up against the wall

4x6 b&w's hanging with paperclips, from yarn stretched across the room

floating books, sitting on L-frames
attached to the wall

One of the most memorable compliments I've ever received was from one of my very best friends. We had gotten together one evening to share in some creativity, and she told me that I'm one of the most naturally creative people she knows. I can't describe what this meant to me, coming from someone like her. I'm blessed with wonderful people in my life, and get to enjoy all the wonderful qualities that come along with them.

This friend actually called me last week suggesting that we make snow-globes together. As awesome as that sounds, I'm just sorry that this blogging project will have likely wrapped up by then, because homemade snow globes would be an excellent addition.

Anyway, I thought I'd share some of the creative pieces I have in my home. I've used a number of mediums, and since they've just become part of my everyday scenery, I thought it might be nice to take a moment to reflect on a few of them here.

Many of these projects come together in the wee-hours of the morning; I find that's when I get into my groove, and I have a lot of fun hanging out with myself when the city is asleep. Good music and good creative energy come together best when there are fewer distractions from the daytime hustle.

a leaf taken from the park across the street from my
childhood home in Ontario.
Pressed in a book, brought to Calgary, and framed.

The first image is something I did late one night after disliking both the fact that so many of the photos I take are left unseen, and that so many of the important faces in my life aren't displayed in my home. I chose a collection of landscape photos taken sometime in the last 50 years, strung yarn from nails on either side of my wood wall, and paper clipped them up. I love just relaxing and staring at them from my couch, I love the motion it gives the wall, and I love that it's an ever-changing, living piece.

acrylics and pennies on canvas.
"mint" spray paint stencil.

The next is something I shamelessly stole from Pinterest, or some other DIY site with interesting shelving concepts. I can't necessarily remember where I saw the idea first, but I thought it was neat and easy enough to pull off right away. That's another thing about me; I get these ideas and then I execute them. There's no hesitation. I get excited and get it done. Anyway, the books are just sitting on a couple L-brackets I picked up from Home Depot. Nothing fancy there; the brackets are actually meant for framing. I put the bracket in between the back cover of the bottom book and then just stack the rest of them on top. The clock was a gift from my Grandma, and the picture below is of some of my family.

The framed leaf shown in the third photo is a nostalgic piece for me, and actually one of my most recent additions. This summer, on the way home across Canada, we spent a couple of days in my hometown of Tillsonburg, Ontario. I picked up this leaf and a couple others from the park across the street from my childhood home and pressed them in a book. I had mostly forgotten about the leaves by the time we rolled back into Calgary, but I was reminded when they happened to be pressed in one of the books on my floating shelves. I picked up three old frames second hand, and have framed one for myself (shown above) and one for each of my siblings (for Christmas. sshh.) It's interesting how, while I didn't spend a great number of years in that home, it's still a very significant memory for me. This leaf reminds me of years past and seasons spent amoung the tall oak trees.

HIP HOP turntable watercolour, framed.

When I think back to my initial vision of creating a portrait of the queen using pennies, I don't remember it looking like this at all. Done on canvas, I first painted the background, then glued on each of the pennies into the shape of the queen. It stayed that way for a while before I randomly painted the black border, added the grey paint running from the top and finally spray painted "MINT" as the final layer. If I remember correctly, and I think I do, I was inspired by a conversation about feminist art, along with the royal wedding of Kate & William, and the decision to retire the penny. It seemed to me as though the queen herself, and the coin she appears upon, were being phased out together; coincidentally or not. To me, each of the pennies can be thought of as individual women coming together for a united cause. Don't worry, I'll save the potential feminist rant for another time.

Painted tree on Washburn guitar

The sugar skull/turn table piece was mostly done in watercolours, with some acrylic details to finish. This was a Sunday afternoon project, inspired by the "HIP HOP" graphic I found in, and cut out of, a magazine. I dig music, and that's that.

Speaking of music, I have a number of musical instruments; largely thanks to my father, who I share this love for music with. For Christmas one year, we both ended up getting one of these little Washburn "rover" guitars. Much smaller than a full sized acoustic, these are meant to be taken along for the ride. Mine hangs on my wall. I was inspired to paint a tree, because trees are beautiful and because I enjoy playing with the theme of growth. Done in acrylics, cross legged on the floor. I remember not even taking off the strings; I just loosened them and did my best to paint around them. I like how this one turned out. One day though, I'd like to apply some kind of top layer to protect the paint during playing. Something to look into.

canvas, stitched with yarn and a darning needle

I actually created this next one as a gift for my partner, who I share a love for cycling with. As companions on our long cycling journey this past summer, we've seen each other through some challenging days. It was interesting to see us take turns between needing support and being the one to provide it. I did this piece by essentially cross-stitching yarn through canvas. I threaded my darning needle and then stitched along the lines I had drawn earlier with pencil. The design itself is something I came up with on my own, though I'm sure it isn't the first time someone has repurposed the wheels on a bike for the sake of art.

crocodile in a smoking jacket. watercolour on newspaper.

And finally, here's a crocodile in a smoking jacket. Completely random in regard to any significant inspiration. Again, I used primarily water colour and then finished the piece using acrylic paint. I guess I just wanted to paint a crocodile. It's  funny to me how, when I consider this image, that I don't question why this crocodile is standing on two legs, wearing a jacket and smoking a cigarette, but how the jacket stays on without him having any shoulders.

And there you have it. I've shared some of the personal pieces found in my home, and hopefully inspired you to indulge in a creation of your own.