Delights & Disasters

Delights first...the other day a girlfriend & I traveled to Perdue, a very small Saskatchewan town about an hour outside of Saskatoon...there we found a real old gem of a bookstore...you know the ones you dream about, the ones where, as you walk up to the front door you spy stacks & stacks of books haphazardly & should I say precariously piled one upon the other...I am not exaggerating. I was in pure bliss the moment I walked in. Was it the dusty old book smell...the tantalizing colors of faded book covers that lined row upon row of shelves...the Piece De Resistance(pardon my French...it isn't so great)...the store owner could have walked out of a book himself...rather short...coke bottle glasses...mussy hair, baggy pants & a general air of quirkiness about him. He was a real character who's most endearing trait was the habit of having to push his coke bottle glasses back up his nose...as they promptly fell down every time he bent over to look for a book. He was a most knowledgeable host who knew exactly where to find what. My only regret is that I forgot my camera at home that day, next time I will take some photos.

I could have spent a fortune as there were rows of antique books...the farthest corners had little cob webs & places where some small creature had nibbled on a leather cover...a real museum of forgotten books. I did however come home with a few treasures. Directly above is a photo of a small grouping of antique miniature hymnals & well worn bibles...you can even feel & see where the owners thumb & fingers have worn the edges of the books from being held in church...that's what really got to me & why I had to have them...to me these well worn spots brought life to these books...gave them character & meaning...
I also found a few books from the early 1800's that are beautiful inside & out...the one with the Sunshine cover, as well as the little red one sitting on the other books is chalk full of beautiful prints & decorative fonts. Are they cutters or a keepers...I haven't decided yet...I am soooo bad at hoarding books that I promised myself I would use in my artwork...for now I am happy just to hold & look at them...
The photo sitting on the book is my grandma.

One last tidbit...
I am very pleased to say that I have completed the set of critters that I want to send in to be considered for publication...it has been a real whirlwind of creative activity around here & it feels so good to get them done & be satisfied with the way they turned out.
Now for the write ups...thank god my hubby can be my editor...he is so good at these things. Unfortunately this whirlwind of activity has resulted in a very messy studio...so this morning is clean up time & then back to work for me.