This was my 4th year having a booth at Nuit Blanche North but the first time it involved stone carving.  This year the theme was Impact so I imagined a meteor hit Muskoka and we were carving meteorites and Space Rock.  The spacey props in my booth were made by my Dorset Arts 4 Youth group in our 5 June sessions, funded by Nuit Blanche North!  Below are some photos of the night.  Hundreds of dust masks were given out and cool creations were made by all participants!

Cirvan was interviewed by Zander Sherman with photographs by Kelly Holinshead for the April 2014 issue of Muskoka Magazine.

Last week I went on an Art Tour in Manzanillo, Cuba, organized by http://www.jennicacuba.com/ and saw some amazing sculptures, paintings and prints by Cuban artists.  The best part was meeting one of the sculptors - Ramon Cisnero Tamayo!  There were many of his sculptures along the seawall and he gave me a plaster model of one of his stone sculptures as a gift from one sculptor to another!  I return feeling inspired and nourished from a week of art, waves, snorkeling, and sand.

I have been busy making dragon puppet heads for students to make their own to promote Shrek the Musical in Huntsville.  I was approached by Huntsville Festival of the Arts to make the dragon head shells which the students (4 from each of the 10 schools) will then decorate and learn about puppetry.  I had fun making an example to show the students a finished dragon puppet! The process for the heads included making a clay original, painting layers of rubber latex on to make a mould, spraying foam on it to make a supportive "mother mould", pouring some solid heads with plaster, and casting 20 dragon heads from the solids using plaster bandages.  I am really looking forward to seeing the painted/decorated dragon heads that the pairs of students will create:)

Cirvan built and installed a beautiful oak fireplace surround and mantel out of oak for a Huntsville home.  The two pillars were part of their original fireplace built of  oak milled from their family property.  Cirvan milled up oak for the mantel, boxes, molding and crafted the dentil work (see detail) as well as inlaying some figured yellow birch into the centre.  Indiana Limestone was installed around fireplace and base and then the wooden surround was put into place.  It is a beautiful piece!

Cirvan has been really busy with custom kitchens, furniture building, timber framing, and finishing up an addition on our home!  He was a guest artist at Artists of the Limberlost in mid-August as well.  Getting ready now for the Muskoka Autumn Studio Tour.