Mice Art or eeeEEEK

There is something about mice....some of us are attracted to the little beggars and find them cute, almost cuddly and generally like them as long as they stay out of the house and our cereal boxes....then there are those of us who are totally afraid of them....jumping on chairs and working on a vendetta to eradicate them. In my family we have both types of these people.

It probably doesn't surprise any of you to discover that I am one of the ones that likes them and have had them for pets. Not long ago as a break from a large project that I am working on I had a mouse visit my studio. I made a lovely little glass home for him in my aquarium and spent the afternoon chatting with him while I sketched and photographed him.  Here are a couple of the quick studies that came from that meeting.

Now while I would have like to kept him for a few days...he did not seem to really be settling in as some of them do....so I took him out to our barn and released him with a feed of oats.
Psst...don't tell Neil that we seem to have quite a few of them in the barn.

Art on the top of Mt Revelstoke

Just home from a great artist residency on the top of Mt Revelstoke. It was amazing...4 days in a small rustic cabin without electricity or running water in one of the most beautiful parks in BC with 2 other visual artists. When the gates closed in the early evening through to when they opened in the morning...the mountain was ours alone.

The days were full of visitors of all nationalities coming to hike and admire this mountain...but when we hiked out on the trails, the mountain soon adsorbed all those visitors into the quiet beauty. Flowers of all colours bloomed in the meadows under skinny alpine trees and high rocky peaks and well maintained trails led us to even more lovely destinations.

We three artists ( myself, Caroline Scagel and Wendy Mould) were  invited into the park to explore and be inspired. This year is the 100 anniversary of Mt Revelstoke Park and the artwork that we will create from this experience will be used to celebrate the importance and beauty of this park.  Each of our days was full of inspiration with hours of hiking, sketching and painting in a small naturally lit studio. It was a great studio space to share our art and hide from the ample diversity of bug life....many visitors stop by to see what we were up to and stayed for the great conversation and peace from the never ending mosquito hum. Other than the bugs -  other wildlife sighting of pika, marmots, chipmunks, owls, ravens and whiskey jacks were enjoyed. Some of my Park paintings will reflect those meetings.

Our days were full and later in the quiet evenings a full super moon lit the night as brightly as day and invited us out in the early am hours to wander in the moonlight. When the gates opened in the morning the first intrepid hikers would meet in the top parking lot and quickly disappear into the woods. The Park officials were friendly, helpful and full of information on the history of the park, the flora and animals and generously shared bug spray and water with whoever needed it. It was an excellent experience and I look forward to creating art that reflects that.
Happy 100th Anniversary Mt Revelstoke National Park!

 

                 A beautiful view from the top of Mt Revelstoke looking down at the lake.

Me sketching by Balsam Lake 

Just hiked in 7km to Lake Eva with Caroline and Wendy

                           A rocky ridge of stone across the valley from Mt Revelstoke Summit.