Tuesday, June 29, 2010

The Cheaper Show on Flickr

 If you are curious about the Cheaper Show No.9 and want to see some great photos, I found a few flickr pages of  people who were able to capture the scope of the evening!  It was really and truly an amazing show- people started lining up at 6am to get into the show, which didn't start until 6pm.  The venue was twice as big as last year and everyone got in the show who lined up (as opposed to people in previous years who lined up all night but never made it in the door).  The show started at 6, we arrived at 6:30 and all 3 of my paintings were sold already along with most of the really great work.

The first 2 photos are by  Jahfer (if you enlarge the first photo you will see my 3 paintings directly on the right side of the door frame).
Last photo of Jack Black shaking the hand of The Cheaper Show founder Graeme Berglund is by cherry vega.
There are more to sift through here... and VIP photos right here.

Summer Look-out

It truly is amazing to me how fast the time flew this month.  June seemed to blink by, the boys had their last days of school yesterday and today, and now it's summer!  The weather hasn't been great all month and, while it started out all sunny and balmy this morning, the clouds rolled in and the air cooled off, I put on a sweater and made some tea and wished it actually felt like summer was here.


Today has been a good day to look ahead to what the next 2 months will bring.  Kelly (my part-time summer studio assistant) and I sat down this morning to talk about some up-coming orders to ship off before I take holidays in August. She received a very large order at the studio shop herself (yay, Kelly!) and will use part of my studio and the kilns to work on this.  It's been a really great to have her back in the studio after being off for a few weeks at Haystack.  Since I only have her around until she goes back to Emily Carr in September, it will be great to have her extra set of hands to help me get through the summer months. My first experience of hiring an assistant could have really flopped, but I'm happy to say that it has been great.  I know that finding the right person that suited me and my personality as well as having that right person be in the right place in life to want to do this has made all the difference in this regard. 

On the home front, the boys are looking forward to a good summer of lots of neighbourhood play dates, some camping and more time as a family. Lots of plans are still in the works on this front but I don't want to miss out on summers with young kids because I was working too hard.  It will be good to enjoy trips to the beach, picnics, going to the out-door pool and doing all the fun stuff that makes for good memories as they get older.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Thank you for the great weekend!

I'll post a few more pics later, but just wanted to send a big shout out for the great weekend!  The studio shop went really well and my work for the Cheaper Show sold out before I even got to the show!  Thank you everyone who came out to support the Vancouver art scene!

Friday, June 25, 2010

Shows this weekend!

Lots going on: The Cheaper Show and our studio shop have made things quite busy at the studio for me this week!
I was able to get out to the preview night at the Cheaper Show last night and let me tell you- although I didn't think to bring my camera to show you all, it's going to be an amazing show! Seriously there is some smokin' great art for sale ALL FOR ONLY $200!  And the venue is HUGE.  For those of you that are a little put off by the rumour of a 7 hour line-up to get in, the venue is much bigger than it was last year, and they will have 4 different 'lines' going on  to make the process of everyone getting in the doors a whole lot quicker!

Some lovely links and plugs both about the Cheaper Show and our Studio Shop:

Art Hound has included one of my paintings (along with my good friend Fiona Ackerman's work) as a favourite pick if they were able to get to the show from NYC...

Our studio shop has been picked up by Handmade Evolution, the Magpie & Cake blog, and on the Got Craft blog.  Thanks for getting the word out for us all!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

studio shop: Ceramics Friends

Grace and I, well, we share kilns.  We share frustrations and we share good things when they come our way.  We even share glaze recipes.  Yes, Grace and I share many things, because we are studio neighbours and have become good friends in the process.  Grace (aka eikcam designs) will also be having a little 'studio-warming' during our 'studio shop' since she just moved one studio over this past month, re-did the floors and painted and made everything look quite lovely in time for this coming weekend!  She's got lovely jewelry, very cute little bud vases that you can hang on your wall and cool new wall tiles that I'm quite fond of.  Her studio is right beside mine on the ground floor of the building.


We will call Claire of heyday design, the 'queen of mold-making', since she has truly mastered the art of, not only making amazing and beautiful molds, but also of slip-casting her Canadian vintage jar collection into porcelain oh so very thin and lovely.  To watch Claire work often leaves me a little breathless as she effortlessly and efficiently pulls out such delicate and detailed porcelain with such ease.  Truly, remarkable.
Heyday design can be found at the top of the stairs on the second floor at 975 Vernon Drive during our studio shop. 

Laura McKibbon or cul de sac design has been jet-setting herself and her ceramics around the globe these days.  Just back from Australia and heading to Denmark in September, Laura is most known for her silk-screened images onto slab-molded earthenware dishes.  My favourites include the 'canadiana' imagery of canoes  and canada geese but a close second are her silks-screens of branches, birds and doily designs. 
She will be showcasing her work at our studio shop along with Denise from Bronsino on the second floor ( up the stairs, through the door and down the hall) of our studio building!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Noticing Series: Snail's Pace

We noticed these little guys making tracks on the ocean floor when we were at the beach the other day- yep, they were actually moving slowly along, making snail highways through the sand. 

studio shop: Su Foster Jewelry

Bark, rainforest, driftwood and rain are all part of Su Foster's west-coast collection. I love the texture and inspiration for these rings. 
Su's studio is around the back of the Mergatroid Building along with Karin Jones Metal Art who have her studio open on the Sunday of our studio shop.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Birch

Another watercolour in the works inspired by my time away...

studio shop: Bronsino Designs

Bronsino is both recycled and new leather bags designed and made by the lovely Denise Wilson.  Whenever I walk into Denise's studio I find myself saying 'Oooh, I love that one... oh, I haven't seen that one before... hmmm, I think this is the one...'. The classic designs, excellent craftsmanship, and quality of material make these bags an investment you can wear for a lifetime.
Denise is also the designer behind Patina Designs, a line of accessories, silk-screened change purses, leather-bound daytimers and other items that make such great gifts!  She will be offering 15% off of all her designs at our 2 day studio shop this coming weekend and up to 70% off seconds and samples.  It's a very good weekend to finally pick out that hand-bag I've had my eye on...

Monday, June 21, 2010

Only a few more nights until the Cheaper Show...


THE CHEAPER SHOW IS HERE! (ARTIST DROP-OFF DAY) from The Cheaper Show on Vimeo.
One of the best things about getting into an group art show like the Cheaper Show is all the hype and excitement surrounding the show from the involvement of so many artists working together!  It's often hard to come up with those same feelings when you are in your studio, working steadily along day in and day out. So I'm pretty pumped that this week I will have the chance to be part of this largest ever Cheaper Show- thursday night at the preview night and then Saturday night for one night only! 

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Crescent Cabin

It's not every day we get to step inside a beach-front 'cabin' at Crescent Beach.  My sister's husband's family used to spend their summer holidays at their Grandmother's cabin that has been in the family since 1954.  Thanks to an uncle who has kept the place in it's original condition, it's still a place they can go to to remember long summers of clam digging, sand-castle building, and crabbing on the ocean.  My sister, her husband and new baby spent this past week here and invited my folks and our family to join them for a memorable Father's Day dinner at the cabin.  It was a nice treat to all be together!

Friday, June 18, 2010

A cupcake party is in the works

Just in case you needed more reasons to make cupcakes than just a cupcake stand, I came across an amazing cupcake site to refer to for all my next cup-cake baking needs, wants, and dreams.
Photos and recipes via Ming Makes Cupcakes.  Found via the Hither and Thither blog.

I hope you have a great weekend and Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there!  I have some great things lined up for the weekend that I look forward to sharing with you next week, and we will be enjoying a special Father's Day Picnic at a 'cabin' on Crescent Beach this Sunday so as long as everyone stays healthy and the weather gets nice, it ought to be a good one!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Watercolour Wildlife

As you may have noticed, I've been away for the past 5 days in Princeton BC (about 3.5 hours away from Vancouver) at a resort camp that we attend every June for a staff conference for Dean's work.  The climate in the interior of BC is really different than that of Vancouver-  I live in a mild and temperate rainforest climate, while Princeton is much dryer with much more extremes in climate- ie. cold in winter and hot and dry in summer.  There are so many birds and wildlife that we got to see while we were there; besides all the sparrows, birds, and eagles, we spotted (and photographed) a baby fawn close up, lots of deer, a marmot, and a little striped chipmunk.  Someone in our group even saw a 'cinnamon' coloured bear right by where we were hiking that day- yikes!
All the wildlife and of course the patches of birch and aspen trees were pretty inspiring, so, when it got cold and a little wet about the 4th day in, I spent some time indoors with Sasha (he's got such a cute and goofy smile on his face) doing some watercolour painting together. Here's a couple of bird paintings I managed to finish. Hopefully I'll have time to finish a few more that I started so I can share them with you here. To see more work from this little mini-watercolour series see here.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Wedluxe Magazine: Western Canada

Well it's going to take a very keen eye (and possibly a magnifying glass, lol) to notice my cake and cupcake stands in the newest Wedluxe Magazine for Western Canada, however, if you do peer close enough, you will see them being used as props for the wedding favors and shoes both on the front page and in the main article called 'Imagination in Plume'. The actual cakes they were hoping to use didn't fit in with the theme of the shoot, which is a bit too bad...  The photographer, Sherri Koop, shot all the photographs in film so there is a real dreamy light that made this shoot absolutely gorgeous! Sherri has shot photos of our family in film a number of times. As a talented photographer and a dear friend I'm really thrilled for her debut magazine article photography shoot!  Congratulations Sherri!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Noticing: reflections

In the morning the water is calm and the reflection of the sky and hills is remarkable.  I'm here in this amazing valley for 2 more days, soaking up the wind and the sky and the mountains.  Hopefully I can hike to that pinnacle in the last photo today and see what the valley looks like from up above.

Friday, June 11, 2010

In the studio this week

It's been a busy week and lots has been accomplished.  Here is a sampling of what will be coming out of the kiln later today.  Large Platters and plates, teapots of the Poppy and Ginko variety,  lots of bowls, and a few more blue bird tile frames that already have homes to go to! Well ok, there's also the odd mug that didn't turn out in the last firing and a few more poppy bottle vases that will be off to the Glitz Gallery in Winnipeg (along with a bunch more stuff)! There has been a little more silk-screening going on in the studio, and some new wheel-thrown forms, with thoughts of new glazes and designs brewing in my head.  Not only did I manage to do all that (without my summer studio assistant, who is currently at Haystack), but I somehow squeezed in enough brain space to do some touching up some of my paintings that I managed to drop off downtown today.  So yes, busy week in the studio.

Here's why:
We are going away for the next 5 days to a really beautiful place that we go to each year for Dean's staff conference.  Since there is some child-care provided for the mornings, I will be taking my laptop along to get my PST (provincial sales tax 7%) worked on for the past 6 months since the HST (harmonized sales tax 15%) is due to come in.  Boo.  I know.  It's really no fun.  The fun part of the 5 days will be in all the hiking, the zip line, the swimming at the beach and the pool, and playing ball hockey with my boys. 

I'm getting ready for our big studio shop, an open studio with some amazing artists and designers in my building on June 26 & 27 from 11-5.  If you are in Vancouver, you should come. It's going to be great.

One night only, The Cheaper Show is happening on June 26th and I (and 199 other amazing artists) am showing 3 paintings all selling for a mere $200 each for one night only! Did I mention that it was only for 1 night? Anyways, I dropped the paintings off yesterday and judging by the empties on tables from last-night's 'brainstorming session', it's going to be quite the art party. Indeed!

So that's been my week!  Oh, and I haven't forgotten.  Yes- I must announce a winner for the cupcake stand give-a-way.  It's truly my pleasure to announce that the winner is:
 Maryka who wrote: beautiful stand for those beautiful cupcakes! I would love to have such a roost for my confections!
I think those truffles she's been making would look mighty fine on this cupcake stand!

Thanks again to all of you who entered and made my week so bright with your lovely comments and suggestions of how you would use my cake stand!  I loved all the ideas and also, just to let you know that those cupcakes by coco cakes were melt in your mouth delish!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Noticing: Succulents

I've got a thing for succulents.  My aloe aristata and aloe vera greet me daily on my window sill by the kitchen while I wash the dishes.  It makes hand-washing our daily dishes a little more bearable with a few flowers or plants to look at while I scrub away.
Walking in the back alley the other day had me finding little spots in rocks or stumps where people have creatively planted succulents.  These plants are great for someone who doesn't necessarily have a green thumb because: if you forget about watering them for a while, it'll be ok- they somehow manage to thrive without a whole lot of tlc.

Just a reminder that today is the last day to enter my Cup-cake stand give-a-way! Thank you for the overwhelming response- I look forward to doing another give-a-way again soon!  The cut-off for entry will be tonight at midnight (PST) and for those of you who by accident entered twice (or 3 or 4 times:) I've just added one entry to make it fair for everyone! Also, I'm off to the studio for the day so I'll upload all the entries later tonight when I get back, that's why you won't see it in the comments section right away.

If you want to be in the know for my next give-a-way, become a fan on the dahlhaus facebook page! More work in this design and pattern to come soon...

Well Wishes for Daniel Lanois


Black Dub w/ Daniel Lanois: The Birth of Bellavista Nights from Daniel Lanois on Vimeo.

I've been a huge Daniel Lanois fan for years.  I've not yet had the chance to see him live, but it's on my wish list of things to do before I die.  Which is why I was very relieved to hear that he made it through a motorcycle accident alive, albeit some broken bones that will take time to heal.  It's amazing how a near death experience on his part has me thinking about what I hope to do before I die. 
What singer/songwriter/band is on your must-see wish-list?  Do tell...

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Lovely Homes: Part 2


Ok here's a few more homes that I was drooling over on my walk with the kids the other evening.  The sun was casting some serious shadows and washing out the windows on some of these, but you get the idea... it was a lovely evening to be outside taking pictures of the homes in the neighbourhood that I like. 
Our neighbourhood is a real mix of these lovely, charming houses but then there are a lot houses like ours, a little bungalow from the 60's that is sitting on a $million dollar lot.  So people with the cash to buy the property are just coming in for the view, tearing houses like ours down and building these monstrous houses that lack in the charm and character of the houses you see above.  All the little details that make these homes so lovely- like a curved roof, gabled windows, arched entryways and porches and ohhh, the windows, make me glad to live in such an architecturally diverse area.  Living in the suburbs with homes that are all the same, cookie cutter shapes of themselves doesn't seem quite so inspiring.