THE EVENING MUSE #8

My father brought us from flat Holland to flat Windsor where summers were brutally hot for this immigrant family. In an attempt to acclimatize, our summer Sunday morning ritual was to seek refuge at Point Pelee National Park. Back then, there were still many cottagers. It was a wonderful adventure for us as we left home before dawn so that we would arrive at the park before the other day trippers. We had the best of the day to ourselves.

While my parents cooked breakfast on a stone fireplace at one of the campsites, I would quickly head for the beach. There, I felt compelled to find
a shell, a stone, and a feather. I had to present them to the water as an offering to whatever gods my eleven year old mind imagined. It was the one place that I felt safe and at home in this huge strange land.

Childhood memories stayed with me and cemented my bond with nature and her creatures. Years later, when Tom and I became friends with Iola and Mickie Keeshig who lived at Cape Croker, we were welcomed into their lives and invited to their Autumn Feasts. Through their daughters, Vivian and Patty, my knowledge and appreciation of their art forms and customs deepened.     

For many weeks after Iola died, I struggled to depict a proper frog. Frog is her personal totem. All my attempts were hopeless failures. One day I looked into the eyes of sculpture of a frog gifted to me by Iola’s daughters and the rest is history. Today the sculpture sits in a place of honour in the heart of our home. It is a reminder, love once loved cannot be unloved.

Travelling through the South Western States and absorbing more of Indigenous cultures, I felt I had really come home. I was ready to honour Nature with my interpretation of the things I had learned through my experiences with my Indigenous friends. Kokopelli, Dragonfly, Eagle and Turtle joined my repertoire before a new genre caught my heart.

THE EVENING MUSE #7

Until now I have only shown you the poems that go with the paintings. Today I felt the need to have you read the story of the Frog and the Snake. This story is analogous with the “garden of life” and shows how each of these creatures uses its own gifts to thrive.

Food for Thought

Frog and Snake are among the oldest surviving creatures on this planet.
Their ability to remain still and vigilant
makes them powerful allies in the garden.
If they do not wish to be seen, you will not see them.
Their stealth makes them living insect traps
aiding the gardener even without his knowledge.
They are also beings of the sun,
relying on the warmth to heat their cold bodies.
Yet like the garden they frequent, they need
all the other elements to add balance to their lives.
The Indigenous people believe they are healers of the highest order.

Frog is able to undergo many changes in one lifetime.
He goes from egg to tadpole to adult frog.
Snake on the other hand, is self-reliant.
He is hatched from an egg and has to fend for himself
from the very beginning.

The “Chi” or Energy Inspired

The resourcefulness of the Snake is combined
with the wisdom of the Frog in this Spirit Catcher.
The Frog is the water element of the equation,
while the Snake is earth based.
This is a very powerful combination for any garden
and brings a curative energy to the garden space.
It speaks clearly to the creative gardener
who is always endeavouring to find
an interesting alternative and doesn’t know
the meaning of the word “can’t.”

(From my book, “Spirit Catcher Paintings.”)

What we could build ourselves and what we could afford to build was basically a hoop house. Knowing that we could not continue to maintain our lifestyle for ever, we decided to take in to consideration any future needs for living here. We insulated the 20X24 foot concrete floor and added infloor heating lines throughout.

The idea was that sometime down the line, the young couple who had shown interest in buying this place on a rent to own basis, would take over the main house and we would build a small “granny flat” using the base of the gift shop for a perfect tiny house! We would remain on the land we love and they would provide us with a down payment to build our flat and a yearly income on which to live.

Meanwhile, the gift shop needed furniture. Once again, Tom and I followed our passions. I designed shelving units for him to build and over the course of one winter, we constructed, painted and installed them. The flexibility of the design allows me to move them around to present a new look whenever I feel the need.

We repurposed many items for use in the store. Our original kitchen counter became our “sales desk.” Parts of a table were used to extend the counter and leaves from that table became a counter top. A storage unit Tom had built for his dad found a new home. It became both a display surface and a storage unit. Racks Tom had built for the quilt shows we used to hold here, became side walls and back drops for my paintings. Recycled doors became walls to hide the stuff needed to make it all work.

It doesn’t have to be costly to follow your dreams. We worked with what we had. Imagination and a little creativity goes a long way.

This is where my writings made the difference. Time and time again, I watched as they read the stories and when they came to the one that resonated with them the most, their entire demeanour changed and a huge grin spread over their face.

Not everyone could afford a painting, yet they wanted to support me. We decided on making cards and Tom came up with the brilliant idea of making them so they would fit in a CD envelope. Inside was the poem and outside, the circle painting showed through the envelope. Address went on the back!

And then came the Page Huggers!!! These small magnetic bookmarks became one of the best selling items. They are about the size of an old fashioned book of matches and ”Hug your page when you can’t.” When you turn them sideways, they mark the last line you read in your book!

We became founding members of the Rural Gardens of Grey and Bruce and now we were open to the public and I had “product “ to sell. I needed somewhere to sell it. Together we built a hoop house to act as a gift shop. The bigger problem was I needed a studio. I convinced Tom we could  turn our old woodshed into a workspace for me. He didn’t think it would be bright enough but once I showed him the blue prints, he was completely on board.

In 2002 I moved into my own workspace and what a glorious space it is! Morning light brightens my painting station which is on the east side. The computer and printing centre is on the west side. In between are counters and drawers to hold all the paraphernalia I needed to follow my passions.

It was one of those times of need pushing for a solution. Who could have foretold a lack of plant sales in August, would lead to the complete renovation of our woodshed! My perfect studio also has room for our laundry area. As Tom pointed out, while I was just sitting there enjoying myself, I might as well do something useful!

If you get the sense that I am spoiled, you would be totally right. But Tom is spoiled too. He loves to build and create and so I have taken it on as my responsibility to present him with projects to fulfill his passion too. With little or no money, we have managed to create a slice of heaven right here at Rural Rootz.

Perfect timing for “Rejoyce!”

I loved the simplicity of design of the Hummingbird which I named, “Ode to Joy.” It lent itself to being readily identifiable  at a distance in a garden. In the picture, you can see the evolution from 1998 to the present version. When I began painting Spirit Catchers, they were all on a white back ground and had little depth or colour to them. The white one depicted here, is the only one that ever came back to me because it didn’t stand up well. It turned out to be a popular design.


After the first successful summer of sales, we settled on basic sizes which would cut out of a standard 4X8 sheet of the tempered masonite I was using for my canvas. First Tom cut squares, stacked and tacked a number together, then cut them into circles on the band saw. Next he sanded the edges, drilled the mounting holes and treated the boards to be weather proof. Those boards were handled at least 8 or 9 times before I even laid eyes on them.

Once I was in possession of the boards, they had to primed and a base coat applied to both sides. In the early days, the paints were of such consistency that I was able to get away with two colour coats before sealing the painting. Each time the paints were “improved” to have less VOC’s I had to start all over at ground zero and learn how to work with them.

I tease Tom because no one knows, he is really the one who gets “paid” for the work he puts into making the boards. I just get to fulfil my passion and make them come alive. They have grown and evolved along with me as I learned and adapted to new ideas, techniques and insights. I feel so blessed to have been on this journey of 1600 paintings!     

We are all adapting to a new way of being every day of our lives. In this respect, the painting have been excellent