Goat Pastel Portrait

March was time to shake off the winter blues and dust-off 22 pet portraits to showcase SMILES at the reading room of the newly renovated Musquodoboit Harbour Library. Also on May 27th in the community workroom, I demonstrated the unique qualities of pastel, starring a goat named Flower.

Revamp Older Artworks

Time to celebrate my years of past, add a dash of change, contemplate thy art children & put them into their new archival frames. It is an artists prerogative to revamp older artworks and update a FRESH layer using matured skills and new mediums. 

DIY Simple Changes NEW LOOK

I was given this beautifully handcrafted cabinet many years ago and it has been so handy for storing a variety of objects. Time to hide the clutter and give this cabinet a simple transformation with fabric covered panels and new knobs!

DIY Drapery

DIY drapes can hide clutter and decorate a room. No need to have a sewing machine, use basic hand stitching and a hot iron for crisp edges.

Wool Felted Chandelier

Falling Leaves Chandelier is my latest DIY home design feature using both wet & dry felting methods with raw fleece and roving wool. 

Pastel Pet Portrait Commission

Wonder who is the BEST pet in the world? It is the one you share a life. Why not make your pet's unique being transformed into fine art to treasure fur-ever.

Knit Hats & Fingerless Gloves

Combining knitwear with wet felted applique and hand stitching embroidery make for my designs to be one of a kind using basic stitches with creative flair.

Pop UP Art

Pop UP & Paper Engineering is a new skill I have challenged to learn this year. Paper is not just for notes and drawings, it can MOVE to animate art.

Paper Cut & Shadow Light Box

Capturing light in a paper shadow-box has a surreal effect with layers of cut paper enhancing texture, depth and drama with the latest sculptured art piece titled, 'The Perfect Day'. 

Modern Spice Pillow Handknit & Pom Poms

 'Modern Spice' pillow is designed with a varied combination of stitches and like cooking with international spices, I like to add a little of this and that to make for a unique blend of colours and textures for this exotic pillow.

Peace Pillow Handknit & Wet Felting

Peace Pillow manifested in early spring which harkens fresh ideas from past inspirations. The latest Folk Art Pillow is reminiscent of childhood times living in Europe & Canada during the 1960's.

Knit Pillow for Fox Love

 'Fox Love' is a hand knit bolster style pillow, knit with 100% wool for the cover and stuffed with acrylic fluff to make the latest folk art pillow designed & created by Minaz Jantz.

Watercolor Pastel & Stitches

'Waterlily Nude Dance' combines the elements water, nudes, pastel and thread for my latest multi-media painting. Stashed in two large plastic boxes are rolls of several years of nude drawings from life drawing groups that have been beckoning me to use in my latest series of compositions. 

Pastel Collage with Layers

Blossoms and blooms declare spring has arrived and sets the pace for something new and fresh to inspire my creative mind. I took on the challenge to use left-over pieces of painting materials, build a foam core display box and use found objects to collage a multi-dimensional pastel painting, titled 'The Romance of Flowers'.

Bee Nice Grow Flowers Folk Pillow

Latest Folk Art Pillow; 'Bee Nice Grow Flowers' is a hand-stitched message to save the bees from extinction. Handwork such as needle felting, embroidery, crochet and knitting complete an entirely unique pillow that comes with its own removable felted bees. 

Paddling Among Fish Folk Art Pillow

The P.E.I. wool shop Fleece and Harmony is the real woolly deal with happy sheep hanging around the shop's acreage and where the wool makers create from scratch their nature inspired hand dyed yarns.  

In the fall of 2017, a week holiday to Prince Edward Island found me walking the woodlots drenched in colourful leaves and time to seek out the next batch of wool to influence a new folk art pillow.  'Paddling Among Fish' reflects my gratitude for the wonder of the marine species that shares this grande planet.

Folk Art Pillows Collection #3

The new addition to the Folk Art Pillows Collection is all designed as one-of-a-kind handmade pillows. The front side of the pillows are created with a wet felting technique and is my first wet felting project. 

Folk Art Pillows Collection #2

What is soft & cuddly and brings charm to any room? Folk Art Pillows! These handcrafted pillows are an extension of fine art painting but switching paint for rendering in comfy wool.

Road Side Decor

Saved from a landfill.
NEW life for a patio set.

I dream of lucky treasure finds since I was a kid and can not help myself to see value in what people toss away to the roadside.

Wild Flowers & Grasses Gardens

Walking by WEEDS we may hiss at them while the dogs piss on them and given a chance we will weed-wack them down while never understanding that these lowly weeds can be our medicines, food cultivation, land preservation, and flowers we need not fuss over in our wild gardens. 

Stitches & Watercolor Art Series

Nothing like exploring a new medium of watercolours and then combine together for a fresh approach with hand stitching. Hand-stitching is relaxing and found the new watercolour medium to be meditative too. Introducing 'Stitches & Watercolor' series which is being prepared to be showcased for the up and coming 'Follow the Yellow Balloons Open Studio Tour' this October 1, 2017.

Folk Art Pillows Collection #1

Introducing my new pillow art combining Folk Art with wool fibres! The Folk Art Pillows will welcome a spot to sit anywhere such as a window ledge, couch, bed and favourite chair! 

Why not add original Folk Art Pillows as a conversational piece to any room that will certainly bring a smile to you and your guests. My designer Folk Art Pillow collection is a unique idea for wedding gifts as you will be assured no one else will duplicate your gift.

Bike Ride Ink Drawings

The Big Picture Collective Art Project Vancouver 2017-04-27

http://thebigpictureartproject.com/

I enjoyed revisiting my years living in Vancouver. with these 4 ink drawings.  City cycling takes some bravery to master through busy downtown areas, including Stanley Park but well worth the multitudes of views of the ocean, parks, sky and mountains all around the city as a fortress of nature, miniaturizing even the tallest of buildings.

Tribute Leonard Cohen painting

The OLD SCHOOL Opening Art Gallery theme this year is a tribute to our Canadain musician and songwriter, Leonard Cohen. I have grown up listening to some of his tunes on the radio and knew he went off the rails to meditate with the divine for several years. I went to the internet and watched many Youtube Videos and documentaries and discovered his self-effacing humour to which I enjoy! 

Re-Do Prior Art Works

Metamorphosing older artworks is a wondrous idea for any artist to pursue with damaged paintings and faded drawings. They must still inspire a spark and a voice that calls out to transform it, demanding to be born again in a new era while also refreshing the memories of times past. 

Community Art Events & Volunteers

Art making in its self is usually a solitary activity BUT somewhere along the line we must get out and connect with other creative beings who could encourage us to keep flourishing adventures of the creative soul.

Nude Drawings & Muse Reflections

 

Nothing like the real thing... a LIVE nude in the middle of a room, to entice curvaceous lines into action with a stick of charcoal on newsprint! 

Organizing the Art Studio

Falling Boxes!!!! It is not a pop band...hahah! Its a conditional disaster in my overwhelming disorganized art studio! Interior design is more than a LOOK or a style as much its how our STUFF is organized to suit its purpose. Time to RE-DO IT!

QUOTE by designer Charles Eames. 'Design is a plan for arranging elements in a way that best accomplishes a particular purpose.'

NEW Framing Tools

Its 
time 
to let 
the tools 
out of the BAG!

V Nail Press
4 Way Speed Clamp
Nobex Professional Mitre
Makita Sheet Palm Sander

Art Studio Tools

Painting tools are more than just collecting brushes. Every artist finds their favorite tools that help them out in the studio. 

Some of my artist favorite tools are FREE from the garbage, while some are worthy enough to purchase. I also have a few favorite studio tools that are helpful and sentimental because they have been custom made by my family and friends.