Washed Smooth

November 17, 2010November 17, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 15 Comments

The heaviness of the cloud pushes down until I hunch under its dreary weight. West coast winter has arrived. Last nights winds were an early warning of what is yet to come. Today is smoldering quiet. Only small birds twitter in the trees as we walk.

I cast my eyes south,

then north along the shore,

stopping my roving gaze only when I look west and settle upon the smooth sandstone washed clean by years of waves.

I notice one small leaf also sitting in deviance.

Sprout question: What might you like to wash smooth?

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Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Discovering the Joy of Winter Games… (prweb.com)
Unscheduled Down Time (timesunion.com)
Night Lights (christineredmond.wordpress.com)

Snow Clouds

November 16, 2010November 16, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 20 Comments

It doesn’t snow very often on Mayne Island but it does all around us. Some days I can smell snow and people frown when I say so. Raising one eyebrow, they will say “I didn’t hear of a snowfall warning.” Then I have to explain that I can smell it from where it is snowing on the mountains around us… 30 or 40 miles away.

Sometimes I look up and say “those are snow clouds.” It is not just the look of them. It is how they feel… and smell.

Sprout question: What smells in your neighbourhood?

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Stories in Mist

November 15, 2010November 15, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 14 Comments

Dawn creeps through the mist, stealing night’s solitude.

Mist settling in between notes of soft music drifts through the room and out into the valley.

Between now and then is the shadow of self… wavering slightly in our imagination.

Sprout question: What stories are your soft edges telling?

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Back in the mists of time (search.japantimes.co.jp)

Home becomes Gallery

November 12, 2010November 12, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 24 Comments

The transition is just about complete. For Saturday November 13^th and Sunday November 14^th our home will become a studio gallery for my:

* oil paintings

*large photography canvas prints

*2011 Sea, Land and Time Mayne Island calendars

*and, lots and lots of cards.

Would you like to tip toe through and have a wee peek? I thought you might. Leave your shoes at the door. The floors are heated and so cozy to walk on. Go on down the curved hall into the great room.

Feel free to stop and look on your way.

The sunroom area is not quite finished yet. The bed will be covered in cards by tonight, with a large canvas print resting on the headboard after I remove the pillows.

Now come up into “the private area” which is where we will have our breakfast…

and opposite of where my working studio is located.

Let’s look over the loft railing.

Well this is it. The cards are not out yet and there are still a few more pieces to hang but this gives you the general idea.

For those of you that are too far away to get any closer than this blog to these open studio days, you don’t need to miss out. Remember? Redbubble has a 15% sale on all my work in their online storefront. You can only get this deal if you order online. So there you go. Something for everyone.

Sprout question: When are you next presenting your creative work?

Have a wonderful weekend.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

An Artist

November 11, 2010November 11, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 22 Comments

My daughter, Josie Olszewski, took these photographs of me last weekend. I am collecting a couple of images of me to accompany a new youtube video of my recent work which I hope to finish in the next few months with the help of a musician in Europe.

I sometimes ask myself “what makes me an artist?”

It seems to be a simple enough question. However, I never find a satisfactory answer as I am taking the insides out of the squash in preparation for dinner or stripping the bed of its sheets for the laundry.

These photos should make Wulan at Lemon Zest very happy.

Sprout question: What makes you an artist, writer, musician, photographer?

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Hurry, Hungry Seattleites! There’s Still Time to Be a Part of Sprout #2 (seattlest.com)

Redbubble Portfolio Sale

November 5, 2010November 15, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 12 Comments

Yesterday, redbubble started shaking bells and sending the Christmas spirit along by offering a 15% discount on all of my work. Even on this newest image of Mount Baker.

View and purchase full resolution here.

Even on my 2011 calendars. Even on all my most popular images. The whole works actually. Everything! What is a photographer and artist to do? Let you know of course!

To receive your discount, put in the following code when you go through the checkout process TerrillWelch_is_on_sale_9565

Note: this discount is only available for those that order my work directly online at redbubble.

And apparently, though I have been unable to confirm, this offer ends November 14, 2010.

Please, have a good look around my redbubble storefront at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch. Your favourites are all there.

Sprout question: How well do you roll with something that is unexpected?

P.S. Remember to change your clocks. This Sunday, November 7, 2010, Canada, US and Mexico FALL BACK to standard time.

Best of the weekend to you all!

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

RedBubble (scottpaterson.org)
Dentist Doctor and Birthdays (creativepotager)

In the name of Hockey

November 4, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 18 Comments

The beaver, maple syrup and hockey are three symbolic references that shout Canada to Canadians and not necessarily in that order. Hockey almost always comes first. There is the Hockey Canada Network. There is the National Hockey League with a website where up to 40 games are shown live each week. There are shirts, mugs and I am sure even pajamas you can get to support your favourite team. Hockey fans have no particular age or gender. From the very young to the very old, Canadians, at the very least indulge the most enthusiastic fans even if they don’t follow the game themselves. I am in this category – the indulging category. Though I admit to watching the men’s Olympic gold game last year, I know nothing about the stats or the personal lives of the players. It was the last game I had seen until last weekend when I took my camera to a game in Port Moody to try my hand at capturing one young eight year old defenseman in action.

It is not an easy task to get a clear image of a moving player from behind banged up glass.

Even on sports setting, there are a lot of challenges with support bars always where I would rather they were not.

But it was fun and a completely new subject matter and setting to figure out.

Sprout question: When was the last time you took your creativity outside its comfort zone?

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Oh Canada! Majority of Canadians Believe Canadian NHL Team Can Win Lord Stanley’s Cup by 2013 (eon.businesswire.com)
Canada king of the rink again (theglobeandmail.com)

The Human Figure

November 3, 2010November 3, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 20 Comments

Marks on a page are as distinctive as each of our human form. There is something profound that becomes apparent when drawing another human being with only muscles and skin over their bones. There is a trust and vulnerability for the model and also for the artist. I find that the drawing is as much about that relationship as it is about what the eye is seeing.

My husband, David Colussi, and I had been taking figure drawing classes for a few years in a row before moving to Mayne Island. We felt for sure that this was one of the things we had to give up when moving out of the city. But we were wrong. For the first time in three and a half years (and the first drawing David has done since his stroke just over a year ago) we went to class right here on our little island.

I have dispersed two each of our sketches of various lengths. If you run your cursor over the image it will tell you which one of us did the sketch and how long it took. As the weeks go on, we will see if there are others we want to share.

Sprout question: What is your creative relationship to the human figure?

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Battersea Arts Centre preparing for Lynch mob (independent.co.uk)

Within

November 1, 2010October 29, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 16 Comments

This wave won’t take your breath away as it crashes to shore. It is going to swish over the sandstone and reach in near your heart, gently releasing, easing back to sea, only to reach forward again, and again. Let your worries and fears go with it. Fill with its strength each time the wave reaches forward. Be within.

Sprout question: What is your heart wanting to create?

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Getting Better – Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (travelpod.com)

The Distance Between

October 29, 2010October 29, 2010 / Terrill Welch / 14 Comments

The distance between summer and winter is the glorious colours of fall. The leaves on Mayne Island make for very subdued frocks compared to other parts of the world. Still we are not left out.

The maple trees are the biggest and brightest dancing and spinning before the winds and rains undress them.

Thank you to everyone who has purchased my redbubble calendars this week. You know who you are and I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did creating them. For those that are still interested, take your time, there is no rush yet. It is still a couple of weeks before redbubble sends me a notice to say they can’t be sure that a delivery will get to its destination before Christmas.

Speaking of redbubble, they just had a major re-design. Here is a link with a thumbnail of my All-Time-Popular images shown together http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch/portfolio/art . Very cool.

Sprout question: What creative seed are you planting so it will sprout for spring?

Best of the weekend to you!

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada