Sun rays

Some days it just takes your breath away, doesn't it?  It's not often here in Vancouver, with the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other, that we get such amazing sunsets with actual rays of light fanning their way across the sky. 

Thank you to all the lovely blog posts and mentions about my vases at the West Elm Vancouver store!  I managed to check out the West Elm opening for all of 15 minutes (Dean and the boys stayed in the car so I could jump out, have a drink, check out the store and get back in the car during the opening- not really much time to actually shop...).  In all fairness, the 4 Etsy featured artists were only sent the invite the day of the invitation-only opening (hmmm), so things were a little complicated schedule-wise by that time.  Anyways, if you are interested in checking out the shop, please do- such great stuff and it was great to be included in such a fantastic store. 

Sunset in Toronto

While in Toronto I stayed with my very good friend Disa.  We went to Art school together and since that time (11 years ago now!!) she has moved to Toronto, back to Vancouver, and now to Toronto again last year.  So the first time I visited her, and my very first time in Toronto, she lived near Liberty Village in a beautiful condo just over the tracks from their place now.  They just moved into this new condo and I couldn't help thinking their summer is going to be great.  I loved the proximity to Queens Street West, along with the restaurants and shops near by.

I have a few new pieces available online along with some new work that I dropped off at the Gallery of BC Ceramics yesterday.  I'm taking the afternoons off this week so not a lot will happen in the studio until next week, when I will be back to filling wholesale orders.  It's been a really good break just to focus on the show, making new work and new designs, but I do need to get back to some regular work again. There's also a studio move in the works for me for mid-July, with a few renos needing to take place before I move in.  It's only up the hall from where I am now, but I'll finally, after 5 years of being in this space, have a window.  Yes, a small, little window. 

summer skies on the shore

I've been looking through the photos I took this summer and noticed that I took a lot of 'sky' images against the backdrop of the ocean.  Photos of skies and sunsets never seem to be quite as amazing as being there in person, but somehow these are the images I want to keep in my mind as we head into the school year.  It's with a twinge of regret that I head into fall.  Perhaps it was that the summer seemed so short this year with the weather in July being so cold.  Most likely it's that my kids are getting one year older, things are getting busier and more complicated.  Nothing is staying the same, but is constantly changing and moving like the tides in the ocean and the movement of clouds and sun in the sky.  The rhythm of fall is going to be starting up again, and the swift tide moving towards the end of the year is coming much faster then I could imagine.  I just want to soak in the beauty a little longer...