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Archive for June, 2009

UPDATE!

June 19, 2009 | Filed under: Uncategorized

The Carnegie Gallery Secret Garden Tour was a great success and the weather was incredible. We had many, many visitors and really enjoyed talking gardening. My sister-in-law was on hand to help out and she found the day relaxing and very pleasant. In the west garden we have a rare iris which is a true peach in colour and ruffled. This is called the Beverly Sills iris and was a showstopper. I understand that it is almost impossible to find this iris now. As well our red poppies were blooming in full force. They are done now but it was a glorious 4 days of a deep, rich red colour. I think that most people were amazed at the amount of different plant material that lives in our garden. We do have over 200 perennials. As a bonus our garden was featured in the Hamilton Spectator in a column by Kathy Renwald.
For 3 days this week, I was in New York City with a group of friends. It was a wonderful time of good food, laughter and lots of fun. We walked for miles and miles and window shopped and did some buying as well. Our travels took us from Park Avenue boutiques to Canal Street bargains. This was my first time to visit Soho which is a place that I would like to visit again. My nephew who is 13 wanted a Bape Hoodie. I had never heard of this brand but we found the shop in Soho. The hoodie which was white with red line-drawn faces of an ape was 275 US$. (unbelievable), His size was not available and instead his mother and I got T-shirts-the last 2 in the most recent design. The clerk said that generally new products are sold out by the end of the first day and there are line ups. Amazing isn’t it-what good marketing can do!!
I, of course checked out jewellery stores like Bulgari, Van Cleef and Arpels, etc. What I found were pieces of drusy in beautiful colours and large pearls (and of course many other delicious things). I have white agate and smoky quartz drusy in my inventory and am expecting to get other colours in September. Pearls are always an important part of any jewellery wardrobe and in September I hope to get some quite large ones. This visit to NYC has been inspirational for me and I an excited about getting back to work. But I have to have a rest and recover from an absolutely fabulous trip.

Posted by Stephanie @ 7:10 pm | Comments

CARNEGIE GALLERY SECRET GARDEN TOUR-JUNE 14TH

June 7, 2009 | Filed under: Uncategorized

The Carnegie Gallery’s Secret Garden Tour is coming up this Sunday, June 14th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $15. and available at the gallery. Check the gallery’s website for other ticket locations. I am happy to say that our spectacular garden is part of the tour this year. And it is spectacular with over 200 varieties of perennials. The garden stretches from the street up to our century home (built in 1870) and is massive. It is a mature garden and was already established when we purchased this property. We have made innumerable changes as happens with gardens. (we actually eliminated some of the garden areas but you would never know it). Gardens are living, growing and changing entities. This is a given! For the past 2 years we have been slowly working on creating a shade garden in the back of our property which is a ravine. My husband uncovered old stone steps which had led from the back of the house down the hill. A deck was built over these stones at the top so initially we did not see them. A nice surprise!
We acquired this house, which I absolutely love, with some trepidation on my part. I had never, and I repeat, never gardened. Hadn’t even cut grass. So it was a rather big step. Many of the plants were totally unknown to me but I am happy to say that with time, and help, knowledge does come.
There are 8 local gardens on the tour this year. The weather looks to be fine for that date so it will be a lovely way to spend the day. As well, I will have some of my pieces for sale during this event but my studio will only be open to Garden Tour ticket holders. Gives you a chance to see the inside of our lovely home. This is a place that gives me much happiness. I hope that you enjoy it too!!

Posted by Stephanie @ 10:04 am | Comments

What’s Next!!

June 2, 2009 | Filed under: Uncategorized

The Beyond the Valley Studio Tour is now over. It was an exhilerating experience as our visitors responded so positively to our work. Michelle Guitard, who was my guest artist, is a painter. This is her second tour and she had a wonderful time-and she is coming back for the Fall Tour which is Oct.17th and 18th-always the week end after Thanksgiving. It is hard to explain the immense rush that I get when someone looks at my work and says with such sincerity and emotion “This is so beautiful”.
An artist can never get enough of that! Thank you everyone who came out on this great week end (altho somewhat windy) and thank you for all your purchases. I will have to get busy again.

My garden was gorgeous with 2 large vibernum bushes that stretched out like an umbrella and were covered with white flowers. They couldn’t have been more outstanding. As you walk up the driveway (our century house is on a hill), the scent of the vibernum and lilacs was just delicious. I think that it gave everyone a happy feeling.

After the tour, all the artists and their guests and families and helpers gathered here for our usual wrap up dinner. Chef and Wife of Dundas, catered a Chicken with Porcini Sauce and Pasta Aolii–Very delicious.
There was salad, veggies and dip, cheeses, fruit and pies for dessert. Not too shabby, I must say. My daughter brought over wild leeks that she had roasted. These were from Tobermory-picked by one of the residents of that area. They added a nice touch! I love these get-to-gethers as it gives us a time to relax and socialize and of course compare notes.

About 3 years ago, I exhibited at the Milton Show in May. There I met a mother and daughter team with a great sense of humour. They tracked me down (I didn’t go back to Milton after the once) and arrived at my door for the tour. They still have a great sense of humour and it was so nice to see them. (thank you for coming!).

I am very lucky to have good friends who are willing to help during these 2 days. It makes for a fun time and nothing is taken to seriously. We also had another job to do. My sister-in-law’s best friend was conscripted to help us. She is not usually involved but it was her 25th wedding anniversary and her children wanted her and her husband (their father) out of the house while they prepared a party.
Fortunately our new helper loves to organize and she tackled my studio workroom which was in total chaos. Once she finished I could actually see the surface of my work table-it was amazing!! But how long will that last? The theme of this anniversary party was Disneyland and the guests came dressed as Disney Characters-quite the undertaking. I understand that Alice in Wonderland was there, Mary Poppins, the Queen of Hearts, Cinderella and so on. You get the picture. But if you recall there was a very intense thunderstorm that Saturday night with high winds. The party was under a tent and all survived and had a great time. And my sister-in-law still got to my house the next day to help with the tour! Now that is dedication!!

Tomorrow I will talk about pearls. At least I think that it will be tomorrow!

Posted by Stephanie @ 8:59 pm | Comments


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