Yummy Food Art

Ok ... I'm not too much of a foodie, but this weekend Tim & I had a couple of nights away at a Bed & Breakfast and it turns out that a gourmet chef (Chef Julie) & her husband owned the B&B.  All I can say is mmm...

Her breakfasts were absolutely delicious ... I just wanted to eat them slowly all day long!  Not only were they delicious ... they were so beautifully presented that I initially felt bad destroying her works of art (that is, until I began eating).  Chef Julie also had optional dinners available, and after tasting our first breakfast, we booked her for the evening. I have to confess though ... I don't have many pics of the dinner. What can I say, we had spent the day biking in Montreal and I was hungry.  :)

The hosts were so friendly and worked hard to communicate with us (as we switched between their broken English and our broken French) and the house was a beautiful century home, just steps away from the Ottawa River in Saint-Placide, Quebec.

Here are some pictures of our three course breakfasts...

Crepes with roasted apple and Brie cheese, served with maple syrup, fresh fruit and a flower waffle.

 We had nasturtiums with every meal.  They taste good with maple syrup. Actually, everything tastes good with maple syrup.

Her own pastry, fruit and Oka cheese, served with fruit, a heart shaped waffle, and of course, maple syrup.

 Here is our second course on day two.  I ate the second course on day one before I thought about taking a picture of it.  This is scrambled eggs mixed with some nearly divine cheese, served over a ratatouille, in a pastry bowl.

The third course on both days was home-made pastries served with several of her own preserves.

I have no pictures of our dinner, but you will have to trust me that it was amazing and beautiful. All I will say is I wanted to drink the sauce that was used over our fish. Seriously, I would have drank it straight out of the pot if I could have.

As for the rest of our time away - we had a very sweet time we felt like we were in a bit of France with vineyards and bakeries scattered across the countryside.  Definitely a place we will return to!

And if you are interested this is where we stayed... and ate:

 Gîte La Capucine

Silvia

A Shout Out to Junelle Jacobsen

This summer has been wonderfully filled with creating and experimenting with art. I have been really enjoying my on-line classes, in particular one called "Wild Art Summer" by Junelle Jacobsen. Her projects have been a lot of fun, have challenged me try new techniques and to be bold and courageous (anyone who has ventured out artistically in any genre knows what I am talking about!)

Thanks Junelle for the thought, fun & love you poured into this course. Thanks for believing in all of us and showing us a bit more of God through your laughter, joy and encouraging spirit. 

Here is a mixed media on wood block that I have recently completed, based on an assignment from Wild Art Summer...

Silvia

Flower Bliss

Silvia

follow me on instagram at silviaklassen 

Banded Babies

I am always looking for unique opportunities for my family to interact with nature. Several years ago I discovered the world of bird banding and (because of our love of birds around here) ever since we then we have been hooked. Bird banding is described as “The practice of catching birds, marking them with an identifying band around the leg, and then releasing them.”  Scientists rely on banding to learn about bird behavior, migration patterns, etc.

Twice in July (in Ottawa) the public is welcome to be a part of banding Purple Martins, Canada's largest swallow. Purple Martins are community birds and there are two very large Martin bird houses by the Ottawa River that were built by a man named Peter who cares for the birds and bands them with the Innis Point Bird Observatory (see their facebook page here). This morning two of my kids & I ventured out to be a part of the action and we were delighted to see, hold and feed some new born baby Purple Martins.  Here is our story in pictures, and a few words...

We arrived and watched the parents go to and fro from their nests which are located in these homes (the male is the darker bird):

Peter lowered the first house down to have access to the baby birds:

As he opened each door, we were able to see the amazing treasures that were hidden inside:

We saw babies at all stages of development.  These little guys were only two days old!

They were so tiny and could not even yet see, but if you look closely you can see their feathers beginning (look at the head and the "wing")...

These were a few days older, still bunched up in their nests:

This one was almost ready to leave the nest:

It was amazing to watch as Peter fed the tiny birds ... he gave the one below a dragonfly that was nearly half its size & it had no trouble eating it!

And a little bit of water to wash down their meal:

 We were able to hold and handle the babies.  Here my son is trying to feed one of them:

We watched as he carefully banded the older babies:

Here Peter was checking its size to correctly assess the age:

We learned about some of their challenges ... blowflies lay their eggs in the nests and the larvae suck the baby birds' blood for food.  Peter checks each nest several times a week and cleans out all the larvae.

 Once the whole house was cleaned and the babies were cared for and banded, Peter raised it back up to its full height and the parents happily returned home:

Thanks so much to the IPBO for a great experience this morning! If this interests you, there is likely a bird observatory near you that you could get involved with.

Silvia
follow me on instagram at silviaklassen 

Chasing what you love...

Chase down your passion like it's the last bus of the night. 

-- Glade Byron Addams

I love this quote as there is something so wonderful about pursuing what you love. It takes time and energy to pursue a passion, but the effort seems minimal and the pursuit a pleasure. I am daily searching for moments to pursue my passions ... I carry my sketch book, pencils and pens with me everywhere I go, I grab moments with my camera as often as I can or (as I talk about here and here and here) I regularly use my iphone camera and, whenever possible, I get lost in my little in-home studio.  It is an absolute delight to be distracted in a project and I willingly assign hours (sometimes late-night hours) to work on one. 

I've mentioned before that I am taking several art courses and they all come with their own assignments, challenges and projects. I'd like to show you one of those recent projects.

My canvas here was a wood block and the wood was up-cycled from an old crib set that someone had put out at the side of the road. I saw the wood and immediately envisioned it cut into pieces and painted up, so I pulled over my van and dragged it all into the trunk as my kids sat bewildered. I asked Tim to cut a few of slats into pieces, and after sanding it down I went to work on my assignment:

It was such a fun project and I will definitely be making some more of these wood block paintings!

I encourage you to take time to do what you love.  You will not regret a moment of it ... you were made for it!!

Silvia

Tiny & Beautiful

I absolutely love my iphone macro lens that I recently purchased.  I am so undone by God's amazing creativity, putting so much beauty in nature, in tiny plants that we normally step on, walk by and overlook.

I spent some time today down by the river taking pictures with my iphone macro lens and I discovered a whole world that that was breath-takingly beautiful. I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.

And just to show scale, here is my son standing on the above pictured Tiny Buttons Stonecrop plant.

Have an amazing, beauty-filled weekend!

Silvia

follow me on instagram at silviaklassen 

Stopping to See ...

My life, like most people's lives, is busy! My husband Tim & I lead a church, we have four kids and we home school them. Along with that, I am working hard at growing as an artist and developing my skills and passion.  As part of my journey, I am studying under a local artist and taking courses.  Right now I am taking three on-line courses and l am really enjoying them.  Needless to say, my life is full (& I love it!)

As an artist I am always looking for inspiration and I often bring my digital SLR camera with me when we go on an outing.  However, it is big and I don't always want to bring it with me.  I do however carry my iphone with me pretty much all the time now & I have a folder full of useful camera apps that I use all the time to take, and edit, my pictures. I purposely keep a watchful eye out for fun, unique or beautiful shots.

Taking pictures has always been something I love to do and I love how it reminds me to stop and look at what is around me. There is beauty everywhere.  Helen Keller once said, "Why not learn to enjoy the little things ... there are so many of them."

Here are a few little things I enjoyed this week ...

One last thing ... I've joined the world of Instagram. If you are an Instagramer you can follow me at: silviaklassen

Silvia