Artwork – Page 12 – Wool Stone & Prairie

Studio News

Artwork / February 11, 2019 March 3, 2019 / By admin

The last half year has been a dive in and go deep journey and while I have been writing about some of those deep topics there are several wonderful and light things occurring that have not been shared here with you yet.

I’ve been staying busy with creating artwork and keeping up with social media on that front. It’s a new ball game for me and I’m still figuring out how to manage the pace of regular posting on social media.

fibre artwork livestock guardian dogs — Patrolling Pair, 36 x 22 inches, Not for sale at this time

fibre artwork flock of sheep — First Warm Day 24 x 30 inches, $550

The prairie, the flock of sheep, the stock dogs, the guardian dogs – each one so closely connected to the well being of the other and each one so much a part of the whole of my land and livestock life I do not see one without the other. If I had to choose one subject for the artwork though it might just be the livestock guardian dogs. Thankfully I don’t have to make the choice.

Early on the year an interview article about our place landed in Sheep Canada Magazine. The writer, Stuart Chutter, did a very generous job of portraying our place and taking tidbits from my previous blog to give it a real personal spin. This issue also marks the third time a photo of mine makes the cover of this magazine. I am so pleased with that. You can read the article by following the Sheep Canada link above.

I am once again organizing the fibre showcase for the provincial sheep show which is a national event this year as it’s Saskatchewan’s turn to host the Canadian Classic Sheep Show. The fibre showcase is not a large affair but oddly enough this is a tough event to organize and promote. Fibre fans are reluctant to step out to a sheep show without knowing there is ample public traffic and support for their wares, and sheep producers in this province remain reluctant to embrace the meaning and value of fibre even though it is something they produce. Marrying the two fractions is a hard sell. Nonetheless I will set up a table this year because I feel it is important to showcase fibre, particularly at a national sheep event.

I’ve also applied for a vendor spot at the second annual Biggar Fibre Fair, and I’ve registered to be a participant in the local Studio Trail Art Event. All three events take place across the months of June/July. Given May/June will be swamped with lambing I’m trying to get prepared ahead of time.

I have also fulfilled a couple recent commission requests and finally tackled the long job of building/updating the artwork page into a respectable gallery of images. The photography page is underway and will be added to as new photos emerge. It has indeed been a creative, dive in kind of year thus far.

fibre artwork — Finding Our Flow, 36 x 12 inches, Commissioned Work

Wetland Bowl

Artwork / January 11, 2019 January 11, 2019 / By admin

Wetland Bowl

Winter is not the usual time to think of wetlands, everyone of them being frozen at the moment, no life seeming to be there at all. But this year the ewes can still travel through them on their grazing forays and they nibble on old grasses they find there. Some of the dried out slough bottoms are well sheltered from winds by their boundary of tall, dry reeds.

Approximately 185 acres of our total land base is wetland, just over one quarter section of land worth. When we arrived here we didn’t pay much attention to the wetlands. Then when our pursuit of crop farming fell to its knees and we switched to grass, the wetlands became important and we took notice of what was here. This area of the province is a seasonal home to some of the largest migrating waterfowl populations and we partnered with Ducks Unlimited Canada to return the land base to grass and to repair wetlands drained by the previous owner. Whatever plants that wanted to grow back were left alone to do so.

Today the sheep use the wetlands, our guardian dogs too, and wildlife comes to drink from them. Bird life thrives because of them, and insects are abundant. While we do not intentionally alter the course of the wetlands our quiet presence here undoubtedly still has some affect. An affect we try to keep to a minimum.

When dealing with fence and fence lines wetlands are a big headache but oh the number times I have watched waterfowl fly into these wetlands and listened to prairie songbirds flirting and singing in the reeds.

Ringed with tall thick cattails and cool earth guardian dogs rest at the edges to cool off on hot summer days. And in years when the wetlands dry back the broad leaf plants that turn up present another food source for the ewes. They also nibble the earth at the shores, finding natural trace minerals.

We are small time ranchers with an uncommon approach but when I pause and take in the scene around me, even in the dead of winter, I am grateful to be reaching for a way of agriculture that is also profitable to the soul.

Return to Neutral

Artwork / December 30, 2018 December 30, 2018 / By admin

On Christmas Day we moved the ewes to stock piled forage; they are finding decent feed here and we feed hay sporadically. The rams were sorted and put out with ewes about ten days ago. Once again we sorted Jethro (Corriedale ram) to a specific lot of ewes and the remaining Clun Forest rams are with the main flock. Right now, on a day to day basis, there is more work with guardian dogs than with sheep as Birdie and Lily have both come into heat and are testy with each other. Both are being rotated through stays in the kennels.

We are at the peak of minimum daylight hours which means long dark mornings before outdoor exercise and chores even begin and long dark stretches again in the evening. Time that is filled with all the general tasks of taking care of home and persons and a string of kelpie dogs, and what time is left over, with creating and writing.

As this year closes I feel a certain calmness, a sense of returning to neutral. Return to the basics of our natural color and style and in so doing find our centre once more. A return to the calm place of simplicity without loss of personality, something I hope to take with me as we pour into the new year. Watching the sheep presents the same simplicity while exemplifying the profound personality animal and nature always possess. In the cold weather of winter watching the sheep comes in short stints and I grab it when I can – while unrolling hay, while waiting for guardian dogs to finish a meal.

Return to Neutral. 18 x 11 inches and just three breed fibres in this one: Border Leicester wool, Romney wool and a wee bit of Clun Forest wool from my flock was used for tidying edges. It now hangs from a branch but I forgot to take a photo before it left for the local art gallery shop. It is for sale and will be added to the gallery page shortly.