shaving shadows

Our bathroom is in the process of being renovated and we don't have a mirror in there right now so Jerzy keeps his shaving things in a plastic container on the kitchen table and shaves with a small mirror propped on the shelf over our kitchen sink. When I pass that container at certain times of the day I am halted by the wonderful reflections caused by the sun passing through the window, through those shaving items, and through the plastic container. There is a scientific term for this but it's not coming to me right now. Voila! Art and inspiration!

inspiration

Every morning in my little koshlong lake apartment, variations of this pattern would appear, courtesy of the sun dancing through my curtains onto my blue wall. When I opened my eyes in the morning, there it was. It changed as the sun moved and as the curtain moved with the breeze. I can't think of a better way to wake up.

And this is the pattern that caught my eye every time I plunked myself down on the toilet. Very vertebral. Natural pattern of the wood in the panels on my bathroom wall.

More sun painting. Making its way through the screen on my kitchen window, passing onto the counter, and catching the blind pulls as it travels.

koshlong lake

I have been most fortunate to spend 2 weeks in Haliburton, Ontario attending courses at Haliburton School of The Arts...a 50th birthday present from Jerzy. It was a wonderful experience. I'll be posting some photos from my courses over the next few days but today I thought I'd share some photos from Koshlong Lake. I stayed there in a lovely little apartment on top of a former marina, now a workshop where Lise Ainsley - my "landlady" - makes canvas boat covers and does upholstering work. It was a wonderful little retreat for me while I was there. I inhabited the top floor of the brown building in the above photo. Small and cozy...perfect for one person.

Here is my little deck. A great spot for my morning cup of tea. And my evening cup of tea.

And here is my view of Koshlong Lake from that little deck.

Almost every morning started like this...misty and mysterious and unbelievably calm and peaceful.

These floating docks were in different positions each morning depending on the wind and the weather. I liked this configuration.

The mist usually burned off by 7:30 a.m.

Went for a paddle and felt right at home in the canoe and in the rugged, rocky landscape of the Canadian Shield. Back to my roots...

See what I mean. Outcrops of Precambrian granite, lakes, and pines really speak to my soul. As they once did to the members of the Group of Seven.

And swamps and marshy areas are another favourite destination of mine. Especially if I'm in a canoe. There is no better way to explore a swamp!

What treasures you find in a swamp! Here is an intact skeleton and shell of a snapping turtle. With my fascination for bones, I was so tempted to scavenge it but somehow it didn't seem right to disturb it from it's peaceful resting place so I just took a photo.