Thursday 29 December 2011

Solstice tidings!



As the last days of 2011 wind down, I decided one more wave over my shoulder at the waning year was warranted. What adventures I’ve had since I last wrote! I completed two commissions for a lovely lady, Barbara, who then treated me to a ride on the carousel at the Burnaby Village Museum.



How inspiring it was to see the beautiful and painstakingly restored carousel up close… (note to self: take another adult or borrow a kid if you are going to ride the carousel, glances of  nervous parents indication that a goofily grinning carousel-riding 38 year old is not a common occurrence.) This is THE carousel that was the jewel of the PNE that we all rode as kids. How funny life is, I would never have imagined I’d one day be painting portraits with the very same wooden horses that were such a magical memory from my childhood. It was such a treat to experience the music from the Wurlitzer organ and all the old incandescent lights casting a golden glow on the gilt and red surfaces, as the horses bounded around and around. Who says you can never go home again, ha!

I then took a tour of a restored trolley car that was used up until the 1960’s between New Westminster and Vancouver. I was so impressed with the horsehair- stuffed seats, covered with woven and lacquered rattan. The windows were encased in cherry wood and the floors in a lighter wood, Maple? There was not a plastic, polymer, or acrylic plug, thread, or fibre to be found anywhere on this work of art. It boggles the mind to see such craftsmanship, ingenuity, and detail lavished on objects that we take for granted as merely utilitarian. As I prepared to disembark, the very knowledgeable and good-natured guide looked away politely as I rang the trolley bell for the 10th time… or maybe he was looking for my nurse.



It is a rare and wonderful thing to visit the Burnaby Village Museum, especially when I discovered that it was created and constructed solely by volunteer efforts and fundraising. Even now, many of the guides and support staff are volunteers themselves. How can one not marvel at such a creation, knowing that it was for the pleasure and education of others’ that this beautiful historical site was created?

A few days later we took the first of my freshly printed, ink still wet, handbound copies of A Faery Trail to Fairy Godmother’s Unlimited, in La Conner to get the blessing from the fairy godmother herself. Here is the cover to prove to all you doubters, myself included in that statement, that it is indeed FINALLY completed!



I plan to throw a little shindig in March 2012 to celebrate the completion/ release of this veeeerrrrryyyy long awaited project. I think Spring is the perfect time for new beginnings and what a perfect excuse to have some fun, too.

So, for now, I send you wishes for a Solstice full of joy, gratitude, and good health. May the coming year find you rested, rejuvenated, and inspired.

Leah

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