Etsy Shop.
I share art I created from from Intro to Abstract with Karine Swenson and Carla Sonheim’s Blobimals Class and treats us by reciting one of her Found Poetry Poems.

Keep up-to-date with stART: Creating As We Go

August 25, 2017

Found Poem #2: The Remnant

The remnant,
The faces,
The griefs,
The terrors,
The ruin

Letters to each and all

The deepest wisdom
Of all the earth

The city throbbed
Day and night
The narrow ways
Were crowded
The wide road
Yet dark

A strange cry rang out
High
Vast
And the point was a rich sword

August 24, 2017

Found Poem #1: The Raven

Forced
To lie in bed,
Gnawing with wrath at weakness,
She ravened up
And wandered in the wilds.

Bold and insolent,
Able to bear shame and anguish no longer
Fierce
Brave
and stubborn

Forced to fly
White with great age
And the calmness of deep learning

While I am tucked away in the studio building The Academy for the fall, I am taking little breaks to nourish and express my creative spirit. I have a love of poetry and have been delighting in creating little found poems from an old book.

August 21, 2017

Saturday Morning Adventure: The Beach

For many years, my husband and I have been going on Saturday Morning Adventures. Sometimes it’s just a trip to the hardware store, sometimes it’s exploring a new neighbourhood. Whether it’s errands or entertainment, we frame it this way and suddenly it becomes a chance to connect with one another and experience this life we share.

This week we decided to head down to The Beaches here in Toronto. The water has been high this year and it shows. The few piers that reach out into the water were almost level with the surface of Lake Ontario. I’m nervous around deep water but I found bravery enough to walk to the end of the pier – and to sit on the edge, dangling my bare feet into the water. Plus the view was spectacular.

Here’s what we saw to the East.

Here’s what we saw to the West. See what I mean about unpredictable weather?

And here’s what it looked like straight ahead.

August 19, 2017

stART Episode 84: Change of Pace, Fill Your Well and More

In this episode we mention…

Suzie shares that she’s been working on her Foodie book and also doing restaurant reviews and sold a plate!
Shannon shares what it was like doing a live drawing video and also gets Suzie to pick out more books for her to unwrap in the TBR Unwrapping Project.
I share some of the classes I’ve been diving into in between seasons at the studio including: Word Play Painting with Lynn Whipple, Between Speech and Silence with Diane Culhane, Intro to Abstract with Karine Swenson and Courtney Cerruti’s Living a More Creative Life: 30 Ways at Creativebug,

Keep up-to-date with stART: Creating As We Go

August 6, 2017

August Flowers

With the seasonal approach of the studio, one of my plans has always been to take time off between seasons. So far I have often found myself right into the next, plotting and planning, designing and creating behind the scenes. This month, however, it looks like there will be time for me to meander the boardwalk, journal in coffee shops and catch up on my sleep. In anticipation, I find myself walking slowly through my neighbourhood, enjoying the beauty this time of year holds.