Last winter I visited the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton several times to see the same installation – Strange Birds, by Graeme Patterson. Every time, I experienced it differently, a whole room full of art, multi-media, unusual, fresh, surprising….
On one occasion, I was able to attend a lecture by the artist. Someone asked if he had a plan when he began. No, he said. The kind of work he does is slow work, he explained. He would start, and as he worked, the next pieces would shape in his mind.
That is the moment I knew I was an artist, a real artist. I’ve never been featured in a gallery, not yet, but I am an artist. I do slow work. I begin, and as I work, the piece takes shape in my mind. Here’s an example:
I told the story of this piece, Tree at Dawn, last November, 2023, in my post James Webb, Palestine, “Waste Canvas”, and What We Think We Know. (Have a look to see a photo of the piece in progress.) Done on waste canvas, because I really didn’t know what I was doing, the task was to have something to keep my hands busy, with a piece of waste canvas that I had inherited from some friend or relative, and bits and pieces of embroidery floss that I was too cheap to toss. I love making trees, and talking to trees, for that matter. So with no pattern, what else is there to do but make a tree. A blue and purple tree is quite lovely, don’t you think?
You can see some more of my Textile Art here. Each piece took about a year to complete, and no pattern to follow. I’ll be telling the story of the other pieces, too, so subscribe if you don’t want to miss it.
Dream Bringer’s Studio 
I absolutely love that you don’t use a pattern. Interesting to note that we’ve been invited to make a year long weaving.
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Letting go is not an easy task and do I know this. 2023 was a year of trying to let go for me, in so many facets of my life. You would understand some of my story Alice. Being the friend that you are, you were here to watch as the story unfolded.
After a year of reflecting, building, praying, walking in nature, we have decided to spread some of Mike’s ashes under a beautiful young oak tree that was given as a gift by Fred’s family. We planted it on the hill overlooking the farm yard and you can see clear to the river from this location. Mike obtained the high honor of Eagle Scout as a very young man, pictures and plaque to prove it at The Legislative Building in downtown Fredericton. He was so proud, as you can imagine. He worked very hard for that and his father was right beside him as he understood the importance for Mike. We have had a carving of a beautiful Eagle created and it will be guarding the farm, the tree as it grows, the ashes spread for Mike. We have not set the date for the small ceremony but we will do it close to Thanksgiving, when his sisters and families will be here with us. We will be recognizing his wonderful life and all of his accomplishments and “Remembering Us” as he put it in writing. He wanted the five generations to be remembered with respect and kindness. He has a much larger than life job now and we can talk about that at another time but for now we just want to “remember them” as Mike we would. This will become a yearly ritual with our family.
Love that you are following your path, doing what is best and what feels good for you. I, too, want to be true to myself in my older years, follow my path, help others to find their way to a happy and fulfilling life, one to be proud of, knowing that we have done our best when our time comes. Thank you for helping me in this journey called life. Love you and what you are doing. Sharon
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Love to you, Sharon, as always. One of these days we will visit the oak and eagle together.
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