"What I mean by Socialism is a condition of society in which there should be neither rich nor poor, neither master nor master's man, neither idle nor overworked, neither brain slack brain workers nor heartsick hand workers, in a word, in which all men would be living in equality of condition, and would manage their affairs unwastefully, and with the full consciousness that harm to one would mean harm to all - the realisation at last of the meaning of the word 'commonwealth'."
~ William Morris

What a wonderful Closing Reception at the ASA Gallery it was on Saturday. So many beautiful, inspiring women. I am extremely grateful to the Alberta Society of Artists for the past two months of focused work...I ended up completing (almost?) 10 pieces of the Women of the West project and I can't believe it. I am grateful to Tri-Art for the supplies to create the Mastrius Women project. And, above all, I am grateful to Julie deBoer for creating Mastrius.com. During the pandemic I met amazing women from around the world online and never felt isolated at all. Today is a shipping day as there are many portraits to be sent across North America. What a wonderful opportunity this has been.

I will be sharing what I completed during this residency during the closing reception on Saturday as well as gifting the 'Mastrius Women' portraits. What a wonderful way to end an amazing two months. Everyone is welcome!

In this final week of the Artist Residency at the ASA Gallery, I've been surprised at how much work I have accomplished. I've also been surprised at the results as I didn't exactly know how I would approach this project once I began. I'm very glad that I chose to work on watercolour paper that I prepared with a watercolour ground as the colour sits on it differently than directly on paper and it handles quite a bit of abuse...lots of scrubbing. I'm also happy that I ended up incorporating images in the background to represent their work or surroundings and, in some cases, some of their supplies. I also had the idea to incorporate a little writing about each, that way each painting speaks for itself without needing more, though I would like to create a book about what I've learned about each of these inspiring women. I have three pieces to finish, two need a write-up on them and the third needs to be painted, and I still have many more to paint in continuation of this project. Lucky me.

"William Morris' literary contributions helped to establish the modern fantasy genre, while he helped win acceptance of socialism in fin de siècle Great Britain."

Only one more weekend and my 2-month residency at the ASA Gallery is complete. I'm actually surprised at the amount of work I've completed as I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but it wasn't totally fleshed out in my mind. I've broken my guidelines a bit by adding Barbara Leighton, who was not a painter but rather a printmaker, metalsmith and textile artist. But I had to include her...not only did she and I both attend ACAD in our 50s, but I had the great privilege of sharing 'The Grandmothers' project in that amazing heritage home. And it is because of her that the Leighton Art Centre exists today in order to make art accessible to everyone, from children's workshops to art exhibitions. I'm not sure if these are finished yet, but I think I'm happy with the direction that they're taking.

In July, I was the lucky recipient of a mini creative artist photo shoot with talented photographer and painter Lancette Burton. I'm so glad she suggested a local park in autumn as it's my favourite season. I felt so comfortable, wearing my favourite clothing (jeans, t-shirt and Birks) and painting with my pochade box, which I've loved since 2008 (Judson's 6x8 ThumBox). It was such a beautiful evening and I'm so pleased with the outcome. I feel so blessed!

I finally finished my teacup sketchbook...it was so fun to play with a variety of watermedia from watercolour to gouache to watercolour markers & pencil crayons. This has been a long, slow project, documenting the cups & mugs I've received as gifts and working on them in a variety of ways: direct watercolour, pencil sketches, utilizing a compass & ruler, and even drawing directly with water soluble coloured pencils and then softening them with water. I can see this becoming an actual painting project someday...maybe on 10x10 inch prepared canvas or cradled panels.

I have a fondness for small tins...I've used cigarette tins for postcard sized watercolour paper and other tins for projects in progress, and, then, tins for everything else. From watercolour paints & pencil crayons to pen nibs & hanging hardware, it all comes in very handy, They are especially easy to grab and go whenever I want to head out. I'm very grateful for thoughtful friends and family who share the best ones with me.

"The Morris's were major contributors to the revival of traditional British textile arts and methods of production."