A2Sea Creations Donates to Jingle Mingle!

Gift Basket Donation to the BC Cancer Fundraiser

Cheryl and I are honoured to be able to take part in this year's B.C. Cancer annual fundraiser called 'Jingle Mingle' by contributing a large and luscious gift basket by A2Sea Creations filled with an array of our nautical treasures. The basket will go towards their silent auction.

Besides the silent auction, guests will also enjoy loads of dancing and delicious appies - all for an excellent cause. This glamorous affair is a favourite among Victorians each year as it offers up the chance to dress up in fancy attire and, at the same time, make a difference in the lives of cancer patients and survivors through the hard work of the BC Cancer Foundation.

This magical evening will take place at the Fairmont Empress in Victoria on December 1st, 2010 from 5:30 to 7:30. For more information and to purchase tickets go to http://donate.bccancerfoundation.com/site/Calendar?id=105785&view=Detail
It promises to be a night to remember!

MICKI'S PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW

FEBRUARY FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW
NANAIMO ARTS COUNCIL GALLERY

Well I must say, this last two weeks has certainly been a whirlwind of activity for me. I had no idea that putting together a photography show would be so time-consuming and so much work! Not that I am complaining because it has also been fun. But all I can say is that sometimes I'm glad I have a distorted sense of reality because I might not be so quick to jump into these huge projects if I really understood what all they involved. But it's all ready now and open to the public. And I feel as though I could sleep for three days straight. Whew!

I had a wonderful start to my show... no sooner did I have it all hung when someone came in and purchased my most expensive piece right off the bat. I was so excited, flustered and taken aback, I completely forgot how to operate the debit machine! Boy did I feel dumb! But he was ever so gracious and patient and politely and quietly took the pad and swiped his own card, when he saw that I had taken leave of my senses and was clearly in crisis mode. Bless him. I am so glad my piece went to such a nice guy. Thank you Jason!




I would like to extend my gratitude to Odette at the Nanaimo Arts Council for her diligence in getting the word out about my show to the entire media. I have seen several newspaper articles, online ads and tomorrow, Shaw Cable Community TV will be coming to interview me while I am at the gallery. Although I realize this is a great opportunity for me to become better known in the arts community, I am not, in all honesty, looking forward to it. I truly hope I do not say something too stupid. Man oh man. I used to be on tv a great deal when I was the Salvation Army Community Services Director in the Cowichan Valley and I pretty much dreaded it every time back then, too. Ah well. I will just try and be myself. Maybe I should wear my clown costume.....? Or not.

Many thanks also to the hanging committee at the gallery (Gudrun, Marg and Gary) for their hard work, patience and input. And for those yummy muffins you brought to feed us Marg!

I would also like to thank my dear husband, David, who patiently and cheerfully put up with our house being turned upside down these last couple of weeks. The kitchen is the only room with enough light to do all my framing so for awhile there, we could not even see the floor. Two nights we ate take-out because it was too much of a challenge to cook in there. I love you David. Thank you for supporting and encouraging me in all this. You are the best.

Special thanks to my son, Matt at Inerseshen Creative Media, who designed my amazing banner and my logo, who printed up my business cards, gives me great ideas and advice and who constantly inspires me to not be afraid to put myself out there and to believe in myself. Both of my sons (Gord and Matt) encourage me to not limit myself and to 'go for it'. I watch them and see all that they have accomplished in their young lives, fearlessly, and I am constantly awed by their accomplishments. I could not be prouder of them. When I grow up I want to be like them.

I also want to thank my dear friend Cheryl (my A2Sea Creations' partner) for her constant belief in me and encouragement to excel in all that I do. And for telling others to come out and see my work. You are terrific.

And lastly, I want to say thank you to two gals in my neighbourhood who took the time to drive all the way to Nanaimo today to see my show and then come by my house to bring me a big, gorgeous bouquet of tulips and a card to congratulate me. So thank you Gloria and Trina. You made my day!

I am blessed with wonderful friends who have been so supportive of me - cheering me along as I pursue my passion. I am blessed.

Christmas Bazaar This Friday!

CHRISTMAS BAZAAR THIS FRIDAY!

A2Sea Creations has been invited to a local Christmas Bazaar this Friday. Come and get into the spirit and get your Christmas shopping done at the same time! Hope to see you there!

Date: Friday, November 20, 2009
Time: 1:30 to 3:00 pm
Locations: Eagle Park Health Care Facility, 777 Jones St, Qualicum Beach, BC

Click on the map for map link:

NAME THE PHOTO CONTEST!

THIS PHOTO NEEDS A TITLE - PHOTOART BY MICKI FINDLAY

Lately, I have been enamoured with layering in photography. It just gives the images a wonderful artistic, mysterious mood that I am so attracted to. The only problem is, I need to learn how to do it in Photoshop because it is quite time-consuming on the archaic computer program that I use. So my goal in the very near future, without fail, must be to tackle that hurdle.

This latest photo of mine is a mix of two different photos I had taken, which I brought all together with a palette of colour and textures in the background. I have a "Name the Photo" Contest going on at present on Facebook. If you would like to participate, click here. Or, if you like, just enter your suggested title here on our blog in the comment section. The winner receives a matted, ready-to-frame 8x10 of the photo. One entry per person please. The contest closes on September 15th at 12:00 am.

When you enter your suggested title for the photo, also let me know if you have a link you wish advertised as I will do so on our blog should you win. Good luck everyone!

TICKLEBERRY STRIKES AGAIN!

TICKLEBERRY TELEGRAMS - ALL-OCCASION CUSTOMIZED SINGING TELEGRAMS

For those of you don't know, besides A2Sea Creations, I also perform Singing Telegrams. I have a singing telegram to perform in Duncan this Saturday, in fact. The poor girl! She has no idea what's coming!

I recall my very first singing telegram. Few people know how it all started. Well, I'll just tell you!

It all began in Mackenzie BC, back in the fall of 1980, when a mother of a friend of mine called me up and asked if I had ever performed a singing telegram. I hadn't. So she asked me if I would consider doing one for her daughter's birthday. She wanted this birthday to be very special and unique. I told her I would try but I couldn't promise anything, seeing as her birthday was that very day!!!

So I spent the next hour hunting and scrounging up anything I could find that, if put together, might resemble a clown costume. And seeing as it was my friend I, too, wanted it to be special. So I wrote down as many things as I could about my friend. I took those notes and made rhymes for it all. Then I proceeded to put the poem to music, utilizing a song I had already written considering my time was so short.

So somehow, by some miracle, I managed to get it all together by 8:00 that evening. I arrived at my friend's door with guitar in hand, a funny outfit, a big grin and I sang her a song all about her. She loved it and was deeply moved, actually!

MY VERY FIRST CLOWN OUTFIT (Dig the eyebrows! And so skinny! Sigh..)

Word soon got around (small town) and the next thing I knew, I had another gig! The only problem was, I had come down with laringytis! What bad luck! But I figured I'd better go anyways because if I cancelled, that would have been worse for my reputation. So I managed to croak out my song. Next thing you know (as if things could get worse) my clown nose fell off and rolled under the restaurant table! Good grief! Well, much to my amazement, everyone thought it was part of the act, as I am under the table trying to rescue my nose, and they are laughing like crazy! And no one seemed to care or notice how terrible I was singing!

So I continued doing telegrams and I soon found myself singing in the post office, in stores, pubs, homes, convention centres... once, I even found myself singing down at a log boom!

I am quite picky about my telegrams... I love making them very personalized and unique for each person. I so enjoy making people laugh. I will probably do it until I 'croak'! In fact, I saw this tv documentary where they showed a headstone you can buy that laughs as you walk by it. Talk about having the 'last laugh'! I gotta have one of those!

I also compose and record wedding songs for couples. It brings me a lot of satisfaction to be able to take part in a couple's lives in such a special, memorable and personal way.

Memories and Music

CANNON BEACH, OREGON - PHOTO BY MICKI FINDLAY

Holy cow! I can't believe how long it's been since I've blogged! I have been very very busy finishing a huge wedding song contract so I have been a little preoccupied, to say the least. But today I finally got it all finished and packed up ready to ship to Ontario. What a great feeling... especially because the recipient is so happy with her song! It is very creatively fulfilling for me.

As for my trip to Oregon to visit my son Matt, his wife Cristina and my adorable and funny baby grandson Levi, what a treat that was for me! I took the slow way down to Roseburg, along the Oregon Coast; a breathtaking part of the world. The ocean is crazy wild and there are so many quaint, old, interesting towns along the way. I took in the Sea Lion Caves which amazed me... so much so that I stood in one spot for over an hour because I could not pull myself away from the sight of hundreds upon hundreds of sea lions sitting, playing and nuzzling. Some of the males challenged each other on the rocks as the violent waves came crashing over them. It was a memory I will never forget.

I so enjoyed getting to know my grandson. I feel so blessed that I was able to be there while Levi did some new things for the very first time. He had changed so dramatically over the course of a year and I have missed so much, sadly. But he sure made up for it while I was there!

As far as A2Sea Creations is concerned, much of our work has been put on hold during the summer months as Cheryl and I have caught up on time with our families that live so far away. However, I did make some new wire-wrapped sea glass pendants and one is now for sale on our site. Cheryl has been making magnets for our upcoming Nanaimo Farmer's Market. (Sept 29th) I will be posting more info about that soon. We sold a couple of items and I just mailed them off to Iowa today. I love how the internet makes our world so 'small'! I get to talk with people all over the world and know that our creations are being enjoyed in so many faraway places. So cool!

I hope everyone is having a great summer and spending time catching up with loved ones also!

ATTENTION ALL OCEAN LOVERS!

Our first local fair is almost here! Cheryl and I will have a table set up at this very popular and widely attended Marine Swap and Shop and we are getting pretty excited! I was told that approximately 700 people show up to this event so this is a great opportunity for A2Sea Creations to get its feet wet, so to speak!

Coombs is a very well known and popular tourist spot on Vancouver Island. I highly recommend planning a day and coming to see it all... the Coombs Market where goats actually live on the roof! They have a their own little barn and grass up there ! So funny and a must-see! Then there are all the quaint little gift shops and the local guitar players singing outside. You can visit Fat Phege's Fudge Factory and watch them make their own caramel in an enourmous vat and oh... the aroma! Mmmmm.... A big thank you to them for providing us with biodegradeable bags for our sales, by the way!

After you pass the Coombs Market, travel west on the Alberni Hwy and just beyond the bridge on your right is the Independant Marine Store. On May 9th, from 8 am to 2 pm, Cheryl and I will be under a canopy with our table filled with our seaside treasures for every occasion and any budget! Mother's Day is the next day so we will be featuring a few special gifts ideal for Mom and your sweetheart!

We hope to 'sea' you there. There will be a bbq so you won't need to bring a lunch. Stop in and say hi!


Cheryl and Micki
A2Sea Creations
A2Sea Photography