August Mist

August 10, 2010August 10, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 10 Comments

Today, Tuesday August 10^th, is one year since David had his stroke. He has almost completely recovered – so much so that you may not notice the difference from before and after. There are little things he is still working on. But aren’t we all? I give thanks for the continued gift of his company, his love and his full engagement in life.

Sunday. I walk alone.

Through the mist flies a great blue heron over the quiet sea. Time reaches into infinity and wraps us in the moment…

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A driftwood stump waits for the next tide to continue its journey. Fog and misty rain keeps us both company.

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Meditative careful steps along the shore as hushed resilience springs forth.

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It is morning, in the misty rain on the west coast of Canada.

Low tide.

Humid.

August.

Sunday.

Sprout Question: What are you noticing today?

Note: Creative Potager has a new page Artist Biography and yesterday I posted an announcement for my solo exhibition “SEA, LAND AND TIME.” Please share both as appropriate.

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Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

A trip to the high desert property

August 5, 2010August 9, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 19 Comments

Where to begin. On Friday July 30, 2010, I left Mayne Island for a visit to Oroville Washington and out into the high desert. I was invited on a camping trip for the long weekend to come and see the 20 acres that my son, daughter-in-law, David’s daughter and three other friends had purchased last year. I am excited. It will be a five hour drive from Vancouver but I had heard so much about how it was the home of the rattle snake. And how it looked and felt like Clint Eastwood would ride over the hill any moment. And about how it hardly ever rained.

Well, I didn’t get to see a rattle snake. We tried to ensure that didn’t happen as we climbed up the dry cliff side. I didn’t get to see Clint Eastwood – but I thought I might from the looks of the hills. And it did rain – both evenings. The thunderstorms were glorious and refreshing after the heat of the day.

Here is a quick snippet of what it was like as the waves of hot air brushed my skin in the early morning sun. The light is more yellow orange than usual because of smoke in the air, likely from forest fires started by lightening.

Just around this bend…

Is the property a good part of which is an amazing bluff…

and here is the other end of the bluff…

can you smell the sagebrush I’m standing in?

What else I wonder might we see somewhere near a grove of small poplar trees?

Oh my what do we have here?

A wild turkey hen and over here is one of her four chicks…

We won’t go any closer as these fellows are still very small. The grasses and drying flowers are particularly beautiful.

Later in the morning we climb part of the way up the cliff side. This is where I am most worried I might see a rattle snake. My son assures me that it was too early in the day. He advises that I step on the logs and rocks, not over them, so the snake will hear and feel the vibration of my foot steps. After all the snake doesn’t want to see me either.

There is a spring that comes out part way down the hill and it still has a small pool of water for the birds. Even so, I was surprised to see this colourful fellow on the branch of a ponderosa pine…

It is a western tanager. Though fairly common they are a bit shy so this is only the second time I have seen one.

My apologies for being late getting the post up today. I had some computer trouble and then it was time for lunch. As you can see we had a marvelous trip. I will do another post a little later of just the rolling hills and grasses. Next time I go, I hope to bring you photos taken from the top of the bluff. We shall see.

Special thanks for having me along go out to…

My son Kris, eating sunflower seeds while the ants pack the shells away as fast as they hit the ground.

My daughter-in-law Tina, who doesn’t know I took this photo while she was cooking up one of her many outstanding dishes made with fresh vegetables and lots of herbs and spices.

My step-daughter Anya, soaking up the cooler late afternoon sun.

My grandson Arrow,

who was also my photo-shooting partner.

Sprout Question: How do you release your creative expectation and remain open to possibility?

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Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

BC Ferries share the Salish Sea sometimes to its own peril

August 4, 2010August 4, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 6 Comments

Yesterday’s post introduces the first blog clip about a series I am compelled to paint about the newly named Salish Sea. Today I am going to take us on a photo journey where BC Ferries share these busy waters, sometimes to its own peril.

The main thoroughfare between Vancouver, the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island is Active Pass and it is as busy as the name implies. BC Ferries share these waters with fishing boats, freighters, kayakers, pleasure boats, sail boats, whale watching boats, tug boats and float planes… in addition to whales, seals, salmon, sea lions, sea otters, eagles, cormorants and seagulls.

Often, whether on the one of BC Ferries vessels or on shore, the three blasts of the ferry horn can be heard warning another sea traveler to get out of its path. But an accident like yesterday morning where rope tangled around the propeller of the Queen of Nanaimo preventing her from slowing adequately as she came into the Village Bay berth at Mayne Island is, thankfully, a rare occurrence.

Four passengers and one or possibly two crew members were injured as a result of the accident. The vessel is reported to have sustained damage to the rubbing strake and bow door frame. The terminal sustained damage to the wingwalls, which are part of the berthing structure, as well as to the ramp apron. Village Bay has two berths, so the terminal remains operational.

On Friday July 30, 2010, I left Mayne Island for a long weekend visit to Oroville Washington high desert. The ferry terminal was waking with stunning beauty as BC Ferries vessels and fishing boats appeared and disappeared in the drifting fog.

The Mayne Queen departs after dropping off passengers and vehicles from Saturna Island who join us in the wait for the Queen of Nanaimo. Blasts from the ship’s whistle can be heard as she navigates through the thick mist

I slip into the back of my pickup truck “Miss Prissy” to get a better view as the vessel that left Salt Spring Island and then Pender Island approach the Village Bay terminal. I am on my way to Vancouver. The Queen of Nanaimo is the ferry that will take me there after another stop on Galiano Island.

In minutes we are on board and I move around the outer decks taking photos…

Morning coffee aboard the Queen of Nanaimo

fishing boat and BC Ferries

View and purchase full resolution image here.

and the mist hanging on Galiano Island as we enter Active Pass.

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Yesterday, on my scheduled return trip, BC Ferries staff wait to reach me before I get to the Tsawwassen ticket booth. Do I have a reservation? I did. The Queen of Nanaimo has been in an accident. The ship can’t be moved. I am being rerouted to Victoria. I will be given priority on sailings going to Mayne Island at 3:00 pm and 4:25 pm. I won’t be charged any extra fare. I move forward in the line.

My mind begins to scramble with making all the necessary changes – make sure David has food for lunch, cancel my afternoon coaching sessions and all the other details that come to mind when our plans are set aside in the immediacy of the unexpected. I reach the ticket booth and hand over my credit card to verify my reservation.

Numbly I ask the ticket agent what happened. She gave me a brief rundown. The ferry hit the berth hard on its approach. The cause is under investigation. I ask if anyone was hurt. My heart sank as she confirmed that “yes, people had been hurt.” I line up in row 40 to wait for the large new Coastal Celebration ferry that will drop me at Swartz Bay around noon… just about the same time as I had expected to be home. I start making phone calls sorting out the changes to my day. It is summer tourist season. Many people around me are from someplace else speaking a language I don’t understand. I look for familiar faces and find one. We recap the morning sharing bits of information as we try to create a new reality that is different than the one we had imagined.

The rest of morning and afternoon I continue to make ongoing adjustments. No I can’t go into Victoria. The scheduled runs are overloaded. We are told to proceed directly to the terminal area for the Gulf Islands. Extra trips are scheduled but by the time it is decided who will go on which ferries and extra staff are found we leave at the scheduled 3:00 pm time only stopping at Mayne Island first before the Mayne Queen continues on to Saturna Island.

By the time I arrive home and see the Queen of Nanaimo still sitting in the berth at Village Bay – the very vessel that was to bring me home five hours earlier – I was exhausted but pleased with my ability to ride with the changing currents with the sun at my back and the wind in my face.

The Vancouver Sun reports:

Injuries to the passengers ranged from a concussion to a possible broken ankle and possible cracked ribs.

Mike Corrigan, B.C. Ferries executive vice-president and chief operating officer, said the preliminary investigation points to “a significant amount of rope in the propellers, especially in the port propellers.”

He said the rope, likely from crab or prawn traps, made it impossible for the crew to adjust the propellers. “So when the captain tried to go astern to slow the vessel down, basically the propeller was stuck in a forward position and wouldn’t let him do that.”
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Ferries+Ropes+tangling+props+caused+ferry+dock+hard/3354052/story.html#ixzz0vfG5tFE5

The Queen of Nanaimo will have to undergo sea trials before it is back in operation. A smaller vessel will try and do some of the regular schedule but it won’t nearly be enough at the height of the tourist season. This story won’t be news today. The world will have moved their attention on to other events. But if you live in the Southern Gulf Islands or were planning on coming to our beautiful part of the Salish Sea the waves of this incident will continue to ripple for days.

Sprout Question: When was the last time your day ran ahead of you while you skidded along behind hanging on to its tail?

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Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Salish Sea painting series

August 3, 2010July 30, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 11 Comments

I’ve never been one to do a series of paintings on any subject. But I find myself wanting to now. I have three water miscible oil paintings in what may become a lengthy series of seascapes about the beautiful and mysterious Salish Sea.

The first oil painting in the series you have already seen as it is “Winter Sun”

The second is painted on a 16X20 inch gessobord in a birch wood cradle 2” deep. It is the first time I have painted on a hard surface other than finished plywood. I used a palette knife and was so involved in the painting there are very few shots of the progress.

A start…

working to bring the blue forward…

And now for the finished painting…

View and purchase full resolution print of painting here.

For now and maybe forever it is called “Salish Sea 2”

On Thursday I will show you “Salish Sea 3” which is an 8X8 inch gessobord in a birch wood cradle 2” deep that is an abstract oil painting… or at least more abstract than most of my other work…. You will have to wait until Thursday to see though.

Sprout Question: If you could sail the Salish Sea with me what might you like see?

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Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

The saying of wedding vows

July 29, 2010July 29, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 17 Comments

David’s youngest son Dan

Okayyyyy, here we go...

married his long time love Deirdre June 27, 2010.

Together they continue their journey in life…

These previous two photos are courtesy of wedding photographer Federico Vanoli who can be reached by email at balores17 at hotmail dot com in Victoria B.C. Canada.

What is all this saying of vows about anyway? Well, there is probably a slightly different answer for each one of us that gets married. But one of the wonderful aspects of these unions is thoughtful loving-kindness towards our family and friends.

We seem to be renewed by weddings.

David’s daughter Amy and her husband Fede (the wedding photographer) Dan and Deirdre.

The laughter, the love

Deirdre with her mom

and all the hugs.

I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse of our first wedding this summer… stay tuned and we will bring you some photos from the second wedding as well.

Sprout Question: How does your love for others appear in your creativity?

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Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

A painting only the artist can love

July 22, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 11 Comments

Sometimes it happens. From vision, to brush, to canvas a painting develops in large free strokes, dancing across the canvas engaging me in the swirling energy transferred in a sequence of creative exchanges. I stop. I rest my eyes upon the painting. I put my brush down. This is what occurred with “Cabin on Shore” It is a large brushed impressionist-style painting that maybe only the artist can love.

View and purchase high resolution print of “Cabin on Shore” original here.

18” x 24” by two inch 100% natural cotton gallery quality canvas water miscible oil painting

Below are a series of slideshow images capturing the creative process and detail.

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Sprout Question: Has your heart ever stopped your head in a creative process?

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Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

just the wedding cake topper

July 20, 2010July 20, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 11 Comments

You are not going to believe this. I have not even one photo of daughter Josie and her husband Ryan from their wedding. I don’t even have any photos of Josie in her wedding dress. It seems that whenever it was time to take a photo I was either doing something or preparing to do something or listening so I didn’t miss anything. So we will have to suffice with the wedding cake topper which was hand-painted in their likeness.

I am working on getting a few images to share here from the professional wedding photographers that captured the moment for us. So we will see. In the mean time, I do have another interesting image of the Josie’s bouquet.

Josie’s shoes

and accessories.

Also, close to where I sitting at dinner was a sweet little girl who was resting in a bit of a tired daze on her dad’s lap.

This was one of the special things about Josie and Ryan’s wedding that was different from any I can remember from say 20 years ago. There were fifteen or so children at the wedding. Some of them were tiny babies of three months. Many of their parents had flown with them from as far away as Montreal or drove for 14 hours down the province of British Columbia. Not to ignore the participation of many grandparents and aunts and uncles who also supported in childcare at the wedding, but what was most amazing and pleasant was the active, relaxed and confident parenting of many of the children’s fathers. When I would be out scouting coffee at 6:30 or 7:00 am, there would be three or four fathers feeding small children and babies or taking them for an early morning walk so their mom’s could sleep. All day long and way into the evening there were dad’s packing children around, taking them to the bathroom and helping them solve problems while the mom’s were busy visiting or doing wedding things.

I commented on my observations to Josie and she said that the dads really wanted their wives to be able to enjoy themselves since they had come so far and it was their friend’s wedding and they didn’t want them to be all exhausted and stressed out trying to do all the parenting on top of everything else. And Josie and Ryan for their part had organized babysitters for evenings so both parents could relax. Now how wonderful is all that? And a welcomed change in general parenting practices from what I observed when my children were small.

It was a beautiful relaxing, fun wedding in the most amazing ocean-side setting at Brentwood College. The weather was fantastic, the 140 family and friends had a marvelous time and the bride and groom’s wedding day was perfect.

Sprout Question: Have you ever been so focused in the present that you completely miss a creative moment?

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Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Flower Salad

July 15, 2010July 10, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 22 Comments

It is almost getting to hot for salad greens now but I have a spot where the mixed greens are out of the hot sun by about one o’clock in the afternoon so they have stayed nice a little longer. I also grow calendula and nasturtium flowers especially for salad. The tomatoes are from an organic Vancouver Island greenhouse. My tomatoes are not yet ripe but if we peer into the three feet tall vines I wonder what we will find?

and

And there is another one…

Also I saw this interesting 2.5 to 3 inch long dragonfly fellow this morning. Not sure what kind it might be but very interesting.

Carrots are looking good.

Oh! While you are out here, can you water the garden please?

Sprout Question: If you could grow one new thing in your creative garden what would you be willing to weed, water and love until harvest time?

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Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

The Boys are Back in Town

July 13, 2010July 10, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 20 Comments

Morning is filled with the smell of west coast summer. I go out to water the garden. Snapping twigs and munching tell me I have company – a lot of company. I carefully raise my head from the geranium pot. Then I slip back into the house for my camera.

There is a herd of seven buck deer just on the other side of the deer fence browsing in the tall salal underbrush. I managed to get four decent images of these fellows well embedded in their natural environment. I have to whistle to get them to look at the camera.

Lucky for us they are curious animals and can’t help but wonder where that pathetic-excuse-for-a-whistle is coming from.

Our cool and lush spring leaves these fat and sassy devils more handsome this year than usual.

And for those of you who have never heard Thin Lizzy’s “The boys are back in town” from 1976, here you go….

Sprout Question: What caption would you give each photograph to tell a story as the deer?

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Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

what seen is not always there

May 27, 2010May 28, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 29 Comments

Clouds break and the late sun rushes in, leaving its mysterious glow cascading across the valley. In this moment the turning of earth is visible and tangible – not just a known fact.

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Looking east finds the familiar last light from the west at the edge of the forest…

It is beautiful but not what I am feeling. Something is missing. I head to the digital darkroom musing about what the camera couldn’t catch. I went to work to find what it was I had experienced – teasing it out from between the pixels….