Isn't She Lovely?

Before Christmas my sister Nancy, who usually spends her time making beautiful jewellery, made the sweetest mouse for my Mom as part of our family's rainbow project. Isn't she adorable? (My sister too.) Mouse is knitting a rainbow scarf. Nancy talks about it on her blog here. I can only look wistfully at something like this as I didn't inherit the knitting gene in our family.

It is an odd day when I am not wearing something that Nancy made.  I wore these gorgeous jonquil vintage glass earrings through much of the holidays.

This is another pair I wear very often.  They are quite small and delicate and go with so many of my clothes, plus, as I've mentioned here before, I have a thing for hearts.

When I was visiting her over the holidays, she made me a pair of these ones as a gift (lucky me!) and I've worn them all this past week!

I own a lot of earrings and necklaces made by Nancy. I actually try not to look at her Etsy store too, too often or I would buy something each time!  I like making things out of wood and one of the projects I have had in my head for a long time is to make a big storage tray for my earrings that can fit in my dresser drawer. Maybe this year I will finally do it. :)

For Ginger

Well I guess life won't throw you one curve ball when it can throw you two.  I got a very sad email from my parents saying that they had to say goodbye to their 12-year-old (almost 13) Golden Retriever today.  Ginger was operated on this past summer for a tumour and bounced back rather beautifully. Unfortunately it returned recently and in a way that did not leave treatment options.

You know the old adage 'A picture is worth a thousand words'? You just have to look at the above photos sent by my Mom and Dad to know the dog that Ginger was.

Ginger was a gentle soul, a worrier (oh my, did she worry) and a devoted companion.  She was beside herself when my father went anywhere without her. She did not like when anyone was in the lake--kind of a difficult attitude for a cottage dog. She loved her people and they loved her. She liked being with the other dogs whenever there were family gatherings and was always a very gracious host.

Ginger and I developed a special bond this past summer when she realized that I always have dog treats in my pockets (a necessity for the owner of a wayward puppy).  All of a sudden, she was trying to outspeed the younger family dogs when I asked for a 'Sit' or 'Lie Down'.  It was pretty cute.

Marlowe, Ginger and Meeko.  Not in the photo: Mabel.

A huge hug to my Mom, Dad and sister Karen.  Ginger was so loved and well cared for.

And if they could be there with you right now to offer a little canine comfort, I know that her buddies Meeko, Marlowe (my brother's family dog) and Mabel (my sister's family dog) would be.

I think it is hard to hear of a pet dying without feeling the weight of all past pets.  So in this moment, my thoughts are with Ginger but also our childhood dogs Peppi, Mitzi and Toby, my cat Mackenzie King and my sister Karen's cat Whiskers.  I give thanks to all pets everywhere for the wonderful comfort and companionship they bring us.

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.
Anatole France

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I wanted to close this post with four lovely photos kindly sent to me by Émilie who is from Brittany, France. As she said, these rainbows are not in the sky but they are beautiful all the same. Beautiful indeed.

Mucha stained glass in Prague, Czech Republic

Windows in Manchester cathedral

Painted horse in Rotterdam

Cathedral in Jumièges, Normandie

When I look at these photos, they say to me that rainbows are all around us.  We just have to look for them to find them.  And I guess on some days it may be a little harder to see them.  Merci Émilie!

Thank you to all my blog readers for your kindness and thoughtfulness. You warm my heart.

My Etsy Shop Is Open! (Plus the Name of the Giveaway Winner)

Let the bells ring and the birds sing.  After weeks of preparations and months (maybe years) of thinking about it, my Etsy store is about to open!!!

At the top is an image I am including in my Etsy prints.

I created this painting as a gift for my younger sister Nancy a few years ago.  I asked Nancy if I could borrow back the painting in order to make a print from it for my Etsy shop.  She said 'yes' right away. Sisters are like that. We are different in some ways but share many similarities too.  We are both sensitive, creative people. We love colour, nature, music and beautiful things. We are devoted to our families. We each have two daughters. In fact, our eldest daughters were born just one day apart.  We live six hours away from each other.  We email each other often, whether about good days or bad days.  When we do get together we have fun. When I'm with Nancy, I am assured of at least one laughing fit (you know the kind--you laugh so hard that your stomach hurts, there are tears running down your face and you can't get any words out, but it feels so good).  Nancy has had an Etsy store for the past three years.  She designs beautiful jewelry and I wear her things just about every day.  She really encouraged me to think about selling my artwork on Etsy, so if I'm here today opening my shop, I need to say thanks to her.

I have another sister too.  My sister Karen has special needs.  Despite our differences and a 19-year age gap, we are incredibly close. Karen and I share a love of music, animals, films that require kleenex and the colour purple.  We know that if one of us is feeling bad, we can count on each other for some encouraging words. Karen is the sweetest person I know.

My own teenage daughters haven't felt so close in recent years (the beautiful photo below was taken when they were about 9 and 5), but lately I can see their friendship starting to blossom. That makes my heart happy because having a sister as a friend is a beautiful thing.

(If you'd like to see my sister's jewelry you can click here or just click on Wallis Designs in my blog list.)

What an incredible amount of work it has been getting everything ready.  The photography alone has taken me days.  I hope I get faster and better at it!  I will continue to add images to my shop in the weeks ahead.  Check back often.  I am offering a 20% discount to all customers during the first week to celebrate my opening.  The coupon code is noted at the top of my shop page.

Thanks to all of you for your encouraging words over the past few weeks and for the lovely comments you have left for me.

We have been silly and used random.org again to draw the winner's name from a very small number of entries. :) My daughter just called down the stairs to say that Margie Oomen, owner of the beautiful Resurrection Fern blog is the winner of my giveaway!  Please contact me and let me know which of the two framed prints you would like. Congratulations and thanks to everyone for taking part and leaving such nice words. ♥

Perspective

Yesterday's printing difficulties unleashed a wave of uncertainty and self-doubt that went way beyond printing and sometime during the night got mixed up and attached to painting and blogging as well--in the end, you name it.

Some kind and sensitive words this morning from my dear friend Colette and my sister Nancy helped. An encouraging email from my husband was appreciated: "Ne te décourage pas!" A walk with my cheerful companion Meeko was uplifting. Finally I did what I should have done hours before. I walked upstairs to my studio and started painting again. I have a quote by Vincent Van Gogh hanging on the bulletin board beside my work table. It is so simple and yet so true: "If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." I should have remembered Vincent's words in the early morning hours.

My studio is in a state of, let's say, semi-disorder. I cleaned and organized my painting table last week so it is looking quite good. The rest of the room--not so great. There are piles and piles of books, papers, art supplies and sewing materials all waiting to be organized and placed properly. Up until this summer, I was using one of our basement rooms as a storage room for my greeting cards (I'll show you them some day soon), business papers and the bulkier art supplies. That space is now an entertainment room for the family which makes so much more sense, but that means that many things have travelled up the stairs to my studio. It also means that I'm not certain where many things are.

After painting for a while today, I started looking for something I needed and I had to sift through some of the piles on my loft floor. I came across a sheet that I had forgotten about. It was passed out by the teacher of an art class I took a few years ago. Interesting timing. It was yet another message encouraging creativity in moments of self-doubt.

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. ... No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others." 

I have looked it up and those beautiful words belong to the American dancer/choreographer, Martha Graham. They were part of a private conversation she had with her friend and fellow dancer and choreographer Agnes de Mille. De Mille later included the conversation in her book, Dance to the Piper. 

And so right now, I am taking both Vincent's and Martha's words to heart and heading back to my loft to paint.

Happy

Above is what I consider to be a little bowl of 'happy'.  It's a small dish that I have in my front hallway filled with little, pretty things that make me happy.  There are glass hearts, an Eiffel Tower, beach glass, tiny shells and little stones.  It never looks quite the same.  Something might be taken out or put back in.  I have noticed visitors (kids especially) sifting through it with their fingers.

My sister Nancy (who designs beautiful jewelry that I wear it most days) made a comment this week that she can sense happiness in my paintings lately.  (Thanks, Nance. Your ongoing encouragement means so much to me.)  I am feeling happy lately.  Painting more often, moving forward in a creative direction, starting this blog (which serves the artist and writer in me)--they're all helping me to feel happy and right in my world.  I've actually caught myself singing out loud a few times lately.

I also made progress yesterday on making a digital print of one of my paintings.  This has been a real struggle for me with a huge learning curve attached to it. I am really looking forward to being able to show it to you in the very near future.

So here's my wish for you, my readers -- that you find your own little bowl of 'happy' in the days ahead, whether it be by creating something or doing something you enjoy or being with people you love.

"The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself."

Alan Alda