What am I chalking about?

My latest chalkboard work is for a restaurant I have never even seen and the menu features a wine that I have never tasted... But still, it is fun work. Although after the second board, all I can think about is waffles...

Knitting for Nona continues...

Ever wonder what a Mary Jane baby wears?

Chalk about an education!

Sometimes the most obvious things elude us...


It took someone else to realize that I could do a chalkboard menu for our school's fundraising cafe at the Whistler Bizarre Bazaar. Short notice/little time produced the following results:

Our school, having recently changed our name, has no signs yet with our new name on it, so I also took this opportunity to chalk one up "real quick-like"...

I wish I had experience as a graphic artist, as I would love to help develop a new logo for our school. Obviously the blue and purple text need to be adjusted, I just have no time before tomorrow.

Chalking nineteen to the dozen...

Well, it has been a crazy last few weeks, but last night I completed 12 chalkboards, 13 surfaces for a local business.

The work involved some touch-ups, new text and some new artwork.

Below are few close-ups of some of the boards.

Just before receiving these boards, I had another call from another local restaurant looking for a chalkboard artist. I sadly had to turn the gig down as I knew I would have my hands full with this one and with my real job.

How can you resist?!

What is it about baby socks that make them so irresistible?

You sock too much...

As I pulled out my knitting in the movie theatre last night, I wondered whether sock knitting can become an addiction...

Recently I have almost begun to crave the act whenever my hands are still and I am not teaching. I am not certain of the cause, whether it is the joy of seeing new creations or the idea of the Knitting for Nona fundraiser or the need to release the tension of my life through the repetetive action of knitting.

Anyway, in my spare moments over the last 3 weeks, I have made almost 7 pairs:

A little shady - in a good way

This year I have decided to draw my students' birthday cards using the shaded (slant drawing) technique.This is partly to inspire them as they begin to learn this technique, and partly because I just enjoy doing it.


The first two examples are below - the lesser known borage flower and the sunflower:

Knitting for Nona

Back in Spring, the mother of one of my friends passed away. Nona had been a generous and proficient sock knitter for far longer than the brief 4 years that I had the pleasure of knowing her. She gave away the socks to whoever needed them.

Nona's generosity lives on in her family. My friend recently passed on Nona's leftover sock wool to me so that I could knit it up into children's socks to be sold at our school's Christmas Fair. The proceeds will go to the school which is attended by one of Nona's grandchildren, another one having graduated 2 years ago.

So begins my Christmas project: "Knitting for Nona".

So far, 2 1/2 pairs in 3 days:

Wooly bits...

It isn't all about chalk and paint - in fact many creations are 3-dimensional and involve copious amounts of wool.


Below are ma and grandma, looking after their cow, Bessie.










And then there's Spot, the dog in sheep's clothing:






"Spot", "Ma", "Grandma" and "Bessie" were all made for our new Kindergarten at the school.

Chalk of the town?

This Monk's Grill sign needed a touch up when I first met it, my guess is St. Patrick's day had not treated it well. So, I added a few new things (Sangria portion, sleeman label and Iceburg drink) and smoothed out the rough patches across the rest of the board. Below is a Sangria closeup:

snail goes dancing

Late at night, when most sane people are sleeping...Molli creates and snails go dancing.

Something to Chalk About...

First, some school blackboards:

One could say this is where everything started - when I started at the Waldorf School (either when I started teaching or even further back, when I first began attending...).

Then came the first chalkboard menu for the wonderful Alpine Cafe:

And more will soon follow!