July 23, 2018
The Value of Going Camping.
I am not really an avid outdoors person, but I do value Nature in its many forms: the human contoured backyard gardens that my wife and I have created for our own daily enjoyment, the common spaces further afield such as Provincial Parks where we can all have access to places and geography that are not in our own backyards, and the great spaces set aside by Federal governments for the enjoyment and good of us all on grander scales preserved by visionaries who also appreciated what Nature can bring to the health and enjoyment of all of us.
Although we have daily access to the space we have in our own backyard, and it is a space of calm and beauty for our spirits and minds, there is something worthwhile in the process of planning and managing a camping excursion. Each summer we have planned and enjoyed several excursions to our Provincial Parks in Ontario. Our first forays were to pretty civilized campgrounds with a lot of amenities. It was a good start for us as we learned what we needed to manage a few days away from the comforts of home. We became a little bolder last year and went to a site that was a little more off the beaten path of mainstream campers. We even tried a trek into the wilderness, to see what it might be like to venture even farther into Nature. This year, we returned to a Park with more amenities ;)
July 23, 2018
The Value of Going Camping.
I am not really an avid outdoors person, but I do value Nature in its many forms: the human contoured backyard gardens that my wife and I have created for our own daily enjoyment, the common spaces further afield such as Provincial Parks where we can all have access to places and geography that are not in our own backyards, and the great spaces set aside by Federal governments for the enjoyment and good of us all on grander scales preserved by visionaries who also appreciated what Nature can bring to the health and enjoyment of all of us.
Although we have daily access to the space we have in our own backyard, and it is a space of calm and beauty for our spirits and minds, there is something worthwhile in the process of planning and managing a camping excursion. Each summer we have planned and enjoyed several excursions to our Provincial Parks in Ontario. Our first forays were to pretty civilized campgrounds with a lot of amenities. It was a good start for us as we learned what we needed to manage a few days away from the comforts of home. We became a little bolder last year and went to a site that was a little more off the beaten path of mainstream campers. We even tried a trek into the wilderness, to see what it might be like to venture even farther into Nature. This year, we returned to a Park with more amenities ;)
July 23, 2018
The Value of Going Camping.
I am not really an avid outdoors person, but I do value Nature in its many forms: the human contoured backyard gardens that my wife and I have created for our own daily enjoyment, the common spaces further afield such as Provincial Parks where we can all have access to places and geography that are not in our own backyards, and the great spaces set aside by Federal governments for the enjoyment and good of us all on grander scales preserved by visionaries who also appreciated what Nature can bring to the health and enjoyment of all of us.
Although we have daily access to the space we have in our own backyard, and it is a space of calm and beauty for our spirits and minds, there is something worthwhile in the process of planning and managing a camping excursion. Each summer we have planned and enjoyed several excursions to our Provincial Parks in Ontario. Our first forays were to pretty civilized campgrounds with a lot of amenities. It was a good start for us as we learned what we needed to manage a few days away from the comforts of home. We became a little bolder last year and went to a site that was a little more off the beaten path of mainstream campers. We even tried a trek into the wilderness, to see what it might be like to venture even farther into Nature. This year, we returned to a Park with more amenities ;)
"New Thinking
For A New Year" Audio Messages
I continue to experiment in form, texture and finishes. This piece is a free-standing figure (the section has a flat bottom and is balanced enough to simply sit on any flat surface). I use the Jade planter in most of my photos to show the relative size of the carvings to the small pot and Jade plant. I thought I would leave my morning coffee in the picture as well, as an indicator of the natural morning sunlight coming into the basement. I try to keep the lighting consistent in the photos for an indication of detail, light and shadows, and colour.
I tried to tone down the stark white of the Birch bark by using a light natural stain. I had hoped by "natural" the label meant "clear". However, the yellow hue was almost too much, masking most of the natural Birch bark. The bark is still there, as indicated by the cutting lines at the top of the head and the wisps of the beard.
I did find that the emerging woodsprite needed a darker stain to pull it away from the yellow of the stained Birch. I added a Pecan stain to the mustache and beard and the "hair" at the top to give the figure some contrast.
