Book Beginnings

By virtue of their work and their role guardian dogs portray a flavour of freedom and a peculiar natural-dogdom that I think is cut off, or maybe just goes unseen, in the dogs we invite into our homes and dote on. As such there is a wee bit of mystery with guardian dogs who spend the bulk of their time away from our houses and our yards. Guardian dogs whom we see so briefly and yet think we know so thoroughly.

When guardian dogs first arrived on the scene here the appeal was their deeds of protection, their loyalty and tightness to the flock and their stoicism in face of trouble. Now the appeal is watching the guardians be canine in an open and unassuming way. On some level I think dogs deserve this, they deserve for us to relax our pride and our stereotype and say we do not know. They deserve to be canine with us in the background being forever curious about what it is like to be canine.

In this age and time of dogs being set up with their own social media accounts, a human voice over, and quite possibly more rights than some societies are given some semblance of a truer nature the way these dogs display it is a welcome and honest feeling. This nuanced side to canine living is the gift of guardian dogs and the more I view dogs through the camera the more I want to see them without the coloured glasses of what I think I know about dogs.

So at long last I have whittled my vast collection of dog photographs down to a few hundred potentials for inclusion in a photography book. A book to showcase the novelty and the mystery of one of the more compelling canines out there – the livestock guardian. The book will be big and bold, it will be ripe with photos taken at farms and ranches both locally and abroad, and it will be shy with text.

There are many unknowns in front of me with this project but I do know it will be a game changer if as many copies as possible are pre-ordered. When it comes to printing, a volume print order lowers the purchase price for everyone.

You can get on the pre-order list by getting in touch with me by email. This is just to put your name on my list. At this stage there is no obligation to make a deposit or payment but it helps me gauge the interest. And if you are on the pre-order list you will receive early email notice of ordering information when the time comes.

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Coyote, Wild and Free

What kind of world is created upon me deciding the coyote belongs or does not? That he is right in his choice to hunt lambs or is wrong because it wrongs me. What kind of world is created if I do not stand up, listen to my intuition, and take care of my own?

In the natural world I live in and witness here on the prairie there is no blanket answer. No answer that will satisfy the whole, no one kind of world to create, no one flavor of safety within that world. What is safe for one is often deadly for another. In Mother Nature’s world diversity is necessity and every life is precious but no life is so precious it shall not die. So there is only the individual’s choice to be acted upon. Intuition and instinct are the answer, the authority and the freedom.

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Thank You Sheep

I am going to sit in this landscape a moment and say thank you to some sheep.

I am coming off a whirlwind fibre fair weekend and heading into a whirlwind art show that begins on September 16 and continues through to the 26th. In the midst of that time frame there is the heavy task of sorting and tagging lambs for market, and the heavier task of deciding on ewes for sale due to lack of winter feed.

A parcel of prairie, a flock of sheep, numerous dogs, a couple cows and horses and cats too – it is all a lot of work as so many of you know. There is no way around that nor should there be because when we try to find a way around the work we lose sight of the very Nature that allows grass based agricultural to work so well.

This prairie land with this flock of sheep and these dogs, the very nature of this place is what stirs the desire to take a photograph, make a piece of artwork or write some words. It stirs the desire to keep making attempts to capture the deeper meaning of all the work and turn it into something tangible that can be shared with you.
And getting outdoors to take photos, muddling my way through making a piece of artwork and constantly writing in journals is what keeps the work from being too much.

But as the flock shrinks life is shifting, as life is wont to do. I feel a stronger emphasis and pull toward making photography and artwork pay for themselves like I have always expected this flock to do. It’s a welcome shift and a big unknown and scary one at the same time.

Prior to living here the titles photographer, artist or writer were not even on the radar. Now these creative acts are fast becoming the singular pursuit because it feels more and more imperative by the day that slices of nature be shared with a world of people who are lost and rapidly becoming detached from the very nature that can heal them.

The Art Now Saskatchewan fine art fair is an opportunity for Saskatchewan art galleries to promote their gallery through promotion of current artwork. The event is a hybrid online/in person event. You can shop online and/or you can visit the gallery in your area and view the artwork in person and make your purchase directly. Full information about the Art Now can be found at artnow.ca. My work is presented by the Little Manitou Art Gallery at Manitou Beach, SK. as part of a collection of women artists.

I am also one of several artists giving an artist talk this year; a first time opportunity for me. My art talk happens live at a reception taking place at Little Manitou Art Gallery Friday the 24th at 7 pm. The reception is open to the public. The art talk will also be recorded and shared online on the ArtNow website on September 26th at 1:30 pm.

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