Artist Holly Friesen casts long flowing silk into Devils River near her studio and one of the many natural inspirations for her art.
View Holly’s beautiful paintings of trees, many along side precious waterways, anchored on rocks, or with exposed roots.
Janet Goldblatt Holmes and Robert Holmes enjoy the calm and peace found in Barrie.The body of water which I chose for this project, is Kempenfelt Bay, part of Lake Simcoe, situated in Southern Ontario. This is where we have a cottage, which we use throughout the year. We are 2nd generation, and my daughter and son, 3rd. I have been coming here since I was a young child, and my children, like me, have done the same. Process:I placed a piece of an old bedding sheet into the water and watched the end fold, sinking, and continuing to fold in slow motion until settling on the rocks. Reaching to pick up the material, I realized the importance of the area; the steps leading into the shallow water on our rocky shoreline. While drying on our waterfront, more became clear. This was where I spent countless hours with my daughter and son, when they were young, and learning to swim. This is where, as they got older, they would tentatively enter the cool waters of Kempenfelt Bay in the early summer, until the lake warmed up and they would run off the end of the dock, squealing as they cannon-balled into the lake. We have spent hours, year after year sitting, cuddling, talking, arguing, crying and laughing. Family and friends gather to watch the water, and the sun’s glimmering light dancing on the surface, especially late afternoon into early evening. Kempenfelt Bay is where my heart and soul reside, even when I am away from the water’s edge. Water Is: Healing, clearing, cleansing, clean; Spring-fed mountain stream; soothing, renewing; stress slips away; Ache dissipates; Refreshing calming, centering blue green,; clear sounds; Lapping serene; Read sleep, drift off breathe; Water is life energy
Artist Paul Fortin soaks the Canadian fabric in the Mackenzie River in northern Canada. The fabric has reached all four corners of Canada -The Ottawa, Lahave, Fraser and Mackenzie Rivers.
I have recently returned from the Banff residency and am slowly starting to move forward creativly now that I am home. The fabric arrived safely and I have started to work my way through different ideas. The river is currently an ice road to Tuktoyuktuk and the weather has been cold and rather grey. I will keep you posted on events surrounding the river, fabric and creative happenings. The river is the east channel of the Mackenzie River. Inuvik is situated right on the eastern edge of the Mackenzie delta. The river splits into three main channels West, Main and East but it is really all the same river. The delta itself is made up of hundreds of thousands of smaller channels, lakes, ponds, rivers, oxbo lakes and muskeg as the rivers fan out and make their way to the icy Beaufort Sea. It is quite impressive rom the air. It is currently -24F here andthe river is frozen and ploughed into a road that winds its way to the community of Tuktoyuktuk. The wind is blowing quite strong making it feel much colder. The big river is a muddy one and the fabric is not so white anymore. It should be a nice addition to the project. The Mackenzie finally broke a week after I returned so I was finally able to get the fabric in the river.
