you know it when you see it

the return to Salmon Arm is rarely without a thud and a bang... I find the "re-entry" tough, especially during the warmer months

the sudden change from the clean, clear expanse of the north to the heat and busyness of the south, the air at times thick with humidity, the population and the automobile exhaust that goes along with that make me long for the deep green forests and mountains I leave behind

for the last few trips, during my first week back, I have given myself the gift of time... time to play in the studio, to immerse myself back in my creative work

time to do what I love whilst getting used to where I am

to do as I please - cooking, yes... yard work and cleaning, no

last week you saw my "noticings" book, finally filled with small sketches

this week I'm pleased to show another finish

the first of my work based on the snowy wind-rows I saw on the shore ice of the Yukon River two winters ago is finally finished

hand-stitched vintage linen, ink-dyed linen for the base, driftwood for the handle

it stands just 4" tall and is barely 2" wide across the front

inspired by this view

and began like that

the tiny, tiny textural stitches that are grouped here and there along the longer lines are barely visible, reading more as a disruption of the weave than anything else but the effect of roughness is there and that's all I wanted

the pouch itself was completed some months ago but was awaiting it's handle

none of the driftwood I had was right - too short, too long, too brown, too wide, too narrow, too straight

on it went

Goldilocks herself would have been impressed

but then this summer, as I sat on the shores of Kluane Lake 

I found it

the beaches were littered with small pieces of twisted, bent driftwood in varying shades of grey and brown

right away I saw a small piece that looked exactly like what I had pictured in my mind as I sewed the pouch together

slightly crooked, arched, knobby, greyish, a few imperfections... 

I didn't have the pouch with me to judge right there and then so just in case I gathered a few extra pieces but in the end the one that made me say 

"Aha!"

was the right one after all

take care,

Jillayne