 It has warmed up to -18 today, while other places further south are dipping drastically into frozen temperatures. With the warmer weather the foxes have been playing out in the yard again. Apparently my car is their new playground!!! It is 10:30 AM and still pitch black out - it's almost hard to believe that the light will soon eat up all the dark until there is none left. For now I am enjoying lunchtime sunrises and afternoon sunsets; the two are still close enough that sunrise blends into sunset creating cotton candy daytime skies. Spent the day yesterday outlining - soooo much outlining! Today will be re-working the foreground. So off I go - back to the studio with my tea!!! 
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So it seems that our cold snap in Inuvik is finally nearing the end; however, Yellowknife has an extreme cold weather warning so I am sure those chilled temperatures will swirl themselves this way soon enough. In these frigid temperatures where I was pretty lame and have tried to avoid going outside. So I have been dreaming of and painting summer colours on the tundra!  Work in progress - summer tundra muskox This morning it is -31 with a windchill of -36 and the air is filled with ice crystals I sent the kids off to school and am curled up at my painting table with a cup of tea and my paints! Tea of choice this morning is Stash Licorice Spice.   First day of school after Christmas break for the kids today; however, I forgot that there was no school this morning and sent them anyways. Whoops!!! They weren't too pleased with me when they got back home.  The first sunrise of 2020 will be arriving today, bringing with it days which will quickly flood with light. It is hard to explain the joy of seeing the sun for the first time in 30 days. It is indeed a time of celebration and Inuvik goes all out with welcoming back the sun! In fact we have a whole weekend festival to celebrate the return of the sun and the light which will follow.
 Long Arctic nights of December have pulled the frozen cloak of numbing temperatures. Ice fog whispers along the streets and ice encrusted eyes peer out from thick scarves and toques as people rush along main street. Unless of course you are my teenage son, who is too cool for the cold and refuses to wear a parka to keep the freezing temperatures at bay. I actually had to hide his Autumn jacket so he would wear a parka! The kids are still going sliding on the hill in the yard; however, it is for smaller bursts of time, with hot chocolate breaks in between. It really is the perfect weather to cuddle up with mugs of spiced tea and watch cheesy Christmas movies! Even though it was -31 there was a great turn out for the Christmas parade!! It wasn't the longest parade, but there was lights, sirens, kids, candy and a whole lot of smiles!
 Urchin Acrylic on paper 5"x7" - 2017 Urchin Cling tight Urchin Cling to home To love Cling urchin Cling To all that matters  Delta Freeze Acrylic on paper 5"x7" - 2017 Delta Freeze Freezing air snaps at the surface Of the Mackenzie River Dragging frosty jagged nails across slight waves Bringing temperatures down Sucking in rising water vapours Breathing it back as ice  A Whisper in Time Acrylic on paper 5"x7" - 2017 A Whisper in Time Whisper carefully - "Come home to me After you follow all your dreams And drift back across the sea For I will wait As long as it takes For I know that you will never break"  To Each Their Own Acrylic, pen & ink on paper 5"x7" - 2017 To Each Their Own To each their own Trying not to fall When they cry Though people see Just what they want to see It doesn't hurt...... If no one sees you in tears  Hot chocolate is a pretty big deal in our house in the winter months. Nothing quite says winter or December to me like a lovely mug filled with warm chocolate and on the luckier days - whipped cream with mini marshmallows (or as my children know them - Snowman Poo!) So for my Christmas cards this year I figured I would pass on my warm wishes with some whimisical hot chocolate cheer!   Listening to unlimited Christmas carols while I draw and paint is bringing back memories of Decembers past with family and friends. Some brightly painted cutie cups to negate the darkness of our sunless northern sky. Stars are shining almost twenty-four hours a day now; hence making their way onto every hot chocolate cup.       Winter Warmth
Have a cup and let warm wishes surround Hot chocolate dribbles and marsmallow whispers Melting memories of all Winters together as one Topped with fluffy clouds of cream making any Snowman smile Had a absolute blast at the GNAF Christmas Fair this year! Met a lot of wonderful people and got to see (and buy of course) some amazing work from all over the north! The talent which is spread throughout the north is phenomenol - from mukluks to carvings and paintings - with so so so much in between. The north truly is a special and spectacular place!! And the smiles this weekend!!! So much happiness in one place, whether you were a vendor, artisan, customer, or just there to look at and eat all the amazing things. Oh the food - cannot foget to mention the food - in Inuvik we are so lucky as so many cultures meet here and this really shows in the food available. Samosas, curries, chili, macarons, bread, baked goods, and so much more; this weekend was truly a feast for the soul and I can't wait to do it all again next year!!! A huge thank you and mahsi cho to everyone who bought my work in Inuvik and also in Fort Simpson. I am super lucky to have such a great sister who set up a table for me in Fort Simpson this year! Huge hugs and a million thanks Cait!!  So my kids and some of their friends decided that they would like to earn some money at the craft fair so that they could get Christmas presents. I had quite the little work bee at the house as they unleashed their creativity on the perler beads and shrinking plastic. Boy did they create some neat stuff; and they were so proud of themselves when their ornaments sold. I am super impressed with the work and creativity they all put into their ornaments, no two are alike!  Oh the fun part, sorting, printing, and packaging! Getting all of my work ready for the Christmas Bazaar which starts tomorrow and continues over the lengthof the weekend. I am soo excited to see all the amazing work as people come from all over the north to show and sell their amazing arts and crafts. Last year was my first time attending the Inuvik Xmas fair and I was, simply put, completely blown away!  Delta Freeze Acrylic on paper, 5" x7" Freezing air snaps at the Mackenzie River surface Dragging frosty jagged nails across slight waves Bringing temperatures down Sucking in rising water vapours Breathing it back as ice  Process of "Rusty" the beluga watercolour, pen & ink, 5"x7" The past few weeks I have been working on some sweet Arctic cetacean minis. I thought it would be lovely to have some original pieces on hand for the Inuvik Christmas Bazaar this year. Sooooooooo as you can see, I did go a wee bit crazy with the belugas! I really couldn't seem to help myself and will most likely draw a couple more as they just seem to have so much charcater. I have finished my beautiful Narwhal painting and will post pictures of it soon - I need to really practice my photography skills.  Bowhead Whale pen and ink, watercolour 5"x7"  Happy Halloween! Organ works by Bach is blaring and the doorbell is ringing like crazy. Freezing air is swirling all around my house as I hand out goody bags to Inuviks' cutest and scariest residents. The town firetruck just went by handing out treats as well! So sweet!!!  So my youngest was set on being a banana - I had rather hoped he would forget about it and choose one of our other costumes I had made previous years. However this was not to be, so I spent yesterday evening sewing a banana! Basically it is a banana quilt and he loves it and vowed to wear it forever. I did have a lot of fun making this costume/movie watching cuddle blanket - LOL!    The banana and 2 other costumes I have made - the honeybee and bison or Minotaur (depending on which one my kidlet chooses it to be)     Since we live up north and either pumpkins are exceedingly expensive or there just arent any available we generally use milk jugs! Pair these with red turtle light from MEC and you really can't go wrong. My husband drew these ones as the kids were being lame this year and wouldn't draw anything!! Guess its time to close up this candy shop as the door knockers have dwindled right off. I had 195 Trick or Treaters this year! That's up from 146 last year. Crazy! Hope everyone is enjoying and will enjoy their Halloween!!!!  |
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