The countdown begins

Its hard to believe that there are less than three weeks to go 'til we have to have our work finished and displayed in the gallery.

This week the ten participating artists met to discuss the name of our show. After about an hour of brain storming we decided upon Traversing Boundaries which we felt described our experience over the past couple of months with the ability to explore our ideas and share techniques in the different workshops.

It was also the deadline to have an image and artist statement for the catalogue. So the image below is a detailed shot of my etched silver spoons with domestic scenes from the Quaker House in Dartmouth.

Etched silver spoons

Meanwhile my work is progressing with more experiments with the ceramic and wooden spoons - and I am continuing to read about the history and experience of pioneer women in Nova Scotia. I have stumbled across two authors Catharine Parr Traill and Susanna Moodie, two sisters who emigrated from England to upper Canada in the early 1800's. They wrote about their experiences and the hardships they endured in the Backwoods including Roughing it in the Bush and The Canadian Settler's Guide, a book full of practical information from cooking, growing food, luggage to bring with you, how to make candles and other household goods through to how to chop wood to build a house. It's fascinating reading.

Wild flowers and old mining cottages

Rural scene of Cape Breton

And I had the chance to explore some of Cape Breton, a gorgeous island of forest, coastal mountains, ocean views, hiking trails with a mix of Celtic and Acadian culture, and of course interesting architecture only four hours north of Halifax.