The Fish Are Getting Larger!

With the cooler weather, the focus around The Artist's Mark has shifted inside to the art and jewelry studios. And while our shop sign is now sitting on the ground, if the sign says "Open" come on in. We plan on being open, at least on weekends, to the end of the year.

Currently, we are doing a bit of a renovation in the art area, but Vickie has been painting up a storm. As discussed in a previous post, her current fascination is the interaction of ink and watercolour. And her focus has been on creating "Fundy Fish", whimsical creations that highlight just how "special" this area is.

She started small but as the creations flew off the shelf, her focus has shifted to seeing if the idea could be executed in a larger format. So now she has moved to an image that fits into a 5"x 7" frame.

By the way, the above is shown in a "Ribba" frame by Ikea. Online reviews of these have been a little spotty but we really like them and find them very good value. Who knows how large these fish can grow to become. Lobster season starts here on Monday so with them gone, these fish might get huge!

And speaking of Ikea, they make another line of frames called "Hovsta" which we also like. here's another of Vickie's latest works shown in this frame.

We hope to be able to offer these pieces online at some point and if that becomes possible, we'll let you know.

And by the way, I have been asked to participate in an exciting lapidary product trial so stay tuned for further developments!

Cheers!

We Have Fish!

In previous posts, I have chronicled the ongoing scientifically experimental nature of my better half- She Who MUST Be Obeyed. Its most recent manifestation is ink- homemade ink and also how ink could interact with watercolours and other materials in her artwork.

She started by simply putting the two together on different papers using different brushes without paying much attention to shapes and colours but in the process, a fascinating shape started to emerge.

FISH!

But Vickie doesn't see fish the way most do. She is fascinated by things like steampunk and whimsy and a mark making process called "zentangles" that has led to her producing images that have even been put on t shirts.

So her fish eventually morphed into...FUNDY FISH... fish that morphed into hybrid creatures with unique personalities.

She started small (about 4 inches x 6 inches)

But gradually, they got larger.

These are two to three times larger and now she is making them in all sizes and colours. So now the question is, how big can she go. Some of Vickie's pieces are very large 4 feet by 3 feet so should she make them larger still?

With no real promotion, we have sold many of them and since, eventually we will be offering these via the Seawall Fibres web site, we now have to take a trip to Halifax to source larger mats and watercolour sheets. She even has to get bigger brushes! And I have to crack the whip to make sure I have inventory!

I have successfully co-opted the cats in this endeavour because apparently, they also really like fish!

So stay tuned and, if you like them, let us know and also let us know if you think they would look good in a larger size. For your information, Vickie is a signature member of the Federation of Canadian Artists and we sell her work by size- $2.25 Canadian per square inch of image size so since these have a lot of white space, the price is reasonable and they fit in standard sized frames.

We want your feedback!

Cheers.

Something's Missing!

Several weeks ago we sustained a direct, 2 day hit from Hurricane Dorion and apart from losing power for 52 hours (no big deal when you have a propane generator) we suffered no ill effects- not even the loss of a shingle!

Well, last week they forecast a little "blow" that turned turned out to be somewhat larger with wind gusts topping out at 120+ KPH! This time we had some damage to an area of siding at the back but the real loss was our beautiful shop sign that for several years has served as a beacon for tourists and locals alike as they travel The Neck.

As you can see, our sign got blown right off its clips and is now sitting about 30 feet out in the marsh. It's not the end of the world as we had already cut the wood for a new one we were going to make over the winter. I had secured the "closed" sign by a bungee cord but the hooks holding it were also pulled right out of the post so it is now jerryrigged as well.

But not to worry. As they say in that movie, "We can rebuild him- even better!"

And in the meantime, although our sign might be gone, we're still here and open most days (although we will be in Halifax this weekend) so if you are looking for yarn or that perfect gift, call us at 902 482-2188 and we'll make arrangements to meet you at some point.

Cheers,