kimberley francis

bone maple series

2011-12-15T23:06:00.000-08:00

maple ground smooth

bright moon

2011-12-15T22:56:00.000-08:00

yellow cedar

2011-09-16T20:29:00.000-07:00

My friend Ange asked if I could make one of these today, and so I did. It's made from hardwood (Maple) and apparently is great for little teethers to chew on.
4" x .75" 14 each + 3 for shipping

2011-09-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

parts for mobiles
unused peices of wood
1-3"
1.- each

wooden room/house numbers
red cedar
5"
4.- each

custom family name signs
hemlock
8x11"
50.- each

2011-09-08T13:47:00.000-07:00

Red cedar with a beeswax polish.

third

2011-08-23T21:29:00.001-07:00

Bernhard Modern

Red Cedar

Scroll Work

second wood project

2011-08-21T23:13:00.000-07:00

My second scroll project. I'm hooked, and have already begun on my third with three more waiting in the wings. The inagural session was six hours long, followed by a short break and last night I was out working till after midnight, covering myself in red cedar shavings. It's like getting lost in a really good book and not wanting to put it down. And then, like a little kid, I'm keen to show off each stage to my mentor, who is also my dad, and who lucky for me was still up working on a tapestry, when I needed advice on a repair.

I'm experimenting with various blades and am liking the circular blades for the smaller font, although the ones with teeth on just one side make for easier straight lines. The circular blade will definitely come in handy for free form drawing projects. I have one in mind. Though I do love working with great fonts, and the challenge of keeping the structure strong-- in the case of letters with loops.

woodwork

2011-08-19T14:17:00.001-07:00

My dad has been making these signs for the last twenty-five years or so. This summer we've been working on a few wood projects together and he's been introducing me to some of his processes. Using a scroll saw is similar to using a sewing machine, and so I'm picking it up fairly easily.

This piece is a study for a wooden block that will be hang from the sign made for Moses' mom and dad, a few years back.

2011-02-11T00:20:00.000-08:00

product design: kimberley francis
photog: morgaine owens

100% silk
for sale 36-

pleased to poste
pairs nicely with songwriter sheree pletts pretty new lullabye

Be Back Tomorrow, by Sheree Plett

2011-02-11T00:11:00.000-08:00

2010-03-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

It's been such a joy to teach children about the felting process and to nurture their creative process. Here are two of my latest students, with their projects.

2010-03-02T18:21:00.000-08:00

inspired by the river stones of andy goldsworthy and the lifelong mosaics of antonio gaudi, i'm excited to begin these felted sculptures and continue them for a long time.

February 5th, 2009

2009-02-05T17:02:00.000-08:00

To Do List:

Update this blog.

Yep.

2008-10-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

becoming better acquainted with kiki smith

Born in 1954, a daughter of the abstract sculptor Tony Smith, she was raised in suburban New Jersey, went to Roman Catholic schools and didn’t consider art as a profession. As a child she wanted to be a nun.

Before and after moving to Manhattan in 1976 she worked as a cook, an electrician, a surveyor, an emergency medical technician and an artist’s assistant. Around the time of her father’s death in 1980 she picked up art herself in a serious way. She has not put it down for an instant.

She was largely self-taught and, obviously, fully self-aware. She paid attention to what others were doing, learning a lot from the work of artists like Eva Hesse, Nancy Spero, Leon Golub, Paul Thek, Hannah Wilke and Louise Bourgeois, as well as from her contemporaries in a fringy Lower East Side art world.

She sought technical instruction wherever she could find it and learned as she went. A collaborator and multitasker by temperament, she covered a lot of ground fast. That first gallery at the Whitney encompasses metal, plaster and glass sculpture, drawing, sewing and printmaking. She quickly added painting, photography, bookmaking and filmmaking to her repertory.

From the start her art was of a piece with her life, without being diaristic. The mid-’80s internal organs, and the full-body forms that followed, had sources in her childhood religion, with its cult of relics and fleshly mortification, and sensual saints like Angela de Foligno, who envisioned Jesus showing her his wounds and whispering, “Lella, these are all for you.”

The work was also the product of a specific social and political moment that saw the rise and spread of AIDS. One of Ms. Smith’s two sisters, Beatrice, died of the disease. So did many of her friends. And its trace, while rarely explicit, is omnipresent in the first two galleries of the show.

A couple of days ago, my history instructor Art, told us a story about Kiki's dad, Tony. A deep friendship lived between Tony and Jackson Pollack. One night after midnight, Pollack was close to his end and feeling exceptionally low, even for him. He called his friend Tony. He murmered that he was thinking seriously of suicide. Tony asked Jack what most friends would, where his wife Lee was? Jack said "she's hiding," which was common I suppose for them. She was his wife. And she needed reprieve; shelter from the intensity of Jack. After several moments on the phone, Tony drove to Jack's place and found his friend out in the barn; his studio; lit by a candle. It is very much Jack's dark night, in all senses. He was beyond consolation for a long time; confined by the pressure the galleries were putting upon him; cajoling him into painting more comodities, with drugs and whatever he needed to keep himself under their thumb; churning out more and more and more.
He was done.
He was spent.
He had reached critical mass.
The part of the story i like best is the next part. Jack's despair was beyond reason; beyond words. He needed his friend to woo him back to life without words. Tony offered what good friends offer: action. He lit a cigarette and he poured bourbon and he sat down.

Once they were good and drunk, Tony rose again to his feet, but not to go. In the style of Jack himself, he took fists full of paint and hurled the paint violently through the blank canvas. With the paint came his friend's pain; Jack's anger; humilitation; self disgust; Jack's shame. Jack was too tired so Tony did it for him, and with raw abandon.

Eventually Jack was enraptured and for hours together they violently assalted the canvas; releasing the demons within. Finally after the spectacular war, they collapse onto the canvas in a heap and sleep it off. I'm sure the next morning wasn't pretty. But the fact is, for Jackson, a new morning came. The light of another day shone bright and (probably quite painfully) upon him.

The way Art recounted the story said to me that he knows something about keeping a friend company in the midst of a dark night.

I remember a night my dad stayed on the phone with me for a long time, between the hours of 3 and 5. I wasn't reasonable. I wasn't consolable. I was the weakest and most unlovely version of myself. I guarantee it wasn't his favorite memory. But there he was keeping vigil over his baby daughter, as parents do.

Anyway, I like this story of Kiki's dad. Reminds me of mine, I suppose.

2008-08-29T15:20:00.000-07:00

Alannah's pie from her Gramma.

It's becoming tradition to spend the last week of August with my mom and dad. This year was especially wonderful. I drank alot of coffee with my dad. He and I like swapping project ideas. I got to catch up with my big brother Jeff and loved reconnecting with his son and daughter. I enjoyed time with my mom, laughing mostly-- bike riding, napping in the hammock, learning family history stories that happened years before I was born, getting stuck in the mud after dark-which brought on a lot more laughing--and well... we baked and ate Apple Pie pretty much everyday.

one of my tapestry projects

2008-04-30T09:34:00.000-07:00

any guesses as to what's going on here?

an idea for my jacquard project

2008-02-10T18:43:00.000-08:00

these two belong to one of my dear friends, Alanna Clempson. Alanna is amazing at making beautiful photographs, aswell as chutney and children. There are so many things I LOVE about this image.

a green tea rug--update

2008-01-26T12:53:00.000-08:00

here's where i'm at with the rug. it's a much less vibrant green--more the colour of an aloe vera plant. it's coming along.... i'd like to go bigger. the first is 18" x 24" or so.

New project: green tea rug.

My friends Colleen and Sven, sent me this image a year ago. I was so inspired by it then and was pretty sure it would lend itself to a project idea one day. I love the lushness. Am off to scout for velvet or velour, or maybe even a cordoroy, to dye this amazing green hue. Then will somehow work it into a rug format. I see uneven rhythms and gradual depth of shade. Not sure about dimension, but I do know it is sure to feel amazing on barefeet! Stay tuned.

2008-01-15T17:47:00.000-08:00

making little rugs.

2007-11-14T19:29:00.000-08:00

colour colour so many colours. my hands look like i've been canning a giant crop of beets; but i haven't. such anticipation for next june! something-- so special-- is happening!

2007-10-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

irina napping beneath one of my cozy felted silk blankies.

my latest weaving project

2007-10-10T13:49:00.000-07:00

icelandic wool, linen, ultrasuede, found willow branches

12" x 36"

untitled

if you'd like to see some of my classmates work just click here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16883&id=692821432

2007-09-17T01:02:00.000-07:00

okay try now!... this takes you right to me! ;)

http://www.spiltmilk.ca/Spilt%20Milk%20Website/Spilt%20Milk%20-%20JosiahTouque.html!!

sweet friends from afar

2007-09-05T20:48:00.000-07:00

i got to spend a couple of days with a really special friend and her amazing little guy.

i love it when little ones find their play in stones.

i still play with them daily, and have little piles of them around...

in the bathroom sink, bowls of them in various places...

maybe something about growing up in a river valley?

2007-08-29T16:20:00.001-07:00

The latest entrepreneurial endeavours

2007-08-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do to relax is to make these knitted toques. In the past 7 years I'm sure I've constructed over a thousand and it's interesting that they're all out there in the world somewhere, keeping little kids noggin's warm on the toboggan hill or playground.

One of the coolest moments I've experienced as an entreprenuer: I was having a coffee with Phil at eA in Langley and a little girl came in wearing a hat i'd made. It was VERY well worn and the dad said that she had barely taken it off for two years. It's exciting to create cozy wearables that become little kids favorite childhood items.

This past weekend, I participated in the Deep Cove Art Market. My friend Lindsay has just launched her own little company called 'SPILT MILK' and so it was cool to have a buddy take part in the exhibition.
Lindsay and her neighbour have come up with these great images of classic film stars simple line drawings, which are then silkscreened onto tiny tees and onesies.
Some of you might recognise one of the past season's models.
This little dress is my favourite item in Lindsay's line--a little sparrow.

It was a great turn out and we both left with some profits in our jeans.
For more information or to purchase something:
check out http://www.spiltmilk.ca/

if you click on the touque! it will bring you to me!

hanging with the ewings before they become A Rocha-ites.

2007-07-24T14:40:00.000-07:00

We came upon a street festival on our rainy walk.

I always like to check out the upright bassists. ;)
We ended our evening with the Beckums (aka Hadleys) for some drinkin and card playin. aida snuggled with ange.

2007-07-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

2007-07-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

kayaking with melissa

2007-07-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

Textile Arts Grad Show....

2007-05-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

2007-05-16T11:53:00.000-07:00

2007-05-16T11:50:00.000-07:00

2007-05-16T11:47:00.000-07:00

2007-05-16T11:43:00.000-07:00

A fun day out with Kerry and Kailen!

2007-05-16T11:40:00.000-07:00

2007-05-16T11:36:00.000-07:00

eleanor's skirt...(resourcefully recycled from Christo project wrapping.)

2007-05-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

the newly illumined little super hero, gabe.

2007-05-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

jenn - newly baptised; squeaky clean!

some old pics from pascha

2007-05-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

jamison models his bacon cooking apron.
3am: the little newly illumined contemplates ALL that CHOCOLATE.
3:15am: Pascha morning My little Irina and her dad
2:50am: My Irina catches a quick nap in her mom's arms.
after the big sleep, Abbi makes a quick call to Dubai.

2007-04-20T14:52:00.002-07:00

This was one of the pieces that inspired my woven piece.

It was done by my classmate Liz.

2007-04-20T14:52:00.001-07:00

mille de (photos) from school

2007-04-20T14:50:00.000-07:00

For our final design project, our instructor Eleanor Hannan guided us through a way of evaluating our method of design and examining our process. Some of the themes were: the quest to find the materials, to create the garment in silence and to come to terms with things that must remain "unfinished".
This is the first work I've done on a floor loom. My piece is called "Ocean Girl". It was inspired by the eight or so years living very much ON the ocean. From the age of 18-26 my work took me to various coastlines of the world. While my mailing address changed every month or so to whichever post office we were docked closest to, the one constant was the sea beneath me. The colours are all tones found in and around the sea...kelp green, med and carib blues. The turquoise was hand dyed, all the rest were remnants from my knitting basket at home. A classmate suggested that I construct sleeves, and make it into a wrap. It seems right. Since childhood I have had a special kinship with water in general and 'the sea'.

Messy, fast portraits from design.

The reverse applique.

A rainy day at Capilano, taken I think one of the days we were scouting locations for our Christo project.

The plan for my poppy duvet, with my before sleep prayer.

Tech Help?

2007-04-15T01:19:00.000-07:00

Um...so I don't know what I do to this blog, sometimes. The little comment thingy is MIA. Does anybody know how to fix it? (It's nice to chit chat.)

my awesome mama

2007-04-07T00:27:00.000-07:00

My mom turns 62 today. It's just after midnight and I've snuck home to wake up here to eat breakfast with her in the morning. Here she poses with her favorite child Jules.
Pama and Matt and I joke about Jeff being her favorite, but the truth is...I am.

Some of the things I like best about her are these:
1. That when we were young and she would feel it necessary to punish us, the punishment wouldn't last too long. And it would usually end with her taking us for an ice cream out in Rosedale.

2. She cares for animals. Even the ones that kick her and throw her off. She seems to spend extra time with the ones who have issues.

3. She's not easy charmed. She somehow sees through whatever exterior (either rough or slick) people display, to the heart of what's really going on.

4. She's not that great of a driver (something I've learned in the past couple of weeks, that she comes by honestly), but has given us and her grandkids all some decent memories of 4x ing out at the river in the back of the pickup truck.

5. There's almost always some good dark chocolate stashed somewhere.

6. She doesn't take her age too seriously. I used to say she always seemed about 36 to me.
Lately I've been telling her that she doesn't look a day over 70, to which she replies, "Well Kimkid you better watch out, cause you're going to look exactly like me."

7. She's not romantic. I'm not sure why I like that but I do. She's the real deal.

8. She grows sweet peas for me every year, so I can come home and pick bunches of them.

9. She likes a good 'who dunnit'.

10. She gave me three of the most diverse siblings one could imagine, which means things are rarely boring.

Yeah. She's cool.

some wonderful things to come home to

2007-04-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

The beautiful Aida is born. I got to meet her when she was three days old.

She actually smiles. Check out her grinning proudly of her wonderful mom and dad.
A nice cup of tea with my sweet God Daughter, Irina and her mom Judy at the Liberty Bakery on Main Street. Irina is delighted to be chomping the ears of her rabbit.

A wonderful Palm Sunday. Owen is not sure about all the palm branches.

This Sunday in particular was so glorious. So much good stuff happening all in one day!

some pics from our family trip to Ontario

2007-04-05T16:25:00.000-07:00

kiera and i playing
our friend's daughter mika sporting one of my hats
my cousin Shannon
Us waiting in Calgary in the middle of the night.
Waiting waiting...
Shannon and her daughter Kiera.
My Aunt Marion, and cousin Wyatt's little guy Cameron.
Jeff was really missing his little guy Kolby and so played tractors with Kiera for a few minutes.
Kiera, Kyle and Claire. Claire is one of the coolest kids, i've met in a long time.
My cousin Wendy's husband Richie, Jeff and Matt.

Matt and Mom at Matt's first preschool.A closer upper.
Our idyllic "back yard" in Ontario. For those of you who have been reading my blog a long long time...this would be the site of the infamous "dragging" of yours truly, behind the snowmobile....when my nine year old bro Jeff, urged me (a four year old) to "not let go!"
Pam and Jeff smokin at Pam's old high school.

Mom and I posing with the wildlife in the middle of the night at Calgary Airport.
Ditto.
Ah ....the backyard...again.
Pam with one of her childhood friends, Angie.
Angie being hugged, by everyone in the van.

It was fun riding around all 6 of us...sort of had a

"little miss sunshine" quality to it.

a tired mom and kim fly home (there?) I've lost track.

The flying days were worse than crossing oceans. So many stops and middle seat assignments.

jeffy surprised my mom by being able to come too.
It kind of changed the focus somewhat from it being a sad trip,
to my mom having all her kids in her sight at once...something she likes SO much.

my mom and her dear friend kathy, in the middle of the night
waiting for what seemed like a long time in calgary.
jeff, dad and our friend gary, the ever gracious

airport picker uper.

rivers and tides

2007-04-01T17:05:00.000-07:00

when i was a little kid, the way i would play would be to go through my toys and books, putting them into some kind of symmetry / balance.

these past few weeks have so full. joyful - i met aida last night, a beautiful 5 day old girl, and witnessed a glorious milestone in the lives of two of my best friends this morning. sorrowful - i said goodbye to my grandma.

i feel like i need a good long day at the beach playing in the stones. spending time in the quiet to replenish.

but not yet, maybe in another week and a half or so. i need to dig back into my term paper for art history and when i have that wrapped i should start thinking about what kind of yardage i'd like to create for surface design, and then what to choose for my final weaving project, and then actually get going on it. i'm not complaining. these things all bring me delight, but yes...still lots more to see to, before the beach.

a few years ago my friend elise called from chicago to tell me about a beautiful film they'd just watched with her dad. it was called rivers and tides, and told the story of andy goldsworthy a cool guy from Yorkshire (the same place my mom's dad was born) he creates time sensitive peices outside from the things children play with: leaves and stones, ice and twigs. Matthew sent me a card of his leaves a year or so ago and just two weeks ago i finally got to see the film. it's good. it speaks volumes so quietly.

this picture above is his too.

some sampler ideas...

2007-03-15T21:19:00.000-07:00

Learning that, I'm not so good at the whole Group Project thing

2007-03-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

So after 15 years or so now of sincerely trying to be the good team player in the workplace and all, I've come to realize that there are aspects of the "working together" that I'm really not that good at.

I must say that my team mates were even two of my favorite classmates. My classmates are all amazing in their own right, and I say how remarkably diverse and cool they all are. These two in particular are patient and articulate, have a good sense of composition are colour, and during our brainstorming session spoke thoughtfully of ecology, western consumerism and assimilation. We had roughly five hours to transform limited supplies into our installed work. At the end of the day, I was more exhausted than usual. (My classmates had similar looks on their faces.) I realized how little I like to comprimise, how impatient I am when others are not as "ready to move on" as I am, and how generally how much more I'd rather to work alone.

Evidently, I need more of these projects.

Some Dyeing

2007-03-12T19:20:00.000-07:00

The Finished Product.

Winding it from skein to ball.

The other side of the equation.

The turquoise being cooked.

The all important chopstick stir!

Or not too much stirring, for that irregular colour thing going on, that I'm partial to.

My Container Project at the half way point

2007-03-12T19:01:00.000-07:00

One of the photos I transferred of me and my dad. That's me in the backpack.

Several weeks ago, in my surface design class, we were asked to create a "container".

I chose to create a study on DNA as they "contain" the blueprints of us!

To illustrate the DNA, I painstakingly crafted the 23 pairs of chromosomes (glass beads on wire) into somewhat of a karyotype layout.

I photo transferred several family photos onto silk using various techniques, and then

tucked questions and anecdotal comments into the pockets that the photos were sewn onto.

One of the interesting turns my project took, was the evening I showed it to a dear friend who is also an artist. She gave me some feedback and then we called her husband to come check it out. Being a physician, he asked me a few questions for clarification and then kindly and but decidedly, asked if I'd like to borrow one of his first year biology texts. It seemed that my chromosome construction, while visually quite lovely, was not so accurate. I accepted the advice and the textbook.

I really enjoyed doing this project, and would like to revisit the subject sometime in the future. During the working on it, I was taken with the intricate design going on in us, that we rarely consider. yeah...billions of miracles going on beneath the surface of our skin, and in each cell of our skin. Yep.

Reverse Applique Portrait

2007-02-28T20:24:00.000-08:00

hand dyed fabrics (various)

9 x 12"

This process is a little like the childhood trick of colouring on a page with different colours and then colouring over the whole thing with black crayon. When the black is scraped (or in this case carefully cut) it reveals an image based on your cutting. This was an "okay" result. This project was during the rib fiasco. So I just felt pleased that there was a resemblance.

really randomly ordered pics of matt's visit out

2007-02-28T19:50:00.000-08:00

On the Saturday morning Matthew made his famous maple cream cheese french toasts for Milissa, Andrea and I. We missed Jay but the our sorrow was eased by extra round of toasts.
Matthew came to school with me. Our dye samples hang in the backround. Some of my classmates Caroline and Emmily get a little weaving done.
Oh okay...skip to the next night. (Someone will have to show me the trick of putting pics in order...) So after the chorale concert, I was delighted to introduce Matt to Lindsay and Nathaniel. We stepped out for gourmet comfort food at Feenies. The Iron Chef himself prepared our close to midnight supper.
So back to Milissa's. She was telling us that during her pregnancy she's
developed a keen interest in kitchen gadgets, such as the pineapple core-er, she demo'd for us.
It turned the pineapple into a nice slinky type item.

Ah, and Pippa, the littlest Ewing, for a very limited time.

Miliss supervised the breakfast making while keeping Pippa from supervising the bacon Andrea was cooking up.

Later on, we stopped for tea and good treats with Paula and Andrew.

Before Christmas I put these sticks in a jar of water and voila, they are beginning to have some new baby leaves. I like this colour harmony...so just holding on to this image to reference down the road.

My baby bro and I in the middle of the road in Deep Cove, after happily gulping down a Honey's donut. One of the lovliest things about Matthew is how much he misses Krista when he is away. In his hand are a couple of pressies for her. Everywhere we went he would browse for something fun that she would appreciate. Good husband missing dearly his sweet wife.
Matt back at school, in my drawing class. It was memorable.

Here's Ryan Wugalter. It's hard not to say both the first and last names together. It's tradition I guess. We met down at his bookstore, and hung out enjoying some exciting artwork for sale there.

Nathaniel and Lindsay back at Feenies.

The Women's Retreat

2007-02-28T19:45:00.000-08:00

One of the littlest women in the midst.

Keira May sports one of my little toques.

Mira's Matthew selected this one for Keira.

Keira and her mom Akiko.

Ashley's mama flew out to have some time with her favorite daughter. Fairly sleep-deprived but still keeping everyone smiling. Ashley comes by her quick wit and energy honestly!

A random shot of me.

The new Mrs. Klobucar! but Nikki B. to me...forever

2007-02-28T19:34:00.000-08:00

One of my oldest and dearest chilliwackian friends got married in an intimate little ceremony a few weeks ago and jetted of to the Dominican with her new hubby Marc. Her mom hosted a sweet wedding shower for her upon her return. While she was quite adverse to the usual hideous tissue fashion creations, she did permit this lovely veil and headpiece. Nikki and I like to pretend that we're tennis superstars. We're not very good and in fact our performances have prompted strangers to initiate contact offering impromptu lessons but we enjoy getting all geared up with the headbands and whatnot, so this look seemed about right for her.

A long and beautiful marriage to you Nikki!

john mann + josh ritter and the vecc

2007-02-28T19:21:00.000-08:00

aaron, jay + i on one of our attempts to go get drinks
the sweet beckums
miliss and i chillin' prelim...this was close to the end of my weird dislocated ribs episode, and so the robaxacet looks like it's just setting in. ;) milissa is lovely in her 7th month of pregnancy. i have a feeling ewing children will be stepping out to the good concert scene with their folks, in not so many years to come.
a bit of a tricky blurry sitch...but ah...what a glorious venue.

surface design

2007-02-02T14:38:00.000-08:00

presently working on a project for surface design involving

karyotyping, dna, traits.

colour

2007-02-02T14:34:00.000-08:00

in our colour theory class, we were told a while ago

that this years colours will be "raspberry" and later on in the year

"water"...hopefully not coal harbour colour...but more carribean colour.

(fyi: last years colours were turquoise and "electric mud") we like to snicker at the names.

this was a shot i covertly took at the urban barn.

2007-02-02T14:32:00.000-08:00

this was one of the products of a design class downtown.

really random...still in process.

2007-02-02T14:30:00.000-08:00

ashley's birthday, with gabe, andrew + tony
beach sky at dundarave

The last of my many awesome birthday wonder-twins.

2007-01-29T18:36:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things about birthdays is

decadent breakfasts...and so this morning

birthday girl Lindsay and I stepped out for some

apple pancakes and banana bread oatmeal at a little

tea shop up in Kerrisdale. The very same spot where

my friend Judy's etchings are being exhibited, actually.

Vancouver is starting to feel like a small town more and more everyday.

2007-01-29T18:25:00.000-08:00

Saturday afternoon, I got to visit with some dear friends
in Bellingham. We had a beautiful lunch followed by some very
tasty homemade birthday cake made by Jude and Elise.
Elise's birthday and my birthday are just a couple of days apart.
After all the good treats, we spent some time painting + knitting +
browsing through some of Elise's current cool projects.
Esme supervised enthusiastically.

Birthday Party Pics

2007-01-29T18:19:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics from my party this year.

It was a fun evening.

2007-01-29T18:17:00.000-08:00

2007-01-29T18:08:00.000-08:00

The Girls and Lars

2007-01-29T17:54:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, I guided six girls and one german shepard (Lars) through the basics of knitting.

It was a fantastic afternoon workshop.

2007-01-18T15:07:00.000-08:00

i found this pic the other day from one of my lazy days

this summer. my sweet nephew kolby celebrated his 3rd birthday last week.

my mom looks so happy. i like this image alot.

my first tapestry sampler

2006-12-29T13:32:00.000-08:00

8" x 8"
SAMPLER #1
linen warp/wool weft
woven on copper hand loom
december 2006

Samplers serve as an example of technical skill.

I'm at the very beginning and so this demonstrates

the important "kindergarten-like" acheivements of weaving.

The great weavers throughout the ages agree that tapestry should:

1. have an absence of linear perspective

2. contain a limited colour palette

3. contain techniques representative of tapesty and not other mediums

description: the kf demonstrates angles and curves, the vertical stripes a couple of different interlocking techniques; above the stripes are some line gradation with dots and and vertical lines; the upper left square shows floating shape building and then some hatchure techniques for shading.

2006-12-26T09:55:00.000-08:00

8" x 10"

Sketches in felt

cashmere on merino

hand made felt / design added using dryfelting technique

december 2006

(potentially a pocket patch on a corduroy messenger style bag)

The Coptic Three

2006-12-26T09:49:00.000-08:00

For my tapestry project I chose to weave this image that was brought back from Ethiopia, by my dear friends Andrea and Sam. The original is just 2 x 2" and is painted in a wooden tryptic with doors that open to reveal these three on one of the sides and Christ and his Mom in the centre. These three look on from the left. I like them, because to me they represent the faithful, though unknown, seekers of God's physical presence. It was challenging to communicate as much detail as the original, and gave me a good understanding some of the newly acquired shape building techniques. All of the fibres that I used would have been available to the Copts in the first to sixth centuries.

2006-12-26T09:44:00.000-08:00

These are 2 of the 23 "sketches in felt" that i made while finally settling on my final project piece.

Their dimensions are approximately 8 x10", and are composed of many layers of corridale wool (fleece) and then worked using the three things that turn wool into felt.

1. soap! (a gooey mixture of grated ivory soap and warm water)

2. heat! (a kettle of boiling water, close at hand)

3. agitation! (textured surfaces such as sushi rolling mats, and old fashions washboards)

Unlike the modern method of felting (sometimes even done by accident) in the washing machine, we employed the ancient method used by nomadic people of mongolia who for ages, have made shelters, as well as clothing of felt.

I keep joking that I might make a yurt, but in the meantime I thought it'd be fun to create a series of lamps from my leftover "sketches." The transluscent felt diffuses the light and gives a warm quality to the watercolour-like images. I also like textile alternatives to the paper, glass or plastic choices that we find in the shops these days, especially for clean urban spaces.

2006-09-27T19:29:00.000-07:00

My little wonder girl!

2006-09-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

2006-08-29T13:05:00.000-07:00

Prayer of Metropolitan St. Philaret of Moscow (19th century)

Lord, I know not what to ask of You.

You alone know what my true needs are.

You love me more than I myself know how to love.

Help me to see my real needs which may be hidden from me.

I dare not ask for either a cross or a consolation.

I can only wait upon You; my heart is open to You.

Visit and help me in Your steadfast love.

Strike me and heal me.

Cast me down and raise me up.

I worship in silence Your holy will.

I offer myself to you as a living sacrifice.

I put all my trust in You.

I have no other desire than to fulfill Your will.

Teach me to pray. Pray Yourself in me.

2006-08-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

2006-08-25T15:35:00.000-07:00

2006-08-08T16:56:00.000-07:00

This has been a cool week.

I feel like I've made a new friend, gotten to see some old ones and

have experienced once again the incomparable blessing and renewal that family brings.

This sculpture is one of my favorites. These 40 foot tall people dance on the lawn of the Calgary Board of Education Office, and I used to go out of my way for them each morning enroute to work. Calgary, in particular, holds so many strong memories for me. And while it's a joy to visit (and now Edmonton too), is it absolutely not my home!

Being the delicate flower that I am,

the lack of moisture in the air causes me to be insatiably thirsty, and even my skin goes from being healthy to parched in a matter of days. With all due respect (to you lovely Albertans perhaps reading this), one of my most poignant memories of my time living in these parts was an afternoon driving out to WaterValley with my good friend, Kris. We were towing her two snowmobiles behind her truck. It was sunset and golden and I was thinking outloud to her about applying to Alberta College of Art and Design, for the fall term. She asked what I'd study, to which I replied, maybe Photography. Her response was so strong, I will always remember it. She began laughing. At first just a little and then it turned into a belly laugh and soon I was laughing too, without even really knowing why. I asked her what was so funny? I had travelled a little and knew a bit about aperature. I even had a few shots I was kind of proud of. She said so sincerely to me next, that while she and our friends loved me a great deal, I needed to go Home. And I knew she was right. And I did.

It's funny what memories a trip will conjure.

So after some lovely days with Matthew and Krista it's back to Calgary tomorrow and then home from there.

road trip

2006-08-02T12:55:00.000-07:00

... heading out for a drive through the rockies tommorrow,

to go pay my little bro a visit... we sure are lucky ducks to call these vistas home.

My first Ocean and Mountain

2006-07-13T00:41:00.000-07:00

My parents kind of had this philosophy when we were kids, that they didn't slow down; we had to keep up. This meant that our vantage point for the first few years, was often from my dad's back pack.

We were walking along the shore at either North Beach or Pres'quille Park. I do remember that as kids, on warmer days we'd cart down some styrofoam surfboards from the stationwagon. We'd call this the "Ocean Side".

...And here I am with my moma having just climbed the "Mountain" behind our House, in Trenton, Ontario. It was technically one of the rolling hills of the Canadian Sheild and not really a mountain at all...but it didn't stop me from feeling as proud as Sir Edmund Hillary himself.

2006-06-29T03:25:00.000-07:00

my mom and i

my fun collection of children's hats

2006-06-29T01:33:00.000-07:00

The latest cielo designs model has been recruited!

Check out what's happening these days on
"the clothes
line!"

a rolling stone gathers no moss...but maybe moss is underrated.

2006-06-27T22:38:00.000-07:00

1. Catherine Street , Trenton, Ontario

2. Cliff Avenue

3. Menzies Street

4. Graham Island, Haida Gwaii

5. Barclay + Broughton

6. Langara Island, Haida Gwaii

7. Bute + Comox

8. Motor Yacht Double Haven, Singapore

9. Above the Atelier Gallery on Granville

10. 7th + Arbutus

11. Dundarave

12. Bellevue

13. Motor Yacht Caprice, St. Maarten

14. Sailing Yacht Flying Magic, Antigua

15. Lake Ponchatrain, New Orleans

16.Nova Spirit, through the Panama

17. Marda Loop, Calgary

18. Wells Gray Park

19. Menzies

20. 53rd and Granville

21. 7th + Dunbar

22. Lakewood + Venables

23. Chester Street

24. Menzies

i was having lunch the other day with one of my oldest and bestest friends, miss nikki b; co- resident of address # five on the list. we were dining at the lotus, and over our omlettes trying to determine who rivalled who for the most addresses, in the shortest amount of time. the crazy thing is that we decided she might have me beat!

my wanderlust has served me well in some ways. my life is full of long time friendships, and untradable memories. i've gotten to spend substantial time on three continents, and have had the opportunity to experience some pretty diverse lifestyles and living conditions; from a few blocks off east hastings to the 14th most expensive mega yacht on the planet.

in other ways, my transient tendancies have kind of taken their toll. when a friend recently came home from Europe a little while ago, it brought to mind, some unique memories of days that have come me in the course of living abroad and the various backpacking trips in between. what seemed like a month's worth of living in a day... watching schindler's list in prague amongst oldies with first hand experience of the story being told; waking up in my bunk and noticing my port hole being very much under water and us seriously listing to port, somewhere off the coast of cuba; driving along a freeway in Spain and having the car burst into flames, the seats slowly melting, and then the whole thing eventually exploding, as my new friend and i waited for the fire department to arrive, him running back to get my passport and journal from the glove compartment. similar episodes indelibly scribed within that i've yet to say outloud to anyone.

i take comfort in knowing that the fall will, God willing, bring some good blocks of time, for the first time ever... to explore some ways to express what's going on below. to distill some of the questions that nag at me, that i've yet to find the right phrases for. i'm curious to know what might come. and at the same time can't wait to be done with much of it...to kind of address it, and be done with it, in hopes that it will create new space within. ever had the feeling that you have about ten years you need desperately to debrief?

A fun day in the country...

2006-06-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, we piled in the car and went to pay a visit to the newest little foal.

Here Jude feeds the new mama Raven, some berry-apple treats. My Mom and Dad stay close.

Here the brave little jockey goes for a ride in the ring, on Beauty.
Holly (the new foal) at only 2 weeks old, is as tall as an almost 5 year old boy!

2006-06-01T13:22:00.000-07:00

i miss these two, already.

2006-05-15T14:29:00.000-07:00

us kids + grampa, with "grama at the farm" - bloomfield, ontario - circa 1979 or 80

jeffy, grampa russ, me, gram, matty + pam

the smell of strawberries, rosemilk hand lotion or the mere mention of "catfish" brings rushes of memories.

mom + dad (true love forever)

2006-05-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

My dad and mom celebrated their 39th Anniversary on Saturday!

A pretty sweet couple they remain.

2006-04-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

This cute little swishy face

belongs to my Godson Jude.

When he and his folks moved to Chicago a couple of summers ago, he was a little guy. One of his favorite people is Biss. He enjoys playing soccer and kind of follows his own groove. He is an extremely bright light and a very creative soul. His mom and dad enjoy him so much. Their family is a beautiful experience to behold.

One of my nicest memories is a fun walk we took one time to Spanish Banks. His mama and I strolled ahead down to the point and when we came back we found he and his dad dancing and drumming amongst the tiki torches. They were having such a fun time. We stayed and enjoyed the warm night till it got too chilly and then headed back to my place for some hot cocoa. Jude fell asleep while we played guitar and told stories.

The Happiest News of 2006 is that Jude's family will be moving back to Canada in just a few weeks! I looking forward to some lazy summer walks to come, and the joy of meeting his baby sister Esme.

2006-04-17T08:17:00.000-07:00

FAMILIA FRANCISCO, EST. 1967

Easter; 22 years ago

Churchyard, Chilliwack, BC ; circa 1984

My papa just sent this picture. It hung above our piano for most of my growing up years. In it, Mom, Jeff, Pam and Matt look like they're sharing a chuckle while my Dad & I look like we either missed the punchline "Huh?...". or a more likely explanation could be that we're just coming down from the Cad-bury EasterCreme-Eggs!/Jellybean-Hunt- Induced SUGAR HIGH, that Matthew would annually shake us out of our peaceful slumbers for, generally a few hours before the crack of dawn! :)

In either case, we had just moved from Ontario, land of toboggans and snowforts to a mysterious new land where Cougar Boots were no longer required. I think at this point I was still getting comfortable in my new footwear; the standard jr. high dresscode: stirrup pants and pastel jellybean sparkle sandals, not quite yet, (shall we say) "me".

Anyway, A Blessed Easter/Pascha! to all, whether you've just come through your celebrations, or you're in the homestretch this week. I'll be with the Motet's in Victoria for Easter this coming weekend and will look forward to add a few Romanian customs to my season!

2006-03-31T08:28:00.000-08:00

Let us throw ourselves into the ocean of God's mercy,

where every failing will be cancelled and anxiety turned into Love.

- St. Paul of the Cross

Good old fashioned Quiet.

2006-03-10T10:57:00.000-08:00

be still and know

a characteristic of my parent's home will always be for me, beautiful quiet. we didn't have tvs or even radios until i was about ten, i think. as a four year old, i'd wake up from my naps to watch my mom in the midst of her weeding the garden. sometimes she'd spend whole afternoons 'getting into the word', as she'd put it. if she made a phone call, she'd announce 'the purpose of her call, make the plan or the request, and close with a: "right then, goodbye". she's not one for idle words.

one lent, before i was baptized into the orthodox tradition, i gave up talking. it lasted about 11 days. it was extremely powerful. creepy crud seem to float to the surface throughout, but my sleeps were sounder and deeper than ever. my senses were enlivened. it was as though i were coming back to life.

in my many seasons of coming and going from canada in my early 20s, what would restore me most, would be to paw through a box of postcards and letters, stashed away, in what we call my parents loft. i'd spend hours up there.

i just read on 'come receive the light' that "one of the early church fathers declared that the language of heaven is silence. there seems to be a power to silence that allows all the noise of this world to die away and to help us focus on the “still, small voice” that reveals the true nature of things. our lives are filled with sound. everywhere there is “noise” for our eyes and mind as well. we are people who are suffering from sensory overload. it shows in the fractured lives we lead and how we have had to so compartmentalize our lives to survive this onslaught of “noise.” i remember driving back into vancouver one night, after a presanctified liturgy with my friend seraphim a few years ago. i was struck by the billboards along grandview highway in a new way. The preceeding hour and a half had so taken me out of my usual realm, and put me in such a different headspace that it was as though i was looking at the world through new eyes.

Jesus saw the need to regularly get alone with His Father to strengthen His soul, like my mom would. There is a story told by Metropolitan Anthony Bloom (of blessed memory) in his book, Living Prayer, about an old Orthodox man who would sit in church for hours in front of the icon of Jesus without saying a word. When asked about this, the old man replied, “I look at Him, and He looks at me, and we are happy together.”

the past couple of weeks have been incredibly busy, many days on end not sitting down in the quiet until after midnight.. i don't know why i've been choosing this way. it's terrible. it robs me of seeing the goodness in others and tends to make me impatient, ugly and eventually sick. i become nasty and ungrateful, the worst version of me.

so i need to get back on track. and in between the usual good lenten responsibilities, if it warms up i might sneak down to spanish banks to just stare out for a while.

love is all around us...

2006-01-23T09:37:00.000-08:00

Derek

2005-12-30T13:10:00.000-08:00

I just came across this photo. I totally remember that shirt. A group in Victoria was sending a truckload of gear to El Salvadore to help out a few years ago, and Derek was there. Like he would be.

(Wherever he was going, he would invite us to come along; stop what we were in the midst of and just come, help, be.) I imagine the truck all packed, ready to go and him jokingly being invited along to deliver the goods. If so he might have said unblinkingly, "okay, if there's room for Heather, too" And by the time they hit the Panama border he'd have a few grant applications typed and emailed off.. And he'd have caught the driver up on the goodness of God pouring His grace into the lives of various loved ones of recent days. He always told us what God was doing in his life and the lives of his friends.

I'm fluctuating between waves of such sadness for him going before Heather and their little one, and the abundance of memories; joy for having simply known him.

He was like a vigilante of goodness, expecting several miracles all at the same time.

He believed and he worked hard to accomplish good.. He was an active believer.

white christmases past

2005-12-23T11:07:00.000-08:00

crisp cold mornings of cross country skiing

in the late '70s; hot chocolate,

crackling fire & walnuts at the schilkes

argyle cross country ski socks are the best

christmas stockings i've known.

(hoping to get out for a local ski with my mom

this year over the holidays-maybe up to manning.)

where I'm spending 'these days'

2005-12-14T08:34:00.000-08:00

My marina, from the seawall. With a team of 8 guys, we look after 350 boats or so. Keep our eyes out for thuggy thugs and try to notice when boats are listing a little, or taking on water. We keep the place afloat, literally (the place is 100 years old)...repairing floats and sheds as needed. We also look after the members somewhat...lending an arm, and a ear for their many lively life stories.
This is my present office, from where I monitor the VHF Radio and direct boats when they call to request staying a night with us. Also I look after the "Lifter Bookings". All boats need routine annual maintenance (scrubbing all the barnacles and mussel growth off the hulls, and changing the zincs. Electrical currents in the water erode whatever metal is the softest, and so replacing zincs ensures that the electricity "attacks" the zinc (about the size of a license plate) rather that the metal keeping the ocean "out" and the sailors "in" and dry. I'm also learning about the various makes and years of hulls, so that when the boats are lifted, they are supported properly.

For example, if a member has a C&C 36' it's important for me to know if it has a "swept back fin keel" (like a pectoral fin on a shark) or a "straight keel."

This is a shot of the Rowing Club, (our neighbours to the west) who we are often confused with. The marinas flow together and so the boats on the far right are ours. The Stanley Park Seawall and Coal Harbour connect us.
This is a shot of the seawall at the end of a glorious day. If I have a little energy left in me, I sometimes meet a friend to walk or bike the perimeter. It's one of the best parts of Vancouver. I've been at the marina for nearly three years now. Intially, it was a break from hotel concierge and yacht crewing assignments. The time has passed so quickly and I enjoy the environment so much, and of course the people I work with. There may be some changes coming, so I'm enjoying it all the more while it lasts.

today

2005-12-13T08:31:00.000-08:00

(my dock office for the next couple of months)

my boss and i are going on a

ROADTRIP TO LANGLEY today

to choose one.

i am so enjoying my current assignment.

(we're stopping off at ikea for some random bits

i'm picking up a bundle of sticks and some glogg)

i brought my knitting for the way...

working on a couple of pressies.

(i hope i'm the co-pilot)

a little Sarah Harmer on a cold day...

2005-12-09T09:53:00.000-08:00

I love "trouble in the fields".

it sounds like a good marriage to me.

Baby, I know that we got trouble in the fields
And the bankers swarm like locusts out there, turning away our yields
And the trains roll by our silo, silver in the rain
Leave our pockets full of nothing but these dreams of the golden grain
I can see the folks lined up downtown at the station
They're all buying their tickets out and they're talking a Great Depression
Our parents had their hard times fifty years ago
When they stood out in these empty fields, in dust as deep as snow
And all this trouble in our fields
If this rain can fall these wounds can heal
They'll never take our native soil
And if we sell that new John Deere then we'll work these crops with sweat and tears
You'll be the mule, I'll be the plow
Come harvest time, we'll work it out
There's still a lot of love here in these troubled fields
There's a book up on the shelf about the dust bowl days
There's a little bit of you and a little bit of me in the photos on every page
Our children live in the city and they rest upon our shoulders
They don't want the rain to fall or the weather to get colder
And all this trouble in our fields
If this rain can fall these wounds can heal...

many years to the happy tappers!

2005-12-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, my fellow Gershwin Tune Singing Friend Nikki invited me

to come to see the "Happy Tappers" (her Aussie Mom Sharon, being one of them)

Anyone that knows my mom knows that chances are slim she'd ever be sporting tap dance shoes and ensemble a pros pos of the occasion, so these events are especially delightful to me.

The program was held at the Arts Centre in Chilliwack; our good old home town.

35 minutes and 11 costume changes later we were beside ourselves with perma-grins and enthusiastic handclapping. I wish you could have all been there to witness the exuberance of these 50-70 year olds dressed in all the glitter of saphire sequins and satin tophats holding giant candy canes. Sharon's cheering section consisted of her daughters with their friends in tow, teenage grandkids hip enough to shrug off their coolness for the afternoon in honor of Gram, and of course her main sqeeze; proud husband Moe.

Afterward, over butter tarts and homemade bologna finger sandwiches, one of the other happy tappers approached, to commend our special brand of audience participation. She asked who we were with, to which Nikki proudly announced her mom. The tapper exclaimed, "oh course you are! that makes perfect sense! That Sharon, you know, she keeps us going."

The topper of the afternoon came when Nikki's mom collected our plates before we had finished the last bites of our butter tarts, cheekily proclaiming that now it was time for ALL to come over to their house and adore her!

They say that the company that you keep rubs off on you, so i'm sticking with sticky Nikki to see how close to our moms we get. We've been friends for 15?! odd years now...

...looking forward to the twilight years being peppered with some serious happy tapping.

an intentional pause

2005-12-01T08:56:00.000-08:00

i like the hebrew word

selah.

an intentional pause between activities.

סלה

krista

2005-11-17T15:43:00.000-08:00

i miss my sweet new sister.

it was so good to be there with her this past weekend.