First and foremost, my online shop is opening!!!
Second of all, I'm back and inspired! I went backcountry camping for the first time this past weekend with Nick and boy was it a hoot! Charleston Lake is such a beautiful place and the thing that struck me the most were the trees. I'm a huge fan of the Group of Seven, especially the eighth member (weird I know, there were like ten "official" members, and then Tom Thompson) : A.J. Casson. The way he lights his scenes and his shape language is simply *chef's kiss*. But coming back to the trees, it was incredible because in his paintings, he paints trees as these highly stylized blobs, but when you look at the trees in southern Ontario where he lived, they actually just look like that! There were a couple of scares, like when we were out canoeing on the windy lake and got blown into a rock. We made it out, but at the time didn't know if we were going to be stranded on an island, or if we'd tip over and get all wet and cold. We also tried to canoe over to Duck Island which was inside of Mud Bay, but right at the entrance, there was a shallow threshold made of branches and logs. We hit it and must've dislodged a piece because something POPPED out of the water and scared us half to death! I thought a huge fish had jumped out of the water and Nick was shaking for a minute after. It was a miracle we didn't tip over right then and there!
It also gets a little scary at night. It was windy, so trees were shaking and bushes were rustling and you couldn't tell if it was just the wind, or if there was a creature roaming right on the outskirts of the light of your lantern. We weren't too far out, so the threat of a bear wasn't high on my list, but just the feeling of getting snuck up on was enough to put us on edge. I couldn't wait to brush my teeth and crawl into the tent. It's crazy how much relief just a bit of fabric between you and the outside can bring.
I also took a couple of new photos for my Mae & Gregg sculptures, and also some of a new sculpture called Owlice that I'll put on in the work section ;).
Other than camping - which was a much needed break from city life - I did the second What the Pop! by YES Montreal at St-Jax Church in downtown Montreal! It was good weather thankfully, and so many people stopped by! There were expected visitors, which were nice and very heartwarming. Then there were unexpected visitors! which were, well, unexpected! Also nice and heartwarming. Either way, it was great fun and seeing so many people from the past, present, and future (?) really put into perspective how much I've changed and grown and how many different things I've done over the years.
I'll also be at another popup November 25-26th at Locoshop Angus, put on by Collectif Créatif Montréal. It'll be a holiday market so if you have any gift shopping to do, it'll be the perfect place for it!
Here are some more pictures of the market. It's starting to get dark sooner which makes me sad, but I got to use my lantern to light up the table which was cool! There were also a surprising amount of little animals that stopped by, including a bird called Ruffpuff, a dog called Oatmeal, and a little as of yet unnamed grey kitten! I'm hoping they'll call him Gramps, but that seems unlikely...
Thanks for reading and see you in the next one!
Yours Truly, Alice
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