The Joy of Family

How has everyone survived the holidays?  Mine was certainly a whirlwind of activity!  But what a joy it was to have both of my sons and their families visiting us this year.  To have them over, at the same time, rarely happens as one lives in Oregon and the other in New York.  So, needless to say, that was my very best Christmas gift.  That, and meeting my newest little grandson for the very first time!  I was one happy mom and grandma, that is for sure!

One thing happened, while we were opening gifts together, that I want to share because it was very special and comical at the same time.  My youngest son and his wife opened a rather large gift.  Much to my surprise, it was one of my framed photos that had been on display at the Quality Bayside Resort in Parksville, where my sons were staying.  (Fabulous place, by the way.  They went out of their way to ensure my family's stay was perfect.)  My son's wife came over to give me a big hug and to thank me.  With a puzzled look on my face I said, "I had nothing to do with it!"  She looked over at my other son, who started to laugh.  My eldest son had seen my photo hanging on the wall at the hotel and decided to buy it as a Christmas gift for them!  How special is that?!  We all had a good chuckle over that.  My sons never cease to find ways to surprise and impress me.  If you like, you can click HERE to view the photo my son purchased.  (I can't post the photo here because it warps when I try.... very strange indeed!)

My business partner, Cheryl, is enjoying her winter home near Yuma.  I must admit, however, that I do miss her.  But I'm glad she is enjoying herself with her 'second family', basking in the wonderful warmth of the climate and the people.  I don't believe there is one day when she isn't doing something!  She gets invited out to dinner by people constantly, she goes to the local quilting group, she gets involved in the numerous events that take place in the park... what a gal.  Her energy never ceases to amaze me.  And she is no spring chicken either.  (And she is probably going to kill me for saying that!)  Anyhow, she is indeed an inspiration to all who are lucky enough to know her.  (There, hopefully that makes up for my last comment!  Whew!  But it is true.)

So, do we have any new creations on our site?  Certainly!  Here are a few to feast your ocean-loving eyes upon... 

 Antique Copper & Seashell Bookmark

 Ocean Treasure Bottle

 

Gift Box

Handcrafted Seaside Bookmarks

New Things Happening!

I am such terrible blogger!  Where is the time to do all this stuff?  Heavens.

Well, I am on my own again - crafting, that is.  My co-partner is off and away at her winter home in Yuma.  Sniff sniff.  Oh well, she loves it there and has such a good time, catching up with friends, going to her quilting group and experiencing many new adventures!  I am so happy for her.  But admittedly, I do miss her around.  We always laugh a lot together.

As for A2Sea Creations, we have a bunch of new items in the Newfoundland to Nanaimo store, as well as in the Parksville Tourist Centre.  We just sold one of our very popular Wedding Ring Bearer's Boxes again, and one of our beautiful Mermaid Lights.  So things are happening around here.  It always pays to check out our 'Sales' section in case you see something you like - we might be able to remake it for you!  We love to do customized work.

As for me personally, I just opened up a new Art Gallery where I am now able to offer canvas, metal and acrylic prints, greeting cards, framed prints and phone cases. (iPhone and Galaxy).  This is quite exciting for me!  And great timing for Christmas.  It's so nice to have a platform from which I can offer all of these options.  And I have arranged for my old link: thesingingphotographer.com to go to my new site.  Pretty slick, huh?  That way it's nice and easy to remember.   (Pretty tricky, Micki.)

Well, I'm off to do some much-needed cutting back and cleaning up of plants in my yard.  It's quite chilly so I better bundle up.  Cheryl, on the other hand, is enjoying nice, hot, 26c degree weather!  BRAT!!

Mermaid Light - Tealight Holder - Glass & Seashell

Ring Bearer's Box - Beach Wedding Ring Holder / Pillow

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.

A2Sea Creations On YouTube

A2Sea Creations - Handcrafted Beach Inspired Treasures

Well, I must say, it took me quite awhile to put together this simple video as it was my first time using Windows Movie Maker, which I downloaded off the internet, and my first time uploading a video to YouTube. And it only took me until 2:30 in the morning! LOL I am nothing, if not persistent! But when I think of the vast array of things I have learned since Cheryl and I decided to open our online gift shop, I am aware that most of it I learned between 10 at night and 3 in the morning. I suppose I am a bit of a night owl, although I haven't stayed up this late for quite awhile. I am going to be very sorry tomorrow as I try to get a million things done in preparation for my big photography show at the Nanaimo Arts Council Gallery in February. Ah well... my own fault.

So Cheryl and I had our first A2Sea Creations meeting a few days ago to plan where we would like to concentrate our efforts this year. I am excited about our plans and am looking forward to focusing on our new goals. One thing we will be doing is putting together a photo album of our creations to show to prospective buyers. So today I discovered I could actually print off some beautiful photos right on my home printer. I found some photo paper that had come with my printer and after a few oopses and boo-boos, I finally figured out how to print on 4x6 photo paper. Even my hubby, who tends not to make a big deal out of things, expressed real surprise at the quality of the photos. Who knew? I learn something new every day.

Well, now that it's 3:30 in the morning, I really must go to bed. I keep forgetting how old I am and much I am going to regret this in the morning! Oops... it is the morning.

The Magic of Winter

'WINTER WALK' - PHOTOART BY MICKI FINDLAY

It is so pretty outside today... our Christmas lights glow with their magical hues against the perfect white backdrop of our very first snowfall this year. Everything is so quiet and peaceful. I have some Christmas baking to do today and what a perfect day for it! I wonder if we will have a white Christmas this year? I can always dream. One would think that my eight years in Mackenzie BC would have cured me of that desire, but not so. Although I must admit, six months of snow is a bit much. I am glad to be living on Vancouver Island.

My sons, Gordon and Matthew, loved the winters in Mackenzie, however. They were just little boys and did not seem to notice or care that they went on for so long. I recall the snow forts they built and the numerous tunnels we shoveled to make a 'maze' of sorts through the entire front yard. It was a magical time for them as they played endlessly in the snow, decked out from head to toe in various layers of clothes, snowsuits, scarves, toques, mittens and winter boots. I always dreaded when they would have to come in to go to the bathroom because it seemed to take forever to undress and redress them for the brutal cold. Some days it felt like that was all I did all day! But they could not play outside all the time because Mackenzie can get down to 40 below at times. You didn't go anywhere on those days unless you absolutely had to. So as fun as it was for my boys, I am glad to be back here on the island alright. Brrrrr!......

I am almost done my Christmas shopping... only a couple more things to buy. Our house is all decorated and ready for David's son, daughter and their partners to come and celebrate with us on Christmas Eve. I still cannot figure out how I managed to stuff a Christmas tree in my little Hyundai but I did. That car has certainly served me well, although it is sounding pretty rough these days. I have loaded everything in that car including loads of firewood!

I hope that this Christmas is extra special for everyone this year. I am saddened to hear of various Christmas school concerts that have completely bypassed the whole Christmas message. I know that has been happening for quite awhile now, as far as the baby Jesus is concerned. But I am told that now there isn't even an elf or a jingle bell! And they are now called 'Winter Concerts'. Hmmm..... political correctness seems to be our modern day 'Scrooge' and it is sapping the life, joy and magic right out of the season. How ridiculous!

Well I will not let Scrooge get me down! Merry Christmas everyone! And a very happy new year!

Luke 2:9-12
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

Our Online Shop Featured in Cafe Handmade!

FEATURE STORY IN CAFE HANDMADE

In the Studio with Micki and Cheryl, A2Sea Creations

October 14, 2009

We are two creative friends who reside on beautiful Vancouver Island, BC, Canada; Cheryl in Nanaimo, I in Coombs. Our adventure began with me designing a beach-themed, glass ball ornament for our local art gallery’s Christmas table in 2008. They sold like hotcakes so Cheryl and I got to thinking that we ought to make and sell more. So what began with a little ornament, soon ballooned into whatever our creative brains could think up; from ‘Nautical Notepads’, to ‘Mermaid Catchers’, Seaside ‘Treasure Boxes’ to our ‘Beach Under Glass Candleholders’, beach-themed jewelry to ‘Message in Bottles’, ‘Seaview Décor Mirrors’ and more. We hadn’t taken any crafting classes… we just went with our creative instincts and before we knew it, we had shelves and shelves full of seaside treasures!

At the beginning of our venture, Cheryl and I worked at my kitchen table. This was far from ideal as my kitchen was soon taken over by seashells, driftwood, raffia, sea glass, moss, sand you name it. What a mess! It was clear that we needed to figure out a better solution. So my rarely-used guest room became our craft room. We had planned to put up shelving but when we priced out the materials, it was not an option. So our Plan B was to buy several tall, inexpensive bookshelves and a long, fold-up work table… one that we could also bring to local craft fairs.

Cheryl and I have a sort of ritual, you could say. She comes here in the morning and I put on the coffee (only good coffee, I might add… very important to the process!) and we bring out the Bailey’s and we munch on my yummy, homemade granola bars. Music is also a very fundamental part of our creative process. We usually listen to the 70’s channel on cable and sing along (badly) to all the words that we remember (which aren’t many and usually the same). As far as setting a specific time to work, this is always a challenge because we both have very unpredictable schedules. I have a singing telegram business (http://www.tickleberrytelegrams.com/) and Cheryl works part-time in a thrift store and as a house/pet sitter (‘U-Petcha’). So we aim for once a week to come together, while working on our own in between, whenever possible. Summer…well that’s another story. Our work has been pretty much on hiatus due to vacations, family and friends. But we do have a craft fair coming up, so we have been making a few things for that as well as our online store.

We take pride in the fact that we use primarily local, organic, recycled, upcycled & eco-friendly materials that we collect with our own little hands. We work with beach-combed items such as seashells, sea glass and driftwood. Even seaweed! It is not unusual to see my kitchen sink full of soaking seashells and my oven full of drying seaweed. Interesting smells come out of my kitchen! Cheryl and I are in love with the ocean so it only stands to reason that we would enjoy working with natural materials the ocean provides. It is a pleasure to go walking on the seashore while discovering what new treasures we can find and utilize!

Cheryl and I sell our products online in our Etsy store at http://www.etsy.com/shop/A2SeaCreations. I am also a photographer so I opened another Etsy online store which can be found at http://www.thesingingphotographer.com/ We also sell our seaside treasures at local craft fairs and a store in Coombs, here on the island. I also sell my photography in the Nanaimo Arts Council Gallery.

Humans need two things; connection and a sense of self-worth. Buying and selling handmade provides both; the artist receives the validation that comes with selling something they have designed and a relationship is formed as the buyer communicates directly with the artist in the customizing of their desired item. The buyer becomes more than just a customer; they are a supporter of the artist’s work and vision. Handmade products come with a personal history and unique story and buying handmade creates a sense of community with people from all around the world. These dynamics are lost in the world of large scale manufacturing.

It would be great to expand, but not so much that we lose the joy of creating for fun. Cheryl and I will likely keep creating for as long as we are able. We have not looked that far into the future as we both tend to live in the moment as much as we can, enjoying the process and our friendship. As a photographer, I am continually learning new techniques and trying out new processes so that I might keep growing in my art.

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!

A New Craft Room!

'FLOWER OF THE SEA' - PHOTOART BY MICKI FINDLAY

Today was a very productive day and I have my hubby David to thank for that. He bought me a large fold up table and some bookshelves for our spare room so it could be turned into a craft room for me. Until now, Cheryl and I have been creating in my kitchen because it was the only room large enough to work in together. So you can probably imagine the chaos involved in trying to cook around such things as seashells, driftwood, sea glass, moss, raffia, fish netting, crab shells and a multitude of other seaside treasures. Fortunately for me, I am quite adaptable and can work amidst chaos. And also fortunately for me, David is extremely lay back and easy-going and does not get his knickers in a knot over these things. In fact, when I apologized for the mess he said, "What mess? When I'm sitting in my chair here (in the livingroom) I can't see any mess."

What a man I have... a real prize. Not many men would put up with having to make coffee in the morning over a sink full of soaking seashells and a counter full of cleaned crab shells and drying driftwood! Not many indeed! But even so, it will be nice to have some order in my home once again. And Cheryl, my partner in crime, is an amazing organizer and has kindly offered to help me get my new room set up. So thanks to David and Cheryl, my life will soon be back to normal, until I find another way to mess it up, that is.

A2Sea Creations & A2Sea Photography

A CONTEST!

"TELL US YOUR SEA STORY" - CONTEST

Do you have an inspirational story that involves the sea? Do you have any special memories that took place by the sea? Send us your stories by visiting our shop and scrolling down to 'Contact A2Sea Creations' (on the right-hand side of our shop page.) Add your story there and walla!

The winner will be announced on April 15th (entry deadline is April 13th) and will receive a ready-to-frame 8x10 photo of their choice (with matting and archival-safe backing) by Vancouver Island Photographer, Micki Findlay. To view photos go to our new Photography Shop and pick your favorite!

The winner's name will be posted with an announcement on our blog and their story will be featured. When you submit your story/stories, please add a note saying that we have permission to publish your story. Also, if you have an Etsy shop or other website you would like to promote, (family-friendly please) add your link to your story.

Best of luck everyone!

OUR NEW PHOTOGRAPHY SHOP IS OPEN

OUR NEW PHOTOGRAPHY SHOP

Well, our new photography shop is open and ready for business! It only took me until 5:00 this morning but it's done! I'm feeling a little weary today... gee, I wonder why. But I have to say, it was fun getting it up and running, even though, I admit, I nodded off a few times in my chair while doing it. So if the site says anything odd, you will know why.

There 19 photos up for sale and I will be adding to our shop regularly so it is well worth checking back from time to time. Primarily we are featuring ocean-themed photography but in the near future, there will be a wider variety of scenes and subjects to choose from.

Well, I would write more but I am not too zippy today, as you can well imagine. Do stop by our new shop and take a gander. Soon, I will unveil our new contest so keep your eyes peeled! I do love a good contest!

Okay... nightie night. Zzzzzzzzz........

A2Sea Creations
A2Sea Photography