west coast

Mayne Island Tree Spirits

/ Terrill Welch / 28 Comments

Mayne Island is a magical place and in the rolling fog off the water it is even more magnificent. The dryads, fairies, nymphs and tree spirits are just out of sight or maybe not? Let’s have a look.

The fog is thick and little can be seen along the shore trail.

The pine seems to bend back to let us past.

One branch reaching forward with pine needles harboring hope of something special… do you see anything?

Let’s head inland for a bit.

Light in coming through the mist.

A sense of missing.

Resting.

Reflections of trees caught in webs.

Watchful. Present.

Distant beauty.

Traveling into the mist.

Together.

Trees  growing together.

Tall wonder.

Many of these images are part of Mayne Island Tree Spirits 2011 calendar.

Shall we stay awhile, wondering back through the trees to the shore? Maybe the old crone will be out on the point with her camera. She is often here – squinting when the light is bright.

Have a great weekend!

Sprout question: Do you know of a place that is filled with tree spirits?

© 2010 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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

Gulf Islands in Fog

/ Terrill Welch / 16 Comments

View and purchase full resolution image here.

Ferry whistles wake me this morning as they navigate through the thick fog. The haunting sound is like that of a moving a fog horn being answered by another a little further on.

When we were out for our walk yesterday, I took this image of rolling fog in Active Pass. This morning we are still above it here at la casa de inspiracion but it is creeping towards the valley next to Heck Hill as it moves in off the water. We are only about a third of the way up the cliff side or 81 really large steps on the stairway to heaven but it is enough to escape the fog – for now.

I hope to have more images for us tomorrow of the fog in the trees. It was amazing.

Sprout question: What is your favourite experience of fog?

 

© 2010 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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

 

Rising

/ Terrill Welch / 7 Comments

From dark thick beginnings “Rising” has been sculptured into existence as the sea gives way to the rising sun. An 8 X 10 inch water miscible oil painting on gessobord with two-inch birch cradle.

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Sprout question: What has you flying with your intuition for wings?

© 2010 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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

Going to the Birds

/ Terrill Welch / 16 Comments

Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend on Mayne Island was beautiful. So I thought you might like to come with me to one of Creative Potager’s favourite beaches at Reef Bay. Wear your sneakers. It can be slippery. The tide is coming in fast. We might get wet.

There it is. Still here even though we have been away for weeks.

Look way out to the end. See where those seagulls and other shorebirds are? That is where we are going. Make sure your hands are free so you can balance. And watch your step… there are some big cracks between the rocks – wouldn’t want to lose you in one.

Remember the tide is coming in so keep your eyes open to ensure we can get back to shore… without swimming.

Ahhhhh, so beautiful. Water reflecting the world around it.

Oh, look! There is a family enjoying the beach too.

Now where were we. Yes, the birds. Let’s see if we can get just a bit closer.

I don’t know much about shorebirds other than there are all sorts of different kinds of seagulls and those black fellows in the foreground with the long bright red beaks are black oystercatchers.

If we crouch down maybe we can get just a wee bit closer and have a good look around. Oops! Be careful. Here comes a gull in for a landing.

This gull in front is such a show off. It is like he is saying “look at me.”

The little birds behind him sitting with the other gulls are black turnstones which are unmistakable when they fly. I call the zebra birds. They are fast and hard to capture.

Here goes a lovely gull overhead.

I am fascinated by the repeating shape of the bird and the neck of land. It is like seeing an echo. Away it goes… wait a minute what do we have here?

Seven eight lay them straight. ..

View full resolution and purchase image here.

Oh No! One mighty squawk is all it took!

Look at them go!

Well, I guess we better start pecking our way back to shore. Should only take a short while. Ah yes, dry land ahead.

Are your shoes still dry? No skinned knees? Good! You were lucky.

Sprout question: Have you ever let your creativity go to the birds?

SEA, LAND AND TIME MAYNE ISLAND calendars . For a week at redbubble, until 11:00 pm Thursday, October 14th London time, there is a promotional sale. Get three calendars for 15% off or six for 25% off. Retailers can contact me directly to order at wholesale price for more than ten calendars.

© 2010 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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

A Fall Day on Mayne Island

/ Terrill Welch / 12 Comments

It occurred to us as we were eating lunch that it might be sinful not to take a long leisurely walk in the warmth of this most glorious fall day.

I am always fascinated by the ribbons of blues that stack up like exotic candy layers as I look out to the meeting of sea and sky. I drift and dream on the waves as the seagulls squawk and fish from the rocks.  Mount Baker is almost visible in the haze of the far shore – if you know it is there. I sense that it is time to move on.

I flatten body-to-earth on a sunny knoll next to the deep cool shadows of maple trees as they undress, dropping one crunchy brown leaf after another. We do not get much colour here on Mayne Island in the fall.

Mostly things turn brown and drift downward, sometimes holding themselves up as if to say “no, not yet! I’m not quite ready yet.” But the rains will come, silencing their whispers. These large brown leaves will be mulched into the earth to feed the first sprouts of spring.

Sprout Question: What are you letting go of to sprout new creativity?

Important: If you want gift cards, calendars, photographic prints before Christmas, October is the time to place your order at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch. Original oil paintings can be purchased directly from me by sending an emailing to tawelch@shaw.ca .

© 2010 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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

Schooner Sails back to Mayne Island from White Rock

/ Terrill Welch / 11 Comments

A schooner sails back to Mayne Island from White Rock but not under its own steam. The photographic print was transported by Marg Milan on B.C. Ferries. Marg called me a few weeks ago to say that she was coming over to Mayne Island as part of a tour. She wanted to meet me let me see how lovely her print of “Sailing Ship Navy Channel” looked once it was framed. Didn’t she do a great job of choosing the right matting and frame? I coaxed her into letting me take her photograph with the work. We had never met before but I can sense we shall meet again. We connected when she inquired about this image after it had been published on page 12 in the May 27, 2010 issue of the Island Tides regional newspaper.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Marg talk about why she like the image and tell me things I hadn’t notice such as the lush green of the seaweed in the foreground. Thank you so much Marg for sharing your pleasure with the framed piece of art that now hangs on your wall.

Sprout Question: Who has recently shown you aspects about your work that you haven’t notice before?

Dear readers my image Reef Bay in September has also been published on page 13 of the most recent September 30, 2010 issue of the regional Island Tides newspaper. This paper publishes over 18,000 copies every other Thursday and covers many of the west coast island communities. The half-page photo is tagged with “Mayne Island’s Reef Bay—September morning mist drifts in from the Strait of Georgia. Terrill’s one-woman show of photos and paintings ran till September 22 at the Mayne
Island Library.”

Important: If you want gift cards, calendars, photographic prints before Christmas, October is the time to place your order at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch. Original oil paintings can be purchased directly from me by sending an emailing to tawelch@shaw.ca .

© 2010 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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

Bring your cheque book

/ Terrill Welch / 26 Comments


There is something I forgot to tell you about my solo art exhibition, Sea, Land and Time, opening this coming Friday, September 3, 2010 at 7:00 pm. Bring your cheque book or cash. There are a few smaller pieces, such as cards and calendars and small photographs printed on canvas, but some of the larger oil paintings are over a thousand dollars. I personally recommend you bring your cheque book. I do not accept credit cards and I wouldn’t want you to leave disappointed.

I have heard from many of you and I am extremely excited to see your smiling face. It is a busy long weekend on Mayne Island so you will want to secure your sleeping arrangements in advance. Hum, that does sound like an interesting proposition doesn’t it?

Here are a few of links that you may find useful in your planning.

BC Ferries http://www.bcferries.com (read the ferry schedule carefully it is the most complicated schedule in the world changing with each day)

Mayne Island Accommodations http://www.mayneisland.com/accommodation/index.htm

Specific information about SEA, LAND AND TIME https://creativepotager.wordpress.com/2010/08/09/sea-land-and-time

Just to let you know, two oil paintings have already sold during the publicity for this show. Come early for the best selection.

If you are not able make it, leave a sprout anyway and wish me happy birthday. I always love to hear from you. Yes it is my birthday today or rather that would be yesterday in blogging time 🙂

Sprout Question: What sprout question are you asking yourself today?

P. S. I am away all day Tuesday. The next post will be on Thursday. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Note: Creative Potager has a new page Artist Biography .

© 2010 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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

August Mist

/ Terrill Welch / 10 Comments

Today, Tuesday August 10th, 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…

 

View and purchase full resolution image here.

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

 

View and purchase full resolution image here.

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

 

View and purchase full resolution image here.

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.

© 2010 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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

Sea Land and Time

/ Terrill Welch / 16 Comments

You are invited to TERRILL WELCH’s

Solo Exhibition of original Oil Paintings and Photography on canvas

Sea, Land and Time

September 3 – 22, 2010

Opening Reception

Friday, September 3, 2010 7 – 9 pm

Mayne Island Reading Centre (the Library)

Miner’s Bay, Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Take a creative journey with Terrill Welch, British Columbia artist, photographer and writer, as she expresses island life in Sea, Land and Time. Her exhibit displays all new work showcasing the beautiful, mysterious, and rugged southwest coast of Canada. Terrill’s distinctive palette, quick sure strokes, and photographic images capture forest, sandstone, sea, and sky reminding us that there is only one moment – this one.

Terrill Welch’s paintings and photography have been described as impressionist, intuitive and attuned to the essence or resonance of her subject.

Following the opening, the exhibition can be viewed during regular library hours 11:00 am to 3:00 pm Wednesday, Friday and Saturday

Full ARTIST BIOGRAPHY at https://creativepotager.wordpress.com/artist-biography

Terrill Welch

Artist, Photographer, Writer

Creative Potager blog: https://creativepotager.wordpress.com
Photography: http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch
Twitter: https://twitter.com/terrillwelch
Email: tawelch@shaw.ca Phone: 1-250-539-5877

Site 21 Comp 32 Mayne Island, B.C. Canada V0N 2J0

Terrill Welch would like to thank Mayne Island Trincomali Community Arts Council for this opportunity.

© 2010 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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

BC Ferries share the Salish Sea sometimes to its own peril

/ 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.

View and purchase full resolution image here.

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?

© 2010 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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