| Thursday, July 02, 2009 |
| Beautiful Quebec |
And here I am, In St-Hyacinthe, PQ, praying it doesn't rain tomorrow. Why am I here and why do I care if it rains....
I am here to play in a charity golf outing, the Omnium Gervais-Talbot that is put on by two NHL players and their families: Bruno Gervais of the NY Islanders and Max Talbot of the Stanly Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.
This morning I had a wonderful breakfast. No, the food wasn't that wonderful (nor was it not- it was a toasted bagel with cream cheese and lots of fresh fruit and plenty of good coffee) but the company was phenominal. I had breakfast with Sylvain Gervais, Bruno's father and better company one could not hope for. He is intelligent, funny, very sweet and very good on the eyes. For an old lady like me (ok, not THAT old) this was so delightful. I can't remember when I last had breakfast with such a charming, attractive man. He then took me on a tour of this lovely city (small city, and very charming as well). The highlight of the tour was the wonderful marketplace downtown. The smell of the fresh baked bread alone was enough to drive one crazy (even though we had just eaten). There was fresh fruit, meat, fish, cheeses- oh my. I am going to go back on Saturday before I fly back to Nova Scotia so pick up some bread and cheese.
I am slowly (very slowly) learning French, both from my language DVDs and the residents here (including Sylvain and a wonderful waitress here at the hotel, named Brigette). Saturday I am also going to go to a bookstore and pick up some children's books in French so that I can learn them and read them to my nieces.
Tomorrow I will go to the golf club and, hopefully be able to play golf and not make a total fool of myself. But, I am going for the fun so, really, as long as I don't pull a Gerald Ford I really don't care. I am really looking forward to meeting so many people. Too bad Max is not bringing "Lord Stanley" with him but that would take attention away from the purpose of the day- to raise money for 3 local charities including Autism research and education. If it rains (and please pray it does not) we will have a casino day and shoot pool. Dandy. The only thing I am as bad at as golf is billiards.
In the evening we will have cocktails and music and food followed by an auction of sports collectables. I have a reputation at auctions- especially after several drinks (just anyone who has been to QSDS with me). But, I already have a jersey autographed by Max, and a game used stick....however, there is a photo of him scoring the Cup winning goal that is up for auction. You KNOW I will be waiting to bid on that.
I have no internet in my hotel room. For some reason my computer will not work on their cable internet. Since I had no problem with the cable internet in either Montreal or Moncton (NB) last week I have to suspect it is the connection in the room. So, I am using the computer in the business room here where the keyboard is a French keyboard and I cannot get the question mark to work and the monitor is a tiny, blurry Compaq S510- about 100 years old and it is very hard on my poor ancient eyes.
I will try to write more later but I know I won't have time tomorrow so, maybe Saturday. Hopefully I will be able to post photos on Sunday.
Au revoir!
teri
teri |
posted by teri springer @ 5:32 PM   |
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| Tuesday, June 02, 2009 |
| Oh YES! Max is THE MAN |
Woo hoo! Well, the Wings may have won games one and two but the Penguins are NOT rolling over and playing dead!
Tonight, my "other son" (well, in MY heart) scored not one, but TWO goals and FINALLY got the recognition as the 1st Star of the game!!!
I was feeling so DOWN after games one and two (both of which I was at- I think I am a jinx) but I am walking on air tonight!!!!
teri |
| posted by teri springer @ 10:43 PM |
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| Monday, May 25, 2009 |
| She's Baaaack! |
I am SO embarrassed that I have not posted in 2 months. Excuses? I have plenty but, what's the point in having a blog if you don't post? One of my BFF's who now resides in So. California bugged me about it. Don't know why; we are both on Facebook and I do post there semi-regularly.....
Any way, I got home from Athens, Ohio Sunday afternoon. Why Athens? Well, the SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) conference was held there in conjunction with the opening of Quilt National. I am now the co-rep for Atlantic Canada (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland-Labrador, and Prince Edward Island) and, since my partner, Laurie Swim, couldn't make it, I made a semi-last minute decision to go. And am I glad I did!
I went for the pre-conference and took a class with Deidra Adams on Photoshop. Now, I am still no pro with it but wow, did I learn a lot! Deidra is a wonderful teacher and has the patience of a saint. While there were a few of us with Photoshop experience, there were more without it. And, of course, we had many different versions of PS too. All the way from the old PS 7 to Essentials to CS 4 (yes, you KNOW I have to have the latest and greatest). To really muddy the waters we had 2 "loaner" computers. I thought it was great that OU had Macs.....so tell me, WHY would you have Macs and then run them on Windows??? Yes, both were running on Parallels and, despite the fact that I have Parallels, I could NOT get them out of Windows (I have Parallels but, now that I have used the Mac OS for 3+ years I am firmly a Mac person and have difficulty working with Windows except for my Quickbooks). The LOVELY woman I sat with, Cathy Smith, not only got stuck with Windows but had a new MacBook with a wonky touchpad (I suspect because of the Windows OS). Any way, Deidra spent a LOT of time working with us individually to help us learn the layers issues, etc. This class was WELL worth my time and $$.
During the actual conference we had a day of "mini-workshops." I ended up taking a class in "Marketing Outside the Box" with Lisa Chipetine (another wonderful, wonderful woman and the next president of SAQA). Great class. We did a more-or-less round table discussion of what we were currently doing and what was working and not working. Lots of great ideas.
Next, I spent the time writing in my ubiquitous notebook; filling pages with ideas on how to recruit and market us in my region.
Then I snuck into a Critique class led by Sandra Sider. Wow! Great class. Those who were actually registered for this were asked to bring a piece of their own work for critique and several people did bring work. We had a very educational experience AND got to see some wonderful work; both in-progress and completed. If you have never experienced one of Sandra's on-line critiques, google her and attend! And, added bonus if you are a member of SAQA, past critiques are archived on the SAQA U site! You can bet that I am going to be checking out these podcasts. One of my goals in Nova Scotia/Atlantic Canada is to get live critique groups going. I don't think there is anything that can compare to feedback from colleagues for getting help when you are stuck.
The last mini-workshop I attended was with photographer Gregory Case. Those of you who know me know I am a very enthusiastic photographer. Now, to become a GOOD (or, preferably outstanding) photographer, I am attending The Art Institute of Pittsburgh's online school to get my BS in Photography. I really would like to be able to photograph my own work and to provide the service to art quilters all across Atlantic Canada. Gregory's class was also excellent but too short. It would have been wonderful if he had taught one of the pre-conference workshops so we could have work available to photograph for practice.
Friday night was the opening of Quilt national and I can't come up with the adjectives to do it justice. Quilt National is the epitome of shows for art quilters and this year's show did not disappoint. There is a book published of the work but it just doesn't do it justice (no reflection on the photographer but the colour in the book was not true, tho better than years past and some of the works were 3-D so they MUST be seen in person to be appreciated). Among my favourites: Regina Benson's piece, Cathy Kleeman's, and, of course, Carol Taylor's. I would have purchased Carol's but I don't have a wall big enough to display it so I am working on mum and dad to buy it.
And don't think I walked away empty handed. Oh no. I went back Saturday when I left the conference and purchased a work by Nelda Warkentin that just would NOT get out of my brain. I have the perfect spot for it over my staircase in Chester. The show will travel for 2 years but, believe me, there isn't a piece in that show that isn't worth the wait!
That was Friday. Now I am going to back track to Thursday.
On Thursday we had a reps meeting which was very helpful to me as a new rep. I was able to meet reps from all over the US, one of my fellow Canadian reps, and the wonderful, talented and gracious European rep, Linda Colsh (whose work I have long admired). My fellow Canadian, Anna, has a real challenge on her hands as she lives north of Moose Jaw, Sask. which, if you don't know, is darned isolated. Yet, she has more members than we do! She ALSO had a piece in Quilt National! I am humbled....I've never even submitted. One of my goals is to submit a piece by 2013.
Ok, Saturday we had mentor sessions, a "boutique" set up for members to sell their work and we also hung the SAQA trunk show. This is SAQA's 20th anniversary and MANY members submitted small works for this. The trunks are available to members and guilds, etc. to show. There are 3 traveling trunks with 60 or 61 works in each. The works have been mounted and matted and they are great! One of the perks of helping hang the show was being able to flip the pieces over and see who they were by and read the artist's statement. I mentioned to our wonderful Executive Director, Martha Sielman, that there were many works there I would love to take home with me. Now there is a possibility that some may be offered for sale after they are done touring. Woo hoo!
In the afternoon we had a catered lunch and a presentation by none other than Alyson B. Stanfield of Artbiz.com. I have taken a class with her online before but listening to her in person can't be beat. After lunch there were other presentations but I ran out of gas and went back to the Inn for a snooze.
There were presentations that afternoon that I am sorry I missed but, when my body tells me it's had enough, I listen.
That evening we had a barbeque in "tailgate" park that was delicious. Of course, ignorant me, I brought a bottle of wine to celebrate Desi Vaughn's surviving her first stint organizing a conference. Hey, really, I didn't know you couldn't have alcohol in the park! Oh well. The guy in charge was kind enough to "ignore" the bottle of wine so we finished it.
It was rather hot and humid out, which I don't tolerate well, so I made my exit and headed to BW3 to watch the Penguins game.
Sunday morning I drove Alison Schwabe, Rita Hanifan, and Cathy Smith to the airport and headed home....
All in all, it was a great week.
I will post more, including the few pictures I took, tomorrow or Wednesday.....
Ta!
teri |
| posted by teri springer @ 7:54 PM |
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| Tuesday, March 17, 2009 |
| Eye on the Sky |
| Well, my sky watching has been pretty special lately. We have been blessed with clear skies the last week or so. When the weather is warm (relatively speaking) I go outside with the dog and sit on the back steps looking at the stars. A few nights ago I was lucky enough to see a "falling star" in the vicinity of the constellation Orion. Tonight, at about 9:15, I was again outside and looking around when I spotted a moving ligt in the sky that was not an airplane. How do I know? Airplanes blink. This moved like a plane but was a steady, white light moving west to east. Now, I have seen the ISS (International Space Station) go by once before but it was much fainter and was moving more SW to NE. Tonight it was just as clear as could be, just to the north of me. So, I checked the NASA charts and, sure enough, it was the ISS (it could also have been a satellite). How cool is that?? I always wanted to go into space. Probably influenced by watching the original "Star Trek" when it was first on (and in reruns as the show was cut and hacked to allow more commercial time). Of course, not being born at the right time and being severely claustrophobic it didn't work out. So I enjoy the space program from my seat in the back yard..... |
| posted by teri springer @ 9:47 PM |
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| Friday, March 06, 2009 |
| Idol and New Work |
Matt is IN!!!!
YES! Wildcard it is!!! Does anyone know how many wildcards have gone on to win?????
Ok, for some quilting content, here is my latest piece:
 There's One In Every Crowd
This was inspired by two photographs. The first was of a large flock of birds sitting on telephone lines. The second is a picture of a bunch of young men and women (well, one of the men is older than the rest but still in damned great shape) in their swim suits in Florida. All are facing the camera except one. He has his back to the camera and, in the fashion of young men everywhere, is mooning the camera. It's obvious in the quilt which one is him. Of course, he has garnered the attention of most of the other birds. A few of the birds are pointedly ignoring him. And, of course, the bird on the right, covering her eyes in embarrassment, is his mom, who really isn't all that embarrassed- she just doesn't want to encourage him by letting him see she is laughing.
The young man who inspired the quilt (no, it actually wasn't my son but it just as easily could have been) will recognize himself immediately, I suspect.
Ok, back to work. I'm trying to get a sufficient amount of work done in March to get my website up. |
| posted by teri springer @ 9:31 AM |
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| Friday, February 06, 2009 |
| Missed It |
My Blogaversary, that is. January 20th was the 4th anniversary of this blog. Wow, can hardly believe that I stuck with it this long. Yes, there are some pretty big gaps along the way but, over-all, I have done ok.
Now I need to go work on that quilt so I have some art to post. |
| posted by teri springer @ 10:07 AM |
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| Working Away |
On a piece that was for a show but I missed the deadline because I was so sick (pneumonia) most of December and January. Anyway, I am finishing the piece. Maybe I can use it as an entry for another show. Who knows- stranger things have happened.
Anyway, several people I know have done this "99 things" meme- I am putting a * after the ones I HAVE done and ** after the ones I plan to do in this lifetime:
1. Started your own blog*
2. Slept under the stars*
3. Played in a band- well, did the lights*
4. Visited Hawaii*
5. Watched a meteor shower*
6. Given more than you can afford to charity*
7. Been to Disneyland (and Disney World)*
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis*
10. Sang a solo (in my car, poor Joey- actually it was "She's in love with the Boy" and Joey told me I sounded just like Trisha Yearwood- now, if I just LOOKED like her)*
11. Bungee jumped (not in THIS lifetime)
12. Visited Paris**
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.** (may get that opportunity in 2010 if I get accepted on to the crew of the Picton Castle for their global circumnavigation)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch*
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning* (too many times)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables*
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France**
20. Slept on an overnight train**
21. Had a pillow fight*
22. Hitch hiked*
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill*
24. Built a snow fort*
25. Held a lamb (and delivered one and did CPR on one)*
26. Gone skinny dipping*
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice**
29. Seen a total eclipse*
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset*
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise**
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person*
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors**
35. Seen an Amish community*
36. Taught yourself a new language (working on it- French)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (never- but it's because I want to give more to charity)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person**
39. Gone rock climbing*
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David**
41. Sung karaoke (not on a bet)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt**
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant*
44. Visited Africa**
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight*
46. Been transported in an ambulance (and driven one too)*
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing *
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person**
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris**
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling*
52. Kissed in the rain*
53. Played in the mud* (more times than my mom would have liked)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater*
55. Been in a movie * (worked on the set but did not actually appear in it)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business*
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia**
60. Served at a soup kitchen*
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies*
62. Gone whale watching**
63. Got flowers for no reason*
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (tried) *
65. Gone sky diving (no how, no way- if the plane was going down you'd still have to toss me out the door)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check*
68. Flown in a helicopter*
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy*
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial*
71. Eaten Caviar*
72. Pieced a quilt*
73. Stood in Times Square**
74. Toured the Everglades*
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London**
77. Broken a bone*
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle*
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (does seeing it from the air count??)
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican**
82. Bought a brand new car*
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper*
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve (not yet, catch me some other year- I'll work on it)
86. Visited the White House**(well, I've BEEN there but we didn't have time to do the tour.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (do lobsters count??)
88. Had chickenpox (in my late 20's- thanks Shelby)*
89. Saved someone’s life (i was a paramedic and ER nurse- what do YOU think??)*
90. Sat on a jury (thank goodness- NO)
91. Met someone famous* (not as big of a thrill as you might think- Lance Kerwin and Scott Baio made a movie in Madison and I got to be friends with them and their families and they were ALL very nice)
92. Joined a book club*
93. Got a tattoo** (still trying to figure out what and where- wouldn't want my dad to see it)
94. Had a baby*
95. Seen the Alamo in person**
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake**
97. Been involved in a law suit*
98. Owned a cell phone*
99. Been stung by a bee*
That about covers it..... |
| posted by teri springer @ 9:40 AM |
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| Tuesday, January 27, 2009 |
| New Work |
Yes, that's right....I said NEW WORK!!!! The Procrastination Princess has a burr up her *** about doing a piece for the SAQA "A Sense of Humor" as I have 2 wonderful inspirations that, when combined, make (what I consider) a rather funny piece. Now, "cute" is not my style so it's pretty abstract but I think, with the artist's statement, people will get it.
Anyway, here's a few photos (and you can see that I have been busy with rearranging my studio for more space):
 Auditioning fabrics
 New view while sewing!
 Misty fuse to the backing
Piecing together the batting- I can't stand to waste anything! Thank goodness for fusible!
 I did not have a large enough piece of blue (for sky) in my stash. Most of my hand-dyes are in my lovely studio in Nova Scotia so I was torn between making a smaller work (but still within the guidelines) or using a fabric that I normally wouldn't use for sky. The latter won out as I don't think the piece would work as a whole if I make it too small. Besides, it IS an abstract- more-or-less...... |
| posted by teri springer @ 12:11 PM |
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| About Me |
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Name: Teri Springer
Home: Chester, Nova Scotia, Canada
About Me: Divorced; mother of 2 boys. Retired nurse and enjoying my REAL love (besides my kids) which is making art!! Love the outdoors. Also love to knit- especially socks!! Work in charity fund raising for fun.
Quote:Apples and Wine: Women are like apples on trees. The best ones are at the top of the tree. Most men don't want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they sometimes take the apples from the ground that aren't as good, but easy. The apples at the top think something is wrong with them, when in reality, they're amazing. They just have to wait for the right man to come along, the one who is brave enough & smart enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree.
Now Men... Men are like a fine wine. They begin as grapes, and it's up to women to stomp the hell out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.
See my complete profile
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There's One In Every Crowd
Fibre & Stitch