"The studio is quiet" my Christmas thoughts.

                                    The studio is quiet  November 30th  2014
Tis still sometime until Christmas and all children are at home.
The studio is quiet but not for that long.
For they will be back with laughter and cheer getting ready for Santa and a New Year.
Special gifts have been planned and started and in gear taking our time but not getting finished is a fear.
Not to worry our smocks are lined up and ready to go and we are all wishing for inspirational snow.
Christmas concerts ,plays ,recitals and such seem to be the topic so much.
With anticipation of the day that all our young friends will shine in their own way.

Our creative gifts we will wrap with excitement and place under the tree for Mom ,Dad and Me.
For that something homemade seems to hit a core of old fashioned times and days of yore.
Something you made with love on your mind ,never to wonder that you would not do fine?
Gifts to remember and become heirlooms to cherish over many moons.
For something made from heart seems to take over and seems very very smart.

Christmas carols are buzzing all through the air taking over all of our cares.
Life can be stressful when rushing around but do stop and remember when you hear their joyful sound.
For when they say "Tis is the season" yes they are right for there is a reason.
Sometimes we forget but then we regret that it is all about the work and the sweat.
So bring some joy ,laughter and cheer and try and spread throughout the whole year.
And when you are lonely and feeling gloom pickup a paint brush instead of a broom.
Then after all trimmings and ribbons are rolled we will celebrate a New Year and say goodnight to the old.
For whether it be a new day or new year we must try very hard to bring it in with good cheer.
We make promises to ourselves and our friends and swear this time that there will be no pretends.
We will at times stumble and fall but not to be concerned it happens to us all.
With help from mankind and a song in your heart we can all do our part.

                                                                    Merry Christmas,

                                                     
                                                                                       written by:
                                                     Deborah Sponagle-Taylor
                                                         copyright November 30th 2014
                                                          

Needle felting again

 Since having our sweet, bad kitten Tippy join our household in March my needle felting has been slim if not none . Anyone out there who knows anything about needle felting know that you use a very sharp barbed needle poking into raw wool while working on a sponge. Your hand moves very fast up and down and you poke the wool over and over again until the wool fuses together creating and sculpting whatever you are building. All of the above is very interesting activities and medium for a bad, curious kitten who is very active and busy. I have been back needle felting these past days with a squirt bottle near to keep sweet boy at bay. I have collected up many wonderful props for some interesting creations over the summer months and here is the first of hopefully a few for a show at White Point on November 16th. This is another one of my "Beach Babe" series this one is sitting in the most beautiful wooden lawn chair. You will have to come to the show and pick her up ,turn her around and check her out in her bikini, wink wink ,nudge nudge...LOL My beach babes have been very popular in the past.

As well as the needle felting I have been back to painting on my found boat parts. These days being somewhat older and not able to beach comb and climb over rocks like in past years has been a challenge but thankfully I found tucked away in a corner in my shop a few wonderful old ,interesting boat pieces and I will have at this upcoming show a few paintings on boat parts. Chuck still needs to prepare them so they can be hung and after he does that I will share a photo of them here. More to come soon.

"Creative Summer smiles"

   Nothing nicer then an honest happy smile from some great young people!! Pretty well says it all and the excitment I have heard with stories of new book bags ,lunch boxs and first day school clothes lately. We all may be tired  that first day back to school after a warm and wonderful fun filled summer but everyone including parents will look forward or in some cases be happy about first day back. It is what it is, a slow decline from our hot days of sand and surf and the beginning of some fun cooler Months to come. Like many Autumn is my time of year, the heat of Summer a tad too much for me. Not so years ago, age, it must be age:-) But for these happy, loved  kids its always a great day. Here I have some pictures of my creative friends with their works of art. Cousins enjoying cousins, making memories together ,creating stories to be shared someday with their families  and old friends spending fun creative time together. Neat young people!! Everyday is a great day to create inside or out. Whether it is learning to sail, swim ,build a sand castle or paint a picture, just add to the life and beauty that living offers. Always leave the day more beautiful then when it began.

 Love these smiles!! 

  

A little of this a little of that,

First off, I need a lesson in my blogging, for some reason? when I preview I get my Feltzen South story up first, it should be about the kids, rather then start over...enjoy if you are so inclined and hopefully you can figure it out:-)

who are these old people?

Yes I will admit I know nothing about this stuff, no way could I figure out how to upright these photos, they looked good when I clicked, plus I had to take pictures of pictures, tilt your head I bet you will get it..LOL

Well like I said you can see from the photos when was when. There is the shot of us the other day on our rock, our rock being the magical spot where we lived the following couple of summers after moving from the tent into a home off the grid, spending every day or the next few summers living on this rock jutting out into the ocean looking over the water to the town of Lunenburg. After camping that summer we couldn't bring ourselves to sleep indoors. We left our paying jobs to take up inshore fishing, why not we said , no kids only pets at that time, then we opened a craft shop the only one in Lunenburg back then, yup today that is pretty hard to believe knowing todays Lunenburg, we should have hung in there and stayed , never cry over that spilt milk I say. Then after that off we went to become parents and foster parents and buying a hobby farm on the Medway River. And that brings us to today, living in a quant little Town where I was born and brought up on the beautiful  Mersey River and after many years of hard work inshore fishing and making hay and kids..that may explane why our poor old bodies hurt but our wonderful memories still are as of today as fresh as a daisy. So this is why the title of this writing is what it is, just a little of this and a little of that. I am thankful for all of it!!And ready for more!!! 

By this title "a little of this and a little of that" I am referring to this blog installment ,it has been few and far betweens at writing in here lately, especially these warm summer days full of all of those summertime things we all love to do. So today I will share a few pictures and stories completly differant from one another but in a sense not. I'll explane more about that later.
First off a couple of pictures of very talented kid's and not only art wise but lifewise. I have forever worked with children and Chuck and I have in the past been Foster Parents to great kids so we know kid's and I tell you that the kids that I have the pleasure of knowing these days are pretty darn SPECIAL people! So saying that here are a couple pictures first up "

"Happy Girls"The girls were happy today to be back at art after a week off camping and summer activities. I had one of my artsy young friend's tell me the other day that she would rather be at art then away camping, very sweet but I reminded her that indeed she could do both. By taking a simple sketch pad and pencil and maybe even watercolors  with her on her trip that she would have everything she would need at hand to enjoy whipping up a little sketch of her summer fun, sand ,surf, woods even a little sketch of Mom and Dad, family and friends doing fun summer stuff and then during the cold dark days of winter take the time to do a painting with the help of her minds eye and her sketch. So everyday can be a day of art with a whole lot of otherstuff as well.

   and here we have Keegan who is standing beside a painting he and his buddy Caleb did together and they plan to donate it to either a hospital or maybe even a school any place that children as well as adults can enjoy it. They designed it special in mind of all children and the love of play, fun and laughter. I'm not sure if they have found a forever home for it yet so if anyone out there has any ideas let us know, two boys would be thrilled to hang it somewhere where it would be appriciated. Great job guy's.

So let me switch gears now to tell you about two other young people, maybe I should say once young people, then again its how you view life, that would be another deeper in thought time. Back to these two younger people, Chuck and Deb. We met in 1978 when Chuck just happened to step on my roommates foot . OK let me push ahead a few Months to when we went camping at the Ovens Natural Park  with a great Dane in a pup tent on a foggy dampVictoria Day weekend in May 1978 never to return that summer . Shall we skip ahead yet again? Lets do, we ended up living at the Ovens that our first of many Summers together. Our first camp site was near the cliffs in the woods. We later after a few weeks and becoming friends with the owner ,as we would ,he offered us  a wonderful camp site down on the point, very private ,seculded a great place for us and my Great Dane Baron, you can imagine why he offerd to us this great site? LOL and  considering that we both worked in Lunenbug daily and our camp site looked like we lived there. It has been many years since we have been back and this is where this story and pictures will take you , I will add a few pictures of us back then with a picture that I took just the other day when we returned not only to the Ovens but also to where we moved to in Feltzen South after the cool Fall temptures started to drop while still living in our tent . See if you can see a differance? Then I will get on with th erest of my story. 

Spring has sprung

Yes Spring has sprung, and we are  happy to feel the warm sun on our skin yet again after such a long Winter. I was going to wait for a rainy day to write but early Sunday morning works just as well. As I sit here looking outside at another sunny day I am waiting for the sun to warm the air enough for my daily bike ride that I am thrilled to be back at after many long cold months. There is so much work to be done outside, yes way less then when we lived on the farm but less is hard when the old bod is older and work becomes much more difficult, even the fun stuff, but one needs to keep going for it seems I must have let the hired help go because I look around and its just we two here doing it all. So we will plow away at it and enjoy the benefits at the end when we can relax and watch the beautiful world around us on a hot day in the shade enjoying a cold one.
   In these pictures you can see these wonderful talented kids who I refer to as "The Boys" The little boys and the big boys. Melts my heart to look at their great paintings. These boys worked very hard over the past few weeks and finally were able to take their master pieces home. One boy left without getting his picture taken sadly so here we have the two older brothers with complete works. Then we have my little brothers who blew me away with the great job they did. Their younger  brother wanted to get in the pic so here are all three its a bit blurry you try and get three little guys to stand still. But look at their ties in the photo, last week was our Local Music Festival and along with these fine looking young men all the children were sharing their talents with us all week long. We do the school breakfast program and first thing last Monday morning we were greeted by children all dressed and excited to hit the stage . It's so sweet when they come through the line and want to show me their new dresses,jewerly and shoes, little ladies and Gents all dressed up with somewhere to go. The boys with their little ties on, I always say to them"I love a man in a tie" and I always get the sweetest smiles. I know that it is the same everywhere, but Liverpool has always had some great talent come out of it over the years . So many but just to mention two who everyone has heard of Carol Baker and Hank Snow and so so many more and many many more yet to come.Way to go Liverpool Nova Scotia!
  Watching these kids this week takes me back to when I was a little girl and remembering how excited I was to stand on that stage and sing my little heart out in my nice crisp crinolin and dress and patent leather shoes with my hair all curled and even when one time I was sick I still got up there and gave it my all. I loved music festival week and can remember my solo teacher Dorothy Killiam . I can see in my minds eye still her piano and the music room to the left as you went in her home. I remained friends with her over the years, she was a special lady who helped make a difference in my life. Being friends with her daughter growing up kept me in touch with her. I will always be thankful for this wonderful lady. Thank you Mrs. Killiam I am sure you are busy with a choir of Angels .
  There is so much happening in the next many months around town. Hank Snow celebration then Liverpool International Theatre Festival. The old town is a buzz and these things will bring us into a great warm summer and Privateer Days and then bring on the lazy days of summer and sun.

Springing ahead!!

Yes we are all springing ahead weather or not! I am taking advantage of this weather and spending my time with my Kid's art classes or sitting needle felting , working on art for the upcoming white Point Show April 13th as well getting excited about a few new pieces which will be available this Summer and Fall.
 Above are pictures one taken back in 2005 when we delivered "Elkanah Freeman" to the old Visiter's Center on Liverpools water front and a shot or I should say a selfie of myself and Elkanah today March 30th 2014 when I was at the new Visiters Center doing a bit of  repair to his hands from being held so much in his God only knows how many photo shoots he has had with folks visiting Queen's Co. over these past years. He stood in the old Tourist Bureau for a time then moved into the new building. Although not in order I included a couple other shots of him in his beginning and another of him when we had to bring him in to finish him in our kitchen back then. He wouldn't fit in the house we live in now. I remember the day that we brought him to town in the back of a truck standing proud all the way from Mill Village to Liverpool. But considering that we use to transport Goats , Calfs , Pigs and Chickens in our cars in the past , no one would be surprised.
So Spring is in the air ,I saw a Salmon Fly yesterday, he looked cold and tired but he was alive and I said Hi ,welcome back, we can only hope! Get your bug jackets out and ready and prepare yourselves, for come hell or high water it will become sunny and warm soon!

A busy 61st year

Yes today is the first day of my 61st year. And  yes I have been thankfully very busy with a great deal of happiness this past year in my life. With of course sadness as well ,no chances of perfection in this big sky. Last Summer we lost a great friend ,someone who came to me late in my life but came to me strong and true. I have come to realize in my many years that we can not let these life changes get us down to the point that we get sick. Some things we simply can't change , we need to learn and with age we do learn to cope with our life trees being shaken.  I am making ,creating, shareing and not having enough time or energy to get into any mischief at this ripe age. There is nothing I need ,nothing that money can buy that is. We all could use better health and a warmer ,perfect climate would be nice. None of these things can be bought, oh sorry yes we could buy a better climate with a ticket somewhere else, but I am quite content adding a sweater and turning the heat up to be here in this sweet part of the World where when walking down the street the smiles and waves are many. We try and share our energy and time as much as we can at our local nurseing home and Wickwire school. One day at the Nurseing home I had the sweetest thing said to me. I regonized a Dear lady from my childhood and went up to her and gently touched her shoulder  and said" Hello how nice to see you , you may not remember me?" She then said "Why yes you are little Debbie Sponagle" Well inside I was cracking up and at the same time welling up with tears at the thought of being called little Debbie, for these days little is not how I refer to myself. But this was very touching indeed. My art studants are filling a void in my heart that I was afraid was going to be lost . For years I did face painting at festivals and events all over the Maritimes as well as work shops with children at schools and special events but these days we don't travel far so I am thankful to work with these creative children and parents. I have many ideas for Summer Tourist season ,having been something I have been doing ever since our Craft Shop days way back now in 1978 in Lunenburg ,some of you may remember "The Copper Doll house". Then we started travelling to do shows which was fun but exhausting at the same time, but oh the memories and the wonderful other Artists that we met over those years. Back in those days we didn't have the internet to stay intouch but have been able to reconnect with many from back then since. I have decided not to do shows anymore ,and in saying that well maybe one or so it all depends on time and location. But I can't stop doing what I do and that is making stuff ,that just seems to be me. And me is what you see and get, back to my 61st year, when one must be happy in ones own skin and do what makes one happy and fulfilled!! And that I am. OK now to introduce you to my newest needle felted charactor "Ethel" the mouse. Ethel is the main charactor in my newest Childrens book that I am working on, I will be starting the art work for it very soon now that I have received my  new watercolor pencils from Sissy (Michele) thank you ,I love them, if you don't know watercolor pencils, check them out, they are nice. This little mouse will have many adventures to share and I look forward to the day of her introduction in words. But here she is in needle felting. My new friend "Ethel" or Ethel's ,all one of a kind.

I will be introducing Ethel to the public this weekend Sat. Feb. 22nd while I am at White Point Beach Resort as Artist in Residence for the afternoon. One can never go wrong spending time at white Point. I will be working on a couple more Ethel's this week for the occasion ,they are so cute all together. As well I will be working on something needle felted and watching the waves and ocean and dreaming of warm sun and spring while there, I may even enjoy a beer , for I find a cold glass of beer which I very seldom indulge in but at WP it tastes so GOOD!!. So I leave you with my birthday wise for all . May you make everyday special and great for it is all up to us, our lives are in our own hands, hold unto it well and strong!! And share a good chuckle with all you meet!!

2014 All ready?

Happy New Year!!

This is my latest piece, started before and worked on at White Point and since days. I title it" Can i help you ?" I am excited at the thoughts of needle felted pieces I have planned so far for 2014. I joke with people because of being seen at our local 2nd hand shops in town on a regular basis, saying "I'm really not  a hoarder, really I'm not." What I do is search for just that right prop for these pieces. And..I have these past Months found some great ones and look forward to incorporating them into future fun sculptures.
This past year has been at times a challenge ,I believe that comes with this age business of getting older. But in that same breath has also been interesting and wonderful. Again with age we see this more and more as we not always grow gracefully long in the tooth. By the time we have done our time and have taken on many years under our belts we find that we are old and tired and don't really care to change the world. Making due with what we have and being thankful for every minute. Spending time with special like minded people and sharing our old wisdom with those who appreciate it. This past year has been a whirlwind for me with the loss of a dear friend in July who I didn't have the privilege of knowing all my life but what time we had together we laughed a lot. Thank you "Lady P" which I fondly referred to her as. Then my "Kid's" my art students who have put a smile on my face and a light in my heart with their enthusiasm in all that they create. Funny how children have no fear when it comes to creating art in any form, adults on the other hand I find sometimes are too quick at saying 'I can't do that" come on give it a try, it may not look like mine or yours and never should ,for it is yours and you made it, what more could you ask for.
The weather, lets talk about the weather!! what is this silly winter all about, bring on whatever but Mother Nature ? please make up your mind? We were as I am sure many out there are doing as well and that would be remanissing about Winters past. Remembering snow, sledding, sking all that fun stuff ,playing in the snow. Now don't get me wrong , I can't shovel anymore but these funny strange winters are unhealthy.
  I don't believe in this New Years resolution stuff or diets for that matter, I never will make a promise even to myself unless I really feel I can do it, I will take one day at a time and promise nothing more then 24 hours at a time. That way i won't be let down. I have decided to make a change to myself with the help of someone else, it will happen this Friday january 3rd. 2014 at 2 PM, can anyone guess? LOL  New year ,New me? we will see.
    So bring it on 2014, it will be what it will be and that would be what we make it!! That said : May all your dreams come to be and all your days filled with glee!