Halifax: Calgary Art Bomber

While walking along Gottingen Street in Halifax two weeks ago, I spotted this lonely yarn bomb that was nicely labelled. One side of the label is a tree trunk encircled with a yarn bomb. 

The other side of the label reads "courtesy the Calgary Artbomber" and you can read about her here. For more info about Yarn Bombing, check out this site. Now that the weather is finally cooling off, I can think about teaching myself to crochet a zigzag afghan or scarf. Or maybe I'll just knit colourful stripey scarves and afghans. Hmmm.

Halifax wonder

One of my favourite places in Halifax is the Public Gardens. One evening, while walking back to our friends' place after a nice meal, we wandered through the gardens and came upon this orb. It looks like it could be giant piece of coral and I love how the lines look like a maze for ants. I may play around with the top image in Photoshop to see what happens.

Studio series: Forgiveness #3

Forgiveness #3 © Karen Thiessen, 1999; Photo credit: Julian Beveridge

This is one of the sparest quilts that I've ever made. It is simple and calm. I dyed the golden fabrics with onion skins and various mordants and I painted the centre blue rectangle with silk-screening ink. This quiet little quilt is in the collection of a Gemini award-winning sound person and her multimedia husband. How cool is that?

Postcards: Ellen Dijkstra

The image of this resin purse captured my imagination the moment that I set eyes on it nearly 10 years ago. Ellen Dijkstra exhibited a purse like this in a 2002 Harbourfront Centre show and it's still tucked away in my mind. The Harbourfront purse may have had a gun embedded in it, but that may be a figment of my imagination. Purses are mysterious spaces-- women carry lipstick, facial tissues, money, feminine hygiene products, all manner of credit and identification cards, keys, sunglasses, reading glasses, hand cream, breath mints, cell phones, pens, and more. Some women even carry guns in their purses. Some women are minimalists, carrying only the bare essentials. Others are prepared for anything and everything. What do you carry in your purse?

Quotes: Jack Layton

"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world." -- Jack Layton*


*Jack Layton (1950-2011) wrote this love letter to Canadians in the final days of his life and it was published on August 22, 2011, the day of his death. He was the leader of the National Democratic Party (NDP) and the Official Opposition in our federal Canadian government. This was the first time in history that the NDP held this role. Jack Layton was much loved by Canadians from all political persuasions and he is missed. Given that today is Labour Day here in Canada, I thought it would be appropriate to share this quote from a leader who fought for the rights of workers.

Halifax colour

One thing I miss about living in Halifax is the colourful houses. Just look at the pea green house sandwiched between blue and yellow-- it's like an artist's palette or a section of rainbow. It wasn't until I moved from Ontario to Singapore to Nova Scotia within a span of 13 months that I understood or even noticed light quality. Light in Ontario changes with the seasons; it is crispest on a cold winter day. The light in Singapore is consistently brash and the shop-houses are painted bold yellows, pinks, and blues-- and it works brilliantly. Halifax light is occasionally crisp, but usually ranges from light grey to very grey. This is where colourful houses brighten the landscape and the spirit. The house colours that work the best with the light quality are cheerful but not bold like the Black-eyed Susans in the boulevard garden. Now I'm living in Ontario where people rarely paint their homes such happy colours. Sigh.

Halifax

My beloved and I just returned from a week in Halifax where we visited friends, explored our favourite Canadian city, and inhaled ocean air. Ten years ago, when we lived in Halifax, Theodore Tugboat was a regular in the harbour. The Silva (top photo) is a new addition to the waterscape.