High Seas Misadventure

Apparently my sea legs were amputated when I went whale watching this past weekend. While people aboard the boat were marveling at the sight of 3 gray whales close by I saw nothing but the inside of a barf bag.

I wasn't the only one. About a third of the passengers were also sick. One of them was my youngest daughter. My other daughter was terrified of the big waves thrashing the boat around like a scene from The Perfect Storm. Yes, I'm inserting my moment of high drama here. The worst was that I couldn't be any comfort to my kids as I was hacking up several vital organs from my body and I WAS SURE I WAS GOING TO DIE. The crew (who sort of did look like the cast from The Perfect Storm...coincidence?) comforted my kids so well that I vow to go out in the world, attain incredible wealth and come back one day and buy them houses and BIGGER boats. I love them and I don't care who knows it.

In calmer waters, I managed to get this photo of stellar sea lions lounging in the fog. Probably not the best animal to come across after enduring an intense bout of sea sickness. You can smell them a mile away, literally. It's been measured, for a good mile the stench of them travels. They are stinky.

One the bright side (and there always is one), I went back to the cottage we were staying in and felt the most intense joy over a warm shower, a couch that was immobile and the heat from the fireplace. I have never taken that much comfort in comfort before. It was almost worth the experience (actually no, not even close).

Aside from the whale (not) watching expedition, the trip was wonderful. Here's a few shots of the beach a short path away from our cottage.

Below is the bog walk we went on in Pacific Rim National Park. Some of these trees are hundreds of years old and would normally grow straight and tall, but the soil is so acidic they end up stunted and deformed.

I can't help including this humorous cartoon. It's about the twitter rage and hey, it's relevant (sort of), because there's a whale in it, one I didn't miss.

Whale Song

The lengthy post I had in mind will have to wait. I'm off. I will be walking along the chilly beaches of Tofino and travelling the open waters of the Pacific hoping to see some of these. I have memorized this song from my childhood and will be singing it loud and strong until the whales come...or the other passengers throw me overboard.

Art Giveaway Draw and no gerbils were harmed in the writing of this blog

My daughter helped in the draw. In fact she got pretty into it and orchestrated the whole thing, adding all the names of the girls in her class to the hat as well. Not boys of course, because boys are poopy-icky still and I'll command her to maintain that attitude until she is at least 18. (Me? dysfunctional parent? nawww) .

The first grown up person's name she drew was...Veronica!

Congratulations Veronica! Please email me at ellesereda(at)gmail(dot)com with your address so I can send you the crow drawing.

The Kiva sale still continues. I've discovered that 97.78% of loans to Kiva are paid back. That means there is a 97.78% chance that the artwork you buy through my sale will end up being COMPLETELY FREE. Excuse me for a moment while I sound like a infomercial, but I can't help it...
97.78% FREE!!!
97.78% FREE!!!
97.78% FREE!!!

The only thing better than 97.78% free is 97.79% - 100% Free OR 97.78% free and a bonus gerbil. However, they tend to chew through bubble wrap and don't ship well.

Another artist friend of mine has also decided to donate a portion of her art sales to Kiva. Check out Paula's amazing clocks and artwork made from found objects and materials. She is generously donating $100 from each of RR Plate Limited Edition Clocks available through her Etsy store to Kiva through her Kiva account . I own this clock that Paula made and it's super cool awesome and makes me happy every time I look at it.

I will be back to blogging soon (without asking you to buy anything). To quote a dear artist friend of mine, my blogging voice has laryngitis these days. I think I'm recovering though, as I'm finishing off an epic post with lots of embarrassing pictures and personal anecdotes that may very well start several lawsuits against me. Ah, what the heck, it's my blog. I'll be back.

Art Giveaway and Kiva Sale

This past year I've sold, given away and thrown out a lot of older art. I have a few eclectic pieces I've held onto, ranging from children's illustration I like to do from time to time, to older linocut prints to semi- abstract paintings. I like all these pieces for one reason or another but want to declutter my art studio so I'm having a sale.

Here's how it works. I've put a selection of art for sale here in my Etsy shop. All shipping is free and EVERY penny you pay for the purchase of the art goes directly to Kiva. Kiva is an organization that pays out micro loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries. You decide who and where you want to give the loan to from the Kiva website. You may get the loan paid back one day, you may not, but it's a great charity for helping people out of poverty into self sufficiency. If you see something you like for sale, but it exceeds your budget, make me an offer at ellesereda(at)gmail(dot)com, I'm pretty flexible. It's a win win win situation for everyone. I get to make more space in my studio, you get some very affordable original art and someone, somewhere gets a little help to make their own livelihood.

I promised a giveaway in my last post and so here it is. Blue Crow

This is an original mixed media piece I just finished - pen, coloured pencil and acrylic (5"x5"). The background is not grey but a lovely metallic silver. I think I am spending far too much time with crows because every time I look at shiny things I become MES-MER-IZED, the silver paint is so pretty, I just like to stare at it. This scan doesn't do justice to the drawing. It comes matted in a 9"x9" white mat that fits the inexpensive Ribba frames available at Ikea.

I was going to give this piece to the first person who bought something from the Kiva sale, but that wouldn't be a giveaway, that would be a little attempt at bribery. So instead, I'll do a draw for this piece for all those who comment in this post for the next week. However, if you'd like to promote and support the Kiva sale, well, that'd be nice. And of course, if you do and win this crow artwork then I certainly must bestow upon you a pack of Freakin' Magical Unicorn Gum just to spread around a little more happiness.