SAND, SURF, SOME SUN and FAMILY FUN

SUNDAY, September 18, 2011

TOFINO, B. C. is a wonderful place and I really feel so comfortable here.  The beach, the walking, the bicycle riding, the wonderful landscape.  And, of course the beautiful waterscapes that are continually changing all day.  There’s such a different kind of ‘heartbeat’ here compared to an urban area.  It’s a lighter, more casual rhythm and consequently it’s more relaxing…less stressful.

MORNING ON THE BEACH

The beaches that are close to where we are staying are called Mackenzie Beach, Chesterman Beach and Cox Bay

David, Ula and I took bikes out today and we cycled for several hours on the beach and enjoyed watching the surfers as they were continually challenged by the way of the water.

For the local surfer’s it was a bit of heaven here today.  At this time of the year when the weather brings in bigger and more powerful waves the air is charged with chatter and anticipation by the surfers of how they will try to conquer the waves.   Apparently the time to run to the beach with your surfboard changes by an hour every day during this season.  Today the beaches were dotted with black wetsuit clad figures as they approached the waves then flung themselves on their boards and hand paddled themselves out to sea.  (By 5:00 p.m. the waves were up about 4 metres.)

HOW SMALL WE ARE IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS

From my vantage point with my little camera I could only capture a landscape with bobbing specs floating on the white waves.  But standing watching these young people displaying such agile and acrobatic displays of confidence against one of the world’s strongest natural elements…the sea…is in itself exciting and made me feel very much ‘in the moment’ with them.  Some managed to ride the waves while others tried and failed only to get back on their boards and paddle back out to wait for another wave to crest.  Even when the day turned to dusk these black bodies would try one more time; then eventually, one by one or two by two they would pick up their boards and emerge from the foaming water and wander back to their cars or their bicycles and head for home.

As a by-stander it is a very surreal experience watching the black shiny bodies of the surfers and the breathtaking views of the spray and the foamy water surging around the dark, rough rocks.  It’s lovely in the sense that you can recognize that these surfers are totally drawn in by the power of the ocean and that they swim out to ride the waves as a lover is drawn to his/her beloved.  There’s a magnetism that somehow cannot be controlled…it just has to be accepted.  But how small we are in the scheme of things.

We explored many of the rocky areas of the shoreline.  We were awed by the views and delighted by many of the small impressions in the sand which were made by various sea creatures.  The beach is strewn with barnacle bits, luminous shell pieces and the interesting pulpy leaves and long stems of kelp.  The wonderful rock formations are Mother Nature's sculpture...they rise up from the sand and surf like great animals and the trees that manage to grow on the rocky islands reach tall and strong to meet whatever blows their way...always moving with the rhythm of the wind.

In one area we found many beautiful/ugly starfish.  Ugly because of their slimy jelly-like appearance; beautiful because of their unusual colours.  They get tossed up on the rocks during high tide and end up being trapped in shallow pools or crevices as the water recedes.

Nature is most fascinating.  We also saw thick areas of kelp moving back and forth in the deeper water of the bays but alas no sea otters were seen.  I’ve done carvings and paintings of water animals that are typical of those found in the fresh water lakes of Ontario…mink and otters.  But the otters I’ve seen are much smaller than Sea Otters and I would really love to see some in their natural habitat.  Below are two pieces of artwork that I have done depicting animals that are more familiar to me.


The mink that I carved in this beautiful piece of Chinese Pink Soapstone was inspired by a family of mink that lived close to the shoreline of our cottage and I loved to watch them move silently and quickly through the high grass and bullrushes then slip silently into the water and disappear under the dock or into the crevice of a rock then reappear again further down the shoreline.  There beautiful bodies were always sleek and shiny and often glowed in the late evening as the sun disappeared from the sky.

CAUGHT IN THE AFTERGLOW - MINK

The River Otters in the painting below were inspired by the otters I've seen in fresh water lakes of Ontario and I interpreted them in my own way with pen and ink and added acrylic colour for the ripples in the river.  

THERE IS MORE THAN BLACK AND WHITE IN THE STREAM OF LIFE

The message written in the painting is:  THERE IS MORE THAN BLACK AND WHITE IN THE STREAM OF LIFE.  In simple terms:  I believe that if you look closely at everything you see then you will see much more than you imagined!  Life can be complicated but that's what makes it interesting. 

On that note I'll close this blog...

and anyway it's now Monday, September 19, 2011…and we are heading to another beach…Long Beach a short drive from where we are Chesterman Beach and   Alex and Joanna are looking for bigger swells on the Ocean.

By the time we get home Andrew and Margaret will have arrived from the Vancouver via Horseshoe Bay Ferry and from Nanaimo to Tofino.  They’ll be tired because it’s the first time Andrew’s driven to Tofino so they’ll be travel weary when they arrive.  

I’ll start another blog in a day or too…in the meantime BE HAPPY!

   

MUSING AT THE END OF THE SUMMER

ONE OF THE GLORIOUS SIGHTS OF SUMMER

MONDAY:  Today is LABOUR DAY MONDAY and for most Canadians it signifies the end of the summer.  It’s a time when thoughts turn to starting a new term at school, starting uiversity or even getting back to an old or possibly a new job.  A time of beginning a new and different year of learning, growing and in the process moving forward with one’s life.

After spending more than 60 summers at one of Ontario’s most beautiful lakes I recall many Labour Day Mondays that I could hardly function because I was so sad to be leaving the cottage and the lake.  My young years were all spent at a family cottage and I learned to swim, water ski, canoe, sail and just generally BE a kid during the hot months of July and August.  As I grew into my teens there were late nights of Monopoly and mornings that didn’t start until I arose at Noon!  I had many friends at the lake and our schedules were busy and full of summer activities that were all fun.  While in my late teens and early twenties there were summers that I couldn’t spend the entire summer at the lake because of various jobs that I had…but I was always happy to spend my one or two weeks of vacation time at the lake. 

OUR SON PLAYING ON THE BEACH

Later, after I married, my husband and I bought an island property of our own at the lake and over the course of many, many years we built a wonderful cottage where we raised our son and enjoyed summers away from the city clamour.  We built the cottage ourselves out of necessity…lack of money.   My husband was very capable with whatever tool, manual or electrical, that he picked up and I was good at hauling wood, holding things in place and drawing up details of how things should look.  Our son was great at keeping me company while I went back and forth to the mainland with whatever supplies, food or wood, that we required to make ‘the cottage’ happen.  We kept that cottage for more than 30 years then we sold it to some wonderful people that appreciated what we’d built and bought another piece of island property.  By then our son, as much as he loved the cottage, the lake and Ontario, had determined that British Columbia was where he wanted to plant his feet, so my husband and i renovated the derelict cabin that was on the property and turned it into a ‘luxury one-bedroom’ cottage for just the two of us.

A COUSIN and HIS DOG

My summers at the lake allowed me to not only enjoy the cottage life but they also gave me inspiration for my artwork.  I carved stone and painted to my heart’s content.  Many of the pieces I produced during those years reflected my love of the lake, the elements, the animals and birds and the children that enjoyed being part of that. 

Scattered throughout this blog I have included some photos of past works that I may never have done had it not for being in a lake environment.  

MORE COUSINS

Many of the pieces I created during those summers have either been sold at art shows or given to family or friends as gifts.  But I have tried to keep some sort of record over the years so that I can look back on what I’ve been able to accomplish as an artist.

I hope you find these entries interesting but even more than that I hope they inspire you to possibly go down a creative road that you’ve never thought of before.
  

A WONDERFUL COMPANION

Unfortunately, two years ago, due to unforeseen circumstances we had to sell our wonderful little cottage.  In spite of it being a sad decision for us to make it turned out to be a good one because we, again, found people that appreciated the property for what it was and what we’d built into it and we were happy to sell it to them so that they can now enjoy the lake the way we did.

After many wonderful years our cottaging days are over but for me the glass is never half empty…it’s always half full.  We always seem to have something else to enjoy...so life is very good.

THE SWIMMING POINT

Now that we no longer have our cottage we are able to enjoy the city property we own in a way we never had time for before because we were always rushing off to the cottage!  We can turn our energies into making and keeping this property a lovely place to enjoy twelve months of the year.  We consider ourselves fortunate enough to have a place where we can swim and kayak in the summer and enjoy the beauty of a frozen river during the long river months…and know the amenities (shops, bicycle paths, parks, medical facilities, the Y, etc.) are within a few blocks away!

LEAVES and LOONS

But none of this stops me from remembering the wistfulness with which we closed up the cottage each and every LABOUR DAY MONDAY as we said our final goodbyes to the lake that had nurtured us through the hot months.  Memories of those marvelous and eventful summers and of those sad last days of the season will be with me forever.

Families have always had good times in summer and the lazy, hazy, crazy days give way to happy times; especially for the young.  As you can see by this entry, several of my paintings have come to mind when I think of summer,  kids  and beautiful watery scenery.  

As I write this I can hear our next door neighbours, who have just returned from their cottage,  unpacking their car…the Labour Day departure having been accepted at some point early this morning.  I can only imagine the traffic on the highways today…

BY THE TIME THIS BLOG ENTRY GETS READ I HOPE THAT EVERYONE HAS ARRIVED HOME SAFELY.

WEDNESDAY OF THE NEXT WEEK:  It's been over a week since I wrote the above...Can hardly believe it!!!!  Below are pieces of art I have done over the years...picked totally at random and in a few weeks AFTER I RETURN FROM MY SON'S WEDDING IN TOFINO on VANCOUVER ISLAND I will write another blog and add more photos.

YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE DANCING

ALL THE BEST TO EVERYONE THAT MAY READ THIS.

FOXY

                                                                      

          

MORNING BATHER

SUN TWINS - TURTLES SUNBATHING

BLUESKY DRAGONFLIES

UNBELIEVABLE SUNSET