Audrey Hayes Art - Canadian Artist

year in review - 3/3

  

September to December

Here is the final chapter to our great year.

September was back to school for the girls and work for Sean and I.  We were recharged by a great, full summer and I became inspired, for some reason, to start running.  And that is what I have been doing now for almost 4 months, which is unheard of for me.  

For a couple of years now I have wanted to take an abstract art workshop with local artist, Michelle Miller.  Well, I finally got my chance.  It was 8 weeks long, from September to November, and I loved it.  I learned lots of great techniques and I am eager to put my new abstract skills into practice.  

After a busy start to the school year, with art classes in full swing and Fall setting in, I was busier than ever with little time to waste...but that was when I discovered Pinterest.com...and I managed to waste more time than I had.  But I did find a lot of fun stuff on it.  Sean, too, was inspired by many yummy recipes found on Pinterest.  First he tried this cinnamon pull-apart bread which wasn't bad, but he really wanted to try a recipe he'd found in his America's Test Kitchen recipe book for MONKEY BREAD.

This was Sean's Monkey Bread.  It was scrumptious!!  You can find many recipes and pictures of this on Pinterest.

November saw Emmy turn 6 and me turn 40.  Yikes!!  And countless other friends and family grew a year older this month as well.

And finally a busy month of Christmas prep brings us to now.

While the year was busy and fantastic, I didn't paint nearly as much as I needed or wanted to.  Even though I mananged to have three art shows early in the year, a couple of commissions, and several painting sold, painting definitely took a back seat to work this year.  

It has been a great year for our family.  I hope whatever 2011 held for you, 2012 will exceed your expectations.

I wish you a new year full of happiness and good health.  

All the best for 2012.

Until next year...

year in review - 2/3

  May to August

My sister-in-law, Cait and her new husband, Carman at their wedding last May.

 "Artists in Motion" - my 3rd art show of the year.

Food Fest at Fort Rodd Hill - June

Then, the girls, my parents and I were off to Britain for the month of July.  We visited my mom's family in the south of England and my dad's family in Glasgow.

  

One of our favourite moments...spotting this "hairy coo" aka Highland cow.

While we were away, Sean turned 40.

Much anticipated art workshop with local artist, Laura Harris - A two-day art workshop in August, combined with great lunches and a morning yoga session.  {that's my painting to the left, I'll show it to you one of these days}

August was packed full with summer fun, including a week of camping on Thetis Island.
  

A belated anniversary get-a-way downtown at the Ocean Point Hotel.  A perfect weekend topped off by being upgraded to the penthouse suite.  A pretty nice way to end the summer.

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Year in Review finale tomorrow.

year in review - 1/3

January to April

Just some of the many things that took place this past year.  For starters, here is the beginning of the year.

"Boundless" art show last February.

February Snowfall.

Sean and I wearing Silver medals from our very own Canadian Olympic medalists - Simon Whitfield (2x Gold, Silver & Bronze in Triathalon), David Calder (Silver in Rowing), and Scott Frandsen (Silver in Rowing).  We were invited by Dave Calder his "Road to Gold" fundraiser.

Garden City 10K - Clearly not my "road to gold"...I won't tell you my time, but it was pityful...however, I WILL be faster in 2012. 

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Year in Review continuded tomorrow...

... & fabulous!!!

very {p}interesting!

Okay.  I am addicted!  A few months ago I became aware of this fabulous website called Pinterest.  I only went on it once or twice and then forgot all about it.  Then a few weeks ago I stumbled upon it again and...BAM!!...I was hooked. 

It is like a bulletin board where people pin up all the coolest things that can be found on the web.  It is like a magazine where every page is cholk-full of great ideas, amazing finds, unbelievable cuteness.  It makes me want to bake, create, craft, redecorate, get a puppy, cut my hair, and dress cool.   

Not only is it {p}interesting, it is so {p}inspiring.  Give it a chance and you too will waste time like never before.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MY ART:  I am taking an abstract art workshop right now, which I love.  Between this and the workshop that I took in the summer, I have several paintings in the works.  As soon as I have a chance to photograph them I will post what I have been working on.

JUST ME:  As I type this I am counting down the days until I am "over the hill".  In an attempt to not go down [the hill] without a fight, I decided to start running a couple of months ago.  I use the term "running" loosely.  It is more of a very slow jog or perhaps a fast walk in which I jump up and down to make it look as though I am "running".  Nonetheless, I am trying to get in shape.  Unfortuately, that "shape" continues to be that of a pear.  These things take time, I suppose, but I will get there.  

pears via pinterest

Until next time...

lovin' summer lovin'

Sean and I didn't really have a chance to celebrate our 9 year anniversary this summer as we were leaving for Britain the next day.  So we put it off until the end of the summer and did it in style...with the help of several gift cards. Hotel, spa, and dinner were taken care of.  Pretty nice!

It was a beautiful August weekend. We arrived at the Ocean Pointe Resort early and checked in.  Not only we did we have a gift card to cover the hotel, we also had a complimentary upgrade to the best available room.  Well, the best available room that day just so happened to be the PENTHOUSE!!

[this is Sean taking my photo from down below]

[this is looking down from the penthouse] 

[Victoria's beautiful harbour]

The penthouse was pretty sweet.  It had a loft bedroom, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, full living room, dining room...

and of course, a gorgeous view.

That evening we went out for a fabulous dinner at Cafe Brio, thanks to our good friends, K & D. 

There's nothing like a warm summer's eve downtown.

The next morning we had a couple's massage at the spa.  This was our Mother & Father's Day gifts to each other this year.  It was a nice way to finish up our mini vacation. 

It is finally autumn and although it is still warm out, summer seems like a distant memory...but a good one.

Welcome, Fall!

back with a video

I am sure you are tired of seeing the Union Jack when you stop by my little blog.  Thank you to those of you who have kept coming back.  I know...it's been a long time since my last post. 

It has been a very busy summer and I haven't really had the time or energy to blog. But it's time to get back at it and update it already.  

I am hoping this may be my solution to the lack of time for blogging. A video post.  I am hoping to be able to whip these off with some increased frequency.  We'll see.  But I'll give it a try for now.

1st Video blog from audrey hayes on Vimeo.

 

Be back soon.

i'm back...

...but not for long.

This has definitely been my longest hiatus from blogging since I started in March 2009.  I do apologize if the word "exhale" now haunts you in your sleep.  It has just been one of those months [or two months, in fact] where I didn't seem to have any free time to do anything creative.  Not only have I not blogged in a month, I haven't painted in almost a month, as well.  

So much going on these days.  After the art show at the end of May, all my efforts were put into teaching, year end school stuff for the girls [including fun day, school bbq, 2 class picnics, field trips, and a talent show in which both Macy and Emmy performed], a dance recital for Emmy, my MIL moving, a commissioned painting at the beginning of June, birthday parties, a food fest, a Norwalk-like virus hitting the females in our house, a skin infection for poor Emmy, and throw in regular life stuff. Phew! We've been busy 'round these parts.

And now we are getting ready to go away.

Yup, that's right.  The girls and I are going to England and Scotland for a few weeks.  Sean is staying home and getting much needed work done around the house.  We are going with my mom & dad whose relatives all still live in the old country.  So we are off to visit them, including my grandfather who lives in England.  

So if I don't blog for a few more weeks, you will know why.  If I find myself with time to spare while I am away maybe I'll post a few thing.  But if not I'll have a big blog post at the end of July.  

Thanks for checking back in.  I'll be back.

Cheerio, Mates!!!

exhale

[this is the Palm Court, entrance to the Crystal Ballroom at the Empress where our art show was being held]

Phew!!  I am finally able to breathe.  After weeks of being totally consumed by art show preparation it has finally come and gone.  I am not going to lie to you, it was a lot of work to get ready for the big show at the Empress.  And of course, it also happened to be the busiest two weeks of teaching I've had in a long time.  

It was a long and busy day, but it was also fun.  Sean helped me set up my 10' x 10' space.  It took us about 2 hours.  My dad had spent the past week making me various sizes of easels.  How awesome is that?  I was pretty happy with how it all set up even with last minute changes.  

[the Crystal Ballroom, you can see why they call it that]

There was a steady stream of people the whole day.  It started at 2:30 and finished at 9 pm.  And from start to finish there were few quiet moments.  

There was a cash bar, a musician, a silent auction, a Red Cross donation table and 30 artists each showing dozens of pieces.

The whole thing was a great experience.  I got to talk to many of the other artists.  I received a lot of unsolicited positive feedback from them.  I had so many compliments throughout the day from show goers, it was very confidence building.  I even had a few people recognize my work from other art shows.  

[this was one side of my display]

[the other side]

 [the center]

 [can you see my display off in the distance?]

And at the end of the night my lovely parents came to help me pack up.  I was totally exhausted but bursting with contentment from an art-filled day.  

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to show their support.  It always means a lot to me.

AIM at the Empress

My art group is hard at work preparing for our first art show together.  We are just two weeks away from the ARTISTS IN MOTION at the EMPRESS. Join us Sunday, May 29th in the Empress Crystal Ballroom for our Art Show and Sale. Each artist will be donating 20% percent of all art sold to the Canadian Red Cross Japanese Relief Fund, as well as, 50% of all proceeds from a silent auction.

With 30 artists, each displaying 10 to 20 pieces, there will be hundreds of pieces for sale.  Something for everyone's tastes.  Should be a fun evening. Come join us at this beautiful venue and bid on some great items from the silent auction as well. Maybe take home a piece of original art from one of these talented artists.  

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We have been so busy around here lately.  These are just a few of the events of the past week:  Mother's Day, we went to Vancouver for my sister-in-law's wedding, Macy turned 7 (which we celebrated twice), had my car fixed after its bumper was smashed a few months ago (not by me), worked several days, went on a field trip with Emmy's class, and lots more...  All of these things deserve their own posts and perhaps I will get to it later in the week.  But for now, this will have to do.

Thanks for reading.

ten k

About 6 months ago my dad and I decided we'd "run" the TC10K in May.  I promptly put the thought out of my head.  Then in January after Sean signed me up for the 10K I thought it was time to get training.  I was off and running. I started slow.  Really slow.  Too slow.  And then I kind of stopped.  By mid March I knew there was no hope of actually "running" the race, but having walked it twice before I knew I would finish just not as a runner.

Race day was Sunday morning.  It was a beautiful Victoria spring morning. There were 14 000 runners/walkers.  It was a really nice course to run. Everyone I know who ran did better than they had hoped.  My dad came in just over an hour but could have easily done sub 60.  Not bad for an old guy.  Sean was sub 50...49.03 to be exact.  But he has decided next year he WILL be sub 45.  My friend Tanya thought she'd be about 70 minutes, finished at 54 minutes.  Pretty fabulous for a 40 year old chick.  

Something I know about myself is that I am a slow runner.  I can brisk walk faster than I can run.  I am not kidding.  Although I was jogging about half the course, this didn't help my time.  However, I am happy that this was my fastest time walk/jogging a 10K.  I did it in 86 minutes.  Yes, pretty pathetic, I know. Especially when, you will see below, larger and older people finishing ahead of me.  I am okay with that.

I actually really enjoyed the race.  I can't believe I just said that.  But it was fun.  The weather was perfect.  I felt really good, despite the fact that I have had a horrible chest cold the past week and haven't slept well in weeks.  I also had a bruised toenail which didn't cause me any discomfort until after the run. Now I have a pretty gnarly looking toe, all bruised and swollen and my body is aching all over.

After the 10K we met up with my mom who had brought the girls downtown to run the Family Fun Run.  This was Macy's second time and Emmy's first.  There was a bouncy obstacle course, face painting, and live music.  

It was a nice way to start the month.  Welcome, May!

      

six large

 

$6636.54

 

That is the amount raised by a bunch of 5 to 10 year olds.  I think that is pretty amazing.  All that $$ will be going to Autism Community Training to help children with autism in British Columbia.  And the bonus for me is that Emmy's class gets a free pizza lunch which means I don't have to make her lunch that day. Woohoo!!!

Thanks again, everyone!

my turn

Well it finally caught up with me...the dreaded bug that has plagued my girls for many weeks.  We have all been having restless sleeps for the past three weeks due all the night time coughing.  I've been coughed on, sneezed on, snotted on, and anything else that spreads bugs.  All that and working almost every day for three weeks has tuckered me out, my poor body was due to get sick.  So please forgive me for not blogging for a while and we'll just have to see how much energy I have over the next few days.

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Thanks to everyone who donated to the Autism Awareness Fundraiser.  Both Macy and Emmy raised $50 each. They were pleasantly surprised by all the donations that came in.  I am not sure how much the school raised all together but I'll let you know when I find out.  Neither girl won any prizes, but Emmy's class did win a pizza lunch for raising the most money as a classroom.  Not bad for kindergartners. 

MY ART:  I haven't had any time to paint recently and I really need to get back at it.  I have one painting that is just waiting for the finishing touches and at least three paintings in the early stages.  I just need more time and energy.  

We had a busy Easter weekend.  Family in from out of town, my sister-in-law's wedding shower, two dinners, and two egg hunts.  Now it is time to rest.

Have a great short week!

get aware

Will it ever end?  I mean the non-stop colds that our household has been afflicted with since winter began.  Now we are into spring (although you wouldn't quite know it) and Emmy is home from school again with a leaky nose, a gravelly cough, and a warm head.  Although now she seems to be full of beans and I wonder if I should have just sent her to school...always the way.  She only just got over a cold two weeks ago and two weeks before that and two weeks before that and...  And Macy is no different.  She gets over a cold, Emmy gets it, Macy gets another one, then Emmy.  Are you seeing that pattern?  Well this pattern sucks and I am sick of it.

 

AUTISMAWARENESSWEEK 

This week at Macy and Emmy's school they are having a big fundraiser for Autism Awareness Week.  The school is asking for donations.  The money raised will go to ACT - Autism Community Training to help support children with autism and their families in our community.

Macy and Emmy are excited to donate money that they have been saving for causes just like this one.  This one is of particular interest to us as we have a couple of friends with autism.  One of Macy's very good friends has autism.  As a teacher, I work with children with autism all the time.  In fact, with the exception of one classroom, every class that I have taught in this school year has had at least one child with autism, sometimes two.  

The numbers are staggering.  One in one hundred children live with autism spectrum disorder, a condition that affects more children in our province than pediatric cancer and diabetes combined.

In addition to donating their own money (and ours), the girls are also taking pledges this week.  There is an added incentive for them, they can win prizes!  The more money they raise, the more chances they have of winning a prize. [Just to be clear, for every $5 they raise they get a ticket which they can then enter into a draw for the individual prizes.  They do not have to raise the most money in the school to win a prize.]  You can only imagine how much money our school will be able to raise with chances to win an iPod Touch, Nintendo DS, Hockey gift packs, Ski Chalet rentals, and the list goes on.  

If you would like to donate any amount of money, just drop me a line (by Sunday, April 17) and I'll add you to the pledge list.  [But absolutely no pressure, I mean it.]

I'll let you know next week how much money our school raises.

Happy Hump Day!

okay already

I know, I know.  You are sick and tired of seeing "sean's restaurant review" every time you come here.  I have now had several complaints about my lack of new posts.  And I agree, two weeks is a long time to wait.  I really appreciate you die hards that keep coming back.  I had a busy couple of weeks.  Last week I worked nearly everyday and this week I've been trying to catch up on all the things I didn't get done last week because I was working.  I don't know how full time working moms do it.  

A couple of nights ago, after one of those days when I'd just had it, I opened the door and this wee little hummingbird flew over to me and perched on the bush at my front door.  He sat there for several minutes just watching me watching him.  He didn't even scare as the girls and Sean crept down the stairs to see him.  He even allowed us to take a few pictures of him.  He was so little and so cute.  His wee head was a brilliant pink/red and his body was green. Unfortunately, this shot was taken with a flash which really washed out his true colours, but you can really see every little feather and I love how his head dress shimmers.  He was about an inch and a half.  So cute and he made my day. We called him Hummy.

Being busy the past couple of weeks hasn't allowed me much time for painting. But I must get back at it as I have another show coming up at the end of May.  I have a meeting about it this week and I'll tell you more when I know more.  I think the venue may be 5-star.

I'll do my best not to let another two weeks go by until my next post.  Thanks for coming back.

sean's restaurant review

Sean spent the first half of spring break at the BCTF's AGM.  Usually it is in Vancouver, but this year it was held in Victoria which was nice because Sean got to stay in town yet feel like a tourist.  We don't spend a lot of time downtown, so it is nice to have four days having to eat every meal out and getting to try many of the restaurants that we just don't get a chance to try.  

Here are some of the restaurants that Sean tried & liked:  (click on images to link to restaurant websites)

 

Pulled Pork goodness.  Pulled Pork Poutine...OMG!!

 

    

Tasty Italian fare.

 

  

Asian street food.  Vietnamese Ginger Caramel Chicken...delicious!

 

 

Shiki Sushi - Love Boat...best sushi he's ever eaten!!

 

DAIDACO - Japanese Deli-Style soups, salads, & seafood.  Simple. Tucked out of the way. Very, very nice.

PIZZERIA PRIMA STRADA - Exquisite, wood oven, artisan pizza.  So good.

 

The girls and I joined Sean over night on Tuesday and we spent the following morning at the Royal BC Museum where we took in the Behinds the Scenes & Emily Carr exhibits. After the museum we made a stop at the Roger's Chocolates Soda Shoppe for lunch before heading to Market Square for a Wannawafel (as seen on Dragon's Den).  Super YUM!! 

There were so many other place he/we wanted to go.  Ulla was top on our list to try but it wasn't open the night I was downtown.  

I'd love to go back to Brasserie L'Ecole.  We went there last year and it was so good.

What are your favourite places to eat, in or out of town?

i heart ted + ken

I love TED.  A few years ago I saw Sir Ken Robinson's TED Talks video.  If you've never seen it, do, you will enjoy it.  

 

I was lucky enough to see Sir Ken yesterday at the British Columbia Teachers' Federation's Annual General Meeting which was being held here in Victoria at the Conference Centre.  He did not disappoint.  Now I really want to read his book "The Element". 

    

Of course, Sean has been at the AGM for the past couple of days, so not only did I get to see SKR, but I also spent the night at the Chateau Victoria.  Most of the delegates are staying at one of Victoria's finest, the Empress. But after major earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan, I am much happier not staying there. The Chateau is nice enough.  We had a one bedroom suite with a nice view of the Empress, the convention centre, and the Parliament Buildings.

In other news:  One of Macy's good friends' dad is an Olympic rower.  He won the silver in Bejing in 2008 and is now looking forward to London 2012 and going for the GOLD!  As we all know, Canada does not really support their athletes financially.  Despite that, they still manage to bring home many medals.  Imagine how well Canada would do if our athletes were taken care of.

So in support of Dave Calder's road to the Gold, a fundraiser is being held the evening of March 31.  See the following poster for details if you are interested in tickets. (Click on the poster to enlarge.)  We will be there. Should be a great night.

Good luck, Dave!

Hope you are all having a fabulous Spring Break.

breaks

It's been a while.  I seem to have taken a bloggy break and didn't even realize I was doing it.  I've been busy working, but I also needed to get my house in order.  While trying to get ready for my art shows I totally neglected my house and it got out of control.  My bedroom became a dumping ground for everything.  So last week I stopped painting, stopped blogging and took back control.  I got all of our rooms in order.  Now we have a new family plan to keep things tidy.  The girls look forward to cleaning up their rooms and the living room every night before bed.  Emmy actually asked me tonight if she could go clean up her room...like she has to ask.  And they are really proud of themselves for keeping things so tidy for a week now.  It is amazing how stressful clutter and mess can make you feel.  You don't realize until everything is in order how much better you feel walking into your room.  Aaahhhh.

And now another much needed break is upon us...Spring Break.  It was finally a lovely spring day.  A nice start to the spring break.  I had almost forgotten what it felt like to feel the sun on my face.  

Welcome, Spring!  

p.s.  I just added that photo of myself because Sean thinks blogs are boring when they don't have any photos or graphics.  I happen to agree.  So for a lack of a more exciting photo I grabbed one from my photo booth.  Weird, I know.

three-zero-zero

WOW! This is my 300^th blog post. Before I started this blog two years ago, I would read other blogs that made it look so easy.  Then I started my own, but had no idea how much effort it would take.  What I didn't think about was that I actually had to write the posts and make them interesting, which was/is really hard.  After my first post I thought, OMG, how am I going to keep this up.  But somehow I have.  Not as often as I would like.  Not as interesting as I'd like.  

After 2 years, 300 blog posts, and almost 20,000 page hits, I will keep on posting.  To those of you who keep coming back...THANK YOU!

MY ART:  I recently finished this larger canvas, part of my little buildings series. 

24 x 24. Acrylic on Canvas.

Just finishing up a commissioned tulips painting and its companion piece which I'll post next week.  

3-0-1, here I come.

the show's over

Well, both of my art shows have finally come to a close.  I would consider them a great success.  Not only did I sell a painting, but it gave me a lot of exposure and I now have future sales on the horizon.  

I just found this video on Youtube of the opening reception of the LOOK Art Show.  If you didn't have a chance to make it to the Bay Centre to see the show, this gives you a look at what was there.  I don't expect you to watch the whole 14 minute video, but you can see TULIPS at 2 minutes 22 seconds in.  CINQ POIRES is at 4 minutes 20 seconds. And my FIL, Mike, even makes an appearance at 45 seconds (behind the artist who is speaking).  

Thanks to everyone who was able to make it to the shows.  Hope you enjoyed them.

More paintings to come.  I have a new one to post, I just need to photograph it first.

Happy weekend!