Thursday 22 October 2015

Two and a half?



With Canada's federal election now over, I'm hopeful that the majority of my Facebook content will go back to being pretty photographs with memes, instead of the overwhelming number of political posts from all sides of the fence.

Yesterday, I was rewarded when one of my old friends posted one that read "What we all want in life: to travel, fall in love, and be happy." I jokingly suggested that I figured that was, as the song above says, working on two, but realized that, in fact, I was actually doing better than that.

Patterns

I haven't done much travelling in the last two years, certainly not like I did the first two years of being alone, and I've missed it, in some ways. Granted, those first two years were spent in an emotional wilderness because I couldn't do much else, and despaired of ever getting out of it.

Moult #3

But as I've be happier in my own skin again, actually having better friendships has become something I've found I'm more comfortable with. I'm not where close to being "in love" but the concept isn't repulsive either: coming from someone who had a panic attack three years ago when someone tried to hold me, that's a major advancement.

chugchugclangclang

So I'm hitting the road -- first to the West Coast, and then to the East Coast -- leaving next week, and apart from five days in between spent in Calgary, I won't be back until Christmas, with my brain recharged, ready to head back into the studio to make art. There may, or may not, be some blog posts along the way, but I make no guarantees.

Gull #1

Wednesday 14 October 2015

Love and understanding, more or less



The positivity of the last few months continues, building upon successes and challenges I've faced and overcome. So much so that when I was at an event last night, across the lobby, I recognized someone from several previous lives ago who had an enormous impact (both good and bad) on me for decades: if the encounter had taken place ten years ago, I know I would have gone over and tried to rekindle the relationship.

But all I did was turn and walk away.

Been there. Done that.

Shifting colours

One of the best parts, I think, is that I'm going out more, whether with camera in hand on Saturday as my reward for voting early in our federal election, or going to see friends perform at Wordfest (the local literary extravaganza) and Fluid Fest most evenings this week. It's not that I didn't go out before, but now, I'm taking more than a certain pleasure in doing so. It's a chance to broaden my horizons, see the talented people who keep my creative batteries charged up, or well, just have fun. Fun has been in short supply in my life the last 4.5 years, compared to the last month or so.

Few flowers left

Apart from fun, I've also begun to catch-up on things that I've put off for, uh, awhile, like sorting through all the stuff I had in storage, and tossing: I'm continuing to do that too. Along the way, I'm finding things I thought were lost, and realizing others things have either been lost or stolen along the way. And I'm OK with that too now.

Skyline

I've got a boatload of news waiting to be confirmed as well, once I get some of the details nailed down, but in the meantime, it's back to the studio table, the knitting needles, and the computer before putting on my disguise as "social butterfly."

Farewell

Friday 2 October 2015

Hitting a moving target

Photowalk #6

Last weekend was Alberta Arts Days -- a concept started a few years ago in the province and which has been adopted across the country as Canada Culture Days -- complete with two blocks downtown devoted to all things "artsy" on Friday night. I went down to see friends who were participating, and lucked into a 20-minute "class" by Neil Zeller on how to take better photographs.

There wasn't really anything new, although it never hurts to be reminded of the important things ("shoot the light" and "change the perspective"): I had some time between the end of the session and the gallery opening I was going to, and had my camera with me (on purpose!), so on a beautiful fall evening, I set off to go explore two new bridges and a park that opened up this summer. (The images in this post, in fact.)

It was a rare creative break in a stretch from the subject of the last blog until yesterday: once again, I had to move my boxes and furniture from Storage #2 to Storage #3, and had spent some time sorting out boxes that I probably should have done when I packed them up in November/December 2011 to take to Storage #1 (and moved to Storage #2 in September 2013), but really didn't have the physical or mental energy after the Equinox Vigil to properly sit down, sort, and generally reduce my physical footprint again.

Photowalk #7

A lot of my late husband's clothes finally found a home where they will do more good than just being stored away: that was the most challenging thing I managed to accomplish before the movers arrived to take the heavy furniture. I had great plans to take all the cotton pieces, cut/soak/beat them, and turn the resulting pulp into paper, but after 4.5 years, it was time to let that idea slip away.

I still have some treasured items that I wear regularly, and others that I will use in forthcoming installation pieces: that will have to do.

Photowalk #9

Storage #3 is an old garage I have to myself -- if it was a home, it would be a seriously "fixer-upper" shack -- with one small light, but good wiring with an outlet that I can plug my big halogen work light into. Most importantly, there's a luxury of space I haven't had in my two previous stops: no longer are things piled upon my couch or are there tiny pathways that wind around piles of boxes. There's even room to have my bentwood rocking chair to sit in, while I sort through the boxes of books, kitchen bits, and art supplies I've got there.

Today, I did some DIY: the big pulldown door didn't lock properly when a load of easy-to-move things went in on Tuesday, which was solved by a friend with a cordless drill and two big bolts to stop it from rolling up, but there was still a substantial gap along the sides and bottom, which I solved with some heavy-duty plastic and tuck tape. The garage itself is well-insulated, but the gaps made that moot. I have a solution for the person door that I'll implement next week, but with the weather front coming through tonight, and the howling winds outside as I write, I knew I needed a solution today.

Photowalk #10

Before I left there this afternoon, I dug out a large mounted photograph I have of Calgary's downtown, taken in 1963, that I received for working on a show about modernist architecture, and set it up where I can see it as I sort books and organize art supplies over the next four weeks.

As I locked the door behind me, and set off to stock the pantry before the nasty weather set in, I had the same fine sense of being that discovered me a month or so ago.

It felt good then, and it feels good now.

Photowalk #11

Books for Sale

The shop is currently empty.