Rhythms of Living

I know, it’s been a long silence since my last post, then life is like that just as I hit a high point a good solid challenge is delivered just to test the stuff I’m made of. This challenge as many are, was complex and in the end led to a period of deep grief as I mourned the loss of a beautiful, talented, bright light young friend, one of those where I ask, why her, why so early, and know once again as my father always told me ‘life isn’t fair’. Still feeling the loss three months later, I have been finding solace in my creative practice as it pulls me back in touch with the living world around me.

The big news is that my practice has moved out of my tiny home. Inspired by the warm reception to my show last spring in the library here on Salt Spring, I decided to build a tiny studio that sits beside my tiny home. I was delighted to receive a grant from the Susan Benson Fund through the Salt Spring Arts Council. This has been a great help in getting equipment and materials for my studio set up, to support the ongoing projects (see below). The studio is filled with light pouring in from many windows, bright and airy, a sanctuary and place for my creative practice to blossom. I’m noticing how having this dedicated creative space has expanded the possibilities in my art making and stimulated many ideas for new collections.

Studio workbenches Studio ‘stuff’

My eco-printing and dyeing practice has been almost entirely self-taught with some help from friends who’ve taken courses at Maiwa in Vancouver and other places. When I began it was with simple curiosity about whether I could make marks on textile with plants from the forest and seaweeds from the beaches. The very first mark was from seaweed and I took off from there exploring to see how many different kinds of marks I could make, discovering the wonders of rust, the possibilities of dandelions and many more in the process.

Stages of the dyeing/marking process

When I speak of my practice pulling me into the living world, I am referring to the connection to beauty in the environment and to the materials available for my practice.

Arbutus peel adds a rich deep hue to my steam bath and leaves deep burgundy/brown marks when applied directly to the fabric. And who can resist these shapes.

Recently I spent some time on Gabriola during their fifteenth annual Isle of the Arts festival. I had my first encounter with Indigo dyeing in a deep dive led by Yarrow Aiko Koontz and great fun in a natural ink making workshop with Christi York an artist I’ve been following on substack who creates wonderful sculptures from found materials in the forest. Indigo dyeing was interesting from the point of view of learning about different forms of resist. The inks have me very excited as a possibility for adding another layer to my current textile marking practice.

Indigo resist markings Onion skin ink

The layering of different marked textiles into collage hangings with slow stitching and found object embellishment, began with my first project ‘Threads of an Estuary’ a work responding to the Puntledge estuary Comox Valley.

Threads of an Estuary collection

Further refinements of this approach have resulted in what has been my core creative practice. Since last year I’ve been working on three commissions of pieces birthed from the ‘Contemplative Threads’ collection, and a series of full moon circles in embroidery hoops inspired by seeing my own work again from a previous commission.

Another opportunity emerged last year through the District of West Vancouver community arts program. I have been accepted in a ‘thread/fabric/fibre’ group exhibition at the Ferry Building Gallery in February 2026. I’m preparing new work for this show.

Details from ‘Contemplative Threads’ collection

September full corn moon circle

Moving into 3D work I now have a collection of two soft sculpture medicine dolls. I’m curious to discover more forms to continue this collection. This is what I love most about my creative practice, the freedom to express that takes me in new directions just from a simple idea or thought.

‘Astarte’ medicine doll

Speaking of creative practice, I’m now entering the fourth of those sessions I wrote about in April 2024. Jill Margo’s approach is continuing to shine new light on my ways of being in creative relationship with myself, or I should say ‘compassionate relationship with my creative self’ to quote Jill. Her ‘Tending Sessions’ are full of deeply thoughtful approaches to changing mindsets captured in the past by influences of production culture and have brought so much to my whole life practice as well as the artmaking part. Jill also has a lovely pressed flower practice, check out her herbarium here.

Learning to embrace the full range of activities that make up a rich creative life has resulted in a significant shift in perspective on how I spend my time. I can now recognize how the value of activities that fill my creative well, of sharing with other artists, rest and pauses when needed, all contribute to having a balanced sustainable practice. It is about so much more than making the art. I have always been a process based artist. I make art because it nourishes me. It is my way of deepening my relationship with the living world, of expressing that relationship in tactile beauty and giving light and life to each day

Sunrise view from my home

With gratitude to the Hul'q'umi'num and SENĆOŦEN speaking people of the Cowichan tribes on whose unceded traditional lands I live.

With gratitude to Salt Spring Arts for their generous support of my practice.