studio

Dew on the strawberry leaf evokes the Elizabethan lace ruff, hung with pearls, an artifice undoubtedly inspired by an intimate view of nature such as this. Ralph Waldo Emerson said: Nature, in the common sense, refers to essences unchanged by humans; space, the air, the river, the leaf.  Art is applied to the mixture of […]

Are you spending too much time writing? Need a distraction? No, I thought not. Nonetheless, Colour Theory is teaching me that our shadow selves are not pitch dark, but are shades of nameless violet, wine and earth. There are, of course, those who are paid money by house paint manufacturers to give names to the

Let’s go with the optimism of calling a cold yet sunny day “spring”. I spent the morning spring cleaning my written works, making a spot for the many iterations of completed poems, consolidating piles of works in progress, gleaning rough notes for gems, starting some new pieces. Now to exercise the other side of my

So said Dick Proenneke in his film series, Alone in the Wilderness (PBS). He filmed himself building a log cabin in the wilds of Alaska, from felling the trees to making his bed. In between he would roam with his cameras and film the wildlife. On rainy days he would cut and roll empty tin

As I’ve been writing about my father’s ranch, I also worked on a project for Tristan, whose grandparents’ had a ranch near Edmonton. This is a hide from one of the last of their herd that Tristan wanted put to some use. Working with leather appeals to the senses; it is has scent, it is

Did you know that Leonard Cohen only got 77 in Grade 9 Literature? Did you want to know that? Did L. Cohen want us to know that? Vicky and I went on an Artist’s Date to the Art Gallery of Ontario, where we took in the Leonard Cohen exhibit. How do you mount an exhibit

armed with memorable massacres I look for peace without really knowing what it looks like I dip in and out of a project on peace which I started around the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Christmas seems like the only time most of us truly give some thought to peace on

Still Life with Snowball Listen to my reading my poem Advent on today’s Word on the Hills radio show… …or read it to yourself, silently. Advent The coming starts with the going of the geese in noiseless flight, solemn thoughts about the broad, black-shouldered night, and the long shadows even at noon. With a sigh

Is that what I’m doing? I’ve collected many stories from many people – about my father, about the ranch – and am puzzling about how to get at the truth when it’s different for everyone. It’s like having a pocket full of nickels. You put your hand in and they all feel the same, but

Via Train 2 between Kamloops and Jasper Blue River Dawn – a diversion When I first raised the blind in my sleeping cabin the darkness outside was complete. One and then two logging trucks slid past in the distance, like jeweled ships. Slowly the grey serpentine form of the train became discernable, meandering along the