Summer School

If you're wondering how to spend your summer vacation, you might want to check out the Sir Sandford Fleming Haliburton School of the Arts. It's a beautiful campus in the heart of small town Ontario, nestled in a woodland setting that is as peaceful as it is inspiring for your creative spirit.

Registration starts today for their summer programs. They offer week long sessions as well as several one day weekend workshops, for both adults and kids.

They offer all sorts of art courses, taught by very skilled instructors - there is something for just about everyone. Whether you are a painter or a writer or a jewellery maker or a glassblower or a photographer (to name just a few), there is a class for you. Whatever your medium might be - wood, paper, fabric, metal, music, imagination - there is probably something to catch your interest.

In previous years, I have taken various courses there: glass flamework, furniture painting, beaded jewellery, art metal clay, and chain making (where I learned how to make jump rings from scratch - boy, am I glad I don't have to do that if I don't want to!! But it's good to know I can.)

Some people take the same course every summer, such as my sister Janine, who takes the iron sculpture course for a week every August. Here's a photo of her showing some of the Lindsay ladies a little bit of her blacksmithing technique.

The twig furniture, painted floorcloths and wire sculpture classes seem to be very popular with the repeating students as well.

Some classes that I have considered but not yet taken are: mosaics, digital photography, creative writing , acrylics, quilting, totem carving, stained glass, duck carving, drumming...well, the list is endless.

Except for the belly dancing course, I really don't think that's for me... but who knows?

You can check out their website: http://www.haliburtonschoolofthearts.ca/ and download a PDF copy of their calendar or call their toll free number and they will mail you a copy.

The "To Do" List

I am having one of those productive days, where I am actually making my way quite successfully through the "to do" list I made for this weekend. In fact, it's going so well that I almost don't want to stop, in case I'm not as successful tomorrow!

I've been very busy today - in no particular order, I balanced my chequebook, went for a walk, did a little shopping at the drug store, did a little shopping online, wrote this blog, packed about a dozen boxes for my upcoming move, rearranged some furniture so I could have somewhere to store the packed boxes and those that will follow, made some jewellery, did a little cooking, washed dishes. In fact, I don't have too much left on the list to cross off tomorrow, although the fact that I have lots of packing left to do will surely fill most of my time quite handily.

Isn't it funny how some days you're right on track, motoring along, getting things done and other days, even though you might have lots of things you "should" be doing, you end up just hanging out on the couch watching movies or reading a good book for the better part of the day?

I am convinced that we need both types of days. Either you are full of energy that needs to be used up or you need to lie quietly and let the energy build again. Sometimes it feels like my brain is a bit like the paperweight pictured here, all scrambled up inside with thoughts of all the things that need to be done. I usually end up making the "to do" list at those times, in order to get the thoughts out of my head and down on paper, so they'll stop spinning around and sit quietly. Other days, I make the list because I can't seem to keep anything in my head, so I write it down before I forget it again.

By the way, that beautiful paperweight was made by a man named Terry Craig, who teaches glass blowing at the Haliburton School of The Arts and my "to do" list of courses to take there is also quite extensive!