Lasqueti Press

Swept away

2009-11-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what I like doing the most when I visit Vancouver in the fall: walking along the beach or seeing the leaves turn colour. Perhaps it's living in Calgary that makes me enjoy these two, since we have neither, but I love to walk along the shoreline on the firm sand and see sights like the one above.When the weather got sunnier on Saturday, we headed up to Lighthouse Park and Point

Continuum

2009-10-14T11:20:00.000-06:00

riverMy original plan for Destiny, the book arts show that opens tomorrow night at Arts on Atlantic here in Calgary, was to enter horizon (photos). But like most well-laid plans, this one went slightly awry: The Universe Beyond came along, for which I needed two exhibition-quality books, and horizon joined spirit river in that show. So what to create for Destiny?A recent Sunday walk down to

Stylin' and profilin'

2009-10-01T10:02:00.001-06:00

I was able to get fall fashion installed in Fish Creek Provincial Park last Friday, another warm, perfect fall day here in Calgary. Although I wasn't able to get into the Lake Sikome area (the gate was locked) to install it on the tree for which it was originally constructed, it is -- and I am -- flexible enough to find other spots to show it off to best advantage.In the top picture, we're in the

Open for Business

2009-09-23T14:03:00.001-06:00

A window of The Universe Beyond.September has been even more harried that I thought it would be: between installing The Universe Beyond, and a range of activities associated with Alberta Arts Days, a deadline, and out-of-town company, I've barely had time to do much real creative work. Apart from knitting a vest for a tree (as part of Art in the Park) that I will be installing on Friday, and

Onward and upward

2009-09-04T15:11:00.001-06:00

The work continues. horizon (above) was completed in one take, as opposed to the numerous versions of spirit level I went through before I could send the scene to be printed.Early, even, to be installed at my solo exhibition down @ EPCOR Centre here in Calgary. (Artist statement and biography now up!)My old camera simply doesn't do the work justice, but I'll take my new toy (a Canon SX10 IS) down

In (and out) of the wilderness

2009-08-18T18:08:00.000-06:00

When I'm working on a major project, like my solo show that opens next month, I have a tendency to over-complicate things sometimes.In this instance, I've been working on horizon, the new book that I will be installing. The photograph I'm using for it is 5 inches high and 27 inches long, and that will include front and end papers, and seven sets of flags.While I've got some paper in stock to run

Loosen Up!

2009-07-30T14:33:00.002-06:00

The last fibre I chose to spin up for the Tour de Fleece (where cycling-obsessed spinners follow along with the Tour de France) was a lovely bump of 250 grams of dyed Corriedale (a sheep breed with fairly fine, crimpy wool).At least, it had been lovely in 1999: so soft and fluffy, it filled a large bag when I bought it from Penelope Fibre Arts. Ten years of being stuffed away left it dull,

Caught!

2009-07-05T17:25:00.002-06:00

This last month has been just one thing after another: too busy to do much of anything except keep my head down and work to finish all the commitments I had made.From the very beginning, I knew June (and the beginning of July) were going to be just crazy, and I wasn't surprised when a few curveballs got thrown my way as well, as they inevitably do.At least everything that did happen was fun (and

A Whirlwind of Activity

2009-06-10T13:14:00.001-06:00

Two weeks ago, I had a list of projects that had been simmering on the back burner for awhile (like rebuilding spirit level and a residency application) and new projects that had tight deadlines (like knitting the sample for one class, and retooling handouts for both classes, that I'm teaching at Olds College's Fibre Week).Well, spirit level is done (pictures on Flickr sometime next week, I hope)

Practice makes better

2009-05-27T18:04:00.002-06:00

Original model, spirit levelAs regular readers may remember, I built spirit level late last year, but was unhappy with several aspects of it. Well, I've almost finished rebuilding it: bigger (4 inches wide when closed, instead of 3, 17 inches wide when opened) and better (several more models and half a side of leather later) than the original. I'm not sure where it's going to go (in the gallery/

It's ssssssssssssssssspring!

2009-05-07T10:04:00.002-06:00

The spring mating of snakes is a well known phenomenon in parts of Canada -- in particular, the red garter snakes of Narcisse, MB.Imagine my surprise, when out running a few errands last Friday (a warm and sunny day), when I stumbled on the same phenomenon, albeit on a much smaller scale, in central Calgary.Granted, I'm no herpetophile, but it's pretty fascinating.Of course, today's weather

S.W.A.*

2009-04-20T15:16:00.001-06:00

* Sheep With AttitudeYou lookin' at me? You lookin' at me?This little ewe was not keen to be my friend when I spotted her fleece right off the bat last Saturday. Every time I tried to check it out, she took off (difficult when you're penned in with your friends) or tried to drag my hand over some barbed wire.Fortunately, I don't discourage that easily when I spot a fleece I want.I did manage to

Bombs Away!

2009-04-14T14:14:00.002-06:00

For subversive knitting above and beyond the call of duty, I received these fun buttons from Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain, the authors of Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti, which will be out this fall, published by Arsenal Pulp Press.While I got these for my first installation using a knitted cone cosy (as detailed here), I've been working hard since to expand the clothing for my

Socks Therapy

2009-03-27T15:16:00.001-06:00

Mindless knitting can be one of the most useful things this knitter can do when her mind is spinning, the schedule overloaded, and patience is in short supply.For me, that's usually been socks. Even though my contribution to this year's Fibre-to-Scarf wasn't exactly mentally taxing, I've been waiting to hear results back about projects, and needed something simple and soft to work on that would

After the flood is gone....

2009-03-19T11:25:00.004-06:00

Weather here in Calgary can turn on a dime: two weeks ago, we had a chinook that sent huge amounts of meltwater into the storm drains. Unfortunately, the City of Calgary didn't bother opening the gates into the river and the water backed up rather severely in our neighbourhood.We're fine, but not far away, there was some major damage, with a few houses still uninhabitable. Memorial Drive, the

Happy Blog Birthday

2009-03-03T11:00:00.003-07:00

(The handwritten addition just cracks me up -- some days, you need a good laugh....)I'm surprised that I'm still blogging after two years: maybe it's because I don't write much, or often. That being said, I've got a better record with the blog that I have with my journal since I started doing blog, and I have done some other writing lately, so....Part of the reason I haven't been writing much

Art imitates life

2009-02-17T16:11:00.001-07:00

As regular readers of this blog know, Landscape as Muse is one of the few television programs I go out of my way to watch, even to the point of getting up rather early some mornings.The episode that is being run on CBC Bold today features Matthew Wheeler, taking photographs of Robson Valley. What makes this so interesting -- apart from the fact that Mount Robson is the highest point in the

You do what?

2009-02-04T13:08:00.001-07:00

One of the things that frustrated me last year was the reason I was turned down for a grant: "we don't consider knitting and bookbinding as valid forms of 'visual art'."As a knitter, I'm not unfamiliar with that attitude -- over the years, I've lost track of how many times I've had strangers ask what I'm doing, and have the overwhelming majority of the women disclaim "well, I would never do

Floating Along

2009-01-19T10:17:00.002-07:00

As certain as death and taxes, any lengthy bout of frigid weather in Calgary is broken by a chinook: this one has lasted more than a few days, and the old temperature record for the date was shattered yesterday.This has lead to some interesting happenings down at the Bow River, which flows from west to east through Calgary, and is well known as one of the best trout-fishing rivers in North

The Path Less Travelled

2009-01-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

We've had more snow here in Calgary this winter than I can remember since I was young, and while we need the ground moisture, it's been a rude shock to have to regularly shovel great depths, particularly off our deck. The snow drifts up into the back corner quickly, and was more than a meter deep after the last big dump-and-blow.Given how cold it's been, however, it's mostly the light, fluffy

Hogmanay

2008-12-31T13:28:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been a relatively productive year here in the studio: lots of books made it out the door and went on more trips than I did too.Although I didn't get as much knitting out the door as I have in the past, I did get a lot of spinning done, particularly during the Tour de Fleece (held during the Tour de France in July), and I taught at Olds College over the summer. The return to teaching

The Season of Level Spirits

2008-12-19T11:16:00.003-07:00

spirit level is a book I've been thinking about since I first started binding three-and-a-half years ago: there's a scribbled note in my thought-binder to do something about Sunshine Village, where I took the photograph that forms the inside spread (below). If that picture looks familiar, it's because it also showed up previously in this blog entry.Like much of my work, I am struck by a random

You can't always get what you want

2008-12-12T15:12:00.002-07:00

One artist book I've been working on -- well, off and on -- for more than a year is about to see the light of day: this morning's project was to do the final gluing-up. All that is left now is to finish off the closure.Like most projects, it's gone through a number of incarnations, mostly material-related, since I came up with the initial concept. Originally, I had no idea what I wanted to use

The Shadow Knows....

2008-12-03T15:03:00.001-07:00

what weirdness lurks in the hearts of men.Recently, it was the birthday of Ex-husband #2: he quit talking directly to me a number of years ago, and decided that he would rather vent his anger and frustration (about, but not limited to, me) to the miasma of the Internet.The only reason I found this out was because someone I knew saw one of his rants and some of the reaction to it, and suggested

This post has no title

2008-11-10T15:30:00.000-07:00

And there isn't much of a post, either. The experiences I've had in the last week or so aren't something I'm willing to discuss in a public forum.But I do have some pretty pictures to look at.