I walk to work every day.  Rain or shine, blizzard or black flies, you will find me trekking up the lane to my studio.  Every day, every season has it's own particular beauty.

There is a short stretch of time, though where the walk is positively intoxicating.  And that time is now.


The honeysuckle and lilac trees are in full bloom, filling my nostrils with their heady scent, and my ears with the droning of bee and hummingbird wings.  My eyes are overwhelmed with the multitude of colours.  Drunk...
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I love the hustle and bustle of spring.  It's such a busy time of year here in northern Ontario, with the plants are coming out of their winter dormancy and sprouting up as fast as they can, gardens going in as early as possible - but not too early or the frost will kill the tender plants.  The birds are building nests, hoping to raise their young in time for them to be able to fly south in a few short months.

It's been busy in the studio, too!  So much has been happening I hardly know where t...
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I have been invited to be one of the artists featured at the Art Gallery of Sudbury's big Spring Event Fundraiser!  My work will be on display at their dinner and concert on April 27th. I am honoured to be part of this big gala event, and have been hard at work in my studio creating new work especially for it.  If you are in the Sudbury area, you might want to save the date.  It sounds like it will be a fun evening filled with good food and great music by the Eagles cover band "Hotel Californ...
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I've been catching up on custom orders over the last couple of months.  This ring was commissioned by fellow artist and Riverside Farmer's Market vendor Bonnie Tickner for her husband.

She wanted a plain band ring with a tiger's eye stone, and not too bright and shiny.  So I created this simple ring with a bit of texture and this beautiful stone.  We decided it looked better with a darkened finish.


Even though the design was simple, creating this ring presented an interesting challenge.  It is ...
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Muse:

a. A guiding spirit.

b. A source of inspiration.

I have often been asked from where I find the inspiration for my work. If you have seen any of my art or jewellery, I think it is obvious that much of my work is informed and inspired by my deep connection to the earth. I am so blessed to live in a relatively unspoiled rural area, so I am able to experience and be inspired by the land and all that grows and walks on it, the rivers and everything that swims in them, the wide-open sky a...

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It's hard for me to believe that almost a month has gone by since my last post!  Things have gotten a bit crazy here at the Brook, and I'm finding it hard to keep up.  Spring has finally arrived.  I noticed this lone crocus in my garden while I was hanging out the laundry.  Crocuses are one of my favourite spring flowers.  Such hardy little things.
 
I have a lot of news to tell you, but it will have to wait for another day.  I'm going out to play in sun! 
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I know I must seem obsessed by spring.  After several months of being house and studio bound due to a cold-related health challenge, being able to go outside for more than two minutes makes me a bit giddy.  I feel like a caged bird that's been set free!

One of my favourite things to do as the warmer spring weather melts the blanket of snow is to walk around and see what is uncovered.  

The other day while out exploring with the dogs, we found the long lost Dora the Explorer ball. 


We hadn't be...
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While walking up to my studio yesterday, I saw my first flock of geese flying north.  There have been robin and killdeer sightings, too, but not yet by me.  These are fairly good indicators that spring is truly on its way, although it is not unusual to see robins looking for worms under the snow.

Getting back into my studio to work on the backlog of portrait commissions and other projects feels wonderful.  Even though I was fretting the whole time I was away, thinking about all the work I had ...
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It was finally warm enough that I could get out for a short walk yesterday. A sure sign of spring!

I took my camera with me, on the hunt for other, more subtle signs that spring is well and truly creeping in.  Some things I found:











We are supposed to have a week of temperatures above freezing, which h...
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The grass has not riz, and I know where the birdies is - they are chowing down at our feeders, trying to keep warm on this snowy first day of spring.
 
Winter is not yet letting go in my neck of the woods, and will still be hanging around for another month or more.

I do love the cold beauty of winter, even though by this time of year I am looking forward to seeing some green.  The ground is covered in a soft white blanket, but other things we don't see the rest of the year are exposed.  One of m...
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The Aspiring Metalsmiths team I belong to has a monthly blogroll challenge.  I missed the one last month (I managed to take photos and start my post and then my computer crashed and I lost it), and I'm late with this one, but better late than never, right?

The topic this month is "What skill do you want to learn next?"  I found it incredibly difficult to choose just one thing.  I love learning new skills and, still being very much an "aspiring" metalsmith, I feel that I haven't really solidifi...
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