Motif 2012 - Another First!

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to share my recent experience at Motif 2012. If you've never been to Motif (this was my first time!), it's a cultural festival held annually in Happy Valley Park, Moose Jaw, SK. And in my new and humble opinion, it is definitely worth attending.

Happy Valley is a beautiful, often forgotten/unappreciated setting for this event and even grouchy mother-nature couldn't stop us this year! Though I work full time Monday - Saturday, I was able to attend Friday night as well as Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. It rained heavily off and on Friday night so I was doing the mad dash from under the umbrella my other half was holding in the stands to the front of the stage and back for most of the night.

Even so, I took over 600 photos that evening and got some really amazing shots. The stage is nestled in amongst what I can only describe as an almost Narnia feeling forest of trees. Somehow the trees here have managed to bend overhead and create a beautiful canopy above while leaving enough space on the ground for multiple sets of bleachers as well as a stage, a tent for the techies, and some room backstage for the performers. There's also a grassy area just in front of the stage for kids to sit or performers that would like to involve the audience even more!

From what I'd previously heard about Motif, I knew the food was going to be good (it surpassed my expectations by far) but what I didn't expect was the extent of the talent of the performers who come to this festival. I had no idea that by the end of my weekend I would see: Native American dancing and drumming at its' finest, Irish dancing (much like the famous "Riverdance"), Scottish singing, Philipino singing and dancing, sexy Latino dancing, Chinese fashion shows, and a 71 year old fire breathing phenomenon!

And then there's the food and shopping...

I tasted: empanadas, enchiladas, shishkabobs (both beef and pork), pork on a stick, pansit (Philipino noodles with veggies), pork buns, a Philipino banana dessert, homemade Ukranian perogies, cantaloupe juice, peach flavoured green tea and the ever-favorite antarctican snow cone!

I perused: Handmade jewelry from all cultures (all VERY reasonably priced), handmade sweaters of all shapes and types, amazing face painting, henna tattoos (another first!), kites and knick knacks, beautiful clothing, scarves, and blankets and several handmade decorations. I cannot stress enough how amazing it is to see people of all different cultures gather and hand make all of this food and beautiful artwork!  

And now I have what I can only describe as a Motif hangover. No food I make will satisfy my tastebuds, none of the music on the radio compares, and I just want to go back! Thanks Motif for a great first time and I will see you next year!

Below are a few of the photos I captured and there are many more to come!

Quick Sidenote: I was the volunteer photographer for the event so my weekend pass was complimentary but the fees this year were only $8.00 per day or $12.00 for a weekend pass (quite reasonable for all that you'll experience).

Wine Rack Re-do!

I love garage saling! And this is one of the reasons :).

I found this wine rack at a garage sale for $1! It folds up to become tiny (our apartment thanks me for that) and is in perfect condition. I love this wine rack except for one thing: in my artsy esthetic opinion, the screw heads showing is not very appealing. So of course, I changed that!

I found these little plastic gems at Gale's Wholesale in Regina. I wanted something shiny but understated and modern. Add a little mod podge craft clue applied with a q-tip and 24 hours drying time per side and.. voila! Here you have it folks, enjoy!

Before:

Not so pretty screws:

After!

Looking Schnazzy ;)

Le Fin!

Heart-Shaped Bread Successes

Hey People!

Just wanted to share my success in bread making today! I ordered a bread tube from a catalogue recently and it was just delivered to me yesterday. Even though I've been super busy this weekend I was so excited I had to try it out this morning. Here are the results of my heart-shaped bread endeavour and if you would like info about where to find the accessories I used please just let me know! Enjoy!

Fresh heart-shaped bread!

Heart-shaped Grilled Cheese!

Painting + Photography = This!

Morning everyone!

Just wanted to share a little tidbit of art inspiration with you this morning :).

Recently I had a print get ruined by one of a print's worst enemies: tape. The print was not satisfactory to give to my client and I just couldn't throw it out since the tape had only touched it in 2 little spots. So I decided to try my first combo between painting and photography.

I cut circles out of the print after painting a canvas the same size as the print (11x14) a colour that I thought would compliment it.  To get near perfect circles, I used various kitchen supplies like both ends of a wine glass, a bowl, and some measuring spoons. I chose a rich navy blue to go with the blue on the bird in the print! I had planned on sealing the print with a high gloss sealant afterwards but I just loved how it turned out without the sealant. Below are photos of the final product, let me know what you think!

This just goes to show that in the despair of a damaged print, never fear, there's hope!

Have a great day everyone :).

Stormy Saskatchewan - June 26th, 2012

Good Day!

This post has been a long time coming since the storm I'm writing about happened, oh, on June 26th! However it's storming right now and I figure it's about time to get it done!

This was the crazy storm that had everyone in Saskatchewan up in arms including me! The storm chasers were here from the States so it had to be good I suppose. I just want to start off by thanking my other half, Trevor Benson, for having the guts to convince me to go out and shoot this storm. Also thanks to the big guy upstairs for keeping us safe and holding the rain off long enough for me to get some great shots :).

As for location, we started driving towards Caronport around 6:30pm and made it there just in time to get some decent shots of the clouds and lightning. From there, we tried to stay just ahead of the storm on the highway as we continued back to Moose Jaw. At one point, the storm chaser SUV was right in front of us and we had the guts (or stupidity) to follow it. We didn't quite beat the storm home and had to run through the hail to get inside. In the end what we felt was a thunderstorm-tornado mix but.... there was no actual funnel cloud inside city limits. Below is the evidence that the storm was in fact tremendous! Enjoy :).

This one was published by The Weather Network! (Below)

Fun in the puddles afterwards! (I joined after my camera was safe and dry)

The flowers that survived:

The calm of the skies after the storm...