Fall Retreat - Fibre Art Network

A retreat is an excellent way to slow down, take time for yourself and reflect on what is important in life. Some time spent away from the daily rush can reduce stress, increase creativity and give you a chance to learn from mentors and connect with friends.

Balcony View - Jackfish Lodge

I am thoroughly enjoying my annual Fibre Art Network retreat at the Jackfish Lodge in North Battleford, SK. This is a group of brilliantly talented fibre artists with a goal of learning, growing and promoting fibre art as a fine art. We meet at natural, wonderful venues across western Canada once a year each fall for our annual AGM. So get online and ask around at your local guild. You may just find a retreat that suits your needs and schedule and gives you a chance to take a much needed break.

Featured Designer!

I was so excited this week to be the Featured Designer on Susan Purney Mark's blog - Design Notes. Her content is fantastic and I've been following her fun ideas, stories and inspirations for ages. I decided to check if my page views went up a bit as a result of her interview and they did, so thanks for checking in everyone! I actually realized that in the history of my blog I recently reached over 10,000 page views. A wonderful feature and a boost in page views certainly calls for a celebration!

I can't believe this picture was 9 years ago!

To celebrate I am giving away one of my brand new Inksations Table Runner & Silk Screen Kit patterns! To enter simply leave a comment saying you follow Explore Fibre and you've now signed up to follow Design Notes, or you follow Design Notes and you've now signed up to follow Explore Fibre! Simple as that. Good luck to everyone who enters! One lucky winner will be picked in a random draw and announced here. Entry Deadline is Tuesday, September 25, 2012. 

Artist in Residence - Summerland Art Gallery

Well, it's official folks, I have been selected as the new Artist in Residence for the Summerland Art Gallery for the 2013 season! I am so honoured to have been chosen! It is truly inspiring to see how fibre art continues to surface as a fine art in galleries worldwide.

As a fibre artist I've been so impressed by the Okanagan quilting guilds, writing groups, fibre art groups and art scene. I have taken several classes at the Summerland Art Gallery in the last year and enrolled my son in the summer arts programs and I encourage you to do the same. It's a wonderful place to be!

Thank you to all of my friends and family who have embraced, encouraged and supported me along the way.

Photo courtesy of John Arendt 

If you've never had the notion to visit Summerland, BC it is an adorable little town nestled around Giant's Head Mountain. It has beaches, camping, trendy shops an restaurants, incredible coffee shops as well as world class wineries and golf courses. You can drive or hike up Giant's Head for a breathtaking view of the mountains and valley from Penticton to Peachland. Or you can take a ride on the historic Kettle Valley Steam Railway aboard the Spirit of Summerland. Visit the Summerland online to find out more about how The Spirit of Summer Never Ends to plan your next visit.  

Artist in Residence hours: 10am - 2pm Mon - Fri or by appt. 

A residency at the Summerland Art Gallery for me will serve as a quality space and focussed time to breathe, dig deep and be inspired. I'll be focussing on a fusion of art and literature with a series of poetry inspired fibre art pieces. I can't wait to be involved in and plan events and classes for the public. The residency runs for one year starting on October 1, 2012. So please take the time to stop by for a visit. I'd love to meet Summerland visitors as well as members of my local community to share my experience in fibre art!

Nature Break

For this last few weeks of summer we've been trying to pack in every fun thing we can possibly do before our son goes back to school. We've done everything from the local amusement park to the skateboard park and lots of beach days in between. 

This first summer having a home-based business and my son at home I've had to work some very early and very very late hours in order to put in a full work week. Even though we carve out a good chunk of the day to play, I still have had loads of packaging, ordering, class bookings and prep to do. So now that the summer is coming to an end and we are faced with the last lovely long weekend, the lack of sleep has caught up to me and I am feeling exhausted. But it has been so much fun! 

Conkle Lake Trail

One thing we had boldly printed on our list of things to do this summer was camping. We love camping! But we just never had a chance to make it happen. So for this last weekend we have decided to opt for something relaxing and enjoyable that brings us back to nature. Today we went on a picnic day trip to two places we had wanted to camp to scout them out for next year. 

First we went to Conkle Lake Provincial Park - a beach with a hiking trail to a full lake view and a second hike to the waterfalls. It was brilliant and Gavin showed off his budding photography skills with a still shot of me being chased by a giant rock monster. 

All feet in after the hike 

Rock Monster

 After a picnic lunch on the beach we hit Kettle River which was another gorgeous spot with green blue water where you could walk over the KVR train bridge and see to the bottom of the lake. It was stunning.

Now you might be wondering what does this all have to do with fibre art? Well, I find that when I get back with nature and spend time with my family I feel refreshed and alive and it bodes so well with creating art. And I also found a huge rusty chunk of steel to use for fabric rust dyeing. My husband can't believe I hauled it 40 feet back to the truck! I can't wait to try it out.  

So if you are ever feeling overworked, uninspired or just plain burnt out . . . get outside! Take a step back into nature . . . you'll feel as good as new and you never know what inspiration you'll find.