Hosting Japanese Students

We've been busy hosting Japanese students from the nearby Tamagawa school .

Its been a lovely experience. Lots of gesturing and face making to be able to communicate. The girls have hand held talking dictionaries that they consult from time to time which has made it less frustrating for them, I am sure.

We thought we were going to spend alot of time at the beaches with them but the weather turned a little cooler. So art work indoors became the focus of the day. Later we took turns riding the horses. Lots of giggles when we got them to trot.



The internet has been an excellent tool to communcate with. We used Google Earth to go to their part of the world and "see" where they live(literally!). We also have been using the internet to show each other our favourite Music Artists. They like "Kra" and "Bump of Chicken" I turned them on to Joanna Newsom and Modest Mouse.
So much fun. Oriagato girls!

Horses Come Home Today

The horses have been staying at the neighbours for the last couple of weeks. They have a large unused pasture that they have generously offered to my horses to eat. I just have to provide them with water and the owners of the pasture can ride them whenever they want in exchange.
When I turned them out into the field they seemed surprised to see the standing stones. They were very curious and made blowing noises and pranced about for a few minutes before settling down to eat. It was very entertaining.
The smaller chestnut is Blaze and the dark bay Pinto is Jewel. Blaze is a Morgan gelding and Jewel is a Canadian Sport Horse mare. Horses have been a huge part of my life over the years but recently that has shifted for me. I love and appreciate them as I do all life, but I no longer have the desire to ride them or spend all my spare time with them. Its so interesting to see this shift in myself.

I've Been Tagged Today

My good friend Candy tagged me. The game today is to list 5 things in various parts of my life.

Five Things in My Freezer

1. peas
2. spinach
3. pita bread
4. prawns
5. oil paint brushes wrapped in plastic

Five Things in My Car

1. mask and snorkel
2. towels
3. lots of CD's
4. box of tissues
5. gallons of water, (I was filling up 2 garbage cans in the back to transport over to the horses for their water, when I went into the house and forgot all about it for HOURS.)

Five Things in my Purse

1. Hairbrush
2. money
3. cell phone
4. bottle of water
5. coupons for curry

Five Things in my Closet

1. Apache, my 15 year old dog, I cut a doggy door in my closet's door
2. box of old letters
3. extra quilts
4. horse riding gear
5. wet suit

There you go!
And I tag Steel String Poetry

A List for Gratitude

• This is a list of just some things to thank All of Our Consciousness for creating. (I am including thanking myself as well, since I'm sure I had a hand in the creations too.)

1. Organic shade grown, fairly traded coffee beans
2. Seasons
3. Beautiful rivers to swim in
4. The understanding to not take things personally, even myself or the size or shape of my body
   
5. To see the Beloved in everything
6. The ability to grow a vegetable garden
7. The ability to gather wild berries in my back yard
8. Soaker tubs
9. The inspiration to get away from organised religion
10. Indoor plumbing
    

My Summer Vacation

Here I am on one of BC's ubiquitious ferries. The view is stunning.

I went for 2 days to to the Sunshine Coast for a luxury vacation. My 3 older children all
work at a luxury resort on the westcoast of B.C. As a lovely treat for myself and my
daughter, they pooled their money to get me a stay in an incredible "tent".
At the entrance to the treetop boardwalk, the resort has just put up these stones.
I had to smile at the coincidence, that was a project I had just finished at home.
And here at this luxury resort, they had just completed a similiar theme. Except they
used imported stone from Arizona that had obsidian imbedded in it.
The most awesome time I had was just knowing how much we love each other,
and knowing how lucky I am to have such thoughtful children . To see how decadent these "tents" are, this website offers a virtual tour of the place and a photo gallery of the "Tenthouse Suites."
The first night, they stayed to visit us, and we had a hilarious time taking turns useing the
luxury Spa bathtub and the slate-lined-2-sprayer-shower.

The Tree Root

Here are the before and after shots of placing this incredible sculpture.
It has a breathtaking impact for everyone who comes around the corner in the
back yard. Some of the roots are bigger than the surrounding trees.
I welcome the weathering that will occur over the years. Perhaps the kids can
play on it too.

Stone Altar

I am really pleased with the beauty of these stones. Now the horse pasture takes on a
whole other dimension.
I like that there are gaps between the stones. As the grass grows the view will change.
A chunk had fallen out of this one when the machine moved it. Now there is a perfect
little shelf for a candle or a crystal or something different as the mood strikes me.

Rock Moving

This project involves 3 large granite stones, placed in a tripod. Then we
had a large flat-ish sandstone top placed on top.
Steve was a master at this. It only took him one try to get it in place.
I'm going to spend tommorrow fixing the sites up and then I will take
the finished pictures. I was very happy with the final outcomes of all the
projects today......Steve, You're a Genius.
It was like magic, that I can have a vision and then someone else had the
talent and the ability to do it.

More Earth Art

While I had this awesome machine and operator at my disposal, I
had him move a giant rock that I had lying in the driveway as a seating area,
down into the pasture to be a "standing stone". It was touch and go for a
bit, to see if would balance upright. The machine also knocked some of
the rock apart. But it turned out perfect.

I'll post the finished results another day.

Earth Art

I've been busy all day, creating some cool landscaping. This huge Douglas Fir
died last year and needed to be removed. I hired Steve, an awesome backhoe
operator who has done alot of work for me in the past. When he got the root out,
I thought, hey that would look great set up in my yard somewhere.

Steve was game, so he dragged it over near my sitting area and pushed it up
It will make an awesome sculpture when I am done with it. More photos are pending.

20 comments Wednesday reminder

20 Comments Wednesday was started by the Pie Shop
The idea is to create more community among the bloggers. Connect, communicate, have some fun.
The idea is that every Wednesday, visit blogs and leave a comment. Then posts the links to the blogs that you visited.
I have found some really interesting blogs because of it.
Thanks Pie Shop!
So far;
One Red Paperclip
Mister Anchovy
Insightful Spirit
Billy
Red Letter Day
Asterisk
Start Wearing Purple
Candy Minx
Watch My Loss
Steel String Poetry

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

I think a few words about Syd Barrett are in order today. He passed away
July 7th in his home in England.

I was a Pink Floyd fan in the day. When I was attending art school, a fellow
student brought in a Syd Barrett tape and we listened to it everyday while we painted.
I will always associate his songs with painting.
I was interested to read in the news, that he spent his time painting and gardening.
Sounds like a great life.

Imaginings from Living the 4 Agreements

1. Imagine that you can see everything with the eyes of love. Love will give you peace. There is no need to suffer.
2. Imagine that the message of love is possible and you will find that it is yours.
3. Imagine that you have permission to be happy and to really enjoy your life.
4. Imagine expressing what you want without fear, choosing what you want without doubt, and moving into action with commitment from every part of your being.
5. Imagine living your life without being afraid to take a risk and explore life.
6. Imagine what your life would be like if you were not afraid to lose anything.
7. Imagine living your life without the fear of being judged by others.
8. Imagine living your life without judging others.
9. Imagine living without fear of loving and not being loved in return. You are no longer afraid to be rejected, and you don't have the need to be accepted.
10. Imagine that you love yourself just the way you are.
    

The Oran Mor

The Oran Mor is the gaelic word for the Great Song. One
way to view life is that everything has a rhythm. I was raised
by parents who were self-proclaimed non-musical. I believed
this for most of my life so far.
I took up the dijeridu last year and fell in love with expressing
through sound and rhthym. This year I am adding drumming.
Out of the blue, my neighbour invited me to go with her to a
drumming workshop offered at our small town's yoga studio.
We both had a blast and decided why not have a drumming circle?
She has an amazing home called Yesteryear Farm and she offered
it as the site. I talked to another family of one of my daycare kids,
who happens to build and play drums. Turns out that he was
looking for an excuse to get back into it after stopping for 3 years.
Our first night of drumming was last Tuesday and it was so much fun!
This is one of his drums, he is lending it to me to practice.
At first, I was absolutely rhythym challenged, it was Funny! But
eventually, I "got" it. I was thrilled.
Please check a Master Drummer named Babatunde Olatunji
Now you can see what is so appealling.
His biography is fascinating as well. His Biography.
I like the notion of having to stop thinking, mind chatter stuff, to be able
to really groove. I am finding it truly Healing.

20 Comments Wednsday

OK, its not 20. But I am very encouraged that I got more than 2 or 3.

I visited:

Synchronicity

Start Wearing Purple

Candy Minx

Red Pages

Rock It To Me

Steel String Poetry

The Pie Shop

Wandering Coyote

Thanks for the idea and the inspiration Candy and The Pie Shop. I admire anyone that can do 20!

Yah! I had a student today!
A lovely girl from the neighbourhood (that means a 1/4 of a mile away in the country)
came to buy and paint gifts for her family. We had a great time painting and hanging out.

My daughter and I got an exceptionally good score at the river in rocks.

Did I mention I love rocks? (I guess I will have to add that to my favorite things on my blog profile.)

Welcome to my space!

I converted part of the barn into a studio space for ceramics and clay art and stuff of all kinds.

The clay mixer is quite messy, as it turns out, and I am planning on moving it into its own room.
Thats the grey splattered vat.

Then there are shelves of clay objects and plaster casting molds that take up alot of room. Casting molds as a living lost its charm for me this last year. So I am now downsizing and moving out alot of the molds.
They are heavy and cumbersome and being out in a rural location, I found that it wasn't a big money maker, and since my heart wasn't in it either, it was an easy decision.
My plan is to keep the ones I love and feel I have a vision for.

Glazing is fun. Coming up with inspiration for ideas is fun.
The skull idea came from my oldest son who is enamoured with Day of the Dead inspired art.

Now that it is summer, I divide my time between the studio and entertaining my daughter. We go to the river or lake to swim when we can. We both enjoy bringing back unusual rocks that we find.

I incorporate them into my garden or my art work.