Joyful thesis writing

I was on a roll with thesis writing so plowed through the weekend, pretty much without stopping. Today I hit a wall... and this seems like the best way to describe how writing is going right now. 

I'm hoping that this too, shall quickly pass. Sigh.

Creativity with VHS tape

Until my thesis is done, I'm not doing any sewing, pysanka, quilting, home decorating etc. Once I'm done school, I have promised Jeff I will take some time before going back to work- during that time, I want to do some creative things. I'll share them here when they actually happen. 

In the meantime, my creative side needs to live vicariously through others. I read an article a while back about how crafts made with old VHS tape are growing in popularity. We have the: 

VHS tape gift wrap

Woven VHS tape clutch purse

VHS tape Halloween wreath with silk flowers

VHS tape flowers on a beach bag

VHS tape and button bracelet

VHS tape woven book cover

While these are all interesting, I'm not sure I can say the same of this VHS tape dress, made by Parisienne artist Caroline Sciancalepore

The only thing I really like is the clutch purse (big surprise!) although the gift ribbon is fun. What about you?

Introducing a new composer

I am so thrilled to introduce a new choral composer here, one I learned about while putting together our recent 36 Days of Christmas Music.  One of the pieces, The First Noel received a lot of very positive comments and several people emailed me to find out more about the composer, a young American named Dan Forrest. Over Christmas holidays, I did some more digging about Forrest (see his bio here). Those in the know are calling him the best choral writer in the United States today and to be honest, I have been absolutely blown away by what I have heard so far. 

In some ways, I am drawn to Forrest's work for the same reasons I am drawn to that of John Rutter.  Both composers write incredibly beautiful choral harmonies and have a way of making text come so alive through the music. There are a few reasons however, why I am growing to love Dan Forrest's work even more.  Forrest is a very fine pianist and accompanist and this comes through so strongly in his music- his piano accompaniments are just stunning and are marvellously woven together with the choral score. I think Forrest also creates music with an underlying sensitivity that is unique and deeply personal; it is music that personally resonates and is very moving. Most importantly, Forrest is very clear about his Christian faith and openly believes what he writes. This has always been my difficulty with Rutter, who openly loves church tradition and institution (and writes mostly religious music) but whose faith is not clear. I think the personal element of believing what one writes shines through in Forrest's music and makes a visible difference.

Over the coming months, I will certainly feature lots of Forrest arrangements and compositions here. Because the compositions are so new, there are very few videos available but I have found audio recordings. Here are two pieces that Jeff and I find particularly beautiful. Just click on the song title below to hear it. 

Beautiful In His Time

Lyrics from Ecclesiastes 3:11

Lord of the Small

Lyrics by Johanna Anderson

                                        Praise to the Lord of the small, broken things,
                                        Who sees the poor sparrow that cannot take wing,
                                        Who loves the lame child, and the wretch in the street,
                                        Who comforts their sorrows and washes their feet.

                                        Praise to the Lord of the faint and afraid,
                                        Who girds them with courage and lends them His aid;
                                        He pours out His Spirit on vessels so weak
                                        That the timid can serve and the silent can speak.

                        

                                        Praise to the Lord of the frail and the ill,
                                        Who heals their afflictions, or carries them till
                                        They leave this tired frame and to paradise fly,
                                        To never be sick, never to die.

                                        Praise Him, O praise Him, all ye who yet live,
                                        Who’ve been given so much and can so little give.
                                        Our frail, lisping praise God will never despise;
                                        He sees His dear children through mercy-filled eyes.

More Blue

Jeff and I have long wanted to paint the living room... so that's what we did to celebrate our 4th anniversary in mid December. Romantic, huh?! His parents helped us and it certainly would not have gone as smoothly as it did without them. Here are some photos from before- the walls were a warm caramel/taupe/beige. The colour wasn't so much bad as it was a little monotonous, with our beige sofas and carpet.

We chose Benjamin Moore Smoky Green (mixed by General Paint). It's difficult to capture but you'll see from the photos (all taken within about 3 minutes) that the colour does read quite different. Most of the time, it looks like a bluey green with a lot of grey undertones (if that makes any sense whatsoever). Descriptions aside, we're quite pleased with the results. 

I was amazed how much better the wood furniture looked against blue walls than beige ones. It seems that contrast is a good thing. The photos are not great... I'll take better ones in the spring when the lighting is better and I'm not focused on writing.

Hand Soap

Three years ago, a friend introduced me to the idea of natural cleaning products. I was skeptical- could vinegar really clean anything? It took a bit of reading and research to give it a try. I'm now hooked. There is nothing better than cleaning my wood floors and NOT getting a migraine they way I usually did when I used chemical cleaners.

For the most part, we've gone green (floors, windows, kitchen surfaces, everything in the bathroom) but I still use "regular" laundry and dishwasher soap.  Until December last year, I also continued using the deliciously scented antibacterial hand soap pumps from Bath & Body Works.

Last fall, we did some research on the antibacterial soap movement and concluded  it was no longer for us. (Cue the sad face). Because I like the convenience (and lovely scents) of liquid hand soap, I was determined to come up with a greener  alternative that also smelled great. My favourite Canadian online pharmacy put a super sale on Method products in November... so with a few stacked coupons and free shipping, I gave them a try.

The verdict?  I still prefer the scents of the Bath & Body Works soap. However, I'm very happy that Method tetra-pack refills are available with low-waste packaging and that on sale (with coupons), I've cut the cost by more than 80%. In all honesty, I don't feel any more or less clean when I wash my hands... which confirms my hunch that antibacterial soap wasn't necessary for us. In an ideal world, I should probably try to make my own hand soap. Since that's not likely to happen, this seems like a good alternative.

My View Wednesday

Since I'm still spending most days at the computer in my office, today's view is not that much different than the one seen last week. Here's #2 in the series of marine-themed origami art pieces (made for me by my nephew) that sit on the window ledge, right above my desk.

Thesis update

With less than a month to go, a good friend emailed me to see how things were progressing with my thesis.  I am about 35 pages from being finished, but they are the toughest 35 pages of all. I spent most of last week working on the dreaded Chapter 4, the longest (and most challenging) chapter. It's a review of all of my research data (200+ pages of data summarized down to 20) and no matter how you look at it, is just really tough to organize, analyse and write.

Last week, I realized that my approach (and result) looked something like this:

Far Side Cartoon by Gary Larson

So I started over. Hopefully, this week will be better.

Sewing room creativity

Can you guess what these sculptures are made from?

BUTTONS!!! I cannot imagine where Miami Artisit Augusto Esquivel gets all of these buttons but I find myself both fascinated and impressed. How many thousands of strings it must take for these creations. 

It will come as no surprise that we really love the musical instruments.

I cannot imagine the logistics involved in setting up and transporting these sculptures. They are unique and wonderful, aren't they?                                                                                 
                                                                                                                             * all images courtesy of Augusto Esquivel