THE TREETOPS STUDIOS - SAANICHTON

NEWS FROM THE TREETOPS STUDIOS - 2006

31 December, 2006

An Eye for Earth Tones   We mentioned in our two previous postings to this year's 'What's New' that we have been struck by the differences in local colour among the various regions we have crossed. Yes, as one of John's tutors, Mac Hitsman, used to write on assignment papers, "BGO": a Blinding Glimpse of the Obvious. Certainly. Television and the Web bring at least a two dimensional sense of many kinds of local colour to anyone thinking about the content of the images streaming by. But once you have 'been there' and seen the colours move and change with the weather, the time of day and your own viewpoint you develop a much deeper appreciation of colour and place.

So, where does such a glimpse of the obvious lead us? Earlier this fall we went down to Portland, Oregon, for a gathering of West Coast machine knitters, to pick up supplies for the Studio and to take a bit of 'get away' time at the Adobe Resort, in Yachats, our favourite watering hole on the Oregon coast. The weather in Portland was clear and warm and John took several photographs around the patio-pool enclosure where we stayed. The play of the colours and shadows in the image on the left above immediately attracted an eye already alert to earth tones. The weather on the coast a few days later was nowhere near as fine for photography but the orange and yellow ochre outcrops on the beaches south of Yachats caught the eye just the same.

Our new sensitivity to earth tones has had an immediate impact on the work at the Treetops Studios. As the weather cooled off through the early fall Elaine brought a series of very loose, textured shawls and wraps to the market. The response to their ochres, umbers and sienna tones has been excellent. At about the same time, John reached the point in his studies with Andy Lou where soft coloured washes are introduced to enhance the modeling in brush and ink painting.

John has developed a palette of about thirty naturally occurring earth and mineral colours for this stage of his studies. Much of the success of the palette is due to the efforts of Daniel Smith in Seattle to bring quality earth pigments into the general market. There are still a few gaps. The palette is missing a good clean light yellow and a lemon yellow, as well as a safe replacement for the bright, but toxic, mercury-based reds. The choice between transparent and opaque colours is incomplete. Nevertheless, the pigments are completely lightfast, relatively simple to use and yield the subtle complements required by the flexibility of Chinese inks.    Top

New Tools & New Projects   Perhaps because we are finally back in the studio and able to act on all those great ideas we discussed while we were on the road, this fall has seen a lot of change in the hardware of our life. The main design computer at the Studio, an old Windows 98(2) machine, began to show its age and got replaced by new Windows XP system - again custom assembled to the studio's requirements by our local 'box shop', Paradon Computer Systems. So far only the digital image management software has had to be upgraded - to ACDSee9 Photo Manager.

However, the greatest changes have been in Elaine's side of the studio. A new serger and a hybrid sewing-embroidery machine have appeared. They are both Husqvarna/Viking products and better able to meet the professional level demands of a growing studio. (We thought of trading up but decided instead to refurbish the old machines and to keep them in store in case we have a breakdown at that 'critical' production moment.)

In this age of ever increasing machine capability and with the WEB packed with patterns and inspiration, new machines are like newly opened doors. The decision to upgrade the computer was tipped by the fact that the research and design software for quilting and embroidery in the Husqvarna sewing machine, their Designer SE, needs an XP computer link. Elaine and her sew-buddy Heather Corbitt have been exploring new horizons in women's combination knit-quilt outer wear. John is always on the lookout for new outlets for his graphic design studies. Think of the possibilities! Watch this space.    Top

The Wraps & Shawls of 2006   It has been another year of nearly continuous expansion in the types and styles of wraps, shawls and shrugs that Elaine has developed and produced. The earth tone wraps and shawls mentioned in the third paragraph above are similar, in shape and fit, to the rectangular ones we featured in last year's Gossamer series or in our Gallery as 'Deep Red'. ('White Wheat', to the right of 'Deep Red' in the Gallery, is a much larger and boldly fringed design but it gives you an idea of the potential for earth tones in loose wraps.) There is also a new series of shrugs adapted for formal evening wear. These shrugs vary in size and style from the elaborate 'Kimono Shrug' shown on the left in last year's New Wraps to smaller, close fitting designs in white or off-white intended to be worn with your 'basic black and pearls'.

This year's other wraps and shawls have appeared in two general types. The first type, shown in the two images above, is basically an unfringed, rectangular wrap. It is light weight, knitted lace and typically twenty inches by sixty inches or larger. (The one shown here is 20 by 72 inches.) The collar and lapel effect is created by the way the wearer rolls the long edge over the back of the neck. The roll can be larger or smaller, to coordinate with the garment being worn under the wrap. The size and fabric type we produce are also determined by the way the client intends to wear the wrap. Given the flexibility of designing with fabrics produced in our own studio, designs can be optimized for over the shoulder (The right image is the wrap on the left, with a flip.), over the forearms, or cross body wear.

The second type, shown in the two images below, is basically a fringed or edge-banded, square wrap. Again, the collar and lapel effect is created by the wearer. The triangular appearance is an illusion, a square folded in half. Typically, thicker textured yarns have been used for the fabric but an open mesh knit pattern keeps the garment loose and light. The fringe or banding can be colour coordinated for a striking or a subtle contrast. And, yes, of course some of them were done in earth tones this year. Depending on the client's wishes, the garment can be sized as a simple shoulder wrap or made larger with the option for a folded double wrap. Looking at a double wrap from the back, the triangular illusion is almost perfect.

Elaine has done as many as two dozen variations, no two alike, on these themes this year. Yarns have varied from pure wool or cotton, wool or cotton and synthetic blends and quality synthetics alone. Black and the whites have been the most popular colours with everything else coming up a distant third. In the final weeks before Christmas the most interesting variant was a set of small shrugs, lace knitted in 100% wool and then lightly felted. A little tricky to control for size but the customer was impressed by the soft, smooth surface. To see more of our newer wraps and shawls please skip over to The Gallery   Top

Rain, Wind & Snow   We are writing in the final days of December now. And it has been an awesome eight weeks. November brought record rains all up and down the coast. The good side is that the Greater Victoria reservoirs filled to overflowing in no time at all. And John caught the image below left of one of the most spectacular rainbows we have had around here in years. Right at the end of our street too. Living in Saanichton is indeed like living in heaven. The streets are paved in gold! For many other communities it was like living in the other place. Flash floods, washouts, bridge damage and landslides struck all around us.

Then it turned colder and over a day and a bit we got a foot of snow in the village. The picture on the right above is shot roughly along the same line as its partner on the left. John is supposed to be clearing the driveway. But being partly Irish, he hasn't given up looking for those pots of gold too. Unfortunately, and you can see it by comparing the trees in the background of the two images, much of the autumn foliage was still on the trees when the snow started. The weight of that snow load brought trees and branches down all over southern British Columbia. Many of the same communities around us that had suffered in the rains were cut off again, this time by fallen trees.

In the end, even the village got its share of misfortune. The rains and the snow were followed by three serious windstorms. Utility poles and mature trees came down like the proverbial nine-pins, their footings lost in saturated soil and their tops weighed down by wet snow. Most of the Saanich Peninsula was without power or phone service at one point and nearly every business and household has a story to tell. The Studios was without power off and on for about five days. Fortunately it wasn't very cold but we still abandoned ship, twice, for the warmth, hot meals and showers - as well as the pleasant company of friends - in Sidney.    Top

Happy New Year   So, after all that, let's end the year on some high notes. Our best story is John at the dentist in the village with the freezing going in for a root canal when the power went out - again. After a few phone calls it was obvious that the power would not be on for the rest of the day so the dentist and staff decided to drink up the last of the hot coffee and call it a day. Poor John, free coffee and, by then, too numb to enjoy it.

The very best story is the work over the past two months of the emergency, utility and highway crews and the private contractors called out to support them. They spent weeks in the darkest days of the year, working 12 to 16 hour shifts in wind, snow, rain and dangerous situations. There are piles of debris everywhere and some areas around Sooke, to the southwest of us, are still cleaning up from on-shore winds that reached hurricane force. Fortunately, here were no deaths or serious injuries. Nice work folks!

So here is grandson Jason John, 'JJ' for short, to wish you all a Happy New Year. Think about the squire in a Thomas Gainsborough pastoral - fresh shirt and all - standing in the midst of all his estate, the body language and the hands showing off the symbols of his worth. Ah, the big smile blows the analogy. JJ is clearly having a lot more fun. And that seems like a good place to call it a year. The very best wishes from all of us to all of you for 2007. Take care of the those you love and help someone who needs you.    Top

31 October, 2006

Aedan Arrives   We are great-grandparents! Well, 'step'-great-grandparents by the old style of describing family growth. But that is a mouthful. So, in these days of blended families, let us lead the way in abandoning awkward terminology. After all, the Treetops Studios leads the way in all sorts of knittings together. Congratulations to our daughter Angie and her husband Reg on the birth of their first grandchild. And to Jen and David, the eldest of Reg's three boys from his first marriage, on their firstborn.

As Jen's time approached it looked as if a boy would arrive on Saint Aidan's feast day, 31 August. So, the name was chosen. And then the young fellow paused for a day. But all that is forgiven in the event. Baby, mother, father, grandparents and great-grandparents are doing well. And, there is a bonus. Aedan's uncle, Jason John - Angie and Reg's boy - is only two years older. 'JJ' can show Aedan the ropes. Having an uncle as a playmate is something not often seen since the days of 'big' families.    Top

Alaska: Sewing & Cruising   We have mentioned many times here that, unless you fly, every trip to or from Vancouver Island requires a sea cruise. Well, this summer we got a bit more daring and decided to take out first 'real' cruise, out and back from Vancouver through the inland passages of southwestern Alaska. John's parents had enjoyed the Holland America line and their Zuiderdam lived up to that standard.

September is a bit late in the cruising season for the Alaska coast. There were a few 'chunky bits' in the drizzle as we turned north out of Vancouver. The next morning there was a definite swell as we crossed the open waters between the north end of Vancouver Island and the southern tip of the Queen Charlottes. Elaine chose not risk becoming a temporary host for her first breakfast at sea. But once we were back into the shelter of the passages things lightened up, the sun came out and everybody settled down for the voyage.

The highlight of cruise was the day spent sailing up to the top of Glacier Bay. About mid-morning we broke out of a coastal fog bank and into brilliant sunshine and calm, warm, weather. John got dozens of shots of rock colours and the play of sun and shade on the hillsides and ice faces. The best shots are often candid views of other people watching the scenes too. Put the camera on auto, be quiet, be quick and hope for the best. The image on the left above is probably the best of these shots. The one on the right is the typical of the views at the head of the Bay right into the face of the glacier. It was near the end of the glacier's melting season. Five storey high slabs were thundering down into the Bay and research parties were out on small boats tagging seals about a mile away from us. The captain sailed up as close as possible to the glacier face and spent most of an hour turning the boat on a dime. Great stuff!!    Top

Since it was out first time in the area we chose to walk off the boat at each port-of-call and see what there was rather than to take the tours on offer. Juneau was interesting and Skagway mostly a disappointment. Ketchikan was by far the best experience of the three. The one thing that we did not expect and were delighted to find was the number of genuine fabric artists in the area. Yes, they were dwarfed by warehouses of imported tourist stuff but we found quality local design and skilled work on all three stops. After our visit to Santa Fe this summer we decided to broaden out design horizons. Well, now we are going to broaden them a bit more. Go to our discussion of the Treetops Studio Look:   "The Island Look - West Coast, With A Touch of the Orient" to get a sense of what we are about.

Now, a lead like that gets us back to the ostensible reason for the cruise. Muriel's Sew and Serge, our local Husqvarna/Viking dealer and organizer of things sewing, etc. had set up the cruise as a great working get-away. (John came along as assistant baggage wallah and court photographer.) Twenty-odd knitters and sewers and instructors took over two of the lounges on the boat, Muriel's brought in a bulk lot of new Husqvarna machines and good fun was had by all. They actually did a lot of work too. Muriel, herself, and Elaine are on the left above, clowning around just a bit and Elaine is working much more diligently on the right. The inside lighting wasn't as good for photography as the views from the decks outside. But you get the idea.

So, the cruise experiment was a success. Elaine and the ladies had lots of fun, good eating, no housework and no map reading in the middle of ... somewhere. John had brought along his sketch bag but that proved impractical. In compensation, cruising photography is a new experience. As the boat progresses the shots develop at a leisurely pace, someone else is doing the driving and navigating, and coffee and tea are always at hand.    Top

A Hoodie   Off and on through the summer Elaine and Heather Corbitt had been experimenting with new outer wear items in combinations of light weight knit-woven woolen fabrics and patterned, or studio-dyed, silks and cottons. The lower Island is a relatively small market, 300,000 to 400,000 residents. But the tens of thousands of artists and crafters among us and the thousands of visitors and tourists we host in all seasons have an eye for innovation and good work. One of this year's trials is 'Hoodie'. Think of it as our effort to rescue the honourable, if often rather 'hummy', track suit top from the status of grunge icon to which it has sunk after forty years.    Top

Autumn Back East   One of the things our trips across Canada and the US have brought to mind is the relative absence of red in Nature's palette on the Pacific Coast. After our two weeks in the southwestern deserts we were struck by how little red there is in the environment once you get up the coast north of the dryer areas of California. There are a some spectacular outcrops of red ochre on the Oregon beaches. Obviously the dense forests cover much more of the colour in the soil and rock that is one of the glories of the desert scene. Many of the conifers have a ruddy brown cast to their wood and the arbutus and red alder contribute a little. There are berries in the fall and a few shrubs and wild flowers whose reds and mauves accent the greens and browns.

But, as the fall progresses, we realize that the natural palette here on the coast is red-starved. The sunsets do their best to make up for the loss of the red flash of spawning sockeye salmon. But the glory in the evening skies is not seconded by the mostly dull yellows and golds of the autumn colours in the western woods.

So, to do our bit to 'spread the red' we have imported some photographs by our son Charles. They were taken in the Gatineau Hills of Quebec near the end of the autumn colours. And, of course, it gives us a chance to show off some grandchildren too.    Top

31 July, 2006

"Tide to Tide" 2006 Version   We're back! After the third variation on our tidewater to tidewater trip. (We don't call it "Sea to Sea" because we don't always get to the Atlantic coast. But the St. Lawrence is 'tidal' at Trois Rivières.) And don't forget, that when you live on Vancouver Island even short trips can begin and end with a 'cruise'  -  on BC Ferries.

Every few years we drive out and back, usually by a different route. It's always an adventure. The first time we made the trip we stopped off in Niagara Falls for a few days on the way back west. Well, why not? Elaine had never been there. And since we had a few days to spare on the way to the arts and crafts centre of Berea, Kentucky we decided to circle through the North Carolina Piedmont to visit Duke University, John's alma mater. And then there was Myrtle Beach. Neither of us had ever been there either. Did you know that there actually is a sign on the northern outskirts of Charleston that says, "Dendy's Turn West Here!"?

The trip takes six to eight weeks out and back, with lots of stops and stay-overs with relatives and friends, time for spoiling children and grand children, and lots of visits to knitting studios. Each trip has had its challenges; police roadblocks, forest fires, mudslides, chemical spills, western Kansas in a complete white-out fog, etc., etc. But we are both experienced travelers and the mini-van is roomy and air-conditioned.    Top

Going East    So off we went on the 27th of May, with The Rockin' Harley for an almost two year old Jason John in Bowmanville and three boxes of math texts for our son Charles in Ottawa. Once the gifts were delivered, however, we intended to travel pretty 'light'.

Part of the usual route east took us across the muskeg at Savanne Portage, the subject of one of John's earliest bits of post-retirement prose. This time we collected a picture of the Canadian Pacific engineer waving back at him. The text has been expanded to celebrate this glimpse of a fine old Canadian tradition. One bit of 'new route' eastbound this time was designed to avoid the hours in Toronto traffic. Turn south towards Toronto at Sudbury. Go south along the east side of Georgian Bay, through the great little towns of Parry Sound and Orillia, the Mariposa of Stephen Leacock's humour. Now, rather than carrying on to Toronto, turn east at Orillia and go across the top and down the east side of Lake Simcoe and over to Port Perry on Lake Scugog, then south again on the district roads to rejoin the eastbound traffic on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Just the mention of all that lake front gives you the general idea.    Top

The 'back east' routine is getting predictable. Visiting with our daughter Angélique, her husband Reg and their son Jason John and with Reg's three older boys. Lots of BBQ on the deck, watching the sun set over the meadows east of their home in Bowmanville. News to come from there later this summer as the oldest boy and his wife are expecting. Now a serious question for you all. This is a blended family of course, but do we get to be officially 'great-grandparents', or do we have to stick with 'step-great-grandparents'? And then off to Ottawa to visit with Charles and Jacki and Caitlin and Nicholas and Elaine's family. This year we took another side trip to Plessisville, PQ to stock up on yarns at Maurice Brassard.

And Then Going South and West and North    The trip to Plessisville was our introduction to the series of storm systems that tore up and flooded the eastern parts of Canada and the USA during much of June this year. The system got us again going through up-state New York, and again-again on the way down the Valley of Virginia to Knoxville. We were lucky. A few days later and we would have been delayed or detoured.

The drive westward across Tennessee from Knoxville was a pleasure. The skies cleared, the weather warmed up and Interstate 40 was all new ground to us. Elaine didn't have to be in San Diego until after the Canada Day - Fourth of July weekend so we had reservations for a three day stop in Santa Fe. The drive across Arkansas, Oklahoma, North Texas and eastern New Mexico was more a quick visit than an exploration. Too bad actually. We had heard about The Ozarks. But we were not prepared for the way the area opens up, green ridge after green ridge. Next time!    Top

But this time it was on to Santa Fe. John had been there on business years ago so we knew about getting a room within walking distance of the Plaza. We booked into the Camas de Santa Fe bed and breakfast. The weather had gotten warmer since Knoxville and was now just plain hot. But Santa Fe is at 7000 feet above sea level, there was usually a light breeze and the centre of the city has lots of green space, shade and resting places. The image at the right above is actually the courtyard of our favourite restaurant, La Casa Sena with the late morning sun streaming in.

Why Santa Fe? Well, go to our discussion of the Treetops Studio Look:   "The Island Look - West Coast, With A Touch of the Orient".    A lot of what is going in Santa Fe in terms of greens and earth tones, adaptions of traditional native patterns, the focus on natural materials and, above all, the lighting, fits into our view of what our studio is about. And there is just so very much of it going on in Santa Fe. Yes, we saw a lot of kitsch and a lot of 'art' made offshore in 10,000 copies. We spent the three days, mostly together, in search of the 'real thing'. We traveled onwards a bit less 'light': no art purchases but a cubic foot of reference material and several hundred images. And lots of impressions. Is it possible that the 'Santa Fe Look' is based on a palette of any three earth tones and an accent? We'll be back!

Why San Diego? Because the adventure continued. Elaine had received her second invitation to the Cochenille Design Retreat sponsored by Susan Lazear's Cochenille Design Studio. Elaine had been invited to the 2004 Retreat, enjoyed herself thoroughly and learned a lot. This year the retreat was hosted by the Lake San Marcos Resort. Susan, above left, and her crew put on another great seminar. The theme was 'Asian Fusion, Blending East and West': right in line with the Treetops Studios' design interest. One session featured the work of Issey Miyake, complete with a trunkload of samples. Right up our alley. It was too warm for comfortable sketching except in the early morning shade but John got several hundred more images. And of course, the pool got well visited.    Top

Since we had planned a few days free on either end of the seminar, we did a bit of the surrounding country. We got down onto Tamarack Beach, one of the original 'surfer' beaches. A rogue wave nearly swept Elaine into a bit of impromptu body surfing. John took advantage of one of the seminar periods to get off on his own up the coast to Huntington Beach where Ning Yeh's store, Oriental Art Supply, carries some of the finest quality Chinese art supplies. A large supply of 'Ma' type sized paper joined the Santa Fe material in the back of the car.

Then off we went for home. We got through Los Angeles in less than two hours and took Route 99 north, missing the brush fires that closed Interstate 5. We celebrated escaping nearly two weeks of intense heat by staying a night on the slopes of Mount Shasta and then carried on to the ferry back to 'The Island'. Of course there were more stops with friends and the compulsory stops for books, painting supplies, fabric and parts for knitting machines and looms. But you could have guessed that part. You only need to know that we still arrived at the border crossing with a declared value of goods within the duty free limit. Not too bad.

The only real casualty of the trip was our past two years of planning and laying out gardens suited to our dry summers here in Saanichton. Many of the heathers didn't make it and other flowers and herbs have matured late and poorly. The surprise has been the mints. All three varieties have had their best year and the common mint has put up the most spectacular mintflower we, or the crowds of bees and little brown butterflies around the flower heads, have ever seen.   Top

24 May, 2006

"The Treasurer" Retires    For John it was a great year to be Treasurer of one of the finest little arts councils anywhere. The Community Arts Council of the Saanich Peninsula chooses to travel light. The CACSP maintains no premises, employs no staff and essentially lives from year to year on grants, donations and the proceeds of the events it organizes. The simplicity of the business plan leaves the executive and its core group of about two dozen volunteers free to organize the thousands of hours of volunteer time it takes to plan and run the annual schedule of shows, literary events and concerts that help make life 'up the Peninsula' so attractive. It helps, of course, that the community of artists and craftspersons we represent lives here, on the Saanich Peninsula. Perhaps every tenth household in our three communities (Sidney, North Saanich and Central Saanich) has one or more persons involved in the visual, literary or performing arts. (And then there is the climate, the seaside, the clear air, the scenery, etc. etc.)

2005-2006 was one of the most successful years in the CACSP's history. That said, 2005-2006 was also one of those 'housekeeping' years that have to be undertaken whenever the fortunes of a volunteer society take a significant turn for the better - or for the worse. And 'for the worse' does happen. In the past two years several of the arts councils and other organizations near us have had to fold or radically cut back their activities.

Fortunately, for the CACSP it was a matter of making sure our priorities remained clearly defined and understood by the artists in our community, of polishing up our relations with the federal, provincial and municipal governments that support and regulate our activity, updating our publicity plan and, as always, nurturing the hundreds of members and associated groups who provide the volunteers we rely on to make it all work. It takes a great deal of effort on the part of the Executive to keep it all on the rails. But, as John concluded in one of last year's successful grant applications; ...    this is the Saanich Peninsula, where nice things happen.    Top

The Ruana Returns!    You may remember that last year we posted a Lost, Stolen or Strayed notice for one of our most attractive creations, the "Ruana of Many Colours". It is quite a valuable piece and a prize-winner. Lots of our friends and associates rummaged through their memories and cupboards. It turns out that 'strayed' was the correct call. We had lent it to be displayed at a friend's group show while we were away. At the end of that show it strayed into an opaque clothing bag that went off to a third person's closet. After an equally tortuous route through: 'Where did I see that...?' 'Wasn't it with ...?' and finally an 'I wonder if ...?' there it was. Thanks to everybody who took part in the one-item scavenger hunt.

And how many of you encountered the well-tailored bunny along the way?   Top

Llama & Alpaca    To celebrate the return of the "Ruana of Many Colours" we showed it at the Llama and Alpaca Show put on over the Easter weekend by The Vancouver Islands Llama and Alpaca Club,   VILAC for short. The ruana doesn't have any llama or alpaca in it, and it is modeled after a Celtic garment rather than an Andean one, but like the placard on the table says:

"The Ruana of Many Colours
Imagine It In Natural Alpaca Tones!

Alpaca wool has been one of our favourite fibres since the early days of   The Treetops Studios. The yarn is moderately expensive and, typically, we only work with it on commission. But it is soft in the hand, light weight and knits up into a strong, warm fabric. The natural earth tones, greys and whites fit into our 'West Coast' palette very well. The commercial suppliers produce a good assortment of natural and dyed yarns and some very attractive wool and silk blends. The llama we have used to date has been spun into a stiffer and heavier yarn. It takes a bit more effort to make it up into the kind of fabric we want for the studio. The potential is there for a range of 'outdoor look' items to complement the Studio's existing lines of finer items in other natural fibres.

Elaine had difficulty getting a reliable supply of alpaca for a commissioned sweater earlier this spring. We knew that there were several alpaca farms on Vancouver Island and the adjacent Gulf Islands. After a little web research and a lot of e-mailing and telephone conversation, the contacts got established. It turns out that, at the same time, the Islands' growers were on the watch for local knitters who could use their product. Given our need for reliable supplies, and our preference for local suppliers, the Studio accepted an invitation to join VILAC. Our timing was great! For the Easter weekend show, Elaine decided to produce samples of small items and to show a few larger items in wool that could be duplicated in alpaca or llama. The headgear at the bottom of the ruana image above right is part of the display. The timing was doubly great!! Warm outer wear was a necessity as the wind blew continuously and heavy showers held out over   "The Malahat", a few miles to the west of the Saanich Fair Grounds. The display barn was as cold as we have ever experienced it for that time of year.    Top

Gardom Lake 2006    The 2006 machine knitting season got off to a rocky start. The usual retreat to Quadra Island had to be canceled for a lack of candidates. But after that disappointment, off we all went to Gardom Lake, near Enderby, up in 'the interior'.

And it was cold! Not quite a repeat of the VILAC Show on Easter weekend, but definitely cold. Last year we had dozens of turtles sunning themselves on the logs floating in the little pond beside the main camp building. This year it was only on the last few days of the retreat that two or three turtles put in an appearance. But the sun shone every day. It's always easy to be warm with good food, good company, and the sun shining over your shoulder on to the work table. At the left above, Elaine is working on this year's project, a Scandinavian sweater or vest, mentored by April Mills.

There are pleine aire fanatics and there are pleine aire wimps. John is probably closer to the wimpy side of the scale. He likes to think of himself as having put in his lifetime's worth of camping and hiking while he was in the army. After all, the old infantry saying is a somewhat less polite version of:   "Any idiot can be cold and wet!" He did a few pages of sketches this year, nothing really showy. The bright and low slanting sunlight was more seductive for photography. The stacks of birch stovewood will make a very interesting oil or watercolour study in greys and earth tones. And just looking at the woodpile will bring nice warm memories to those of us who know about well-seasoned birch in the stove or fireplace.    Top

The SPAC Show    The Saanich Peninsula Arts & Crafts Society held its 53rd annual show this year. John didn't show but, once again, he designed the general layout and produced the interior signage. That makes five shows he has designed for the Bodine Family Room at the Mary Winspear Centre @ Sanscha, in Sidney, B.C. Elaine didn't run a machine knitting demonstration this year but she helped with the rest of the show.

Elaine and Heather Corbitt did show another of their collaborative works in wearable art. This year it is a kimono-style, hip length, top in recycled silk. The body has been embellished, pieced and quilted by Heather. The sleeves and tie are in a fine, studio produced, cotton, knit lace, embellished by Elaine.

Because we have had difficulty getting a good vertical display for 'wearables' at a show primarily catering to hanging paintings, John is experimenting with a simple cross-bar system set across the 120 degree angles of the display modules used for the SPAC show. This one, in premium, kiln-dried, Douglas Fir, and brass-plated hardware turned out to be ideal for the square-cut design Elaine and Heather adopted.

This kimono was a double success. The flash of gold off to the right of the kimono in the images above is a 'Juror's Choice' seal. The blue ribbon is a Purchase Award. The girls (Elaine on the left, Heather on the right above) knew they had a hit when they were approached by two other buyers about the possibility of a second and third edition of the concept. The original piece is now hanging in a private collection. Hopefully, it gets taken off the display bar a few times a year to complement something floor length and very fine.    Top

15 March, 2006

Starting up 2006 at The Treetops Studios    Welcome back to 'News from The Treetops Studios' - and to the 2006 edition. (If this is your first visit, the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Studio News files are in the Archive. Just click on the year.) If you are a new visitor to our Studio, you might like to Tour the Studios or Enter the main site after you have read the News. Then, the next time you return to the Studios, just click on the What's NEW on the Website? link when your browser opens our site. It's set up like our Studio News, with the most recent additions at the top of the listing.

Quack!    The New Year started off as a 'Not too bad.' rainy season, by local standards. Then, by the end of February it matured into a record-breaker. Not always a lot of rain but I suspect that most of the area got four weeks of straight 'rain days'. A new Panasonic digital sat in its case, except when it came out to document the gloom and low cloud. Even those shots had to be taken through the windows of the temporarily misnamed 'sun room'. The image on the left below has actually been manipulated to brighten it up and raise the contrast. It was that dark at mid-day!

Nevertheless, by early March the sun started to poke through, the lawns began to green up and the flowers were unfolding. With one last, disdainful, snort of snow the weather changed at mid-month and it was spring.   Top

Brushwork & Stash Sorting    With one thing and another, John's 'Year of the Brush' has now extended well into its second year. The original idea of an intensive review of the 'trees and rocks' portions of the standard Chinese art syllabus, Mustard Seed Garden, has survived. Progress is just a lot slower than anticipated. Each stage now starts with the development of an understanding of a particular traditional style. That comes only after hours of the proverbial 'practice, practice, practice': typically several hundred small brush and ink drawings from the seventeenth century engravings in Mustard Seed Garden.

Then John experiments with the technique, using subjects in the studio or from his own sketchbooks. Most of these practice drawings survive, if only because they get covered with the red and blue annotations that are a running commentary on the problems, solutions and possible applications that this study method throws up. The image above is a 2" by 6" example cropped (digitally, of course) from a 16" by 16" sheet of studies.

Elaine watches this whole process with great interest. Over the past year there have been several studio coffee breaks devoted to planning a new line of garments and accessories that will incorporate oriental design in both their structure and embellishment. Elaine also has a tidy collection of napkins from our favourite local coffee shop, covered in blue, red and black drawings - all signed and dated, of course. (She is investing in our great-grandchildren's futures there. Think of what a collection of genuine Treetops Studios napkins might be worth in thirty or forty years.)

Meanwhile, back on planet Earth, Elaine turned the 'rain days' to advantage. Captain Kirk is right, space is indeed the final frontier. The image at the right suggests that she has had a great time stash busting. Several cubic metres of books, manuals, patterns and magazines got themselves sorted and cleaned out. Duplicates and 'probably not in this lifetime' items went off as traders, or as gifts to clubs and to new machine knitters. A few went to the recycle. But a few went to eBay and allowed us to meet some new knitting friends well beyond our usual circle of colleagues. The farthest afield went to Paris.   Top

Contact Us

Elaine Dendy e-laine@shaw.ca
John Oliver Dendy dendy@islandnet.com
URL: http://www.treetops-studios.com/index.htm

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Revised 15 June, 2007