Joy and peace

This Christmas season, joyously celebrate the blessings of life, sweet and precious. The cycle of life continues... The new year, and each day, brings with it the opportunity to learn and grow, to live with love and kindness, to share joy and peace with the world.

dance along the edge

curl and crash

in perpetual motion

dance along the frothy edge of turbulence

News from Heidi Mae: celebrate the season

I love, love, love the snow!!! I've been dashing around in my parka and mukluks and am hoping to pull out the skis soon, likely this weekend if the snow forecast comes true. And, despite the extra shoveling, the snow certainly boosts the holiday spirit...

Silver Lake Floral in Virginia, MN initiated the festivities a couple weeks ago with their holiday open house. Right when the door opened at 8 am, the enthusiastic clientele enjoyed browsing through the holiday wonderland for gifts and decor, including the work of local artists, such as my own prints and notecards and also fabric arts by Emma. You can see more photos of the day on the Facebook page for Silver Lake Floral (here).

This coming Saturday brings more of the jolly spirit with a visit from Mrs. Claus to Silver Lake Floral. Children can stop in to visit and also work on a project with the ladies, creating a Christmas decoration. Mrs. Claus will visit from 9 am - 2 pm.

Coming up on December 4th, I will be participating in the NLAA Art/Craft Fair at the Ely Community Center. I'll have a variety of prints available, along with a limited number of framed prints and notecards. Coinciding with the 1 pm parade for "An Old Fashioned Christmas in America's Coolest Small Town", these events are the perfect time to be out-and-about in Ely! Visit ely.org for more details.

News from Heidi Mae: prints at the Fine Edge

A fine addition to the Virginia art and shopping scene is the Fine Edge Custom Framing shop. Formerly located in Eveleth, the Fine Edge has a new upscale home at 107 North 4th Avenue, just off Chestnut Street in downtown Virginia. Gayle and Nicki are wonderfully talented and super-fun people too. I am excited to have a selection of my cotton prints available for purchase in their shop/gallery! If you're in downtown Virginia, be sure to stop in at this lovely shop, or you can find them on facebook (here).

It's all in the numbers...

The day was gray, but the wind was absent, a necessary condition for the job of the day: hoisting the roof to its final timber frame home, the Wee Cabin House. Located near Ely, MN, the Wee Cabin House joins a delightful hamlet of Wee Cabins created by Eric and Dayna Mase. What a process - from the leveling to the crane, to the connecting of the roof to the cable, to the pause in breathe when the lift was initiated, and the slow, guided move up and over to the house structure, not to mention all of the building and prep work. And... how fun to see the practical application of those theoretical Statics calculations from the days of physics class!

You can find more information about Wee Cabins at www.weecabins.com.

Chit chat

My slumber while soaking up the heat from the sun-warmed rock was interrupted by the flutter of wings and gentle chirping. Two gray jay friends had arrived. The gray jays have learned that this well-traveled waterway brings their two-legged paddle friends who are likely to have a tasty handout to supplement the winter food cache. So... we chattered back and forth and they made show of leaving but then came back, persistent in their request. These birds are friendly, but only to a certain extent. Two winters ago, for one of my "work" projects, I spent countless hours in the woods searching for a gray jay nest. The gray jays played with me, and I found nests, but always old ones. Clever creatures...

I smiled

At last! A day to load up the canoe and head to open water, just me and my canoe and the sunshine, remnants of fall color, and cold, cold water.

At the end - the open expanse of the sky and the water was endless.

Perfect.

October Wedding on Burntside

Last Saturday, October 2nd, was a lovely day with sunshine and fall color, perfect for celebrating an outdoor wedding on Burntside Lake. The ceremony and the loving spirit of the bride and groom, families and friends, truly was an honor to witness. Warm hearts of all in attendance and the fantastic meal (Thank you, Roy!) at the indoor reception balanced out the chilly temperatures of the evening.

Here are a few of the images that caught my eye. Even though the fall color was spectacular and the Seliga canoe was such a lovely robin's egg blue, I really enjoy seeing these images in Black and White format.

Autumn wind in the birch

Last night the wind tickled two birch,

coaxing them into a dance,

autumn yellow teasing the green of summer.

This weekend: Harvest Moon Festival!

The 17th annual Harvest Moon Festival is this weekend in Ely, MN. With over 125 art and craft exhibitors, the All-American Lumberjack Show, and Primitive Encampment demonstrations such as birch bark basketry and wool spinning, a person is sure to find something of interest. I'll be at Tent #57 and am excited to be participating this year!

Harvest Moon Festival, September 10 - 12, 2010

Friday: Noon - 6

Saturday: 10 - 5

Sunday: 10 - 4

More info: ely.org

Beautiful...

This past weekend I had the honor of photographing a wedding for a very special couple, who are so sweet. They had a beautiful outdoor ceremony with dear family and friends to witness. Here are a few of the photographs that caught my eye on my first perusing of the shots of the day.

Note the Keenes: ideal footwear for an outdoor wedding and, perhaps, for any wedding!

Instant photos

How instant is instant in these days of advanced digital technology? Last weekend at the Embarrass Fair, I had so much fun using my digital camera to take "instant" photos of an old photographic process for the "tintype", an early instant photo.

Photographer Chris Olsen of Dagnabbit Studio travels with his camera, black-painted tin, and processing materials and creates photographs on tin in a relatively short amount of time. Chris takes and processes the photograph within 10-15 minutes, creating a one-of-a-kind photograph to send home with his clients.

The contrast of the old versions of instant and new version of instant tickles me. I took numerous photos but couldn't share them with anyone that day, and almost a week has passed before I had time to post them here. Chris photographed my portrait, creating a single photograph, and gave it to me within minutes. Many photographs. One photograph. Time. Instant.

Here are a few photos of Chris taking the portrait of a young family. You can find more information on tintypes here. Chris hails from Illinois and may be reached by email at phuphuphnik_at_gmail.com.

Savor the green.

Green.

Savor the green.

Other colors are queued up.

Blue skies...

A foggy, misty morning by the lake gave way to beautiful blue skies and sunshine for the Art in Bayfront Park festival in Duluth last weekend. Eighty artists displayed their artwork for the visitors to Bayfront Park, including jewelry, sculpture, and even exquisite handmade journals.

My booth display was beautiful... due, in part, of course, to the photographs, but also to the support of numerous friends who assisted in preparation and loaned various items to bring the overall display together in just the right way! You know who you are and "Kiitos" to you all! Here are a few photos of the display of my photographs, accented with grasses, my rock collection, and even an old traveling case.

One of the highlights of the weekend was receiving the First Place Award for Photography! This blue ribbon, along with seeing so many of my photographs printed and displayed together, made the hours and hours of work and series of mishaps (a story itself!) feel so worthwhile.

Now... it's on to the next adventure... preparing for the Harvest Moon Festival right here in Ely on the weekend after Labor Day. Visit ely.org for more info.

Deckling... for Art Festival this Weekend!

The deckled edge of my cotton prints is a personal touch unique to each print. The hand tearing of the paper is a meditative experience; first measuring out the border of each side of the print, then carefully tearing the paper by shuffling thumb and finger along that border. Though the process can be tedious, I like to see the fibers and layers of the paper exposed by the tear, and I like that each print is unique.

Much of the preparation for the art fair coming up this weekend has involved deckling the prints of my photographs. I now have a collection of curls of paper scraps, and, more importantly, a beautiful set of photographs to bring to the art fair!

Art in Bayfront Park - a fine art festival

Bayfront Park, Duluth, MN (west of the DECC)

August 21 - 22, Saturday 10 - 6, Sunday 10 - 5

www.artinbayfrontpark.com

Wired

Wires in the sky, shadows on the wall, dance

Gliding to the left, right, together, apart

Reaching the limits.

Teased by the breeze.

Wired.

And, I've been teased by the breeze today as I work inside.

One berry, two... ?

The sole berry left on this bush nourished me while I nourished the mosquitoes, more delighted than me I'm sure, to have a stationary target for a bloody tasty feast. Despite the swishing away of mosquitoes, I had my own fill, evidenced by fingers, lips, and teeth tinged with blue.

I was picking the "seconds" in this blueberry patch. I'm convinced that "seconds" are a good deal. Once the first berries are picked, the next batch has the opportunity to become quite plump and really tasty.

News from Heidi Mae

The 4th of July is past, a family reunion has been accomplished, and, perhaps, best of all, I've enjoyed a swim in the warm water of Lake Superior. Now, the blueberries are ready to fill those ice cream pails... and bellies, staining lips and fingers blue... And, many more days are ahead for paddling on blue waters here in the northwoods.

Despite all the outdoor fun, indoor projects have been on tap for myself and for other local artists with the upcoming Annual Ely Greenstone Juried Art Show this weekend! For the third year, I will be be showing a selection of fine art photographs, including three 13" cotton prints framed in handcrafted maple frames and two 6" cotton prints framed for the miniature category. This annual show is held at the Miners Dry building on the edge of Ely overlooking Miners Lake. A Preview Gala is scheduled for this Saturday, July 17th from 7-9 pm. Tickets are available here. The exhibit is open for the public on Sunday from 10-4 and Monday and Tuesday from 9am-noon. Hope to see you there!

Later this summer, I'm taking a leap into new territory by taking part in two art fairs! The first is Art in Bayfront Park on August 21 -22 in Duluth, MN. The second is the Harvest Moon Festival on September 10-12 right here in Ely, MN. I'll post more information as these events approach.

For the local Elyites, check out the July 10th issue of the Ely Timberjay. One of my photos of the guys setting up the fireworks display was published on page 6!

Embrace the peace

I awaken with a soft gaze and gentle thoughts drifting through my mind. Stories of the night are tempered in the light of day. I embrace the peace of this moment.

Celebrate summer...

and the bright colors of poppies!

Fireworks work

Do you enjoy fireworks displays? From my early childhood, I know that I have viewed a fireworks display during some part of the July 4th festivities. On Sunday afternoon, the 4th of July, I was walking on the local Trezona Trail near Miner's Lake and got a brief behind-the-scenes look at the work of the fireworks. Trained professionals, these two men spent their holiday putting together a splendid fireworks display for all of us here in Ely, MN. Assembling over 250 fireworks took them eight to nine hours of dedicated work. A wire with a fuse on one end is attached from the shell to a relay box; the box is later connected to a control panel by a very long cable. Distance is safety here!

A wonderful feature of living in a small town is having good opportunities to be relatively close to the display. From my vantage point, I could feel the boom as each one exploded and the sky was lit up from 90 degrees straight up down to the tree line. The show was fantastic, as was quite evident by the cheers at the grand finale. Thanks Matt and Tim and to everyone else who contributed!

On the rocks

Sitting on a rock by the river, we watched baby ducks swim into the current, diving down and popping back to the surface. A Great Blue Heron glided in as the sun was setting, perhaps to survey the river for fish. We left the rocks for the birds.

Ready, set... dive!

Please, no visitors today!

These turtles slipped into the water shortly after this photo.

Last Saturday

Last Saturday, the end of June, we went for a paddle across Burntside followed by a portage into Slim Lake. Amidst the soaking up of the rays for a full fledged sunburn and the paddling lessons on feathering and figure eights, we mingled with nature, trailing a Great Blue Heron, spooking a deer back to the woods, and attempting to sneak up on turtles who know better than to let other wild life get too close.

Center within

A steady, persistent rain is falling from the sky.

How fortunate for the plants, the flowers, the newly planted gardens.

And, for me, to center on joy and peace within.

Fuzzy Bumblebees

Lupine fiesta

Sitting with the lupines, I listened to the quiet of the evening... and the hum of the bumblebees as they spiraled around the columns. The bees moved efficiently from one pod to the next, quickly and gently opening it and reaching in for the sweetness.

Shell of safety

This turtle was in an unsafe place. With my approach, she went inward. As I picked her up by the edge of her shell to move her, her head moved out and tail and legs started flailing, which, along with the "hssss", inspired a expeditious set-down. She was inspired to find her own path away from immediate harm.